Thequeerish - Dystopic And Smutty Fiction Is Admired Here.

Hi, so I've finished a short story, a first draft you could say, but there are still some kinks in it that I want to iron out. What is stopping me is that it seems just such a huge job, I wouldn't know where to start. And so I keep making excuses. (Chances are I'll use this as an escuse as well, that I'll wait until I hear your answer.) Any tips on where to start?

Procrastination & The Editing Stage...

Procrastination is typically a symptom of anxiety and perfectionism. Before you ask how you solve the problem, you should figure out why you’re having it in the first place. This is an immensely helpful practice in the long run. Ask yourself why you’re so anxious to start examining your own work and test various possible exercises that could soothe this anxiety long enough to get started. 

Editing is understandably very intimidating. It’s daunting to have to sit down and actively look for flaws (or as I like to say, room for improvement) in your own work. Writing is a practice in vulnerability sometimes editing can feel like critiquing your own emotions. In order to edit well, you have to detach from your own connection to the content and view it objectively. If you’re having trouble with this, I recommend putting literal distance between yourself and the writing. 

Let it sit physically and mentally away from you for a few months and then come back to it with fresh eyes and preferably a second project in the foreground of your writing time. This will allow you to see it as a story rather than a part of you, and therefore you will find it easier to criticize. 

I have a few posts and tips that touch on the subject of procrastination and approaching work you’re intimidated by that expand upon the topic:

Stop Getting Too Attached When Writing

Healthy Forms of Motivation

How To Have A Productive Mindset

How To Fall In Love With Writing

Writing Through Mental Health Struggles

 Dear Writers Who Are Hesitant To Start Writing

“All First Drafts Are Crap” -- My Thoughts

Getting Back To Writing After A Long Hiatus

Why “Burnout” Is Oay - The Creative Cycle

Wanting To Finish A Story You’ve Fallen Out of Love With

How To Use Beta-Reader Feedback

How To Actually Get Writing Done

Writing On A Schedule

Coming Back To A Story After A Break

Coming Back To A Story You’ve Grown Since

How To Prevent Getting Stuck

Sticking To A Story (Working on Multiple Projects)

Writing Your Way Through The Plot Fog

Get Back Into The Stride of Writing

When you are finally ready to start editing, perhaps a few of these resources may be helpful to you:

Step-By-Step : Editing Your Own Writing

Improving Flow In Writing

Constructive Criticism : How To Give & Receive

How To Make A Scene More Heartfelt

How To Perfect The Tone

Editing & Proofreading Cheat Sheet

A Guide To Tension & Suspense

What To Change Draft-By-Draft

Dialogue Punctuation

Finding And Fixing Plot Holes

On Underwriting

Denoting Flashbacks

Ultimate Guide To Symbolism

Expanding Scenes

Naming Stories

Tips on Descriptions

Tips on Balancing Development

Tips on Connecting Chapters

Tips On Dialogue

Using Vocabulary

Balancing Detail & Development

Showing Vs Telling

Writing The Middle of Your Story

–

Masterlist | WIP Blog

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Day fifty-two (52/100)

of @the-wip-project‘s #100daysofwriting challenge.

Q52: Pick an idea and write a short "shopping list" of what will happen in the story.

A52: I did this but did not feel like sharing with you. Hope your ideas and shopping list are delicious!

And Kane just backs up to move out of bell’s way. Wtf?

Day 655 without Lexa

Bell unnecessarily inserting him into a situation yet again– probably just jealous of the intense eye-fucking that happened immediately prior to this

True story

Me: (describing hot Clexa bath scene)

Pal: So ... which episode is that from?

Me: Oh ... um, the scene’s from a beautiful fanfic from Nordyr. You should read it. 

Pal: Are you watching the 100 anymore?

Me: Yes... ish.

The network group gave me the hostname I asked for. Hopefully it won’t kill any of my programs ...

Day Thirty-One

of @the-wip-project​‘s challenge!

Q31: What’s a pet peeve you have, that you focus on to do differently in your own stories?

A31: A writing pet peeve that I see in other’s writing ... flipping back and forth between angst filled POVs. I do enjoy a well described scene with a smattering of angstful innner monologue but five paragraphs of back and forth inner thoughts that could be summarized in behaviours, distract me from the plot. I do my best to avoid this in my writing by replacing inner monologue with actions that will betray those thoughts. 

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10 Free Alternatives to Final Draft

1. Adobe Story: An online collaborative screenwriting suite by Adobe that won’t cost you a dime.

2. BPC-Screenplay: A free screenwriting software developed in Berlin for Microsoft Windows. 

3. Celtx: This popular browser-based screenwriting software has a paid and a free version.

4. DramaQueen: Also available as free and paid version.

5. DubScript: A mobile based free script writing software reader and writer for Android operating systems.

6. Page 2 Stage: An open-source software designed specifically for Windows users.

7. Plotbot: A browser-based free screenplay software that’s great for collaboration with another writer.

8. Story Touch: There’s a free version of this professional screenwriting software. Allows you to write and analyze your screenplay at the same time. 

9. Trelby: Another open source free screenplay software currently only available for Microsoft Windows and Linux, but a Mac version is said to be on the way.

10. Writer Duet: A program that allows real-time collaborative work in which the writers immediately see all edits.

“Substitute ‘damn’ every time you’re inclined to write ‘very,' your editor will delete it and the writing will be just as it should be.” -Mark Twain

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