advice, tutorials and random words

September 7, 2014

Hello, writerly friends~ ♥︎
You asked for a Writing Advice Masterpost, so here it is! Below you will find a collection of the best questions and answers from the last two years. Not only that, but they are also organized so you can find the answers to your questions quickly and get on with writing.
But wait, there is more!
This post is more than just a collection of advice, it’s a nexus for writing advice, resources, and information! That’s right, this post is going to grow over time. I will be updating this masterpost WEEKLY with new answers, writing advice videos, playlists, and more! So, make sure to bookmark this page and follow my blog (maxkirin.tumblr.com) so you don’t miss a thing~ ♥︎
Writing Advice Compilations
WRITERS UNITE! A book of writing advice, inspiration, and tips! Written with the help of 248 Tumblr authors. FREE DOWNLOAD!
Prompts
Daily Story Seed
Daily Weird Prompt
Daily Character Question
Your Writing Horoscope (Retired)
“Can I publish a story based on one of your prompts?”
Virtual Writing Academy
Episode #01: Writing An Intense Scene
Episode #02: Fleshing Out Characters
Episode #03: Writing An Engaging Story
Episode #04: Writing Different POVs
Episode #05: Writing A Compelling Antagonist
Episode #06: Writing Things You Have Never Experienced
Episode #07: Writing About Someone Who is Different Than You
Episode #08: The Harsh Reality of Being a ‘Hero’
Episode #09: Senses And Details
Episode #10: Improving Dialogue (Without Writing Dialogue)
Episode #11: A Fun (And Silly) Exercise
Motivation & Inspiration
Daily Writer Positivity
How to Finish Your First Novel (M. Kirin’s Origin Story)
What Confidence Is and Is NOT
How to Regain the Motivation to Finish That Book
“I’m afraid writing is a waste of time”
“I’m half-way through this book and I’m stuck”
Stop Trying to Impress People
Stop Trying to Make Your Parents Proud of your Writing
Your Parents Disapprove of Your Writing?
You’re Not The Worst Writer In The World
English Not Your First Language? Neither is Mine
A Tip for All Young Writers Worrying That Nobody Will Take Them Seriously
Dealing with Hate and Harsh Criticism
You Need to Develop a Thick Skin
Neil Gaiman’s “Make Good Art” Speech
Feeling Down About Your Writing? :c
Elizabeth Gilbert’s Inspirational Speech on the ‘Genius’
Neil Gaiman’s 8 Rules of Writing
“I am not as good as other writers” (and other lies)
The 7 Cardinal Rules of Writing Life
Be A Little Delusional
Planning, Outlining, and Getting Started
M. Kirin’s (Strange) Guide to Planning Your Novel
M. Kirin’s Click-n-Drag Story Generator
Which outlining method is the best? (Video)
“I want to write a book but I have no idea where to start”
The Story-Idea Test
M. Kirin’s Secret for Starting books, and Finishing Them
M. Kirin’s Top 3 Tips to Start Writing and Never Stopping
The 10-Minute Writing Trick
Tips for writing Science Fiction, Fantasy, and Paranormal
How Much Worldbuilding is Enough?
M. Kirin’s #1 Tip For Improving Your Writing
Let’s Talk About: Show VS Tell
The Difference Between Character & Plot (The Marcy Rule)
Dialogue
M. Kirin talks about authentic dialogue
The grammatical side of dialogue
How do I write numbers in dialogue?
Editing & Revision
M. Kirin’s Top 5 Revision Tips
How to Love and Care for Your Beta Readers
M. Kirin’s (subjective) secret recipe for the second draft
When is the best time to edit a story?
M. Kirin Talks About Editing, and Speeding Up Your Story
M. Kirin Uses Evernote to Revise Books
“Kill Your Darlings” VS “Cut What You Love”
Writing Killer Plot-Twists and Mystery Novels
“How long is a Rough Draft compared to the Finished Draft?”
Hot Button Issues
Realism is a dirty word
Racist & homophobic language in fiction
Inaccuracy in Fiction (Video)
M. Kirin drops a few bombs on ‘creative vocabulary’
“I want to write but I don’t have the time”
Is it bad to have too many LGBTQIA or POC characters?
“My antagonist is POC/LGBTQIA, is this bad?”
“All my characters are LGBTQIA, is this bad?”
When to let go of a story
Is it rational to be afraid of what people will think of you?
Let’s Talk About: Deus Ex Machina
Let’s Talk About: Coincidence in Writing
Let’s Lightly Talk About: Plagiarism & Copyright
Writing About Things You Have Never Experienced
“Do you need to go to college/university to be a good writer?”
My book is similar to something already out, what do I do?
General Advice
M. Kirin’s Cure For Writer’s Block (and Life Block)
Overcoming the First Sentence
Overcoming the First Sentence, Again
Overcoming the First Sentence, Redux
The 10-Minute Rule
Making Boring Scenes FUN to Write!
Stories are like children
Let’s Talk About Titles (And Then Talk Some More)
M. Kirin Reveals the ‘Secret’ Behind Style
How much description/scenery is too much?
How can I write faster?
I want my readers to love my characters
I think my book may be too short for my genre
My story doesn’t have an Antagonists, should I add one?
I killed one of my main characters by mistake, what do I do?
M. Kirin’s Writing Advice for Fleshing out Romantic Relationships
A warning about character names and meanings
Help! My characters are not doing what I expected them to!
Help! My characters are misbehaving! D:
A warning about character sheets
A talk about the beauty of first drafts, and pacing
Is getting attached to your characters… bad?
A note on Antagonism, and whether you need a villain or not
Past or present tense?
Is swearing okay? And other muthafuckin’ truths
“What emotion do you find hardest to write?”
“What writing software do you use?”
Communication, a must for collaborative works
Researching illegal things, cousin? I got just the thing for you!
Joss Whedon’s Top 10 Writing Tips
M. Kirin’s Tarot Cheat-Sheet
Writing Tips for Storytelling in Video-Games
Fair Use In Novels (by thedancingwriter)
Let’s Talk About: Pen Names!
Let’s Talk About: Reactive VS Proactive Characters
Let’s Talk About: Transitioning Smoothly From Scene to Scene
Let’s Talk About: Writing The Climax (& Resolution)
Let’s Talk About: Writing The End
Let’s Talk About: Spies
Publishing
Publishing Battle: Indie VS Traditional
“How do I turn my book into an eBook?”
Writing Music & Playlists
Writing In The Dark (Relaxing, Unobtrusive)
Writing About Love (All the Feels)
Writing & Fighting! (Super Intense!)
Writing About Horror (Welcome to Lavender Town)
Royalty And Noble Blood (Medieval Writing Playlist)
Digital Reality (Cyberpunk/Futuristic Playlist)
Lost In The Wild (Survival/Nature Playlist)
Music For Writers: Portal 2 Soundtrack (FREE)
M. Kirin’s Writing Playlists: Ravensgem
M. Kirin’s Writing Playlists: Justine’s Blood
M. Kirin’s Favorite Music to Listen to While Writing
M. Kirin’s Secret For Making Playlists
Miscellaneous
Finally! An Ask-Meme for Writers!
M. Kirin’s Philosophy for Running a Writing Blog
Last Updated: 09-06-14. Click HERE to see the latest update. Latest posts are in Italics.