• Characters are supposedly 1/3 you, 1/3 someone you know, and 1/3 made up - experiment with the different faucets of your personality, as well as which traits would mesh well together into a typically functioning personality
• A probable impossibility is better than a possible improbability - it’s more believable that aliens exist and that they like the taste of human sweets then it is that when a character turns on the television the news is telling them exactly what they need to know for the story to progress
• Working on multiple stories at once isn’t automatically a bad idea - if you’re an absolute madman/woman/person, having many WIPs will work to keep you writing, because when you get bored of one project you can jump easily to another (especially if they’re set in the same universe or something)
• Just because something’s consistent doesn’t mean it’s good - as Michael Bay’s Transformers series has shown us, it is possible to be consistently mediocre/bad to the point where internet reviewers can accurately predict down to a tee what’s gonna happen in the film without actually seeing it
• The idea “write what you know”, whilst good advice, isn’t totally accurate - you CAN write stories about things you haven’t personally experienced PROVIDED you research the absolute fuck out of it, and talk to people who HAVE experienced it (trust me, you’re going to need their help)
• People are really that weird, eccentric, and stupid in real life - I once had a friend pull his tracksuit bottoms down below his butt to mimic the “chav” style of wearing one’s trousers, then pull them down to his knees and proclaim he was “chav squared”, and then lose his balance and trip and fall flat on his face; and this was all during a school sports session!
• As long as you stick to the rules your universe sets up, you can do whatever the flying fuck you want logic-wise - provided you either provide an in-universe logical explanation, or establish them from the very get-go, you can absolutely have giant elephants that use rocket boosters to fly through space (…or something equally outlandish)
• Music while writing is situational - the right tune for the right scenario can be baller, but if you waste too much time deciding what track to listen to for every scene, you’re gonna take way longer than you need to to get anything done
• Writer’s block is a constant state, not a tragic happenstance - ride the waves of inspiration when they come, but in the long run it is best to find strategies to overcome writer’s block in some capacity, because you’re absolutely going to be dealing with it a lot
• A story is defined by two things: intention and obstacle - in a typically structured story, the audience will root for a character based on a thing they desire, and conflict will arise based on what circumstances or antagonists prevent them from reaching said desire
• It’s possible to be good at more than writing - make your own moodboards! draw your own fanart! make your own headcanons! working on your stories and characters beyond your actual writing is one of the best ways to keep yourself invested, in my experience
• Have an outlet for stress - I box and also play the drums! honestly this is more life advice for anything else but if you’re not happy with your WIP then a way to blow of steam can be pretty neato

happy birthday, jennifer! ♡

Only a goddess could make tragedy so beautiful.

jake peralta ✓ (insp.)