Opened Tumblr for the first time today and my heart skipped so many beats 🥹... I posted a fanfic last night and I was expecting it to get the usual 30-40 likes and interactions omggggggg

Never thought I'd see the day where a post of mine has the same amount of notifs as my communities 😭

A couple of months ago, I posted the first page of a story I'd been tossing around in my head for quite a while on a writing feedback sub. It got 10 whole upvotes! That was enough for me to keep going. I've never finished something this long, and I'm super proud of it, even if I know it sucks. I really enjoyed the journey of learning, creating, and falling in love with my characters. I have this planned as a trilogy, so before I try my hand at editing, I'm going to take the sub's advice and walk away from it for a bit before revisiting. I'm not trying to win the Nobel Prize for Literature, I'm just some dude having fun rediscovering a hobby I'd lost along the way. Never forget why you started in the first place, and just keep writing!

I've always been a highly visual person, and I've watched movies and tv pretty much every day of my life, so I'm guessing those two things factor into this. I write chapters as if they are scenes. Like each chapter is kind of a clear-cut scene. I don't know why I do this, but I want to know if anyone else does this? I feel like it's a detriment to my writing to look at it this way.

I did it, guys! I published my first short story. I'm so proud of myself for writing and editing this story, as well as designing the cover. It's a wholesome romance, so it is definitely up my alley.

Also, yes, I used a different pen name for this because I want a different identity for my romance stories. Gotta put on different hats for different occasions hehe

Here is a poem from my new book I have been working on for some time now, please enjoy and give me any feedback.

HOLD UP! Let me explain!

If I took a personality quiz that asked: "Are you a Planner or a Pantser" with multiple choice bubbles 1-5, 1 being a planner, 5 being a pantser, I'm a 4. I only outline with scaffolding. I usually know a few major plot points, basics about world building, and who my main characters are. That's it. Then I start writing, I just let the words flow.

I love editing. I love reading what my tiny brain has spewed and making it make sense. When I edit, I usually find a thread (or two or three) in the story that could be extended throughout the whole thing, like a metaphor I forgot about and abandoned that would actually make for a beautiful theme if it was brought to life. Or a trait that could make a 2-D character feel real.

But growing up, and even now, I thought to be "good" to be "genius" to be a "real author" every thread had to be planned, added with intention and have the story be built around the threads. But I do that in reverse. I write a flat story and make it multi-dimensional with editing, and it feels like cheating. It feels wrong. It feels like if I don't know what every twist is going to be or that one character was pulling the strings all along, from the beginning, that I'm cheating at writing a good story.

Hey, fellow writers!

I'm looking for a few critique partners or beta readers, and I'm more than happy to return the favor.

I've finished my first novel, Our Lives Between Worlds. It's about 84K words, an adult psychological relationship drama with sci-fi and explicit erotic elements. It's character-driven, a slow burn, and definitely not your typical space adventure.

Here's the thing. I'm not asking anybody to commit to reading an entire novel. Hell, let's start with 10,000 words.

If you like it and want to keep going, awesome! If you don't, that's perfectly fine too. Just tell me what didn't work for you. Was it the pacing? The characters? The writing? Did it just not grab you? That's all useful feedback, and I'd much rather hear the truth than have somebody feel obligated to keep reading.

And the same goes both ways. I'm happy to read your work, give you my genuine reactions, and let you know what's working for me and what isn't. If we're both enjoying the exchange, we can keep going. If not, no hard feelings.

I enjoy psychological drama, mysteries, thrillers, sci-fi, horror, and character-driven fiction in general. I'm also perfectly comfortable with explicit adult material. High spice doesn't scare me. LOL.

I'm not looking for somebody to tell me my book is amazing. I'm looking for honest readers who can tell me where it works, where it doesn't, and whether they'd actually want to turn the next page.

If that sounds like your kind of exchange, leave a comment. I'd love to connect!

Title says it all! I've been working on a novel for two years now and still can't figure out what to call it. I'm looking for inspiration 😅

Here are some of my art drawings. I am willing to draw characters for free!

I've read Dostoevsky and Leo Tolstoy, and honestly, I was blown away. Their characters feel so incredibly real, almost like they're actual people who just happened to have their lives written down.

But with some other writers, it feels like their characters are just there to serve a specific purpose. Some exist purely to move the plot forward, while others feel like puppets whose every move has been planned out in advance by the author.

And I'm not saying those writers are bad! Take 1984 and The Three-Body Problem, for example. In 1984, the bigger message clearly matters more than having a wide range of complex characters. And in The Three-Body Problem, the sci-fi concepts and world-building are obviously much more important than the character development.

Then there are all those light novels and web novels out there. I feel like a lot of their writers are working from the same handful of character templates. The characters all seem pretty much the same, and honestly, a lot of them feel incredibly clichéd!

But I want to create characters who have minds of their own, who have their own thoughts, feelings, and genuine emotions. Characters who don't just feel like mouthpieces for the author, but like actual people with their own inner lives.

I'm curious how other writers think about this. What do you think makes a character feel like a genuinely independent human being, rather than just someone who exists to serve the plot or express the author's ideas?🤔

I’ve read a few books in my time, but not a lot I’ve hated. Some less interesting Star Wars stuff — but what has truly made you viscerally angry, sick, or something else?

Hello friends,

I have the main idea for my novel series down, and a decent roadmap for how the story will progress, yet I remain absent to two things; a map (which I posted about in a separate community) and the more in-depth worldbuilding and history.

This is things like the mythology, the religion, slang, more detailed political system, gender roles, and all of that other fun stuff. I have the outline of a language, but I'm not a big fan of it personally. I genuinely enjoy this part of worldbuilding, but always mentally overwhelm myself before I can even begin. So I'm looking mostly for tips on how to do all of that?

Note: high/epic fantasy series with zero human characters

Sometimes, you have thoughts and feelings that are difficult to put into words, so you write them down and hope someone out there understands.

I recently shared a piece on my Substack, Stories with Nusha, called “You and Everything Else.” I'm putting my writing out there and trying to connect with people who enjoy reading personal reflections.

If that sounds like your kind of thing, I'd love for you to give it a read. And if anything resonates with you, I'd genuinely love to hear your thoughts.

Thanks for reading.

sat down and let the creative juices flow, didn't put any goal in mind. I find writing fun, not really a writer just like to dip my toes. advice and discussion welcome. oh and just realized I'm conducting attention seeking behavior rn :) whateva bro.

__________
A darkness shadowed Hazem in the corner, his face is scoured in a dark fog, as if light had escaped away from him, only the shape of his body remained in the corner of the cell, as he crouched down to meet Osman at eye level. Hazem leans in closer towards him, his breathing is pounding like echoing thunder. Judgement is reigning from above him. “You’re a fucking piece of shit.” Hazem says, slowly elevating and rising from Osman’s level. Now towering above him. He begins his barrage, “You are a fucking piece of shit. You are a sinner, and you will always forever be a sinner. You will never ever be righteous in your life. You a broken person.” Osman sinks his head between his legs. His arms wrap around himself and begins to hug himself, holding onto a prayer, holding onto any piece of himself. Hazem continues “You are a carcass, a skeleton with no morals and a heart turned to a stone of ashen sin. You are not benevolent. You are worthless in the eyes of God. You will never taste the breeze of heaven on your face. You will burn with me, together.”

Osman snaps out and looks up at Hazem, “You brought me here!” he proclaims. “You broke me! You broke me! You played with the strings of my heart!” Tears begin to flow down Osman's face. They guide themselves slowly down below his eyes and towards his cheeks. Osman rallies again at Hazem “You poisoned my heart with the infamy you said was a promise to make me everything I ever wanted to be!”

“You – ” Hazem cuts Osman off. “I what?!” “I didn’t pave your destiny.” Hazem claims. “Isn’t it true your god has decided already what happens to you, long before you were born, your fate was sealed, god lifted the pen and the ink has dried long ago before you.”

“You were made to suffer. Made to be a beast of burden.” Osman points out to the sealed skylight window, only offering a glimpse of light into the cell. A dim ray of sunlight begging to protrude through only slightly, barely enough to offer any hope. Osman stares at Hazem, his tears dried up now, he begins to utter a rebuttal, “god does not abandon the believers, god will not abandon me, he loves me, he –”

“You were born to be a kin to me, a son of sin.”

“You are no believer.”

I think this is the first time I like the end result, but something feels like it's missing and I need a second opinion.

This is the first chapter of a horror story collection called "Watcher's Tales". It's about an urban explorer wandering into an hotel that was shut down due to a fungus infection, but it turns out to be something else. If this interests you, reach out to me and I will send you the first draft.

(CW: Suicide)

I’ve been in a corporate job for years and I’m pretty senior level. But I’ve always loved writing and wished that I had the financial security to make it a full time career. I would always try to start side writing projects and fail because I was just too tired from work and kids and life to stick with it. I don’t like my job but it pays good money and offers a lot of flexibility.

Several weeks ago, I went on short term disability due to a surgery. While I was recovering, I had a lot more free time and mental space and I FINALLY finished the manuscript I started a year ago (woo hoo!!). It’s an 84k word fiction novel and I probably wrote 80% of it over the past several weeks. I was determined to finish my first draft before I went back to work. I just got into this flow state where the words started to come out easily.

I returned to work on Monday and it hasn’t been crazy busy but I can feel myself slipping back into my corporate brain: excel spreadsheets, alignment with stakeholders, budgets, etc. I took a break before I started editing my first draft but when I go back now to work on it, I feel like all my creativity has been zapped. I still feel motivated but when I start editing, my mind goes to thinking about deadlines at work. And it’s not just editing - this book I was engrossed with over the past few weeks, I am still getting distracted with thoughts of work while reading.

Work gives me a lot of anxiety in general because there is a lot of manufactured urgency so I am trying to manage my relationship with it. Just curious if others who work full time experience the same thing.

Impressum. Du musst in deinem buch und online ein impressum angeben. Aber wie soll ich das machen wenn ich a) ohne verlag veröffentlichen will und b) nicht meinen echten namen online sagen will?!

I’ve always been drawn to reading thrillers and mysteries, and my writing tends to follow suit. Today I was randomly pondering the possibility that a totally different genre– say sappy romance– could actually suit my skills better but I’d never know because I would never try?

Has anyone experienced this? I think it’s natural to want to write what we want to read.

hi! ♡ does anyone here write on substack? i just joined yesterday and would love to find fellow writers to be mutuals with, and support one another’s work. let me know if you’re interested, i’d love to connect! c:

I recently just finished my first rough draft of my book. Yay me! But as I'm starting the 2nd rough draft does anyone have any advice or recommendations? Specifically, when it comes to editing or focus. I'm a completely novice writer and this is my first time doing a project this big. Any help is much appreciated.

Not the typical 'diary' or 'letters' like truly unconventional.