"Don't put numbers into your stories." Jeezus.
I was midway through my answer when I realized this would be a good opportunity for a quick guide.
Honestly, I think the OP was probably a bit of a tongue-in-cheek, hyperbolic rant from a writer who had a frustrating review or critique. The problem is, a lot of people seem to be taking it as genuine/good advice, and that really concerns me.
Obviously, it's fine to be vague about dates, ages, distances, or anything else if that's what you want to do. But don't leave numbers out because you're not willing to do the work to keep your story's details straight. Doing the work to figure that stuff out and keep it straight is part of your job as a serious writer.
Look, I get it... when you're excited about a story idea, you just want to go wild and start writing. But if your story uses real world people, events, locations, items, or other elements--or heavily relies on them as inspiration--you need to sit down and do some research.
This doesn't mean you have to choose exact dates for your story if you don't want to. But if your story is loosely set in the 1880s (or inspired by an 1880s setting,) you'd better have a good idea of what did and did not exist in the 1880s so you can be sure you're not using a 1914 fashion trend or 1700s slang.
And, doing research doesn't mean you have to research every single element of your story before you start writing. You can stop and research as you go. In the middle of my writing session tonight, I spent 15 minutes researching what kind of pine tree would grow near the coast in my WIP's inspiration setting. And even though that location will never be named in my story, I care about my writing enough to take the time to make sure my details are accurate.
WQA’s Guide to Internet Research Researching an Historical Topic Writing About Difficult to Research Topics
Whether or not you choose to be specific about dates in your story, I strongly advocate the use of a story timeline, even if you're not usually a "planner." Having a detailed story timeline (that includes important back story events) helps ensure that you don't mix up dates, lose track of how much time has passed between events, or create overlapping events.
There are loads of different ways you can create a timeline, and no way is better than any other. You can jot important dates and events down on post-its, use an app, draw out a timeline on a piece of paper, create something in Word... whatever you want to do is great! Here are some different timeline styles I've used. Some of these are timelines from actual WIPs.
Standard Line Timeline
Calendar Timeline (You can print these out at Time and Date...)
Basic Scene List & Timeline
Complex Scene List & Timeline (This one is based on Save the Cat!)
Color-Coded Timeline
And, if you're like me and you have trouble keeping character ages straight throughout important back story events, I give you...
The Color-Coded Character Age Chart
And, honestly, that's how you keep numbers and number-related details straight in your story. Research and timelines. It's just that simple!
So, don't be afraid to include numbers or number-related details in your story if you want them there. :)
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i feel like we as a meme-based society don’t give enough credit to the jokes we read that live in our head forever afterwards but that you don’t in turn incorporate into your daily lexicon
Art commission: RWBY Yang x EldenRing OC: Jack for @KellofK
Tried a bit of Lauren Groff’s style on this one. I don’t think I pulled it off 😂
Angsty fic of Onyx nudging mc’s body (she’s unable to come back in animal form) with her muzzle to try to wake her up. Like that scene in Game of Thrones when Drogon tries to wake Daenerys up
Written by @an-awkward-ghost
The sight was sickening.
MC was—is larger than life, someone that would fight tooth and nail to achieve what she wants. Onyx had always admired that about her. At some point in their relationship, Onyx felt less like the badass Envy Assassin she was and more like a lost little puppy MC had found on the street. She had crumbled more than once in her arms, cursing the world, her sister, her inability to do anything right.
She wasn’t that cool woman that had kissed MC one night, sparkling green eyes and a dimpled smile. She is a broken woman, left to rot, to fail, to hurt everyone she ever cared about, and now, now… the only person that had looked at all her faults and shrugged them off, that had welcomed her into a loving heart, was… she was…
Please, MC, she begged in her thoughts, please don’t leave me.
She just couldn’t process it. There was no way, no way, no way—
She crouched low to seek MC’s warmth, taken aback by the scent of death and sweat and blood, and her mind went blank, because how could this be, how could MC, how could someone as strong and determined and wonderful as her be—how could…
She pressed her snout against her rib, hoping against hope that she would feel it rise. She knew that if she listened for a few more seconds she’d hear her heart, her breathing, and her mouth was already opening to tell MC to stop scaring her, to wake up, but all that emerged from her were low growls and desperate roars. Her muzzle refused to form the words she wanted to say, and everything came out as a choked sound of pain and grief. She wanted to say it, she wanted to yell it, please, please, MC, don’t leave me, please stay, you’re going to be fine, I’m so sorry, so sorry, please—
MC’s body refused to give signs of life. Onyx wondered if she wasn’t looking hard enough, if MC was merely tired and would blink drowsily at her and laugh that bell-like laugh of hers. Her eyes. Onyx needed to see them, because surely… surely… that part of MC was still alive…
Onyx wondered if her eyes would look as dull and faded as dirt on a mountain, instead of the usual, warm orbs of chocolate she was so accustomed to seeing. Her claws sank deep into the earth, rooting Onyx in the spot.
Right. Right. MC’s eyes must be full of warmth still. They had to be, but Onyx couldn’t confirm it.
She stared hopelessly at MC’s closed eyelids, at the way her hands laid on her sides. She had the posture of death and eternal memory, and Onyx couldn’t unsee it now.
MC was—she was…
A small nudge. The body rolled easily into its side, no resistance, no nothing. Despite all her fur, the spot of muzzle that had touched MC’s body burned with cold.
Lovestruck: Here, have this villain in our new Sin With Me series. She's mean and controls demons and she's hot.
Me: Nice
LS: Oh, and if she touches anything living, she fucken incinerates it. This is both a weapon and a curse.
Me: SPICE
LS: Oh, and now she's getting her own route.
Me: Take my money
LS: Oh, and by the way, she's highly successful, and values human life despite what her actions may initially suggest. Also she leaves ridiculously good tips for service workers and literally robs the rich after seeing them laugh about firing a waiter and taking away their livelihood
Me: VILLAIN ROUTES ARE THE BES
*¼ through a fanfic* wait i’ve read this before
*2/4 through a fanfic* lol no i haven’t wtf is hapenning
* ¾ through fanfic* OMG I’VE READ THIS BEFORE
The spread of the black death.
“This reads like fanfiction (it feels like it was written by a preteen, and most of such things posted publicly are fanfic)” vs “This reads like fanfiction (it has a focus on character and relationships, like the style of a lot of modern fanfic)” vs “This reads like fanfiction (it keeps referencing people and events with the assumption that the audience is already familiar with them, like how fanfic doesn’t need to rehash the source material)”