Some Of My Writer’s Block Cures:

Okay, this never happens. I just sat down for a solid 3 and a half hours and wrote a fic from start to end in a draft format that closely resembles mid-draft as opposed to first draft. My concentration never wavered.

I’m afraid

Top Tips for Clues, Red Herrings, and Breadcrumbs

One of the most important parts of writing MYSTERY is figuring out what to do with clues and red herrings - and how to use them effectively. Here’s some advice that’s never steered me wrong: 

Hide the real clue before the false ones! Most people, so by extent your readers and your sleuth, tend to focus on the last piece of information presented to them. A good strategy is to mention/show your real clue and then quickly shift focus. 

Do a clue cluster! Squeeze your real clue in among a whole pile of red herrings or other clues, effectively hiding it in plain sight. This works especially well with multiple suspect mysteries. 

Struggling to think of what a clue could be? Try this list: 

Physical objects: Letters, notes, tickets, emails, keepsakes, text messages, diaries, etc. 

Dialogue: voicemail recordings, overheard conversations, hearsay, gossip, rumours. All of these can hold grains of truth! 

Red herrings distract and confound your protagonist and your reader, so you should be careful not to overuse them. Well balanced, red herrings should lead your characters down false paths to create confusion, tension, and suspense.

Contradictions! Have characters claim they did so-and-so at such-and-such a time, but other characters have evidence that contradicts this.

Balance! Avoid a clue that’s so obvious it’s like a neon sign saying “Look at me, I’m a clue!” but don’t make it so obscure it’ll be missed entirely. A good clue should leave a reader saying “Damn, I should have noticed that” 

here have 10 pieces of writing advice that have stuck with me over the years

every character’s first line should be an introduction to who they are as a person

even if you only wrote one sentence on a really bad day, that’s still one sentence more than you had yesterday

exercise restraint when using swear words and extra punctuation in order for them to pack a punch when you do use them

if your characters have to kiss to show they’re in love, then they’re not in love

make every scene interesting (or make every scene your favorite scene), otherwise your readers will be just as bored as you

if you’re stuck on a scene, delete the last line you wrote and go in a different direction, or leave in brackets as placeholders

don’t compare your first draft to published books that could be anywhere from 3rd to 103rd drafts

i promise you the story you want to tell can fit into 100k words or less

sometimes the book isn’t working because it’s not ready to be written or you’re not ready to write it yet; let it marinate for a bit so the idea can develop as you become a better writer

a story written in chronological order takes a lot more discipline and is usually easier to understand than a story written with flashbacks

do you know of any clothing brands that are for plus sized men? pretty much all the articles ive seen talking about "the BEST plus sized brands!!!" are basically exclusively womens clothing brands

So true!! I’m glad you asked! Here are some stores I found for plus sized men’s clothing!

bearskn

Chubstr

King Size

Gc2b - plus size binders!

ASOS

Big Boy Season 365

Boohoo Men’s

Bonobos

DXL

Target

Johnny Bigg

SHEIN Men’s

Limitless XL

Old Navy

Wrangler

Bad Rhino

How to draw clothing material folds, creases, tension points and depth

Credit: Cvenart

I wish kinky sex ed wasn't so stigmatized even among left-leaning "sex positive" circles. Everyone's all "uwu I'm a sub I'll do anything you ask" okay mommy wants you to read The New Bottoming Book so you learn how to sub without hurting yourself since your sex ed up to this point is porn and your ex boyfriend Jared who liked to choke you incorrectly

Hey GMs, when your players beat a legendary monster start spreading rumors about them. Just for fun. Try it.

One of them deals the finishing blow to a mercenary warlord intent on ravaging a countryside and burning villages to the ground. The people in that area start calling them "the peacemaker". They don't even know the character's name. Just the legend. The story that some stranger risked their life for no apparent reason and brought peace to the land.

Another player beheads a mind flayer that had been hiding in plain sight in the city. They earn the nickname "octopus". The name becomes feared in the criminal underbelly of the city as someone that feels no fear, sees through all enchantments, and strikes without warning.

One player character outsmarts a vampire, knowing they stood no chance in overpowering it. The vampire is good on its word upon losing their game of wits and absconds to more obscure realms, though the character knows their for us far from done. Nonetheless, the character earns the nickname "the bloodless", a figure the vampire could not consume. It carries the impression of a cold and calculating personality, one people are not eager to cross.

Ref Recs for Whump Writers

Violence: A Writer’s Guide:  This is not about writing technique. It is an introduction to the world of violence. To the parts that people don’t understand. The parts that books and movies get wrong. Not just the mechanics, but how people who live in a violent world think and feel about what they do and what they see done.

Hurting Your Characters: HURTING YOUR CHARACTERS discusses the immediate effect of trauma on the body, its physiologic response, including the types of nerve fibers and the sensations they convey, and how injuries feel to the character. This book also presents a simplified overview of the expected recovery times for the injuries discussed in young, otherwise healthy individuals.

Body Trauma: A writer’s guide to wounds and injuries. Body Trauma explains what happens to body organs and bones maimed by accident or intent and the small window of opportunity for emergency treatment. Research what happens in a hospital operating room and the personnel who initiate treatment. Use these facts to bring added realism to your stories and novels.

10 B.S. Medical Tropes that Need to Die TODAY…and What to Do Instead: Written by a paramedic and writer with a decade of experience, 10 BS Medical Tropes covers exactly that: clichéd and inaccurate tropes that not only ruin books, they have the potential to hurt real people in the real world. 

Maim Your Characters: How Injuries Work in Fiction: Increase Realism. Raise the Stakes. Tell Better Stories. Maim Your Characters is the definitive guide to using wounds and injuries to their greatest effect in your story. Learn not only the six critical parts of an injury plot, but more importantly, how to make sure that the injury you’re inflicting matters. 

Blood on the Page: This handy resource is a must-have guide for writers whose characters live on the edge of danger. If you like easy-to-follow tools, expert opinions from someone with firsthand knowledge, and you don’t mind a bit of fictional bodily harm, then you’ll love Samantha Keel’s invaluable handbook

Skintones tutorial is up now!!🫶🏻🫶🏼🫶🏽🫶🏾🫶🏿

200 pages on skintones, skin, and everything in between!

Skintones

Skintones + Color Fundamentals

Coloring Portraits Worksheet

(I generally rec the color fundamentals too cuz some stuff I don’t repeat in the skintones!)

I talk about how to color skin, color picking and blending modes but also how to not use either lol, tips on coloring skin, how 2 avoid whitewashing. Cel shading, painting, coloring any skintone in any style

3 PSDs have been provided along with 2 procreate timelapses and 3 skin tone palettes for procreate and CSP! With the screenshots of the palettes for any other program!

The portrait worksheet is 7 portrait lineart/inks that you can color/paint over. Some have guidelines that you can follow like planes of the face. Some stylized, some more detailed.

If this does well I’ll consider doing other worksheets cuz I think they are a fun way to learn!

the elusive 7 act Structure