I Kind Of Suck At Tagging, So I Made This Infographic To Help Make It Easier.

Some advice as a discovery writer is to outline.

I update my outline after every scene because I make everything up as I go and change everything, but I need to know where I'm going in order to know how to start a scene.

Only do the major plot beats if you really can't outline, but try it. Some benefits may include:

Strong pacing

Confidence in scenes

Knowing your subplots

Foreshadowing

Less editing

Less writer's block/easier to overcome

It can also take a bit of practice and finding what works best for you, writing doesn't have rules.

Once more for the fanfic writers...

There is no wrong or right way of doing this fanfic-writing thing. Free yourself in 2025 by embracing whatever sort of writer you are.

If you can only post a story once a year or you want to post everyday, it's okay.

Whether you can only write drabbles or 100k stuff, it's okay.

Maybe your strength lies in writing fantasy, or romance or adventure, or non graphic smut, or omergaverse, or whatever kinky stuff there is out there, or comedy, or musical, medieval stuff, etc., it's okay.

Whether you're in a large or a tiny fandom, it's okay.

There is an audience for everything and everyone. It's not possible to dip one's toes in everything. Things can be learned and you can diversify if you really want to do more things with your writing. There is no gun to your head though. Even our favorite artists aren't good at everything.

It seems like recently there is so much pressure on fanfic writers to write certain stuff, in a certain way and for certain fandoms.

Let's not forget that from the get-go fanfic-writing is a FUN HOBBY and hence the secret is for you to write what you want to write, how you want to write it, when you want to write it and for whatever fandom you love.

Learn the Differences Between Novelettes, Novellas, and Novels

Since I am currently in the process of writing a story, but I'm not sure what I want it to be... I'd figure I'd go ahead and share the differences!

So let's get to it!

Writing the first draft of a novel can be a daunting, arduous task. That’s why the novelette format can be so appealing. In many ways, a novelette is like a short novel. It allows writers to hone their craft by learning how to tell stories under a strict word count restriction.

What Is a Novelette?

The definition of “novelette” is any short, fictional work of prose narrative. Novelettes have a lower number of words than a novel or novella, but a higher word count than other forms of prose fiction like short stories or microfiction. Despite lacking the page count of a full-length novel, novelettes generally tell a complete story. Some people refer to novelettes as “long short stories” or “short novellas.”

How Long Is a Novelette?

Any work of fiction with a word count between 7,500 and 19,000 is generally considered a novelette. A novelette is longer than a short story, which usually has a word range of between 1,000 and 7,500 words, and flash fiction, which is usually under 1,000 words. Any piece of creative writing that is longer than a novelette but shorter than a novel is considered a novella.

Three Differences Between Novelettes and Novellas

A novella is a standalone piece of fiction that is shorter than a full-length novel but longer than a short story or novelette. Novellas incorporate many narrative and structural elements of novel-length stories—but like novelettes, they often focus on single points of view, focusing on a single central conflict, and rely on fast pacing. Here are the differences between novelettes and novellas:

Word count: The primary difference between a novelette and a novella, then, is word count (novelettes are shorter than novellas).

Subject matter: Traditionally, novelettes tended to focus on whimsical, sentimental themes. The modern-day novelette, though, is more like the novella in that it can encompass different genres like sci-fi, drama, or historical short fiction.

Complexity: In terms of storytelling ambition, novelettes tend to split the difference between novellas and shorter forms like short stories. Novelettes tend to have a greater focus on character development, worldbuilding, and plotting than short stories. However, the stories are generally more concise and focused than a novella-length work, as the word count is often too restrictive to tell a long story.

Three Differences Between Novellas and Novels

The most obvious difference between novels and novellas is page length and number of words. However, beyond this superficial difference, many structural and thematic hallmarks of novellas make them their own standalone genre of writing. Some of these include:

 A single central conflict: Most novellas explore a single, compelling central conflict. Because of their shorter length, novellas have less time to explore subplots and tend to focus on the main plot. Novellas generally have one main character and a handful of secondary characters. Because of length constraints, most of the character development will be focused on the protagonist.

 Fast pacing: Novellas usually move at a quick pace. Whereas novels can spend time diverging from the central conflict to delve into backstory and explore multiple points of view, novellas generally offer a quick compelling story with a singular point of view.

Unity of time and place: When writing novellas, writers should root the action in continuous time within a limited space, ideally one location.

Benefits of Writing a Novelette

For short story writers or people who generally write shorter works, novelettes can be an opportunity to tell a longer-form, standalone story. For writers who are used to writing, say, full-length science fiction or fantasy novels, the word count restriction of a novelette offers a chance to tell a good story with a simple cast of characters and few subplots.

Seven Examples of Novelettes

Novelette writers know how to tell a complete story in a relatively short amount of time. Here are some famous examples of novelettes, many of which were originally published in literary magazines:

The Fall of the House of Usher by Edgar Allan Poe (1839)

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson (1886)

The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka (1915)

The Call Of Cthulhu by H. P. Lovecraft (1928)

The Little Prince by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry (1943)

Bloodchild by Octavia E. Butler (1995)

Hell Is the Absence of God by Ted Chiang (2001)

I hope this helps! Thank you for still being my followers and patiently waiting for a post!

If there’s a piece of writing you love, that makes you wish you had the ability to do what it does, the tools you're looking for are inside the story itself. Fiction is rarely mysterious in how it works. All you have to do is pay attention with the right mindset.

What you’re looking for is cause and effect, set-up and pay off. What does that piece of dialogue set up a) within the scene and b) later in the narrative? What purpose does this moment serve for the story as a whole? Can you identify the turning points within the scene and the turning points in the larger narrative? How do they fit together? You’ll find these things tend to fall into general patterns. Don’t get distracted by focusing on character details, analysis, or speculation! Fandom tends to overemphasize character to the exclusion of everything else. You probably already know how to analyze characters, but how much time do you spend thinking about the mechanics of the narrative? If you can figure out what makes the stories you love work, you can teach yourself to do any kind of storytelling you want to.

How can I become a writer?

Write.

But I don't know where to start.

Write.

But I'm worried.

WRITE.

What if nobody likes it?

W R I T E

What if it's not very good?

Write. Write. WRITE. WRITE.

W

R

I

T

E

Write

Write. Write. Write. Write. Write. Write.

Write.

Write

Write

Write

Write

Write

Write

Write

Write

W R I T E

Write write write

Write

Write

Reign's Writing Tips

Pt 1 - General advice

I just want to say first, as a disclaimer, that I don't regard myself as the authority on 'good' writing, I've just gotten quite a few people asking for help and people expressing curiosity for my creative process.

Please don't consider this as a checklist and feel like you're doing things wrong, this is just a way for you to get a sense of where to begin and conceptualise where you'd like to be. We're all on different paths and those paths are not more or less valid than others.

This guide will include examples from my own works and hypothetical ones, using only written fics (smaus have their own guide, please find it in my navigation). This also doesn't tackle how to write fanfiction specifically, just general fictional writing.

These are formatted based on the questions I received in my messages and inbox.

Content:

༯ How to show and not tell ༯ How to write dialogue ༯ How to increase word count and why you might want to ༯ Other advice ༯ Paragraph structuring ༯ Punctuations ༯ How to fix up typos ༯ How to get better generally ༯ Final disclaimers

How to show and not tell!

༯ Beginner writers, and indeed, established ones too, often forget the very important rule of showing and not telling. This rule, of course, refers to the idea of building up descriptions or hinting to a certain thought so that the readers may reach that conclusions themselves.

༯ It's important you trust your readers to be able to follow along on their own. Sometimes if you tell them what to think it can cause a disconnect between your writing and them.

༯ This is also a good way of varying your sentences and not coming off as repetitive.

Emotions

༯ Let's go through some examples via the art of expressing emotions.

Example: Pathetic piner!Gojo

Pathetic piner!Gojo asks, voice rough and distorted, “Did you sleep with him? Do you love him?”

༯ Here, we can see that there is no definitive emotion asserted. I didn't write 'Gojo asks, upset' or 'Angry, Gojo asks'

༯ Instead, I am describing his voice. Using the adjectives 'rough' and distorted' allows the readers to figure out for themselves how he's feeling without being too simplistic.

༯ Often, expressing emotion in this way is better than simply saying he's sad or confused because those words can't capture the complexity of his feelings.

༯ Now, let it be known that it can be just as good to be direct about a character's feelings. It is simply all about intention. What are you trying to convey here?

༯ Another important thing to note is that if your work is written in a certain narrative voice, i.e. first person, you should limit information to what that character could only know realistically.

༯ In the context of the above example, it is 'y/n' who is perceiving Gojo, thus it would only make sense that they'd have a limited understanding of how exactly Gojo is feeling. So, instead of them catching on immediately that he's upset, they instead can only note down these things that are out of the ordinary.

༯ Use body language to describe their emotional state.

More examples:

The corner of his mouth curved up = smiling, finding humour in something

His brows furrowed = confusion, concentration, tension

Her lips pursed = dissatisfaction, barely restrained anger

Hand flexed, jaw ticked, teeth bared = anger, thoughts of violence

Sniffled, bottom lip trembled = about to cry, sad, trying not to be

How to write dialogue!

༯ Vary your sentence structures

Example: Homecoming

“Sorry, Si.” He swings his arm around the back of your thighs, encouraging you to straddle him. “You just look so good.” He hums, letting you get settled in his lap whilst he rubs his thumb over the skin of your hip almost as if he can’t help himself. “Can look as much as y’ want, lovie. ‘m all y’rs.” 

༯ You can have speech at the beginning and at the end of a paragraph. Not in the middle though — it's messy and confusing if written in the middle because the dialogue gets lost in the paragraph (but note that you can do as you please. It's just one of those 'rules' that aren't really 'rules')

༯ You also don't need to use say/said and other variations of that. It's enough to simply have the speech enclosed.

༯ A good rule of thumb when using say/said/other variations is if there's something significant about the way in which it was said.

Example: A Cursed Forest

His amber eyes cut through yours, and with disdain, he orders, “Finish your food, and do not question me anymore.”

༯ Here, I introduce the speech with 'orders' to show that Sukuna (the character referred to as 'he') is not speaking kindly or like they are equals. It reasserts the power imbalance between the two characters. I also say that it is being said 'with disdain' to emphasise the tension between them, to give some kind of understanding as to his feelings towards the other character.

༯ It is also a way for me, as the writer, to add depth to the other character: she is able to recognise disdain because she has faced it her entire life.

༯ Another thing to be aware of when making dialogue is restrict one paragraph to one character's speech. Please don't do multiple people speaking in one section. It's very messy, confusing and not 'proper.' Again, if that is how you like things, perfectly fine! It's your style, but if you care about doing things 'right' then yeah, one person's speech per paragraph please.

How to increase the word count!

༯ I didn't actually know to phrase this so I'll just yap about what I mean

༯ There are going to be instances where you'd like to space out dialogue so it's not coming off like a script.

Example:

He said, "You need to do your homework." "I don't want to." "You must, young lady." "Says who?" "Go to your room!"

༯ Try to avoid, as much as possible, having lots of clusters of these one sentence conversations.

༯ Once in a while is fine and can be effective in expressing something like the speed at which these words are being exchanged, exploring their tense dynamic.

༯ But if snappiness isn't what you're going for and you find that you're having lots of these clusters then fill the spaces between dialogue with details and descriptions.

Example:

Tired yet insistent, he said, "You need to do your homework." "I don't want to." "You must, young lady." Clare's father was always nagging at her. She thought it unfair, considering she had just turned sixteen and ought to be treated like the young lady that she was. Capable and intelligent, she could decide for herself how she was to spend her evenings. "Says who?" "Go to your room!" He roared. Her legs took her upstairs faster than she could process the fright he had given her. Never in all of her life had her father ever raised his voice like that; she knew not what to do. He was a mild-mannered man, not timid or passive, but rather, calm and rational. To see him in a fit of rage so volatile, shook Clare's constitution to no end that night.

༯ Use body language descriptors, describe the weather, the room they're in etc.

༯ What are the characters seeing and experiencing?

༯ Don't write it as if you're a fly on the wall if you've taken on a specific pov. Embody the character. See what they see, hear what they hear, feel for them. They aren't 2D characters, bring them to life with anecdotes, with thought processes, anxieties and fears.

༯ Another instance where you'd like to fill up the word count might be if you're trying to give the sense of time passing.

Example: In Sheep's Clothing

“Well, you should still afford me the decency of leaving my home when asked.” “Your home? Didn’t know the old lady gave it away.” You gulp, clutching the thick blanket even tighter. “You knew my grandmother?” He grunts.  Well aware you really ought to kick him out, you’re ashamed at the realisation that you can’t bring yourself to. It’s awfully terrible outside and there’s no doubt the elements would claim him if he he’s left out with no shelter. And if he wanted to kill you, he could have done that before. And at any rate, it’s too late to do anything about it now. He knows you’re alone and there’s nowhere you can run to before the snow freezes your limbs.  “Is it good?” You ponder. Settling back down onto the sofa, you just watch him eat. He’s grabbed a second helping.

༯ This example is actually not the final product. It was my first draft where wolf hybrid!toji is eating and conversing with a woman/y/n he has found himself stuck with during a snow storm.

༯ I thought it awkward in showing that he's eating. Sure, it could seem like he's eating really fast but it felt unrealistically fast, even given the context so I knew I wanted to fill in the space.

༯ Instead of talking on and on about how he's eating, I chose to dedicate this section with y/n's thoughts.

༯ One, descriptions of someone eating gets boring very fast

༯ Two, it would be extremely unrealistic for reader to just accept that this man will be staying with her with just one paragraph of thinking.

༯ Three, the concept of being hybrid needed to consistently matter in the story. So I chose to fill the details with exposition on that aspect of the story

Here is the final product:

“Well, you should still afford me the decency of leaving my home when asked.” “Your home? Didn’t know the old lady gave it away.” You gulp, clutching the thick blanket even tighter. “You knew my grandmother?” He grunts.  Well aware you really ought to kick him out, you’re ashamed at the realisation that you can’t bring yourself to. It’s awfully terrible outside and there’s no doubt the elements would claim him if he he’s left out with no shelter. Though, that really shouldn’t be your responsibility and there is still, of course, the glaring concern of his ability to kill you. One sweep of his figure and you know this towering man, tall and muscular, could snap your neck with one hand.  Or worse. Not to mention, he’s a hybrid. You can tell by the twitching of his ears and his nose, like he’s hearing and smelling things inscrutable by the human senses. You wonder what he is. He has no triangular ears or fluffy tail like a dog, he doesn’t have eyes like a cat, no scales that you can see, but his teeth, when he scrapes them along the spoon, you know they’re much sharper than you’d like to ever find out.  If he wanted to kill you, he could have done that before. And at any rate, it’s too late to do anything about it now. He knows you’re alone and there’s nowhere you can run to before the snow freezes your limbs.  Settling back down onto the sofa, you just watch him eat. He’s grabbed a second helping, enjoying the meat more than the potatoes and carrots in there but that’s expected of a man. It does mean, though, that he’s not a herbivore hybrid. You wonder if he likes the taste of a woman’s flesh.  “Is it good?” You ponder. 

༯ Hopefully, in this example you can get a sense of how 'rambling' can be useful in delivering specific effects.

༯ Note: too much dialogue can be bad. We need description and details to fill up the mind. Don't be afraid to give the details you'd like to give if you think it's important.

༯ Alternatively, not enough dialogue can also be bad. Too many thick paragraphs can disengage a reader and many people look forward to dialogue because it's much easier to process than chunks of information.

Other advice!

Paragraph structure

༯ Vary your paragraphs with one sentences and longer sections. Having too many thick paragraphs can be quite boring. Apart from aesthetics, these different length sections can provide a function.

Example: Lying To Himself

The guys at work know better than to open their fat mouths around him when he turns up with an extra wrinkle and a ticking in his jaw. Toji is somehow even more sadistic and violent and eager for blood. Even finally accepts their invitation to go out for drinks and drowns himself in the extra strong shit. Assuming he just woke up on the wrong side of the bed, they don’t question his sour mood.  But what they don’t know is that you texted, just a day before you’re set to come back, to let him know you’re staying another week.  Fucking texted.  Didn’t even get to hear it from your own voice. 

༯ Longer paragraphs can cluster all these actions, detailing the things Toji has gotten up to and summarising how an unspecified time has passed. By condensing his days into one decently sized paragraph, a reader can gain the sense that his days have been monotonous and repetitive without even needing to read every part of it.

༯ The short, two word line is impactful and has been separated from the paragraph before it to deliver the punchiness. Here, Toji is angry. You can get this a) from the swear word but also from b) the fact that it's a two word sentence.

༯ It mimics the way one would grit out as they repeat information they dislike. Readers can very easily picture his face and his mental/emotional state just from two words.

༯ Another thing is to vary your paragraph openings.

A bad example:

He walked up to me, upset and clearly with choice words to deliver. No one else in the diner spared him a second glance. But I have no choice. I'm shaking with fear. He looks ready to punch me. The way his hand is balled into a fist is damn near pushing me to piss my pants. Surely, he wouldn't hit me here, right? There are witnesses. It would be stupid.

A better variation of this:

Walking up to me, upset and clearly with choice words to deliver, no one else in the diner spares him a second glance. But I have no choice. Fear shakes me from within. He looks ready to punch me. Hand balled into a fist, I'm damn near pushed to the edge of pissing my pants. Surely, he wouldn't hit me here, right? Witnesses are around us. Stupid. It would be stupid. Right?

༯ Words like he/she/they/the/it/then are overused sentence openers. They are perfectly fine to use, of course. I am not saying avoid them altogether.

༯ What I am saying, however, is change it up to make it interesting.

༯ Begin a sentence with an action verb like walking rather than simply 'he walked.'

Punctuations

༯ Try to use semi-colons, colons and dashes but read up on how to use them correctly. It's easily Googled. It's not a major issue, it's just a way of varying your writing and making it more interesting.

༯ When using quotation marks, commas and full-stops go before the quotation.

Like so:

"Pick me. Choose me. Love me."

"I love you," she confessed.

Quivering, he asks, "Do you hate me?"

༯ Again, not major issues, but just for cleanliness.

How to fix up these typos and messiness

༯ I write in my Notes app first and then I paste my work in Word just to see the blue and red underlines. It allows me to visualise where there are mistakes so that I don't have to read every word with great focus, I can just skim as I proofread

༯ You can also use things like Grammarly, though I generally wouldn't want to encourage you to use AI to edit your work for you. It's just an option if you need it.

༯ The best trick is to just learn how to follow these rules to do with syntax and language. Watch tutorials online and when reading works online or books, think critically about how things are formatted.

༯ This leads me to my next and final advice in this part

How get better generally

༯ Read more!

༯ But don't just absentmindedly consume media, engage critically.

༯ Ask yourself these questions:

What is it about this piece of work that you like?

What's the style of writing the author has chosen? Is that their general style or have they chosen something specific for this work?

Why is this work more popular than another?

How do their sentences begin?

Is the writing full of prose?

Is it too much prose for my liking?

Oh, there's a particular bit that made me feel scared and uncomfortable, how did they do that? Is it their sentence structure? The adjectives they chose? Is it the build up of tension? If it's the tension, how did they achieve that in the previous paragraphs?

That made me giggle, how did they manage to be so funny?

Is that how I would have written it? If I had done it my way, would the impact still have been the same?

What if I try writing in their style?

Final disclaimers!

༯ You don't have to follow all of this or even any of this. Just having read this and reflected on your writing is a great place to start. If you know who you are as a writer, then you'll be much better placed to express your ideas

༯ Writing is a journey. Most people will look back on their beginning and think damn I was so bad at writing. But that's just a great way of knowing you've come far.

༯ There is no wrong or right way to write, no matter what people say. Even if you write unconventionally and make lots of typos and errors, there might still be many people who enjoy your works.

༯ Don't try to be someone else. It sounds cheesy to say be yourself, but it's true. We need more diversity in writing. My favourite works, the ones who left a mark on me, who shaped me, are all so different from each other.

༯ Don't be afraid to experiment and try something new. Find yourself however it takes.

༯ If you're writing on here or a similar platform, you'll be opening yourself to being perceived. Establish your boundaries from the start. Are you open to feedback? It's completely fine if you are not. Some people aren't here to 'get better,' they're just here to have fun.

༯ And if you are open to feedback, it's absolutely okay to feel upset by what you hear/read. Just remember that a lot of these critiques are founded on preferences and some critics might have just misunderstood your works. There is no supreme authority on right and wrong here. No one knows everything. No one is perfect.

If you have any questions, things you'd like covered in a next part, please share them. Thank you to everyone who contributed to this by asking questions and being candid about their struggles.

I hope this helped and I wish everyone the very best in their writing journey

Happy writing!

Writers

10 Magazines That Pay for Fiction

Start Building Your Portfolio

My goal for this year is to take everything I've learned over the last 15 years, put it together, and start working towards publication. With that in mind, I've been doing some research into magazines that pay for fiction.

I figured it might be of interest to others, too, so I wrote a short article with links to the relevant magazines submission guidelines to streamline the process.

You must stay drunk on writing so reality cannot destroy you.

Ray Bradbury, Zen in the Art of Writing

Any tips you’d give to other pantsers/discovery writers?

hi anon!

so without much ornamentation, let me tell you this: being a pantser/discovery writer doesn't make you any less of a writer. it doesn't make you less passionate, serious, or committed to writing. you are a writer if you're writing; you are one even if you're only brainstorming or carrying a few characters in your head. you are a writer if somewhere in your heart you feel like you are one. don't let anyone tell you otherwise!

now for a few tips to help you feel less confused and alone in the process of writing your book –

it is okay to not know where you're going. the journey you're embarking on will be beautiful beyond your expectations, so try to loosen up a little and let go of your anxieties.

if you're still anxious, try to take it one step at a time. you don't have to constantly be thinking about the ending/destination. try to figure out what lies right in front of you. what's the next scene? what's a character relationship that you want to explore? what dialogue would you like to include? take small steps that will eventually lead you to the end and be mindful of them.

expect to be blank. sometimes, you can be completely out of tune with your book and it doesn't mean it's going to be like that forever. writing your book is important but it's equally important to take breaks, listen to music or watch shows that remind you of your book, stay hydrated, eat that meal, reward yourself for the things you've done, and do nothing.

when things aren't working out, let it rest for some time. a fresh brain is essential for a pantser because you need so much headspace (or bandwidth as i like to call it) to be able to daydream your own book into existence.

do not laze around too much. if you're a pantser, you might fall into the trap of just waiting for the muse to hit you, but the truth is, it won't. get started on the book, sit down to work on it, immerse yourself in the world as much as you can. make an effort to bring your story to life.

allow yourself the time it needs to write your book. it is okay if you can't write a book in thirty days. or months. or years. every story needs its space and every writer takes their time. don't rush it.

being a pantser means you're testing out the waters as you go, so here's a little pat on the back for being brave and strong and unapologetically you!

– ann.

Request~ short comic in which luffy cooks for his brothers but it looks horrible and ace and sabo stomachs the food because they love lu too much

who let this boy into the kitchen