I've had friends ask me for writing tips a lot, most recently about 2 days ago.

So I'm gonna make a thread about some things that will help out any writers who just need a nudge in the right direction or just want a second opinion. I won't insult you all, either. :>

1. Try to write a little bit every day. Getting something down on your processor of choice will help you more than you'd think. Sometimes you'll even come up with great ideas you can expand on later, even if it's just a ramble. Practice makes perfect after all!

2. Always plan your stories out, but be prepared if your characters end up going off the rails. Being flexible but still adhering to your plans is an invaluable skill for a writer! You may find out that your story goes better once your characters take the wheel for a while!

3. Don't be afraid to try new things. Branching out to different genres or even writing styles may be scary at first, but the experience of trying out new things will make your skills grow faster and better than you'd expect.

4. Don't be afraid to be detailed in descriptions, but don't let descriptions take over your narrative. You can tell the audience what the room looks like and the character's appearance, but don't spend half an hour going over every little detail. That kills audience interest.

5. Have fun with your writing! Don't be afraid to include your own little jokes or having your characters take some time off. Write things you like too, enjoy the writing process. Having fun is the most important part of writing, if you have fun, others will too!

6. Something I found to really help: MUSIC. Listening to music or ASMR as you write can really help a writer get into the zone. Coffee shop? Library? Fireplace? Mall? The ambience of sound and music as you craft your story can influence you to make your writing more authentic.

7. Don't worry about spelling and grammar. Get your first draft out and get everything out and on that page! Once your first draft is done, then you go back and fix the spelling and grammar. You might find better ways to phrase something during that process. Keep at it!

8. Using an outside source or a program to help with writing is perfectly okay to do. Having a friend look over your work and give some help is also okay! There are lots of ways to write, and all of them are valid.

9. When making your characters, don't name them first. Figure out their background, personality, and the future you have planned out for them first. From there, figure out their appearance THEN the name. The appearance and name can then have a bigger connection to who they are.

10. Try to step into the shoes of your characters, visualize what they feel, what they say, and how they act. Don't let them be flat unless it's a style choice (be careful). Your characters should get development and be dynamic, a strong character can help your story massively.

11. Using shipping tropes when you write is perfectly fine to do, but don't make the trope the entire point of your ship. Try to branch out of the trope at times to establish a better connection with the ship. Try to figure out what the ship has to offer beyond their base.

12. Not everyone is going to like your writing. But there will always be someone who will, people will like your work if you put in the effort and love what you do. A work that has care and love put into it will be conveyed to the reader. I promise.

13. Not every person who has something negative to say about your work is out to get you. I struggle with this too, but try to listen to the criticism you receive, this is your chance to fix something that you might not have known. But if they tell you to kys and you suck... No.

14. ALWAYS DO YOUR RESEARCH! If you are writing about something you don't know, then look it up. If you feel like you aren't portraying something right, look it up. Looking up anything to help make your writing more authentic should be taken! From laws, British monarchy, etc.

15. The difference between representation and fetishization. You can write about a topic and tell the side of the topic, but don't write about a topic if you just want to get your rocks off. Topic can be anything from current events, mental and physical issues, etc. Be respectful

16. Don't let other people tell you what you can and can't write. Writing is an expression of the soul, of the self. It is art and should be treated like art, freedom of expression. Write what you want, tell the story you want. Don't let others tell you that you can't.

17. Try to not include something in your writing just because someone tells you to. Or like you are checking off a list. If something doesn't belong in your story, then it just doesn't. That's okay! This is your story! You can write and not include the kitchen sink if you'd like!

18. Who cares if you write another medieval fantasy world with elves, dwarves and orcs? There are people out there who love that! Just try to mix it up a little, like the orcs being a peaceful woodland race, the elves are gangsters and dwarves are Australian. HAVE FUN WITH IT!

19. I'm not saying Dragons don't make everything better, but Dragons can make your story better if you can make it fit. You are master of your domain and if banker dragons who give people loans and sit on piles of gold and go to lunch dates fits then it fits. Your rules are law.

20. Not every villain needs a tragic backstory, but not every villain has to be 2 dimensional. Whatever fits your story, fits. Unless the villain is your protagonist, be careful that the villain doesn't hijack your story. SCANDALOUS.

21. Paragraphs have themes. A paragraph should focus on a certain subject and sentences that talk about this subject are included. But if your paragraph changes subject halfway through, divide them. Same with dialogue and character thought. Dividing them makes the story coherent.

22. THERE IS NOTHING WRONG WITH BEING HORNY ON MAIN. If you like writing sexy characters, then you like writing sexy characters! If it makes sense for everyone to wear bikini armor in your setting, including the men and monsters, then do it! You get a thong, you get a thong-

23. Don't be afraid to hurt your characters. Bad stuff is going to happen to them one way or the other, and having a character who never goes through any duress makes for a boring character and narrative. It does not make you a bad person if you hurt your characters.

24. If your characters get hurt, don't just ignore the ramifications. They should remember what happened, they should be affected by it, they should fear it. The trauma of their hurt doesn't just magically disappear, work through it. If it stops a main plot point, work around it!

25. It's okay for your characters to be horny on main. They're people and people tend to get horny and make bad decisions. Unless they're an alien who is above that. But either way, your characters should allowed to have sex or fuck around and find out. Let them make mistakes!

26. It's also okay for you to write a story about sexy ladies or sexy men or sexy aliens if that's your thing. "I just really like girls." "I just love burly men." "I love tentacles" are all valid, it's your story after all!

Embrace your flavour.

27. Your writing will be different compared to the writing of other people from other countries outside your own. But it's okay. You can show off your own knowledge, your own culture, your own talents to everyone else. They might not get it, but you can guide them! Do your best!

28. Your chosen setting and genre won't appeal to everyone, but again, that's okay! There are lots of people and lots of writing projects out there! You'll always have an audience as long as you are interesting and you love what you do!

29. Want to know what else is okay? Taking a break. If you find you can't get anything out or you have revised the same sentence 40 times, it's okay to take a break for a week or two to recharge. Taking a step back and getting your mind off your project sometimes helps you out.

30. Sometimes we have to admit that perhaps our planned out story and ending are rubbish about halfway into the project. It happens. But instead of binning the entire thing, try and go back and see what you can change or what new ending you can draft. Don't give up!

31. If your story has a game changing, world breaking object introduced halfway through your story that would have had an impact on said story if it was introduced earlier but was just in the pocket of a character and wasn't brought out until now... Don't. Don't be JK Rowling.

32. Are you just as valid only having your lore and world-building barely fit a post-it note compared to your friend who has a binder of lore for their setting? Yes, you are valid. If your story can't fit a lot of world building, it's okay, but remember that might bite you later.

33. I might talk a lot about your characters having precedence, but even I will admit that plot can sometimes come before your characters. Sometimes the world ending is more important than your love triangle, no matter how fun and fascinating it is. :P

34. ALWAYS. PAY. ATTENTION. TO. YOUR. WORD. CHOICES.

I say can and sometimes a lot, this is due to how many variables there are in writing and how every story will have different circumstances. Even in your story, a single word can dismantle your narrative. Can will should, etc.

35. Might be controversial, but try to not date your writing by talking about whatever current trend or political ideal is currently pervading your home. This can ostracize your readers who might not know about this subject, especially in the future. Craft allegories instead.

36. Show don't tell is the golden rule in writing. Don't tell your readers everything, show them hints, guide them through your maze of lies and truths, let go of their hands and leave them there. Let them figure it out themselves. Your readers are smarter than you think

37. Just like how we don't fully understand how the human mind works, sometimes we won't ever understand how certain characters or villains or monsters work in your story. It's okay to have something that is unknowable, something we can't understand.

38. For every good quality or power you give to a character, try to give them one bad quality or a detriment to them to balance them out. A sad backstory is not enough for a character to be balanced, there must be equal amounts of good and bad for a well rounded character.

39. Not every character or race or setting or flower vase is an allegory to a real life thing. Sometimes it's just you having fun. But it's also fun to make everything an allegory and never telling anyone what it is and watching the chaos unfold. BE THE MASTERMIND IF YOU'D LIKE!

40. Last one: no matter how hard it gets, how much you feel like you can't finish your writing and you feel as if no one likes your writing... Don't give up. We all have those days where we feel like we can't do anything right. We can't let it drag us down, so don't ever give up.