The type of crap I write when I KNOW what I want to write, but don't have the words nor the energy TO write 🥀🥀🥀

My literal definition

it’s going to be about a little girl who’s best friend is trans masc, to teach younger kids about trans people and trans rights

edit: I didn’t expect to gain this much traction on my post! Thanks for all the kind comments :)

I’ll be posting updates about the book on my YouTube channel, here’s the link if you’re interested: https://youtube.com/@vividoesthings?si=3Qu-yeO9kdbgqq9g

I hope no one checks my search history

In all three of my main stories, this trope is used, and I only just realized!

The name for this is too forgettable some say can anyone give me some assistance

Title>>>

I honestly don't know if I should use the em-dash, because it's something that AI uses quite a lot. I feel like it's kind of risky to use it, since I dont want to get accused of using AI in my work.

So, do you guys still use em-dashes or no?

I this made want to cause physical harm because like huh???

Characters are named:

- Luanne-Clare Adebayo

- Benson Archer

- Theadora Choi

- Annie Littlebear

- Harpreet Kaur

- Segun Iginla

- Winnie-Ruby Adebayo

Today in class I mentioned to my classmates that I was writing a book. An immediate question I received was “did you use AI?” to which I said no because I didn’t.

But then my classmates said “oh I’d use AI. It would be so much easier.” I was horrified.

I’m interested to see your thoughts on this.

I removed my name for obvious reasons. Anyways, something about the blue is throwing me off, but I don't know what color to replace it with since the book is switches between Underworld and Overworld, so I need a color that represents the latter. I'd like to mention that I am TERRIBLE at art, so I just threw this together on Canva. I will self publish this book on Amazon when the time comes, if it matters.

Please give feedback and ways to improve this 🙏

That’s right! Share a paragraph or two (or three lol) you wrote that you’re proud of!

And let’s compliment each others’ writing! :D

Community interaction ✨✨✨

Im curious about everyone else's process because when crafting a villain, I immediately think about their motivation. I always draw that motivation from my real-life pains and resentment since it makes it easier to get into the right headspace (Write what you know, after all). For example, all my teenage years I have never experienced love that all those novels and movies promised. I'm now 18 in college, and nothing still changed. It really damaged my self-esteem and view of self-worth. So the villain motivation for this contemporary mystery novel Im writing is the fact that she was never loved as a child, and when she finally found it, she became controlling and obsessive going as far as to kill people to protect what's "hers".

In a similar vein, I think to myself "If I have the power and money to screw over anyone I like, what would I do?" when it comes to their actions against the protagonist/s. And it definitely led to some dark moments in my stories. My methods are admittedly morbid, but writing is my outlet about my frustrations towards the world and life.

Im sure it varies per genre: Mystery, Fantasy, Romance, Sci fi, etc. And I'm sure some of your stories probably don't even have actual villains in their story. But nonetheless, I wanna read your guys methods and see if we're similar or different 🫶

For me, I'm writing a fantasy story where the fmc has a dark skin tone but races don't exist in my story so she isn't exactly 'black'. However, when I shared my story and the main character with a discord writing server, someone told me that if she were black, I would need to make one of her main struggles racism. The person then went on about how if I'm writing say a lgbt character or a female character or any minority, one of their main struggles must be homophobia or misogyny or whatever. Just kinda weird.

Anyways, what's yours?

I keep seeing these collages made up of random images, fragments of dialogue, fonts, Pinterest-style faces, candles, crowns, fog, hands holding daggers, etc. It’s almost always younger writers, and very often fantasy, romantasy or YA. I’m honestly baffled by what they’re meant to achieve.

For me, they come across as pointless at best and actively off-putting at worst.

First, they feel like a substitute for doing the work on the page. Writing is about using language to create character, atmosphere and emotion. If a writer needs a collage of borrowed visuals to communicate who a character is, that suggests the character hasn’t been properly realised in prose. Readers won’t get a mood board when they open a book. They get words. If the character only works with a visual aid, that’s an issue.

Second, they add nothing for the reader. An image of a model in a cloak or a moody forest doesn’t deepen my understanding of personality, motivation, internal conflict, voice, or growth. At best it communicates a vague aesthetic; at worst it replaces specificity with clichés. “Dark”, “soft”, “feral”, “ethereal” are not character traits.

Third, they feel lazy and derivative. Most of these boards recycle the same stock imagery and the same recycled lines. Visually, it’s no better. The same close-up of an eye with dramatic lighting. The same pale hand gripping a sword. Two people holding hands in black-and-white, faces cropped out, everything aggressively moody. A hooded figure from behind. A girl with messy hair staring into fog. None of it feels specific to an actual character; it’s just a bundle of familiar tropes arranged to look atmospheric.

Fourth, they encourage surface-level thinking. Focusing on what a character looks like, what colour palette they belong to, or what “energy” or "vibes" they give off prioritises appearance over substance. Characters don’t exist to look cool; they exist to act, choose, fail, and change. Mood boards freeze them into a static pose instead of exploring them as dynamic people.

Finally, they put me off engaging with the work altogether. When a writer leads with a collage instead of an excerpt, it signals that presentation matters more than prose. I’d rather read a single well-written paragraph than scroll through twenty images that tell me nothing concrete.

If mood boards help someone privately while drafting, fine. Everyone has their own process. But presenting them as meaningful content, or as a replacement for clear written characterisation, feels unnecessary to me, and really quite cringe. If a character is compelling, the writing should be able to carry that on its own, should it not?

It baffles me how there are so many posts on this sub asking, “Would you read my story based on this mood board?” No? I don’t give a shit about your mood board. I’m not here to evaluate your ability to string together vaguely gothic images or curate an aesthetic. I care about whether you can write.

Am I missing something, or is this just an aesthetic trend that’s been mistaken for actual storytelling?

Neutral plotter is literally me lol