I HAVE AN ANNOUNCEMENT!!!
even tho it is in my bio and I have mentioned it many times before! People still think I'm able to post on my conversations board or reply to pms. For some stupid email reason I'm not able to do either (even tho I'm able to comment on stories and post stories)
If you message me or post on my conversations board it's virtually impossible for me to respond. The little pop up keeps saying I need to verify my email! Excuse me what? So I resend it to the right email address (mind you) But it never goes through. I check spam and junk too! And still no email!

Although I can't respond I do still read everyone's private messages and posts on my conversations board and appreciate them!! If you come to my profile to thank me for following you,voting on your stories, adding your books to my list, etc. I still see it I just can't acknowledge that I've seen it!

This announcement isnt directed at any one person but -per say- all of my followers. If I haven't responded to your messages I don't want you to feel like I don't care!! I do care!! And I've tried everything I can to get it to work but nothings helped! However, This is not me asking for help, I just wanted you all to know so that you don't get offended.

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Moving on to the blog I typed up yesterday and (some of it) today.

In today's blog I'm going to be....ummmmm.....I'm going to be giving you all...

writing advice?

I don't know that just came to me randomly but I guess it's something 🤷🏻‍♀️

Okay welllllll the first thing I do is ummm come up with a plot. This is pretty basic. You just need to know:
Who wants what and how are they going to get it.

Then you need to figure out different ways to stop them from getting what they want. Imagine your book character as your snobby best friend that your trying to stop from succeeding. When something stands in your characters way of getting who/what they want it's called a conflict.

Make it a habit
Another piece of writing advice a lot of people give me is to write daily and make it a habit. Most the time (when I don't have to be somewhere) i write in the mornings right when I wake up. Weird but yk it's something.

Help
I also think it's important to know not to be afraid to use help.

I use online sources like:
https://www.name-generator.org.uk
https://www.rhymezone.com
https://www.englishclub.com

There are tons of pages online that can help you with grammar, rhyming words, names and more.

I also like to watch YouTube videos on writing to help me get better. Some of the channels you should watch are:
Vivien Reis
Writing with Jenna Moreci (my personal fav)
ShaelinWrites
& Alexa Donne

I also like to read books on whattpad about grammar. Which really helps me to figure out what mistakes I'm making in my writing.

Fix that b**ch by @Dark_Writes is a pretty lit grammar book that will also give ya a good laugh or two.

In addition to that there are a lot of books (on whattpad and not) that have good grammar tips.

It's not you sis
Basically the best writing advice I could EVER give you is to write what your character would say. When I first got into writing I made the mistake of making myself the main character. I was essentially taking myself and plopping me into my stories. BIG NO. Of course your main character can be similar to you, but if you're your own main character then you won't feel the need to add background or character building scenes to your book.

W.W.Y.C.D
Along side with this, each character should react how THEY would react in a situation not how YOU would react.

Think of it like the what would Jesus do bracelets but instead of Jesus put your characters name in there. So it's essentially what would my character do?

For example:

Let's say I want my character to come off extremely thrill seeking. In the instance that they come across a really high and scary roller coaster you wouldn't write them saying that they are scared. Write what your character would do not you!

Another example is...let's say my character is really scatter brained. If they were to come upon the dead body of their aunt they probably wouldn't think to call the police first. They would most likely call one of their friends or family members to tell them. Write this down: even if you would call the police, Kevin the scatter brain definitely wouldn't.

You want to make sure this applies to all your characters not just the main ones! Each character would react differently to something. Like in my book im working on I have a character called laine (who is very girly) and a character called Madi (who is very down to earth, practical, and zen)

If laine saw a snake she would probably run and scream at the top of her lungs.

But if Madi saw a snake she would probably talk to it reassuringly and assure her friends it's harmless.

Different people react to things differently so different characters should react differently too!!

It doesn't have to happen to happen (Taylor Swift rule)
What I learned while read five feet apart is to write something you don't have to write something.

I used to get so caught up in writing useless scenes that made no difference in my book. NOBODY CARES EXACTLY HOW YOUR CHARACTER STYLED THEIR HAIR. I used to include SOOOO many freaking getting ready scenes and shopping scenes and eating scenes and *sigh*

It got very overwhelming!

Instead try writing something like:

A bowl of my aunts famous soup later, I was seated on the couch binge watching Riverdale.

Nobody wants to read a long scene about your character eating her aunts famous soup alone. And for Pete's sake nobody cares what kind of mascara your character uses!!!

Only include scenes you need!!

I call this the Taylor Swift rule

Well this might be hard to explain but you guys know that one Taylor Swift song that's like "Short gestures are exchanged"

I don't know why but every time I think about this writing tactic I think of that line.

Think of it like you don't have to write:
"Hello" she beamed at me.
"Hi." I replied as we begin walking towards the store.

NO ONE CARES. Instead say something like:

"We exchanged short hellos before heading toward the store."

Oh and something important better happen at the store or else delete it. If a scene doesn't include important information or build a relationship then DELETE THAT SUCKER.

Ha Ha get it Taylor Swift rule because "short gestures are exchanged" and she doesn't include "hello!" And "hi!"
Okay no? Cool

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Well I think that's all the writing advice I have for you today!

Do you all have any writing advice for me?

Question of the day:
If you could go on a trip anywhere with any one person where would you go? And who would you take?

I would probably go to Italy with ummmmm who to take? Who to take?

Probably my cat. Good answer.....

My cat literally just came over to me....maybe he can read what I'm typing lol. Do you all want a picture of him? Of course you do!! (I think Elle Lee love asked for one a while back. So here it is!)

Well catch y'all later
-Emma