- "You can always edit a bad page. You can't edit a blank page" by Jodi Picoult

- "Every first draft is perfect because all the first draft has to do is exist" by Jane Smiley

- What does it mean? It means to not worry if it's good or clear, or with a good rhythm. Just write what you want. Just the dialogues? Sure. Only the description of that ball gown? Why not. Want to skip scenes? Go for it. You don't have to hold any expectations, just do what your heart tells you. You'll add the rest of it later when the skeleton is done.

- Depending on your style or plans for the story, it's convenient to create draft for the book with the main points. What needs to happen? What you haven't decided yet? "X meets Y. Caffe? Office? Accident? Presented by someone?" "X's mother suffers an accident, goes visiting in the hospital. Offers to help her at home? Or will sister do it? Maybe hire someone to help her?" "Y gets a promotion" "W comes to town to visit. Stay in a hotel? A week or just the weekend? For work or pleasure?" "Y's friend needs help? Flat tire? Heater broke? Babysitter cancelled?".

- You don't need to know everything there is to know about your story. Most things will reveal themselves as you write. You find out someone is very close with a cousin who lives in the other side of the country. Another writes poetry. Someone volunteers. Someone has been taking the metro for so long they are afraid to drive. Someone almost drowned as a child. There are small things the characters will reveal when it's time. And you'll be like "... I wasn't the one to come up with this". But like someone said, writing is like trying to transcribe a symphony WHILE the opera is playing. You can create 3 characters based on you, put them in different environments and in ten chapters they will be their own people, nothing to do with each other and nothing to do with you.

- Clichés. What to do about it? Clichés are clichés for a reason, they're a crowd's pleaser. Everyone loves that kiss under the rain (who cares if in real life there is 0,5% chance of happening). Or the enemies to lovers. Or the accidental texting. Or the fake dating becomes real dating. Or the oh-they-were-roommates. Or and-there-was-only-one-bed. How likely are those to happen in real life? Very slim chances. But who cares, we love them. Should you avoid clichés? Not necessarily. Depends on your intention. Is it mostly a fan-service to you? Please, use as many clichés as you want. Do you want to do something more unique? Choose a couple and let the others in the wardrobe. If you put too many clichés, it sounds fake.

- Fillers are as important as the other chapters. It usually gives your characters a rest and gives the readers an insight. It can be a girls' night out where you see who is closer to who, who tends to be the most drunk, how each reacts while drunk, who abandons their friends to go hunting a partner, who loves to dance and who makes poor decisions. Will it be important for the plot? Maybe not. But the reader will laugh at their drunk arguments, will relate to one or another, will see another side of their friendship. The fillers are your chance to make your characters more human, how they act when the plot isn't driving and pressuring their every action. Give flashbacks, give me confessions, philosophic inner debates at 2 am, reminiscences, unwinding, a day of self-care.

- Put actions that normal people do. Things that are stupid but so nice and relatable. Nick Fury stopping to pet and baby-talk to a cat? Who haven't done that? Chasing pigeons. Drawing on a foggy glass. Ordering a plate and then regretting because it's spicy, or too bland or it looks disgusting. Seeing a bug in your home and trying to kill it, just to freak out when they disappear. Being distracted and getting scared when someone talks to you. Twisting your ankle. Getting honked because you were almost run over. Getting distracted in the middle of the conversation and having to ask the others to repeat. Spending 20 min searching for something and then giving up. Forgetting if you locked your car. Or where you parked your car. Finishing a pit of ice cream because why not. Singing off-key in the shower. Forgetting your towel. Not having the time or energy to make your bed before leaving the house. Screaming at the printer. Not finding a document. Clearing your gallery. Getting asked what time is it. Getting blisters. Reorganizing your wardrobe. Washing the dishes. Getting wet from unexpected rain. Putting too much salt. Having to pretend to like a gift. Changing soaps and liking the new fragrance better. Struggling to find a pen that actually writes. Forgetting to buy toilet paper. Remembering someone's birthday a day later. Having to redo a ponytail five times in a row. I could stay here all day, but I think I gave enough ideas. Those things make your characters more likeable and relatable. It also helps you to see them as more real.

- This one is more of a personal preference; you can use it or not. Describe a place as it becomes relevant to the character. I will write two examples to illustrate it.

1.1- "The guards pulled open the 9ft mahogany doors. The room after it was impressive; two rows of columns held the dome, which was painted in dark blue. On the right side there were tall windows lining up the walls, colorful glass filtering the afternoon sunlight." (it sucks because I hate descriptions, but it's not the point)

1.2- "The hero's heart felt like trying to escape his chest while he watched the guards open the 9ft mahogany doors. He squared his shoulders and forced himself to enter the impressive room. He tried not to think of the two rows of columns as giant prison bars, but it was hard. The room was silent, except for the echoes of his steps. To avoid looking at the columns, he looked up. The dome, painted in dark blue, was much higher than he expected, and did nothing to help with his feeling of claustrophobia. His back was starting to feel hot from the afternoon sunlight that entered through the colorful glass windows on his right." Did you see the difference? I only described when it became more relevant for the hero.

2.1- "The girl opened the door to her room. There was a bed on the farthest right corner, with an orange blanket over it. To the right of the door stood a table with all her school supplies over it, and a tall and comfy chair; to the left there was a mahogany wardrobe filled with stickers, and the door to her bathroom. A window stood directly across the door, casting a soft light over the room. She entered and threw herself in her bed, and her friend followed her, taking the chair."

2.2- "The girl opened the door to her room and crossed it going straight for the bed on the farthest right corner, throwing herself over the orange blanket covering it. Her friend followed her, moving to the right to take the tall and comfy chair she used to study, turning it away from the table filled with her school supplies before sitting down. From her bed, the girl stayed in silence, watching the particles dancing on the sunlight entering through her window directly across the door. She shifted her eyes to her mahogany wardrobe, which she had decorated with stickers, much to her mother's dismay." When you describe in parts, instead of a block, it gives you more space to work how that ambient and that part in particular affects your character. I used pretty much the exact same words to describe it, but it feels different. I'd have only mentioned her wardrobe after she got up to get something in it, to be honest.

- I said it before but I need to repeat it here: YOU DON'T CONTROL YOUR CHARACTERS. You can't take a guy with toxic masculinity and then he meets the girl and becomes a nice guy with no toxic masculinity. The growth is important. Think of Sokka in ATLA. He had to be defeated twice by the Kyoshi warriors to recognize they were girls and it had no saying on how skilled they were. He was constantly shown how the girls around him were strong, skilled, brave, smart, with attitude and with no need of a guy protecting them to realize he should recognize their independence and even start to ask for their help. Especially if you're going for those clichés rebel X nerd, good guy/girl X bad guy/girl, arrogant millionaire boss X spitfire low-income, you NEED to show the growth to justify the relationship. What you can do it create situations where one or more characters are forced to move from their comfort zone and being proven that their former beliefs suck. Depending on the character, it might take SEVERAL moments like those. Give them those moments but don't make them change overnight. That's also valid for the stupid jerk werewolf Alpha who treats the girl like shit but because they are mates she forgives him way too quickly and he makes a half-ass excuse (maybe not even that). CHARACTER DEVELOPMENT. If you have doubts about it, DO YOUR RESEARCH.

- Another research to be done is about your relationships. A lot of cliché books have this problem where they're a reflection of another cliché book and the original messed up relationship gets propagated. Research: toxic masculinity, toxic feminism, toxic relationships, gaslighting, signs of verbal abuse, anger management issues. These are just some. Check if your characters are not showing signs of those. If they are, don't rewrite everything (you can, if you want to). Address it. Make someone realize there are issues in the relationship. Make them learn, search a psychologist, start therapy or kick the other's butt and go search for someone who will treat them as they deserve. It can also be applied to parent-child, friendships, boss-employee, relatives...

- On the other hand, do a research about signs of good relationships. The base is ALWAYS respect and it goes for any kind of relationship. Put signs of those things along the book. Examples: consent for both sexual (would it be okay if I held your hand? Do you want a hug? Can I kiss you? Tell me if you want to stop and I will) and non-sexual things (can I use your phone? I was thinking about getting a pizza tonight, are you okay with that? Is it okay if I shower first? I was thinking about watching a movie tonight, is there anything else you rather do?). Why is it important? Because it shows respect, it shows the other matters, their opinions and wishes and thoughts will be taken into consideration. It's also valid for other kind of relationships, not only romantic. Another good thing that I noticed I do with my bf. We constantly say please and thank you and sorry (for random things, from asking for a glass of water, or to thank the other for preparing dinner or apologizing for accidentally startling the other or pulling the hair or something). Research the five languages of love and demonstrate all of them (words, touch, gifts, time together, service). Like I read somewhere, if you have to make them kiss to demonstrate they're a couple, you're writing romance wrong. Also valid to all relationshipsas there are so many ways to show how you love someone.

- KEEP DOING RESEARCHES. I usually do two or more researches for chapter. New things are constantly getting thrown into your story (or coming out of nowhere) and you should keep researching it.

- REREAD your chapters if you have the time. There are a lot of things we write and then forget it; be it details or even full interactions. It will also help you find issues you should address or events that are about to happen.