First Draft Pie Chart

First draft pie chart

Stories are like pancakes

Look, your writing doesn’t say anything about you.

I mean, it comes from you. But whether you write something good or something bad, it doesn’t mean anything. A story isn’t a sign. It doesn’t prove your talent or lack thereof.

A story is something you make, not something you are.

To return to a metaphor I used once: think about making pancakes. Sometimes you turn out an A+ pancake, and sometimes you burn the shit out of one. You make another one, they all go in the pile, and there’s always someone who enjoys the burnt ones. You would never take a single pancake and say it alone represents your pancake-making talent forever, or that it reveals how smart, interesting, or lovable you are. We can’t judge your soul by a pancake. It’s made of batter.

And someone always eats the burnt ones. 

write to tell yourself the story

edit to tell others the story

You don’t start out writing good stuff. You start out writing crap and thinking it’s good stuff, and then gradually you get better at it. That’s why I say one of the most valuable traits is persistence.

Octavia E. Butler (via writingbonesblog)

nanowrimo tip #25:

every time you see a user with a higher word count than you, write them into your story as a soon-to-be corpse or antagonist

Me: *Sees long post of writing tips that I should really study*

Me: Nice

*Reblogs and never looks at it again*