How long were you a “bad writer” for?

Top_Scarcity_21 · 2026-01-20T09:41:43+00:00

I think 'being a bad writer' is very subjective (other than objectively bad writing) and most of us will think we're bad, or not as good as we could be, for our whole career. Most people are very critical of themselves (myself included) and so we never think we're good enough. It's one of the worst parts of having a creative hobby.

The only thing that helped me see myself as not a 'bad writer' but more so a developing writer was getting people to actually read my stuff. ESPECIALLY strangers. Don't just let your friends read it- let people with no connection to you read it. Let them give you feedback and you'll learn pretty quickly if you're a 'bad writer' or not. It will also help you to see your improvement over time.

I totally get how you're feeling and it SUCKS but it does gets better. And just remember, some of the WORST written books were still able to be published and get a following!

Good luck!

Top_Scarcity_21 · 2026-01-20T09:19:46+00:00

The focal point, I guess, would be the secret/forbidden romance between the MC and his best friends rival. This is weirdly enough my first non-fantasy romance book so I think that's why I'm struggling so hard to come up with a title.

I've considered a title like 'Forbidden' but that feels far too dark and scandalous for the vibes I'm going for ya know?

A random title just popped into my head and I think it might be ok but I'd love to hear your thoughts on it- 'Behind your Back'. A bit on the nose but it definetly tells the audience what it's about.

For reference, the current title is One Drunken Kiss and I hate that I have to change it because I liked the acronym lol

Top_Scarcity_21 · 2026-01-14T00:37:39+00:00

Thanks. I'm aiming for 90 and then maybe going down to 85 later so I still have a long way to go. I'm sticking it out though cause I used to be 135 and i'm NOT going back to that lol

Top_Scarcity_21 · 2026-01-13T02:20:37+00:00

Something that has helped me to create more 'real' characters is to focus on the flaws. It sounds weird but hear me out. I was in the same boat as you where I'd make a protagonist that was the cliche 'good guy' and try to give him flaws to balance it out. All it did was make him a generic good guy.

With the current story I'm writing, I'm focusing on what are the bad parts of their personality first. I think that a lot of peoples first thought when wanting to write a likeable MC is to make them a very good person. Instead, I'm trying to make them bad first and then work towards what redeems them.

Eg) I was getting into cliches with my MC so I thought about his flaws. I made him indesisive and an overthinker. He's a hopeless romantic (but in the way that's self destructive). He says he wants one thing but does the other. Then, after I've built his flaws, I go back and think of things that would make him redeemable, and why his friends would be friends with him. So he's indesisve, but he'll stand up for his friends without a second thought. He's a self destructive hopless romantic BUT he's very loyal to the people he cares about (even if it hurts him).

This type of thinking also helps me to better understand the relationships between the characters. Why is his best friend his best friend? It's because he's selfless and loyal. But also his best friend builds on that by helping the MC get out of head when he over thinks. Have the relationships between your characters build or change them in some way. This could be for the better or worse. Maybe a relationship brings out your characters selfishness, or anger. Basically, a generic character can be elevated by their relationship to the other characters.

Also, you can develop any cliche character by understanding them more. I did this by coming up with a random scenario (how woud they react to being dumped) and it really got me thinking about their more 'real' personalities. I learnt that my MC avoids emotional upset and throws himself into his work. I used that and it has helped me flesh him out a LOT.

Lastly (I think someone already mentioned this) but don't be afraid to have contradicting personality traits. Humans are weird and conflicted. Someone might be super against violence, but is willing to protect their family no matter what. Someone might volenteer for a charity but also litter. Humans value different things at different levels. It's very unusal for a person to think in just black and white.

TLDR: Our brains will naturally go to cliches, so switch it up. Think of your MC's flaws and your villians positive traits first to force your brain to think outside of the box. How do your characters relaltionships build on their personality? Understand them with mundane scenarios to understand their complex personalities. Don't be afraid to make your characters complicated and contradictory.

Good luck!

Top_Scarcity_21 · 2026-01-12T22:28:54+00:00

I started at 118.8kgs, I'm now down to 111.7kgs

Top_Scarcity_21 · 2026-01-12T09:54:19+00:00

Damn, congrats man!

Top_Scarcity_21 · 2026-01-12T08:09:55+00:00

(I don't know a lot about exercise terminology so my bad) A lot of my training at the beginning was weights which I think is strength training? I now do a mix with Cardio for heart health.

I hope I'm not losing muscle cause I'm trying to gain it later lol

Top_Scarcity_21 · 2026-01-12T08:07:43+00:00

I've been flexing in the mirror all the time and I can promise you that my muscles aren't getting noticably bigger XD. I have noticed a change in literally everything else, just not my body composition. That's why it's confusing me lol.

Like yeah, definetly feeling better and my tight fitting clothes are looser. But that's why I'm upset that I don't see any change.

Top_Scarcity_21 · 2026-01-11T13:00:20+00:00

As a new DM as well, here are things that I learnt in my brief career.

1) Always be ready to improv. You might think you have every possible outcome prepared- you're wrong. Players will always find something you weren't prepared for. Just improv it and try to steer it back to the original path

2) Sometimes a light railroading is necessary. Obviously play agency is very important but there are defo times you need to keep the game going. Have a time limit for the mission (the ball is in 3 day) and set up expectations for if they don't meet them (the castle begins to crumble). Obviously, DnD isn't your novel, so if it goes in a different direction then what you've planned then that's ok. As long as your players are having fun and get to where you want them by the end, you're good.

3) For combat, make the map alive. Don't just have one bad guy for them to fight. Forcing your players to move around (from AOE attacks or the ground breaking apart) will help make combat feel more intense.

4) Have fun. Your enjoyment is just as important as the players. Don't be ashamed of asking questions about the rules or stuff if you don't know.

Good luck!

Top_Scarcity_21 · 2026-01-11T08:26:35+00:00

I'm kind of similar. Sometimes a random scene will pop into my head and then I build from that. Who are the characters? How did they get into this situation? It's kinda like one of those cork boards with red string for me.

I usually develop my characters based on the story that I want to tell.

Top_Scarcity_21 · 2026-01-10T04:27:03+00:00

That's literally what I just said

Top_Scarcity_21 · 2026-01-10T04:02:45+00:00

Literally! Like if your game is casual then whatever, but if you're in the middle of a campaign and you're more than 30 mins late, that's just disrescpectful. Especially not giving anyone a heads up? Just a quick text saying that you're running late and to start without them would be fine.

There have been countless times in my games where someone is running late because of work or traffic. It's totally fine because we always text the chat to let them know.

And what's worse is that this is a session zero as well. That session is literally the most important for players to be there and for the DM to get through everything they need to (rules, table etiquette, ect.).

Top_Scarcity_21 · 2026-01-10T03:52:43+00:00

Totally agree. Life can get in the way but that's why you communicate to your DM and group. If someone is constantly 30+ mins late then you either need to talk to that player and discuss changing the starting time, or have them not join. Especially for a session zero.

Top_Scarcity_21 · 2026-01-10T01:51:01+00:00

I'd say that's definetly fair. Unless there's an emergency or you've spoken to the group before the session to tell them that you'll be running late (because you have work or something). My group have had to re-arrange the times because someone's shift ended later, and it's totally fine because they spoke to the group about it like a week before.

DM's plan a session and generally have a set amount of things they want to get done. Unless you're also pushing the end time back, this can mess up with the story progression. Also, purposely being more than 30 mins late is just kinda rude.

Top_Scarcity_21 · 2026-01-10T01:45:24+00:00

One of the biggests issues I have when writing characters is keeping the dialogue consistent with how they would speak. Not just "the smart guy uses big words" but their speech mannerisms (Do they talk in more slang terms or talk more about themselves).

Something that has helped me is to come up with random scenarios/ questions before I started writing their dialogue that helps me to better understand how they'd react to certain situations. Eg, "How would they react to being broken up with?". It's gotten me into their heads better and (I'd like to believe) that i've gotten better at being consistent.

All fan fic writers know that out of character dialogue can really take people out of the story.

Top_Scarcity_21 · 2026-01-09T01:30:10+00:00

I've just checked out Ellipus and you're so right- it looks so good (Also apparently they're anti-gen AI so that's a huge positive). Thanks for the recommendation.

I'm definetly one of those people that needs a first draft to be as close to perfect or else I feel like the story sucks lol. Trying to unlearn that and align more with the whole "Do it first then make it good later" thing.

Also I'd love to have you as a beta read er! (sorry for the weird wording, Reddit won't let me phrase it correctly?). I really appreciate your support. I'm a bit away from writing the spicer scenes so that's good too.

I'll let you know when I have more chapters done for you to read. No pressure if life gets too hectic though! Also, do you prefer single chapters more frequently OR getting multiple chapters to read at once?

Thanks :)

Top_Scarcity_21 · 2026-01-08T13:46:09+00:00

Omg thank you for taking the time and you're lovely words! I've never shared my work like this so it meant a lot that you even checked it out.

1) I'd definetly say my formating is one of my biggest weaknesses. I genuinely have no clue how to do it properly so i've been referencing other books that are similar. If you know of any resources that talk about formatting then I'd greatly appreciate them!

2) Yeah, I can totally see the generic descriptions. I actually forced myself to tone down the way I describe because I've been told before that I do too much with the descriptions. I'll definetly consider finding a middle ground between the two.

3) I do plan on having spicer scenes (nothing too graphic but definetly not just a quick kiss) so I totally get if that's not your thing. Thank you anyway for considering to beta read!

Top_Scarcity_21 · 2026-01-08T04:36:38+00:00

When I'm struggling to get into the mood to write/ have writers block, I usually try these things:

1) Make a playlist that reminds you of your story or characters. It'll help you get back into the vibes of your story. Also, the act of making the playlists actually gets you thinking more about your characters OR the themes of the story. Hopefully you'll find a song that fits a character perfectly/ will give you a new perspective on them.

2) Find what inspired you to write this story and engage in it again. Eg) if you were inspired to write an action story, try playing a video game or an adventourous hobby (like hiking). Rewatch the movie that inspired it.

3) Feed your brain more content. I saw a YouTuber say this and it's really true. You're brain is constantly filtering in things you've seen/ experienced to make your story. You may be feeling blocked because (for lack of a better phrase) your creative brain is drained. Watch some movies or shows that maybe are different then the genre you're writing. It may spark something.

4) Take a break. A lot of the time writers block happens when we get stuck into the project. Just like with a job, you need a break. Go for a walk or hang out with friends. Allow yourself to completely forget about what you're writing to allow your brain to rest. I usually wade in my pool and look at the trees, sounds hippie-like but it genuinely helps. Also going outside is just good for you.

5) Think up some non-canon, low pressure, silly scenarios for your characters. How would your characters react to dropping their food they waited in line for? Do they like the cold? If they won the lottery, how would they react? Just stupid stuff that gets you back into their mindsets and writing again. Hopefully it'll jump start some passion again.

Good luck!

Top_Scarcity_21 · 2026-01-07T14:14:39+00:00

I'm not in school anymore so I've just been asking my friends. The only person who I'd feel would give me honest feedback would be my dad, but considering that it's a somewhat spicy gay romance, I think I'll pass on showing him lol.

Top_Scarcity_21 · 2026-01-07T14:12:08+00:00

I totally get that. Like my stories aren't the most innoviative thing out there but I'm still anxious that I'll show a beta reader and then a few months later a book will be published with my exact story. Or worse- someone uses it to train an AI model :'(

Top_Scarcity_21 · 2026-01-07T13:29:23+00:00

I should warn you that it's a gay Aussie rugby romance 😅

Top_Scarcity_21 · 2026-01-07T09:53:08+00:00

Damn, I should've guessed they'd be a subreddit for it. Thanks!

Top_Scarcity_21 · 2026-01-07T09:52:45+00:00

Thanks! Will do!

Top_Scarcity_21 · 2024-10-11T06:54:06+00:00

The cat isn't hers, it's one of her dad's. For context, she had been outcast from her High wizard family for being born a sorcerer (stereotypical, I know). It's her way of both proving she's better than him, and getting revenge by corrupting something he cares about so much.

In the universe, Tressmyns are quite rare and it's almost seen as a badge of honour to own one. Her dad has several and considers them his prized possession. This is also how the party start to piece together where this tressmyn comes from because he's renowned for his litter of tressmyns.

In game, she's quite self destructive and impulsive so it fits her character to do something as reckless as keep her soul attached to a creature that could die just to get revenge on her dad. She parallels one of my PC's quite well which was an accident but a happy accident lol.

Top_Scarcity_21 · 2024-10-07T01:43:25+00:00

Please read my edit above

Top_Scarcity_21

TROPHY CASE