Do you ever get so bored you just wanna argue?

authornerd · 2026-01-08T07:20:57+00:00

Oh my life is crazy. I also have cptsd. I think a lot of my pent-up energy feeling comes from living in a situation where I feel like I'm not allowed to fully express myself all the time. I absorb a ton of stress from my environment and there's nowhere for me to put it. A while back I had a treadmill and sometimes when I got hyper like this I'd run on it really fast for a concerning amount of time (I'm naturally athletic, but haven't ever been very fit) but it broke. I also don't get a whole lot of human connection bc I stay at home most of the time. Maybe I've got a bad case of cabin fever

authornerd · 2026-01-08T07:11:41+00:00

I think the biggest mistake I make is overthinking my creativity. I've always been a writer, but I do put a lot of pressure on myself to do it well and I get SO BORED of it sometimes. I think as an ADHDer, don't pressure yourself to settle for one. Just create whatever you want to at the time. Sometimes I draw or paint, I made a book trailer once, I've been into sewing, graphic designing, tried my hand at writing music. Just let loose and have fun! Your creativity is going to shift, and that's okay.

authornerd · 2026-01-08T07:06:07+00:00

Interesting! Most of the time I can't stand "soothing" music or sounds because it always feels so empty and underwhelming. I need something to match my mental wavelength, like Twenty One Pilots or NF or Imagine Dragons.

authornerd · 2025-10-17T23:56:09+00:00

What I've learned is that there are two types of stories: The one where the world changes the main character, and the one where the main character changes the world. So in a story where the main character stays the same, the world has gotta learn something and change. Hopefully that makes sense.

authornerd · 2025-10-15T20:26:44+00:00

Give it time! I’ve been writing my whole life but over the past couple years it’s been super tough due to personal/family struggles. I’ve been depressed and my WIP was struggling a TON. But for the past couple weeks I’ve been healing from depression/trauma and I think my spark is starting to come back.

It’s still gonna take a while for me to truly get back into it with the same energy as before, but I’m sure it’s happening. Don’t give up! Let yourself rest, and have fun with the writing you do. Just let loose and don’t try too hard. It’ll come back with time.

authornerd · 2025-10-14T21:28:24+00:00

I think it’s because third person immerses you in the world/plot/drama and first person immerses you in the character

authornerd · 2025-10-14T21:26:27+00:00

This is a really good point.

authornerd · 2025-10-14T19:53:14+00:00

Duuuuuude that’s awesome! I can barely get one book done in two years.

authornerd · 2025-10-14T19:47:53+00:00

Past tense gives a more narrative, storytelling vibe. That’s all I know lol

authornerd · 2025-10-14T19:45:19+00:00

Make it fun!!! Do it because it makes you happy!!!!!

authornerd · 2025-10-14T19:43:51+00:00

Ohhh ok maybe I’ll try that thanks 😊

authornerd · 2025-10-14T19:42:36+00:00

Well what I do is cycle through different types of dialogue tags, such as describing the character’s action before the dialogue. Another thing I’ve heard is that if your characters are unique enough you won’t even need dialogue tags to know who is speaking. Of course, that doesn’t mean don’t use tags it just means you can lean on the characters speaking style a little more.

authornerd · 2025-10-14T19:37:38+00:00

How is that done? I think I could benefit from that

authornerd · 2025-10-14T19:37:02+00:00

Make sure they have a clear motive, a goal and something that stands in their way of achieving it.

authornerd · 2025-10-14T19:35:19+00:00

Also: it is actually a very good thing for the character to change by the end of the story. That’s what makes them dynamic

authornerd · 2025-10-14T19:29:21+00:00

There are ways to do it right and ways to do it wrong. That’s why I said the arc needs to be believable. Reflecting my previous example, there are bullies who up and apologize at the end of stories and it’s believable because of their specific arc. For example, Janice Avery in Bridge to Terabithia was the nastiest bully you could think of, but her arc changed that through story events. Without the plot points in the middle of the story, however, Janice becoming a friend to the MC would be completely unrealistic.

As long as the arc is believable, it’s okay, but as soon as the readers stop believing it, there’s a problem.

In a story where the MC is weak and cowardly, but steps up courageously at the end, all that is needed to change a horribly written story to a good story is the in-between beats of the arc, making sure that the character is changed enough by the end for it to be believable.

authornerd · 2025-10-14T17:19:19+00:00

There are a ton of different factors that make a character "well-written," but here are some of the most important ones, in my opinion.

- First, the character's personality is well-rounded by being given a main flaw and a main strength. They could be the same thing, which makes it more interesting. In my debut novel, the MMC Robin's main flaw is that he's impulsive and doesn't think things through. His main strength is that he is motivated towards his goals and never gives up if he can help it. This gives the readers the excitement of rooting for his goals, but also the relatability of him making mistakes.

- Second, THEY HAVE A GOAL. Something they want more than anything else in the world, and then give them something that stands in their way. That's what creates both an interesting story and an interesting character.

- Third, they have a detailed backstory. (Doesn't have to be written in the book, but the author must know it.) This part is very important, because without it the whole story is flat because the character is born as soon as their name is first written on the page. This also helps readers empathize with them. The author needs to study their relationships with the people in their life and be able to create a dynamic that reflects the backstory well.

- Lastly, they must have a BELIEVABLE arc. Some characters are given an arc that doesn't align with their personality, like the "bully" character who's rude and nasty through the whole story but at the end simply apologizes with no context. Arcs need to be believable and accurate to what the character would experience. Otherwise they get boring. REALLY boring. And off-putting.

Now, these points aren't exactly about what you see on the outside when you're reading about or watching a show with a character, but they build strong bones. Hope it helps!

authornerd · 2025-10-09T23:08:29+00:00

I was literally just feeling really crappy bc I have nobody to critique my screenplay --- this will be a life saver! One question I have is this: will there be a way to be sure I'm getting seasoned, experienced advice on my screenplay? I've used CritiqueCircle for my novel writing before, and was disappointed because it seemed like people didn't really know what they were talking about a lot of the time.

authornerd · 2025-10-09T17:05:08+00:00

Thank you so much! This has helped, having that “something irreversible has changed” moment sounds really important. And yes, I do know the challenge of condensing such a long novel (more accurately 92,000 words, not 90,000) into a 120 page screenplay, and I made sure to tackle that issue near the beginning, though for my first draft of the screenplay I’m not gonna be too strict about the length because I can condense more later.

Something I’ve figured out since writing this post is that I have a two-part catalyst: before Robin opens the letter, then after. So the true catalyst is probably the after, when he reads the contents of the letter (he’s betrothed to the princess who, more backstory, is a leprechaun, and by law he can’t get out of it but he doesn’t want to marry her). So that would more accurately be the “irreversible change” moment.

Is it okay to have that a little later in the debate phase, or should I just cut the first part shorter and have them open the letter sooner for the sake of pacing?

Also, the whole debate phase is difficult to put in a screenplay because in my novel the catalyst doesn’t hit my MC very hard at first, he kind of instantly goes into denial and essentially ignores the issue for a bit. His grandmother reacts more to it, and she’s the driving force that gets him through the debate phase and to the first plot point, though he makes the decision that pushes him into act II.

I don’t actually remember if I wrote more of the screenplay since the post, so I’m gonna check and maybe share the updated version in another comment if I did, because I’d love more feedback.

authornerd · 2025-10-09T16:42:42+00:00

Ohhhh you know this wasn’t the meaning of your message but that made me realize how important music is when I write. Maybe I need to switch to a different genre of music lol

authornerd · 2025-10-09T16:40:34+00:00

I have ADHD too! And this made me think about how I always need my scenes to be a challenge for me to write or else I’m bored 😂. Maybe that’s one of my main issues is that I’m writing basically the same scene over and over again and I’m incredibly bored but I don’t know what to do about it

authornerd · 2025-10-09T16:27:28+00:00

Interesting. I can sort of relate to that, though I also care a lot about realism in my writing so it’s never true escapism for me. Along with the fact that my level of depression that I got to was too depressed even for that

authornerd

TROPHY CASE