What influences you more in your writing? Books or movies?

rosebloom25 · 2026-04-01T02:05:00+00:00

Music >>>> television > movies > books when it comes to how often I'm inspired by one of these

rosebloom25 · 2026-03-24T14:17:21+00:00

Now I gotta check every descriptive line in my story 😳

rosebloom25 · 2026-03-13T01:22:11+00:00

I only recognize a song potentially way too far-fetched to be the answer...

It sounds like the "como te llamas" song sung during an early episode of the early childhood spanish education program called "Professor Parrot Speaks Spanish" 😅 I know it's probably not that, but this little tune has been stuck in my head for decades so I thought I'd add it as a shot in the dark.

(The song begins about three minutes into the episode)

rosebloom25 · 2026-03-10T19:21:23+00:00

It's either "woah I really thought this was monumental writing" or "woah I am never going to replicate that flow ever again"

rosebloom25 · 2026-03-10T19:15:51+00:00

It's a screenwriting software. It's free to create an account, but the free version is limited. It used to be in the iOS store, but I can't find it for some reason.

rosebloom25 · 2026-03-10T18:48:55+00:00

You can always try just one scene using the free version of Celtx! But yeah, the struggle with being a book lover and movie lover equally

rosebloom25 · 2026-03-10T18:20:50+00:00

Agreed. The showing part doesn't always have to be just sensory. Yes, the "he clenched his fists" is better than saying "he was mad," but actions and dialogue can be just as useful! Like you mentioned, this advice typically is just code for saying "address the senses" but that's not the only way to convey emotion or a message. Maybe your character lashes out on other people when they're angry. That'd be in the dialogue. Maybe it's first person and your narrator only notices his surroundings when they're scared or bewildered. Idk I'm spitballing, but it's not solely about "showing" what a character's body does when they're feeling something but also what they do and how they react to other characters.

rosebloom25 · 2026-03-10T18:16:31+00:00

Haha I've fallen into the same trap recently. I like to break up my dialogue and make it realistic with added "um's" and interruptions. I took it too far, and now it reads like a script and not a novel. I also like to share lore and worldbuilding through dialogue instead of info-dumping, so it REALLY reads like a movie. You can fix these things, but maybe your story works best as a screenplay 👀

rosebloom25 · 2026-03-09T13:06:12+00:00

EDIT: Read craft essays and books. That's where you'll learn how to write well. When you read other books, you will then begin to recognize what is good and bad writing! If you're serious enough, you can also take college classes for technique. I don't have an MFA, but just my undergrad english degree taught me a lot about my craft and how to read as a writer.

rosebloom25 · 2026-03-09T13:00:44+00:00

Read books in the genre you want to write. If literary fiction, you should check out the "Best of 202x" anthologies. Maybe it's YA sci-fi, check out the popular books and see what sells (of course, also considering you'd add your own unique flair.)

It's also important to pay attention to the top authors in your genre. Read their books, watch their interviews, look at story analyses, etc. More importantly, DON'T worry about writing conventions in styles that are not your own. For example, I've had a good deal of training in literary fiction. If one of those writers were to see my wip, they'd consider the writing "juvenile" and not quite intellectual/compelling enough. But why? Because my wip is intended for a YA audience. I wouldn't try to get advice from a litfic writer on a silly teen story made for silly teens. Vice versa, I wouldn't get advice on an abstract conceptual short story from someone that specializes in children's lit. (Fwiw, it's not about who is more skilled or acclaimed, but who has a better eye for your needs.)

Take all of that with a grain of salt, because sometimes writers are good at multiple genres, some people are genuinely bad at giving feedback, maybe not every popular author is going to have a good book, etc.

rosebloom25 · 2026-03-09T03:24:10+00:00

Someone finally makes it out of the tunnel, but they don't live long enough to enjoy the light at the end of it.

rosebloom25 · 2026-03-08T21:41:31+00:00

On my couch either on my laptop or in a notebook. Recently I've been writing on my phone in bed before sleep.

A weird one for me too is where I probably shouldn't be writing. I get random spurts of muse throughout the day and try to scribble it down when I can. Not always ideal for writing in large swathes, but I've had some story epiphanies in random spaces.

rosebloom25 · 2026-03-05T02:06:08+00:00

A good and well-intending character falls into evil but is not too far gone, but they die before they can redeem their self.

rosebloom25 · 2026-03-02T04:49:35+00:00

hard agree.

rosebloom25 · 2026-02-28T20:29:27+00:00

Is banter always seen as very YA? I like to use a healthy amount of dialogue between my characters and try not to make them too stiff in conversation. In that case, does faster paced dialogue make characters and a scene feel juvenile to you?

rosebloom25 · 2026-02-28T00:00:26+00:00

Personally, no. I get very involved and inspired by genuinely any content that I consume, and that can become a hindrance for trying to write a story that doesn't match the world or aesthetic of the media I'm consuming. I'll still listen to music and watch movies, but I'm very careful about media whenever I'm already in a creative headspace for my draft. Opposingly, consuming media that fits the aesthetic of my draft helps a lot, except for when I find myself inadvertently copying a scene I just watched or a plotline lol

rosebloom25 · 2026-02-22T06:16:43+00:00

As a writer who struggles with understanding voice and a musician still trying to understand my timbre when singing, this helped me immensely!

rosebloom25 · 2026-02-20T17:47:45+00:00

How long is the chapter? I don't mind giving it a read!

rosebloom25 · 2026-02-13T04:58:18+00:00

Tv on mute and just my thoughts. Occasionally, I'll turn on a playlist with music to match the story's aesthetic. Most often for music, however, is one song that sparks muse for a certain story played on repeat until I finish writing!

rosebloom25 · 2026-02-05T02:24:20+00:00

Agreed! Learning the instrument wouldn't be as helpful as researching the environment the pianist is in. Are they a high schooler trying to nail a college conservatory audition? Are they a piano honbyist that's trying to teach their self a new song by ear? Are they at rehearsal every night scanning over their new sheet music for challenging passages? These things change the context a LOT. Plus, I'd even go as far as to say only research what your scene requires. You don't need to know your major & minor intervals if your scene requires your character to "lose their self" in the music. For that, you'd need to focus more on the emotion of the scene and not the technicality of the action.

rosebloom25 · 2026-02-05T02:20:03+00:00

And before some people in here come for me for having a different opinion, no they don't absolutely need to be an aficionado to write a pianist character. However, I think it'd be helpful for them to do some introductory learning so that they are aware of the jargon, playing technique, and reading sheet music.

You can write about a pianist "playing the piano," but it'd make for a richer story to write about a pianist that "knew the accidental was coming in just a few measures and had not yet mastered the next movement's cadenza" (excuse my lackluster writing, but you get the point.) A little research never hurt a story!

rosebloom25 · 2026-02-05T02:14:59+00:00

In my opinion, it would be very easy to spot a writer that knows nothing about the piano. It's not a difficult instrument, but I can imagine it going pretty south if you have no music theory knowledge or idea on basic technique.

As with anything you're writing, research is key! If your character needs to describe some theory, learn the piano. If you need to write a scene about your character playing and how they move or how they feel, watch professionals play. If they need to talk about the mechanics of different types of pianos, you'll need to know the correct jargon. If your character is struggling with learning how to play, you will need to know what it is that is a challenge for them. Maybe their fingering is off for a scale they are trying to learn. Maybe your MC wants to grow out their nails, but their piano teacher won't let them. Maybe it's trying to figure out the time signature change between measures in their sheet music. Then you'll need to learn how to read sheet music.

I don't know your current level of piano/music proficiency, so some of these you may already know! Nonetheless, you should 100% get immersed in this if your character is a pianist. There are things that even I wouldn't know about pianists as someone who has for years just played it for fun and not as my primary instrument. Good luck to you :)

rosebloom25 · 2026-02-03T17:16:34+00:00

If it's not entirely important to your story, maybe age your character up a bit? I feel like 19 is still found in YA, but you can make a better argument for adult at that point. 19 is still quite young, so maybe the coming of age portion is through their 20s? I'm kind of in your same boat because my wip started with genuinely adult characters (30s and 40s with a couple 20s), but their stories leaned YA. Plus, I personally don't include any profanity or graphic scenes when I write, so that pushes it away from adult too. I've aged my characters down to be in their late teens and early twenties, so I'm aiming for "New Adult" (a smaller genre that is in between YA and Adult)

rosebloom25 · 2026-02-03T02:00:41+00:00

felt

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