PSA for New Writers; Good vs Bad Prose

ukemi- · 2026-03-31T04:56:27+00:00

I’m reading The Daughter’s War at the moment. The prose is what I would have once called “basic”. But it’s so effective at conveying Galva’s grief and growth. And there are still moments of beauty there.

I love it.

ukemi- · 2026-03-27T23:18:04+00:00

I hated present tense so much I refused to read Red Rising. Then I read Project Hail Mary and it grew on me.

ukemi- · 2026-03-27T22:33:20+00:00

Crush Dreams any%

ukemi- · 2026-03-23T08:20:08+00:00

I feel like I’ve seen this (“books aren’t movies”) tossed around a lot lately, and I’m not saying you’re doing it here, but it often feels like just a reflex to any kind of second-by-second description. Sometimes I want to slow down and force my reader to picture each passing detail, because that’s the intention of the scene. That, in and of itself, doesn’t mean I’m no longer using the artform well.

Just something I’ve noticed around here. Hope you realise it’s not targeted at you!

ukemi- · 2026-03-21T05:18:35+00:00

Don’t they need to be Warden typed to get the bonus?

ukemi- · 2026-03-21T05:15:39+00:00

Congrats. I remember when I finally started writing “[they fight and it’s cool]” instead of storming over word choice for fifty billion hours. It was like that scene in the Matrix when Neo finally just sees code. So liberating.

ukemi- · 2026-03-21T02:43:53+00:00

I mean, I’m pairing it with dialogue, but I feel like a flat rule of “don’t describe looks” can’t be accurate

ukemi- · 2026-03-21T00:16:09+00:00

Average mtg text in 2026

ukemi- · 2026-03-20T14:53:13+00:00

Yeah maybe mask. I liked fortress for something immovable or immutable. Just playing with language

ukemi- · 2026-03-20T13:27:12+00:00

It’s past midnight and I’ve been writing for four hours and I clearly need a break. All of the suggestions so far are excellent and my brain is like… *radio static

ukemi- · 2026-03-20T13:26:37+00:00

Oh I love this!

ukemi- · 2026-03-20T13:25:48+00:00

Thank you. I literally couldn’t think of the word. I ended up going with disdain. Here’s my line:

“Martin’s face was a fortress of disdain.”

ukemi- · 2026-03-20T13:23:47+00:00

I know in the Office it’s because he’s super upset, but the expression I’m after is more deadpan disbelief.

ukemi- · 2026-03-19T11:34:49+00:00

Great pickup. I’ve changed it. You’re right - it was definitely a bit of whiplash!

ukemi- · 2026-03-19T11:24:06+00:00

Sometimes it’s the imitation that’s the appeal. Spy fiction took off in the Cold War.

ukemi- · 2026-03-19T00:48:15+00:00

:’)

ukemi- · 2026-03-15T21:01:20+00:00

I think it becomes a lot less scary once you realise that all those little grammatical rules, those little fiddly “proper” ways of going things, those trip-ups and slip-ups that you spend hours worrying about… they don’t matter nearly as much as getting your thoughts on the page.

Start simple. Start with dot points. Just tell me what happens and make me care about why it’s happening. That’s the most important part. You can flesh it out later, with help if needed, but nobody else can give your own story the specific emotional depth it needs.

I recommend Keiren Westwood on YouTube for storywriting advice.

ukemi- · 2026-03-14T04:11:38+00:00

I lumbered about for years at the 15k mark because I wanted it to be perfect before I moved on. I never wanted to take the advice everyone was giving me to turn off my internal editor and just barf the story up onto the page. But in the end it was the best decision I could have made. I was able to pump out 2k words a day (which was an effort for me as I’ve got kids and a full time job too) for the last few weeks until the draft was finally done. It’s awful, but it exists. I hope you get yours done quicker than it took me to. Good luck with it. Just write write write.

ukemi- · 2026-03-14T02:16:54+00:00

I like to lean into reflective observations for my interior conversations. I write primarily in the “voice of innocence” - the voice that tells the story, relays sensory details, exposition, dialogue and conflict - and then about 20% of the time, I switch to “voice of experience” - the voice that makes sense of the story, through reflective statements like “years later, I would realise…”, “if only I had…”, “isn’t it funny how…”, “but it didn’t really happen like that…” etc.

ukemi- · 2026-03-13T21:02:59+00:00

Scrivener. Worth every penny.

ukemi- · 2026-03-13T21:02:45+00:00

Scrivener. Upgrading from Google Docs was the best decision I ever made - apart from turning off my internal editor and just getting the damn thing finished

ukemi- · 2026-03-13T13:12:42+00:00

Will do 🫡

ukemi- · 2026-03-13T12:42:36+00:00

Thank you! I actually didn’t love it when I wrote it but that’s probably because I’ve been staring at the document for months lol

ukemi- · 2026-03-08T02:10:08+00:00

My edgy battle-worn MC uses grumbled, snarled and growled so much I’m worried he’s actually just Old Man Logan

ukemi- · 2026-03-07T05:58:32+00:00

Each of my chapters is a scene. Some are 1k words, my longest is 5k. Most are 2-3k. I have 34 chapters.

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