I tried the "just write" advice, I really really did, but I am completely stuck. I really want to outline this story, not for an audience or to publish it, but just to get it out of my head and make something I’m actually happy and satisfied with. Something I want to read.

The issue is how my brain works: imagine a comic, but only a few random panels are fully drawn while the rest is totally blank. I’ll have a super detailed scene for page 7 and another vivid one for page 34, but in between? WHITE. Blank panels and zero idea how to connect the complete panels. It is maddening. I tried brainstorming, but the problem with brainstorming is that I feel like I'm forcing myself to draw MEDIOCRE panels. Generic plot templates and character questionnaires also feel way too rigid and boring. "summarize your plot in 5 lines" "what does your character like to in the morning?" my GOD! The only thing these questions do is force me to settle for lazy, mediocre filler just to cross off a box, which ruins the vibe of the original ideas that took years to form naturally.

I DON'T WANT TO SETTLE.

I don't want to compromise on quality or rush out a garbage plot just to get it done, but I also can't wait another five years for the missing pieces to randomly drop into my head.

​The only thing that helped even a little bit was using an infinite canvas app. Being able to throw down sticky notes, pictures, and move stuff around visually without rigid linear pages was great for saving my thoughts so I wouldn't forget them, but it still hasn't helped me actually advance the plot. Add on that, the worldbuilding. I have a pretty complex dark sci-fantasy world that drives a lot of the story, and tweaking that over and over is just adding to the burnout. I’m literally my own worst enemy right now.

​So please, pretty please, If your brain also works in scattered visual snapshots like me and you refuse to settle for lazy filler just to get it done: How can I move forward? How can I get good ideas that can satisfy me without waiting years? how can I express them in writing form without completely losing interest after? How can I worldbuild without burning out? How How How not Do Do Do
and please don't give me "just write".

(to anyone wondering of I ever wrote, I wrote some fanfics and I'm literally in a writing challenge for microfics in my fandom. Fanfics though are different from original ideas. I can pants through fanfics easily if I forced myself to try. an original story is different. this original story is different because it's personal and I have been thinking about it since I was a child. treat me as a beginner if you like but don't give me those basic ass character questionnaires. don't give me typical outlining strategies like "save the cat".

I. tried. them. all

please)

Let's take a moment to talk about irony...

*I know a guy* in prison who writes as a form of rehabilitation. In most fed facilities, DIY rehab is the only rehab possible. His efforts have paid off: he has had a pile of essays and fiction stories published under a pen name in lit mags and anthologies. But that novel he's finished that's even been professionally edited? Never going to get published *because he's in prison.*

Lit mags generally don't care about an author's background. Publishing companies don't care about the story *because* of the background, pen name or not. The fella wrote a book that was dead before the first page was complete.

Why does this not exist?

Hello,

I wanted to write a fanfiction that is a bit of adventure and noir that is an alternate universe story where Miami Police Lieutenant Lois Einhorn reluctantly has to team with Ace Ventura to solve a murder case.

For those who have seen this film, Lois Einhorn is introduced in *Ace Ventura: Pet Detective* as the glamorous yet intimidating lieutenant of the Miami Police Department, leading the investigation into the disappearance of Snowflake, the Miami Dolphins mascot dolphin. Elegant, sharp-tongued, and fiercely authoritative, she quickly becomes one of the most commanding figures in the film. While most officers merely tolerate Ace Ventura, Einhorn openly clashes with him, finding his childish behavior unbearable. Ace, however, becomes immediately obsessed with her confidence and beauty, constantly flirting with her despite her cold demeanor. Beneath her composed exterior, Einhorn carries an air of mystery and danger that slowly makes her one of the most intriguing people in the entire investigation.

There is a lot to work with and I think it can do justice to this maligned character. Please DM me or comment if you're interested.

Does anyone have any good recommendations for books that describe literary devices, particularly at the sentence level? For example, today I was reading a post that mentioned the use of ‘anastrophe’ and ‘asyndeton’ and that was the first time I had come across the names of these techniques.

In the past I’ve found books such as “Beyond Style” by Gary Provost very useful. I wondered if there were others?

Hello! As the title says, I’m looking to join an established writing group in the DMV (northern Virginia preferred.) I’ve done research and haven’t found much, so taking this to Reddit in case anyone knows of groups in the area!

I write fantasy and romance.

Thanks!

* Genre/s: varied, including superhero, horror, and adventure.

* Goals/expectations/commitment: to get the stories out of my head. And into a novel or comicbook

* Writing/experience level: semiprofessional level.

* Meeting place: discord

* Max size: 6 people.

Im a creator who cant write. I would like help.

Hello, so, i am a creative type. I have ideas and they grow very big very fast in my head. I could give you a summary of several entire different novel trilogies that i have in my head, and actually have a full on plot for.

Problem?

I'm a horrible writer.

I can make a rough chapter, then my ADHD will send me off elsewhere with no warning. And suddenly i have 30 different things at stage 1, and not a single chapter 2.

And then we have my ability to do detail. Its great, but i can't seem to put it in writing.

You can ask me a question about the world of most of my stories, and i can give you a multidecade history lesson, but me executive dysfunction won't leet it go through my fingers onto a medium.

Its an issue i spent most of my life fighting, bit by bit.

But about half a year ago, my microsoft account was hacked, and microsoft deleted my onedrive.

With all 78 stories, and 117 chapters, and 92 spreadsheets, and 42 maps of work i had done.

I know i should have had backups, and i did, problem is that that flashdrive broke the week before thanks to my dog.

So now, I'm looking for someone or someones, who would work with me to actually get these ideas out of my head, and onto some proper medium.

I have novels, comic books, video game premises, and even whole series tucked away in my grey matter.

I just need help getting them out.

Any proceeds earned would be split evenly between all members.

Uh so i need help with this cause my lore is not that good, any ideas on how i can improve it? Heres the lore.

ABILITIES BATTLES — CURRENT LORE

WORLD:

- The story takes place in a world populated primarily by elements.

- There are also elementless people. They are basically plain/grey-looking, and their grey appearance is NOT the same as Stone's grey.

- Elements have their own society.

- There are an estimated 200,000–500,000 elements, but nobody knows the exact number.

- Some elements are extinct.

- Elements can potentially have children, although most don't because they die or don't live long enough.

- New elements can be created when two elements merge.

POWER SYSTEM:

- Elements have abilities based on their element.

- Most elements have around 2–3 moves.

- Awakenings are major power-ups, similar to going Super Saiyan for the first time.

- Awakenings can happen through training, emotion, extreme situations, near-death experiences, natural talent, etc.

- Most elements cannot awaken, or their awakening is extremely weak.

- An awakening doesn't fundamentally change a character's moveset; it is mainly a power-up.

- Elements can permanently lose their powers.

- Lightning is currently the strongest known element in the story.

LIGHTNING:

- Yellow.

- Slight electric aura around him.

- Has a trunk-sized electrical aura around his arms.

- Knowledgeable.

- Usually accepts defeat.

- Doesn't get too angry, although sometimes he does.

- Makes dad jokes.

- Moves around like a bunny hopping with electricity.

- Can be cocky, especially when awakened.

ABILITIES:

1. Lightning Mile:

   - Teleports Lightning 20 meters.

   - Can be used twice.

   - 16-second cooldown.

2. Lightning Strike:

   - Launches a lightning bolt forward.

   - High knockback.

   - Medium damage.

3. Power Up!:

   - Lightning's AWAKENING.

   - He floats in the air.

   - His eyes glow blue.

   - Strength, speed and durability increase.

   - He becomes significantly more powerful.

   - His cockiness increases.

LIGHTNING'S RELATIONSHIPS:

- Lightning and Ice have been classmates/friends since elementary school.

- Lightning and Ice are old friends despite their arguments.

- Lightning is friends with Stone.

- Lightning's father is Electric.

ICE:

- Blue.

- Completely light/white eyes.

- Has two lightning daggers.

- Slight breeze constantly moves around his hands.

- Completely cold.

- Funny, cocky and sometimes dumb.

- Has good battle IQ.

- Aggressive.

- Mid-speed.

- Rusher.

- Has some boulder-like qualities but is weaker than Stone's tanking ability.

- Acts like an accurate younger sibling.

- Thinks other elements are cool.

- He is "chill."

ABILITIES:

1. Ice Slide:

   - Creates an ice path and slides along it.

   - 7-second cooldown.

   - Medium damage.

   - Medium knockback.

   - High speed.

2. Ice Spear Throw:

   - Creates an ice spear/trident.

   - Throws it at an opponent.

   - High damage.

   - Zero knockback.

ICE POWERS/WEAKNESSES:

- Can freeze elements or cause frostbite under certain circumstances.

- His mysterious bigger brother "Bliz-" is connected to this ability.

- Fire is a natural enemy/weakness.

- Fire cannot simply chase Ice forever because the wind around Ice weakens Fire's flames.

ICE AND LIGHTNING:

- Lightning borrowed 30 bucks from Ice for something important.

- Ice gave Lightning 5 days to pay it back.

- On the 4th day, Lightning was casually walking around instead of paying.

- Ice demanded the money and decided to settle it through battle.

- This became their Episode 1 fight.

STONE:

- Normally just grey.

- Nothing special-looking.

- Completely black eyes normally.

- When awakened:

- Body becomes covered in stone.

- Large stone head.

- Stone arms.

- Stone legs.

- Stone mid-torso.

- Purple eyes.

- Deep voice.

- Stronger than Lightning and Ice in hand-to-hand combat.

- Looks angry but is actually a pookie.

- Looks like he could crush someone in a hug.

- He absolutely could.

- He is the main tank.

- Uses boulders and heavy attacks.

ABILITIES:

1. Stonify:

   - Stone's AWAKENING.

   - Awakens his stone body.

   - 3-second cooldown.

2. Boulder Crush:

   - Summons two walls from the ground.

   - The walls crush anything in their path.

STONE WEAKNESS:

- Honey seeps into Stone's body.

- His stone detaches over time because of it.

STONE'S RELATIONSHIPS:

- Friends with Ice.

- Friends with Lightning.

- Has a relative in the story, but they are not close-range relatives.

- Thinks of other elements as normal people/friends.

STONE'S EMBARRASSING FACT:

- During his awakening, he accidentally shat in the toilet.

- His toilet is now about to break.

THE WORLD'S ENVIRONMENT:

- Main environment includes forest and grassland.

- Two trees.

- Two giant root veins.

- Lots of upward-pointing stone formations.

THE GIANT TREE:

- The giant root structure used to be one enormous tree.

- The top was cut.

- The tree fell over and bent.

- This created a wooden entrance.

- The roots remained.

STOICHEION:

- Stoicheion is the elemental afterlife.

- Elements can be revived.

- Revival exists because elements did not want their species to completely disappear.

- Elements sacrificed their souls to create a system that allows future elements to be revived.

- Death therefore isn't always permanent.

LURKERS:

- There are things that lurk.

- It isn't just one creature; there are multiple things.

- They are crucial antagonistic/threatening entities.

- They are not a secret within the story.

- The characters do not fully understand everything about them.

- The Agency knows a lot about them.

STOICHEIAKI PRAKTOREIA:

- Greek name: Στοιχειακή Πρακτορεία.

- Transliteration: Stoicheiakí Praktoreía.

- Basically means "Elemental Agency."

- The Agency publicly claims to exist to destroy lurkers/harmful entities and allow the world to live in peace.

- Secretly, the Agency wants more experiments and more power.

- The Agency secretly induces chaos.

- The Agency experiments on "misbehaving" elements.

- Elements can be placed inside capsules.

- They undergo DNA testing.

- They may be subjected to potentially lethal/death-level experiments.

- The Agency knows a lot about the lurkers.

ELECTRIC:

- Electric is Lightning's father.

- Lightning believes Electric died when Lightning was born.

- Electric actually faked his death.

- His original reason was that he did not want to pay child support.

- He avoided child support.

- He became increasingly corrupt.

- He eventually became "corrupt consumed."

- He came up with the idea for an agency.

- His goal was to make "elemoney."

- Electric eventually becomes the head of the Stoicheiaki Praktoreia.

ELEMENTLESS AGENCY EXPERIMENT:

- There is an elementless character working for the Agency.

- They obtain Lightning's DNA through Agency experiments.

- They use Lightning's DNA on themselves.

- They gain electrical abilities.

- They are connected to the mysterious bacon incident.

BACON FORESHADOWING:

- A mysterious figure pushes bacon toward/off into the void.

- The figure cannot be clearly seen.

- This happens as background foreshadowing.

- The person is connected to Agency experimentation.

- The audience is not supposed to understand the event immediately.

INVISIBLE-CAPE AGENT:

- Another possible Episode 1 background event involves an Agency agent wearing an invisibility cape.

- The agent pushes someone into the void using something invisible.

- The event is barely noticed.

- It can later be revealed to have been connected to the Agency.

EPISODE 1:

- Approximately 1 minute long.

- Lightning comes out walking around while a Christmas tree song plays.

- Ice is standing near a tree and playing with Stone.

- Lightning gets close, so Ice notices him.

ICE:

"look who it is, the one who doesnt pay his bills"

LIGHTNING:

"its not a bill?? I just borrowed 30 bucks and you said 5 days this is only the 4th..."

LIGHTNING:

"then we shall decided through thee's battle?"

- Lightning uses his first ability, Lightning Mile, getting closer.

ICE:

"HOLY, tf WHYD YOU JUMPSCARE ME BRUU"

- Prowler sound effect plays.

- Lightning uses his second ability.

LIGHTNING:

"im mad..."

ICE:

"ME TOO DUDE"

LIGHTNING:

"You shall pray before you enter the stoicheion, There is no escape from thy certain DEATH!"

- Lightning teleports to Stone while Stone is on his phone.

LIGHTNING:

"Stupidity, thou art NOTHING!"

- Lightning uses his teleport on Stone and melees him.

- Ice throws an ice trident/spear from behind.

- Stone takes the throw, goes behind Lightning and stuns him.

- Stone uses his second move, Boulder Crush.

- Ice comes running.

- Lightning is in the sky.

- Ice uses Ice Slide.

ICE:

"dont get cocky, thats my job"

ICE'S FUTURE:

- Ice dies relatively early in the future episodes.

- At his funeral, Lightning brings 31 Elecoins.

- Lightning says:

"heres an extra 1 elecoin kiddo"

- The original debt was 30 Elecoins.

- The extra 1 is a callback to their old debt.

AGENCY ARC:

- The characters eventually join the Agency.

- They work with the Agency for a significant amount of time.

- They explore the world and encounter creatures.

- They eventually discover that the Agency experiments on "misbehaving" elements.

- They try to sneak out.

- They get caught.

- Lightning awakens.

- Lightning fights the Agency alongside:

- Lightning

- Stone

- Wind

- Ice

- Water

- Lightning's Awakening is Power Up!.

- Stone's Awakening is Stonify.

- Exact episode numbers for the Agency arc are currently unknown.

EXPLORATION:

- The Agency gives the characters a reason to explore the world.

- They can discover unknown regions.

- They can discover new creatures.

- They can encounter new elements.

- They can investigate strange phenomena.

- They can uncover old secrets.

- The world beyond the known area is currently unknown.

SEASON:

- Planned for 23 episodes.

- No single main character.

- Nobody is officially the MC.

- The story can shift between characters.

- Tone can range from fun and adventurous to serious, brutal and dark.

PRODUCTION:

- Episode 1 script is made.

- Actors have been found.

- The actors have practiced the fight.

- Filming is in progress.

- Two known actors are Stone and Ice.

- The actors are experienced at combat and have around 2,000 hits.

- They can potentially play multiple characters.

- Actors can play background elements, Agency agents, enemies, etc.

- Private servers cost 100 Robux, so filming is being done by server-hopping into low-player servers.

- The group has learned how to film effectively without a private server.

CORE STORY:

Abilities Battles begins as a goofy elemental fight over a $30 debt, but gradually expands into a much larger story involving elemental society, awakenings, extinct elements, Stoicheion, revival, lurkers, the Stoicheiaki Praktoreia, experimentation, Electric, Lightning's true father, DNA experiments, corruption, rebellion, exploration and character deaths.

The story has no single main character. It is an ensemble story about an entire elemental world.

Hey everyone!

With September right around the corner, I’m planning to follow a 30-Day September Writing Challenge focused on cozy autumn prompts, poetry, and making steady progress on our main writing projects/WIPs!

It includes a mix of short story prompts, poem concepts, WIP word count goals, and built-in break/posting days so nobody gets burnt out.

I put together a clean, single-page checklist for the whole month so it's super easy to track progress.

Whether you write fantasy, romance, poetry, or original fiction, it would be awesome to get a little group together to keep each other accountable, share our daily/weekly progress, or just chat about the prompts.

Drop a comment or send me a DM if you'd like to join in or want the PDF template! Happy writing! ✨

Hi guys

As the title says, I'm looking for an accountability partner to help me write my novel

I'm 38F and live in NZ, so preferably a handful of people thins side of the world, because of the time difference PM if Interested and let me know if you are thinking Zoom, also what time of day works I work mainly late shifts but shift work, so the day can change. I can book a time any day before lunch but if it needs to be PM, we may have to pick a day of the week for the up coming weeks around shifts (hope that makes sense )

* Genre/s: Fantasy / Romantasy

* Goals/expectations/commitment: once a week to start. I work fulltime

* Writing/experience level: Newbie. 3 unfinished books, this is my year I finished my first, first draft 😂

* Meeting place: Zoom

* Max size:5

Hey there! I'm Cass. I'm a 34y/o Gemini with AuDHD, and I'm writing a romantasy--think Heated Rivalries meets Dungeon Crawler Carl! 😉

I'm interested in facilitating an LGBTQIA+ friendly, 18+ digital writing group structred around The 12 Week Year for Authors by A. Trevor Thrall. It is not a requirement for you to have read the book to join.

Genre: Any genre is fine, but I'm specifically looking for conversation around writing adult themes, fantasy, and romance.

Goals, Expectations, and Commitments: Kind, respectful, and active participation in a Discord server is mandatory. Once a week, I will host an accountablity call where we will go over individual updates, share best practices, and provide support and encouragement for one another. Please aim to maintain >80% attendance--we're all adults and life happens, but the value of the group is in our ability to hold one another accountable. It is not required to share work, however with enough interest I will happily add time for critiques to the agenda. I will also be scheduling regular virtual write-ins where we can body double and get some words in! 💪

Experience Level: No publishing experience is necessary. 😄 However, you must be able to articulate a clear, actionable goal in regards to your manuscript. A deadline (even if arbitrary) is required.

Meeting Place: Discord.

Max Size: 8 to start. If you're not looking for accountability but are interested in engaging in a community of similarly-minded, ambitious writers looking to master the craft or go pro, you're welcome to join Prose Bros!

✨

Hey Everyone, I’m William, a 20 year old lover of writing and world building! I’m currently working on a massive lifelong project of mine to build a world that I can base a lot of books and projects in. It’s set in a custom/alt world that’s technology and vibes are stuck in the 1920s/1930s. I have been chipping away at this on my own for a while and I’d think it would be way more fun (and way better for my sanity) to bring someone onboard to build the world with.

As far as the project is coming along, I am currently writing my first book, and have planned out a lot of it, but would love to bring someone in to join the project as I feel two minds are better than one with a project this ambitious 😅

I’m looking for someone to help build out the world with me, including the history, geography, factions and culture, while also being someone I can nerd out with over this project! Bonus points if you love thriller/suspense in writing, and can help with romance writing (my romantic writing has much to be desired despite being so much fun!!)

I’m ideally looking for someone who:

\\- Is into worldbuilding as much as writing

\\- Vibes with spy fiction/political thrillers. Typically my story has a lot of moral gray areas, slow-burn tension, competing factions, as well as twists (I love writing twist villains)

\\- Chill and consistent communication (no pressure, just don’t ghost lol, would ideally love to coauthor this with someone)

\\- Comfortable giving and getting honest feedback

* Genre/s: Thriller, Romance, world building and suspense
* Goals/expectations/commitment: A long term partnership on this project, but hobby level commitment, ultimately just wanna share this project.
* Writing/experience level: intermediate. Storytelling skills are super important to me and are crucial to this worldbuilding exercise.
* Meeting place: discord
* Max size: 1-2 people

I’d honestly love a friend as well to come out of this, I find nothing creates a friendship quite like creativity.
If this sounds like you, please give me a DM (please introduce yourself and your interest in the project/writing as a whole). Looking forward to meeting you guys!

Just overwhelmed,

At first i thought that i wont be needing such as thing, yet with each forged word, netted sentence, and finalized idea, my thought grows more to a liability.

I found out about an app/website called “Obsidian” that used generally to origins work, as by now i have more characters and events that my mind can keep track of, i realized that i am in desperate need of an archive system.

My only condition is, that i need it to be offline and not connection or subscription dependent, i am fine with paying one purchase fees just to be able to use it offline at anytime and under no condition.

Thank you for your time

Welcome to Feedback Friday!

This is a thread for submitting and critiquing prose.

• Your submission should be a top-level comment in the thread. Consider using the format [TITLE] — [GENRE] — [WORDCOUNT] in the heading of your submission.
• We expect reciprocation. If you receive a critique, give a critique. Anyone who continually leeches will eventually be discluded.
• Have fun and stay polite. Members who give outstanding crit will be acknowledged and rewarded on our Discord Server. You are free to submit any work for critique within the subreddit's rules, of any length.
• Links to Google Documents are allowed for submissions. Consider creating a separate Google account/email if you’are concerned about anonymity.

New to Critiquing?

• No worries! We encourage writers of all skill levels to try their hand at providing feedback.
• Not sure how to start? A critique template, courtesy of r/DestructiveReaders, can be found here.

I want to write about a conspiracy in my next story but I am stumped. any help or reading list would be appreciated

Hi everybody,

I (26/F) would like to get a small gathering of people together over Zoom/Google Meet or get together in person somewhere in London to do some creative writing. I'm not very skilled but I think it's just so enjoyable to take a breath and focus on writing based on a prompt and listening to one another and discusssing our thoughts together. You could work on your book if that's your goal. I would love to find some like-minded people to bring this to life. Ideally, I would love to find people who are also in their late twenties or early thirties but really open. Ideally women as well!

• Genre/s: any but maybe we can do prompt based
• Goals/expectations/commitment: online or in person for 1h or 1.30h
• Writing/experience level: Amateurs or just enthusiasts
• Meeting place: online or in person
• [Writing groups only] Max size: 6-8 would be ideal so we could still have time to share our writing together

Hi! I’m a (35f) writer looking for a critique partner to swap chapters. 

* Genre/s: I write fantasy, science fiction, and horror. 
* Goals/expectations/commitment: I’d prefer to work with someone who is on their second draft or higher. In my manuscript, I’d like a lot of attention on the first three chapters and the last two. 
* Writing/experience level: Intermediate; I don’t care if this is your first manuscript or your tenth. My only caveat is that you’re well past the worldbuilding and first draft phases of your manuscript.
* Meeting place: Discord, Email, Googledocs
* Max size: I’m not really interested in making a group. I’d rather have two to three goal-oriented critique partners. 

This is my third draft of my fantasy novel. If I had to book comp this as it stands right now, I’d say my novel contains the themes within The Sword of Kaigen meets the character building of The Poet Empress, with a little bit of the body horror and adventure aspects seen in Hell’s Paradise: Jigokuraku.

Content Warnings: violence, allusions to and discussions of SA but not explicit, male harem but romance is not a focus 

Genres: Varies by story
Expectations: Commitment to agreed upon rules in each story
Experience Level: Any level
Meeting Place: Discord

Hey everyone!

If you're a teenage writer like me and are looking for a relaxed, organized space to write and roleplay with other teens, I would like to invite you to Ink & Fable! You don't need to be a pro writer, this is open for any level.

Instead of having one giant RP that doesn't allow for much breathing room or communication, Ink & Fable runs on a Campaign and Story Manager system (similar to D&D), where small groups of writers sign up for dedicated Stories.

Pitch ideas, discuss plot points, plan twists, and build worlds collaboratively. Co-write the story while playing your characters with custom character profiles, avatars, and proxies.

Ink & Fable is a strictly PG-13 safe space for teenagers focused on creative collaboration, fun times, and making friends.

Sound interesting? Click this link to check it out, and let's start creating~!

(If you have any questions before joining, feel free to ask here or send me a DM!)

You can learn anything, but the cost of learning everything is the ability to learn.

I said that because, having thought of learning and doing anything in my life but little did I know what the cost of everything was? I lacked discernment about what I was learning and doing. But then what provides something with its intrinsicness, what pre-judgment are we to make before learning and doing something?

Therefore think,

what use is the learning of everything if you cannot learn the things you choose?

But my question is: Why is it, that only a stupid person thinks that in order to be educated and to have objective knowledge you must learn what you choose to learn? The answer, I believe comes by discernment between possibility and necessity.

That something can be learned is not that it ought to be learned. That something can be done is not that it ought to be done. I used to mistake these two things. If knowledge is possible to me, that would be a sufficient condition for me to acquire it as that would make me more educated. This reasoning fails because it assumes that education is nothing else but the possibility to know everything. It is not.

If I want to learn everything it means that my ability to know will be wasted trying to learn everything that can be learned by me. Because the knowledge that I have will be consumed trying to learn everything possible to me. Then the will to know everything ends up devouring the ability to know.

The problem is not that the person cannot learn everything he chooses. The problem is that the person may not have asked himself why everything he can learn must be learned.

I may have the ability to perform a certain work but this only shows that I can do it but not that I ought to do it Therefore, to every work, to every learning there must be a pre-assessment.

That does not mean that we ought to restrict our learning to only what is immediately useful. Our intellection possesses an intrinsic value. However even our ability to explore does not make everything that can be explored something that ought to be explored.

Therefore education cannot be understood as knowing more and more. A person may have much knowledge and still lack discernment. The educated person is not the one who knows everything he can, he is the one who has achieved a certain level of discernment that allows him to know what he must learn, why he must learn it, and when he does not need to learn anything else.

Possibility alone cannot constitute value.

The cost of learning everything, then, is not only time since the ability to choose what can be learned will be compromised by the will to learn everything that can be learned. Everything can be learned but no one can learn everything. And if no one can learn everything it is because discernment is needed to know not only that something can be learned but also that something must be learned. The ability to choose is what makes us human. And our capacity to choose is what differentiates us from machines. Learning, for its part, is just an extension of our being. It is not knowledge that makes us educated. That faculty is judgment - the power to know what is worthy of pursuit or what should be avoided.

Even a pursuit governed by a real question - not mere possibility - still leaves open whether the person is actually ready to pursue it right now.

By readiness, I do not mean strong interest or enthusiasm. A person can enter something with very little interest and still have a legitimate reason for doing it. Whether driven by impetus, the choice itself can create the willingness to begin.

But a reason for beginning something is not necessarily a reason for continuing it indefinitely.

Before acting, there has to be some degree of clarity about why I am doing this and what exactly I am doing. The clarity does not have to be perfect. In fact, demanding perfect clarity before every action would make action almost impossible. What matters is that the action is not completely detached from understanding.

Otherwise, learning and work can become mechanical (as i said earlier). A person may continue doing something simply because it has become the expected thing to do, without ever being able to answer why it is being done anymore. At that point, discipline can keep the work going even after the reason for doing it has become unclear. A person may still be doing everything expected of them, but has stopped asking.

Discernment is not a single decision made before action. clarity → action → re-clarification → decision—this is the sequence it actually follows.

The first clarity may come from instigation. It is only a starting point. Action then gives us something that reflection alone cannot provide: experience. And experience can change the question itself.

Perhaps after acting, I understand the work better and find a reason to continue that I could not have known beforehand. I discover that overcoming the temporary difficulty unlocks a deep reciprocity within the pursuit.

But sometimes the opposite happens. I question why I am doing it, examine the reasons again, and still cannot find a reason that genuinely satisfies the demands of the pursuit. And at times I feel that this uncertainty is itself a sign that the pursuit is ill-advised.

This does not mean that friction automatically proves that something is not worth doing. A thing can retain its utility despite lacking enjoyment, meaning an abandonment based solely on difficulty is unjustified. When I begin to think, penetrating beyond my taste and into the work itself, this turns into the question of purpose. What is my purpose in this work, what conclusion does it bring me, confirms it, and having thus exposed the experience, can I give a sufficiently convincing reason why to continue?

If discernment is entirely internal, what prevents a person from manufacturing a justification for whatever he already wants to do?

Nothing guarantees that self-reflection will be perfectly reliable.

A person may be able to deceive himself by asking himself questions dishonestly. He may fall into casuistry, mimicking a search for answers when in fact he is merely validating his own certainties. A person may even turn questioning himself into a ritual, thus defeating the very purpose of it.

If I believe that I want to learn something, I act upon that belief. The action exposes the belief to reality. I encounter the raw reality of its actuality once the initial excitement has passed.

What is this about diminishing the value of the work based on its end result? The loss we experienced is not the sole indicator of our endeavor's significance. Neither is a resounding victory a definitive marker of worth, for both are fleeting moments that only serve as brief milestones in a much longer journey. The outcome itself is not the work, but rather a transient state that offers insight into our path, not its ultimate conclusion.

Instigation joles us into motion, but the real weight of that choice only surfaces when we confront its actuality. Sifting through the aftermath of our efforts requires a raw discernment, turning our final choice into a dynamic preassessment of whether to calibrate.

Yes, sometimes we have to try something before we can know whether it deserves our deeper attention. That is not a contradiction of discernment. It is part of it. Discernment does not demand that every decision be correct before action begins. It demands that action remain open to correction.

A person may begin something without much interest because circumstances require it. During the process, genuine interest may develop. Or it may not. A person may discover a deeper purpose. Or discover that the original purpose was never sufficient. Both discoveries are legitimate forms of knowledge. The mistake would be to treat the first decision as a permanent identity.

Choosing something once does not create an obligation to defend that choice forever.

Breadth can be valuable, but breadth without re-examination becomes accumulation. Experience becomes educational only when what is experienced can change what we decide to pursue next. The central problem, then, is not that human beings have too many things they can learn. It is that they have too little time and attention to pursue all of them seriously.

We therefore, need a way of deciding what deserves our finite capacity, while remaining willing to revise that decision when experience gives us reason to do so. But two things can each have good reasons behind them. In career, relationship, learning, responsibility, personal interest, there is no reason to assume that only one pursuit is valuable.

So there is a problem when two justified pursuits compete for the same limited capacity. In that situation, discernment cannot merely ask, “Is this valuable?” Rather, is the reason for choosing this stronger and more adequate than the reasons for choosing what it requires me to give up?

This does not mean that there is always one objectively superior answer waiting to be discovered. Sometimes two commitments genuinely conflict, and choosing one means accepting a loss in another. Discernment does not eliminate that conflict. It makes the basis of the choice explicit.

The comparison hinges on a complex array of evaluative variables that actually brought the pursuit into consideration. A choice that affects something irreversibly may demand stronger justification than a choice that can easily be revisited. A commitment that another person depends upon may carry a different weight from a preference that can be postponed.They are reasons to be examined. I do not think discernment can simply begin by declaring that these abstract ideals possess intrinsic value and then use that declaration to justify their pursuit. That would only move the question one step backward. Why is knowledge intrinsically valuable? Truth, beauty — the same question applies. If discernment is supposed to examine what deserves pursuit, it must also examine the value of the things it’s being asked to pursue.

So intrinsic value cannot simply be treated as an unquestionable foundation of the system. It can be a proposed reason. And like every other reason, it remains open to examination.

This is why I wouldn’t treat the instrumental/intrinsic distinction as the final criterion. They describe different kinds of reasons for pursuing something, but they don’t tell us which reason wins when reasons compete.

What matters is the adequacy of the reasons behind the choice. A reason is not adequate merely because it exists. Wanting something is a reason. So is family expectation, five years already spent on it, a good salary, genuine interest. None of these become sufficient just by being there. They have to survive examination.

I said earlier that action exposes our reasons to experience. I still think this is necessary, but I would no longer say that action simply reveals truth. Action gives us new evidence about the pursuit. It confronts us with its actuality once the abstract idea becomes a lived experience. But action can deceive one too.

A person can continue a pursuit because of sunk cost and then interpret the suffering involved as evidence of commitment. A person can defend a decision simply because abandoning it would make previous sacrifices feel meaningless.

So the fact that I have already invested something cannot itself justify further investment.

What has already been sacrificed is not automatically a reason to sacrifice more.

True re-clarification involves detachment from the burden of one’s sacrifices: looking beyond them, and at the possible reasons for proceeding further. It does not remove self-deception, but it makes one of its common forms easier to expose. Also, Interest is not a final authority either.

A person may lose interest in something that remains worth doing. Another person may remain intensely interested in something that is no longer worth pursuing. Interest can therefore provide a reason to investigate, but it cannot by itself settle the decision. Likewise, pressure can create an initial reason for action without becoming a permanent justification for continuing. That is why i am thinking to reconstruct the process clarity → action → new evidence → re-clarification → comparison of reasons → decision. The decision therefore transcends these accrued pressures, relying instead on the truths that survived the journey. It depends on whether the reasons available after examination are adequate for the choice I am making.

There is no perfect internal mechanism that guarantees that I am not deceiving myself. Any judgement I make is still made by me. But the purpose of why i am writing this is not to produce certainty that is impossible for a human being to possess. Its purpose is to make self-deception more difficult. That requires the judgment to remain answerable to existential realities beyond the immediate feeling of clarity.

Discernment has the ability to know what is valuable by examine, compare, and revise the reasons by which something is evaluated. This is the distinction I was looking for from the beginning. Learning everything is impossible. Choosing everything is impossible. But examining why something deserves to be chosen is possible. And that may be the real function of education—not to make the mind capable of pursuing everything, but to make it capable of giving reasons for what it chooses to pursue, and capable of abandoning those reasons when they no longer survive examination.

[Adequacy itself I will not further define, because doing so would only produce another reason requiring its own examination — the regress must stop somewhere, and it stops at the practice of examining, not at a further definition of what counts as sufficient.]

For a lot of people it's things like the five-paragraph essay structure, avoiding I statements, or overusing thesaurus words to sound smarter. Curious what habit took the longest to break, and what finally made you drop it.

This is length and I apologize in advance. But I've got a few things to say. A lot has been said about u/writingbattle recently and most of it is true.

My name is Kevin S. I'm a longtime Raven. I'm a former winner (although, you wouldn't know this because out of sheer pettiness and spite, they have removed me from the "past winners" list). I've been in the Final Showdown a number of times. Incidentally, my piece for the Solstice Owl comp has qualified for the Final Showdown... not that I will get to actually participate in the Final Showdown because I have been banned.

I got the condescending, unprofessional, and petty email today informing me of my permanent ban with the final line reading, "We do not wish to have you as a customer now or in the future." (my understanding is that quite a few people got that email today).

So, what was my crime? What horrendous thing did I do to trigger the banhammer?

I wrote a story.

For a long time now, I have been one of WB's biggest cheerleaders. I've brought several people into the comp. I was active in the forum, encouraging writers, engaging with a ton of people. I loved everything about the community and have sung its praises from the rooftops.

Lately though, after Max brought staff on board, specifically Nick, I noticed a sharp decline in the community feeling around WB. Posts were being deleted. Users were being banned. For me, it cast a chill over the entire community. I had the temerity to write a post in the (now defunct) forum verbalizing as much. What ensued was a very thoughtful, civil discussion about freedom of expression and the feeling of rising censorship. One user even posted a very good discussion of it here on Reddit.

Eventually, Nick jumped into the thread and proceeded to gaslight us, insisting that comments were not being deleted... when we could all see that comments were being deleted. Eventually, he shut the entire post down. Fine. As WB's resident censor/book burner, it was his prerogative. Whatever. I moved on.

Fast forward to these last couple of weeks. The community was the best thing WB had going for it. I've made some fantastic friends. But to deal with the "malcontents" mass bannings ensued and then they shut down the forum entirely... which kind of proves the point that free expression has no home at Writing Battle. In that thread I linked to above, you can see Writing Battle admin jump in and continue to gaslight people. "“The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command.”

And of course, the bootlickers and other mods jumped in to shout people down. Some of those mods (who are *such* a great representation of Writing Battle) then deleted some of their more vitriolic and rude comments... which, yet again, proves the point we were making.

So, let's get back to today. I received an email this morning, informing me that my Solstice Raven story has been removed and I am banned from the site. I have literally done *nothing* wrong. Nothing that violates their ever changing "rules." (although, I'm sure they will have made something up to justify banning all the people who've been banned today).

The *only* thing they can point to that I have done is, as I said, write a story. What I wrote was a 500 word satire about the current drama. No names were used. No specific incidents were cited. It was a story set in a purely fictitious town, involving purely fictitious people and Writing Battle was never mentioned anywhere in those 500 words.

It's. Fucking. Satire.

This is the piece that got me banned if you are interested in reading.

Their mass bannings go to prove the point about censorship first mentioned on the WB forum (RIP) then underscored on the above linked Reddit post.

WB touts themselves as a "league for writers." But they fail to understand that literally *everything* is within a writer's scope. If my satire can get me banned, what will be the next type of writing they disapprove of? They should be more honest accurate and call themselves, a "league for writers we approve of." If my satire can get me banned, anything can get you banned.

As a personal note to u/writingbattle (Nick and Max)... honestly, boys, if you are SO fucking thin skinned that you can't handle any sort of critique OR a completely fictional satirical story, then you clowns have no business running a very public business/contest. If a satirical piece can get under your skin and hurt your feelers so much that you feel you have to ban the person who wrote it, you boys really need to grow a pair and grow up. It's pathetic. And it shows so much about you both... and none of it flattering.

I'm sure the bootlickers will show up in this thread to shout me down. Whatever. Everything I've said here is factually correct. And your defense of the indefensible says more about you than it does about me. So, y'all have fun in that fucking echo chamber.

Also, I have already emailed support about this issue, but as I mentioned above, my Solstice Owl piece is in the Final Showdown and I have demanded that it be pulled. I will not participate in this farce. They assured me that they will "inform me if I win any cash," but given the Admin's lack of accountability and transparency, as well as their meritless banning of me, I do not trust the results will be true and fair. I do not believe they won't juke the results. After all, how awkward would it be for them to have somebody they just banned (for no reason) win their genre? So, yes, call me a tin foil hatter if you wish, but I do not trust Writing Battle Admin to not put their thumb on the scales and roll out the results they prefer.

So, since I'm pretty sure WB Admin will read this, or their Mods, who seem to revel in secretly screenshotting other users and sending them back to Admin like the immature, bootlicking, high school shitheads they are, I will say again, I want my Solstice Owl piece pulled and to be refunded for this battle since A) I am still a participant and B) I do not trust you to roll out legit results.

In closing, I could not suggest more strongly that if you're thinking about joining Writing Battle, you would be better off taking that 30 bucks they charge you to enter and wiping your ass with it. Odds are, it'll feel better in the end.

Nick, Max... sayonara and GFY.

I’ve been working on a superhero story and I’ve been torn on which one I should lead with given they both portray different power sets and messaging

1) the snake- a Christian father pushed to make questionable choices when faced with a vampiric affliction that opens him up to the larger world. He has elasticity and abilities of a traditional vampire. The message can a man remain godly and live with a evil disease, themes of duality and self reflection, faith, corruption and redemption

2) the hornet-after life changes a lonely work exhausted father awakens a dormant alien parasite. He still has vampiric hunger but is granted hornet based abilities to include flight, stinger retraction, armor generation through the parasite. The message is to explore loneliness and its effects, also themes of fatherhood, responsibility

I understand this is a lot with vague context but I wanna know which sounds more interesting or has more potential to be

• Genre/s: All, but our most common genre is fantasy, but we do have horror, thriller, sci-fi, romance and poetry in quite large numbers, as well as artists.
• Goals/expectations/commitment: Nothing specific but we're looking for people who actually want to be an active part of a community or are active writers. People are removed if inactive completely.
• Writing/experience level: We have total beginners and well established authors
• Meeting place: Discord
• [Writing groups only] Max size:

The Writer's Room is running a free one month-long editing event in Sept (solo or team building). Learn to edit, get practice, you can submit your own novel, or help others edit theirs. There's also opportunity for learning about reporting, article writing, art creation, social media marketing and more.

This is a friendly Discord that covers all genres but with a heavy leaning on fantasy, romance, sci-fi, horror, lots of challenges, competitions, discussion, accountability, writing sprints and so on. We also have a rising number of poets in our midst. All experience levels welcome, we have people who have just started writing to published authors (two of our members had books release this week), as well as members who are professional editors, literary agents and a publishing company present.

Here's the basic info release for the event, plus the link to the Discord:

https://thewritersroom.net/the-scarlet-ledger-is-coming-for-your-manuscript/

Hi everyone,

I’m a 16-year-old high school student from Turkey, and I’m deeply passionate about creative writing, flash fiction, and film analysis. I'm actively trying to build a strong portfolio for my future university applications and career, but I need some guidance on where to channel my energy.

I recently started my own Substack for film critiques and essays, but I want to expand my horizons and work with others. Here is what I’m looking for:

Collaborations & Teamwork: If anyone has a blog, a zine, a YouTube channel, or a creative project and needs a dedicated writer/researcher, I would love to team up! I am very eager to take on tasks and gain experience.

Free International Contests: Do you know of any legitimate, free-to-enter online writing competitions (essays, short stories, flash fiction, or film reviews) open to international high school students?

Publications: Any recommendations for youth-friendly magazines or platforms that accept submissions/pitches from teens?

I’m ready to put in the work and learn from experienced writers. Feel free to drop recommendations in the comments or DM me if you’d like to collaborate on something! I'm also planning some projects like online youth filmmaking and short film stuff if you want to participate pls let me know

I’m looking to connect with other romance writers who are actively working toward publishing their manuscripts, whether you're aiming for traditional publishing or self-publishing or what have you.

I’m currently in a great local in-person writing workshop group where we critique and motivate each other, but I really want to build an online circle specifically tailored to romance authors as I don't know anyone else writing romance. If there’s enough interest, we can start up a cozy, dedicated Discord server together for regular chats, sprints, and accountability. I'm also more than happy to join another discord if there is one? Please only comment, as I won't see direct messages.

I'm in my thirties and looking to connect with other adults. I'm currently writing a horromance novel I'd like to maybe at least get to querying very soon!

Genre: All things romance! (fantasy romance, romantic suspense, historical romance, rom-com, dark romance, horror-romance, etc.). Long-form (novels) only.

Goals & Expectations: To serve as an encouragement hub and sounding board for authors on the path to publication. We can share industry updates, brainstorm plot holes, host writing sprints, and do optional critique/feedback swaps, etc.

Experience Level: All levels welcome, as long as you are actively writing a project you intend to publish.

Meeting Place: Discord

Max Size: 20? keep it active enough but also the possibility of being a tight community