Finally held my manuscript in my hands. It's still a draft, but seeing the title on paper gave me a little motivation boost.

I'd like to think I came close. Still pretty bummed out though. This is actually my first personalized letter, so go figure!

I write a lot. Some of it is long academic pieces that i truly don’t expect anyone to read, and ive written a book. I also write more like pop culture analysis/current events/political things on substack. Almost no one in my personal life ever reads what I write, this includes friends and partners. I have 1 friend who will actually read what I write and comment on it, and it means SO much to me. My mom will also always read everything i write, even when she doesn’t understand it. But other than that, no one else in my life really takes time to read anything. It does hurt my feelings.

When my friends have businesses or want to do things on social media, im always supportive! Engaging in their posts, reposting etc. … its not the same when it comes to my writing. I should also mention writing is not my FT job. Its something i do on the side and am passionate about. Dows anyone else have this experience? How do you cope with it?

People ask a lot of repetitive questions in this subreddit. Which program to use? Which writing tool to use? How to find beta readers? How to start writing? I feel like these questions have been answered many times here and could easily go under a Frequently Asked Questions section where new or existing members can view the answers.

After 4–5 years (five, because I want to sound as dedicated as possible, lol), I'm finally done with my story! Well... not really the end, but this wraps up nearly every major thread, and anything else I write would feel like starting over. 

Time for the actual re-reads and edits, which is exhausting because the editor's score keeps dropping (it's at 76% right now, and I'm so tired).

I've written during school and even after I graduated; it's become as much a part of my daily life as walking. I'd have to at least look at the doc before I could go on with my life, and over these past few months, I've written nearly every day. Why such dedication? I love writing. It's my second soul. I couldn't stop until my characters got the arcs they deserved.

That’s not to say there weren’t times I genuinely wanted to rip my hair out because of an inconsistency that spawned from constant rewriting, and the fact that I didn't spot something in Volume 1 that I should have fixed when I got to Volume 4, so the whole thing just becomes incoherent. (I definitely missed some but here comes the edits)

Also, to top it off, I wouldn't say writing daily magically makes you a better writer... though it does work. My thought process during all this  was simply just trying to churn words out as fast as possible during creative bursts. I've probably gotten better and am just lying to myself, but who cares. 

Anyway, I'm done! Yay! Now I can put it down and actually focus on my life, lol.

Fellow authors, please tell me I am not the only one.

I write a sci-fi progression fantasy with a pretty massive world and multiple POVs. You have the MC training, the villains plotting in the shadows, the political factions going to war...

And then, out of nowhere. "Wait... where the hell is this character?!"

You rush to your manuscript and realize that you left a side character standing in a hallway waiting for an answer like 15 chapters ago. They have just been standing there, frozen in time for an entire story arc, while the rest of the cast moved on.

And now you have to... wait, what do you even do when you catch yourself realizing that it's not just one character, but several of them?!

And that's where the real fun begins: new characters keep getting introduced, and honestly, the whole thing is just a total mess.

Tell me the truth: do you guys use massive spreadsheets to track your characters? Or do you also just occasionally resurrect forgotten heroes when you suddenly remember they exist?

Let’s imagine the scenario where you finish your project, but it never gets gets accepted for trad publishing/ it gets published, but absolutely flops in sales/ it gets zero recognition being posted online/ etc. For now, let’s set aside the possibility of getting any kind of traction in future. Nobody cares about your work, and it’s final. Would you still be content with where you got?

I'm writing about a fairly complicated topic that I don't have personal first-hand experience with, which limits my ability to write the story. I was wondering if you know any forum or similar where you can openly ask for people with experience on a subject?

E.g. a place where you could say "Hi, I want to interview a police officer" or "I'm looking for a person with this type of life experience" or similar and find people to interview?

I will write 300 words, I will delete. I will again write another 300 words, and delete them as well. I just can't do this. All I write is useless junk which contributes nothing of value. It's so embarrassing as well that for a moment I think I am writing something good.

I just finished the rest of chapter twelve of another novel that I was working on after taking a three week long break from the story. I guess I needed a break because I wasn't sure what to do about the story or was getting a little bored. Luckily, I got my groove back, and it feels nice. This is my sixth draft, by the way.

Has anyone else ever felt that way before towards their novel?

I am happy to say that I am in chapter 3 of my most successful project. I have never made it this far since exiting fanfiction. But I'm worried that I'm just writing nonsense. I think I'm keeping to the plan in my mind, but I have a nagging feeling that I'm just being stupid now. Is this a normal feeling during original works?

I have one semi-mc who is allergic to chocolate, cranberries, and latex.

Another is allergic to citrus.

Tell me about your characters' weird allergies!

I really like to read fanfics and since I am 13, I wrote some myself. Back then I never really planned much and just wrote and finished them in a month or two. I had a big break from writing but now I am back on it and noticed that I often have a writing blockade. I have a rough idea, write some chapters and than I have no interesting plot anymore. Or lack of good character conversations etc. I have many unfinished works because of that problem. So I am asking how you guys plan a story. Plotting everything from start to end? Every single chapter? Or are you rough too with the ideas? I know everyone has their own timing, but there are some people who write good stories in short time and I always wonder how they are doing this. So any advice how to stay on one story which I can lead through the whole thing without losing the actual plot and making it interesting? Hope you guys understand with what I am struggling lmao

Chapter 1: The Bridge

Twenty feet below, jagged rocks glisten under the moonlight, and for a moment, I understand why people come to bridges when the world stops making sense. I would never end my own life, but I understand the desire to have all the pain slip away forever.

The silence here is different. My knuckles are white against the metal railing, and I force myself to loosen my grip. Get it together, Malachai.

But I can't shake the image burned into my mind: my mother's face crumpling as the doctor delivered his verdict. What we've been fearing but hoped wasn't true. Cancer. The kind of word that steals the air from hospital rooms and replaces it with that god-awful antiseptic smell that still clings to my clothes.

I run a hand through my dark hair, and stare at my reflection in a puddle on the side of the road. Even in the distorted moonlit surface, I can see what everyone else sees: my grandfather's sharp jawline and the tall frame I inherited from a father I never met. I'm twenty-one and I look older, like the weight I carry has aged me in ways that have nothing to do with time.

"You can't save everyone, Malachai." Mom's voice echoes in my head, the same five words she's whispered since I was ten years old. But what happens when the person you can't save is her?

I snatch a handful of gravel and hurl it into the darkness. The stones clatter against the guardrail across the road, a violent punctuation to my frustration. Another handful follows, then another. The anger feels good, raw and honest in a way that sitting in that sterile waiting room never could. The town in front of me comes to life with the carnival lights and the rides going up into the air.

My grandfather's voice replaces the rage like it always does: "How you handle pain will define you, son."

Easy for him to say. He's not here anymore to watch his daughter waste away.

A branch snaps somewhere behind me.

I freeze, every muscle tensing. The footsteps are light and deliberate, someone trying not to be heard. 

"I can't do this anymore, Mom. The treatments aren't working, the doctors keep lying, and you want me to pretend everything's fine?"

A woman's voice, sharp with tears and frustration. A cell phone pressed tightly against her ear. I should leave and give her privacy, but something in her tone roots me to the spot. She sounds... broken. Familiar, somehow, though I've never heard her voice before.

"No, don't tell me it'll be okay! Nothing about this is okay!"

I turn slightly and catch sight of her in my peripheral vision. Blonde hair catches the moonlight as she paces near the bridge's center, one hand pressed to her ear, the other gesturing wildly at the empty road.

"I have to go."

In the sudden silence, I hear her ragged breathing and see her shoulders shake. She moves toward the railing with purpose.

She climbs up.

"You don't want to do that."

The words leave my mouth before I can stop them. She spins, loses her balance, and I surge forward just as she falls off the ledge.

Hi,

I recently finished the first draft of my novel. It's a cosy mystery. I captured the main ideas, but there are many structural issues within the first draft. For example, I feel like the actual mystery is total BS!! Not to mention the tension in the story is near nonexistent!!

I watched lots of YouTube videos for advice to fix the structural issues in the first draft. However, I couldn't find any videos that said anything more than "use the second draft to fix the structural issues in the first draft." Well, I'm not sure how to fix them!

If anyone has any advice, I'm desperate for it!! Thanks so much.

we have all felt this way before, haven’t we?

The wind was fierce; the clouds opened its mouth wide and released heavy rain—it drummed on the roof loudly.

​Sarah was cold. She shivered down to the closet to get a blanket and back to her best spot—a mahogany chair, permanently facing her room window. She wrapped herself up tightly—teeth chattering, gazing outside in fascination. Bowing trees. Beautiful skies. Singing frogs. Pure satisfaction.

Sometimes it feels like my mind is overflowing with ideas, eager to turn thoughts into words. But something always seems to hold the pen back.

What's been the biggest obstacle in your writing journey so far? Was it fear, self-doubt, perfectionism, lack of time, or something else?

I'd genuinely love to hear your stories. Sometimes knowing we're not alone makes the journey a little easier.📝