emeraldwrote

Your story needs a plot. Yes, those are two different things. E.M. Forster made it easy: "The king died and the queen died." That's a story. "The king died and then the queen died of grief." That's a plot. A plot shows causality. It's why your audience will care.

Storytelling is a fundamental part of what makes us human. It plays a crucial role in our personal and collective growth. So, connect with your audience by telling your stories. People who understand you will want to grow with you.

I’m addicted to watching piano covers on YouTube. Sometimes, there are 100s of covers of a song. But every arrangement is incredibly unique. Proves that just because someone else has done it, doesn’t mean you can’t. Create from your heart. Don’t worry about everyone else.

I used to doomscroll to "take a break" from work. Like opening the gram was a reward. But all it did was further atrophy my focus. So, I logged out of all short-form video platforms for good. Put down your phone and write about something instead. It feels better.

Ke Huy Quan Ke Huy Quan Ke Huy Quan

You just have to outlast yourself. Keep writing.

My cousin got married this weekend. But we couldn’t swing the $1k airfare per person. So we drove from DE to FL Keys (and back) in 4 days...

You’re gonna write stuff that flops. It’ll only hurt you if you hold onto it.

Exsqueeze me. You’re overthinking it. Take your abstract idea and plug it into a story. People understand (and enjoy) stories.

The first step in becoming a writer is deciding that you’re a writer.

.@ItsKieranDrew newsletters end with a happy selfie and some smug, uplifting advice. How dare he make my day with a lesson and a boost of positivity. If you're not reading Kieran weekly, idk what you're doing.

.@WrongsToWrite is teaching me how to Twitter. I started from 0 tweets. Put in a month’s work. Woke up today with a new understanding of what he’s been saying. Just a reminder: Learn from the masters. Allow time and consistent effort to compound what you've learned.

I started work full-time at 19 to put myself thru college. Took me 6 yrs to finish school. Was that my plan? Nope. Was it a blessing? Yup. Few leave college with 6 years' experience + a fat savings account. Forget your plan. Have faith there’s a bigger one in progress.

Why do I feel like I have to confess to listening to the book, not reading it?

Took a family road trip this week. Dad drove 6 hours straight while we all slept. He didn’t want music or a podcast or anything. Happy to just sit and think, occasionally humming tunes. That’s friggin incredible to me.

I used to think that if I didn’t write on weekends, I must not “want it bad enough.” Pishy caca! Weekends are for playing outside. Can’t spend your whole life at the desk.

Quit thinking about all the brilliant ideas you wanna write about. Write them.

The first draft is so hard. Constant battle between “just write!” mentality and “wait wait, I have a better idea.”

Learning storytelling? You have to learn the power of character development. Well-written characters are the only reason your audience will pay attention. Here are the basics for you:

Struggling with creativity? I am. So I listed out my issues and how I can overcome them. 7 mistakes to avoid when trying to get creative 👇