Topic: Morning writer or Night writer?
Do you have a specific time when you feel the most productive? For me, it’s around the time coffee kicks in (usually after 3pm), and after dinner at night when the house is silent.
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Night because my antidepressants wear off then.
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Topic: What is your biggest writing struggle right now?
Let’s chat about it?
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Whoops, I saw this earlier but forgot to reply (again) 
Hello! 
I’d say I lean more towards night writing or really early morning writing (think about 3:00 a.m.), which can be pretty annoying when you’re trying to fix your sleep schedule 
but not always. The words just come when they do. I just wish they’d flow when I’m in the perfect setup to write—café, drink in hand, moody music playing, all that jazz—and not when I’m trying to doze off 
Aside from writer’s block? Hmm, I’d have to say there have been some doubts nagging at me lately 
and it’s partly to do with the most recent reading exchange I had with one of my newer writer friends. It can be hard to write at times when someone tells you that your writing is achieving the opposite of what you intended, even if he was the only person to say it, and also straight up tell you that he’s more interested in romance and character-driven stories while not being interested in fight scenes or world-building… when you’re a more plot-focused person who’s writing a dark high fantasy story with quite a number of (plot-relevant) violent scenes and other fight scenes.
Not to mention that I didn’t even push him to read my story, but he specifically asked me to share it with him to read, among other things.
I could go on and on, but I’ve spoken about it in the Struggling Writers’ Daily Den.
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Same here XD
The inspiration bug pays me a visit in the dead of night 
Ooof, yep, definitely. I had that happen to me with Between Roses. I wanted Eryn to be unlikeable, but I didn’t want people to straight up hate her from chapter 1. And at first, that’s what was happening and I had no idea how to write someone unlikeable in a still-mildly-likeable type of way.
I did figure it out in the end (after several trial and error), but it was hard
In the end, people find her entertaining, which is good enough for me
I’ve had someone say this to me once, and I told them they don’t have to continue on if, from the blurb, it’s not their cup of tea. I had a feeling from our conversations, that they wouldn’t like it. I warned them, but they insisted on reading it anyway (kind of like your situation, I suppose), and ended up not liking it, which, I mean, I did warn them
In the end, I thought, well, if they can’t give critique despite not liking the story, then maybe they’re not a good writing buddy. Maybe we should stick to just gushing about our worlds to each other or something like that. But…I think they could have tried to step outside of their personal preferences.
I was genuinely looking for critique on my writing.
In the past, I’ve given critique to people’s stories despite not liking it (I’ve seen some weird stuff, too). For example, I might not like “CEO meets shy girl with wolves and vampires” romance, but I can critique the flow, descriptions, maybe character believability… I think you should be able to give general writing advice without giving your thoughts based on personal preferences
What exactly is this doubt? Doubt that your story is good enough or not? Or doubt in your writing ability?
Idk if this helps, but, you just gotta enjoy your story. And have fun. There will be like-minded people who love the things you do, and so, they will also enjoy your story. It’s hard to find your people but know that they’re out there 
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I feel like I know more nocturnal writers than early bird writers
Ah yeah, it’s pretty annoying and at times it can be depressing in addition to frustrating. Like, you’re getting negative or inapplicable feedback from someone who is not your target audience, and while you can always choose to ignore it, it doesn’t take much to affect you especially when you’re in the middle or writing it
On the opposite end, I was looking for the opposite 
not that I’m necessarily looking for praise, but more like reader reactions and theories. I prefer to get proper feedback after completing a story because it’s easier for me to tweak it knowing how things will end. If I got any serious criticism earlier, it would not only be demoralizing, but it could also potentially derail the plot in a way that I might end up at different ending or with a bunch of other things that aren’t good for the story
And considering the fact that I’m two-thirds of the way through the first book of a trilogy with a word count of more than 160K to date…
On the other hand, that friend wants genuine feedback and criticism. I don’t mind giving it if he wants it for his own writing, but it seems that he’s incapable of withholding critiques despite me saying so, very clearly, a billion times.
To be clear, it’s not that I don’t want feedback. I just don’t want it at this very crucial stage already my progress has stalled.
Quite a number of things
The first is that this book is meant to be my first foray beyond young adult fiction. I specifically wrote it with new adults (like early twenties) in mind. Yet, he’s told me that it feels very YA, partly because the characters aren’t dating or having sex, and partly because there’s a lot of action scenes and… I don’t even know anymore.
The second has to do with my characterization. I knew it was my weakness, so it was one of the things I focused on over the years. I thought I was getting better at it since I’ve heard from many people—online and in-person—about how they liked my characters. My ex even said that they were distinctive. It gave me relief, especially since the protagonist starts out passive, mostly due to him being a sheltered amnesiac.
Then all the doubts came running back when the friend said that the characters were… I don’t even remember or know how to string what he said together. But I do remember him saying that just because a character is consistent doesn’t make them compelling, and also described my protagonist as a “blank slate.” Like, dang. He hasn’t gotten to the newer chapters where the amnesiac protagonist starts to explore his identity, but now it’s just… when I’m writing those chapters from his perspective… the voices are hard to shake.
And the whole thing about how even if people in real life have shifting goals, the story should have clearer goals, and yes the story does have goals but…
Basically it feels like I’ve already failed.
I’m actually tearing up right now.
Man, I wish I wasn’t so pathetic. How do you guys put up with me 
I think you can clearly see the effect this is having on me.
Thank you! 
I do have at least one real-life writer friend who’s thankfully on the same page about these reading exchanges. He’s only read until Chapter VI, but I guess he liked it more than I thought he would. I do remember when I was talking about how he was good at weaving in lore without being info-dumpy, unlike me, and he told me, “You’re doing yourself a disservice.” 
It’s a shame that he’s been busy lately and will be busy for the next few weeks. He’s the one I really want to sit down and read with.
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I get easily distracted these days, especially because I continuously search for the weird and wild of reality.
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Huh.
That’s a…hmm…unique way of deciding if something is NA or not. Does he know what makes a story New Adult?
It’s mainly about the decisions they have to make and the topics they deal with. And the stage they are in their life. You can have a fifteen year old in an NA story having to decide if he should be involved in a murderous gang that kidnaps people for money (Alive At Dawn side story), or a twenty-year-old college kid in a YA story blissfully in the middle of a romance while developing earth-saving powers (I just made that up).
It’s the topic matter that makes it YA or NA. When I found this out, it made categorizing my stories so much easier (considering that Alive At Dawn example).
You know, I had this similar issue with Eryn. She’s unlikeable. During some of the beginning drafts, some people read the first chapter and were like, “Nope, don’t like her, don’t care to read more“ before they even gave it a chance and realize she’s not like her mean friend at all.
I thought, “Just read chapter 2! You will see.“
Different from your situation, I had too many people with the same thoughts in Chapter 1, that I had to kind of double down and put in some more redeeming moments in Chapter 1 and not wait until Chapter 2.
Hints of them, at least. Just to show that Eryn isn’t a lost cause.
So, you could do that. Just a hint of “hmm, there seems to be more here…“
Or, you could say, “it was not this guy’s cup of tea and it was only one person’s opinion“. If no one else who has read the first chapter of your story thought the same way, perhaps, he just wasn’t the right audience. And that’s not on you. That’s on him 
I totally get that.
And it might be hard to shake the voice but know that it’s only one voice. Remember, who are you writing for? The first person you’re writing for is yourself. If you enjoy it and believe in it, that’s what matters.
Ugh, I have trouble with goals, too! LHSB, or Project Pinti, kept changing her goals and motivations…omg, don’t get me started on motivations. The bane of my existence when it comes to that story because Pinti’s motivations were, and might still be (sigh), unclear.
My editor for Project Pinti once said that yes, the character can change their motivations or change their goals, but that should be super clear why it happens and when it happens, meaning that the lead up to the shift should make sense for the character.
I once read a book where the MC started out hellbent on revenge. Then not one chapter in, her mentor says, “hey, how many times have I told you to stop that.“ And then MC is like “okay“. And just stops being hellbent on revenge. Huh? What? I was so confused. As long as your story isn’t like that then I think it’s okay
Awww, Stella, it’ll be okay! 
hugs
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That looks like it realized it was taxidermied. Has an uncanny, human look to it.
You’re very good at finding those
I think it’s a talent at this point
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I kept this on screen to show to my partner, and now I’ve stared at it so long, it might come out in my dreams XD
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It’s compellingly ugly. I might even make it my new pfp.
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Omg, yes XD
and there it is
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Granted, I didn’t tell him that I was writing for an NA audience. He just told me that the story feels very YA and listed the reasons I mentioned above in addition to a few others. He also likened it to shonen anime and Naruto a lot, which is “funny” considering how I don’t watch anime outside of three shows I’ve followed in my lifetime, only one of which can be classified as shonen (and none of which are Naruto).
I guess it doesn’t help that he’s a few years older than me and other people in our writers’ circle, so he thinks of himself as the older friend who’s had more life experience and all that… although sometimes it feels like he can be a little infantilizing even though I’m a full-grown adult
That’s what I think so too. The characters are not only in their twenties, but the protagonist also goes through the whole adulting process—getting his first job, moving out, getting IDs etc.—in the story in addition to the whole “fighting monsters and the evil bad guy” stuff. Granted, most of the adulting stuff takes place in Act II, and my friend is still reading Act I.
That’s what I was also thinking. During the last exchange, he told me that he used to be all about action and worldbuilding, but he’s grown older and all that stuff doesn’t interest him anymore. He straight up told me that he doesn’t care about lore or worldbuilding or fight scenes. He likes reading about romance because he’s “lonely”—his words, not mine—and prefers reading character-driven stories and scenes.
And he knows that I don’t like romance-focused fiction and that my current writing project is a multi-book semi-futuristic dark fantasy epic focused on magical super soldiers whose title literally has the word “blood” in it and he was also the one who insisted that I send him my story for him to read, multiple times, as my other friend can confirm.
It’s just… it’s just frustrating to hear at times. I told him what my story was about and stuff like that but it seems like he keeps getting the wrong ideas or assumptions about the story, my writing, and even myself as a reader and writer. Like he’s told me straight to my face that I don’t like romance in any fiction and I had to correct him, like no, I don’t mind romance in stories and have put them in my own fiction, but there’s a difference between adding a romance to a story and having romance be the center of a story. Or when, after I told him that I post my writing to Wattpad, he assumed that 1) I fill up my chapters with a lot of words to inflate the word count for serial posting (which I don’t, and if anything I try to trim things ) and 2) that the scene of my characters simply taking a shower was meant to be erotic to pander to the sex-obsessed Wattpad readers
Out of all the people I’ve shown this story to in real life, he seems to be the one who misses the point about the story or myself the most. I don’t know why.
For what it’s worth, I still think Pinti’s goals and motivations were good, even if they were changing! Like, her reasons and stuff made sense for the story.
I can’t clearly articulate my thoughts right now (or most times if we’re being honest )
Oh definitely not, at least I hope so. I often reread chapters while writing to make sure that I keep some consistency, and having my real-life friends tell me things they notice also helps.
Thank you! 
Topic: Psychology of 90s kids?
This video explains the whys of 90s kids. We’re caught between the old and the new. We grew up with technological advancements. We’re a bridge between the older generations that don’t get the tech, and the new generations who were born in a world filled with social media and smartphones.
Just thought it was interesting.
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I was born in 2003 but mostly everything I like came out in the 90s.
Pokemon? 90s.
Street Figher? 90s.
DBZ? 90s.
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The 90s had good stuff 
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Topic: What’s new? Update on me
I have to tell someone this, and that someone is you guys.
So, I’m going to start a full-time job in April. Everything in Japan starts in April usually. It’s 4 days a week with occasional 5 days a week depending on stuff.
I haven’t been writing much.
Idk how I’ll do the writing life and work life together because it’s my first full time job. I will only have to go in for work on Mondays (my choice. either that or Wednesday, and I didn’t like the idea of going into work in the middle of the week). Other days, I work from home, so that’s nice.
What will I be doing?
All kinds of things. Creating website articles, making digital education materials, supervising students who are involved in student-led projects, translation, figuring out how LaTeX works, and admin stuff, and possibly others when they come up. Who knows. It’s a small company.
I guess I’ll be a Jack of All Trades and Master of None XD But everyone there is like that.
Anyway, all the main staff is female, and they’re all super nice. The boss is a prof, who is like one of those big-idea-man people. He thinks decades in the future all the time (many people say they don’t know what he’s saying), and he has a bajillion things he wants to do, and somehow, he has the energy to teach at two schools part time on top of all that, and is in charge of like, 4 PhD students.
Honestly, he’s a workaholic.
Also two people have left. One to start her main job as a clinical psychologist at two hospitals, and the other because of burnout and mental stress (the boss thinks it’s from being a student, but the truth is the guy and the boss were incompatible).
And so, I’m having to pick up some of the pieces. Transition period.
Anyway, I wanted to tell you guys that’s what’s been up in my life.
So… questions? Thoughts? What’s new with you?
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I am plotting to release the literary equivalent of the oxygen destroyer upon Ao3. Also I decided to take a closer look into Gamera.
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Best of luck at the new job! Honestly I’m still figuring out the full-time job vs personal/hobby life balance, but its seen slow improvement with time. Recently went out to the movies with some friends and spent a few hours at a park with family, and both were a wonderful time spent! Not a whole lot of time spent on writing, but progress is made on some days.
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Good luck. Work is well…work.
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