5 Common Story Problems With Simple Fixes

Hey, guys! I’ve noticed that there are a lot of artists who struggle with “same face syndrome,” or the tendency to draw all their characters with the same face. To help you combat this, I’ve created two different challenges!

The first (pink) one is mainly geared towards artists who are struggling with same face syndrome and want to start branching out. It covers topics that a lot of artists struggle with when drawing faces, such as age, weight, and face shapes. It’s not super specific, so you still have some wiggle room.

The second (yellow) one is a bit harder and is mainly geared towards artists who want to really challenge themselves to diversify their faces. Personally, I think this one’s the most fun to work with despite it being more difficult. Chances are with this one, you’re not going to be drawing a whole bunch of beautiful people. You don’t have to roll for every option on this one either.  A certain combination of rolls from 10/13 of the options may give you a great character idea, and that’s great!

I hope you guys enjoy these! I’d love for you to send me your drawings if you do one (or both) of them.

Writing Prompt #284: That’s What They Said

“Wow. This is all kinds of not good.”

Writing Exercises #30

Pick two strangers in public and write about how they interact with each other.

Writing Prompt #498: Write This Story

Everything was carved out of marble. From the columns that held up the ceiling to the glistening floors. Even the tables that lined the halls were all swirling shades of white and blue.

Writing Prompts #463: Write This Story

“In about three seconds you’re going to hear a very loud noise. Do not be alarmed.”

Ways to un-stick a stuck story

Do an outline, whatever way works best. Get yourself out of the word soup and know where the story is headed.

Conflicts and obstacles. Hurt the protagonist, put things in their way, this keeps the story interesting. An easy journey makes the story boring and boring is hard to write.

Change the POV. Sometimes all it takes to untangle a knotted story is to look at it through different eyes, be it through the sidekick, the antagonist, a minor character, whatever.

Know the characters. You can’t write a story if the characters are strangers to you. Know their likes, dislikes, fears, and most importantly, their motivation. This makes the path clearer.

Fill in holes. Writing doesn’t have to be linear; you can always go back and fill in plotholes, and add content and context.

Have flashbacks, hallucinations, dream sequences or foreshadowing events. These stir the story up, deviations from the expected course add a feeling of urgency and uncertainty to the narrative.

Introduce a new mystery. If there’s something that just doesn’t add up, a big question mark, the story becomes more compelling. Beware: this can also cause you to sink further into the mire.

Take something from your protagonist. A weapon, asset, ally or loved one. Force him to operate without it, it can reinvigorate a stale story.

Twists and betrayal. Maybe someone isn’t who they say they are or the protagonist is betrayed by someone he thought he could trust. This can shake the story up and get it rolling again.

Secrets. If someone has a deep, dark secret that they’re forced to lie about, it’s a good way to stir up some fresh conflict. New lies to cover up the old ones, the secret being revealed, and all the resulting chaos.

Kill someone. Make a character death that is productive to the plot, but not “just because”. If done well, it affects all the characters, stirs up the story and gets it moving.

Ill-advised character actions. Tension is created when a character we love does something we hate. Identify the thing the readers don’t want to happen, then engineer it so it happens worse than they imagined.

Create cliff-hangers. Keep the readers’ attention by putting the characters into new problems and make them wait for you to write your way out of it. This challenge can really bring out your creativity.

Raise the stakes. Make the consequences of failure worse, make the journey harder. Suddenly the protagonist’s goal is more than he expected, or he has to make an important choice.

Make the hero active. You can’t always wait for external influences on the characters, sometimes you have to make the hero take actions himself. Not necessarily to be successful, but active and complicit in the narrative.

Different threat levels. Make the conflicts on a physical level (“I’m about to be killed by a demon”), an emotional level (“But that demon was my true love”) and a philosophical level (“If I’m forced to kill my true love before they kill me, how can love ever succeed in the face of evil?”).

Figure out an ending. If you know where the story is going to end, it helps get the ball rolling towards that end, even if it’s not the same ending that you actually end up writing.

What if? What if the hero kills the antagonist now, gets captured, or goes insane? When you write down different questions like these, the answer to how to continue the story will present itself.

Start fresh or skip ahead. Delete the last five thousand words and try again. It’s terrifying at first, but frees you up for a fresh start to find a proper path. Or you can skip the part that’s putting you on edge – forget about that fidgety crap, you can do it later – and write the next scene. Whatever was in-between will come with time.

This isnt a joke my favorite piece of writing advice that I’ve ever seen is someone that said if you were stuck with a fic and couldn’t figure out why or what was wrong, your problem is actually usually about ten sentences back. Maybe there was something wonky about the tone or the dialogue or you added something that didn’t fit but it’s usually ten sentences back. And every single time I get stuck in a fic I count back ten sentences and it’s always fucking there

Here’s a little bit on subplots!

You ever write something and you think, “I’ve used this exact sentence structure/phrasing/convention approximately eight million times before but goddammit I’m going to do it again?”

That’s about where I’m at right now.

101 ways to say i love you

firstly, tysm for 101 (actualy 103, haha) followers! when i started this account i honestly had no intentions of having so many of you lovely people take interest in me, but i'm very grateful nonetheless! this is my gift to you all, and, again, thank you!

i've seen a few other posts like this, but i wanted to go ahead and make my own! this is going to be completely different from the others that i have seen as well, so there's a lesser chance of duplicates for those of you who really enjoy these!

"You don't have to do this alone."

"I won't let you do this alone."

"I'll always be by your side."

"I'll get that for you."

"Let me bandage you up."

"I want you to be a part of my future."

"Here. You look hungry."

"Come here, I'll carry you."

"I fed your pets while you were away."

"Is something wrong?"

"Is there anything I can do to help?"

"I have an extra ticket... Would you like to go with me?"

"I saw you looking at it last time we were in the store together, so I got it for you."

"Stay with me."

"Thank you for making me smile."

"Your smile is beautiful. I want to see it more often..."

"I want to kiss you."

"You have a beautiful soul."

"No... No! Come on, I can't lose you!"

"You make me feel safe."

"Don't let me go."

"Give me a brush. I'll fix your hair for you."

"I want you, and only you."

"Your hands are too cold, I'll warm them up."

"Kiss me."

"I know you don't feel great, so let's stay home today, okay?"

"You're so beautiful."

"Hold me. Please."

"You're family."

"Marry me."

"I took care of the laundry already."

"Go back to sleep, (term of endearment)."

"I'll protect you."

"Take care of yourself."

"Let's take a break and relax."

"You're the first person I think about when I wake up."

"You smell so nice."

"Let's move in together."

"I wanna know everything about you."

"Don't leave yet."

"Let me see your scars..."

"I remember when we first met..."

"Here's your medication."

"I have a surprise for you."

"I bought this for you. It's in your favorite color..."

"Your skin is so soft."

"I would do anything for you."

"I'll help bring in the groceries."

"Last night your feet were really cold, so I found some of your socks and put them on you."

"I would go anywhere with you."

"You're cold, take my jacket."

"I promise."

"You're so golden."

"No one has ever made me feel like this."

"I missed you... a lot."

"Come back soon."

"I got us matching shirts!"

"I know you can do it."

"I'll never forget you."

"Wait!"

"I've waited so long for this..."

"You look like something's bothering you... You can talk to me if you need to."

"We make the best team."

"I'll hurt whoever did this to you."

"You didn't deserve that... You deserve so much better."

"I want you to meet my family."

"I want to start a family of our own..."

"Your back is so tense. Would you like a massage?"

"This is my favorite picture of us."

"Don't hurt yourself again..."

"You should be more careful."

"Hey, your favorite movie is on. I'll get the popcorn."

"You've never let me down."

"I saw that you were almost out of shampoo, so I went and got some for you."

"You're overworking yourself... Please take a break."

"I named my little plant after you."

"It's an honor just to know you like this."

"I didn't make you uncomfortable, did I?"

"I never imagined that someone's heartbeat could sound so amazing."

"What was your childhood like?"

"You looked so cute when you were little."

"You look just like your mom/dad."

"What happened to you?!"

"Does it hurt?"

"I'm sorry."

"I love waking up next to you."

"Don't be scared. I'm right here."

"Have you been drinking enough water?"

"We can look out for each other."

"I'd like to take you on vacation one day, just the two of us."

"Are you sure you're ready?"

"You're so funny."

"Do you want to help me fix dinner tonight?"

"You don't have to pay me back."

"No, you're sick. You're not doing chores until you're better."

"Your voice is so relaxing."

"Text me when you get home safely."

"I found this meme that I think you'll like. Wanna see it?"

"Can I give you a hug? You look upset."

"I'm yours."

"I love you."