Discussion question: How many books should you read before you start writing your own? I feel like I constantly doubt myself about trying to write a book because I started reading on a regular basis fairly recently. Maybe others can relate. I feel like reading books is a solid foundation to creating stories of your own. I mean, how can you write a good romance novel if you’ve never read one? For example, I would love to create a romance involving a hockey player. So, reading other hockey novels would be a good place to start, right (aside from research)? How many hockey novels should I read? TY

It’s crazy. I’ll be able to write way better at night; it’s sort of making me nocturnal.

I like the idea of this worldbuilding mind map. Starting with the character and building out. And the previous mind map. I can see how conflicts could occur just by looking at the template.

Bruh,this is literally most of the isekai mc

It's true for some of us without spice you might as well not even bother. I don't read books without spice.

I sometimes make my characters, not the main characters, the characters that have less part in the story (they’re usually my favorite characters lol) break the forth wall and tell me to ‘not to make the main character too prideful because it annoys them’ (Sometimes the main character says ‘You wish.’ When I think of making them do too many things as well though. They will start insulting me soon.)

Like....Wanda? The only difference is she's actually a likable character.

Is it that bad? Sorry my bad.growing balls back now.

What if my character is a crazy psychopath murder, who enjoys killing innocent people? Do I still act like them?

Strength is about wisdom, agency and the right kind of courage in the right situation. It's why I don't consider Miakasa from Attack on Titan a "strong female character", as she bounds herself far to much to Eren. She's also my least favourite character in the whole series, as her whole arc boils down to "serve Eren" (and it doesn't matter that this is kind of a family curse ot whatever). She barely makes her own choices for her own life. She might be the badass fighting girl, but somehow she's still the damsel in distress. Even worse than the actual trope, as she is choosing the distress herself (even though she might be able to fight back). I consider Sasha, Annie and Ymir far better female characters. Even Historia, who at first struggles a bit with accepting her role in the grand scheme. Also just making a character one somewhat stereotypical way, reversing the gender and telling it done doesn't cut it. Whith the Netflix adaptaion of Knights of the Zodiac they tried this with Shun. He's an empathetic, really emotional and strong character (like REALLY STRONG), but his worldview makes him the guy who gets in trouble and refuses to fight his way out of it. He is a great male character (and possibly gay, I mention this because it gets important). In the adaption they wanted a "strong female character" in the main team of heros (why? IDK) so they of course chose the guy with the most stereotypical feminine worldview - Shun (disregarding several things that make this decision stupid in the long run). So Shun's now a girl. Okay. Next step was them realizing that he would fall into the "damsel in distress" trope very handily (if looked at the right angle) - so they tweaked his character to be much more aggressive. This in turn ruined his character (and that of the others, too, as a lot of group dynamics revolved around him). With their idea of changing one of the boys into a strong female they actually weakened every aspect. Why did I mention that Shun might be gay? Because I strongly believe toning down a later scene where he cuddles with another guy in the group (I mean, this scene is pretty straightforward and Kurumada tends to have at least one non-binary in his works) was the actual reason behind this choice. Why they didn't change his partners gender (which would've been the much easier and more reasonable way)? Because he is on the receiving end in the scene and also a favourite of female fans .... Yeah. Big corporations ruining perfectly fine stories out of "fear"(?). I'm still impressed how the studio handled that mess later on, when production shifted away from Netflix to an Asian producer again. They 1) pulled off another character change in Shun (Shaun), that is believable and works for the story and 2) add a strong female character as a sixth team member. She was a minor character in the original, but she works fine in the new version. Wow, that's a rant. And it has barley anything to do with the video ^^'

You know what, the smut isn't swoon worthy either. The characters are just lusting after each other, being toxic, and it's called love. Now there is nothing wrong with people who want to read it, but, let's not say that clean books are not swoon worthy.

this is a great playlist but please can you credit the artists so ppl listening can find the songs easily? i had to use google to listen to each individual song to find out what they were and i got most of them that way, but it was really time consuming and annoying (sorry if this comes across as rude)

timestamps + song names (unfinished) 0:00 - an ocean full of characters - trevor kowalski 3:25 and we walk after - trevor kowalski 6:11 - the best way out is through - trevor kowalski 9:31 calm above clouds - trevor kowalski 12:07 look down when you're ready - trevor kowalski 15:31 erasing the page - trevor kowalski 18:22 lucky guess - trevor kowalski 21:35 caught in the waves - trevor kowalski 24:04 life on the mainland - infinity ripple 30:52 night sky alive - trevor kowalski 34:06 magnificent impermenance - trevor kowalski 37:12 saltwater glide - trevor kowalski 40:11 ? 42:25 a pilgrim's tale - lama house 45:02 ? 46:46 from the ashes of a previous life - lama house 49:02 ? 51:23 seagrass meadow _ trevor kowalski 53:57 drifting emotions - howard harper-barnes 1:00:58 the cost of fear - jon bjork 1:01:59 memories of my past - gabriel lewis 1:03:44 carefully the water lillies - trevor kowalski 1:07:17 3000 years old - farrel wooten 1:09:15 a mathematical genius - david celeste 1:12:40 down the rabbit hole - christian andersen 1:14:48 hard charger - christian andersen 1:19:07 a bad place to be - bonn fields 1:21:07 ? 1:25:21 the cost of fear (again) 1:31:03 rivers run red - christoffer moe ditlevsen 1:33:24 spider room - ethan sloan 1:35:34 embolism - ethan sloan 1:37:42 decently perfect - jay varton 1:39:51 ? 1:42:18 maybe next year - spectacles wallet and watch 1:44:30 ? 1:48:41 ? 1:50:40 ? 1:52:41 ?

I actually love the Mary sue trope, ONLY if they are the antagonist, think about it, the big bad gets pissed of and is trying to find out who (insert thing here to that pissed Mary sue off) it was the protagonist, they are screwed! The weakness of the villain is the fact they’ve never had a weakness.

I find the Times font the easiest to read. In the example given at 4:00, it had slightly less line spacing which made it look more busy, but with the same line spacing I find Times to be very comfortable which explains why it has stood the test of time. It also has a stylish "classical" look which I like also. To explain using Times as "cringeworthy" is really ridiculous.

This is why I make cartoon versions of them with AI. And then try to picture myself voice acting that character. Sure, it means that some of them never transcend sounding like cartoons, but at least they HAVE a personality!

I keep scrolling to find a video that isn’t about gender at all and I think my KZbin thinks I’m a misogynist😂

Me: gosh i'm too lazy to write a dark-romance in my book 😒 Me after listening to the sec one: Alright where my book at..

I would read the heck out of this.

What do you say to the idea that some characters based on their gender and ethnic background matter less to certain readers than others? That stories set in certain areas or cultures will matter less than others?

Thank you for inspiring me Abby❤

Mary sue... I don't like it so I don't read it. Once I find out the main is a marysue I'd stop as early as I can rather than upsetting myself. NOT a mary sue? Well I think it'd be too obvious but I think it's Frieren Although it's not a movie, anime in fact but it's really good

I hear what you're saying but I need at least one example of it to fully understand how it can be used. Examples are like an anchor point to drive the topic point across. As long as there is an example, I can experiment with it and use the structure of the example to apply my own idea or scenario to it. Without it I could structure it incorrectly, but I'll at least have all of the talking points utilized...

Coming from Australia Melbourne, and working on my historical fantasy with some modern stuff like coca cola and Barbie, and I know I am coming in late but the US and AUS have different times so here I am 2 days late.

Do people actually say this? In my opinion one of the best romances ever put to screen is Maria and the Captain from The Sound of Music and it’s a family movie. This also goes for most Disney movies too.

I’ve been needing to do some rewrites of my already-finished novel but also find myself at the ice rink instead. Hockey for me-I’m not coordinated enough to figure skate.

I don't want to sound pretentious,but this made me feel so much more confident in my writing.I took a deep look and I only found a few bad scenes and 2 questionable characters.Im kinda suprised I barely did these at all.

Genre: Wrinkle In Time Plot: essentially a Dungeons and Dragons campaign, but more or less focused on the NPCs (the protagonists) Theme: It's how you get somewhere, not the place where you go, that matters. Characters: (best for last- but only used partially) Mystwick School of Musicraft (one protagonist is basically me, the other drawn from this) *STORY SMOOTHIE LOADING...* After a strange event, Mike starts working with Jackie to figure out what this event was: when it happened, neither was focused on it. All they know is that *something* isn't quite right. Figuring this out takes a while. The whole time, Mike makes sure to keep Jackie out of danger, and she wants to just get back to where she was before all of this happened, helping as she can. (I say "genre of Wrinkle In Time," but that's only vaguely true! It's winter '25 in central/southern Texas, so otherwise absolutely not!)

My favorite Mary sue/ Gary stu characters is almost all Gacha Life OCs.

How does this theme sound: being a hero isn’t about being invincible it’s about being brave enough to do what’s right. If your a HOO fan you’ll know❤

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I'm kinda sad that I can never do these live since it's like 1 AM when she posts these for me 😂

(W truelly all my deepst respect and apretiation) LADY I FRECKING LOVE YOU!!! I've just meet your chanel and I alredy feel like you've saved my life!!! i'm a design student and I'm working on a webcomic storry for my progect at uni. I'm brazilian and our main theme is on our indiginous folk folclore stories, my grup partner strated w a plot but I feel there's a lot of things about the chacters that are vage and just over all not good (he used a chacter panel that was like 7 or 8 topics longs? so yea pretty surfacy lavel to say the least ;p) . I feel like you just saved my project SO THANK YOU SO MUTCH!!!!! OBVSLLY I'VE SUBSCRIBED TO YOU!! YOU'RE AMAZING!!

Thank you so much for your Scrivener tutorials and many book-writing techniques! You make learning such a joy with your clear and simple explanations that break down all the complexities of writing. Your contagious personality shines through in every video, making them not only helpful but a delight to watch. Keep shining-you’re truly inspiring, and your audience is only going to keep growing!

😂 "chemistry can be very simple" -- no one told me this when I was a teenager and learning the science in school. Anyway that's an excellent choice of words which is why I am complimenting this. Usually we think character chemistry is something actors have, not something we can write or create. That's 100% true. One way I have wrote chemistry and compatibility between two characters who were never getting involved romantically was giving them skill-sets that served a greater purpose when they worked together (one character was a light-bringer, the other a photographer). I swear I could sense something weird happening between those two but the plot never got them together. Not sure yet how readers will react 😂

Abbey, could you please consider doing a video about finding a good agent? I get that agents aren’t as necessary today as they once were, but many first time novelists aren’t good at marketing ourselves. I’d also like to get your thoughts on self publishing vs a publisher.

Hi Abbie, it's Friday and I'm sprinting along. Got 1127 words for the session. 2262 total 😅 Thanks again!

This was so fun to watch! I haven’t actually set any goals for nanowrimo in particular, but I’m currently writing a novel for school. I started in September, and my goal has been at least 1,000 words per day. I haven’t reached that goal every single day, but it helps keep me going and motivated. I’m currently at 72,000 words and I’m aiming for 80,000. Almost there!

I can’t help but feel like Mary Sues are like arrogant bratty women. Is that right?

Thank you Abbie!😀

Teenage FMC who is the chosen one and needs to save the world... but knows nothing about her past, destiny, parents, etc. When the MC never loses a fight or gets injured. When the secondary characters don't add anything to the story or main character's growth - WHY ARE YOU HERE?! Fairy tale retellings drive me crazy. Some authors do it well but I rarely find that story. When I have been reading a +600 pg book and have the climax happen in 1/2 chapters then the wrap up is just two pages - the end. WTF! I will burn this book When there is not a glossary or map for hi-fantasy or sci-fi. Personally, I would like to know how to pronounce the MC's insane name and how far they travelled. js.

I'm a little late..... Sorry. I wasn't supposed to do this. Not at all. I don't break the rules. I don't bend to the will of anybody, my senior or other. They called me a stickler for the rules and I am. But not now, not here sitting in this car with a convicted criminal on my backseat. This is..... a total disaster. I watched the rearview mirror as I dashed into the highway, out of the sight of the watchmen standing on the lookout. I reached across the seat to the dashboard, holding the electronic detonator in my hand tightly. Looking at the unconscious man through the rearview mirror felt like my heart was close to exploding. His face was handsome, more handsome than I last saw it, his gold locks curling to reach the back of his neck. He had bangs to cover his forehead and glasses on his closed eyes that were lopsided just like his cheeky grins. His freckles peppered his sweet and innocent looking face. His clothes didn't match his face however, he wore a black suit and black overcoat, some black here, some black there. Everything else was black and it felt as if his face and his clothes were two different personalities. In this case that... was quiet accurate. I was risking myself for this man and here he was, in the backseat, passed out and blissfully unaware. I pressed the accelerator and the red button on the detonator and watched one of the cells of the prison blow up, a small smirk rose on my face. Tomorrow they will declare him dead and he will have no idea what in the wide world happened. This, I knew would come back to bite me, but for here and for now... I was slowly following in love with this villain. No, My villain. And for him I would burn a thousand worlds down to demonstrate just how much and how far I would go for this charming and cocky man.

Abbie, I don't know how long you've been writing for, but could you do advice on how to balance school and writing when studying for really important exams but not wanting to stop writing for the year?

To the person who wrote this: maybe... stop watching videos about mistakes or "how to" for a while if you're watching them. If you oversaturate your mind with tips and advises from editors, authors, you may become stagnant because everything you write may seem shallow, not good enough. Give yourself a detox. If this is not what stops you, and you're completely stuck: try snowplowing - write everything that comes to your mind as a potentially good idea, for like 30min - 1h. Just write, don't think. Don't get distracted, just write. And after you finish - read what you wrote and discard the worst. You may find a place to start.

Side note , she is bangin

Does that form allow for a joint copyright for two people? Great video, thanks so much for the information!

Biggest pet peeve is anything with yelling. I'm just chilling trying to understand whats what and i get a bunch of words yelled at me. Smh.