The Water Reflection Of The Bridge

The Two Types of Pacing

Pacing is a tricky, tricky thing. Hopefully, by breaking it down into two schools of thought, we can better our understanding of maintaining effective pacing. 

as requested by @whisperinghallwaysofmirrors

First, Some Definitions

According to Writer’s Digest, narrative pacing is “a tool that controls the speed and rhythm at which a story is told… [H]ow fast or slow events in a piece unfold and how much time elapses in a scene or story.“

Pacing can be a lot of things. Slow, fast, suspenseful, meandering, boring, exciting, et cetera et cetera. While we don’t want meandering or boring, getting it to be the other things can be a feat. 

As I go through all of this, I would like to say that the number one thing you should be keeping in mind with the pacing of your story is the purpose.

What is the purpose of this story, scene, dialogue, action, arc, plot point, chapter, et al? This and only this will keep you on track the whole way through. 

Without further ado, here are the two types of pacing…

Micro Pacing

This, to me, is the harder of the two. Macro pacing usually comes naturally with our understanding of overall story structure that we see in books and movies. Micro is much more subjective and labor-intensive.

The first step of every scene you write is to identify what kind of pacing it needs to be effective. Is a slower pace going to nail in the emotional tone? Is a faster pace going to convey how urgent the scene is? Is choppy going to show how chaotic it is? How much attention to detail is needed? Et cetera. And even with the scene’s tone, there are also tones within with action, dialogue, and narrator perception.

There is no one-size-fits-all trick to mastering pacing. All you can do is try to keep it in mind as you draft. Don’t let it consume you, though. Just get it down. After drafting, look at the pacing with a critical eye. Do important scenes go too fast? Are unnecessary things being dragged out? Is this scene too detailed to be suspenseful?

A lot of errors in pacing are quick fixes. The adding or removal of details, shortening or lengthening of sentences, changing descriptions. However, these quick fixes do take a while when you have to look at every single scene in a story.

Macro Pacing

Rather than the contents of a scene, this deals with everything larger. Scenes, chapters, plot points, storylines, subplots, and arcs. This is taking a look at how they all work for each other when pieced together.

One of the biggest resources when it comes to analyzing macro pacing is story structure philosophy. The common examples are Freytag’s Pyramid, the 3-Act Structure, Hero’s Journey, and Blake Snyder’s 15 Beats. They follow the traditional story structure. Exposition, catalyst, rising action, climax, and resolution (albeit each in different terms and specificity). Though some see it as “cookie-cutter”, 99% of effective stories follow these formats at a considerable capacity. It’s not always about how the story is told, but rather who tells it. But I digress.

Looking at these structures, we can begin to see how the tried-and-true set-up is centered around effective pacing.

The beginning, where everything is set up, is slower but short and sweet. The catalyst happens early and our MC is sent out on a journey or quest whether they like it or not. The trek to a climax is a tricky stage for maintaining effective pacing. Good stories fluctuate between fast and slow. There is enough to keep it exciting, but we’re given breaks to stop and examine the finer details like theme, characterization, and arcs.

The edge before the climax is typically when the action keeps coming and we’re no longer given breaks. The suspense grabs us and doesn’t let go. This is the suspense that effectively amounts to the crescendo and leads to the emotional payoff and release that follows in the resolution. The resolution is nothing BUT a break, or a breather if you will. Though it is slower like the exposition, it is longer than that because this is where we wrap everything up for total closure. This is what the reader needs, rather than what they want. So you can take your time.

Not every story has to follow this recipe step-by-step. Critically acclaimed movies such as Pulp Fiction, Frances Ha, and Inside Llewyn Davis* break the traditional structure. However, they still keep certain ingredients in it. Whether it be the concept of a climax, the idea of a journey, or the overall balance of tension and release.

If you’re struggling with the macro side of your story’s pacing, I would try to identify what the weakest areas are and see if applying these story structure concepts and methodology strengthens it at all. If not, it may be that your story idea doesn’t fit the “substance” requirement of an 80k+ word novel. It may need more or fewer subplots or an increase of conflict or more things getting in the MC’s way. You could also see if adapting it to a shorter medium (novella, et al) or a longer medium (series, episodics, et al) would alleviate the pacing issues.

*sorry all my references are movies and not books, but I’ve seen more movies than I’ve read books

In Short–

Pacing, both macro and micro, are incredibly subjective concepts. The only way to really find out how effective your story’s pacing is, is to look at it through the lens of traditional structures and ask for feedback from beta readers. How a reader,who doesn’t know the whole story like you do feels about pacing is the best resource you could have.

need refs/inspo for period clothing?

here you go:

Medieval (9th-15th century):

10th century and earlier

Romance (1000-1250)

11th century

12th century

13th century

more 13th century

14th century

more 14th

15th century

and more 15th century

Gothic (1150-1550)

Renaissance (1520-1650)

16th & 17th century

16th century

more 16th

Tudors (1500-1550)

more Tudors

Elizabethan Period (1558-1603)

Jacobean Era (1603-1625)

17th century

more 17th century

and again

and even more

this won’t stop

Baroque (1600-1750)

Georgian Period (1714-1830):

18th century

more 18th century

18th century women’s fashion

18th century men’s fashion

Rococo (1720-1770)

Classicism (1770-1790)

children 18th-19th century

Regency Preiod (1811-1820)/ Empire (1800-1820s):

1790-1820s

more stuff on regency and georgian era

even more

that’s not enough regency

and more

how is there so much

early 19th century men’s wear

early 19th century women’s wear

Victorian Period (1837-1901):

Romantic Era (1820-1840s)

Civil War Era/1850-1860s

1870-1890s

more victorian

Edwardian Period (1901-1910):

1900-1910s

Belle Epoque (1880-1910s)

more edwardian/belle époque

Modern:

1910s-1920s [Fashion between the World Wars]

1920s

more roaring 20s

so much 20s

1920s hairstyles

1930s

1930-1940s

1930-1950s

1950s

more 50s

1960s

1960-1970s

1980s

lots of periods in one spot/fashion through centuries:

here, here, and here is almost everything (and properly ordered)

also here with lots of historic fashion magazines

historic fashion

costumes of antiquity

more historical clothing

history of fashion

more history of fashion

“vintage” clothing

historic costumes

children’s historical fashion/toys

details

historic wedding dresses

historic assecoires (hats, shoes…)

hats

masks

parasols

lots of embroidery/jewlery

it indeed is western/european centric, I’m sorry for that, but for other cultures I simply don’t have so many references

now that spotify wrapped is here, tell me your 3rd, 6th and 9th songs in the tags

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some of my favorite woven tapestries, by Cecilia Blomberg:

Point Defiance Steps

Mates

Rising Tides

Vashon Steps

slope point, the southernmost tip on new zealand’s south island, is hit with such persistently violent southern antarctic winds that trees grow in the leeward direction. (click pic or link for credit x, x, x, x, x, x)

haikyuu!! fic recs

♡ - recommended

♡♡ - highly recommended

hinata/kageyama

sun above your shoulders by longleggedgit; (3k, completed)

♡  soft serve by tothemoon; (10k, completed)

don’t mind, one more by bepsi-chan; (3k, completed)

you can be king again by bisexualtrash; (1.5k, completed)

♡♡ ink and whiskey by quitana; (41k, completed)

wings by buu; (4.5k, completed)

♡ gold star, ash sky by bigspoonnoya; (138k, ongoing)

The Way I See It by staticrocket; (18.5k, completed)

Painting with Words and Painted Words by iwillstillopenthewindow; (5k, completed)

oh, we’re so disarming, darling by balconys; (3k, completed)

Don’t run on wet wood by boxofwonder; (6.5k, completed)

♡♡ Crowchildren by crypsis; (58.5k, completed)

♡ again by bigspoonnoya; (15k, completed)

♡ where the night goes by bigspoonnoya; (21k, completed)

5 Times Kageyama Made Hinata Carry Him, and the One Time Kageyama Carried Hinata by bowlerhatfringe; (4k, completed)

Thaw by peppermint_wind; (40k, completed)

Anonymous asked a question by kageyama_drama; (24.5k, ongoing)

♡♡ maps, from me to you by tothemoon; (9.5k, completed)

♡ over the pavement that we walked on by daisuga; (2k, completed)

daichi/suga

♡♡ Four out of Six by sugamama_crowshi; (12.5k, completed)

somewhere i have never travelled, gladly beyond by themorninglark; (5k, completed)

from across the room by kingkageyama; (6k, completed)

winner in the whirlwind by tothemoon; (7k, completed)

snapshots by minijhi; (4k, completed)

♡ Oh, Here We Go (Feel it in My Soul) by spatialsoloist; (7k, completed)

♡♡  Curse 49 by princesskit; (75.5k, completed)

I Don’t Love You (I Always Will) by shingekinoboyfriends; (9k, completed)

good intentions paving company by toyotas; (2.5k, completed)

i do (cherish you) by gabstar; (3k, completed)

cruel professor studying romances (or, our story in fragments of six) by toyotas; (14k, completed)

♡ cardboard castles by Aetherdrive; (18k, completed)

♡ butterfly in the subway by bigspoonnoya; (63k, completed)

4AM is not Sugawara Koushi’s favourite time by andraimon; (2k, completed)

The House Tells You To Close Your Eyes by cyrnkun; (4k, ongoing)

♡♡ You’d fit my lonely arms so perfectly by boxofwonder; (25k, completed)

♡♡ the blossoms, just in time by thewindraiser; (351k, completed)

asahi/nishinoya

For Too Long by spatialsoloist; (5.5k, completed)

Vienna Waits For You by poulerslashes; (126k, ongoing)

silica sand by lilienpasse; (32k, completed)

come and take a walk on the wild side by Authoress; (4k, completed)

tsukishima/yamaguchi

Gutterflower by Aetherdrive; (2k, completed)

The Great Yamaguchi-Tsukishima Split (Capitalization Necessary) by WyYeuw; (2k, completed)

♡ Do you see what I see? by superpapershark; (1k, completed)

Flecked with Blue and Silver by LazuliTears; (4k, completed)

♡♡ Redefining Routine (series) by skell; (194k, ongoing)

soulmate, dry your eyes by renaissance; (4k, completed)

over the setting horizon by crossbelladonna; (6k, completed)

fools of us all by MemeKonHQ; (2k, completed)

Protect Me (I’m Drowning) by dreamingunderthestars; (6.5k, completed)

♡♡ Blood by darkbluebox; (20k, completed)

♡♡ your voice is my favourite colour by princessofmind; (34k, ongoing)

kenma/kuroo

♡♡ Burnt Fudge, Tequila Shots by Mehhh; (27k, completed)

A Couple O’ Cats by Crollalanza; (3k, completed)

♡♡ curiosity kills by newamsterdam; (41k, completed)

pretty girls make me nervous by ebenroot; (6k, completed)

the storm’s still raging, but we can take some shelter here by eternitysky; (6k, completed)

The Words I Can’t Say on orphan_account; (3k, completed)

♡♡ Water and Brimstone by Aetherdrive; (41.5k, completed)

♡ komorebi by sheelia; (17k, completed)

♡ Stay Close, Don’t Go by shions_heart; (3.5k, completed)

♡♡ saltwater room by hipster-yams; (60k, completed)

Sudden Shower by tsuruko; (3k, completed)

♡ We Remain by sniper_wolf; (18.5k, ongoing)

How Kuroo Found Kenma by SuggestiveScribe; (37.5k, completed)

oikawa/iwaizumi

like we’re made of starlight by izayas; (6.5k, completed)

♡ The PDA Jar by Poteto; (10k, completed)

Seventeen by lacepirate; (1.5k, completed)

♡♡ tongue tied  by izayas; (154k, ongoing)

If You Were Here by dboys; (2.5k, completed)

the river runs by tothemoon (12k, completed)

Shiver by Yuu-chi; (16k, completed)

storm sanctuary by pyrality; (1k, completed)

the weight of water by wordstruck (6k, completed)

When You Wish Upon A Star by emerald1963; (32k, completed)

♡ bad coffee & lemon bars by abillionstars; (6k, completed)

♡♡ Press ‘1’ To Get A Call From Your Drunk Best Friend by parasolghost; (5.5k, completed)

♡♡ in defence of our overgrown garden by carafin; (2.5k, completed)

♡♡ little star travellers (series) by bendtowardsthesun; (24k, ongoing)

new phone who dis by meruemsthighs; (57k, completed)

The Price Of Life by All_My_Characters_Are_Dead; (40k, completed)

find what you love and let it kill you by Matsinko; (2k, completed)

♡♡ Build A Temple In Me by Authoress; (40k, completed)

cross my heart and hope to die by TripsH; (58k, completed)

Food for the Heart by SharkbaitSekki; (28k, completed)

It’s Tradition by MelissaWritesStuff; (4k, completed)

let me count the ways by whitemiists; (4k, completed)

♡♡ ad astra (series) by tothemoon; (207k, ongoing)

putting the contact lenses in by tenmillontrinkets; (4k, completed)

Valhalla by SuggestiveScribe; (17k, completed)

♡ dyspnea/arrhythmia by carafin; (11k, completed)

dear future you by bravely; (2k, completed)

♡  it’s lonely on jupiter by skyestial; (123k, completed)

not about to go looking by trashwriter; (2.5k, completed)

♡♡ the lifespan of asters by russianpotatofarm; (8k, completed)

In Defense of Reptiles (and Other Gross Things) by rikke; (9.5k, completed)

Leave Me Your Stardust by starlitcities; (14k, completed)

Equilibrium by laconicGhost; (3.5k, completed)

♡♡ bloom by newamsterdam; (27k, completed)

Yaobikuni by PlumTea; (7k, completed)

♡♡ to be first, to be best by kittebasu; (26k, completed)

♡ 10 ways iwaizumi hajme has said i love you by daisugass; (16k, completed)

♡ Take Me To Church by dboys; (43k, completed)

♡♡ summer, a thousand years later by vellaude; (image based fic, completed)

it’s tradition. by hicsvntdracones (5.5k, completed)

late summer, early autumn by astersandstuff (12k, completed)

antithesis by sundowns; (10k, completed)

♡ All That Gold by minijhi; (6k, completed)

*can you tell i love iwaoi?

bokuto/akaashi

♡♡ pieces (series) by therabbitwhisperer; (37.5k, ongoing)

i’ll return home one day by awkwardedgeworth; (7k, completed)

bang! now we’re even by Authoress; (12k, completed)

♡ Crisis Converted by Aetherdrive; (60k, completed)

♡♡ Quiet by silvercistern; (41k, completed)

“Pizza is the most romantic food, after all” by phantomdieb; (11k, completed)

gravity holds us down (series) by awkwardedgeworth; (9k, completed)

♡ love in the time of wifi by dalyeau; (4k, completed)

♡ neo black by ephemeralsky; (17k, completed)

i put my hand out, unfolded, into the sunlight by carafin (3.5k, completed)

tea-stained polaroids by dalyeau; (6k, completed)

Pretend by Your_Friendly_Neighborhood_Pigeon; (6k, completed)

the jacket you never returned by daisuga; (5k, completed)

arrogant boy, love yourself so no one has to  by earlgrey_milktea; (7k, completed)

♡♡ h(a)unting by claws and keptein; (16k, completed)

The Fears are Paper Owls by yaboykeji; (10k, completed)

♡♡ the right path by norio; (14k, completed)

♡ 35mm by tothemoon; (21k, completed)

Growing Pains by aerococonut; (8k, completed)

♡ where will you stand (when all the lights go out) by therabbitwhisperer; (8k, completed)

♡♡ come sundown, say you’ll remember my name by earlgrey_milktea (3.5k, completed)

how to become a birder by norio (13k, completed)

right in the head by Mysecretfanmoments; (52k, completed)

♡♡ Character Development by silvercistern; (76k, completed)

yaku/lev

cold water, warm embrace by singingdevil; (513, completed)

it’s easier for you to let me go by burritosong; (6k, completed)

Yaku and the Beanstalk by Mysecretfanmoments; (4k, completed)

matsukawa/hanamaki

call me maybe by totooru; (32k, ongoing)

♡ Things We Left On The Cutting Room Floor by tookumade; (6k, completed)

Only Need The Light When It’s Burning Low by tookumade; (9.5k, completed)

skating on thin ice by iwaoidk; (3k, completed)

plus one on orphan_account; (6k, completed)

Love Doesn’t Come with an Instruction Manual by plumtrees; (3k, completed)

♡♡ boiled frogs by idontknowwhatthisiseven; (91k, completed)

♡ nebulas by tothemoon; (11k, completed)

rated m on orphan_account; (10.5k, completed)

kiyoko/yachi

♡ sick of losing soulmates by esmaewrites; (7.5k, completed)

spirited away by merryfortune; (6k, completed)

sweet sunshine lives by sunny_umbrella; (1k, completed)

kuroo/tsukishima

♡ pings by barfs; (28.5k, completed)

heretic by Batman (12k, completed)

♡♡ jaywalkers (series) by Batman; (127k, completed)

♡♡ xiv by ronan; (7k, completed)

♡ Leviticus 20:13 by Melissawritesstuff; (10k, ongoing)

The Hunt by WithLoweredVoices; (33k, ongoing)

miscellaneous

♡♡ distantly, you hear him by InkWitch - kenma/hinata; (4k, completed)

♡ connected by Tsucchi - tanaka/ennoshita; (170k, completed)

♡♡ Mannequin Men by surveycorpsjean - bokuto/akaashi/kuroo/tsukishima; (76k, completed)

Phantom Limb by Marks - akiteru tsukishima/udai tenma (5k, completed)

gen fics

♡♡ but for me, there is a storm by Authoress; (276k, completed)

Saviour by dgalerab; (67k, completed)

♡♡ bell, book, and candle by skittidyne; (763k, completed)

Ask a Stupid Question by darkmagicalgirl; (2k, completed)

♡♡ Come Morning Light by SharkbaitSekki; (354k, completed)

♡♡ meet me halfway home (series) by awkwardedgeworth; (246k, completed)

♡ Sendai Magnitude 10.0 by RussianSunflower3; (79k, completed)

♡♡ national hot dad alliance is now calling… by dicaeapolis and owlinaminor; (58k, completed)

Animes que recomiendo:

 Steins Gate 

 Bungou stray dogs 

 boku dake ga inai machi

 Yakusoku no Neverland

  kimetsu no yaiba

Akatsuki no yona

 Nana

Fruit basket 2001

 Paradise kiss

Assassination classroom

 Darling in the franxx

Banana Fish 

 Dororo 

 Ao haru ride 

 Shigatsu wa kimi no uso

 Yuri on ice

 Charlotte

 Natsuyuki rendezvous

Anohana

Angel beats

Fullmetal alchemist brotherhood

 Masamune-kun’s Revenge

 Orange

 Lovely complex

 Naruto shippuden

 Tokyo ghoul 

temporada 1

 Romeo and juliet 

 ReLIFE

 Skip beat

 Shingeki no kyojin

Ouran highschool host club

inu x boku ss

 Devils line 

 Free

 Nanatsu no taizai

 Super lovers

 Black clover

Black cat

Satsuriku no Tenshi

Violet evergarden

Rokudenashi majutsu koushi to akashic

Rainbow nisha rokubou no shichinin

Sakamichi no apollon

Kareshi Kanojo no Jijō

Psycho pass

Akame ga kill

Tate no Yūsha no Nariagari

Boku no hero academia

Hitorijime my hero

91 days

spiritpact

kamisama hajimemashita

Shokugeki no soma

Plastic Memories

Mushishi zoku shou

Danmachi

Zankyou no terror

How to learn a language when you don’t know where to start:

General Plan:

Weeks 1 and 2: Purpose:

Learn the fundamentals sentence construction

Learn how to spell and count

Start building a phrase stockpile with basic greetings

The Alphabet

Numbers 1 - 100

Subject Pronouns

Common Greetings

Conjugate the Two Most Important Verbs: to be and to have

Basic Definite and Indefinite Articles

Weeks 3 and 4: Purpose:

Learn essential vocabulary for the day-to-day

Start conjugating regular verbs

Days of the Week and Months of the Year

How to tell the time

How to talk about the weather

Family Vocabulary

Present Tense Conjugations Verbs

Weeks 5 and 6: Purpose:

Warm up with the last of the day-to-day vocabulary

Add more complex types of sentences to your grammar

Colours

House vocabulary

How to ask questions

Present Tense Conjugations Verbs

Forming negatives

Weeks 7 and 8: Purpose:

Learn how to navigate basic situations in a region of your target language country

Finish memorising regular conjugation rules

Food Vocabulary and Ordering at Restaurants

Money and Shopping Phrases

Present Tense Conjugations Verbs

Weeks 9 and 10: Purpose:

Start constructing descriptive and more complex sentences

Adjectives

Reflective verbs

Places vocabulary

Weeks 11 and 12: Purpose:

Add more complex descriptions to your sentences with adverbs

Wrap up vocabulary essentials

Adverbs

Parts of the body and medical vocabulary

Tips for Learning a Foreign Language:

Learning Vocabulary:

What vocabulary should I be learning?

There are hundreds of thousands of words in every language, and the large majority of them won’t be immediately relevant to you when you’re starting out.Typically, the most frequent 3000 words make up 90% of the language that a native speaker uses on any given day. Instead try to learn the most useful words in a language, and then expand outwards from there according to your needs and interests.

Choose the words you want/need to learn.

Relate them to what you already know.

Review them until they’ve reached your long-term memory.

Record them so learning is never lost.

Use them in meaningful human conversation and communication.

How should I record the vocabulary?

Learners need to see and/or hear a new word of phrase 6 to 17 times before they really know a piece of vocabulary.

Keep a careful record of new vocabulary.

Record the vocabulary in a way that is helpful to you and will ensure that you will practice the vocabulary, e.g. flashcards.

Vocabulary should be organised so that words are easier to find, e.g. alphabetically or according to topic.

Ideally when noting vocabulary you should write down not only the meaning, but the grammatical class, and example in a sentence, and where needed information about structure.

How should I practice using the vocabulary?

Look, Say, Cover, Write and Check - Use this method for learning and remembering vocabulary. This method is really good for learning spellings.

Make flashcards. Write the vocabulary on the front with the definition and examples on the back.

Draw mind maps or make visual representations of the new vocabulary groups.

Stick labels or post it notes on corresponding objects, e.g when learning kitchen vocabulary you could label items in your house.

How often should I be practising vocabulary?

A valuable technique is ‘the principle of expanding rehearsal’. This means reviewing vocabulary shortly after first learning them then at increasingly longer intervals.

Ideally, words should be reviewed:

5-10 minutes later

24 hours later

One week later

1-2 months later

6 months later

Knowing a vocabulary item well enough to use it productively means knowing:

Its written and spoken forms (spelling and pronunciation).

Its grammatical category and other grammatical information

Related words and word families, e.g. adjective, adverb, verb, noun.

Common collocations (Words that often come before or after it).

Receptive Skills: Listening and Reading

Reading is probably one of the most effective ways of building vocabulary knowledge.

Listening is also important because it occupies a big chunk of the time we spend communicating.

Tips for reading in a foreign language:

Start basic and small.  Children’s books are great practice for beginners. Don’t try to dive into a novel or newspaper too early, since it can be discouraging and time consuming if you have to look up every other word.

Read things you’ve already read in your native language. The fact that you at least know the gist of the story will help you to pick up context clues, learn new vocabulary and grammatical constructions.

Read books with their accompanying audio books. Reading a book while listening to the accompanying audio will improve your “ear training”. It will also help you to learn the pronunciation of words.

Tips for listening in a foreign language:

Watch films in your target language.

Read a book while also listening along to the audio book version.

Listen to the radio in your target language.

Watch videos online in your target language.

Activities to do to show that you’ve understood what you’ve been listening to:

Try drawing a picture of what was said.

Ask yourself some questions about it and try to answer them.

Provide a summary of what was said.

Suggest what might come next in the “story.”

Translate what was said into another language.

“Talk back” to the speaker to engage in imaginary conversation.

Productive Skills: Speaking and Writing

Tips for speaking in a foreign language:

If you can, try to speak the language every day either out loud to yourself or chat to another native speaker whether it is a colleague, a friend, a tutor or a language exchange partner. 

Write a list of topics and think about what you could say about each one. First you could write out your thoughts and then read them out loud. Look up the words you don’t know. You could also come up with questions at the end to ask someone else.

A really good way to improve your own speaking is to listen to how native speakers talk and imitate their accent, their rhythm of speech and tone of voice. Watch how their lips move and pay attention to the stressed sounds. You could watch interviews on YouTube or online news websites and pause every so often to copy what you have just heard. You could even sing along to songs sung in the target language.

Walk around the house and describe what you say. Say what you like or dislike about the room or the furniture or the decor. Talk about what you want to change.This gets you to practise every day vocabulary.

Tips for writing in a foreign language:

Practice writing in your target language. Keep it simple to start with. Beginner vocabulary and grammar concepts are generally very descriptive and concrete.

Practice writing by hand. Here are some things you can write out by hand:

Diary entries

Shopping lists

Reminders

What could I write about?

Write about your day, an interesting event, how you’re feeling, or what you’re thinking.

Make up a conversation between two people. 

Write a letter to a friend, yourself, or a celebrity. You don’t need to send it; just writing it will be helpful.

Translate a text you’ve written in your native language into your foreign language.

Write a review or a book you’ve recently read or a film you’ve recently watched.

Write Facebook statuses, Tweets or Tumblr posts (whether you post them or not will be up to you).

Write a short story or poem.

Writing is one of the hardest things to do well as a non-native speaker of a language, because there’s no room to hide. 

There are lots of ways to improve your writing ability, but they can be essentially boiled down to three key components:

Read a lot

Write a lot

Get your writing corrected

Alternate universe where I literally just to go to school forever (for free) so I can just learn about art and literature and history and languages for 100 years. No job skills. No credit requirements. No student loans. Just learning.