iiinova — where your digital self keeps evolving

Wasteland Author @wastelandauthor.bsky.social · 27/04/2026

After a swamped grad semester, I wrote the next Substack post. It talks about the semester and procrastination while I try to motivate myself. Feel free to read it, and if you feel inspired, go ahead and subscribe open.substack.com/pub/twentyfi...

open.substack.com

The Anguish of A Procrastinator

How I deal with my own procrastination and a busy schedule

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Wasteland Author @wastelandauthor.bsky.social · 29/01/2026

Find yourself an editor. There's many of us out there, like me who's willing to give your manuscript or story a look through, and each can help improve your writing. Make sure you know who's in your budget #editor #editing #fictionwriting

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Wasteland Author @wastelandauthor.bsky.social · 28/01/2026

Get out to write. Writing in unfamiliar places forces you to do so since you arrived there with the purpose to work on your story. Make sure you're respectful and have your privacy #writing

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Wasteland Author @wastelandauthor.bsky.social · 27/01/2026

Write a manuscript within a season. If you budget your time and energy within three months, you could complete a full novel with multiple chapters and ready for first round edits. Find your timeframe for your project #writing

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Wasteland Author @wastelandauthor.bsky.social · 26/01/2026

Write multiple endings. You may favor the way you want to end your story, yet there's a chance other readers prefer another. Cover your bases even if you find other endings unsatisfying #writing #editing

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Wasteland Author @wastelandauthor.bsky.social · 25/01/2026

Double check your dialogue. You might discover redundant lines, tags, or actions which could be removed or altered in favor for better flow. Have trusted beta readers let you know their thoughts #writing #editing

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Wasteland Author @wastelandauthor.bsky.social · 24/01/2026

Progress adds up quick. When you spend time on a manuscript, you'll see numbers (words, pages, chapters) increase without realizing it at the moment. Reward yourself with each milestone #writing

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Wasteland Author @wastelandauthor.bsky.social · 23/01/2026

Try writing for specific time goals. The longer you show up for writing—no matter if it's fifteen minute writing sprints throughout the day or an hour—, the more you find yourself energized for each day's session. Progress continues #writing

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Wasteland Author @wastelandauthor.bsky.social · 21/01/2026

Take notes on your writing. It doesn’t matter when—during drafting, during writing, during research—due to its help for you as the writer to keep things in mind. You’ll help your future self #writing

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Wasteland Author @wastelandauthor.bsky.social · 20/01/2026

Try transgressive characters. When writing, you might want to shock, or even intrigue, your readers with a character, who's clearly immoral, within a situation pushing social norms. Be careful when addressing such topics #writing

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Wasteland Author @wastelandauthor.bsky.social · 18/01/2026

Fiction acts as a reverse argument. Instead of making your point clear, your argument thins out into obscure examples set by scenes. Your story's point should come across to the reader #writing

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Wasteland Author @wastelandauthor.bsky.social · 11/01/2026

Do reread. Before you make any major edits on a previous draft or make a new one, go over what you've written in case you discover places to work on again. Take notes while you do your reread #writing #editing

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Wasteland Author @wastelandauthor.bsky.social · 08/01/2026

Spice up your sentences. Try to write longer sentences, leaving your readers breathless, with extended imagery and detail which breaks up the monotony of smaller and simpler ones. Make sure you don't err into incomprehensible #writing

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Wasteland Author @wastelandauthor.bsky.social · 07/01/2026

Ask for editing samples. If you're a writer searching for an editor, don't be afraid to ask for a few pages of editing to solidify the right editor for your manuscript. Most, if not all, wouldn't mind doing so #editing #writing

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Wasteland Author @wastelandauthor.bsky.social · 06/01/2026

Breathe life into your setting. If you're characters explore their own world, then the same locations should be going about their day. The results ends with an immersive world for readers #writing

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Wasteland Author @wastelandauthor.bsky.social · 05/01/2026

Characters move around constantly. When writing scenes, make sure your characters intersperse dialogue with actions, major or minor, for a realistic experience. A few actions can replace dialogue itself #writing

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Wasteland Author @wastelandauthor.bsky.social · 02/01/2026

Reread before restarting a project. If you stopped writing on a project, read the last thousand words, or a few pages, and you'll find yourself back to it. Make sure to analyze what your style is #writing

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Wasteland Author @wastelandauthor.bsky.social · 01/01/2026

For 2025, I wrote over 75,000 words. It’s the size of a medium sized novel, although not close to my goal, yet a decent goal to reach. This year I’ll aim closer to 100,000 #writing

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Wasteland Author @wastelandauthor.bsky.social · 30/12/2025

Take pride in your progress. We, as writers, view our growth in terms of one story to the next without broadening out to a year or the last few years. You've grown more than you think #writing

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Wasteland Author @wastelandauthor.bsky.social · 29/12/2025

Don't feel pressed about drafts. If you feel your story doesn't explore the full depth of the material, then focus on finishing the draft. The next draft should allow further depth #writing #drafting

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Wasteland Author @wastelandauthor.bsky.social · 28/12/2025

Talk with others about writing. When you have someone to discuss your story with, even if they might not being a writer themselves, you'll find yourself reaffirming or rediscovering the reason behind your story. Conversing about your passions reignite them #writing

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Wasteland Author @wastelandauthor.bsky.social · 18/12/2025

Take breaks. Writing does take brain power from writers, and with the holidays around, so create time for yourself to recover. If the muse strikes, then take the moment to write #writng

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Wasteland Author @wastelandauthor.bsky.social · 17/12/2025

Learn all which you can about writing. The more you get ahead on specifics within writing, such as the base elements of a story, the more you understand and grow. Gather sources for you to refer back to #writing

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Wasteland Author @wastelandauthor.bsky.social · 15/12/2025

Playlists usher you into a creative groove. Lots of writers create playlists related to their stories, characters, and settings for the creative flow when they write. Find which songs or soundtracks help your muse #writing

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Wasteland Author @wastelandauthor.bsky.social · 14/12/2025

Rewriting stories don't have to be perfect. If you're restarting a story, which happens often, you might not adore the new scenes right away, but having the draft helps with improving it later. Finish the story first #writing

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Wasteland Author @wastelandauthor.bsky.social · 13/12/2025

Create lore bibles. When you write longer pieces, such as novels, you'll find yourself with your thoughts about characters, settings, and plot. Sort all these thoughts in a master file #writing

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Wasteland Author @wastelandauthor.bsky.social · 11/12/2025

Revive old manuscripts. As a writer, you'll collect stories with various degrees of readiness for publishing, but some need time and more brainstorming. Find the stories you want to reconstruct #writing

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Wasteland Author @wastelandauthor.bsky.social · 09/12/2025

Keep outlines open. Writers struggle with overstructured outlines, trying to make sure everything on track, when it's easier to change things up as things go along. Don't box yourself in #writing

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Wasteland Author @wastelandauthor.bsky.social · 08/12/2025

Cut off dialogue. Your characters will speak over each other, speak soft enough to be repeated, or even not even speak at all because of the surge of emotions. Characters speaking gets messy #writing

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Wasteland Author @wastelandauthor.bsky.social · 07/12/2025

Don't be afraid to change details. Your drafts might not have everything as you want it, yet you can set those changes as you go along. Keep your details consistent #writing #editing

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Wasteland Author @wastelandauthor.bsky.social · 06/12/2025

Expand the important scenes. In first drafts, we as writers might forget to fill out scenes critical to the story, yet they can be corrected on the second pass. Make sure the reader gets the full picture #writing #editing

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Wasteland Author @wastelandauthor.bsky.social · 05/12/2025

Read your work out loud. You'll catch your own mistakes when working on your drafts, making the process smoother and easier to get through. Try reading out loud to others #writing #editing

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Wasteland Author @wastelandauthor.bsky.social · 23/11/2025

Harness your burst of creativity. If you find yourself producing more fiction than usual, try to keep it going until you can't. Make sure to not burn yourself out #writing

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Wasteland Author @wastelandauthor.bsky.social · 22/11/2025

Write for a set amount of time. Some writers will make it a goal to write for an hour, thirty minutes, etc. during each day to achieve their goal. Find your time per day to set aside #writing #editing

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Wasteland Author @wastelandauthor.bsky.social · 14/11/2025

Try a binge writing day. As a writer, you might need the push to complete a section of your manuscript/story, and a free day for writing alone could prove useful. Make sure all responsibilities are cleared beforehand #writing

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Wasteland Author @wastelandauthor.bsky.social · 13/11/2025

Save your drafts. Sometimes we need to return to our older work in order to keep on track of the story, even finding ourselves reuse the same wording or phrases. Keep old drafts in an easy to reach folder #writing #editing

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Wasteland Author @wastelandauthor.bsky.social · 12/11/2025

Know your argument. Fiction allows a writer, you, to argue for a position through the means of characters, plot, setting, and so on, which means you need to stick close to it. Keep your argument in mind #writing

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Wasteland Author @wastelandauthor.bsky.social · 11/11/2025

Don't overexert yourself. When writing, you might find yourself pushing to finish the next line or scene, yet you want to save it for later. Fresh thoughts for tomorrow is better than sloppy work #writing

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Wasteland Author @wastelandauthor.bsky.social · 10/11/2025

Go for best, not perfect. Manuscripts or stories won't fit your mold of perfection (if you're pressed for it); in return, go for the best version of your story. Best manuscripts allow for more material #writing #editing

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Wasteland Author @wastelandauthor.bsky.social · 09/11/2025

First pages should hook readers. One of your goals, as a writer, is to perfect those scenes for a reader to be invested. Take your time to craft them well #writing #editing

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Wasteland Author @wastelandauthor.bsky.social · 06/11/2025

Track your rewrites. In this process, with its changes and additions, you might see a pattern of what you keep and what you don’t. Make sure it aligns with your story #writing #editing

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Wasteland Author @wastelandauthor.bsky.social · 05/11/2025

October slowed down for me. In terms of written prose, my word count dipped below 5,000, which given the work in grad school, fits how busy I was during the month. November might have better luck with better time management #writing

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Wasteland Author @wastelandauthor.bsky.social · 04/11/2025

Epilogues work like prologues. You're writing an extended ending, a scene or two, which leads into another story and it shouldn't take more than 1,500 words. Leave your reader in suspense #writing

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Wasteland Author @wastelandauthor.bsky.social · 03/11/2025

Prologues should be brief. You're writing an introduction, a scene or two which hooks the reader in, and it doesn't need to be long. Create an intro that'll be explained by the full story #writing

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Wasteland Author @wastelandauthor.bsky.social · 02/11/2025

Don't worry about gaps. First drafts, as much as we writers make them to be, don't need to be completed all the way through and unfinished scenes or arcs are par for the course. Fill them in with the next draft #writing #editing

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Wasteland Author @wastelandauthor.bsky.social · 01/11/2025

Developmental edits encourage you to observe. With your complete first draft, the faults within your story, the inconsistencies and plot holes, stick out, meaning you’ll have to craft new material or trim down the old. Pay attention to what doesn’t match up #writing #editing

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Wasteland Author @wastelandauthor.bsky.social · 31/10/2025

Line edits produce effective sentences. In removing words, you'll find yourself reworking sentences, heightening descriptions, and playing with rhythm; the second draft will sing. Keep a close eye on your sentences #writing

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Wasteland Author @wastelandauthor.bsky.social · 30/10/2025

Flip the script. When working with tropes, which we all inevitably do, figure out how you could shake up the expectations of them to create an exciting story. Look for what could be reinterpreted #writing

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Wasteland Author @wastelandauthor.bsky.social · 29/10/2025

Be poetic. Even if you're writing fiction (like I do), your story reads better and sings with a new energy, furthering expression, unlike any previous stories you've written. Try to push your descriptions #writing

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Wasteland Author @wastelandauthor.bsky.social · 28/10/2025

Write additional material for your story. Writers create lore bibles, short stories, and character sheets for themselves to understand their own creation better. Flesh out your grasp of your world space #writing

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