32Kviews
30 Comically Spot-On Tweets About Writing, Reading, And Everything In Between, As Pointed Out By This Author
Back in the earlier days of the internet, there was this very popular meme—Sudden Clarity Clarence—which was used for many things, including taking a jab at all the English majors not having jobs, and hence being the sole reason why there are so many language purists online.
Well, believe it or not, majoring in English is anything but a waste of time, thank you very much, because of just how much the world relies on language. And being a writer is probably the most traditional way to go.
Image credits: CartridgeSave Images (not the actual photo)
It is also a pretty hilarious way to go, as pointed out by writer Alexander Pennington, who has been dedicating himself to making hilariously spot-on remarks about the life of a writer in the form of text and memes.
More Info: Twitter | Aspiring Writers United | Amazon
This post may include affiliate links.
*glances at giant pile of unread books* I feel very called out right now
Exactly, I would rather die than let anyone I know read my stuff.
I have real conversations with imaginary people and imaginary conversations with real people
Me, taking a month to write a transition that makes sense… in the prologue.
Alexander Pennington is a young adult fiction writer and founder of the founder of the Aspiring Writers United Facebook group. Over the past several years, Alexander has been frequently dropping some knowledge and truth about what it means to be a writer. Except there’s a twist.
While everything that Alexander said in those tweets is completely true—as a 15-year aspiring writer myself, I can attest to it—it is done while channeling irony, satire and everything else under the comedic sun.
But it all only accentuates the beauty of being a writer: nothing really comes without a little bit of blood, sweat and tears, and if anything, personal experience gives food for thought. And food for the story.
I changed one character’s name three times in just the prologue… (current name is Asha but I’m still not sure about it)
Load More Replies...
Trans people 🤝 writers 🤝 expecting parents: spending much time on baby name websites
Me using baby name websites to look for a new one for myself but knowing I’ll never have the courage to actually change it 🫠
Load More Replies...
yeah... my friend saw what i was looking at and said "whos the father"
Ngl I had a hard time convincing my friends there was no father (I was surprised it took a while since I'm a lesbian and out of the closet) I'm also in middle school
Load More Replies...
Also, is sci-fi writers are constantly googling ‘made-up planet names’ ‘made-up animal names’ ‘made-up scenery names’ ‘fantasy name generator’
i just translate random words in greek or latin for species and planet and magic objects that will ruin their lives
Load More Replies...
I can guarantee that this is true in my case. I think I'm on baby names .com at least once a day.
I feel extremely called out here. *coughs* Im pretty sure google thinks I'm having quintriplets
Another thing: When I was playing The Sims seriously I was more often looking for names then when I was actually pregnant.
Google is useless for this, it’s always the same names all over again, Emma, Olivia, Sophia, etc. I swear it makes me so mad
When I was 13, I stole some money out of my alcoholic uncle's money jar he had hidden in his closet so I could buy a baby name book. I was sick of having to copy names from borrowed name books from the library, and my mom wouldn't buy me one. So, I turned to crime. :-)
I stole necronomicon from the mall book store in 8th grade. Around 1993.
Load More Replies...
I like to make ocs but they all have my name UNLESS they're for a story
Not name websites, but when you're working on a crime thriller you probably show up on FBI watchlists for the topics you google. "Do fingerprints show up on leather", "Does this acid disolve a body", etc.
My parents are going to think I'm pregnant at some point I spend way too long on baby name sites
If ur a writer or anyone who needs name ideas, my 11 year old younger self suggests r/namenerds on reddit
HAHAHAHA choosing names that are fitting, beautiful and have meaning is one of the hardest tasks ever
Spent a whole week on one of those websites and changed everyone's names 10+ times
Okay, so I'm writing my very first manga. I really wanna show my family, but I want to add some stuff in it that they might not like (not any inappropriate). . Idk what to do!
Alexander’s content can be divided into two kinds: just tweets and memes. Both equally hilarious, though.
Many of them point out the hardships of writing—everything from lack of intrinsic motivation to just not liking your own writings.
One stems from lack of immediate reward. After all, Rome wasn’t built in a day and getting that legal tender and subsequent sense of dopamine isn’t fast in the writing world.
The other, however, is a bigger hurdle because it’s more of a vicious circle. You hate your own writing, hence you don’t enjoy what you do, hence you start losing hope, hence you quit and then keep hating yourself for not writing. You can add a few other complications (like anxiety or ADHD) into the mix for good measure.
Re-reading the pages of torture you put your characters through, worrying that they’re boring, worrying that JK Rowling already did it better…
But it was so pretty! And had little boxes for dates and a table of contents and attached pockets! I had to buy it and put it in the drawer-of-disappearing-things
But there is also some positivity to be had in these tweets. Many writers find these frustrations relatable, which only communicate that it’s hard for everyone, so you should push on.
Besides that, it’s healthy to be able to laugh at yourself and your predicament. And once you’re done with that, there also tweets that keep it real, serving as a reminder that, all jokes aside, we can still do it. Like this one, which says “every bestselling author started as an amateur writer who didn't quit.”
A fine balance of everything.
I FINALLY got time to write more of my book, waited three months for this, thought whoo gonna actually start! Most of the time I just ate cheese to be honest
Alexander is also the man behind the Aspiring Writers United Facebook group. It is a dedicated community focused on the love of reading, writing, and promoting aspiring writers with advice, materials, and inspirational content. As of now, the community is comprised of 130,000+ members and counting.
Besides this, there’s also a podcast that provides much of the same—advice and discussion on writing, and, of course, there’s Alexander himself, who has well over 80,000 followers on Twitter alone, with a presence on Facebook and Instagram. Oh, and there's also his book.
Every single time I read some great book. On the other hand, sometimes I read some published book and think "I can do better than this."
I actually do have a really good vocabulary, I just don't use it regularly and it mysteriously disappears whenever om trying to write. The only time it actually gets used is vocabulary tests.
You know what, I'm feeling way better about my struggles after this, amazing to know I'm not the only one
Me: I've written for hours I must have at least half a book by now! What I've written; once upon a time
Like obviously the monster under my bed should’ve finished it for me
Note: this post originally had 41 images. It’s been shortened to the top 30 images based on user votes.
As an old person who has learned a heck of a lot through experience let me offer one piece of advice. Cast not your pearls before swine. The only ones whose opinion you should take heed of are those whom you yourself respect as writers or as genuinely sincere persons who are honest and also kind.
Also: Don't change something just because one of your readers says you should. I can't tell you which advice to take or not take, but readers will actually have *conflicting* opinions with other readers, it is actually literally impossible to please everyone. So while I do recommend taking a good hard look at everything they tell you - *especially* the things you find yourself immediately defensive about - you ultimately need to write for yourself. Until you have an actual editor/agent/etc at least.
Load More Replies... Hello pandas, what are you writing about? I'm writing a manga about a girl's deadly secret family origin. (And a slenderman story I'm procrastinating on.)
Collective farm life in the 1930s Soviet Union. Got an article and a monograph out already, got a book chapter in a compendium that will come out in November, still editing the full book manuscript. Been in progress for about 10 years, but that is fine
Load More Replies...
So glad I write non fiction. No need to be creative or invent names, just lots of research and organizing. Love the research bit. Editing is my least favorite, But it gets done. Having deadlines helps too
I promise you this is true: aged about 13, I wrote a story about three women who could be hired for various roles from an agency. A year later, Charlie's Angels appeared. It's also true that I had a discussion with a friend about a board game where one answers questions in order to get to the end (I'd misunderstood what the game Mastermind was about). A couple of years later, Trivial Pursuit came out. I think someone's hiding under my window...
Steven Wright: I'm half way through writing a book. I've done the page numbers, now I just have to fill in the rest.
So reading the tweets and comments I get the impression fiction writers try to write stories from start to finish. Is that true? It seems like it causes a lot of hang ups and is definitely NOT how non fiction writers work. We usually write the conclusion second to last and the intro dead last. I think being able to jump around if a chunk of writing is frustrating you really helps keep the process moving.
It definitely depends on the person. Some people have an ending already planned in advance, some people have a bunch of ideas and then try to figure out what order to put them in, and some people make stuff up as they go along. With creative writing you have the freedom to do it whatever way you want to!
Load More Replies...
I've been trying to get a working vintage typewriter to start writing and now that I have it, it's collecting dust. All the words are in my head i just can't get them on the paper. It's safe to say this post is correct about everything. Lol
You probably just haven't found for the right media to write. Typewriters or computers don't work for me, I need a pen and a B5-sized notebook.
Load More Replies...
I was in a writers group in 2015-ish. Learned 2 things: 1. Writers may struggle or excel at plot and character in terms of depth and development, but theme is often no more than a wafer-thin chip on the shoulder. 2. They want praise, no constructive criticism (I point out that does don’t have antlers - am met with glare of death)
fyi female reindeer do. Santa's crew would be all ladies.
Load More Replies...
i just finished a book that I've worked on since last February and now I'm trying to find something new to write. I've got a bunch of new ideas but i just have no motivation to work on any of them aaaarghhh. this bp post was so relatable tho
Some of the memes are funny, but I just CAN'T relate to the ones about procrastination and anxiety! I love to write and it pains me to hear writers complain about their own hobby. Writing is fun for me and, although a bit shy, I love it when others read my stories! God bless.
As an old person who has learned a heck of a lot through experience let me offer one piece of advice. Cast not your pearls before swine. The only ones whose opinion you should take heed of are those whom you yourself respect as writers or as genuinely sincere persons who are honest and also kind.
Also: Don't change something just because one of your readers says you should. I can't tell you which advice to take or not take, but readers will actually have *conflicting* opinions with other readers, it is actually literally impossible to please everyone. So while I do recommend taking a good hard look at everything they tell you - *especially* the things you find yourself immediately defensive about - you ultimately need to write for yourself. Until you have an actual editor/agent/etc at least.
Load More Replies... Hello pandas, what are you writing about? I'm writing a manga about a girl's deadly secret family origin. (And a slenderman story I'm procrastinating on.)
Collective farm life in the 1930s Soviet Union. Got an article and a monograph out already, got a book chapter in a compendium that will come out in November, still editing the full book manuscript. Been in progress for about 10 years, but that is fine
Load More Replies... So glad I write non fiction. No need to be creative or invent names, just lots of research and organizing. Love the research bit. Editing is my least favorite, But it gets done. Having deadlines helps too
I promise you this is true: aged about 13, I wrote a story about three women who could be hired for various roles from an agency. A year later, Charlie's Angels appeared. It's also true that I had a discussion with a friend about a board game where one answers questions in order to get to the end (I'd misunderstood what the game Mastermind was about). A couple of years later, Trivial Pursuit came out. I think someone's hiding under my window...
Steven Wright: I'm half way through writing a book. I've done the page numbers, now I just have to fill in the rest.
So reading the tweets and comments I get the impression fiction writers try to write stories from start to finish. Is that true? It seems like it causes a lot of hang ups and is definitely NOT how non fiction writers work. We usually write the conclusion second to last and the intro dead last. I think being able to jump around if a chunk of writing is frustrating you really helps keep the process moving.
It definitely depends on the person. Some people have an ending already planned in advance, some people have a bunch of ideas and then try to figure out what order to put them in, and some people make stuff up as they go along. With creative writing you have the freedom to do it whatever way you want to!
Load More Replies... I've been trying to get a working vintage typewriter to start writing and now that I have it, it's collecting dust. All the words are in my head i just can't get them on the paper. It's safe to say this post is correct about everything. Lol
You probably just haven't found for the right media to write. Typewriters or computers don't work for me, I need a pen and a B5-sized notebook.
Load More Replies... I was in a writers group in 2015-ish. Learned 2 things: 1. Writers may struggle or excel at plot and character in terms of depth and development, but theme is often no more than a wafer-thin chip on the shoulder. 2. They want praise, no constructive criticism (I point out that does don’t have antlers - am met with glare of death)
fyi female reindeer do. Santa's crew would be all ladies.
Load More Replies... i just finished a book that I've worked on since last February and now I'm trying to find something new to write. I've got a bunch of new ideas but i just have no motivation to work on any of them aaaarghhh. this bp post was so relatable tho
Some of the memes are funny, but I just CAN'T relate to the ones about procrastination and anxiety! I love to write and it pains me to hear writers complain about their own hobby. Writing is fun for me and, although a bit shy, I love it when others read my stories! God bless.
