Writer's lounge

Here are some Obsidian plugins that some of you might like

Obsidian is free software that I use quite often, and you can customise it with plugins. The plugins are easiest to install in the plugin section of the settings, but I thought I would share some that might be useful.

Writing:

• Obsidian Writing Goals: Adds a sidebar with wordcount progress bars
• Editing Toolbar: Adds a toolbar simular to MS word
• Floating TOC: If you use headings in a note, this will create a table-of-contents which shows up when you hover over the icon, so you can easily jump to different sections.
• Task Progress Bar: Creates a to-do list with a progress bar
• Obsidian Writing Plugin: I haven't used this one myself yet, but it formats your book for ebook, and shows a preview of how it will look as an ebook. You can also set writing goals.

World Building:

• Calendarium: create a fantasy calendar where you can even customize moon cycles
• Timelines
• Mind Map
• Obsidian Tabs : creates tabs within a note, so you can easily jump between subjects
• Obsidian Avatar: adds a image on one side, with text on the other.
• multi-column-markdown

Misc:

• Local Backup
• Iconize
• Clear Unused Images
• Beautitab
• MakeMD

I am a bit of a resource cataloger even if I don't use them myself, so I hope this list helps someone out there!

• 🆓yWriter: It is not the most sleek looking program, but it works.
• 🆓Google Docs
• 🆓Slugline
• 🆓Highland
• 🆓 Wavemaker
• 🆓 Joplin: The cloud hosting does cost money. Open source alternative to Evernote.

CaptObvious: A workaround to sync Joplin across devices and keep a cloud backup at no cost: Create a NextCloud account (Webo and Tab.Digital have good free accounts) or self-host your storage. Move Joplin’s folder to the NextCloud directory for sync to all devices. Enable E2EE on Joplin and it should be good to go.

• 🆓 Only Office: This one is good for people who want a private cloud-hosted alternative to Google Docs. It is open-source.
• 🆓️ LibreOffice: Open-source alternative to Google Docs or MS Word. (Suggested By: CaptObvious)
• 🆓 Obsidian: I have started using this for world building, but many authors use it for writing. Within it, you can create your own wiki, and view connections in a cool graph. It is open source, and has many plug-ins you can add.
• 🆓Anytype: The program is free and private, but for the cloud, you have 1GB of storage, then you’ll need a plan for more.
• 🆓 Manuskript: Looks similar to yWriter, but with some different features
• 🆓 Bibisco: A writing and note organizer program with timelines, mind-maps, and more.
• 🆓 Reedsy Book Editor: It is online(not self-hosted/a program download)
• 🆓 SmartEdit: a MSWord alternative for writers that is supposed to have several helpful editing features.
• 🆓 Quoll Writer: Open-source, and has several unique features, such as “warm up session.”
• 🆓 Trillium: Self-hosted and open-source.
• Plot Factory
• 4thewords: It turns writing into a game, where you send your game character on a monster-fighting quest by writing.
• NovelPad
• Plottr
• Living Writer
• Squibler
• Notion: Free limited version
• Scrivener
• Atticus

I actually think I've figured this out but would love to hear yalls thoughts here too.

At first I was against the idea of writing a character smarter than myself since it was a rather intimidating idea. I had seen and read terrible smart characters which felt omnipotent and made nearly no sense to me. On the other hand I read characters who were just genuinely well written and smart and I couldn't realise why.

Recently I came to the conclusion that the answer is simpler than I thought. Not just that it's a rather universal feeling. The feeling of being unable to express an idea you know well but can't seem to explain out loud. All you need for a smart character is perfect recall. To remember everything all the time.

Not knowing, not deducing, remembering and communicating.

Hello, I've been preparing for years to write a dark phantasy world, and I planned my entire lore, from the begining of everything to the end of everything. Maybe this is too much, but I have the ages figured out, the rise and fall of empires, and entire sagas dedicated to war conflicts. However, Now I'm wondering where should I begin. Started with the story of a bunch of protagonist but now they seem as a small part of this world and I think some things wouldn't feel as important without having the full context of the damage the army they are a part of has done to the world, seeing it from other perspectives in other time periods.

I wonder if I should start in chronologycal order or continue on the order I originally planned and then realize the prequels.

For example, would be like starting the Star Wars Universe by Dawn of the Jedi, continuing through Nights of the Old Republic, and then reach the original story, that would be when Luke appears.

Where should I start?

Hi. Im a trans writer doing my lore for writing dark phantasy. I am inspired by many dark phantasy like Berserk and A Song of Ice and Fire, but mostly from real world history and in many parts of the world is very horrible to live as a women. How ever SA is part of some characters background but I I dont feel good actually writing it. Can I just skip it and be vague about it or there are workarounds? I dont wanna trigger survivors or make people drop it because if it.

Is not like im mentioning it all the time, my work is more like a collection of stories in the same universe that take place in different time periods and some dont have it at all, but it will be important in some.

Thank you in advance.

While literary characters often adhere to consistent traits and behaviors, humans exhibit a complexity that defies strict characterization. Characters aren't supposed to be human like, they are not supposed to capture human complexity but the complexity of the work they build upon.

Characters can navigate intricate emotions, internal conflicts, and layers of psychological depth but only in a limited frame. It's why slice of life stories thrive on portraying the everyday experiences and emotions of people. Mundane acts are more predictable and too low stake to matter being out of character.

Unlike fictional figures designed with specific traits, humans do not serve a story, humans do not neatly tie up their arcs or have any meaning to their lives as stories do.

The unpredictability of real-life situations and external influences challenges the notion of consistent character.

Just a quick thought I wanted to type out. Will get back to think about this. Would love to hear what all yall think about it.

I really enjoyed stoner and the simplistic prose and it has been my favorite book for a while. But on the other hand I really love lolita and lotr style of poetic sounding prose and is the kind of style I like to write.

Examples from my own writing:

"The emptiness of exclusion looms like a shadow, constantly reminding me of my fragile place in the world."

"Savory scents swirl in the air, nourishing both the tongue and the soul with every bite of culinary delight."

"Grief whispers in the wind, a haunting melody of what once was and what will never be again."

"She loved him with all her heart. She fought for him with all her might. She lost him to the shadows of his mind." This ones a non poetic example.

I'd love to hear some of your favorite written sentences and preffered style while writing or what you enjoy reading most.

Recently I just wrote a characters physical appearance and started jotting down points about the character, I've done a few of these before but never have I started off with the appearance.

The initial note I wrote: A Greyhound-like character with a sleek and slender build, long, narrow face, pointed ears, deep chest, wearing a short, smooth coat, graceful gait, athletic movements.

I normally write with a theme in mind not a character, so the characters I write often feel forced into the story.

I'd love to hear what you feel makes a character apt for a story and what order you tend to build a story in.

I'm curious to see what others think.

Do you have any tricks to keep up motivation when writing?

As an example, one thing I do is write whatever I have an idea for at the moment, regardless of whether I've written any of the text before or after.

I used to believe I had to figure out a lot more stuff before I could start writing "properly", but it caused me to lose the motivation since I never got to that point.

Writing whatever is in my head at the moment allows me to get going, and fuels me to keep going even after the immediate idea has been brought to paper.

I dislike coffee for some reason, but I'm more than happy with a pearl milk tea.