- Why do you want to write it?
To elicit sympathy for the character - do not write it
To shock readers - do not write it
It just feels right - do not write it
As a plot point - go to question 2
For cathartic purposes - go to question 3
To raise awareness - go to question 4
- Is it absolutely necessary for the plot or can you get to that same point through other means?
Yes - go to question 4
No, but it would be harder - do not write it
No, but- stop making excuses -do not write it
No - do not write it
- Do you have to make it super detailed, graphic and possibly disturbing it to finish the cathartic process?
No - write what is needed - go to question 7
I need to tell someone - tell someone you trust, you can spare the details for others - go to question 7
Yes, everyone needs to know - no they don’t and you don’t need to tell everything either, retelling the experiences, leaving them out for everyone, and having them there as a reminder can give you a hard time healing and may cause some unwanted flashbacks
- Does it have to do with a character or character development?
No - then you probably don’t need it - do not write it
Yes - go to question 5
- Do you have all the information to portray the situation properly?
No - time for research!
Yes - Everything? - Yes, Cam, stop nagging - go to question 6
- Can’t you make it implicit?
No - improve your writing and try again
Yes - make it implicit
Time to begin writing!
After writing what you want to write you will have to ask yourself a new set of questions.
(optional) get a proofreader! They can help you notice things you didn’t notice before!
- Do you want to publish that?
Yes - go to question 8
No - keep it to yourself
Revise it and make sure it portrays properly what you want to portray.
- Does it?
Yes - go to question 9
No - rewrite and try again
- Is what you are going to publish adequate for the platform you are going to publish it in?
Yes - publish it!
No - look for another platform - There are many other ways to publish your story. Due to the guidelines I cannot mention these sites, but you can always look for the yourself.
After publishing:
Be on the lookout for feedback and people’s reactions, if you get the feeling there is something wrong, act out!
Now, you may be annoyed because you have never written about these topics and you feel there is nothing wrong with what you have done. This may be true but this doesn’t mean you are not part of a community with a problem, so you have things to do as well. The first and more important: don’t be afraid to speak up! You may be new to the community and you may be afraid to talk to the living legends in here, don’t be! We are all dorks investing our time in fictional characters and stories! We are all equals. If you see there is something wrong I encourage you to call the person out, it doesn’t have to be in public but via a PM works too. Now, if you are going to say something don’t just stop at pointing out what’s wrong, help the others see how they can improve. If you are too shy to talk to them then you can always reach me and tell me about the issue, I’ll do my best to see it resolved. Now, if calling that person out didn’t work you have to talk to other members of the community, sometimes having a lot of people talk to you about the same subject is just what others need to see their mistakes. I don’t like the next step but sometimes it’s necessary, if the person won’t help and keeps damaging the community you can always report and/or block them, sometimes you have to pull the weeds out so the garden grows healthy.