Well, twitter voted for me to do this so here we go.

Fact-Checking "Simple Writing Tips: A Thread": A Thread
Before we begin: The original thread has been deleted, yes, but it contains some really insidious claims that I have seen frequently elsewhere and I think those are worth talking about.
In this thread, we will be talking a GREAT DEAL about logical fallacies.

If you need a refresher, the Purdue Writing Lab is here for you: https://owl.purdue.edu/owl/general_writing/academic_writing/logic_in_argumentative_writing/fallacies.html
Last note: I will be cropping out the OP's name/avatar--that's just common courtesy. I will be extremely miffed if I see someone tracking her down and using this thread to bash, attack, or harass her directly. Let's focus on *content* as much as possible, ok?
Either/or fallacy. There are lots of reasons why someone might worry about spoilers, both as a writer and as a reader.

Also in the 3rd sentence, the cause and the effect are not linked: A story being ruined by spoilers doesn't *prove* that the story relied on "cheap shock value"
This is the OP's opinion. You might agree with her! But it's still an opinion.
Bonus Tip on writing Writing Tips: Using words like "best" and "worst" when giving writing tips often erases nuance. Remember that there are lots of ways to tell stories, and that no way is *inherently* flawed -- there are no bad tools, as the saying goes.
Literally just the OP's opinion, not a writing tip. You might agree with her! You might disagree with her! You might like both things for different reasons! All of these are okay. Write what you want to write.
Yes, a "redemption arc" is different from a "healing arc".

HOWEVER: A victim of abuse is still capable of abusing others, they don't get a free pass. When a villain in that position realizes this and works to break the cycle and reform, that *IS* a redemption arc.
Lots going on here, based on a wildly distorted definiton of "enabling." Either/or fallacy: "either we kill the villain or we don't." In fact, there are many reasons a hero might avoid killing.

One example: Extrajudicial executions are often looked down upon in polite society.
Note: remember this one, because we're going to come back to it.
Translation: "I, the OP, did not like this thing." Pure opinion, not a tip.

Also: "Fetishizing abuse" is a TERF dogwhistle that everyone should be aware of, because it's a sneaky and insidious bit of propaganda. (I've discussed it in another thread: https://twitter.com/_alexrowland/status/1328909377751932928)
I believe the *SPIRIT* of what OP is trying to say is "Don't do a 'Dumbledore+Grindelwald' thing like JKR". It is true that many people found that irritating.

However, that's not what this "tip" is saying -- you can reveal details anywhere and as much as you want.
Some details really *can't* fit onto the page, or get cut in edits.

Like how in my first book, the elderly male protagonist goes around the whole time in short-shorts and a crop top that says "Enemy of the State". It just wasn't relevant to the story so it never came up.
1. Empty sensationalism.
2. Carelessly worded: It implies that 9999 innocent deaths *might* be redeemable.
3. Fallacy of false equivalence: It suggests that the imaginary actions of a fictional character are morally identical to the real actions of a real person. (They're not.)
Translation: "A fictional character doing 10,000 murders is bad, UNLESS I, the OP, think it was stupid for the character to be evil in the first place--then reclaiming and redeeming them is just correcting the derailment, and therefore Morally Allowed."
With tips 8 and 9, this becomes an incredible one-two-three punch of cognitive dissonance.

"1. Doing enough murders makes a character irredeemable
2. (Unless I think it's stupid that the idiot authors made them evil.)
3. Anyway, as I was saying, authors do things on purpose--"
Looking at #10 on its own.... Eghhh I can't fit my thoughts on this into one tweet, it'd be a whole separate thread.

In short: It's an oversimplification. Use your critical thinking skills. There's always space for nuance.
(tw: pedophilia)

At first glance: Two thumbs up! Even a broken clock is right twice a day! Surely we can all agree this *is* actually bad!

Except I've been on the internet for eons and I recognize that this is the 1st step of an infamous Foot-in-the-Door strategy. (c)
This strategy is used extensively in TERF rhetoric and ideology, and so it's basically become a dogwhistle for them, to the extent that the discussion about it drowns out and silences the voices of real victims.
TERFs establish the legitimate baseline that "Pedophilia Is Bad Actually" (yes, we all live in a polite society, we know this) but then spool out an argument of "if you agree with that, then you MUST agree with [thing that's a step or two removed from that]".
Example:
Pedophilia is bad, so it's wrong for an 18yo to date a 17yo.
If that's bad, then it's also wrong for a 40yo to date a 30yo, bc ew gross, what if they'd met when they were younger and one was a minor
Shipping a 1000yo vampire and a 30 year old human is pedophilia.
Further examples:
Writing about two teenagers having sex automatically means you're sexualizing them, that's pedophilia
Teenage minors being sexually attracted to each other means they're sexualizing each other, that's also pedophilia
FURTHER examples:
A teen writing about teens having sex is sexualizing themself (monstrous and wrong).
Writing fic abt an aged-up character is pedophilia bc they were a minor in canon.
An age gap in a relationship is "minor-coding"
A height difference is "minor-coding."
Yes, I have seen *ALL* of these examples first-hand in the wild. If you are saying, "Wait, wtf?!?" then yes, I'm right there with you.

It all comes down to TERFs wanting to dodge responsibility by proving that things they personally dislike are actually HORRIBLE IMMORAL CRIMES
this is such a prevalent dogwhistle in TERF ideology because it *CONCLUSIVELY* shuts down any opposing argument: If someone disagrees with you, just find some way to "prove" they're a pedophile and sit back with popcorn to watch the carnage. You win the argument!!!!
The other important point about #11 is the word "pair" -- we're still talking about writing fictional characters.

"Don't ever write this, it's always bad" leaves ZERO space for nuance, such as: "a person who is writing about their own lived experience as a victim".
THAT in turn spools out to TERFs abusing, harassing, and silencing people who are the "wrong" kind of victim or whose experiences are not textbook, etc etc... In the end, it's "attempts to morally justify their fascism" all the way down, baby! 😎
*rubs forehead* look, i'm tired of talking about this and the only new thing I have to add is about the "age of consent in X country" thing -- claiming or implying that the American age of consent is the only Truly Pure and Moral one is deeply fucked up and I think you know why.
Just like with "fetishizing abuse", which we already talked about, the phrase "sexualizing teenagers" is often just the morality police trying to start a crusade about ALL depictions of teenage sexuality--even healthy, joyful, and appropriate ones
Anyway that took a few extra tweets and *WHEW* they were heavy ones, but I feel like that was an important point that would have gone over the heads of people who were lacking the context for it.

Let's continue. (can somebody plz fetch me a drink)
This is the OP's opinion.

I, a nonbinary person, am allowed to write about my nonbinaryness through the lens of metaphor if I so choose. So are you! There's no "always" for anything in writing.
WELCOME TO THE FUN TIMES AD HOMINEM ATTACKS!!!! \\o/ This will go on for a few tweets. It's like a fun party!

These could have been entirely reasonable points about being mindful of issues of representation and avoiding tokenism, but maybe OP felt like it needed to be spicier?
As a nonbinary and demisexual person, my thoughts on this are..... I mean sure, but also shapeshifters and aliens are fucking cool though???? like?????
Translation: "Even if you yourself are an autistic number fetishist who really loves villains and wants to do that one trope again but Properly This Time bc it's from a place of personal experience: Ur still a turd tho, bc doing this is TOTALLY BANNED"
I just feel like "Be aware of issues of tokenism and harmful tropes; sensitivity readers can be a really useful resource for this" would have 1) been more helpful and 2) applied to a broader set of common issues

OTOH it doesn't include the word "turd" -- a big problem.
Also these don't even get into the really tricky, nuanced territory of, "Ok, but if [a person from a marginalized community] intentionally chooses to write [common trope about that community] for the purposes of lampshading/criticizing/subverting it, are they still a turd???"
Yes, I did skip #23, bc I wanted to position it side by side with #25, watch this. *cracks knuckles*
Yep, it's super shitty to make a real-life woman kiss her real-life abuser, that's 100% gross. Don't force anyone to kiss anyone.

Except we're presumably still talking about "WRITING TIPS" and therefore fictional characters.

And sometimes writers make bad things happen to them.
You are not automatically "a turd" for making a bad thing happen to one of your characters.

Turdness comes about as a *pattern of behavior* which often includes lack of empathy, lack of follow-through, and consistently betraying the trust of your audience.
BUT WAIT A SECOND--

PLOT TWIST! OP has a great point: Characters *don't* have sexual agency!
Buuuuuuuut if that is the case, then it conclusively disproves the ENTIRE PREMISE that #23 is built on, which is that by forcing a character to kiss their abuser, you are violating their sexual agency.

OP, plz pick one (1). Do you believe they have sexual agency or not?
#25 is also still a "this should be Totally Banned" situation which we've already established is flawed and oversimplified.

You are not a turd just for putting your character in sexy armor or sexy clothes. You may, however, be perpetuating some sexist tropes, so tread carefully.
Let's! Address! The! Underlying! Cause! Not! The! Individual! Symptoms!

"No sexy armor, it's a turd move" does not cure systemic misogyny!
*groan* This is just outright Purity Police stuff.

You are not a turd for writing or drawing or appreciating sexy fictional characters.
Being imaginary, they are some of the safest people to be attracted to (especially if sexuality something you're still exploring).
This is just so obviously, egregiously untrue.

Some writers do make it up as they go along.
Some really do plan it all out first, they're not filthy liars (wtf...???)
There's no right or wrong way to do it! Figure out what works for YOU.
Ehhh, I mean it depends on what you mean by "what Avatar did".

Like on one hand, sure, you can't replicate something exactly, you can only aspire towards and emulate what it did.
But on the other hand: Comp titles are a thing.
Opinion. 100% opinion. Not based on ANY facts. Many, MANY major mainstream blockbusters of the past 20 years have been about saving the world.

(Also not every anime is about saving the world, also who tf still watches Friends, pretty sure anime IS more popular than that, etc)
It sure does annoy OP, anyway. Opinion, naturally, and of course not even a useful tip.

Drama can have moments of comedy; comedy can have moments of pathos. A better tip might be, "When you are Doing Art, make choices on purpose."
Opinion.

Many people enjoy reading lush, vast worldbuilding; others don't. There is no one right way.

I absolutely wrote A CONSPIRACY OF TRUTHS based on, "I wonder how much worldbuilding I can cram into a book without overburdening the reader?" It is entirely doable.
Pure, distilled opinion.

Not every story is character-driven, and not every writer finds characters to be their strong suit. That's okay. It's okay if that's you. There's no one right way to do it.
listen i've been in purgatory with this thread for what feels like a million years now and I don't even know what this is saying

anyway a villain protagonist is called an "antihero" and it's a legit artistic choice you can make if you feel like it
(the subplot of the Fact Checking thread: the audience watches in horror as Alex slowly descends into a gibbering puddle of literary exhaustion)
More opinions! \\o/ Hooray! Not facts! Not a tip! Just OP having preferences!

I've written multi-POV stories, I've written single-POV stories. They are 2 different tools, they accomplish 2 different things. One is not superior to the other. Use either. Make Choices On Purpose.
Even a broken clock is right twice a day! This is correct and I have nothing to critique about it. Hire writers to write, and also pay them many dollars for it.

not really a "writing tip", tho, but you know what? i'm desperate and i'll take it
Pure opinion, not a tip. Some people enjoy the "will they, won't they." It's not inherently flawed.

I'm side-eyeing the "addiction-peddling" thing, that smacks of Propaganda and Empty Sensationalism.

I haven't seen Friends but OP has large feelings about it, which is fine.
"XYZ thing is not an absolute rule to live by" says OP, who has been serving us absolutes this ENTIRE TIME.

IDK anything about She-Ra but I've been on the internet for a million years and I can smell Fandom Drama at 30 paces
I think it's the mention of Reylo (Rey/Kylo Ren, from the new Star Wars) that tipped me off. There are lots of people who get EXTREMELY HUFFY about anybody shipping them or writing fic. Remember the "It's fetishizing abuse!!" thing from upthread? That happens a lot w/ this ship.
Ad hominem attack.
Straw man argument.
Fallacy of moral equivalence (writing about XYZ is as bad as committing XYZ in real life).
False dichotomy ("if you think purity is boring, then you MUST be violent and dangerous").
"Fetishizing abuse" is almost always empty sensationalism, as previously mentioned.

And actually, OP???? the phrase, "Don't listen to them," is the thing that is REALLY setting off my red flags for gaslighting.
I think the thing that most irritates me about the phrase "fetishizing abuse" is that it gives ACTUAL ABUSERS a very convenient camouflage so they can continue abusing people.

Identifying abusers in any community is something that takes time and fucking EFFORT. It SUCKS.
Like, as long as an abuser is supporting the "right" ships in a fandom and publicly, performatively denouncing all the "wrong" ships, then they're clearly a pillar of the community, right?

come on. The people who shout loudest have the most to hide.

Also it's not a writing tip
Arguably the people who are yelling about "fetishizing abuse" are the ones who are sort of.... the actual abuse fetishists????

anyway this isn't a writing tip either but it's not a bad life tip. Block early, block often! Take agency of your online experience!
I've been raped, and if I want to write a villain who is a rape victim, I am legally allowed to do that.

You can't make a rule against that without silencing the voices of victims. This should have been another tip about harmful tropes and representation issues.
Still not really a writing tip but.... *checks notes* yeah no I will let OP have this one. This is, in my experience, true and correct.
I have no context to understand this whatsoever, but I can tell that it is an Opinion and that it is also not a "WRITING TIP", this IS a thread of so-called "WRITING TIPS", is it not????
Like, OP could have titled this "A Thread of My Thoughts And Opinions" and totally gotten away with it, without doing more than mildly irritating a few people
Opinion. I share this opinion, but... opinion.

If you are writing a love triangle, you should not feel bad if polyamory isn't your thing and you don't want to resolve it that way. Just consider your options and Make Choices On Purpose.
We do love a male character who drinks his Respecting Women juice, but that does not automatically make him a good character. (What does OP mean by "good"? idk man, probably Opinions and Preferences)
Side note: To the best of my knowledge, the word "simp" is derived from the ableist slur "simpleton"? Which.... we probably do not want to use that, actually....

Someone please correct me if I'm wrong, though!!! I would love to not cringe every time I see that word.
The term "Mary Sue" is OFTEN thinly veiled misogyny, and you should USUALLY disregard it..... After having done your own independent critical thinking within the specific context of whatever you're talking about or reading.

NUANCE, people, NUANCE!
OP has another pretty good take!

It's true! A Strong Female Character doesn't mean that she has to be physically strong or emotionally strong. "Strong" here means "complex" or "well-constructed". So go ahead and let her be a fully realized, well-rounded person with feelings!
Oversimplification. Many depictions of goblins are indeed often overtly antisemitic (see: JK Rowling); I'm dubious about the claim that they are *inherently* so.

Either way, this "tip" would be improved by being explicitly about Avoiding Harmful Tropes and Stereotypes.
Oh look, we're back to the ad hominem attacks.

People are allowed to theorize about or purposefully rework and dismantle harmful tropes, especially writers from the marginalized backgrounds who have been affected by those tropes. Doing this does not make them "turds".
Wild over-generalization.

No, what????? Writing a trope on purpose isn't a necessarily bad decision, why in the world would it be? Tropes are just patterns, and the human brain is purpose-built for pattern recognition. Tropes are a shorthand. If you love a trope, WRITE IT.
Ok, that's #50 so we're halfway through. It is 4:40pm and i have not eaten lunch or had anything to drink today, so I'm gonna go DO THAT THING real quick. I'll probably do a bit more tonight, but I do not know whether I will finish tonight.
Hang on I gotta do the self-promo real quick--

I write some cool fantasy novels, including FINDING FAERIES which just came out a couple weeks ago: https://bookshop.org/shop/alexandrarowland

And A TASTE OF GOLD AND IRON (v queer, joyfully tropey, comes out in 2022): https://www.tor.com/2020/10/29/book-announcements-alexandra-rowland-a-taste-of-gold-and-iron/
If you've been enjoying this thread and would like to buy me a strong drink for my troubles...

I'm on Patreon: http://www.patreon.com/_alexrowland 
and Kofi: https://ko-fi.com/ariaste 
and Paypal: http://paypal.me/ariaste 

OK GONNA GO EAT NOW BRB
ok ok ok i shoved some food down my wretched gullet and got a very lorge glass of water, let's do this
haha the fun thing about this one is that OP got such a comprehensive backlash for this thread that she tried to argue with a bunch of people and then deleted the whole thing.

*gazes fondly at this screenshot* I wonder if she's taking her own advice, it's decent advice
Not a writing tip.

The bit about "it's better to let people fight it out" is another opinion. Some people would react differently, and some contexts would require a different response.
Slippery slope fallacy: "If we have a policy of allowing ANY headcanons, then we are basically INVITING Bad People in." (I also refer you to that whole mini-thread about the "TERFs use 'pedophile' to shut down anyone who disagrees with them".)

Not a writing tip
Sigh. Yes, it is good and important work to root out the ACTUAL, REAL abusers in your community.

It is also good and important work to accept that people who like something you don't like are not criminals. None of us are not the ultimate arbiter of morality.
The logical fallacy in 53 and 54 is called an "appeal to fear", also known as boogeyman tactics.

It's like when politicians are like "You have to support me, because I'm gonna be HARD ON CRIME! Criminals are EVERYWHERE! They're going to eat your dog and steal your boyfriend!!"
Again with the absolutes! "You should never think about this"!

There is nothing wrong if you, the creator, want to Give The People What They Want.
There is nothing wrong if you, the creator, make art to please nobody but yourself.
BOTH ARE FINE. DO UR OWN THING
hello everyone. can we all just take a moment to say hi? How are you guys all doing? I'm fine. I'm a wailing puddle of bubbling grey goo on the floor, but y'know, that's ok, that's fine.
Flawed evidence (selection bias, also confirmation bias??). Also a fallacy of circular logic, i think, but tbh my brain is tired and i don't care enough to pick it apart.

tldr: no, it's not proof that characters/relationships are more satisfying than anything else, except to OP.
"Too much" and "overabundance" are obviously very squishy, "opinion" sort of words. Other than that, is this tweet actually saying anything??? is it making a point? Cannot tell.

my brain is sort of buzzing rn
Remember that time that everybody was mad about this thread and OP argued with a bunch of people and then just deleted the whole thing?

and now we're all sitting here like "so did you learn anything or.....???????"
Remember that time that everybody was mad about this thread, and we're all sitting here still wondering if OP learned anything?

also these are still not writing tips but then.... *takes a huge rip off a bong* what IS a writing tip, y'know???????
I mean, when right-wing people use it, yes, it absolutely is a dogwhistle

But that concept *can also be* a criticism, and when it is, the word we use for it is "tokenism" and OP said several times that she will call you a turd if you do it, idk man i wouldn't test her
Nope nope nope. BAD TAKE, OP. BAD TAKE.

You do NOT get to tell marginalized communities what words they're allowed to use for themselves. If a Black writer wants to use the n-word in their work, that is *their* individual decision, *not yours*.
SIT. DOWN.
"Not all those who preach nonviolence are right to do so" sure is..... a take.

hey, everybody remember when OP was like "If a hero refuses to kill a villain, it's not 'noble', it's just enabling?"

hm.

aaaaaaaaaaaanyway not even a writing tip but who's surprised at this point
Ok so OP just has, like, a whole Stance on this huh

Anyway, HARD NO???? that's not how anything works!!

If I lend someone a shovel and he uses it to do a murder, I am not responsible for the murder. Everybody's responsible for their own actions.
Where are the cool lawyers to do a spinoff thread about that specific tweet?? Anyone??? @thekoreanvegan???
A decent take from OP but it's couched in the usual pointless ad hominem attacks, which I am beginning to find extremely tiresome and grating.
The first half is basically true.
The second half ("quickest to fade"), not necessarily. Once again it doesn't need to be an absolute statement.

Sorry to break this to everybody, but some of you who have grandparents who are getting laid more than I am.
Another of OP's opinions.

Once AGAIN, "best" is incredibly subjective, there is no single right way to write a romance, absolute statements are needlessly prescriptivist, why couldn't this have been "thread of OP's preferences" etc etc etc
Fallacy: missing the point.

Yes, real people are (arguably) defined by our relationships. We are also defined by OTHER THINGS -- our dreams and aspirations, our fears and trauma, our likes and dislikes, our moments of bravery or cowardice, our skills and ambitions. (continued)
When writing, you have to Make Choices On Purpose about how you want to frame a character, and most of the time you simply won't have space to hit *every single thing on the list*.

It isn't stupid if you don't want to define a character by relationships. You have other options.
ehhhhh this is another generalization mixed in with OP's Opinion.

Every writer is going to emphasize different beats of the plot based on their strengths (and the context of the plot), and every reader will also have a unique experience of what they find memorable. Shrug.
69!!! NICE NICE NIIIICCCE.

Ahem.

No, sorry, this is simply not the definition of "slow burn", OP. I do not have anything else to say about it, you're just kinda Wrong in your Facts parts.
hang on i have to call the crew of the famous Broadway musical "Spring Awakening" and tell them the bad news, brb
It isn't cool to shame people for not knowing things or to make fun of them for lacking sexual experience. Or anatomy, for that matter.

I *own* boobs, but for many years, I didn't know boob armor didn't make sense safety-wise until I stumbled across an explanation.
Selection bias.

* Longbows aren't the only kind of bow, other kinds have lighter draws.
* Different athletics = different kinds of strength.
* Anyone who has shot a bow knows that drawing the damn thing is easy, aiming correctly to hit the target is hard. Thus: Dexterity
I am JUST ABOUT DONE with OP saying "should" all the time, i must say, I have had it up to HERE.
This is a way to BEGIN avoiding tokenism, but calling it the "best way" is a gross oversimplification.

If you've got four Diverse Characters but they're all based on harmful stereotypes then you still done fucked up. There's more work to it than that.
I'm... SORT OF ok with this suggestion as a writing exercise? except that I object to calling it an "easy way" -- if you are striving to do caring, sincere representation, this is gonna throw you into the deep end. If you're up for that, go nuts, I guess.
But also: Nobody expects you to do perfect universal representation of every single demographic in every single story. Deprogramming internal prejudices is a PROCESS and it is HARD WORK.
Sometimes going out of your comfort zone a little bit at a time can be more beneficial, for the same reason that studying for 10 minutes every day is better for long-term learning than cramming the night before the test.
THIS IS AN OPINION, NOT A TIP

Concerning my own demographics, I'd rather see one character that's a really great bit of representation rather than eight who are all kind of meh representation, you know? But that's just me! Other people might have other opinions & that's ok
One wonders whether OP still believed in this policy when she was getting "literally free writing advice" in response to this thread.

Like. It's really easy to say "Look on the bright side!" when you're not in the middle of Having Screwed Up, you know?
I've screwed up before. And having been In It, ofc I'm scared of doing it again. It is TERRIFYING when people are mad at me, and I am constantly afraid of hurting someone by accident.

A little of that fear can be constructive. It can keep you sober and humble. Makes you listen.
"People will be happier if you don't" is a bandwagon fallacy. *OP* will be happier if you don't, because OP does not care for those stories, which is fine, that's a preference.

Calling it a "tired trope" is... meh.
On one hand, yes, "misery porn" made by and for non-marginalized people is exhausting and alienating.

On the other hand, marginalized people still have a LOT of important stories to tell about their OWN experiences with bigotry and suffering.

NUANCE, PEOPLE, NUANCE!
Remember when OP was like "Fanservice is a concept you should never think about"? op what is the truth?????

anyway. An opinion! Personally, I do espouse the "just want my audience to have fun" philosophy, but not every writer needs to.

https://twitter.com/_alexrowland/status/1329190386326261763
This is literally only true on AO3. *phone rings* Hello? Sure, hang on. OP? It's for you, it's the MCU

Anyway, is this implying that you should write only popular things? Meh. Bad tip. Write the things you're passionate about and interested in, whether or not they're popular.
True! No objections here.
Opinion, and a pretty meh one.

If you are familiar with RPG alignments, they can be a fun shorthand for starting to think about your characters and their moral perspectives of the world.

They're just a tool, and there are no bad tools.
I've literally only seen RHPS once when I was sixteen and I don't remember/know enough about it to confirm anything on this one.

But is this a... common problem that we're having? Are lots of people suddenly using RH as a reference lately?????
It's just that it seems odd because there's LOADS of queer media nowadays for people to emulate and reference, why would they be going to RHPS of all things??? I am puzzled
Anyway here's another dogwhistle popular in TERF rhetoric and ideology!

Yes, if you did not know: TERFs *hate it* when people use the word "queer".

The whole point of reclaiming slurs is to take away their power--calling it the "q-slur" gives power back to the oppressors.
"Queer" is about as normalized and reclaimed as it is possible for a word to get -- for example, at many universities, there are entire departments called "Queer Studies", classes called "Queer Film Theory", etc.
It is also worth noting that "gay" was a slur as recently as like 2006 (remember when we were all little asshole teenagers saying "That's gay" to mean "That's stupid"?). "Lesbian" started out as a slur too.

They're fairly neutral words now, because we TOOK THEM BACK.
When someone uses a thing to hurt you, take the thing away from them.

And then for heaven's sake, don't HAND IT BACK TO THEM and say "ooh you're right this IS a bad word, so scary, wow". Wtf????
Anyway, OP, nah, you don't get to choose what words people use for themselves.

Love,
Me (A Queer Person)
NOT A WRITING TIP.

By saying "killing can sometimes be justified", OP MIGHT mean in cases of self-defence, but based on evidence from past tweets ALSO seems to believe that some people ("villains") do deserve to be summarily shot without trial.

A strange and uncomfy take.
I and my esteemed colleagues, the financial juggernaut of the Entire Romance Publishing Industry and its readers, are having a hearty chuckle about this one.

"will get you laughed at" is a subtle bandwagon fallacy. WHO is supposed to be doing the laughing?
(cough cough, buy my books, Choir of Lies has a necessary and plot-relevant sex scene, and I'm only gonna write even hornier books from here on out, cough cough COUGH https://bookshop.org/shop/alexandrarowland)
yeah, this is fine, we already talked about this earlier tho
What does this *MEAN*

what sort of TV is OP watching??? I have a hunch that the "addiction" thing (which she mentioned before in regards to serialized shows and also ??soap operas??) is a dogwhistle or ideological shorthand, but i'm missing the context. Just smells wrong, yknow?
See, and here it is again! What's with this?? "Addiction based storytelling" and then she lists..... common and normal ways of holding or increasing tension in a story? I literally don't see what she's fussin about or why it's So Horrible.

OP shakes fist at cloud, I guess???
Translation: OP hates Steven Universe and Game of Thrones and does not understand why other people might like them.

Also??? Not a writing tip. Fuck, I should have been making a drinking game of this.
No supporting evidence here, no arguments. Just good old OP, bestowing random absolutes from on high to us, the undeserving mortals.

thank u, op. Now we know that hardcore fans are wrong about continuity being important. Why does that matter? a true mystery for the ages!!!!
a decent, basic-bitch take.

otoh OP's been disguising her own politics as absolute moral imperatives for this entire heckin thread and has straight up told us that there are some "other people" whose existence she DOES consider political, soooOOoo...
like on one hand: yes

but on the other hand: i've been scrutinizing OP's words, stances, and beliefs without pause (except lunch) for like nine hours now, and I just don't trust her to actually believe this philosophy fiercely, sincerely, and even for people she doesn't like.
This is not a writing tip, this is a thesis statement.

I'm gonna need to see the rest of OP's argument, bc otherwise ....so what?? Why does it matter? Why are we ranking them? What are you trying to prove here? why was this not an OP's Thoughts and Preferences thread?
Opinion, but a benign one.

This is just ONE time when you could change a character's pronouns. In practice, pronouns are weird and complicated and sometimes you don't always have a Magical Moment When You Realize Who You Are, y'know?
Sometimes you call yourself something in your head that you're not ready to share out loud.
Sometimes you get a friend to help you test-drive pronouns to see what feels right, but they don't yet, so you keep using the old ones.
Sometimes you transition gradually to a new set.
Trans/NB/genderqueer folks have a range of unique experiences that are complex and multilayered, and they deserve stories that reflect that.
Except OP literally told us sex scenes are unnecessary and we'd be "laughed at" for saying they're important, and that we were turds for "ogling" sexy fictional characters, and, and and...

hey look i'm almost done
Opinions and preferences. Not a tip.

My entire counterargument is just gonna be to drop a link to KM Szpara's inCREDIBLE short story "Small Changes Over Long Periods of Time" which is the trans vampire story we were all yearning for https://uncannymagazine.com/article/small-changes-long-periods-time/
(srsly tho, how can you look at mythical creatures who both have TRANSFORMATION as an integral element of their lore and not say "Whooee, we could make that SUPER QUEER tho, lemme rub some Gender Stuff allllllll over that with my sticky little racoon hands")
This is true.

Also some of my best twitter threads. *significant look up the thread*
This is also basically fine.

Monarchy is certainly *easier* to collapse into corruption, whereas democracy *generally* has safety features and redundancies built in, but ehhhh whatever, let's not quibble, it's a fine point.
A harmless opinion. Not a writing tip, tho, just a "OP would like to see more of this".
perhaps OP, like me, was getting tired and running out of things to say
i mean.... there's other common differences between platonic and romantic relationships, op....... like, sometimes best friends do not want to touch each other's jibbly bits, or cohabitate, or combine finances, or--

anyway, it's another wild generalization

Not! A! Writing! Tip!
Not a writing tip, but a perfectly acceptable life tip.

Unless your friends are from England and Australia, in which case they break out in hives when you say "I love you". >_>
If you fact-check a 100-point long twitter thread, you are arguably the biggest loser of all, but maybe kind of........... sexy?

maybe really sexy? maybe fact checking is one of the sexiest and most attractive things a person can do--look, let me have this one, ok
Aw, OP's first attempt to deflect criticism! Except OP has explicitly used the word "rules" in the thread as well as implying THROUGHOUT that there is only one right and moral way of doing things

OP, there is also a difference between "tips" and "opinions".
In conclusion, what have we learned today about writing?

1. NUANCE, PEOPLE! NUANCE!
2. Make Choices On Purpose
3. There's no one Right Way to do things.
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