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@411forwriting
I have four lessons for you today:
1) YOU HAVE NO AUDIENCE
You have a target audience, but you have no true audience just yet. No one knows this story. No one knows its characters. No one cares. Not a single person, other than you, cares about this story right now.
That being said, forget about...
Phoneme Chart by TheEndIsNearUs
Show vs. Tell
Great description of the difference.
In one of my fiction-writing classes, we had a workshop where we critiqued each other’s writing. There was one student that had a story about a poor boy, who had to work to help his family. At one point, the writer describes his room, and it sounds pretty standard: “vintage posters of rock musicians on the wall, an old board game his family had kept for years, battered Nike sneakers under the bed”. Our teacher said, “Your main character’s pretty selfish.” We all stared at her. “I mean, his family barely has enough to eat, and he’s spending money on buying expensive vintage band posters and Nike shoes?” I was shocked. I hadn’t thought anything of that description - it was just to paint a vivid picture, right? And I didn’t know vintage posters were expensive. What if the Nike shoes had been given to him as a gift? What if the mother had bought them? But it was the moment I realized that great writers put a lot of thought into all those seemingly useless details they leave in there, and they’re all clues leading to a larger truth. It’s not good enough to paint a vivid picture and put in details. Those details will be read into, and they need to point to the truth of your story or your character. That student certainly didn’t mean to make their character come across as selfish. And yet that was the conclusion that the details led to. At the same time, sometimes the curtains are just blue, so to speak, and it doesn’t mean anything. Which is why consistency is also important. I wouldn’t have necessarily surmised that the character in the original post was clumsy just cause he tripped once - so establish this trait, remember that you made him clumsy, make him drop crumbs all over their lap and almost drop things that are handed to him. Otherwise I will assume his clumsiness is a one-time thing. It’s your job as a writer to include meaningful details, just as it is to establish when something is just a coincidence, or a plot device.
This is good. I bolded the part I felt was most important; good writers include details and keep things consistent, but I agree that great writers include those details for a reason and make them actually mean something (versus allowing them to simply be decoration).
The commentary’s better than the original post.
When I was a young writer, I thought details were there for the sake of being details. You enter a room, you describe the room so the reader can see it in their head, the end.
But in fact, nothing is supposed to be so pointless as to simply check off a box next to “Imagery” in an English class workbook. These details are meant to give the reader something meaningful about the impression it makes on the perspective character, or what’s up with this world and its people.
As for the original post… I think either could work depending on context. If you were trying to have that awkward kid really own this story, making it a story about her perspective rather than a series of events we the readers are watching, you’d go with the left, because it captures a sense of the kid’s understanding of the world rather than appealing to ours.
It’s also worth noting that the right example is very zoomed in, and forces you to go into the details of this particular event and follow it to a reasonable stopping point, which may or may not be desirable.
A Call for Spelling Standardization (or Is That Standardisation?) by Maria Konnikova - British English, American English, Noah Webster English, or New Yorker English? Let’s just pick one and stick with it Why It’s So Hard to Catch Your Own Typos by Nick Stockton - What makes mistakes that are obvious to others invisible to the writers that make them? The Comma From Which My Heart Hangs by Benjamin Samuel - Abandonment or abuse of the comma muddles discourse. This lack of respect is akin to neglect The Joy of Exclamation Marks! by Stuart Jeffries - Exclamation marks used to be frowned upon. Now look what’s happened! We use them all the time! Hurrah!!! But what is it about the age of email that gets people so over-excited? Are Apostrophes Necessary? by Matthew J.X. Malady - Not really, no Grammar Lessons from David Foster Wallace - The late great DFW on Grammar English Has a New Preposition, Because Internet by Megan Garber - Linguists are recognizing the delightful evolution of the word “because” 10 ‘Grammar Rules’ it’s OK to Break (sometimes) by Steven Pinker - You shudder at a split infinitive, know when to use ‘that’ or ‘which’ and would never confuse ‘less’ with ‘fewer’ – but are these rules always right, elegant or sensible?
Guest post by Christine Edwards
Don’t have time to write the next great American novel and track down lists of editors and agents that rep your genre? Fear not, writers can streamline the querying process with online resources that take guesswork out of the equation. Six of the best websites...
hi!! ok so one of my goals for the new year is to work more in journals and sketchbooks. so recently i’ve been searching for resources to help me. i figured some other people might want to see the resources i found too, cause journals/sketchbooks are really cool but they can seem difficult and hard to get into. so i made this masterpost! i hope this helps anyone who’s interested and happy journaling!
get started
how to start a journal
journaling 101
art journaling 101
lots of blog posts about journaling
start a sketchbook
start a sketchbook and stick to it
what to put in a sketchbook
sketchbook ideas
random art prompt generator
giant list of sketchbook ideas
100 sketchbook ideas
149 sketchbook ideas
sketch using a grid
journaling ideas
119 journal prompts
365 journal writing ideas
journal prompts about memories
more ideas
ideas from keri smith (creator of wreck this journal)
one word prompts
50 art journal prompts
52 list prompts
101 list prompts
lists to keep updated
how to collage in your art journal
collaging 101
other masterposts like this one
how to begin journaling
what to put in notebooks
what to do with a new notebook
journaling ideas and inspiration
ok that’s all i’ve got! i hope some of these links and resources help, and have a great year!
"Write until you surprise yourself."
Personality and writing style
Find out your type here
How to Unstuck a Story
At some point we have all reached some kind of impasse when writing a story. It might be a specific problem the character finds himself facing which you can’t figure out how to resolve, or it could be a more general structural issue and you’re not sure what should happen next.
Both of these types of problems can be sorted out with a little patience and a moment of inspiration. You think and think and think and then the answer comes to you. Usually. Sometimes, however, the answer does not come. Everything you come up with seems not quite right.
When this happens you should remember two things. First, no matter how unsolvable your problem may seem your brain has the capacity to solve it. You know this from experience, from all the times you’ve been in this position before (whether in writing or in real life) and you have that eureka moment and you know exactly what to do.
And secondly, just because your brain can give you the answer doesn’t mean it will. It’s one of those inexplicable evolutionary traits that don’t really makes sense. Sometimes your brain just doesn’t want to help you and needs to be poked with a stick. Well, here are some sticks to give it a little push in the right direction.
Read More
MY WRITING MASTERPOST
I just have a lot of writing tips and masterposts and just stuff in my likes and I decided to put them all into this. All rights goes to the people who made them.
Cool Other Masterposts:
Writing Specific Characters
Writing References
Writing Masterpost
Character Guides
Writing Help for Writers
Ultimate Writing Resource List
Lots of RP Guides
Online Writing Resources
List of Websites to Help You Focus
Resources for Writing Bio’s
Helpful Links for Writing Help
General Writing Resources
Resources for Biography Writing
Mental Ilnesses/Disorders Guides
8 Words You Should Avoid While Writing
The Ultimate Writing Masterpost
General:
The Official Ten-Step Guide to Becoming the Next Gatsby
The Periodic Table of Storytelling
Joss Whedon’s Top 10 Writing Tips
Getting Out of Your Comfort Zone
34 Writing Tips that will make you a Better Writer
50 Free resources that will improve your writing skills
5 ways to get out of the comfort zone and become a stronger writer
10 ways to avoid Writing Insecurity
The Writer’s Guide to Overcoming Insecurity
The Difference Between Good Writers and Bad Writers
You’re Not Hemingway - Developing Your Own Style
7 Ways to use Brain Science to Hook Readers and Reel them In
8 Short Story Tips from Kurt Vonnegut
How to Show, Not Tell
5 Essential Story Ingredients
How to Write Fiction that grabs your readers from page one
Why research is important in writing
Make Your Reader Root for Your Main Character
Writing Ergonomics (Staying Comfortable Whilst Writing)
The Importance of Body Language
Fashion Terminology
All About Kissing
Genre Help: Romance
187 Mental Illnesses
Types of Mental Illness
Eye Color List
Spectral Groupings
Do you have trouble creating your titles?
On being a co-writer || Additional tips on effective co-writing
The length of a chapter
How to deal with too many story ideas
On writing two stories simultaneously || a similar ask
When a story stops working
Copyright
Reading critically for writers
The question of outlining
Avoiding publishing scams
Finding story ideas
Tips on building a platform [guest blog]
How much does writing “in genre” matter?
What a “real writer” is
Pennames and aliases
A series of thoughts on series titles
The self-pub miniseries: the why
The self-pub miniseries: the what
Rewriting fanfiction into original fiction
Formatting long quotes and songs
Characters:
10 days of Character Building
Name Generators
Name Playground
Universal Mary Sue Litmus Test
Seven Common Character Types
Handling a Cast of Thousands Part 1 - Getting To Know Your Characters
Web Resources for Developing Characters
Building Fictional Characters
Fiction Writer’s Character Chart
Body Language Cheat
Body Language Reference Cheat
Tips for Writers: Body Language
Types of Crying
Body Language: Mirroring
Character Building Workshop
Tips for Characterization
Character Chart for Fiction Writers
Villains are people too but…
How to Write a Character Bible
Character Development Exercises
All Your Characters Talk the Same - And They’re Not A Hivemind!
Medieval Names Archive
Sympathy Without Saintliness
Family Echo (Family Tree Maker)
Behind The Name
100 Character Development Questions for Writers
Aether’s Character Development Worksheet
The 12 Common Archetypes
Six Types of Courageous Characters
Kazza’s List of Character Secrets - Part 1, Part 2
Creating Believable Characters With Personality
Angry
Bad Asses
Bitches (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)
Childishness
Emotional Detachment
Flirtatious
The Girl Next Door
Introverts (2)
Mean Persons (2)
Psychopaths
Party Girls
Rich (2)
Rebels
Sarcasm
Serial Killers (2)
Shyness (2, 3)
Sluts
Villains (2)
Witt
Body Language Cheat Sheet
Creating Fictional Characters Series
Three Ways to Avoid Lazy Character Description
7 Rules for Picking Names for Fictional Characters
Character Development Questionnaire
How to Create Fictional Characters
Character Name Resources
Character Development Template
Character Development Through Hobbies
Character Flaws List
10 Questions for Creating Believable Characters
Ari’s Archetype Series
How to Craft Compelling Characters
List of 200 Character Traits
Writing Characters of the Opposite Sex
Making Your Characters Likable
Do you really know your characters?
Character Development: Virtues
Character Development: Vices
Character Morality Alignment
List of Negative Personality Traits
List of Positive Personality Traits
List of Emotions - Positive
List of Emotions - Negative
Loon’s Character Development Series - Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4
Phobia List A-L (Part 1), M-Z (Part 2)
30 Day In Depth Character Development Meme
Words for Emotions based on Severity
Eight Bad Characters
High Level Description of the Sixteen Personality Types
How Not to Write Female Characters
Writing Female Characters
How to write empowering female characters
Why I write strong female characters
Red Flags for Female Characters Written by Men
Writing strong female characters
The Female Character Flowchart
Eight Heroine Archetypes
Eight Hero Archetypes
Help on picking character names
A tip about realistic characters
Strategies to create believable characters
Additional tips on writing PoC characters
Advice on writing genders
Creating unstable characters
Ambiguous Antagonists
A tidbit on psychological trauma [trigger warnings]
On writing accents
What makes characters stick with me
Sweetening up character description
Making an introverted character stand out
Conveying too much or too little character “inner reflection”
Revealing a character’s asexual orientation
Revealing a character’s gender & orientation
A habit of killing characters
When characters aren’t standing out
Breaking hearts with character deaths
Quick tips on expressing character
Character development versus pacing
A mini guide to character voice
A Description Resource
55 Words to Describe Someones Voice
Describing Skin Colors
Describing a Person: Adding Details
Emotions Vocabulary
90 Words For ‘Looks’
Be More Descriptive
Describe a Character’s Look Well
100 Words for Facial Expressions
To Show and Not To Tell
Words to Describe Facial Expressions
Describing Clothes
List of Actions
Tone, Feelings and Emotions
Writing A Vampire
Writing Pansexual Characters
Writing Characters on the Police Force
Writing Drunk Characters
Writing A Manipulative Character
Writing A Friends With Benefits Relationship
Writing A Natural Born Leader
Writing A Flirtatious Character
Writing A Nice Character
Fiction Writing Exercises for Creating Villains
Five Traits to Contribute to an Epic Villain
Writing Villains that Rock
Writing British Characters
How To Write A Character With A Baby
On Assassin Characters
Disorders in general (2, 3, 4, 5)
Attention Deficit Disorder
Antisocial Personality Disorder
Anxiety (2, 3, 4, 5)
Avoidant Personality Disorder
Alice In Wonderland Syndrome
Bipolar Disorder (2, 3)
Cotard Delusions
Depression (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)
Eeating Disorders (2, 3)
Facitious Disorders
Histrionic Personality Disorder
Multiple Personality Disorder (2)
Narcissistic Personality Disorder
Night Terrors
Kleptomania (2)
A Pyromaniac
Posttraumatic Stress Disorder
Psychopaths
Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (2) (3)
Sex Addiction (2)
Schizophrenia (2)
Sociopaths (2)
Aspergers Syndrome
Apathy
Autism
Someone Blind (2)
Cancer (2, 3)
Disability
Dyslexia
Muteness (2, 3)
Stutter
Actors
Ballet Dancer (2)
Christianity
Foreigners
Gamblers
Hinduism
Hitmen
Satanism
Smokers
Stoners
Taoism
Journalists
Vegetarians
Alcohol Influence (2, 3, 4, 5)
Cocaine Influence
Ecstasy Influence (2)
Heroin Use
LSD Influence
Marijuana Influence (2, 3)
Opiate Use
Tips on Writing Dialogue:
It’s Not What They Say…
Top 8 Tips for Writing Dialogue
Speaking of Dialogue
The Great Said Debate
He Said, She Said, Who Said What?
How to Write Dialogue Unique to Your Characters
Writing Dialogue: Go for Realistic, Not Real-Life
Tips on Writing Point of View:
Establishing The Right Point of View
How to Start Writing in the Third Person
The I Problem
Style & Craft of Writing:
The literary “weak verb”
Do you have word tics?
Victoria’s Vitamins: vague descriptive words
Victoria’s Vitamins: mood
Breaking writing habits
Varying sentences
Describing colors
Sweetening up character description
Purple prose
Grammar is a tricksy thing
"Smartening" the language of your narrative
Building suspense and making readers sweat
A couple tips about description in fast-paced scenes
Content:
The story of exposition
10 ways to hit your reader in the gut
Make your reader root for your main character
Make your reader hold their breath
What’s the big deal about intros?
A tip about description
The word count of your manuscript
Things that make me keep reading
Choosing ideas and endings
When to describe setting
Battling cliches
Is your story YA, NA, or adult?
When a plot isn’t strong enough to make a whole story
Flashbacks with multiple POVs
Bulking up your word count
Avoiding cliches
Conquer that opening line || response || discussion
Tips on revealing setting awesomely kind of
Deciding between different ideas for the same story
Revision:
You’ve finished your manuscript! Now what?
Revision sucks but doesn’t have to suck
Where to find beta readers/critique partners
Tips on taking critique
Tips on giving critique
What to do with bad writing advice
Additional insight on bad writing advice
Five quick steps to get into revising that manuscript
When to say you’re done revising
Beginning the awesome journey of revision
Friends are not always the best readers
Plot, Structure, & Outline:
Writing A Novel Using the Snowflake Method
Effectively Outlining Your Novel
Conflict and Character Within Story Structure
Outlining Your Plot
Ideas, Plots and Using the Premise Sheets
How To Write A Novel
Creating Conflict and Sustaining Suspense
Plunge Right In…Into Your Story, That Is
Tips for Creating a Compelling Plot
36 (plus one) Dramatic Situations
The Evil Overlord Devises A Plot: Excerpt from Stupid Plot Tricks
Conflict Test
What is Conflict?
Monomyth
The Hero’s Journey: Summary of Steps
Outline Your Novel in Thirty Minutes
Plotting Without Fears
Novel Outlining 101
Writing The Perfect Scene
One-Page Plotting
The Great Swampy Middle
How Can You Know What Belongs In Your Book?
Create A Plot Outline in 8 Easy Steps
How to Organize and Develop Ideas for Your Novel
Create Structure in your novel using index cards
Choosing the best outline method for you
Hatch’s Plot Bank
Setting & Making Your Own World
Magical Word Builder’s Guide
I Love The End Of The World
World Building 101
The Art of Description: Eight Tips to Help Bring Your Settings to Life
Creating the Perfect Setting - Part 1
Creating a Believable World
Setting
Character and Setting Interactions
Maps Workshop - Developing the Fictional World Through Mapping
World Builders Project
How To Create Fantasy Worlds
Creating Fantasy and Science Fiction Worlds
Helpful Tools & Software:
Tip Of My Tongue - Find the word you’re looking for
Write or Die - Stay motivated
Stay Focused - Tool for Chrome, lock yourself out of distracting websites
My Writing Nook - Online Text Editor, Free
Bubbl.us - Online Mind Map Application, Free
Family Echo - Online Family Tree Maker, Free
Freemind - Mind Map Application; Free; Windows, Mac, Linux, Portable
Xmind - Mind Map Application; Free; Windows, Mac, Linux, Portable
Liquid Story Binder - Novel Organization and Writing Application; free trial, $45.95; Windows, Portable
Scrivener - Novel Organization and Writing Application; free trial, $39.95; Mac
SuperNotecard - Novel Organization and Writing Application; free trial, $29; Windows, Mac, Linux, portable
yWriter - Novel Organization and Writing Application; free; Windows, Linux, portable
JDarkRoom - Minimalist Text Editing Application; free; Windows, Mac, Linux, portable
AutoRealm - Map Creation Application; free; Windows, Linux with Wine
Grammer & Revision:
How To Rewrite
Editing Recipe
Cliche Finder
Revising Your Novel: Read What You’ve Written
Writing 101: Revising A Novel
20 Common Grammar Mistakes That (Almost) Everyone Makes
Synonyms for the Most Commonly Used Words of the English Language
Grammar Urban Legends
Words Instead of Walk (2)
Commonly Confused Adjectives
A Guide on Punctuation
Common Writing Mistakes
25 Synoms for ‘Expession’
How to: Avoid Misusing Variations of Words
Words to Keep Inside Your Pocket
The 13 Trickiest Grammar Hang-Ups
Other Ways to Say..
Proofreading
300+ Sophiscated and Underused Words
List of Misused Words
Words for Sex
100 Beautiful and Ugly Words
Words to Use More Often
Alternatives for ‘Smile’ or ‘Laugh’
Three Self Editing Tips
Words to Use Instead of ‘Walk’, ‘Said’, ‘Happy’ and ‘Sad’
Synonyms for Common Words
Alternatives for ‘Smile’
Transitional Words
The Many Faces and Meanings of ‘Said’
Synonyms for ‘Wrote’
A Case Of She Said, She Said
Creativity Boosters:
*Creative Writing Prompts
*Ink Provoking
*Story Starter
*Story Spinner
*Story Kitchen
*Language is a Virus
*The Dabbling Mum
Quick Story Idea Generator
Solve Your Problems By Simply Saying Them Out Loud
Busting Your Writing Rut
Creative Acceleration: 11 Tips To Engineer A Productive Flow
Writing Inspiration, Or Sex on a Bicycle
The Seven Major Beginner Mistakes
Complete Your First Book with these 9 Simple Writing Habits
Free Association, Active Imagination, Twilight Imaging
Random Book Title Generator
Finishing Your Novel
Story Starters & Idea Generators
Words to Use More Often
How to: Cure Writer’s Block
Some Tips on Writer’s Block
Got Writer’s Block?
6 Ways to Beat Writer’s Block
Tips for Dealing With Writer’s Block
Improvement:
Improve Your Writing Habits Now
5 Ways to Add Sparkle to Your Writing
Getting Over Roleplaying Insecurities
Improve Your Paras
Why the Right Word Choices Result in Better Writing
4 Ways To Have Confidence in Your Writing
Writing Better Than You Normally Do
How’s My Driving?
Motivation:
Backhanding procrastination
On habits and taking care of yourself || Response
More troubles with writing motivation
The inner critic and ways to fight it
The writing life is hard on us
For troubles with starting your story
Writing to be published
"You’re a writer, will you write this for me?"
Writing a story that’s doomed to suck
Writing stamina builds slowly
When depression goes and writing goes with it
Additional inner critic strategies
Tips on conquering NaNoWriMo (or any project, really)
You will change as a writer
Ways to keep writing while in school
13 quick tips when you’re starting your novel
First draft blues
Getting in your own way
Writing an Application:
How to: Make That Application Your Bitch
How to: Make Your App Better
How to: Submit a Flawless Audition
10 Tips for Applying
Para Sample Ideas
5 Tips on Writing an IC Para Sample
Writing an IC Sample Without Escaping From the Bio
How to: Create a Worthy IC Para Sample
How to: Write an Impressive Para Sample
How to: Lengthen Short Para’s
Prompts:
Drabble Stuff
Prompts List
Writing Prompts
Drabble Prompts
How to Get Into Character
Writing Challenges/Prompts
A Study in Writing Prompts for RPs
Para Prompts & Ideas
Writing Prompts for Journal Entries
A List of Para Starters
Touchy feely words
Corporal-leviii’s writing tips wooo
For the sweet anon who asked me for some tips about writing! I’ve gotten several asks like this so I’m just gonna pop in and post this before putting my nose back to the grindstone for finals. See you all later, and I hope this helps!!
What was the rate of travel in 1800? 1857? 1900? Check out these maps!
Source: http://www.treehugger.com/slideshows/public-transportation/how-fast-could-you-travel-across-usa-1800s/
Helpful when thinking about distances and calculating travel times.
Characters meet resistance through conflict with other characters. This does not mean they have to physically fight. Dialogue plays a big part in conflict. The narrative of a story defines the...
ADD MORE DESCRIPTION TO:
Things most of your audience will never experience
The small details that help make large emotions
The biology and culture of aliens and magical creatures (though this might just be my personal taste, I have seen it asked about extensively in...
Now THIS is a challenge I can get behind.
I like it.
A professional writer is an amateur who didn’t quit
Richard Bach
You’re goddamn right, Bach.
(via theroughcopy)
