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Do you know of any sites where you can use keywords to search plots and premises of novels? I want to make sure i'm not ripping off another novel plot without knowing it.

I have never heard of such a thing, but if someone else has then this would be a good time to speak up!

I will tell you though, originality is a myth. Depending on how you boil things down, and especially if you only look at plots and premises, you’re guaranteed to be ripping off something else in some way. You really shouldn’t worry too much about it, even if you plan to professionally publish, because elements of familiarity can be good in stories. I’d worry more about cliches over originality, because those start touching on the detail and quality of content.

Cliches are a “fantasy”. (I don’t mean “fantasy” in the genre sense, but the “idealistic situation” sense.)

Cliches are ephemeral and often kick out reality for the sake of the trope. It’s pretty much about depth because you can have a cliche that turns into a well-developed element by exploring it realistically and thoroughly. In fact, certain cliches can be beneficial since they give the reader something to be familiar with.

Cliches are excuses to make events happen.

Because readers are familiar with them, cliches are often used as “easy stepping stones” to get to the scenes that matter. For example, the love interest of an action hero getting kidnapped. The kidnapping isn’t important, it’s the scene where the hero has to make a choice and go through the emotional turmoil.

They are “cheap” or “implausible” if kept at face value, but exploring them into a sense of reality can move then into classic/good storytelling territory. What if we got a scene that explored the personality and backstory of the kidnap victim instead of making them an object for the hero to run after?

Cliches oversimplify.

Related to the prior points, any story element can seem cliche in basic form. The motivated hero, the evil king, a direct label is always going to make you realize how common things are. In the actual story, an element is typically only cliche when it’s not developed properly. “The evil king” may show up in a lot of stories, but it’s only “cliche” when that king has little character and exists solely to be a villain for the hero to take down. What if that king is locked in a political battle and the negative effects that the people complain about could have been 10x worse had the king taken another option? Things aren’t always black and white.

Sometimes classic and cliche elements do overlap.

It happens. There’s no such thing as a 100% original idea for anything in storytelling– but that’s perfectly fine! It’s okay for a story to have some cliche elements because not everything can be well-developed or you’d have an encyclopedia instead of a story.

Good luck with your work!

#writing

yeahwrite

Active Reading

written by Borgan Sullivan

“Indeed, the difference between passive reading and active reading is like the difference between watching a nature documentary and hiking through the wilderness. The film, although entertaining, doesn’t require much exertion from the viewer. By contrast, the hiker has to navigate the trail: she must look out for hazards, read trail signs, and make informed decisions, if she hopes to make it back home.”

MAPPING THE TERRITORY

Reading is an activity integral to the writing process…It [may seem] like a passive activity, something you might do at a café or sitting in an easy chair. But while you can read solely for entertainment, soaking in the plot of a good novel or familiarizing yourself with the latest celebrity gossip, reading also drives the act of writing itself, from the earliest stages onward.

Reading can—and will—make you a better writer.

But first, you have to learn how to read in a whole new way…Active reading implies not only attention paid to the text, but also consideration and response. An active reader explores what she reads; she approaches the text as though she has entered an unknown territory with the intention of drawing a map.

The following sections detail the most essential strategies for active reading:

A Two-Way Street: Reading as Conversation

Think of [reading as] one half of a conversation between you and the writer. Good conversations achieve a balance between listening and responding. This give-and-take process drives human discourse. While one participant speaks, the other listens. But while the listener appears passive on the surface, he’s most likely already preparing his response. He may evaluate what his partner says, testing it for how closely it matches his own ideas, accepting or rejecting part or all of the statement. When he does respond, he expresses his reaction, or asks a question about something he doesn’t yet understand.

Active reading mirrors this process closely. An active reader “listens” to the text, evaluating what the writer says, checking to see if it matches or differs from his current understanding of the issue or idea. He asks pertinent questions if something remains unclear, looking for answers in subsequent sections of the text.

Retracing Your Steps: Read Every Text (at least) Twice

In fact, reading is in many ways better than conversation, because, like writing, it is recursive: you can revisit a text over and over, whereas the spoken word, unless recorded, disappears into the past, often along with part—or all—of the message the speaker was attempting to convey. When you read, you can move forward and backward in time, making sure you’ve captured every nuance. You should read the text more than once, first for a general understanding, and then for a detailed analysis; your first read-through may raise questions only a second reading can reveal the answers to.

Marking the Trail: Annotation

An active reader views the text as a living document, always incomplete. She reads with pen in hand, ready to write her observations, her questions, and her tentative answers in the margins. We call this annotation, the act of writing notes to oneself in the blank spaces of the page. It’s not the same as underlining or highlighting, neither of which promotes active reading.

A simple line underneath a passage contains no information; it merely indicates—vaguely—that you found a certain passage more important than the surrounding text. Annotation, on the other hand, is a record of your active responses to the text during the act of reading.

A simple phrase summarizing a paragraph, a pointed question, or an emphatic expression of approval or disbelief all indicate spirited engagement with the text, which is the cornerstone of active reading.

*You can also keep track of your reading notes in a journal.

Pace Yourself: Know Your Limitations and Eliminate Distractions

You can’t hike the Appalachian Trail in a day. Similarly, you can’t expect to sustain active reading longer than your mind and body will allow. Active reading requires energy and attention as well as devotion. Short rest periods between readings allow you to maintain focus and deliberate on what you have learned. If you remain diligent in your reading practice, you’ll find that you can read actively for longer periods of time.

But don’t push yourself past the point at which you stop paying attention. If your mind begins to wander, take ten minutes away from the text to relax. Ideally, you should read gradually, scheduling an hour or two every day for reading…You can’t hope to gain full or even partial comprehension of a text with a deadline looming overhead.

When and where you read can be as important as how long you read. Plan your reading sessions for hours when your mental energy is at its height—usually during daylight hours. Likewise, you should select an optimal location, preferably one free of distractions. Loud music, the flickering of a TV screen, and the din of conversation tend to divert your attention from the task at hand. Even a momentary distraction, like a quick phone call or a friend asking a question, can interrupt the conversation you are having with [the author].

Remember that to be a good writer one must read a lot in addition to writing a lot. The craft can be learned from stories written by other authors, whether good or bad. Note passages that inspire you and learn from the pieces that didn’t quite capture your interest. Bad books can teach you about writing just as well as good books.

#active reading #reading

the-right-writing

Writer Beware makes posts on which publishing houses to avoid at all costs, which words to look for and which words to watch out for in contracts, and several other things that will keep you in control and knowledgeable about the publishing process. I’d suggest reading through the website if you want to avoid getting ripped off, cheated, or scammed.

the-right-writing

I’m just going to reblog this every so often because it’s a site that every writer needs to see.

#writer beware #tips #publishing

midnightlie

do you ever drop foreshadowing in ur own writing and just go OOOHHhhhhoOOOHHooooOHHOOHHOOHHOO

justawritingaid

To be a better writer...

Be aware that as a general guideline, the average chapter should be between 2,000 to 5,000 words. This doesn’t mean you can’t go below or beyond depending on your story needs, but keep your readers’ attention span in mind and remember that chapter length affects pacing.

truebluemeandyou

How to Use Textile Decolorant

Have you heard of Texile Decolorant that wasn’t bleach? I hadn’t until I read this post by Balzer Designs. The decolarant is also known as discharge paste and won’t harm your fabrics like bleach.

You can also watch this video on using decolorant on block prints here.

Find out about Textile Decolarant from Balzer Designs here.

#textiles #decolorant

letswritetoday

#writing #character

matrabhumi-deactivated20190319

i don’t think people really fully understand the beauty of dark hair and dark eyes. i don’t mean dark hair and dark eyes separately. like black hair and blue eyes. or blond hair and brown eyes. i mean dark hair AND dark eyes. people romanticize anything that’s light enough–light brown eyes that look like “gold” in sunlight. ok what about dark brown eyes that almost look black? eyes that are so rich in darkness, eyes that are so dark you could look into them forever and lose yourself. nothing is more beautiful than dark hair. dark brown and black hair. especially black hair. nothing is more beautiful than dark brown eyes. pair the two together and it’s so beautiful.

lets-get-fictional

five steps for not writing a boring story? i can never ever write something that doesn't end up boring 😂

Hiya! Thanks for your question. Writing an engaging story is complicated, but it can be done.

First off, there are so many aspects to writing a gripping story. Honestly, it can’t be done in five steps (and certainly not in one blog post). To prevent a boring story you need strong characters, an exciting plot, good pacing… the list goes on and on.

So rather than type out a 3000+ word response, I’m going to give you a mini-masterpost of the key aspects of writing a non-boring story with links to other LGF posts. Here you go:

How Not to Write a Boring Story:

Descriptions:

How to Write Better Descriptions

Showing vs Telling

How to Create Interesting World-Building

Dialogue:

How to Create a Unique Character Voice

Writing Unique Dialogue

How to Prevent Your Story from Being Dialogue-Heavy

Characters:

What Do You Do When Your Main Character Doesn’t Jump Off the Page?

Three Types of Character Traits

Writing Character Arcs

Plot:

How to Make Your Conflict Less Plain

The Element Every Story Needs

How to Avoid Unnecessary Scenes

Pacing:

Why Your Story Feels Too Fast

How to Pace a Scene More Quickly

Pacing Through Details

Beginning:

What to Write in a First Chapter

How to Avoid Info Dumps in the Beginning

10 Ways to Start Your Story

Middle:

How to Build-Up to a Climax

Plotting the Middle

Creating and Maintaining Tension

End:

Traits of a Strong Ending

Examples of Narrative Endings

Dual Duties of Chapter Endings

Misc.:

What Aspects Make a Good Story?

The Four Horsemen of the Bore-Apocalypse

Thanks again for your question! If you need any more writing advice, feel free to send in another ask! Happy writing!

- Mod Kellie

If you need advice on general writing or fanfiction, you should maybe ask us!

ambientwriting

What sort of questions should I be asking my beta readers?

QUESTIONS TO ASK YOUR BETA READERS:

When I send out my chapter to be read over by my beta readers, I always include a set of questions typed out at the bottom, grouped into different categories such as: plot, pacing, character, setting, etc.

You might want to tailor the questions depending on the genre or which chapter it is. For example, if it’s the first chapter you’ll want to ask them about how well your story managed to hook them, or if they managed to easily get an idea of the world you’ve introduced them to. If it’s the climax you might want to ask if the action scenes are fluid, and if the plot twist/s were predictable or surprising.

Here’s some example questions that you could use:

Opening Chapter:

What is your first impression of the main character? Do you find them likable? Annoying? Boring?

After reading it for the first time, what is your first impression? Was it cohesive and compelling? Boring and confusing?

Did the first sentence/paragraph/page efficiently grab your attention and hook you in?

If you were to read this chapter in a bookstore/library would you be convinced to buy it? Or would you need to read further before deciding? Why or why not?

Did you get oriented fairly quickly at the beginning as to whose story it is, what’s going on, and where and when it’s taking place? If not, what were you confused about at the beginning?

Does the first chapter establish the main character efficiently? Do they feel believable?

Characters:

Could you clearly imagine what the characters looked like? If not, who?

Who was your favourite character and why? Has your favourite character changed? (if this hasn’t changed feel free to skip this question)

Are there any characters that you do not like? Why do you not like them? (Boring, annoying, problematic, etc.)

Was there ever a moment when you found yourself annoyed or frustrated by a character?

Could you relate to the main character? Did you empathise with their motivation or find yourself indifferent?

Were the characters goals/motivations clear and understandable?

Did you get confused about who’s who? Are there too many characters to keep track of? Are any of the names or characters too similar?

Do the characters feel three-dimensional or like cardboard cutouts?

How familiar have you become with the main characters? Without cheating could you name the four main characters? Can you remember their appearance? Can you remember their goal or motivation?

Dialogue:

Did the dialogue seem natural to you?

Was there ever a moment where you didn’t know who was talking?

Setting/world-building:

Were you able to visualize where and when the story is taking place?

Is the setting realistic and believable?

How well do you remember the setting? Without cheating, can you name four important settings?

Genre:

Did anything about the story seem cliche or tired to you? How so?

Did anything you read (character, setting, etc.) remind you of any others works? (Books, movies, etc.)

Plot/pacing/scenes:

Do you feel there were any unnecessary scenes/moments that deserved to be deleted or cut back?

Do the scenes flow naturally and comprehensively at an appropriate pace? Did you ever feel like they were jumping around the place?

Was there ever a moment where you attention started to lag, or the chapter begun to drag? Particular paragraph numbers would be very helpful.

Did you ever come across a sentence that took you out of the moment, or you had to reread to understand fully?

Was the writing style fluid and easy to read? Stilted? Purple prose-y? Awkward?

Did you notice any discrepancies or inconsistencies in facts, places, character details, plot, etc.?

Additional questions:

What three things did you like? What three things did you not like?

Can you try predicting any upcoming plot twists or outcomes?

Was there ever a moment when your suspension of disbelief was tested?

Is there anything you’d personally change about the story?

Was the twist expected or surprising? Do you feel that the foreshadowing was almost nonexistent, or heavy handed?

Feel free to tailor these to your needs or ignore some of them if you don’t think they’re useful. Basically, your questions are about finding out the information about how others perceive your own writing and how you can improve your story.

Have a question you want answered?

xekstrin

where do you recommend someone should start when planning to make a visual novel?

Learn how to use Twine and Renpy

Fuck around with short games…. and I mean really short games.

All my twine games are unplayable bullshit like “do you like robot butts? y/n” if y, go to “wow you must like Genji. Tell me more.” etc and it only lasts about 5 boxes but it’s how you learn how to use it

While fucking around with the format and learn how to use it (if you’re anything like me) ideas for real / longer stories will appear to you and how to implement them, as well.

xekstrin

THIS IS VERY TRUE, I guess I forgot to mention them because Tyranobuilder isn’t free like the other two

But I can say that Tyranobuilder is probably one of the easiest ways to make a visual novel I’ve ever fiddled with, and you don’t need to know any programming shit at all.

#visual novels #game dev

fuckyeahcomicsbaby

Different Stories Resonate with Different People

lovingmyselfishard

I will always reblog this.

inksharktrash

This made my heart get all tight and hot or maybe it was my stomach or like all of my organs. <3 <3 <3

xirlos

I needed this.

jackgiesenart-deactivated201704

Always makes me think.

lazulisong

i was just thinking about this comic!

chaoticallyprecise

IF YOU EVER NEED SOMETHING TO READ READ THIS

OK ARE YOU EVER IN NEED OF BOOK RECOMMENDATIONS BUT DON’T KNOW WHAT TO READ NEXT?

I present to you, straight from the internet, whichbook:

Here’s how it works: You click the link, and choose four categories and the extent to which these categories matter:

Then click “go” and it’ll come up with a number of books you might like.

DON’T LIKE THE CATEGORIES? NO PROBLEM - see this little thing:

THIS LITTLE THING WILL TAKE YOU TO THIS SLIGHTLY LARGER THING WHERE YOU CAN CHOOSE A BOOK BASED ON THE FOLLOWING:

YOU NOW HAVE NO EXCUSE TO NOT BE READING SOMETHING BECAUSE WHATEVER YOU WANT THIS SITE WILL COME UP WITH IT.

… Apart from bisexual retired alien dudes. No books on that. Yet.

nanowrimo

When you begin to plan your project, start small! Then let it snowball. I admit, my longest outline was a hefty 40-plus pages. But you don’t have to go that far to get yourself on the road to a happy, fulfilling Camp NaNo experience. Even a skeleton outline will do as long as it keeps the story going. Here’s what I do to get moving: 1. Start with your elevator pitch (a one-sentence run down of the who, what, where, when, and especially why of your story). 2. Expand that one sentence into three: beginning, middle, end. 3. Expand those three sentences into three paragraphs for beginning, middle, and end, adding details to each section. 4. Break those three paragraphs into multiple paragraphs for each section, adding even more details—and turning those details into potential scenes. 5. Group the scenes (and use flash cards if you want to, for easy movement) into paragraphs of action, which then magically become chapters! 6. Voila, you should now have a skeleton outline featuring three sections of multiple paragraphs outlining your chapters by beginning, middle and end.

Sona Charaipotra first worked as a celebrity reporter at People and (the dearly departed) TeenPeople magazines, and has been a contributor to publications from the New York Times to TeenVogue. She’s the co-founder of CAKE Literary, a boutique book packaging company with a decidedly diverse bent, and the co-author of the YA dance dramas Tiny Pretty Things and Shiny Broken Pieces. She’s also proud to serve as the head of content for the non-profit We Need Diverse Books.

Your Camp Care Package is brought to you in partnership with We Need Diverse Books. Sign up to receive more Camp Care Packages at campnanowrimo.org.

#nanowrimo #that old nano try #camp nanowrimo #camp nano

ellipsicalelle-deactivated20170

Some people aren’t going to like what you write. Write it anyway.

Some people, people you know objectively suck at being a human being, will get more kudos, more comments, more recs. Write it anyway.

Some of your friends aren’t going to read what you write. Write it anyway.

Some of the people you support the most won’t support your work. Write it anyway.

Some people are going to say your characterization is 100% wrong. X would never. Write it anyway.

It’s been done before. Write it anyway.

Your writing might not measure up to the fandom greats. Write it anyway. (I can guarantee they didn’t measure up at some point either)

Some people aren’t going to rec your work. Write it anyway. (And make your own recs)

Write it anyway.

baqki

OK to make a font out of your own writing

go here

http://www.myscriptfont.com/

instead of printing it off just use this blank thing that way you dont have to scan it or anything

so fill that out by pasting it in any art program and whatnot

then save it and upload it to that site

and itll give you an option to download it

so do that and then install it BAM

dustandhalos

kittenmogu

pickle-inspect0r

ilikedaisiesinthespringtime

I JUST GOT THIS ON MY TABLET IT’S SO COOL OH MY GOD

nakadoo

jupiter24jay

movedtosaucymcfuzzy

zeekist

for some reason it refused to recognize the third page of my letters but they were all pretty unnecessary mathematic things anyway so I’m not too worried. still something to keep in mind though, I hope it doesn’t happen for you!