Banette Writes

Banette is here to help all weary writers tell their tales.

[writetothestars]

I have advice for people who want to write. I don’t care whether they’re 5 or 500. There are three things that are important: First, if you want to write, you need to keep an honest, unpublishable journal that nobody reads, nobody but you. Where you just put down what you think about life, what you think about things, what you think is fair and what you think is unfair. And second, you need to read. You can’t be a writer if you’re not a reader. It’s the great writers who teach us how to write. The third thing is to write. Just write a little bit every day. Even if it’s for only half an hour — write, write, write.

Madaleine L'Engle  (via writetothestars)

Because you can never have enough good writing advice!

(via superstitionrev)

[banettewrites]

Thank you soooo much!! :')

You’re very welcome! Now go forth and do what you do best. :)

~Banette

[banettewrites]

Happy NaNoWriMo, lovelies!

NaNoWriMo is officially here, so it’s time to get writing!

Best of luck to all of you, and remember, my inbox will be open for the entire month in case you want or need something.

~Banette

[freelancer-plus]

(via Top Ten Rules for Writing Your First Draft)

[writerswritecompany]

Find out more about the author here

[inkyandscribbles]

NaNoWriMo Survival Guide Pt. Ten

Four Reasons Why YOU Should Do NaNoWriMo

Everything You Need to Know About NaNoWriMo

Scheduling For NaNoWriMo and Avoiding Procrastination

Inspiration For NaNoWriMo

Inspiration For NaNoWrimo (Characters)

NaNoWriMo Prep

Writer’s Block During NaNoWriMo

Everything You Need For NaNoWriMo

NaNoWriMo Tips

Go to write-ins! They’re scary at first, if you’re not a particularly social person, but trust me, they’re awesome and I promise you you’ll have lots of fun.

Don’t be afraid of not knowing what you’re doing. Writing is a way of self-exploration, so don’t be afraid to head into November with your eyes closed and your hands tied. Even if you don’t like what you come up with, remember, it’s only a month-long commitment.

Create a daily word count goal. This is the easiest way to succeed at NaNoWriMo, all you have to do is write 1,667 words every day. If you know you won’t be able to write every day, set up a weekly word count goal instead.

DO NOT read anything you wrote. NaNoWriMo is really like a word marathon, meaning if you slow down, you’ll fall behind. Remember and constantly remind yourself that EVERYTHING you write this month is probably going to be crap, and that’s okay. It’s just the first draft, so it’s just a practice round!

Also, DO NOT edit ANYTHING. Just like you shouldn’t reread anything, don’t go back to edit anything either. This means spelling or grammatical errors, crappy sentences or anything else you don’t like or think you’ve messed up. Try to get through NaNoWriMo as fast as you can! Get to 50,000 words first, then you can edit.

Don’t take yourself too seriously. NaNoWriMo is (at least it’s SUPPOSED to be) fun! Don’t worry too much about succeeding, or whether or not what you’re writing is good, and don’t feel bad about mistakes or beat yourself up over not finishing, either.

[banettewrites]

Motivate me to write? Lately I have done nothing :( this sucks

All right. But first, I have one question for you. You don’t have to tell me the answer, but you have to answer it for yourself with complete and total honesty. No lying, no beating around the bush. And that question is:

Do you want to write?

I’m sure your initial response is something like “Yes, of course!” But I want you to stop and think about it. Think about how you feel when you write. Think about why you write and who you write for. Don’t be afraid to dig deep.

Once you’ve answered the question completely, either yes or no, then follow the appropriate path.

No: That’s quite all right. We need people to fulfill other tasks in the world. Go and find the task you’re suited for and that you like.

Yes: Well then, what’s stopping you? If you want to write, you’re going to write. You’ll turn off the TV or social media sites and use that time for writing. You’ll get up a little earlier and spend 30 minutes writing before the day begins. You’ll also read books, both fiction and about the craft of writing, as reading gives you the tools to write.

I’m not going to scream at you or tell you to get your ass in gear. That doesn’t help anyone. But the flip side of that is that you have to ask yourself whether or not you actually want to be writing. Trust me, there is a world of difference between the writer who wants to be doing it and the writer who feels like they have to do it - in both their personalities and their writing material.

So, do you want to write? If not, that’s fine. If yes, then get to it.

~Banette

[banettewrites]

Thanks for the response. Most my stories don't last very long, like less than 2000 words lol. It sucks.

You’re very welcome. And don’t sweat it if you do become discouraged. Just keep at it.

You might also want to try your hand at short stories. 2000 words or fewer is a good length for a story by itself.

Best of luck to you and happy writing!

[banettewrites]

1. First write for yourself, and then worry about the audience. When you write a story, you’re telling yourself the story. When you rewrite, your main job is taking out all the things that are not the story. 2. Don’t use passive voice. Timid writers like passive verbs for the same reason that timid lovers like passive partners. The passive voice is safe. 3. Avoid adverbs. The adverb is not your friend. 4. Avoid adverbs, especially after “he said” and “she said.” 5. But don’t obsess over perfect grammar. The object of fiction isn’t grammatical correctness but to make the reader welcome and then tell a story. 6. The magic is in you. I’m convinced that fear is at the root of most bad writing. 7. Read, read, read. If you don’t have time to read, you don’t have the time (or the tools) to write. 8. Don’t worry about making other people happy. If you intend to write as truthfully as you can, your days as a member of polite society are numbered, anyway. 9. Turn off the TV. TV—while working out or anywhere else—really is about the last thing an aspiring writer needs. 10. You have three months. The first draft of a book—even a long one—should take no more than three months, the length of a season. 11. There are two secrets to success. I stayed physical healthy, and I stayed married. 12. Write one word at a time. Whether it’s a vignette of a single page or an epic trilogy like ‘The Lord of the Rings,’ the work is always accomplished one word at a time. 13. Eliminate distraction. There’s should be no telephone in your writing room, certainly no TV or videogames for you to fool around with. 14. Stick to your own style. One cannot imitate a writer’s approach to a particular genre, no matter how simple what that writer is doing may seem. 15. Dig. Stories are relics, part of an undiscovered pre-existing world. The writer’s job is to use the tools in his or her toolbox to get as much of each one out of the ground intact as possible. 16. Take a break. You’ll find reading your book over after a six-week layoff to be a strange, often exhilarating experience. 17. Leave out the boring parts and kill your darlings. (kill your darlings, kill your darlings, even when it breaks your egocentric little scribbler’s heart, kill your darlings.) 18. The research shouldn’t overshadow the story. Remember that word back. That’s where the research belongs: as far in the background and the back story as you can get it. 19. You become a writer simply by reading and writing. You learn best by reading a lot and writing a lot, and the most valuable lessons of all are the ones you teach yourself. 20. Writing is about getting happy. Writing isn’t about making money, getting famous, getting dates, getting laid or making friends. Writing is magic, as much as the water of life as any other creative art. The water is free. So drink.

Stephen King’s Top 20 Rules for Writers

[ibrary-deactivated20230607]

For all the writers.

[banettewrites]

Reminder that I am also available on the main NaNoWriMo site. My handle there is BanetteWrites.

Feel free to add me as a writing buddy and ask me your questions over there as well as here.

[writerswritecompany]

[knifebite-deactivated20160105]

How do you write without getting bored of an idea?

I keep writing stories and never finishing them because I get bored of them. OTL. HELP.

[banettewrites]

Remind yourself why you wanted to write this story in the first place. What was the spark that ignited inside you? What inspired the characters? The plot? Why did you want to tell this story?

The best way I’ve found to do this is before you even start with your story, write down what excites you about the idea. Whatever it is, big or small, write it down. Then put it someplace where you can look at it while you’re writing.

The other thing to note is that pretty much all writers get tired of their stories at some point. Writer fatigue is normal. But remember: the reason you feel fatigued over this story is probably just because you’ve been with it for a long time. Writing it, rewriting it, editing it. It takes time, and you spend a lot of time with the same words. It can feel old and stale after a while. Ignore that as best you can. Your readers will not feel the same way once they get their hands on your story because they haven’t spent the time with it like you have. (This is also why having an outside editor is so crucial.)

I hope this helps. Please let me know if you have any other questions, and best of luck to you.

~Banette

[banettewrites]

Happy Halloween!

And thus, Happy All NaNo’s Eve.

We’ve arrived at last. It’s the last day before we begin our month of literary abandon. I’m sure that emotions are running high right now. There’s probably some mixture of stress, anxiety, uncertainly, and just wanting to get things started. Whatever you’re feeling right now is perfectly normal and a right way to feel.

I do wish to emphasize to you that NaNoWriMo is nothing to fear. Thousands have come before you and accomplished their goals, thousands more are doing it with you this year. Writing 50,000 words is completely doable. You can do this.

My inbox will be open all month long with anon on so you can ask me any and all questions you have, or you can come to me with worries or vents, or you can even just chat with me about how your story is going. I’ll also be online for most of today in case you have any last minute questions before we get started. I am here for you. I will help you.

So, my first piece of advice as our final day seems to grow too long and not long enough simultaneously is this: Take today to do other things. Read a book, do some studying that’s not related to your book, do some cleaning, take a nap, go trick-or-treating, have a great day. Build up your reserves so that you can start NaNoWriMo with a full tank and a spare tire.

I say this again: You can do this. I am here for you. 

You. Can. Do. This.

~Banette

[nanowrimo]

NaNo Coach: 7 Essential Questions for Your Characters

All through National Novel Writing Month, published authors will take the whistle, take over our official Twitter account for a week, and act as your NaNo Coach, offering advice, encouragement, and pep. Our first NaNo Coach, Randy Ribay, author of An Infinite Number of Parallel Universes, wraps up his time with some final words on character:

With November quickly approaching, many of you are probably starting to outline your plot. I imagine the planners among you are neurotically filling notebooks (or Scrivener) with maps, color-coded notes, pictures, and complex charts, while the pantsers are chilling out as story ideas simmer in their minds. (And a good number of you might just be freaking out about how clueless you are.) 

Whichever route you take, don’t spend so much time figuring out what is going to happen in your story that you overlook who is in your story. Ultimately, stories are about people—or talking creatures or robots—and how they react to difficult situations. Strong characters will drive the plot and give your reader someone to root for. 

Keep reading

[banettewrites]

The seven questions:

1. What single aspect of background (nationality, ethnicity, family, etc.) impacted your character the most?

2. When your character looks in the mirror, what is the first thing s/he thinks about? 

3. What is your character’s best personality trait—and how can it also be a flaw? 

4. What does your character value the most? 

5. What does your character fear the most? 

6. What does your character want, and why can’t s/he get it? 

7. What is your character’s biggest secret?

[reverseracism]

10 Warning Signs for POC in Interracial Relationships

1. If your significant other claims to, or is known to “have a thing” for men/women of your race.

This is called fetishism, which generally consists of sexual/physical attraction based on stereotypes. For example: the “exotic” Asian/African women stereotype, the sexually potent Black male stereotype… If you’re with someone who just is “into” people of your culture, try asking them why. 

2. If they have a friend with racist views. Birds of a feather typically flock together, and when it comes to things like this, the rule still applies.

3. If they don’t check (educationally confront) those friends when they express those views. What you fail to speak against, is what you ALLOW to happen… I’ll leave it at that.

4. If they don’t bring you around family members. This is sometimes done to shield significant others from discrimination of family members… But beware, the mentalities of family members can be infectious…

5. If they are ignorant of, or not making an effort to learn about you or the history/experiences of people of your ethnicity/culture. Anyone who truly loves/appreciates a person will go out of their way to learn about the cultures which produced this person. That’s a no-brainer. When a person doesn’t make the effort to learn about the societal factors which shape the life of their significant other… that is a problem.

6. If they claim to be “colorblind”, or that “race doesn’t matter” or any of that other so-called post-racial, fake liberal B.S.

A person who says this is lying. They’re not saying that race doesn’t matter to them…. they’re saying that deep analysis of such topics make them uncomfortable and for their sake they’d rather just ignore any differences. As the saying goes “being blind to race is just ignoring something that you already noticed.” 

7. If you refer to dating them, or they refer to dating you as “trying something new”.

Doesn’t sound right to me… If you want to “try something new” try a new pair of shoes, or a new show on Netflix… But you don’t romantically try other ethnicities as if they’re flavors of Ice Cream, you experience people for who they are.

8. If you seem to be the only person of your race that they are fond of.

Do I need to explain this one?

9. If they cosign your criticisms of your ethnicity

I’ m not really a person who is big on criticizing members of my race when I’m around people outside of my race. Some discussions should stay “in the house” metaphorically speaking. But if you must talk about these kinds of these, your significant other should just be a listening ear. Anything more is out of line.

10. If they cannot, will not, are afraid to, or unable to have discussions on racism.

This is a symptom of a person who is living in denial, ignorance, or both. Either way, it ain’t healthy… Unless you’re in denial too, then y’all will probably get along fine.

[banettewrites]

hey I'm writing a character that really likes to inflict pain on other and himself but mostly others, buuuut i'm trying to look up a label for him (for a dialog) but google only throws me ins*ne and ps*cho, what should i call him?

The basic words you’re looking for are “masochist” and “sadist”. A masochist is a person who finds pleasure or gratification in pain inflicted on themself (self-inflicted or otherwise). A sadist is a person who enjoys inflicting pain on others.

If your character mostly likes to inflict it on others, he’d be a sadist with masochistic tendencies. He also might be referred to as a sadomasochist, though that words tends to have sexual connotations attached to it.

I hope this helps you out! Good luck with your writing.

~Banette