Hybrid Vampire

Multi genre writer, mostly romance and fantasy, sometimes a little comedy. English Literature major, coffee addict and a little mentally unstable.

[cecil-ravens]

Writing tips.

The art of killing off Characters

How Not to fuck up your first draft

Realistic characters?

The secret to plotting

Authors & anxiety

Skills you need as an author

Mental health in fiction

Realism in fiction

Writing without motivation

Writing Villains

Make it not make sense

Beat Up Writer's Block

Writer Block II

Struggling to Write Characters?

[glimpsesofpeaceful]

ig credit: bookishcoffeelover

[sendhelpthankyou]

writing is so weird, like there can be a sentence you think is great, some of your best writing ever and then you look at it the next day and you think, who wrote that? oh my stars it was me! oh no! that's terrible I need to start the entire draft over again

[cecil-ravens]

This is your reminder that you have a free will and can write whatever you want. Go feral, unleash your unhinged plot points, who is going to stop you?

[cecil-ravens]

Writers! Attention. Not everything should make sense.

An advice I see everywhere is, make sure everything makes complete sense. It is true and yes, plot points, subplots, the story structure, the plot twist and all these major points must make sense. However, sometimes it's better if few things don't make sense and be completely out of the blue and here is why.

Stories are like real life even if you are writing fantasy. As we make everything to sound realistic and believable sometimes we forget that even in real life sometimes things happen for absolutely no reason at all. Now let's say you're writing a fantasy and of course things gets messy as the conflicts rises, characters are going crazy and people don't know what the hell is going on, things might happen and no one knows why. For example a death of one of the characters. Now I know in a previous post I said a death of a character should make sense but not all the time. If you're writing about a war for sure some would die for no reason other than they didn't see the arrows coming, or five armed warriors attacked an individual. But if you're writing romance, don't just go around killing people. Sometimes when things are going well an ex would return and fuck things up. It happens. Look at real life and you will see many things happen for no reason no matter how hard you try to justify for the universe.

But how to do it? Now this is a point where many of us screw up. I know it happens randomly but let's be real, we can't throw random shit around.

To do it right, remember this doesn't happen frequently and even if something now doesn't make sense in a week or two, years even, it would make sense. Same with fiction. And this is a mystery element but let's stick with the Not Making Sense. And that's by not making the event the central point but it should make the goal more complicated to achieve. Let's say your MC has a mission to finish but he gets into a car accident. Or she was about to confess her feelings to the love interest but was held back by someone needed help, or she heard him talk on the phone and misunderstood. Shit like this happen in real life but of course not all the time.

Now be careful, don't overdo it because it would make the story frustrating to read and then readers would hunt you down. Count this as an element to make the goal a little more difficult for the MC which is exciting.

[cecil-ravens]

What a Sunday, Barça win and Ferrari didn't disappoint me as I expected. 💙❤️

Charles and Max need to be in the same team, I'm just saying...

[cecil-ravens]

Can't Write Your Characters?

Sometimes we make a perfect plot, amazing settings, great characters but there is this one character we feel disconnected from even though it's important. We all been there and it's a pain in the ass. Especially when writing a Multi POV book. And it happened with me and that's how I fixed it.

First, ask yourself, why is this character important?

And I don't want answer like "because they're a main character" yes genius, why they're a main character? Why not their interesting, smart friend? Maybe they have a quality no one else has, or they know something. Whatever this is, give them a reason that if you remove it, no one else can take their place. Something solid and that's based on the genre you're writing in.

For example, in my book this one character I was disconnected with, the reason no one ever can take his place is that he is connected to Villian somehow and the whole story is based on that.

Second, screw them up.

And I don't just mean a tragic back story, but the inner conflict they have while fighting something external. A challenge, maybe a bad habit that keeps getting in the way.

For example, one of my characters has major trust issues because of the tough life they had, so they have a really difficult time allowing help from others which gets to either be in trouble or a little indecisive.

So, having that inner conflict will build their character and personality more making them feel like a real person. It could build their background, influence the plot or subplot. It could even be a fatal flaw which increase drama.

And my favourite is, take them for a coffee

Many times I took this one stubborn character that I couldn't connect with, so we can have a talk. Now I may seem mad but no writer is mentally stable. So I make coffee, sit in my room for a while and talk to them like I'm getting to know someone. And here are some of the questions that may help:

How was your relationship with your parents growing up?

Why are you close to (certain person)

Why do you hate (certain person or a thing)

How do you feel about the story I threw you in?

If you can change this story, how will your version be?

Tell me about your (magic/ability/crush)

Now of course there are many other ways to connect with your characters but these are what worked for me and of course, giving them an interesting personality is a major step.

I will cover more topics soon related to Writing Characters.

[cecil-ravens]

Writer Block and How to Survive It.

I talked before about writer block, and how to beat it but that was ages ago and thing develop.

I had a writer block for over a year. Almost two years without actually writing and here are the things that helped me survive and write again.

Motivation:

I'm not someone who really likes the idea of motivation but after ghosting your baby book for almost two years, you need a little push, or a big one. So first try to remember why you started writing that book in the first place, that scene you build a whole world and plot for. And what I prefer to do is to talk about it with a close friend, maybe a writer or your reader friend. I tried it, it worked after the third try.

Second: Music

Throw a playlist on repeat with similar vibes to your book. Lay back, close your eyes and start imagining the scenes you like. Like that one battle, or the MC first kiss or whatever exciting about your story. And also watch edits with similar vibes. For example I'm writing a high dark fantasy book, so I watch edits from Game of Thrones, Lord of the Rings and so on.

Third: Read and Read and Read

Not just books from the same Genre but scenes from the book you wrote, choose a well written one, exciting chapter.

Fourth: Take Notes.

Leaving the work for so long will make you feel so disconnected from the story and plot and characters. So, read what you wrote and take notes.

That's how I did it, I read one chapter at a time, take notes. Try and rewrite some paragraphs to get used to the feeling of writing again. Maybe edit a scene or two. In a separate document.

Lastly: Write. How?

Look back at the notes, what needs to happen now based on what you wrote so far, think what the character is feeling about the situation and what they're thinking and start from there. It will sound like shit, but at least you can edit shit.

Everyone have a special ritual when writing and their own way to survive writer block. This is my way, that what worked for me. Share with me your favourite way or advice to survive this hell of a reality.🖤💙

[cecil-ravens]

No one taught me anything, grew up teaching myself everything, and now, once again, I'm teaching myself how to relax, how to sleep, how to heal. I saw my childhood self again, she was so bright. And before I knew it, I did the things I used to as a child, the handmade jewellery, writing stories in old notebooks, watching car races, and listening to old music. I was a gifted child, and now I'm a weird adult.

[peacefulandcozy]

ig credit: autumnslittlesister

[cecil-ravens]

I disappear a lot and it's not something I do only on social media... I became invisible, people barely notice me, probably for the best, I don't need their nagging small brains to ask about the weather whenever they want something from me. Almost a year passed since my father's major heart surgery, more than a year I stopped writing... the worst pain of it all. I stopped writing, where did all the passion ago? But it has been a month I'm trying to tear through the layers of silence and terror to find myself again... I think I did.

[juliaxyn]

Life is short. Live it. Fear is natural. Face it. Memory is powerful. Use it.

[cecil-ravens]

Me and my coffee against the world. These fevered summer nights whisper of lonely omens. I spend my days in the hospital taking care of my father while keeping my broken remains in a chest. I am where I was two years ago and it breaks what's left of me. No poem can hold this weight, and no more urge to speak.

[arylleth]

to love someone is firstly to confess: i'm prepared to be devastated by you.

[deadpoet-skull]

[cecil-ravens]

《Dear Diary....》

I leave this place a lot then return like I'm spelling the tea to my friends. I graduated, I travelled and me and my man broke up... I've never seen a heart broken with grace before which made me love him more. His elegant words still ring my head, so bitter to remember yet sweet to remember who said it. I'm afraid to move on, how can I live on without his voice in my mind, without his image every time I close my eyes. I love him still is all I can say.

[cecil-ravens]

《Random April 》

I just noticed that I have logged out for too long, I forgot about my social media accounts for the past three months. Thankfully I'm better, my life is getting better. But graduation is getting serious and hit hard. The fact that I'll be done with college in two months slap. I have a lot of ideas yet no clue where to start or how to start. It's normal, changing the routine after four years and functioning like a real adult is weird.

[flowersforfrancis]

[joytri]

to strive, to seek, to find