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My name is Charlie, and this is where I post all my ink drippings. He/Him They/Them

[thewriterswitch]

Quick Tips on Writing Horror

Learn the body language of fear.

Consider the thoughts your character would go through when something horrible goes down.

You want what happens to be terrifying, but it doesn’t necessarily have to be horrible. What I mean by that is you can have a scene that’s scary, but in that scene, no one dies or gets hurt.

Give your readers a break from horror every now and then. This should go for every genre, and a great way to do it is by making sub-plots.

Make it realistic. Even if it’s about the zombie apocalypse, or something that can’t actually happen. The supernatural has it’s own set of rules, and you need to ensure that the story isn’t so far-fetched that it makes no sense.

Don’t add anything for shock value. Readers notice when you’re trying to be edgy.

Give your character something to lose. Gore and violence aren’t as terrifying to read as knowing your character can lose everything they love at any moment.

Get the reader invested in the character.

You want the reader to have questions, but don’t want them to be confused. So don’t reveal everything too soon, but don’t reveal too little. This will help add suspense

Learn how humans react in terrifying situations

Consider having your character think and act irrationally

And if you really wanna have fun, consider having your character slowly descend into madness

[inanauthorsworld]

how to write flirting

- it’s a good idea to know how to flirt, but, of course, some of us are romantically inept

- it should flow nicely, but too nicely and perfectly set up isn’t realistic

- read as many flirting scenes, fanfics, bad pick up lines, and flirting tips as you can in however much research time you have for this

- seriously, if you try to get better at flirting, it will help you at writing and in real life

- some people are stutter-y and nervous, some people are overly confident and cocky, and some are in-between. it depends heavily on your set-up, characters, and how they react to each other

- characters will (usually) be more confident flirting with those who show mutual interest than a crush they get flustered over

- people also (usually) are more confident flirting with a stranger than a crush

- a lot of personality types and backgrounds can effect what type of flirt-er someone is. if a character is popular and generally accepted, he’ll be real cocky. if it’s a nerd or someone who is more of an outcast, he’ll tip-toe and be flustered due to fear of being rejected. look at personality types first

- flirting isn’t black and white. there’s different types of teasing, movements, and things to say that go into it. look at how your characters already interact and see what can fit them!!!

- i highly suggest googling stuff such as ‘flirting tips’ and reading wikihow articles on picking up chicks just to learn more, especially if you’re the romantically inept type, like a lot of us introverted, cranky writers are

[mrgankingston-blog]

Plot This: Structure Guide

Alright so if you’re a writer then you’ve probably familiarized yourself with plot…and the structure it provides to a novel. There are countless articles online on “how to plot a novel” or the like. Which is fantastic for you writers because it’s at a fingers reach from us. Not so great when there’s about…a billion ways one can go about plotting a novel. It can seem daunting and overwhelming and more important confusing! 

I want to break down this massive task bit by bit. Starting with the very bare bones and working into more detailed parts. Making it more manageable.

 Now, I know some of you might roll your eyes and say I know all there is to know about plot. I was you. I went into every workshop and craft class thinking the same thing. And yet, when I started plotting my recent WIP ( The Cost of Defeat ) I realized I didn’t know jack. I thought every story I ever wrote would adhere to my system of structure because of sheer will and blunt force. Yeah wrong.

It wasn’t until just recently I started diving into the structure ( because I like pretty diagrams and being organized way more than I should) that I discovered there are a lot of different Plot Structures out there. No one bothered to ever teach me let alone discuss these things. My mind was blown. 

Some worked better for me than others. Some mesh better together than others. It’s all about experimenting and figuring out what works for you. And I’m hoping that this will also help others, or at least give a jumping off point. Now it’s not a whole list ( there’s a lot of elements that I could probably talk about by themselves) but it’s a good overview of the popular ones that reoccur a lot.

1) Freytag’s Pyramid

Freytag’s pyramid is the most basic plot structure I know. It’s the one we’ve all seen in school when we start learning about story structure and analysis.

This bad boy is the simplest plot structure used to dissect and understand Greek and Shakespearean Plays. 

Pros     x Simplistic. Makes it easy to understand      x Great for those just starting ( or those who want to understand film and literature analysis.     x Great for AP Literature/Comp papers

Cons     x It creates simple stories     x Not super awesome for modern novels or anything longer than about 25K words

Uses     x Children’s Literature. Picture books mostly. Children are still learning to understand things like conflict effect on characters and having such a long falling action allows for that.     x Short Stories. Since short stories are compact for punch, this structure allows you to get the most done without boring the reader in 25K words or less.   x Analysis. This structure is the easiest and most common to apply to plays, film, tv and even in classic literature. It’s a great way to dissect plot and events in order to better understand the pieces working parts 

Examples: Shakespeare's Hamlet and Romeo and Juliet                    Sophocles’s  Antigone                    Henrik Ibsen  A Doll House

2) Three-Act Structure

The Three-Act Structure is probably the most known. We all know this intuitively as storytellers. Everything needs a beginning middle and end, after all.

This structure is very similar to Freytag’s Pyramid but adds elements that beef up and create points of interest. Obstacles, for example, add conflict and build up suspense for the climax. It’s also important to note that the falling action and resolution is much more compact.

Pros    x  basic building block for all good stories    x  Roadmap-like so you can be systematic about things    x  Good “big-picture” visual

Cons    x  Pacing is super important for this    x  Bit rigid and formulaic

Uses     x  Literally anything. Because it’s versatile it works on  a plethera of stuff, let your imagineation run wild.     x Film analysis. This struccture is like the holy grail in almost any film class ( sometimes they call it the four act structure)

Examples:  Sir Arthur Conan Doyle Sherlock Holmes                    Alfred Hitchcock’s  Vertigo                    Jane Austin’s Pride and Prejudice

3) The Fichtean Curve

The Fichten Curve Is really unique in that it starts right with the rising action. There ain’t no time to build up or nice slow introductions, you’re dumping the readers right where it hurts. But you make up that lost time with the small bits of exposition

This is one of the most popular plot structures for modern novels.

Pros     x  A lot of opportunities to ramp up the stakes, bit after bit     x Good for pacing     x  Great for Overcoming Monster & Quest stories     x Translate over almost any genre

Cons     x Not a lot of time to slow down, breathe     x Not suited for Voyage and Return, Comedy or Rebirth stories

Uses    x Thrillers/Mystery novels. You need something to keep readers in the story, chomping at the bit. here’s the plot structure for you.    

Examples: Max Brooks’s World War Z                  

4) Plot Embryo/Hero’s Journey

The Hero’s Journey is also super common in the literature (namely western literature) With this plot the protagonist ( the hero of hero’s journey) undergoes a literal or figurative death-like transformation that changes him. 

The protagonist must venture from one state into another. To take it a step further there’s a variation called the Ploy Embyro. Dan Harmon takes the hero’s journey a bit deeper and modernizes. [ here’a great video on it by youtuber Rachel Stephen x] 

As you can see, the Hero’s Journey and Ploy Embyro are both cyclical. This baby comes full circle in both plot and character. They have similar plot points. But if I were to gush about this the post would be waaay longer than it already is. This is one of my preferred methods because it just makes sense for me and allows me to have some freedom and wiggle room while still adhering to the 3 acts.

Pros     x Character development holla, cause this is where it’s at.     x Visually appealing     x  Simple 8 point outline ( for those who might not enjoy long-winded outlines)     x  Works alongside A beat sheet ( if you use that sort of thing)     x  The holy grail for myths.

Cons     x Overdone ( but it doesn’t have to be a bad thing)     x Not suited for those who really detailed outlines

Uses     x Adventure Stories. It is all about the adventure and journey with this     x Myth Retellings. I mean it’s based on the myth structure of the Odyssey and the like so it makes sense

Examples: Harper Lee’s To Kill a Mockingbird                    Rick Riordan’s The Lightning Thief                   J. R R. Tolktien’s The Hobbit

5) In Media Res

A literal translation to “In the Middle”. This plot structure dumps you right in the middle of the story.  Think if you were to open a story on the second of third crisis/pinch point. there’s still a lot of upward trajectory to go before the climax.

Don’t confuse this with simply opening a story mid fight/action. Media Res starts well deep into the story itself, close to the climax but with enough room you can still build up to it.

Pros     x High Actions     x Simple and fun to play with     x A good use for flashbacks     x Hell of a hook for readers

Cons     x  Can be confusing for reader’s if not done right     x  No build up     x takes some finessing to get just right

Uses      x Mysteries. This is a great plot if you want to start a story perhaps where the killer has already committed the murder.    x Epic Poems. Maybe you wanna write the next epic poem, this is great for that.       Examples  John Milton’s Paradise Lost                    Homer’s Illiad                    George Lucas’s  Star Wars 

Now I could go on and on but this monster of a post has carried on long enough. If there’s a certain structure you’d like me to go into more detail about feel free to leave a comment on this post and I’ll be sure to add it to my line up!! As always happy writing/creating!

        XO Morgan

[thatwritergirlsblog]

Choosing between self-publishing and traditional publishing

This is a much-talked-about topic. So, rather than going the traditional pros-and-cons route, I’m going to give you some advice on which factors to consider when making your decision:

1. First thing’s first: what’s the difference?

Self-publishing a book means that you are putting it out there on your own - no publishing house and no literary agent. You will be in charge of every aspect - editing, proofreading, marketing, the book launch, cover design etc.

Traditional publishing means that your book has been purchased by a publishing house and that said house is responsible for getting your book out into the world. This process also usually entails being represented by a literary agent.

2. Factor: Your knowledge base

Few writers are writers only, which means that you might have a particular set of skills or a vast array of knowledge in an area that could assist you in one of these publishing routes.

Knowledge needed for self-publishing: some business knowledge, knowledge of the entire process needed to publish a book, knowledge of self-publishing platforms etc.

Knowledge needed for traditional publishing: knowledge about the publishing industry - about literary agents and publishing houses, about what to look out for in contracts, about querying and going on submission etc.

Keep in mind that this knowledge can be acquired. It doesn’t have to be something you already possess. But the type of studies/research you do will be determined by the route you choose to take.

So, if you majored in an area of business, if you worked for a publisher for years etc., you already have a good foundation for self-publishing.

If you’re like me and you’ve been researching the industry since you were 15 (and have a law student’s knowledge of contracts), your skills may assist you better in traditional publishing.

So, think about the type of knowledge you have/would be able to acquire.

Keep in mind: marketing knowledge is applicable and needed for both routes.

3. Factor: Budgetary concerns

We’re not all in the same financial situation. I know it’s not fun to talk about money, but it does play a significant role in publishing.

With traditional publishing, you will have to spend money on marketing. Furthermore, if you hire an editor/critique service in order to polish your manuscript before you query, that’ll cost you a few bucks too.

However, self-publishing requires a lot more money. You need to pay a cover designer, critique service, editor, proofreader, formatter etc.(there are often packages to this effect) And you will have to pay for marketing as well. If you use platforms like CreateSpace or IngramSpark, you don’t have to pay for the printing itself, since it’s print-on-demand.

This consideration isn’t about whether you have bags of money just waiting to be used. It’s about whether you have the financial and personal capacity to save the money you need (and whether you can budget well). Calculating how much you need to save each month in order to self-publish and sticking to that calculation will be necessary for the self-publishing route (unless you have quite a few dollars lying around).

So, if you are on a VERY tight budget (like me as a student) or know that you are absolutely horrible at sticking to your saving goals, consider trying the traditional publishing avenue.

HOWEVER, the income you receive from the published product must also be kept in mind. With traditional publishing, authors get a (relatively small) advance and then a small percentage of the sales as royalties (12% is generous where I’m from). Since the publisher paid for everything, they also get most of the profit. With self-publishing, you get the biggest percentage of the sales revenue (some of it will go to the printing and distributing platform). 

4: Factor: Your personality/preferences

Are you a very versatile person? Would you like spending your time on various different aspects of the publishing process? Do you need control of every aspect of your book baby’s release into the world? Are you good at managing projects? Can you be difficult to work with? Are you excited by the idea of paving your own way and ignoring industry stigmas? Are you great at sticking to self-imposed deadlines? Then you’re probably more suited to the world of self-publishing.

Do you want to focus on writing (and marketing) and not really the other stuff? Are you okay with relinquishing some control? Do you work well with others? Does prestige matter to you? Does the idea of managing a big project alone give you the jitters? Then your personality might work better for traditional publishing.

Please don’t think that this is set in stone. I’m not trying to place anyone in a box. This is just another factor you can take into account when making your decision.

5. A decision doesn’t bind you for life

You can be a hybrid author. If you’ve decided to pursue traditional publishing, you can always switch to self-publishing later once you’ve made a name for yourself. If you’ve already self-published one (or a few) books, nothing prevents you from querying agents for a different project and going the traditional route. (In fact, having self-published books might count in your favour.)

So, it is an important decision, but it isn’t set in stone.

I hope that this is helpful. If you have any questions, head over to my asks. And if you want to request a writing advice post, don’t be shy.

Reblog if you found these tips useful. Comment with the route you’re thinking of taking. Follow me for similar content.

[authorinmyhead]

[davidfarland]

Your First 5 Pages

When you send a novel to an agent or publisher, they normally ask for the first five or ten pages, just so that they can gauge your writing skill. If those pages don’t grab the reader, it won’t sell.

As an editor, I read thousands of stories a year, and it would be difficult to tell you all of the ways that you can go wrong, or all of the things that you can do right. But let’s hit some main points:

1)    From the very first sentence, I want to see that you’re not just a competent writer, but a skillful one. I want to see that you have a way with words, so that I feel as if I’m in the hands of a professional storyteller. That means that I won’t feel confused, and I won’t get tripped up by typos or beginner’s mistakes. Indeed, I want to see that you’re talented right from the first sentence. Half of the editors and agents say that they look for a great voice right out the gate, whether it be the voice of the narrating character or of the author.

2)    I want to know (or at least have some great hints) where and when the story is taking place. It helps if the setting is intriguing and beautifully drawn. Of course, when you bring that setting to life, you should appeal to most of the senses quickly—sight, sound, smell, touch, taste.

3)    I want to know who the protagonist is and I want to see you handling the viewpoint properly. This means that the protagonist moves, has an emotional state, and thinks, so that we aren’t seeing the tale from a camera’s point of view, but from a real person’s. More than that, it is often helpful if the character is likeable or interesting or even both.

4)    In the opening five pages, I must see a hint of an intriguing conflict, one that is already building toward a climax. To get that in quickly, this means that you almost need to start the story in media res.

5)    In my business as a science fiction and fantasy editor, I want to see some novelty—something that tells me that your work is original, that you’re capable of coming up with something new.

Now, that’s my short list. I could go on and suggest that I want to see that you know how to construct a scene, that you can dazzle the reader in subtle ways that most pros know, that you know how to construct a plot, that you tastefully insert the emotional draws your audience is hoping for, that you are a pro at constructing believable dialog—and a dozen other little things.

But as you can see, for the first five pages, I can only hope for so much. All that I really want is to be convinced that you’re one of the greatest discoveries that I’ve ever made. If you think that an agent or editor wants anything less, you’re mistaken. The truth is that every editor and every agent who reads your manuscript is hoping that your tale demands to be published

[mlwangbooks]

The best writing teacher I ever had wasn’t the one who taught me grammar and spelling. He wasn’t the one who taught me outlining and paragraph structure, nor was he the one who taught me about themes, motifs, and symbolism.

He said, “Wiggle your pencil.

Put the tip of your pencil to the paper and keep the eraser end wiggling.

If you have nothing to write, write that: I have nothing to write, I have nothing to write, I have nothing to write, I have nothing to write, and eventually, by force of boredom, something else will come out.”

We would take 30 - 45 minutes every day to ‘wiggle our pencils’ in our wide-ruled notebooks, during which time, he was silent except to remind anyone who stopped to keep that pencil moving. 

I finished not one but two novel-length stories that year. It was fifth grade.

Wiggle your pencil.

[thewriterswitch]

Quick Tips for Writing Interesting Villains

Give them relationships with other characters. Being a villain doesn’t mean they’re isolated

Give them their own set of morals

Give them something to care about

Consider the reasons why they want to hurt the protagonist

Remember that they are human

Don’t make them evil for the sake of being evil

Keep in mind that a villain doesn’t have to do every horrible thing imaginable

Not every villain was abused. Someone who was spoiled is just as, if not more, likely to lack empathy than someone who was abused

Consider how they rationalize their behavior (blame their victims, make excuses, believe that what they’re doing is right)

Give them a life outside of being a villain. Maybe your protagonist is going shopping and they run into their villain and the villain isn’t interested or up for a fight that day. This really depends on the story, though

Give them a past, present, or future relationship with the protagonist. Again, this depends on the story

Consider making your villain likable

Give the reader a reason to sympathize with them

[bestfriendsbite]

Cicadas and heavy rain passing over head

The sound of home

[charliespen]

Ribcage

Two circles with stars in them. Covering them, white dots and lines that seemed to shift while not moving at all. And there is a rib cage. A human, I'm assuming, rib cage placed in the middle with some spine and both shoulder blades. Do you truly believe we belong among the stars? Do you truly believe humanities core deserves to be eternalized?

[charliespen]

Skull

The human skull. Something you can pull out of the ground and wash clean, sculpted of clay and impaled with the remnants of a real one. You can find a human skull anywhere. You can find one on you all the time but no one can see it. I am showing you, you can see it, can you not? The human skull?

[charliespen]

Burn

by Charlie M.

i want you to burn

my last love

most recent lie

most painful beholding

i want to burn my memories of you

all the things we did

everything we shared

everything

oh but enough.

i want to burn my tedium

my unwillingness

my gears ever-turning

but my limbs broken

i want to burn all that i regret

all that i can remember not doing

my stagnation remaining

though the water passing over

and it seemed to put out the flame

the burning in me

burning myself alive

but also the core

i want to burn the burning

and to drink from the water of calm

the waters of progress

of healing