futurenetflixseries

[heywriters]

Anon #1 - I have trouble writing parts that aren’t dialogue. i feel like my writing is almost all dialogue. I dont know how to just write what’s happening in between, like large paragraphs where nothing is being said??? 

Anon #2 - Any tips for how to write parts without dialogue? I seem to excel at writing dialogue and getting the plot rolling, but I can’t have my novel be 95% dialogue, can I? I seem to use dialogue as a crutch and I’m not quite sure how to use… actual words.. and sentences… ? 

When I first started writing I also had too much dialogue—it read like a half-finished script. The storytelling suffered, the characterization suffered, and it was annoying to read (some genres and writers can get away with large amounts of dialogue, but as per my previous post it’s best to know the rules before you break them).

There was no quick, easy fix for this, and unlike you smart people I did not research or ask how to fix it. I just started paying attention to the ways dialogue was framed in my favorite books, TV, and movies.

Things I Learned About Dialogue

Dialogue needs to be broken up by the other senses. People rarely sit still and expressionless while speaking. When we talk our other senses do not suddenly stop working, nor does our mind stop thinking.

Recall how you’ve kept yourself entertained in waiting rooms, lectures, and long conversations. You daydream, go over mental shopping lists, curse that noisy thing in the background, focus too much on strange blemishes on the other person’s face. We almost never give people our “undivided attention” even when we mean to.

Example: 

“How long did they make you wait?”

I look down as the cat’s tail sweeps across my knees. “Not very long.”

“Well, it felt like—” she sputters as the wind blow her hair into her mouth and moves it back behind her ear, “—it felt like forever. Mom was going ballistic.”

A horn honks down the road, and while she bitches I watch the neighbor kids come rushing across their lawn with backpacks bouncing to get in the car. I remember what that was like. Kinda miss it.

“I mean if you can’t run a business well you just shouldn’t.” She fumbles with her lighter, having already planted a cigarette between her teeth like she does when she’s frustrated. “Oh, would you look at that. Already chipped a nail.”

Dialogue is often unnecessary when describing characteristics or emotions. If your characters are actually talking to the reader instead of each other then that dialogue might need to be cut and that information related to the reader in some other way. 

Example (bad):

“You are my mother.” 

“Yes, son. And your father died six years ago.” 

“Indeed, in a car accident. We miss him so much.”

You save on dialogue and clutter by just using one line of inner monologue or various context clues to let the reader know who’s who and what’s what (i.e. showing instead of telling).

Likewise, instead of dialogue like, “Katy, the pretty secretary, is really unhappy today” use non-verbal cues to show Katy is pretty and unhappy.

Example:

Katy trudged into her office and sighed as she sat down, her purse hitting the desk with a clunk, her unbrushed hair lacking its usual enviable lustre. 

Dialogue is not the only way to communicate. In real life, and in films/theater with good acting, much of the communication is through body language and vocables (e.g. grunts, scoffs, sighs, snorts). 

Visual and physical cues can also convey ideas whether intentionally or not. Sometimes just different forms of eye contact, like that knowing look from your friend across the room or that glare from your mom after you’ve said something in public, are all that’s needed to understand a scene.

Example:

Miguel looked at Elise. She raised her eyebrows. He frowned. She rolled her eyes and turned away. He sighed through his nose and went back to reading his book.

Dialogue cannot be trusted to describe a setting or scene. Every character has their own perception of their surroundings. Witnesses to a crime are notorious for having conflicting accounts of the same event. Some see details others didn’t, some lace their stories with unintentional bias, and others simply have a unique point of view based on their life experiences.

Therefore, you have to use your own descriptions of what a place looks, sounds, and feels like in order to let the reader know that’s actually what it’s like. No two of your characters should agree on all aspects of their environment and circumstances even if they are experiencing it together. If one thinks the sky is blue and beautiful today, the other sees the storm clouds on the horizon.

Example:

People were screaming and running in all directions as the alien spaceship flew calmly overhead. A woman fell down in the street.

“She’s been shot!” someone shouted. 

The woman had actually slipped on someone’s personal belongings that had been abandoned with haste.

“They’re shooting at us,” shouted another person. 

People started scrambling for cover. One man fired his gun at the ship’s hull, having no idea how close the ship actually was or where the bullet might come down. No one helped the woman who had fallen and twisted her ankle, and she was left alone on the deserted pavement.

Some scenes won’t need dialogue at all. Your speaking characters likely won’t inhabit every scene in your book. Even in first person POV, there needs to be another character to bounce dialogue off of, and if your character must talk to themselves it will likely be inner monologue.

The storytelling itself, the meat of the book, has to come from the author. Yours is the main voice in every scene that decides the outcome. By speaking only through your characters you limit yourself and your story. Shut them up once in a while so the reader can listen to you.

— — —

+ HEY, Writers! other social media: Wattpad // Pinterest // Goodreads

+ Or consider buying me a coffee for which I will be eternally grateful.

[writersrelief-deactivated202404]

Write Strong Female Characters Without Being Cliché

Writers and readers talk so often about strong female characters that the phrase has become a publishing buzzword. Writers try to entice…

Happy International Women’s Day!

[heywriters]

Hey! Do you have any advice on how to start any work or book or writing? Particularly fiction. :) thank you

Everyone’s technique is different so I never know if I’m giving good advice or just telling you the best way my ADD brain has figured out.

Write the ideas down, all of them, randomly. Write quick summaries of scenes you want to include, even if it’s just “the hotel bedroom is blue like her sadness.” Let your notes be gimmicky clichés, they’re just notes. If you know the romance is good girl and bad boy, write that down and expand on it later. There’s always time later.

Scrape together a basic timeline. Character goes to preschool, character meets best friend, they overcome obstacles, their kids play together, the end. Basic. And maybe squeeze that one crucial scene at the grocery store in there, it’s important.

Don’t worry to death over their names and looks because who cares if they have blue eyes and orange hair and are named Tiffany or Dagger, it has nothing to do with the storyline and you’ll probably change it later anyway. FIRST NAME CHOICES ARE ALWAYS CHEESY OR BORING. Get over it and move on.

Get to know your characters like your readers should, gradually and over time. You will always be the one who knew them first. I just don’t always remember their eye color because I don’t always remember my own family’s eye colors. It’s not that big a deal, and irl someone’s always changing their hairstyle anyway. NBD.

Keep a folder for all these details, timelines, character references, and any visuals or quotes you find inspirational. Set the folder aside and start writing, start anywhere. The middle, the end, that patch of dialogue you’ve been rehearsing in front of the mirror, write it down in your story file. If you ever feel like it doesn’t really fit after all or you want to change the ending, copy and paste that work into a “backup” file.

Become a hoarder of your own ideas and writing. If this book doesn’t need them, the next one might.

~ That’s my disorganized advice. If it doesn’t work for you, you’ll develop your own system.

Ko-Fi // Wattpad // Goodreads // Pinterest

[thewordriven]

Write Your Novel In A Year – Week 29: 3 Things To Remember About Dialogue

Write Your Novel In A Year – Week 29: 3 Things To Remember About Dialogue

Welcome to week 29 of Anthony’s series that aims to help you write a novel in a year. Read last week’s post here.

Goal setting

Continue writing the scenes or chapters of your novel.

Breaking it down

1. Dialogue is about character

When characters speak, readers listen. In fact, they probably pay more attention to dialogue than narrative. It’s a way for the them to get information about the characters in your novel.

The other day, a friend of mine made some off-hand comment about photographers. ‘Photographers are always seeing the deeper meaning – it’s never just a picture of a cup of coffee.’

This got me thinking about Jenna, my main character. She is a photographer. Obsessed with getting the perfect shot to tell the perfect story. How does this inform her dialogue? She can be quite critical – probing, incisive, intelligent.

Here’s another example. For my antagonist, Monty, finding his speech patterns was a bit easier. He is a dreamer. So his dialogue is always about the future – about wish fulfilment. He very seldom tells the truth – he reinvents the past and the future is always ‘make believe’.  Knowing this about him has really helped me with his dialogue.

2. Dialogue is about moving the story forward – or back

Readers are also looking to dialogue to give them information about the story or plot. They get to know  this through a character’s intentions and decisions – what are they going to do next in the story? That’s why stating these decisions in dialogue is a great idea – they register with the reader. For example: ‘We’ll go to the police first thing in the morning.’ ‘Let’s ask my father for help – he’ll know what to do.’ ‘We have to stop him before he takes this too far.’

Dialogue is a great way to avoid using long passages of back story. In my novel, it’s important to introduce some information about a holiday Matt and Jenna took in the past.

Instead of writing it as a flashback, I have the two lovers reminiscing about the holiday in dialogue. I also have other characters speak about this holiday in the story.

By using snippets of the information about the holiday in dialogue, I’m not forced to reveal the whole truth about what happened on the holiday – only through the memories of my characters.

3. Dialogues is about contrasting words with actions

The reader is also looking for the promises one character makes to another character – and to see if they keep those promises. Do we believe what the character is saying? Do we trust them?

In my novel, Matt, Jenna’s boyfriend, is always making promises that he never seems to keep.

This gives the reader a heightened awareness of the ‘fault lines’ in the relationship between Matt and Jenna. I want them to ask: Why does she believe these promises?  The contrast between a character’s actions and their words is very often what creates tension in a story.

One of elements I love about writing my novel is finding the voices of my characters – I start to see them in my mind, the story becomes kinetic, and I’m able to move the story forward.

Timelock — 2.5 to 5 hours

Write for half an hour or an hour a day on your scenes or chapters.

5 Quick Hacks

Download some movie scripts and read some published plays. Observe how dialogue moves the story forward.

Act out or speak aloud the dialogue in your novel.  Write out a scene as a dialogue-only script and ask a friend to play one of the ‘parts’. How does it sound?

Write some Facebook or Twitter posts for your characters. Does it capture the ‘personality’ of your character?

Take a flashback (if you have one) and  re-write it as a dialogue in a current scene.

Imagine your character has lost their voice. How would they express themselves in body language?

Pin it, quote it, believe it:

‘Go ahead, make my day!’ — Dirty Harry

[writingwithcolor]

Language Barriers

theleadcinnabon asked:

I have a fantasy story that involves lots of groups with different languages, thus language barrier problems are commonplace for awhile. For my plot, I have one character who has a bit of a magic spell on her tongue that allows others to understand what she says, no matter the language, but she can not understand them. There are three different languages present in the group (stuck on a boat). I was hoping for some advice about how to write the overcoming of these language barriers, and how exactly to present the characters learning bits of each others language. I want it be obvious what a huge struggle it is for only the dominant group to be able to understand each other, since they have the largest amount of people on the ship and control it, while the main character is one of the individuals that is verbally isolated, but is trying to find a way home. Any tips on how to deal with these language barriers, and accurately write the process of overcoming them would be much appreciated.

*dons linguist hat*

Okay, language acquisition is a tricky beast, especially for adults, and it’s almost never portrayed accurately in fiction.  We (linguists) are still not 100% sure about how language is acquired (i.e. what structures in the brain are at work there), and how acquisition differs between a first and second language (other than, “it does”) but the key with adult second language acquisition is basically just “use it or lose it.”  Without continued maintenance of a language skill, it atrophies into a useless lump.  It’s like a muscle.

In the situation you propose, the characters will learn each other’s languages piecemeal, and due to necessity.  Certain words will become familiar, perhaps fairly quickly depending on frequency of use, and individual foreign words will become known far sooner than grammatical structure (in fact, the full grammar of a foreign language may never become ingrained in an adult the way it does in a child).  You generally acquire words based on how frequently they are used, but the absolute most frequent words used in a language tend to be thing like “the,” “of,” and “and,” which aren’t very meaningful, so look instead to the frequent contentful words.  These tend to be things like pronouns or numerals, which language acquirers are likely to learn early in the process.  Some words used depend on context, so in your plot, you might have your characters first learn each other’s words for “boat,” “sea,” “wave,” maybe “storm,” etc.  Things that are readily apparent to be talked about.  Also, if Alice and Bob speak the same language and Charlie (a foreigner) is overhearing them, he’ll start to learn their language eventually, but more slowly and randomly than if Alice or Bob were speaking directly to him and actively trying to teach him their language.

In terms of presenting the process in text, you can take a couple of approaches.  The simplest way is just to state that they slowly learned words for (for example) “boat,” “sea,” and “storm.”  Maybe a storm is on the horizon, one character points it out to another and the second character finds they recognize that word when they didn’t previously.  This isn’t very interesting, though.  More interesting is to show this rather than tell it, using dialogue and the POV character’s internal thought process as translator.  For example:

Bob stretched an arm to the horizon, finger outstretched.  "Aa rahaa hai!” he cried.  “Bara tufaan!  Tufaan aa rahaa hai!“  Storm, Charlie thought.  Tufaan means storm.

(Apparently “Bob” speaks Hindi.)

One way I find to be quite realistic, both in terms of narrative and linguistic theory, is to slowly intersperse more and more understandable (i.e. English, or whatever language you’re writing in) words into your inter-character dialogue as the viewport character slowly begins to understand their fellow travelers.  You will have to do some work to write the not understandable parts, though.  Since it’s fantasy, this may be an opportunity to do a bit of conlang development.

Even when they approach fluency in each other’s idioms, adults may never have the skill of a native speaker.  You may see characters make certain errors when trying to speak in a language not their own.  For instance, there may be irregular forms of words that they can’t remember or just don’t know, and use what they think is a regularized form instead.  You can represent this by a character saying “childs” instead of “children,” or “gived” instead of “gave.”  These are errors of the kind that a child learning their first language might make, but they can persist in the adult speech of second-language learners, and even with a “translation convention” in effect (i.e. they’re not really speaking English, but it reads as English), it becomes clear what you’re trying to emulate.

And finally, thank you for wanting to actually make an effort to portray realistic linguistics in fantasy and not just going with a “Common Speech” or something needlessly lazy.

~Mod Nikhil

[berrybird-blog1]

Helpful things for action writers to remember

Sticking a landing will royally fuck up your joints and possibly shatter your ankles, depending on how high you’re jumping/falling from. There’s a very good reason free-runners dive and roll. 

Hand-to-hand fights usually only last a matter of seconds, sometimes a few minutes. It’s exhausting work and unless you have a lot of training and history with hand-to-hand combat, you’re going to tire out really fast. 

Arrows are very effective and you can’t just yank them out without doing a lot of damage. Most of the time the head of the arrow will break off inside the body if you try pulling it out, and arrows are built to pierce deep. An arrow wound demands medical attention. 

Throwing your opponent across the room is really not all that smart. You’re giving them the chance to get up and run away. Unless you’re trying to put distance between you so you can shoot them or something, don’t throw them. 

Everyone has something called a “flinch response” when they fight. This is pretty much the brain’s way of telling you “get the fuck out of here or we’re gonna die.” Experienced fighters have trained to suppress this. Think about how long your character has been fighting. A character in a fist fight for the first time is going to take a few hits before their survival instinct kicks in and they start hitting back. A character in a fist fight for the eighth time that week is going to respond a little differently. 

ADRENALINE WORKS AGAINST YOU WHEN YOU FIGHT. THIS IS IMPORTANT. A lot of times people think that adrenaline will kick in and give you some badass fighting skills, but it’s actually the opposite. Adrenaline is what tires you out in a battle and it also affects the fighter’s efficacy - meaning it makes them shaky and inaccurate, and overall they lose about 60% of their fighting skill because their brain is focusing on not dying. Adrenaline keeps you alive, it doesn’t give you the skill to pull off a perfect roundhouse kick to the opponent’s face. 

Swords WILL bend or break if you hit something hard enough. They also dull easily and take a lot of maintenance. In reality, someone who fights with a sword would have to have to repair or replace it constantly.

Fights get messy. There’s blood and sweat everywhere, and that will make it hard to hold your weapon or get a good grip on someone. 

A serious battle also smells horrible. There’s lots of sweat, but also the smell of urine and feces. After someone dies, their bowels and bladder empty. There might also be some questionable things on the ground which can be very psychologically traumatizing. Remember to think about all of the character’s senses when they’re in a fight. Everything WILL affect them in some way. 

If your sword is sharpened down to a fine edge, the rest of the blade can’t go through the cut you make. You’ll just end up putting a tiny, shallow scratch in the surface of whatever you strike, and you could probably break your sword. 

ARCHERS ARE STRONG TOO. Have you ever drawn a bow? It takes a lot of strength, especially when you’re shooting a bow with a higher draw weight. Draw weight basically means “the amount of force you have to use to pull this sucker back enough to fire it.” To give you an idea of how that works, here’s a helpful link to tell you about finding bow sizes and draw weights for your characters.  (CLICK ME)

If an archer has to use a bow they’re not used to, it will probably throw them off a little until they’ve done a few practice shots with it and figured out its draw weight and stability. 

People bleed. If they get punched in the face, they’ll probably get a bloody nose. If they get stabbed or cut somehow, they’ll bleed accordingly. And if they’ve been fighting for a while, they’ve got a LOT of blood rushing around to provide them with oxygen. They’re going to bleed a lot. 

Here’s a link to a chart to show you how much blood a person can lose without dying. (CLICK ME) 

If you want a more in-depth medical chart, try this one. (CLICK ME)

Hopefully this helps someone out there. If you reblog, feel free to add more tips for writers or correct anything I’ve gotten wrong here. 

[ave-aria]

How to apply Writing techniques for action scenes:

- Short sentences. Choppy. One action, then another. When there’s a lull in the fight, take a moment, using longer phrases to analyze the situation–then dive back in. Snap, snap, snap. - Same thing with words - short, simple, and strong in the thick of battle. Save the longer syllables for elsewhere. - Characters do not dwell on things when they are in the heat of the moment. They will get punched in the face. Focus on actions, not thoughts. - Go back and cut out as many adverbs as possible. - No seriously, if there’s ever a time to use the strongest verbs in your vocabulary - Bellow, thrash, heave, shriek, snarl, splinter, bolt, hurtle, crumble, shatter, charge, raze - it’s now. - Don’t forget your other senses. People might not even be sure what they saw during a fight, but they always know how they felt. - Taste: Dry mouth, salt from sweat, copper tang from blood, etc - Smell: OP nailed it - Touch: Headache, sore muscles, tense muscles, exhaustion, blood pounding. Bruised knuckles/bowstring fingers. Injuries that ache and pulse, sting and flare white hot with pain. - Pain will stay with a character. Even if it’s minor. - Sound and sight might blur or sharpen depending on the character and their experience/exhaustion. Colors and quick movements will catch the eye. Loud sounds or noises from behind may serve as a fighter’s only alert before an attack. - If something unexpected happens, shifting the character’s whole attention to that thing will shift the Audience’s attention, too. - Aftermath. This is where the details resurface, the characters pick up things they cast aside during the fight, both literally and metaphorically. Fights are chaotic, fast paced, and self-centered. Characters know only their self, their goals, what’s in their way, and the quickest way around those threats. The aftermath is when people can regain their emotions, their relationships, their rationality/introspection, and anything else they couldn’t afford to think or feel while their lives were on the line.

Do everything you can to keep the fight here and now. Maximize the physical, minimize the theoretical. Keep things immediate - no theories or what ifs.

If writing a strategist, who needs to think ahead, try this: keep strategy to before-and-after fights. Lay out plans in calm periods, try to guess what enemies are thinking or what they will do. During combat, however, the character should think about his options, enemies, and terrain in immediate terms; that is, in shapes and direction. (Large enemy rushing me; dive left, circle around / Scaffolding on fire, pool below me / two foes helping each other, separate them.)

Lastly, after writing, read it aloud. Anyplace your tongue catches up on a fast moving scene, edit. Smooth action scenes rarely come on the first try.

[uccelletto-di-kokuyo]

More for martial arts or hand-to-hand in general

What a character’s wearing will affect how they fight.  The more restricting the clothes, the harder it will be.  If they’re wearing a skirt that is loose enough to fight in, modesty will be lost in a life or death situation.

Jewelry can also be very bad.  Necklaces can be grabbed onto.  Bracelets also can be grabbed onto or inhibit movement.  Rings it can depend on the person.

Shoes also matter.  Tennis shoes are good and solid, but if you’re unused to them there’s a chance of accidentally hurting your ankle.  High heels can definitely be a problem.  However, they can also make very good weapons, especially for someone used to balancing on the balls of their feet.  Side kicks and thrusting kicks in soft areas (like the solar plexus) or the feet are good ideas.  They can also (hopefully) be taken off quickly and used as a hand weapon.  Combat boots are great but if someone relies more on speed or aren’t used to them, they can weigh a person down.  Cowboy boots can be surprisingly good.  Spin kicks (if a character is quick enough to use them) are especially nasty in these shoes.

If a character is going to fight barefoot, please keep location in mind.  Concrete can mess up your feet quick.  Lawns, yards, etc often have hidden holes and other obstacles that can mess up a fighter.  Tile floors or waxed wood can be very slippery if you’re not careful or used to them.

Likewise, if it’s outside be aware of how weather will affect the fight.  The sun’s glare can really impede a fighter’s sight.  A wet location, inside or outside, can cause a fighter to slip and fall.  Sweat on the body can cause a fighter to lose a grip on an opponent too.

Pressure points for a trained fighter are great places to aim for in a fight.  The solar plexus is another great place to aim for.  It will knock the wind out of anyone and immediately weaken your opponent. 

It your character is hit in the solar plexus and isn’t trained, they’re going down.  The first time you get hit there you are out of breath and most people double over in confusion and pain.  If a fighter is more used to it, they will stand tall and expand themselves in order to get some breath.  They will likely keep fighting, but until their breath returns to normal, they will be considerably weaker.

Do not be afraid to have your character use obstacles in their environment.  Pillars, boxes, bookshelves, doors, etc.  They put distance between you and an opponent which can allow you to catch your breath. 

Do not be afraid to have your character use objects in their environment.  Someone’s coming at you with a spear, trident, etc, then pick up a chair and get it caught in the legs or use it as a shield.  Bedsheets can make a good distraction and tangle someone up.  Someone’s invading your home and you need to defend yourself?  Throw a lamp.  Anything can be turned into a weapon.

Guns often miss their targets at longer distances, even by those who have trained heavily with them.  They can also be easier to disarm as they only shoot in one direction.  However, depending on the type, grabbing onto the top is a very very bad idea.  There is a good likelihood you WILL get hurt.

Knives are nasty weapons by someone who knows what they’re doing.  Good fighters never hold a knife the way you would when cutting food.  It is best used when held against the forearm.  In defense, this makes a block more effective and in offense, slashing movement from any direction are going to be bad.  If a character is in a fight with a knife or trying to disarm one, they will get hurt. 

Soft areas hit with hard body parts.  Hard areas hit with soft body parts.  The neck, stomach, and other soft areas are best hit with punches, side kicks, elbows, and other hard body parts.  Head and other hard parts are best hit using a knife hand, palm strike, etc.  Spin kicks will be nasty regardless of what you’re aiming for it they land.

Common misconception with round house kicks is that you’re hitting with the top of the foot.  You’re hitting with the ball.  You’re likely to break your foot when hitting with the top.

When punching, the thumb is outside of the fist.  You’ll break something if you’re hitting with the thumb inside, which a lot of inexperienced fighters do. 

Also, punching the face or jaw can hurt. 

It can be hard to grab a punch if you’re not experienced with it despite how easy movies make it seem.  It’s best to dodge or redirect it.

Hitting to the head is not always the best idea.  It can take a bit of training to be able to reach for the head with a kick because of the height.  Flexibility is very much needed.  If there are problems with their hips or they just aren’t very flexible, kicks to the head aren’t happening.

Jump kicks are a good way to hit the head, but an opponent will see it coming if it’s too slow or they are fast/experienced.

A good kick can throw an opponent back or knock them to the ground.  If the person you’ve hit has experience though, they’ll immediately be getting up again.

Even if they’ve trained for years in a martial art, if they haven’t actually hit anything before or gotten hit, it will be slightly stunning for the person.  It does not feel the way you expect it too.

Those yells in martial arts are not just for show.  If done right, they tighten your core making it easier to take a hit in that area.  Also, they can be used to intimidate an opponent.  Yelling or screaming right by their ear can startle someone.  (Generally, KHR fans look at Squalo for yelling)

Biting can also be used if someone’s grabbing you.  Spitting in someone’s eyes can’t hurt.  Also, in a chokehold or if someone is trying to grab your neck in general, PUT YOU CHIN DOWN.  This cuts off access and if they’re grabbing in the front can dig into their hand and hurt.

Wrist grabs and other grabs can be good.  Especially if it’s the first move an opponent makes and the character is trained, there are simple ways to counter that will have a person on their knees in seconds..

Use what your character has to their advantage.  If they’re smaller or have less mass, then they’ll be relying on speed, intelligence, evasion, and other similar tactics.  Larger opponents will be able to take hits better, they’re hits may be slower depending on who it is but will hurt like hell if they land, and size can be intimidating.   Taller people with longer legs will want to rely on kicking and keeping their distance since they have the advantage there.  Shorter people will want to keep the distance closer where it’s easier for them but harder for a taller opponent.  Punching is a good idea.

Using a person’s momentum against them is great.  There’s martial arts that revolve around this whole concept.  They throw a punch?  Grab it and pull them forward and around.  Their momentum will keep them going and knock them off balance. 

Leverage can used in the same way.  If used right, you can flip a person, dislocate a shoulder, throw out a knee, etc.

One note on adrenaline:  All that was said above is true about it.  But, in a fight, it can also make you more aware of what’s going on.  A fight that lasts twenty seconds can feel like a minute because time seems to almost slow down while moving extremely rapidly.  You only have so much time to think about what you’re doing.  You’re taking in information constantly and trying to adjust.  Even in the slow down adrenaline gives you, everything is moving very rapidly. 

Feelings will be your downfall even more so than adrenaline.  Adrenaline can make those feelings more intense, but a good fighter has learned not to listen to those feelings.  A good fighter may feel anger at being knocked down or in some way humiliated - their pride taken down.  Yet they will not act on the anger.  Acting on it makes a fighter more instinctive and many will charge without thinking.  Losing control of anything (adrenaline rush, emotions, technique, etc) can be a terrible thing in a fight.

Just thought I’d add in here.

[bamonnineties]

YES. YES.

[masterofenthropy-blog]

Thank you so much for this list. It’s totally what me and many potential writers need. I’m actually copying this in a word document and reblogging it just in case I lose the list.

[el-norawrites]

Build a fantasy religion

i didn’t see around a lot of indications about this, so i decide of making some short, direct and usefull indication based even on my experience. (feel free to add tips) 

Why create a religion for my world?: 

Religion is a big part of every culture that can influence the daylife of larg group of people so it’s important to define it if present in your world. The other thing is that is a good way for worldbuild, you can define the life of people, the way cities are built and the way of think of the population.

Where to start:

- Polytheist or monotheist: choose the type of religion that fit better your world, it’s important because polytheist and monotheist religions have some differencesthat have relevance when you write. (not only the number of gods but for example how gods are workship or how are build temples)

-Read about real religions: this is a good base and you are going to see a lot of aspect that you have to take count of. Reinterpret is a way of creating a new one, so you can take prinples for example.

-Decide the characteristics of the God/s: After have a clear idea of what you want to do (example: religion similar to Romans’ one or a mix between Egyptians and Greeks gods) you have to put cleare some poits:

Is you god/s good or bad? : so how is see by humans, what is famous for, which is their temper, is revengeful or their forgive, if it is feared or loved or both. If you create more gods then you can decide to make them represent somenthing.

Did your god/s in contact with humans?: The relationship with humans; so if they are between humans and if humans know about it. In this case when and how they do so. If they don’t meet humans you have to decide if they communicate with them and how.

Physical appearance: if they had a physical appearance describe it or describe characteristics that the god have when in physical form.

- Worship: While the poits before where about the poit of wiew of the God/s, you have always to define how humans venerate God/s. Some points:

Is all the population religious?: This is important because there you can determine the relationship between who belive and who not or between different religions. Or say if is imposed.

What role have religion in the State: So if religion have a political power, how much power have and if is used for good or for bad.

What are the religion institutions: There is a leader of the cult, what are the offices and how they are built, how much the istitutions influence the population. 

Where: where is workshiop God/s (temples or churches or at home)

HOW: this is probably the most important aspect but the more compless too. Here you need to define how people practice their own religion so if they only pray or do make sacrifices, if there are rules that influence the daily life, if there are festivity or particular ritual, if there are simbols that are workship.

The Name: The name can be 1 word or more but it’s better if not more than 4 because it have to be somenthing that affect. It can be a word or a period that describe a foundamental principe of your new religion, or somenting like “The believe of X” .

A thing that is always good to keep in mind is that religions tend to give a sense of belonging to the believers. This can be use in a lot of way and is a important specially if your new religion have political power or a big influence on population.

I hope it help someone. (feel free to add tips)

[rfaimagining-deactivated2019012]

nearly 200 writing prompts // feel free to reblog

Angst:

1: “ Give me a chance. ” 2: “ Not you again.. ” 3: “ Leave me alone. ” 4: “ I don’t love you anymore. ” 5: “ Why do you hate me? ” 6: “ I lost the baby. ” 7: “ I thought you loved me. ” 8: “ I don’t need you anymore. ” 9:“ I can’t believe you! ” 10: “ We cant keep this up forever. ” 11: “ You’re a monster. ” 12: “ I hate you. ” 13: “ Don’t leave me… ” 14: “ You’re a disappointment. ” 15: “ Don’t die on me– Please. ” 16: “ I never meant to hurt you. ” 17: “ Are you upset with me? ” 18: “ I wish i’d never met you. ” 19: “ I’m going to kill you! ” 20: “ Please don’t hurt me like this. ” 21: “ Thanks for nothing. ” 22: “ Dont call this number again. “ 23: “ Why did you spare me? ” 24: “ You need to leave. ” 25: “ I’m sick. ” 26: “ I’m dying. ” 27: “ I wish i’d never met you. ” 28: “ I thought we were family!” 29: “ There was never an us. ” 30: “ So that’s it? It’s over? ” 31: “ I fucked up. ” 32: “ I came to say goodbye. ” 33:“ He’s dead because of you. ” 34: “ I don’t deserve to be loved. ” 35: “ About the baby… Its yours. ”

Love:

36: “ I’m so in love with you. ” 37: “ Dance with me! ” 38: “ Isn’t this amazing? ” 39: “ I wish we could stay like this forever. ” 40: “ Will you marry me? ” 41: “ I’m pregnant. ” 42: “ I need a hug. ” 43: “ You’re special to me. ” 44: “ I’m going to keep you safe. ” 45: “ Do you trust me? ” 46: “ Can I kiss you right now? ” 47: “ You’re cute when you’re angry. ” 48: “ I’ve liked you for awhile now. ” 49: “ Lets have a baby. ” 50: “ We’d make such a cute couple. ” 51: “ I want to take care of you. ” 52: “ Can we cuddle? ” 53: “ It’s lonely here without you. ” 54: “ I can’t stand the thought of loosing you. ” 55: “ Shut up and kiss me already. ” 56: “ Are you flirting with me? ” 57: “ Is that my shirt? ” 58: “ How did we get here? ” 59: “ You own my heart. ” 60: “ You’d be a great dad. ” 61: “ You’d be a great mom. ” 62: “ I want to protect you. ” 63: “ Whats the matter? ” 64: “ You’re so beautiful. ” 65: “ Did you do something different with your hair? ” 66: “ Is that a new perfume? ” 67: “ Stop being so cute. ” 68: “ You’re making me blush! ” 69: “ You’re teasing me again… ” 70: “ This is why I fell in love with you. ” 71: “ You’re the best! ” 72: “ They’re going to love you, don’t worry! ” 73: “ Oh, Are you ticklish? ” 74: “ Of course I remembered! ” 75: “ You’re one hell of a girl. ” 76: “ You’re one hell of a guy. ” 77: “ Are you jealous? ” 78: “ Hold me and never let me go. ” 79: “ Stop hogging all the blankets! ” 80: “ Lets run away together. ”

General:

90: “ Catch me if you can! ” 91: “ I’m fine. ” 92: “ Are you drunk? ” 93: “ Are you high? ” 94: “ We cant go in there… ” 95: “ Give it back! ” 96: “ Well this is just great. ” 97: “ Don’t touch me. ” 98: “ Not sure if you could tell, but I’m not exactly a people person. ” 99: “ This was fun— Lets do it again sometime!” 100: “ I didn’t do it! ” 101: “ I did it… ” 102: “ I don’t remember that! ” 103: “ Well that’s pretty rude of you to say. ” 104: “ Get that thing away from me! ” 105: “ You owe me. ” 106: “ Do you believe in aliens? ” 107: “ Do you believe in ghosts? ” 108: “ Are you hitting on me? ” 109: “ Why are you naked? ” 110: “ You did what?! ” 111: “ You have… Superpowers? ” 112: “ Why are you bleeding? ” 113: “ Where did all these puppies come from?” 114: “ Don’t make me come over there myself! ” 115: “ That wasn’t funny. ” 116: “ This tastes horrible. ” 117: “ This is delicious! ” 118: “ Are you mad at me? ” 119: “ Stop ignoring me… ” 120: “ I love that show too! ” 121: “ Can I borrow that book of yours?” 122: “ Lets blow this joint. ” 123: “ Let me help you with that. ” 124: “ Take that back! ” 125: “ Wanna go see a movie with me? ” 126: “ No way, that’s so lame. ” 127: “ What are you listening to? ” 128: “ I brought you your coffee. ” 129: “ Don’t fuck this up. ” 130: “ Run! ” 131: “ Lets run away together. ” 132: “ I haven’t slept in four days… ” 133: “ Your turn to do the dishes. ” 134: “ Was I really that drunk? ” 135: “ Was I really that stoned? ” 136: “Give me back my phone! ” 137: “ You’re an asshole. ” 138: “ Are you cold? ” 139: “ This place gives me the creeps. ” 140: “ I swear my house is haunted. ” 141: “ Did you hear that? ” 142: “ It’s just your imagination. ” 143: “ Just how stupid do you think I am? ” 144: “ Stop being such a baby. ” 145: “ Go back to bed. ” 146: “ Are you okay? ” 147: “ I can take care of myself just fine.” 148: “ Thanks for helping me back there. ” 149: “ Since when have we ever been friends? ” 150: “ What on earth are you wearing? ” 151: “ I can’t feel my legs! ” 152: “ Stop texting me weird stuff so late at night. ” 153: “ Put me down! ” 154: “ There’s only one bed… ” 155: “ It isn’t what it looks like! Okay.. Maybe it is… ” 156: “ How did I loose it? ” 157: “ I read your diary. ” 158: “ This is awkward. ” 159: “ Didn’t you read the sign? ” 160: “ Do you think you can teach me that? ”

Below is NSFW prompts. Please if you’re rebloggling tell your followers if you’re interested or not in taking these sorts of requests.

Sexual: 161: “ Bite me. ” 162: “ Make me. ” 163: “ Fuck me. ” 164: “ Stop teasing me so much… ” 165: “ Do you like it when I touch you like that?” 166: “ Okay.. This is new. ” 167: “ Want to head back to my place and have a little fun? ” 168: “ You’re in trouble now. ” 169: “ What a pretty sight. ” 170: “ Bend over. ” 171: “ On your knees. ” 172: “ The food looks great but.. There’s something much more delicious i’d like to eat right now. ” 173: “ Lay back. ” 174: “ Take off your clothes. ” 175: “ Well, fine; just this once. ” 176: “ I’m waiting. ” 177: “ You’re so beautiful. ” 178:“ As you wish. ” 179: “ First one to make a noise looses.” 180: “ You have no idea what you do to me. ” 181: “ If you’re bored; Wanna have sex? ” 182: “ Ive wanted this for so long. ” 183: “ Car sex looks so much more easier in the movies. ” 184: “ Can I touch you? ” 185: “ Open up. ” 186: “ No strings attached. ” 187: “ Already? Do I really have that much of an effect on you? ” 188: “ Mine. ” 189: “ The nights still young. ” 190: “ We cant do that here! ” 191: “ Behave. ” 192:“ What did you just say? ” 193: “ Good girl. ” 194: “ Good boy. ” 195: “ Come here. ”

[wayfaringnovelist-blog]

5 Things I’ve I’ve Learned While Writing My First Manuscript

Hello and welcome to my first blog post! I’m Laura – an aspiring writer, as you may have guessed by the title of this post – and I, like many others, have made a lot of horrible mistakes and revelations with my first manuscript. While I’m only halfway through my first draft, being the masochistic, self-embarrassing person that I am, I thought I’d share what those lessons were.

1.      The first line is hard.

It’s even harder when you put all this pressure on it that you really don’t need. It’s just a collection of words, just like the rest of the novel.

Don’t fret.

2.     Don’t go back and edit.

There were so many times when I finished a chapter or a scene and then realized: Shit. That’s not how I mapped that character. Or, oh my god, I just missed out a HUGELY important part of that character’s backstory.

What I’ve learned is that it’s the hardest but the best thing you can do for your novel to just. Keep. Pushing. Through.

You’ve got to grit your teeth and remember that this is what second drafts are for, because if you go back and rewrite something every time you notice a mistake, you’ll never finish the stupid thing.

3.     Outlines can be really fun. Or they can be torture.

This lesson is kind of unavoidable as a newbie writer. If you’ve never outlined your book before, you won’t know what sort of outline you like. So you could get 20,000 words into the story (like me), realize you screwed up your outline because you did it on Word instead of post-it notes, and lose your damn mind.

“Why is everything so disorganized!?” You scream, before slamming your head against the keyboard for the millionth time.

Take a deep breath. Stop writing. Redo your freaking outline.

4.     Finish ALL character construction before you start writing.

I didn’t take this step seriously because I didn’t take my writing seriously in the beginning; it was just something I was dabbling in which I hadn’t done in years.

But if you’re considering writing a novel, you have to finish all your character construction 100% before you can start the novel.

A lot of my characters have half-finished outlines. So sadly, I’m gonna have to take a break from all the fun writing I’ve been doing to map them out halfway through the story.

5.     Don’t be too hard on yourself.

I’m actually pretty good at remembering this lesson, but I think every writer finds it invaluable.

You don’t need to be the next F. Scott Fitzgerald in the writing world to have an incredible work in your hands – or, well, your head.

Remember that it’s okay to make the above mistakes, and many more (seriously, I could list hundreds). Just push the negative thoughts away for a moment, and keep tapping at that keyboard. Good things are bound to come out of it if you work hard enough.

So that’s all I’ve got to say on the subject. I’m sure I’ll have plenty more to talk about once my novel is finished and once I move onto the editing phase for my novel. Thanks for reading this far and I’d love to hear some feedback!

[wordsnstuff]

Editing  & Proofreading Cheat Sheet

– A lot of questions I receive revolve around editing and proofreading, so I decided to make an extensive guide to editing your own writing. I collaborated with some amazing friends on this post so this is dedicated to them as well as all of you. I hope you find it useful. Enjoy!

Know The Difference: Editing vs. Proofreading

Editing is about the content, proofreading is about the technical detail and accuracy. Once you know the difference and you separate the two into different tasks, going through and actually doing it will seem less daunting. Deciding which to tacking first depends on what you’re like when you edit, but if you struggling with focusing on actually improving the content because you get distracted by grammatical errors and spelling mistakes, then proofreading first may be a good idea. 

Be Intentional With Your Vocabulary

Avoid adverbs

Be frugal with unique adjectives

Only use dialogue tags when absolutely necessary

Be mindful of overused words

Take the time to find the right words

The words you choose can make all the difference so pay special attention to them.

Just Keep Snipping

A basic rule to editing that people often forget it, if it doesn’t serve a purpose, you should cut it out. A short book that is amazing all the way through is better than a long book that is redundant. Don’t worry about leaving your readers in the dark or not having enough content. As you edit, you’ll find ways and places in which to input more information.

Flow & Rhythm

This is the part where you make sure the writing itself sounds how you want it to. It’s important to read your writing aloud during this stage. Some things to pay attention to regarding flow and rhythm:

sentence length/variation

sentence structure

syllables and how they fit together

how your writing sounds out loud

Eloquence

Say it once and say it clearly. Redundancy bores readers so quickly, so when putting information forward, be clear, concise, and don’t add fluff. You don’t need to write a whole paragraph about how a character feels in a situation. It’s important to give the reader just enough to read between the lines.

Grammar

Common Grammar Mistakes To Look For

Subject-verb agreement errors

Sentence Fragments

Missing Comma After Introductory Element

Misusing The Apostrophe With “Its”

No Comma In A Compound Sentence

Misplaced Or Dangling Modifier

Vague Pronoun Reference

Wrong Word Usage

Run-On Sentence

Superfluous Commas

Lack Of Parallel Structure

Sentence Sprawl

Comma Splice

Colon Mistakes

Split Infinitives

List from here x {Explains these further and more in depth}

Improper Use of Phrases

“could have” not “could of”

“My friends and I” not “me and my friends” {If you take away “my friends” or “I”, or one of the nouns in a sentence in general, the sentence should still make sense}

“I couldn’t care less” not “I could care less”. This should be a no-brainer.

etc.. I could go on.

Familiarize yourself with these common mistakes and avoid making them at all costs. It’s also helpful to have someone read over it and let you know when they find issues with phrases you used. Please be attentive to these mistakes because making them can destroy your credibility as a writer.

Utilize The Senses

If you’re describing something in your writing, you should be slipping in words and little details that appeal to the reader’s senses, When editing, look for opportunities to slip in how a place smells, how a food tastes, how something feels to the touch, etc. It’s unbelievable how much this enhances your story.

Punctuation & Format

Punctuation Rules In English

the period (or full stop in British English)

the comma

the exclamation mark

the question mark

the colon

the semicolon

the quotation mark

the apostrophe

the hyphen and the dash

parentheses and brackets

Source x

When proofreading and marking up your manuscript, it can save a lot of time and energy if you use marks instead of actually write out everything, so here is a little chart I found that may be useful to you:

Other Things To Look Out For

Make sure you know who is talking

Keep tense consistent

Vary the tone from scene to scene

Run-on sentences

Inconsistencies in story details

Plot holes

Causes and effects of events are explained

Facts and technical details {Make sure you’ve researched them well}

Deviations from established background (know your story really really well and make sure your reader does too)

General Tips

Go in assuming that your work is full of errors. Maybe it’s not, but it’s better to be prepared for the worst and solve the issues now rather than when it’s too late

DO NOT BE SENTIMENTAL. Yes, easier said than done, but it’s possible. 

Make the text less recognizable to yourself in order to catch details you may not otherwise.

Print out your manuscript and physically write out the changes.

Read your writing out loud. Sometimes writing looks like it makes sense, but in reality sounds wrong. 

Do it in short periods over time so that you don’t inevitably get lazy with paying attention to little details

Keep in mind that editing usually takes longer than actually writing the draft because it is less fluid and requires more thought and problem solving.

Don’t rely on spelling and/or grammar checking software; they’re not always correct and can easily misinterpret what you’re trying to get across. 

Check for a single error at a time. It may be time consuming and tedious but it’s more effective than the alternative.

Give yourself time and read slowly through it multiple times

Split up large chunks of text to make it easier to handle. Don’t go through your whole manuscript page by page as if you were just reading it as a book. Go chapter by chapter or scene by scene or even sentence by sentence.

If something seems off, investigate it. Don’t take a chance and leave it be. If you’re stumped, highlight it and have someone else look over it.

Have a strategy. Maybe not at first, especially if you don’t extensively edit your work regularly, but with time you’ll find what works for you and what doesn’t. Create your own system and use it to save yourself some time and confusion.

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[thecharacterchick]

Your Character’s Personality

Personality is the most important thing about your character.

So, whenever I see character sheets, most people just put a little paragraph for that section. If you’re struggling and don’t know what your character should say or do, what decisions they should make, I guarantee you that this is the problem.

You know your character’s name, age, race, sexuality, height, weight, eye color, hair color, their parents’ and siblings’ names. But these are not the things that truly matter about them.

Traits: 

pick traits that don’t necessarily go together. For example, someone who is controlling, aggressive and vain can also be generous, sensitive and soft-spoken. Characters need to have at least one flaw that really impacts how they interact with others. Positive traits can work as flaws, too. It is advised that you pick at least ten traits

people are complex, full of contradictions, and please forgive me if this makes anyone uncomfortable, but even bullies can be “nice” people. Anyone can be a “bad” person, even someone who is polite, kind, helpful or timid can also be narcissistic, annoying, inconsiderate and a liar. People are not just “evil” or “good”

Beliefs:

ideas or thoughts that your character has or thinks about the world, society, others or themselves, even without proof or evidence, or which may or may not be true. Beliefs can contradict their values, motives, self-image, etc. For example, the belief that they are an awesome and responsible person when their traits are lazy, irresponsible and shallow. Their self-image and any beliefs they have about themselves may or may not be similar/the same. They might have a poor self-image, but still believe they’re better than everybody else

Values:

what your character thinks is important. Usually influenced by beliefs, their self-image, their history, etc. Some values may contradict their beliefs, wants, traits, or even other values. For example, your character may value being respect, but one of their traits is disrespectful. It is advised you list at least two values, and know which one they value more. For example, your character values justice and family. Their sister tells them she just stole $200 from her teacher’s wallet. Do they tell on her, or do they let her keep the money: justice, or family? Either way, your character probably has some negative feelings, guilt, anger, etc., over betraying their other value

Motives:

what your character wants. It can be abstract or something tangible. For example, wanting to be adored or wanting that job to pay for their father’s medication. Motives can contradict their beliefs, traits, values, behavior, or even other motives. For example, your character may want to be a good person, but their traits are selfish, manipulative, and narcissistic. Motives can be long term or short term. Everyone has wants, whether they realize it or not. You can write “they don’t know what they want,” but you should know. It is advised that you list at least one abstract want

Recurring Feelings:

feelings that they have throughout most of their life. If you put them down as a trait, it is likely they are also recurring feelings. For example, depressed, lonely, happy, etc.

Self Image:

what the character thinks of themselves: their self-esteem. Some character are proud of themselves, others are ashamed of themselves, etc. They may think they are not good enough, or think they are the smartest person in the world. Their self-image can contradict their beliefs, traits, values, behavior, motives, etc. For example, if their self-image is poor, they can still be a cheerful or optimistic person. If they have a positive self-image, they can still be a depressed or negative person. How they picture themselves may or may not be true: maybe they think they’re a horrible person, when they are, in fact, very considerate, helpful, kind, generous, patient, etc. They still have flaws, but flaws don’t necessarily make you a terrible person

Behavior:

how the character’s traits, values, beliefs, self-image, etc., are outwardly displayed: how they act. For example, two characters may have the trait “angry” but they all probably express it differently. One character may be quiet and want to be left alone when they are angry, the other could become verbally aggressive. If your character is a liar, do they pause before lying, or do they suddenly speak very carefully when they normally don’t? Someone who is inconsiderate may have issues with boundaries or eat the last piece of pizza in the fridge when they knew it wasn’t theirs. Behavior is extremely important and it is advised you think long and hard about your character’s actions and what exactly it shows about them

Demeanor:

their general mood and disposition. Maybe they’re usually quiet, cheerful, moody, or irritable, etc.

Posture:

a secondary part of your character’s personality: not as important as everything else. It is advised you fill this out after. Posture is how the character carries themselves. For example, perhaps they swing their arms and keep their shoulders back while they walk, which seems to be the posture of a confident person, so when they sit, their legs are probably open. Another character may slump and have their arms folded when they’re sitting, and when they’re walking, perhaps they drag their feet and look at the ground

Speech Pattern:

a secondary part of your character’s personality: not as important as everything else. It is advised you fill this out after. Speech patterns can be words that your character uses frequently, if they speak clearly, what sort of grammar they use, if they have a wide vocabulary, a small vocabulary, if it’s sophisticated, crude, stammering, repeating themselves, etc. I personally don’t have a very wide vocabulary, if you could tell

Hobbies:

a secondary part of your character’s personality: not as important as everything else. It is advised you fill this out after. Hobbies can include things like drawing, writing, playing an instrument, collecting rocks, collecting tea cups, etc.

Quirks:

a secondary part of your character’s personality, not as important as everything else. It is advised you fill this out after. Quirks are behaviors that are unique to your character. For example, I personally always put my socks on inside out and check the ceiling for spiders a few times a day

Likes:

a secondary part of your character’s personality, not as important as everything else. It is advised you fill this out after. Likes and dislikes are usually connected to the rest of their personality, but not necessarily. For example, if your character likes to do other people’s homework, maybe it’s because they want to be appreciated

Dislikes:

a secondary part of your character’s personality, not as important as everything else. It is advised you fill this out after. Likes and dislikes can also contradict the rest of their personality. For example, maybe one of your character’s traits is dishonest, but they dislike liars

History:

your character’s past that has key events that influence and shape their beliefs, values, behavior, wants, self-image, etc. Events written down should imply or explain why they are the way they are. For example, if your character is distrustful, maybe they were lied to a lot by their parents when they were a child. Maybe they were in a relationship for twenty years and found out their partner was cheating on them the whole time. If their motive/want is to have positive attention, maybe their parents just didn’t praise them enough and focused too much on the negative

On Mental and Physical Disabilities or Illnesses

if your character experienced a trauma, it needs to have an affect on your character. Maybe they became more angry or impatient or critical of others. Maybe their beliefs on people changed to become “even bullies can be ‘nice’ people: anyone can be a ‘bad’ person”

people are not their illness or disability: it should not be their defining trait. I have health anxiety, but I’m still idealistic, lazy, considerate, impatient and occasionally spiteful; I still want to become an author; I still believe that people are generally good; I still value doing what make me feel comfortable; I still have a positive self-image; I’m still a person. You should fill out your character’s personality at least half-way before you even touch on the possibility of your character having a disability or illness

Generally everything about your character should connect, but hey, even twins that grew up in the same exact household have different personalities; they value different things, have different beliefs. Maybe one of them watched a movie that had a huge impact on them.

Not everything needs to be explained. Someone can be picky or fussy ever since they were little for no reason at all. Someone can be a negative person even if they grew up in a happy home.

I believe this is a thought out layout for making well-rounded OCs, antagonists and protagonists, whether they’re being created for a roleplay or for a book. This layout is also helpful for studying Canon Characters if you’re looking to accurately roleplay as them or write them in fanfiction or whatever.

I’m really excited to post this, so hopefully I didn’t miss anything important…

If you have any questions, feel free to send a message.

- Chick

[thedancingwriter]

Brevity: How to Write Less and Say More

Brevity is difficult to accomplish. For me, it takes several rounds of edits. For authors more experienced than I, it might take less.

Stick to your point. Don’t keep all your dumped thoughts on paper. Find the point of all those thoughts and edit them down to  a singular point.

Don’t waste words. So I found these edits from that one action chapter I spoke of in my Writing Effective Action Scenes post. Here is both the unedited and published versions.

Theosodore is right. My anger is my strength. If there was anything that could ever persuade me to fight in a situation that seems beyond hopeless, it is seething rage. The rage takes me back to the barn where Colette was trying to teach me how to control my fire. I almost had a grasp on the tempting flames then, almost felt like I would have had full control had Colette not invaded the blackness of my thoughts. Now that feeling is back, and this time, I have the fear just underneath the skin of my palm. All I have to do is snap my fingers and–

Published version:

Theosodore is right. My anger is my strength. The feeling takes me back to the barn where Colette tried to teach me how to control my fire. I almost had a grasp on the tempting flames then. Now the feeling is back. I focus on it, drawing the anger down into the skin of my palm, letting it heat my skin until it’s almost unbearable. All I have to do is snap my fingers and–

Notice that the published version is two lines shorter than the unedited version. There was no reason for me to repeat that “seething rage” could help her fight, when “My anger is my strength” is enough to signal that all it takes is anger. I also didn’t need to repeat that the RAGE helped her remember. That’s treating my readers like they’re dumb. Then “I ALMOST had a grasp on the tempting flames then” is all that needs to be said. Readers can already infer why she couldn’t grasp her flames from a previous chapter. As for the next sentence, it was edited to emphasize her anger. So the published paragraph says more than the unpublished paragraph, yes?

Don’t think about word count, but value. Having a 100,000 word novel (this is often only accepted for sequels) doesn’t mean you’re being wordy. Oftentimes it means you’re developing your world and characters more from the previous book in the series. So think about the value of each word you’re using.

Passive voice.  This can add unnecessary words. Sometimes you can’t avoid passive voice, but oftentimes you can.

Passive voice: Canes and wheelchairs are used by people who have some form of physical disability.

Active voice: People with physical disabilities often use canes or wheelchairs.

Not only did I change it to the active voice, but I also cut out some words.

Use strong verbs instead of adverbs.

I ran quickly to the door.

Use I dashed to the door instead. ‘Dashed’ has more urgency than ‘I ran quickly.’

Avoid redundancy. Refer to the ‘don’t waste words’ point with the unedited version. The third sentence is redundant.

Use punchy sentences. Long sentences aren’t a sin, but if you can convey your point in fewer words, do it.

Unedited version of a scene in When Stars Die: A loud rumbling breaks through the shadows, hurling my entire back back into the present, where I’m dodging fire while being subjected to cruel words.

Published version: A loud rumbling breaks through the shadows, hurling me back into the present as I make a hard turn to dodge another ball of fire.

Don’t say something over and over again. Not only does this assume your readers are dumb, but you only need to state your point once. The sequel to When Stars Die is still going through revisions, but my publisher caught me on this one. He even said I’m treating my readers like they’re dumb, so even I’m not perfect.

Keep your sentence structure varied. Don’t use long sentence after long sentence after long sentence, unless there is a stylistic reason for this.

Experience is your ally. Just keep writing and receiving critique from experienced writers.

Thursday’s post will be about using commas. So many of my editorial clients struggle with how to use these.

[wordsnstuff]

Resources For Describing Characters

Physical Appearance

Arms

Athletic Build

Back

Butts

Cheeks

Chest

Chins

Curvy Build

Ears

Eyebrows

Eyes

Faces

Facial Hair

Feet

Fingernails

Fingers

Hair

Hands

Head

Hips

Jaws

Knees

Legs

Lips

Muscular Build

Neck

Noses

Shoulders

Slender Build

Sickly Build

Skin

Stocky Build

Stomach

Teeth

Toenails

Toes

Underweight Build

Character Traits

Affectionate

Ambitious

Bossy

Brave

Calm

Cautious

Charismatic

Clever

Conceited

Courageous

Creative

Critical

Curious

Determined

Diplomatic

Dishonest

Disorganized

Eccentric

Excitable

Friendly

Funny

Generous

Glamorous

Guarded

Honest

Impulsive

Independent

Intelligent

Just

Kind

Loyal

Manipulative

Mature

Modest

Mysterious

Naïve

Optimistic

Prejudiced

Persistent

Proper

Responsible

Sensitive

Sentimental

Serious

Shy

Reckless

Stingy

Stubborn

Talented

Thoughtful

Thrifty

Visionary

Wise

Witty

Worry Wart

Wounded

Talents & Skills

A Knack for Languages

A Knack for Making Money

A Way with Animals

Archery

Astral Projection

Astrological Divination

Baking

Basic First Aid

Blending In

Carpentry

Charm

ESP (Clairvoyance)

Empathy

Enhanced Hearing

Enhanced Sense of Smell

Enhanced Taste Buds

Farming

Fishing

Foraging

Gaining the Trust of Others

Gaming

Gardening

Good Listening Skills

Haggling

Herbalism

Hospitality

Hot-Wiring a Car

High Pain Tolerance

Knife Throwing

Knowledge of Explosives

Lip-Reading

Lying

Making People Laugh

Mechanically Inclined

Mentalism

Mimicking

Multitasking

Musicality

Organization

Parkour

Photographic Memory

Predicting the Weather

Promotion

Psychokinesis

Reading People

Regeneration

Repurposing

Sculpting

Self-Defense

Sewing

Sharpshooting

Sleight-of-Hand

Strategic Thinking

Strong Breath Control

Super Strength

Survival Skills

Swift-footedness

Talking With The Dead

Throwing One’s Voice

Whittling

Wilderness Navigation

Wrestling

Elemental Abilities

Miscellaneous

Voices

Voice Types

Speech Patterns

Speech Impediment

List of Character Flaws

List of Archetypes

Hairstyles

Describing Body Types & How They Move Around

Secrets To Give Your Character

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[promptsforthestrugglingauthor]

What are your thoughts on writing stories in present tense? I've started to write stories in this tense and it feels so comfortable and I really, really like it, but a friend of mine said that only flashbacks are in present tense, not the whole story. I understand that it's not really traditional, but I just wanted to get your thoughts.

There’s plenty of stories out there written only in present tense (especially in YA.) Big names, too. The Hunger Games, Time Traveler’s Wife, Divergent, Fight Club, to name a few. Simply because a style isn’t traditional doesn’t mean it’s bad or wrong! There aren’t any real rules to writing, just each writer’s preference. You can break each and every rule so long as you do it well. While present tense isn’t my personal cup of tea, plenty of people enjoy it! Besides, if you enjoy it more and you feel most comfortable with it, by all means, there’s no reason you shouldn’t write in present tense. I’m a firm believer that the writer should please themselves above all else.

[commander-hot-pants]

So this weekend I found myself chatting with an established comic writer, he asked me about my interest in the matter and I told him I ran a webcomic but before he could even respond I qualified it with;

“Well it’s a fan comic, I’m not a real comic creator.” He was appalled.

“What do you mean you’re not a real comic creator?” He demanded. “Do you have a comic?”

“Well yeah but its a fan comic its not a real-” He literally put his hand on my shoulder to stop me.

“You have a comic. You made a comic. You’re putting in the work. You’re a real comic creator.” He told me about how one of the people he works with on a comic started by writing Mass Effect fanfiction even. I’ve been thinking about that ever since.

I’ve thought about how many times I’ve heard myself and other say things like, “Oh, I’m a writer but I write fanfiction not like real writing.” And thats so bullshit, he was right. 

If you write you’re a writer, end of story.

[commander-hot-pants]

I’ve been thinking about this again lately, I’m not always happy with my work but I’ve put hundreds of hours into the comic and that’s not something a lot of people can claim. 

[thewritershandbook]

Recommended Podcasts for Writers - Savannah Gilbo

If you’re like me, you probably spend a lot of time reading books and blog posts on writing. But sometimes we need to give our eyes and our mind a rest in order to feel… View Post

[itstartswithablankpage-deactiva]

I made this today as I find it’s a helpful tool when I make characters. I call it the 1-2-3 method.

1 value: Their core belief.

2 flaws: The limitations of the character. Things that can affect their actions and abilities.

3 traits: What makes them, them. the aspects of their behaviour and attitude.

It’s important that you justify their personality through their backstory and home life, however, and it’s good to have conflicting flaws/traits within a group which will help create tension and drama.

I’m using this today to create characters for my campnanowrimo WIP and thought I’d share.