Gina Marie Books @ginamariebooks - Tumblr Blog

frognonbinary-deactivated202412

i’ve been doing my homework on how to break into a writing career and honestly. there’s a Lot that i didn’t know about thats critical to a writing career in this day and age, and on the one hand, its understandable because we’re experiencing a massive cultural shift, but on the other hand, writers who do not have formal training in school or don’t have the connections to learn more via social osmosis end up extremely out of loop and working at a disadvantage.

frognonbinary-deactivated202412

like, i didnt know about twitter pitch parties!! i didnt know about literary agents and publishers tweeting their manuscript wishlist, in hopes that some poor soul out there has written the book they really want to read and publish!! this isnt some shit you learn about in school! you really need to know the ins and outs of the writing community to be successful!

frognonbinary-deactivated202412

for anyone interested, here’s what i’ve learned so far in my quest for more writing knowledge:

1. Writer’s Market 2019 is a great place to start– it gives you a list of magazines and journals that you can send your work to depending on the genre as well as lists a shit ton of literary agents that specify what genres they represent, how you can get in contact with them and how they accept query letters. this is a book that updates every year and tbh i only bought it this year so i dont know how critical it is to have an updated version

2. do your research. mostly on literary agents because if you listed on your site that you like to represent fluffy YA novels and some asshole sends you a 80k manuscript about like…gritty viking culture, you will be severely pissed off. always go in finding someone who you know will actually like your work because they’re the ones who will try to advocate for you in getting published.

3. learn how to write a query letter. there are slightly varying formulas to how you can write an effective query letter. you’re also going to want to get feedback on your query letter because its the first thing the literary agent will read and based on how well you do it, it could be the difference between them rejecting you outright and giving your manuscript a quick read

4. unfortunately, you’re gonna want to get a twitter. Twitter is where a lot of literary agents are nowadays, and they host things like twitter pitch parties, where you pitch your manuscript in a few sentences and hashtag it with #Pitmad #Pitdark, some version of pit. a lot of literary agents and publishers will ALSO post their manuscript wishlists, which is just the kind of books they’d like to represent/publish, and they hashtag this with #MSWL (it is NOT for writers to use, only for agents/publishers)

5. connect with other writers, literary agents, publishers at book events. you will absolutely need the connections if you want to get ahead as a writer. thats just kind of the state of the world.

promptsforthesoul

keepcalmandwritefiction

The novelist works neither to correct nor to condone, not at all to comfort, but to make what’s told alive.

Eudora Welty (via keepcalmandwritefiction)

sarahtaylorgibson

Writing a novel when you imagine all you stories in film format is hard because there’s really no written equivalent of “lens flare” or “slow motion montage backed by Gregorian choir”

audacityinblack

You can get the same effect of a lens flare with close-detail descriptions, combined with breaks to new paragraphs.

Your slow-motion montage backed by a Gregorian choir can be done with a few technques that all involve repetition.

First is epizeuxis, the repeating of a word for emphasis.

Example:

Falling. Falling. Falling. There was nothing to keep Marie from plunging into the rolling river below. She could only hope for a miracle now, that she would come out alive somehow despite a twenty-foot drop into five-foot-deep water.

Then there’s anaphora, where you write a number of phrases with the same words at the beginning.

There were still mages out there living in terror of shining steel armor emblazoned with the Sword of Mercy.

There were still mages out there being forced by desperation into the clutches of demons.

There were mages out there being threatened with Tranquility as punishment for their disobedience, and the threats were being made good upon.

Mages who had attempted to flee, but knew nothing of the outside world and were forced to return to their prison out of need for sustenance and shelter.

Mages who only desired to find the families they were torn from.

Mages who only wanted to see the sun.

This kind of repetition effectively slows the pace of your writing and puts the focus on that small scene. That’s where you get your slow pan. The same repetition also has a subtle musicality to it depending on the words you use. That’s where you get the same vibe as you might get from a Gregorian choir.

sarahtaylorgibson

Damn I made relatable reblog- bait post and writer Tumblr went hard with it. This is legitimately very good advice.

ariaste

For more neat tricks (aka figures of rhetoric) like epizeuxis and anaphora, read THE ELEMENTS OF ELOQUENCE by Mark Forsyth. It’s both educational and delightful, not to mention overflowing with wry wit. Great book.

just-a-jumbled-writer

Holy shit.

shiraglassman

These sound like techniques for making prose have more in common with poetry, or even with music. I just put the book on hold at the library!

writeouswriter

I use these techniques all the time! I didn’t even realize they had names or were a thing!

livingdeadwriteblr

PSA TO WRITERS

You can have a palatable piece of writing without it being minimalist.

In fact, your writing can even be amazing! Without cutting out every word some tumblr post or writing seminar told you to.

We make gut decisions during the first or second draft to describe things in certain ways, and sometimes those decisions are right! Even if they’re elaborate! Even if they’re “clunky”! Because someone out there is going to love how vivid that imagery was.

I’m tired of being told to cut my writing down to bare bones just to suit people who think fiction is supposed to be utilitarian. Fiction is for fun, for stretching your creativity, and if ya wanna throw in an extra descriptor, do it for Pete’s sake!

lasrina

Ah, the “If George R. R. Martin can spend four pages describing food that someone’s gonna get killed before they can eat, then I can keep my g–d– extraneous adverb” rule.

queen-of-the-merry-men

When writing always remember… a character flaw is only a flaw until becomes useful.

Is your protagonist manipulative? Well that’s awful… until they manipulate the antagonist into making a decision that saves the lives of their friends.

Is your protagonist a skeptic? Well that’s not good… until someone tries to lie to them.

Is your protagonist overprotective? That sucks… until someone they love is in danger.

Is your protagonist remorseless? Well that makes them pretty unlikeable… until a hard decision has to be made.

nudityandnerdery

chasingshhadows

Advice for writing about small towns

So I come from a small (midwestern) town. And I mean - an actual small town (less than 1,500 population). I’ve lived in towns of under 500 population, and in towns of about 2,500 population, and in towns of 15k population, and in cities of 100k, and currently in a 700k city.

So here’s some things about small towns you might not know if you’ve never lived in one:

If it’s got a population higher than 30 thousand, it’s not a small town. It’s just a town. Hell, I’d probably argue that if it has a population higher than 10 thousand it’s not small town, but I’m being generous. However the people in towns 30k–50k probably think they’re in a small town (they’re not).

The experience is vastly different depending on how far you are from a small-large city. And by that I mean - the people are vastly different.

Are you less than 60min drive to a city of 80k+ population? the people are probably less likely to be farmers, more likely to work in said small-large city and commute (which doesn’t mean that everyone commutes or that no one is a farmer). The people probably lean slightly to the right of the closest city, but aren’t necessarily staunch conservatives. The town sizes probably bottom out around 2k min.

Are you more than 2hrs drive from a city of 80k+ population? The town is more self-sufficient. Most work within their small town or a nearby small town. Depending on the terrain, more people are farmers. They’re probably mostly conservative, both socially and fiscally. The town sizes could be as small as 300 people.

The farther from the city, the more likely to be conservative, more likely to be farmers (depending on the terrain).

Population 15k+:

This town probably has a (singular) hospital, several doctor’s offices, probably a dozen department stores - and if it’s rural enough, probably a couple kinds of hardware/diy type stores (lowe’s, menard’s, home depot etc.)

There are several options for vets and at least one emergency vet

1-2 dozen hotels

If it’s got anything touristy, double the hotels (2-3 dozen) - touristy being water, especially large lakes, hiking trails, fesitvals, nearby ski resort - any thing that would draw people there on vacation, even if it’s only people from that region

Also add a “down town” area - boutiques, nice restaurants, probably a theatre

It has at least 4 options of elementary schools, and 3 options each for middle and high schools. It might have a community college (but probably not). There are private or charter options, specifically for religious students

There are multiple denominations of churches (catholic, lutheran, baptist, episcopal etc). Depending on ethnic make-up, it may or may not have a synagogue. It probably won’t have a mosque.

If it’s in a rural-ish area (the closest towns are all smaller) it probably has some kind of shopping mall. If it’s the smaller town, it may not.

It’ll have several bars, probably clustered in a central location, with a few others a little farther out from that area.

This town has a few coffee shops (3-10), but may or may not have an actual starbucks. At least one is a local place, at least one is a chain (starbucks, dunkin, biggby).

People drive everywhere. There is a bus system, but only the “down town” area would have issues finding parking. Most businesses/hotels have their own parking lot.

Most people live in houses but there are a few (3-7) apartment complexes, most of which are several buildings

There will be lots of restaurants, mostly chains or small mom & pop places, with at least a couple niceish options

This town might even have its own airport, but likely only serves regional flights to “nearby” larger towns/cities. Regional means like, less than 2hr flights, so that’s probably a bigger distance than you’d think.

There are dozens of gas stations and at least a dozen fast food places

Is it on a freeway? increase the gas stations, fast food places, department stores etc.

This town probably has a rec-type center with a community pool and courts and what not. There are several options of gyms.

Population 10k ish:

May or may not have a hospital - if it does, it’s small. A few doctor’s offices, a couple of department stores, at least one hardware/diy type

A few vets, may or may not have an emergency vet

a dozen or so hotels. again - double that if it’s got smth that would attract people, especially water.

may or may not have a “down town” area

2-4 options at least of elementary, 2-3 options of middle and high school. No community college.

Still at least a few options of churches. Still might have a synagogue, still probably doesn’t have a mosque.

Probably doesn’t have a shopping mall, but might have a “business district - basically a few intersections with most of the stores, hotels, and restaurants.

Probably has at least two, maybe three coffee shops. At least one is a chain.

Probably doesn’t have its own bus system unless it’s near enough to a town of 15k+ or more - people drive everywhere. There’s plenty of parking.

Most people live in houses, but there are a couple of apartment complexes. Mostish of the houses have yards, but some might not.

A few options of restaurants, but maybe only 1-2 niceish places. A couple chain, a couple mom & pop.

It would be strange for this town to have an airport. May have a landing strip at most, but unlikely.

There are probably half a dozen to a dozen gas stations. Several fast food places.

Is it on a freeway? increase the gas stations, fast food

This town might have a community rec center w/pool. Still a couple options of gyms.

Population 5k ish:

This town doesn’t have a hospital. It probably has 1-3 doctor’s offices. At least one department store

2-3 vets, likely no emergency vet

3-8 ish hotels or inns

Might have a quaint but very small “down town” area

Likely only 2 options of schools, maybe only one high school. Possible to go to school with same people your whole life

2-3 options for churches. Probably doesn’t have a synagogue unless there’s a large Jewish population

There’s no shopping mall of any kind, but probably has an area where most of the businesses are - at most 2-3 intersections worth

Probably has a coffee shop or two, but might not. Could be a chain or a local - but probably a local.

There’s no bus system unless it’s near enough to a town of 15k+. People drive everywhere.

Most everyone lives in houses. Most if not all have yards. There might be 1-2 apartment complexes but maybe not.

There are a few restaurants - mix of chain and mom & pop places. Might have a nice restaurant, but only one.

There’s no airport.

There are probably 2-6 gas stations, maybe 1-2 fast food.

Is it on a free way? increase the gas stations and fast food.

Likely does not have its own rec center/pool, but probably has 1-2 options of gyms.

Population under 2k ish:

No hospital. Probably has one doctor’s office, but might not if it’s close enough to a larger “small” town. No department stores, but probably at least one, maybe 2 decent grocery stores. Could be a local chain or a mom & pop.

Probably has a vet’s office, but just one.

1-2 inns/motels. If it’s an older town, it has like, a street that’s mostly made of older style buildings and is the “down town” - just a couple of blocks

Just one school system - elementary through high school. Everyone goes through the same school - you probably graduate with the same people you went to kindergarten with

1-2 churches. Probably no synagogue

There is probably a generalish area where the store/post office/school/etc is, but those are probably just as surrounded by homes and yards as everything else.

This town probably doesn’t have a coffee shop, and if it does, it’s local, not a chain.

There’s no bus system unless it’s close enough to a town of 15k+. People drive.

There might be an apartment complex. Everything else is houses. The houses pretty much all have some kind of yard.

There are probably two restaurants, probably both local. Nothing fancy.

No airport.

Probably 2ish gas stations.

Is it on a free way? add a gas station and a fast food restaurant.

There’s no rec center (unless maybe an outdoor like, field type rec center), but still likely has at least one gym.

I could keep going down but I think you get the idea. If you’re writing about an actual town, do research on its population. If you’re making up a town, think about what size you need it to be to have the things you want (or don’t want).

If your “small town” has more than one hospital, it’s not a small town. If it’s got a population above 10k, there is definitely more than one (and likely, many) hotels.

Is it near decent-sized water (largeish lake, ocean)? People probably have vacation homes there. That increases property value and tourism. Even if it’s not a like, nationally-known vacation spot, people within 100-200 miles could likely make weekend trips there.

Is it the largest town within 75-100 miles, even if it’s under 20k? it’s probably got more department stores and other such industry bc it’s serving a population greater than its own. if there are other towns nearby of equal-to-larger size, it might need less of those things.

melindawrites

I didnt finish reading but my town is ~10k people and we have no hotels, one elementary and one middle/high school, at least 4 low-income apartment complexes, no gym, yes to pool, more bars than regular restaurants, one “shopping area”… you can make your small towns realistic, but there’s a variety of realism here.

This is really good information, though, just wanted to put my own in.

tsfennec

Someday I’m going to actually write out this fractured essay in my head about how important “home bases” in fiction are to me (whether that’s a literal home or an office or a secret hideout or even a vehicle in the right circumstances).

I am very serious when I say that these places are characters to me, just as much as any of the living, breathing human (or nonhuman) characters in the story and once I get attached their loss affects me on an equally visceral level. And, in fact, a creator’s decision to destroy or abandon that “home base” can affect my interest in continuing to emotionally invest in a story just as much as when they cavalierly kill off a character for shock value.

And someday I will figure out how to put down all my Thoughts on that.

But it is not this day, apparently.

tsfennec

I do wonder how much of it is that the way that the creator treats that “home base” can be a stand-in or indicator for how much I trust them to deliver emotionally satisfying resolution in other areas of the story. How far I’m willing to go along, trusting they’re actually building something here, not just blowing promising/important stuff up because they got bored (or feared others might).

That definitely plays a part, I think, because just like actual character deaths, and injury, peril, and other such disruption and drama with people and relationships, those things can form a good and necessary (and enjoyable!) part of storytelling.

However, I feel like when an author too easily destroys or abandons that “home base” concept, it can be a sign that they’re not really committed to developing other core elements (character relationships, character arcs, key dynamics of what I enjoyed to begin with) and therefore are likely to discard rather than develop and grow those as well. Some creators are really great at setting up concepts, but seem to have no idea what to actually do with them once they’re there.

I love adventure and drama and peril and suffering and struggle in a story and will gladly come through a whole lot of sadness… if I can trust that the author will bring it to a good place in the end and is going for more than cheap Drama Points, intending to just leave all the good and promising things broken and scattered in their wake while they move on to bigger, more exciting Events. In which case -

But yeah. It’s not just about trusting the author with other aspects of the story. Because a good setting is a character too and eventually I’m gonna untangle those thoughts enough to put some into words.

thejollywriter

A home base is so important to the characters. It’s a place to rest, a place to demonstrate to the reader that there is more to the characters that the Struggle.

Denying the characters that also denies the audience that respite. A story may careen headlong through so much action that Michael Bay might tell you that excessive but is there is no rest, no reader will want to finish the story.

But apparently everything else said in this post is absolutely spot on.

tsfennec

Reblogging for the excellent addition.

That’s definitely another aspect of it!

The home base represents to varying degrees rest, relief, recovery, safety, a chance for everyone to take a breather and take stock of the situation. Violating that, having it damaged, having a villain come in and harm them or take something from them in a place where they thought they were secure, or otherwise threatening that space can have a POWERFUL effect and that can be very, very good storytelling.

Used effectively (as mentioned by someone else in the tags), it can also be a really excellent metaphor for the characters’ own emotional/physical state. But just like conflict between characters is a good and important aspect of storytelling, but incessant interpersonal conflict put in just for the sake of making things interesting, without ever allowing for resolution/repair/growth/etc., can wear your audience as well as your characters, denying the audience that respite in this context can be an issue too.

Again, it’s just one aspect of the issue, and absolutely, it can be used well in storytelling (I’m not saying that creators shouldn’t ever destroy the home base), but it needs to be considered seriously.

ildsjels

not sure what should happen next in your story?

Embarrass your protagonist. Make them seem weak and vulnerable in some way.

Shoot someone. That always takes the reader by surprise.

In relation, kidnap someone. Or, rather, make it seem to your protagonist like someone has been kidnapped.

Have one of your side characters disappear or become unavailable for some reason. This will frustrate your protagonist.

Have someone kiss the wrong girl, boy, or person, especially if you’ve been setting up a romance angle. It’s annoying.

If this story involves parents, have them argue. Push the threat of divorce, even if you know it won’t ever happen. It’ll make your readers nervous.

Have someone frame your protagonist for a crime they didn’t commit. This could range from a dispute to a minor crime to a full-blown felony.

If this is a fantasy story involving magic or witchcraft, create a terrible accident that’s a direct result of their spell-casting.

Injure your protagonist in some way, or push them into a treacherous scenario where they might not make it out alive.

Have two side characters who are both close to the protagonist get into a literal fist-fight. This creates tension for the reader, especially if these characters are well-developed, because they won’t know who to root for.

Make your protagonist get lost somewhere (at night in the middle of town, in the woods, in someone else’s house, etc.)

Involve a murder. It can be as in-depth and as important as you want it to be.

Introduce a new character that seems to prey on your protagonist’s flaws and bring them out to light.

If it’s in-character, have one of your characters get drunk or take drugs. Show the fallout of that decision through your protagonist.

Spread a rumor about your protagonist.

If your protagonist is in high-school, create drama in the school atmosphere. A death of a student, even if your protagonist didn’t know them personally, changes the vibe.

If your story involves children, have one of them do something dangerous (touch a hot stove, run out into the road, etc.) and show how the protagonist responds to this, even if the child isn’t related to them.

In a fantasy story, toss out the idea of a rebellion or war between clans or villages (or whatever units you are working with).

Add a scenario where your protagonist has to make a choice. We all have watched movies where we have screamed don’t go in there! at the top of our lungs at the main character. Make them go in there.

Have your protagonist find something, even if they don’t understand the importance of it yet. A key, a document, an old stuffed animal, etc.

Foreshadow later events in some way. (Need help? Ask me!)

Have your protagonist get involved in some sort of verbal altercation with someone else, even if they weren’t the one who started it.

Let your protagonist get sick. No, but really, this happens in real life all the time and it’s rarely ever talked about in literature, unless it’s at its extremes. It could range from a common cold to pneumonia. Maybe they end up in the hospital because of it. Maybe they are unable to do that one thing (whatever that may be) because of it.

Have someone unexpected knock on your protagonist’s door.

Introduce a character that takes immediate interest in your protagonist’s past, which might trigger a flashback.

Have your protagonist try to hide something from someone else and fail.

Formulate some sort of argument or dispute between your protagonist and their love interest to push them apart.

Have your protagonist lose something of great value in their house and show their struggle to find it. This will frustrate the reader just as much as the protagonist.

Create a situation where your protagonist needs to sneak out in the middle of the night for some reason.

Prevent your character from getting home or to an important destination in some way (a car accident, a bad storm, flat tire, running out of gas, etc.)

sunniebelle

Quite a few great ideas in here!

commander-krios

Fictional Kiss Prompts

So I borrowed a bunch of these fictional kisses from this post and made it up into a prompt list. Feel free to reblog of course!

breaking the kiss to say something, staying so close that you’re murmuring into each other’s mouths

moving around while kissing, stumbling over things, pushing each other back against the wall/onto the bed

kissing so desperately that their whole body curves into the other person’s

throwing their arms around the other person, holding them close while they kiss

hands on the other person’s back, fingertips pressing under their top, drawing gentle circles against that small strip of bare skin that make them break the kiss with a gasp

lazy morning kisses before they’ve even opened their eyes, still mumbling half-incoherently, not wanting to wake up

routine kisses where the other person presents their cheek/forehead for the hello/goodbye kiss without even looking up from what they’re doing

being unable to open their eyes for a few moments afterward

one small kiss, pulling away for an instant, then devouring each other

staring at the other’s lips, trying not to kiss them, before giving in

when one stops the kiss to whisper “I’m sorry, are you sure you-” and they answer by kissing them more

a hoarse whisper “kiss me”

following the kiss with a series of kisses down the neck

starting with a kiss meant to be gentle, ending up in passion

a gentle “i love you” whispered after a soft kiss, followed immediately by a stronger kiss

when one person’s face is scrunched up, and the other one kisses their lips/nose/forehead

height difference kisses where one person has to bend do wn and the other is on their tippy toes

kisses where one person is sitting in the other’s lap

kisses meant to distract the other person from whatever they were intently doing

top of head kisses

writingdotcoffee

When people say, did you always want to be a writer? I have to say no! I always was a writer. I didn’t want to be a writer and lead the writer’s life and be glamorous and go to New York. I just wanted to do my job writing, and to do it really well.

Ursula Le Guin (via writingdotcoffee)

frognonbinary-deactivated202412

for anyone interested, here’s what i’ve learned so far in my quest for more writing knowledge:

5. connect with other writers, literary agents, publishers at book events. you will absolutely need the connections if you want to get ahead as a writer. thats just kind of the state of the world.

promptsforthesoul

shadowssolace

daringthepen

When developing your characters, one of the things you do is try to figure out some dislikes. And often times, we try to rationalize why.

But it doesn’t always work like that with real people. Sometimes there are things that some people dislike just because. Their reasoning for it might be nonsensical to the majority of people, or maybe they have a hard time describing why they dislike something.

So when developing your characters, remember that you don’t always have to give a “why” to something. An example of this is Dr. Perry Cox in the Scrubs TV show. One of his dislikes is Hugh Jackman. Well, why does he hate Hugh Jackman? The show never gives an explanation, but it’s just one of those things that everyone knows he dislikes. Another real life example is of a Japanese manga artist who has admitted to having a dislike for strawberries. Her reasoning? It seems wrong that there is a fruit so readily and perfectly made for dessert without having to do anything to it. Kind of a weird reasoning to dislike strawberries, but there it is.

In the same way, one of your characters could have that thing they really dislike. Maybe there isn’t really an explanation for it. Maybe they have a reasoning that just seems weird. And that’s okay. Does every character have to be this way? No. Variety is a good thing. It also might come off a little formulated if every character has that one thing they dislike and can’t be explained. But if you’re struggling to figure out a reason why a character doesn’t like something, just consider the possibility that there isn’t a reason. Or at least, not a rational one.

actuallyblind

When writing a blind character, what are some things to avoid?

Ah! So this is definitely a bit of a broad question, but I can give a few basics:

Blind people don’t actually give a shit about touching faces, so please, please stear clear of that. The only exceptions may be the same way sighted lovers may caress each other’s faces and parents may hold a child’s face in an emotional moment, but it’s just like a sighted lover or parent would, nothing more.

Please avoid giving your character a cure. One of the most crushing things as a disabled reader is to finally have a disabled character, but for them to end up with a fantastic magic cure half-way through. It rarely makes for a good story, and often a much better story is that person’s journey in understanding themselves as equal and learning that they aren’t broken and useless and can do whatever they want, overcoming internalized ableism rather than “overcoming the disability.”

Few blind people actually wear sunglasses or eye coverings, so your character probably won’t either if the likelyhood says anything. Chances are they will not be part of that minority, so probably better not to do that.

Something similar can be said for characters with white or cloudy eyes. The vast majority of blind people will not have very abnormal-looking eyes, so chances are your character will not be part of that minority.

Another very similar thing should be noted about the level of vision they will have. Somewhere between 80 and 90% of blind people have some level of remaining vision, weather it be little more than light perception or enough that they were forced to use their eyes a lot growing up and weren’t taught braille or to use a cane because they could get by well enough not to die most of the time.

So these are just the first several things I can think of at the moment, but definitely feel free to ask about more things!

harleylemons

A few more things:

-Blind people watch TV -Blind people usually like to know what colors things are if they ask you to describe something. A lot of people either had vision at one point or even if they were never able to see, they often associate colors with concepts -Blind people don’t use Braille for everything. Audio books exist (and every blind kid could get a free tape player and audio books sent to them up until about 2010- they never moved to CDs, but now anyone can buy them online or whatever even if you aren’t blind) and now everything is scanned/digital. In fact, you only really need to know how to read signs/basic alphabet and signs nowadays. Well, unless you’re in school. -For the love of god, know what tech your blind character will be using according to the year.

platinumgalaxy-deactivated20211

Another tidbit: blind people often walk around familiar areas without using a cane or guide dog. You learn the layout of that area and don’t really need the mobility aid.

almostdefinitelydying

There’s also a major overlap between those of us who are classified as “just” visually impaired (to a varying degree) and those who classify as legally blind.

Without my glasses I am technically legally blind even though I can see up to a certain point. And I have comorbid disorders that impact my vision, and can make me 100% completely blind from time to time. (I get around this by having screen readers and text to speech on my computer and phone/tablet etc).

tlbodine

Writing Exercises for Stretching Your Style Muscles

There’s a lot of writing advice on the internet, and a lot of writing prompts, but something I see relatively little of is an idea of how to actually practice.

The thing about learning a skill is that it requires practice – but practicing will only get you so far if you’re just doing the same thing over and over. you might get better at doing that specific thing, but it can seem really difficult to get over a specific hurdle to accomplish some new thing you’ve never tried. I think a really common frustration is wanting to do a thing, and knowing what your end goal looks like, but not knowing actually how to accomplish it.

So that’s where practicing specific skills can really help you to feel more comfortable with your abilities.

Here are some skills exercises I recommend experimenting with to gain proficiency and comfort in writing things.

—–

Write the Same Scene from Multiple POVs

Write a scene in 3rd person POV. Then go back and rewrite it from scratch in 1st person. Repeat for a 3rd person omniscient. Go deeper than just swapping out pronouns. Think: How does this scene change if I’m writing through the eyes of a single character vs over their shoulder? How does this scene change if I’m narrating the events through Character B instead of Character A?

—-

Write a Scene in Present Tense

Present tense bumps up the immediacy level of whatever you’re writing. I think it also helps to break you from more passive sentence constructions. Try taking a scene you’ve written and rewrite it in present tense. Combine it with the above – try switching a 3rd person past to 1st person present, or even try writing in 2nd person.

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Try Mimicking Another Writer’s Style

Sit down with a piece of writing from an author you enjoy, and pay attention to the writing itself. Ignore the plot and characters and story elements – look at just the nuts and bolts of vocabulary choices and sentence construction. Try to pick it apart. Is there a specific way the author tends to use commas? Certain words, or types of words, that they use more often? Longer sentences or shorter ones? Longer paragraphs or short? How is white space handled?

Study that and make yourself a little cheat sheet if that’s helpful to you. Then try writing a short piece – just a couple paragraphs, even – in their writing style.

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Describe an Entire Scene Without Using Visual Description

Imagine you’re writing a blind character, if it helps, or someone who’s been blindfolded. Describe a whole scene built entirely around the way things sound, smell, taste, feel. Try to make it clear what’s happening through description alone.

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Eliminate All Words like “Thought” or “Felt”

Write in deep-3rd or 1st person without any filter words. Make a character’s opinions and emotions obvious through the way things are being described without explicitly saying what they’re thinking or feeling. If you struggle with this, it might be easier to start in first person – write as a diary entry or even a Tumblr post from that person’s perspective – and then try it in 3rd person after you’ve had a bit of practice.

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Set Yourself a Specific Goal, and Write a Drabble to Achieve it

When I wrote “Happy Ending,” my entire goal was to write something that was highly descriptive in the most viscerally gross way possible. When I wrote “Mothman,” it was an exercise in writing something sexualized without explicitly being sexual, in the most disturbing way possible.

This is an exercise in word choice. It’s an excuse to bust out your thesaurus, not to sound fancy, but to nail a specific meaning. It’s also an exercise in choosing what details to focus on and which to exclude.

One way to approach this exercise is to describe something common and mundane that you’ve experienced, and write it in several different ways. Let’s say, eating a sandwich. How can you make eating a sandwich sound sexy? How can you make it sound disgusting? Which details do you focus on, and which do you omit? What words do you use to evoke the meaning you’re looking for?

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I hope these writing exercises give you some inspiration on things to try out to flex your creative wings a bit!

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GUIDE: NAMING A TOWN OR CITY

This post was originally from a FAQ, but since the original link is now defunct, I am re-posting it here.

There are many things to keep in mind when naming the town or city in your novel:

1) Genre/Theme/Tone

It’s very important to consider the genre and theme of your story when choosing a town name. Take these names for example, each of which indicates the genre or theme of the story: King’s Landing (sounds fantastical) Cloud City (sounds futuristic) Silent Hill (sounds scary) Sweet Valley (sounds happy and upbeat) Bikini Bottom (sounds funny) Radiator Springs (sounds car-related) Halloween Town (sounds Halloween-related) Storybrooke (sounds fairytale-related) 2) Time/Place It’s also important to consider the time and place where your story takes place. For example, you wouldn’t use “Vista Gulch” as a name for a town in Victorian England. You probably wouldn’t use it for a town in modern day North Carolina, either. Vista is a Spanish word and would normally be found in places where Spanish names are common, like Spain, Central and South America, the southwest United States (including southern California), Cuba, Puerto Rico, Dominican Republic, and Florida. 3) Size/Settlement Type An isolated town of 300 people probably won’t be Valley City, but a sprawling metropolis of 30 million could be called Windyville, because it could have started out as a small town and grew into a large city. 4) Geography Words like gulch, butte,and bayou tend to be regional terms. You probably wouldn’t find Berle’s Bayou in Idaho, or Windy Butte in Rhode Island. Words like mount, cape, and valley are dependent upon terrain. Most of the time, you won’t have a town named “mount” something unless there are hills or mountains nearby. You wouldn’t use “cape” unless the town was on a cape, which requires a large body of water. 5) History Is there a historical person or event that your town might be named after? The Simpsons’ hometown of Springfield is ironically named after its founder, Jebediah Springfield. Chattanooga, Tennessee is named after the Cherokee town that was there first. Nargothrond, in The Lord of the Rings, is an Elvish town with an Elvish name. 6) Combination of Words

person name + geographical term = Smithfield, Smith Creek

group name + geographical term = Pioneer Valley, Settlers’ Ridge

descriptive word + geographical term = Mystic Falls, Smoky Hill

person name + settlement type = Smithton, Claraville

landmark + settlement type = Bridgton, Beaconville

Word Lists

Types of Settlements