grace

IG: @ grace_should_write || writing tips + text posts here and IG

[graceshouldwrite]

How to Write Fictional Wars

1. Cause

A war can't happen just BECAUSE—all wars happen for at least one, usually a multitude of, reasons. The main question to ask is:

What is something both sides are willing to die/kill for? Or at least that their leaders deem important enough to endanger civilian lives for?

NOTE: That final question may not apply as much if you're writing types of leaders who don't care about preserving human life aside from their own, and other nuances like that. But even so, your immoral leader might still be smart enough to realize the importance of population as an economic base and general resource, so it's still a relevant question.

Here are some ideas for causes:

POLITICAL:

succession and dynastic disputes

gaining/losing foreign influence that is important to some political entity

gaining popular support

strength propaganda

liberation from an established order

personal rivalries between leaders that spiral

ECONOMIC:

gaining/protecting prized resource (e.g. oil), trade routes, valuable land (like large fertile areas)

conquering to plunder

RELIGIOUS/IDEOLOGICAL:

holy wars, crusades/jihad

liberation from an ideologically opposing order

fighting for "what's right"

rebelling against tyranny

ACCIDENTAL:

diplomatic misunderstandings (e.g. unreceived letters, catastrophic misspellings, language barriers, misread body language, etc.)

assassinations

basically, any small-scale event that escalated past the point of no return

Keeping a timeline of important events in your world will help greatly with creating a realistic, cohesive background for your war.

2. Who's fighting?

These are ideally the ones most deeply involved in the causes you chose. Here are some ideas for your belligerents:

Nations: Nation-states. Countries. Empires. Any large, sovereign territory with its own borders and armies.

Factions, tribes, clans: More decentralized, tend to be smaller-scale (although stories about these factions manipulating more powerful entities are interesting), feuds may be more personal (e.g. vendettas)

Non-state actors: Insurgents, guerillas, terrorist organizations—these groups tend to engage in asymmetrical warfare where they get edges on official, government fighters through ambushes, infiltration, and destabilizing the region

Alliances: Powers not inherently involved may be dragged into big wars out of loyalty or coercion. In real life, this has caused many smaller conflicts to eventually expand

For each group, map out their strengths, weaknesses, technology, culture, fighting styles, fighters, and supporters/opponents.

3. Battles, Tactics, and Strategy

Generally, the grand strategy is the plan to achieve the overall goal (e.g. winning, retaking X, gaining Y, driving back Z), whereas tactics are acts within the strategy to achieve it.

Pick and choose which battles to write—these tend to be the most important ones, either to your characters, or to the belligerents (e.g. the battle that tipped the scales for one side, the pyrrhic victory, the final defeat, the brutal stalemate).

Here are some writing ideas:

espionage networks

assassinating important targets

besieging a key city

ambushes, guerilla warfare

naval blockades

cutting off or establishing supply lines

long campaigns across a region

conventional battles with 2+ parties on the battlefield, arranged troops, traditional formations and tactics (e.g. horses charge into ranged troops)

sending reinforcements to help during a battle

4. Wider Impact

During or after the war, many things will change for all parties involved, not just the population count or supply availability.

Politically:

Has the dominant ideology shifted?

How many more refugees, orphans, and destitute people are there? What have some of them resorted to doing for a livelihood?

What new technologies have been developed, and how have they been integrated into society?

Are there new borders?

Has a once-powerful nation fallen, or maintained its place? Has a new nation risen?

What was the price of 'winning'? For the other side, what did it cost to lose?

Individually:

Soldiers: How exhausting was it? Were there new experiences of camaraderie? Did some feel more courageous than others, and did they find more glory or devastation from warfare? What is the trauma like?

Civilians: Did they live every day in fear, and did a point of numbness arrive? Was there any resistance? Were any displaced, starved, tortured, or bound into servitude? How did they adjust to this new life?

Leaders: How did they make decisions—were they more calculating, emotional, magnanimous, petty, cruel, etc.? What sort of political pressure did they face? What moral compromises did they make? Did they even care about the individuals they sacrificed for the cause? How did they justify it?

NOTE: This is an oversimplification of the demographics you could focus on (e.g. different levels of leaders and soldiers, different occupations of civilians, different faction members within each group definitely faced different struggles), but a good starting point.

OVERALL:

READ, READ, READ! There are many real life and fictional wars that demonstrate these points perfectly, and you can learn a lot about writing warfare through studying it. Some significant and fundamental ones to learn about include:

Peloponnesian War

WWI, WWII

Crusades (particularly the First for simplicity's sake)

Punic and Gallic Wars

Mongol Invasion of Europe

the history of the Middle East, basically the entire thing

American Revolutionary War

NOTE: This list is quite Western with few exceptions. I'm not too familiar with the details of wars in other continents, and I have not personally studied them enough. My field of expertise is Classics and largely European politics. I 100% encourage further exploration in other directions.

∘₊✧────── ☾☼☽ ──────✧₊∘

instagram: @ grace_should_write

Hope this was helpful, and let me know if you have any questions by commenting, re-blogging, or DMing me on IG. Any and all engagement is appreciated :)

Happy writing, and have a great day!

- grace <3

[graceshouldwrite]

How to Write Corruption Arcs

We'll be using Walter White from Breaking Bad as a case study!

The Core:

THIS ARC is when your character...

KNOWS the TRUTH

REJECTS the TRUTH

EMBRACES the LIE

Their FATAL FLAW often drives the change

Usually, acting on the truth is always an easy option. In Breaking Bad, Walter White could simply accept his friends’ money to help fund his cancer treatments, but he doesn’t.

TRUTH: help is accessible, there’s a loving community around him, and accepting help doesn’t make him “less of a man”

LIE: accepting help makes him weak, incompetent, and “less of a man”

FATAL FLAW: Pride, amplified by constant feelings of emasculation and self-dissatisfaction after seeing close friends and family around him find success in places he has not

Act One

here, your character...

understands the TRUTH

but is TEMPTED by the LIE

and begins ENTERTAINING the LIE

Ask: what does the character think the LIE can get them that the TRUTH can’t?

The LIE can get your character something that satisfies their FATAL FLAW. Here, Walt begins 𝒸𝑜𝑜𝓀𝒾𝓃𝑔 the blue stuff because it proves that he is capable of providing for his family and funding his own treatments.

He lives by the LIE that accepting help makes him weak. Making and selling exceptional-quality drugs satisfy his PRIDE.

Even though he initially rejects certain aspects of the drug industry like killing, he’s now set foot into the World of the Lie and will not return. This will cause all the moral backsliding, character change, etc. that happens after.

Act Two

your character becomes...

conflicted between the TEMPTING LIE and the TRUTH they know to be correct

but realizes that only the LIE has what they want

so they EMBRACE the LIE

Ask: why is the LIE so hard to give up on?

Now that your character has tasted the LIE’s rewards, the TRUTH becomes less and less appealing to them. Where there was conflict at first, there’s now grim determination to continue down the path of the LIE.

In a sequence of events, Walt CAN reject the lie, but he chooses to embrace it. He could’ve stuck to his decision to walk away from drug-making after killing his first victim, but he returns. He could’ve saved Jane, who was innocent and just influencing his work partner to quit the industry, but he lets her die.

Each choice is the result of him realizing that his only other option is accepting help (the TRUTH he now rejects).

Act Three

your character...

EMBRACES the LIE

GETS/LOSES what they want at the CLIMAX: if they GET it, there’s a HIGH COST

lives in the AFTERMATH (or dies lol)

Ask: what makes the LIE so destructive?

Now, the LIE has been fully ingrained in your character. They feel less and less remorse each time they choose the LIE over the TRUTH. They may get what they want, but there’s a HIGH COST.

Walt slowly becomes a cornerstone of the drug industry and a high-priority target for authorities, getting the money and self-gratification he’s always wanted. But, when the truth comes out, he loses his FAMILY, who he’s claimed to be making all this money for.

However, a large part of him revels in the fact that they now see him as someone capable, vicious, and a force to be reckoned with. The LIE satisfied his PRIDE, but it cost him everything.

The AFTERMATH shows Walt living with the cost: his community and family have abandoned him and he lives in exile after living the LIE and embracing his PRIDE.

When he eventually dies to protect his work partner Jesse, we could interpret it as Walt returning to the original TRUTH: doing something out of self-sacrifice.

Or, the more pessimistic interpretation: Walt refuses to die of cancer, and wants to die on his own terms (PRIDE). Jesse also happens to be a living testimony to Walt’s rise to greatness and eventual domination—a living legacy. This death just maximizes his egotistical benefit, so, the arc concludes with the LIE swallowing him.

Final Notes

IN THIS SPECIFIC study of Breaking Bad, I deliberately avoided the typical commentary of “oh this is the moment Walt became Heisenberg and was truly corrupted”.

I believe this show demonstrates how humans are often inconsistent, even after we’ve chosen to embrace a certain path. There usually isn’t one specific choice that marks a further downturn (aside from the first time we engage in the lie): after the catalyst, each choice is an opportunity to diverge or continue down a path, and the arc is a sum of these choices. The monster isn’t a sudden creation, but a metamorphosized creature that reaches its full form at the end.

Thus, the most interesting corruption arcs feature similarly inconsistent and conflicted characters. Other good examples include Anakin Skywalker from Star Wars, Viktor from Arcane, Coriolanus Snow from The Hunger Games, and so many more you can find in media.

∘₊✧────── ☾☼☽ ──────✧₊∘

instagram: @ grace_should_write

Hope this was helpful, and let me know if you have any questions by commenting, re-blogging, or DMing me on IG. Any and all engagement is appreciated :)

Happy writing, and have a great day!

- grace <3

[helenaferron]

“People who talk about the weather would be better served by admitting they’ve have nothing to say but like the sound of their own voice.”

- Mark Lawrence, Emperor of Thorns

[leconcombrerit]

Next in "my comfort characters are the worst people I love them so much", I name Jorg Ancrath. I hope I got the scar on the right side of his face but, after flipping the canvas so much, I'm just not sure of what left and right even are anymore.

[wheremyhotchocolate]

Jorg: *does anything* Everyone:

[morgana0anagrom]

I drew this piece a while back. My life is quite busy and hectic to draw my personal works right now, and funny enough, this piece was commission too. Character is Jorg Ancrath from The Broken Empire by Mark Lawrence 

hope you guys will like it xoxo

[demondarakna]

I have maimed and I have murdered; and if this mountain stood but a little higher, I would cut the angels from their heaven.

Road Brothers, Mark Lawrence

[leconcombrerit]

Guess what books I've been re-reading lately ? Guess which characters get all my love this time over as well ? I'd die for a William spinoff. I know it won't happen, but I'd read the hell out of it. A seven year old with plans for God taking over the underworld, necromancers, ghouls and lichkins under his thumb ? Count me in. Several times over.

This is a redraw of an older piece I once won a prize with, an advanced copy of The girl and the stars that still sits on one of my shelves. I find it a little... Bad-looking now, let's say, but it's good to remember that it seemed good enough to submit to a contest back then.

Older piece in question below, I've been looking at those pieces side by side for five solid minutes with the occasional appreciative nod. I thought maybe I should have kept the cogs but in the end it didn't feel too fitting.

[graceshouldwrite]

pls i need more art from this fandom and this is GORGEOUSSS

[graceshouldwrite]

Writing Compelling Side Characters

**NOTE: Some of these tips don't really apply to ensemble casts, where there are multiple Main Characters (plural).

1) Agency - motivations, actions, effects

Technically, they ARE side characters in your MC's story, but don't base your writing on that fact.

Side characters need:

Their own REASONS for joining the story (because they want to, not because the PLOT wanted them to) Example: In Arcane, Caitlyn inadvertently gets involved with Vi due to her compassion and desire to help the undercity, not because the plot needs a love interest

A GOAL, on which they act INDEPENDENT of the plot, and actually affects your MC/the main plot (not the other way around) Example: In Loki, Sylvie's independent goal is to take down the TVA, and her actions reveal the TVA's corruption to Loki, influencing him to join her in fighting against the TVA instead of working for them

A STAKE in how things end (e.g. someone getting paid after agreeing to join a heist); they aren't just in it to be a "comic relief" or a "damsel in distress" Example: In Breaking Bad, Jesse joins Walt in cooking meth because he makes BANK from selling drugs, not because Walt needed a funny and traumatized sidekick

Their own RELATIONSHIPS with other characters, aside from the MC—they have their own friends, enemies, love interests, etc., and these relationships can completely change the plot Example: In the original Percy Jackson series, all of the side characters (e.g. Annabeth, Nico, Thalia, Luke, etc.) have their own relationships with each other that greatly affect the plot. Check it out: Annabeth's attachment to Luke, even after he became evil, completely changed the plot in several ways: kickstarting a journey to save her from Luke in The Titan's Curse, revealing his true evil identity as a vessel for Kronos (big bad!) in The Battle of the Labyrinth, and mainly contributing towards Luke's reversion away from evil in the last book due to him remembering his promise to take care of her a long time ago, etc.

Their own PAST that affects how they act, move forward, and how they treat the MC Example: In Avatar: The Last Airbender, Azula's pressure on herself and desire for perfection is greatly driven by her father's expectations of her as the fire-bending prodigy, resulting in a childhood of earning parental love and care AFTER she proves her worth to him. This created a mentality ceaselessly focused on her goals—which are usually her father's missions—causing her to be deadly, manipulative, and constantly causing problems for the main character.

The side character is not an extension or byproduct of the MC's plot; their own story happens to collide and intertwine with your MC's plot, but is ultimately independently driven.

2) Affecting the ending

The story can't have reached the same ending regardless of the side characters' existence. They must be necessary to the MC in helping them reach their goal faster, more prepared, etc. For example, in Avatar, Aang would not have been able to reach his goal of defeating the fire lord without the help of his friends, who each taught him valuable life lessons as well as combat skills.

Each character must have an independent impact on the MC—don't treat them like a group (e.g. "the side characters," who are one individual collective). Arcane does a great job with this, as each side character has a completely different impact on the MCs (e.g. Silco, Ekko, Caitlyn, and Vi—not a side character but for the purpose of this analysis, bear with me—all have a different impact on Jinx). It isn't just a literal impact. It's what the MC learns, and the theme of the story. They should help the MC realize things about themselves, and contextualize the MC by showing them in different situations with different people.

3) Avoid stereotypes Don't create characters from moulds and conform 100% to the trope: e.g. the "comic relief" can also be "the outlaw/rebel" or the "love interest," the "brooding antihero" can also be the "caregiver" or the "wise one," the "seductive girl" can also be the "science nerd" or the "broken optimist," etc. Mix and match. Everyone has more than 1 personality trait in real life, and probably fulfils more than 1 role to the other people in their lives. Give them intersecting personality traits to flesh them out.

4) Theme and Arc Especially compelling side characters have their own arc and embody their own theme.

Example 1: Mr. Darcy in Pride and Prejudice is more than the brooding love interest—he develops by being less arrogant and learning to see people beyond their social status, and opens up to new ideas, people, and situations.

Example 2: Nico di Angelo from the Percy Jackson series goes on a journey of self-acceptance and embracing his identity, instead of just being the stereotypical emo kid who is constantly in a state of angst.

Example 3: In Arcane, Silco goes from a ruthless crime lord who believes that attachment is weakness, to someone who genuinely cares about his adoptive daughter, so much so that he can't give her up even in exchange for his lifelong dream.

∘₊✧────── ☾☼☽ ──────✧₊∘

instagram: @ grace_should_write

Hope this was helpful, and let me know if you have any questions by commenting, re-blogging, or DMing me on IG. Any and all engagement is appreciated :)

Happy writing, and have a great day!

- grace <3

[graceshouldwrite]

Writing Villains (Underrated Tips)

1. Variety

Not all villains have to be the next Darth Vader, Luke Castellan, John Wick, etc. Your villain’s arc doesn’t have to originate from the Big Traumatic Thing that happened when they were X Years Old. Here are some characterization ideas that still keep them interesting (no tragic backstory required):

misguided villain. They don’t think what they do is that evil/they think they are benefiting others (e.g. Thanos from the MCU)

IDGAF villain. They just don’t care about the disaster they leave behind them (e.g. Ozai from ATLA)

past bystander villain. Nothing bad happened to THEM particularly-- they just saw bad things happen to other people, and decided that they need to correct society (e.g. Light Yagami from Death Note)

I was bored villain. They were bored. And millions died for it. They’re probably also an ENTP. Oh, well (e.g. Ryuk from Death Note)

zealous villain. They do it for their cause--god, cult, organization, whatever--there’s a greater power that is their greater purpose (e.g. Cthulu cultists from Call of Cthulu)

staunch traditionalist (often allegorically racist) villain. They want to act according to, and preserve the statusquo (tends to be heritage, race, class, personality, etc.), and believe that any change is bad (e.g. Lucius Malfoy from Harry Potter)

These are just some examples of interesting villain characterizations that absolutely do NOT need a tragic backstory to function.

2. Spill the tea

Show how they treat the people closest to them.

Instead of just focusing on their actions, create moments where readers can see them interacting with their family, friends, etc. This is a powerful tool with the potential to humanize them in a softer way, or make them seem even more scary, merciless, corrupt, secretive, etc.

For example, the audience doesn’t just see Azula from ATLA fight people and conquer cities with a crazy amount of skill and power. The writers show how she interacts with her two best friends; the way she shamelessly belittles them to their faces, manipulates them as pawns, and has no problem putting them in incredible danger reveals a LOT more about her character in a way that only showing her actions cannot.

3. Polarize

Consistency isn’t always key. Sure, the cold and calculating overlord should generally make cold and calculating decisions, but to spice things up, find the thing that will make them snap. Change. Show weakness. Become their opposite, if only for a moment.

(SPOILER WARNING for Arcane)

Silco is a drug kingpin in an underbelly city that is full of gangs, criminals, murderers, thieves, and the sort (you get it).

He not only survives--he THRIVES in that kind of environment as one of the scariest authorial figures. He himself had to experience crazy backstabbing, and grew to be nothing but calculated, manipulative, and ruthless...until he unofficially adopted a daughter! He realized that she had “undone” him to the point where he refused to give her up for a dream he would have been willing to die for.

It DOES sound pretty inconsistent for the ruthless drug kingpin to sacrifice EVERYTHING he’d worked for to clean up after an insane daughter who runs around making murderous messes that attract flocks of authorities. And, it is. Like he says himself, he loses “nothing but problems.”

But, real humans are almost never 100% consistent, and this sort of polarity will humanize your villains without necessarily requiring a tragic backstory or a noble motivation.

∘₊✧────── ☾☼☽ ──────✧₊∘

instagram: @ grace_should_write

Hope this was helpful, and let me know if you have any questions by commenting, re-blogging, or DMing me on IG. Any and all engagement is appreciated :)

Happy writing, and have a great day!

- grace <3

[graceshouldwrite]

How to Write Musicians

I hope that this post is helpful for anyone who's writing musician characters! As a musician myself, I love reading about them and definitely encourage people to write them, so much so that I'm actually considering adding instruments like violin or piano into my fantasy world...

1. Determine what type of musician you're writing about

The most typical character that comes to mind is probably the instrument performer, but musicians come in all shapes. Composers, conductors, accompanists, recording artists, etc. etc., do research on what YOUR specific musician character is.

Genre is also an important consideration. A classical musician, rock musician, or jazz musician will probably each have a different approach when it comes to things like:

practicing

performing

attire

friend circles

thought and composition processes

Each musician will probably differ in all the aspects listed above depending on what instrument they play, as well.

Finally, think personal. Musicians, like anyone else, will also have varying goals depending on their personalities. For example, a more shy person might naturally gravitate towards composing offstage, while a spotlight lover could enjoy performing. Or, a fame-driven person might dream of making it on Broadway, while a more modest one aspires to teach music instead.

2. Don't forget to spend time BTS

If you're writing a pro/aspiring pro musician, they will—or should—spend a ridiculous amount of time practicing!

Lots of media like to glorify only the moments onstage. The characters bask in the spotlight and wear fancy clothes and get roses thrown at them, but that's the product of lots of sweating offstage.

Depending on skill and performance level, most professional musicians often practice anywhere from 3-8 hours a day (with many falling in the 4-5 hour range), which is a lot of work. So, dedicate more time featuring the actual practicing, rather than just the performances, or at least have your musician characters MENTION the practicing instead of everyone being a flawlessly sight-reading/photographically memorizing child prodigy.

Writing practice scenes can also be excellent characterization—for example, you can show their patience level in how much they might rage over mistakes, or how perfectionistic they are if they obsessively repeat measures over and over again until they sound flawless.

3. Research their instrument

All instruments have different mechanics and terminology, so do proper research regarding what they're playing.

You may write your character spending time on instrument maintenance; if I were to write about a wind player, for example, I'd have to do a lot of research on things like cleaning a mouthpiece or tightening the joints (I'm just a piano player!).

4. Use specific descriptors

Much like how certain writers use art-specific terms to describe things when writing an artist character's POV, or someone in any other specific discipline, emphasize music's connection to the character's life by using some music terms.

For example, a musician has a higher chance of describing sounds as "percussive" or a "crescendo" than, say, a person who's worked at a blacksmith their entire life.

Don't try to shoehorn in a music term every line, though—like anything else, it'll get overbearing and unnecessary. Be subtle about it! Try to find words that CONNOTE music, but are still generally used outside of it (like "lyrical," or "rhythmic").

5. Read about the lives of actual musicians, current or historical

Like anyone else, each musician can lead a very different life. For example, there were widely celebrated, famous musicians like Liszt, existing in the same era as musicians living in general poverty like Schubert.

With different personalities, writers could also explore various compositional methods and performance stances. Some people like Liszt valued virtuosic playing, sweeping sounds, and impressive, flashy performances, while others like Clara Schumann detested this emphasis on virtuosity and valued simplicity.

Other musicians like Bach or Wagner wrote for greater causes, such as religion or nationalism, respectively. More interesting angles could be taken regarding the musicians composition methods, like Berlioz, who wrote a symphony inspired by unrequited love and insane opium trips.

∘₊✧────── ☾☼☽ ──────✧₊∘

instagram: @ grace_should_write

Let's ignore this random months-long hiatus! Life updates on the gram, soon...

Hope this was helpful, and let me know if you have any questions by commenting, re-blogging, or DMing me on IG. Any and all engagement is appreciated :)

Happy writing, and have a great day!

- grace <3

[graceshouldwrite]

How to Write Political Intrigue (with book recs)

POLITICAL INTRIGUE! Intrigue in general! What is it?

For the purposes of this post (as well as how it's usually used in the writing/reading community), think: scheming. Plotting. Conspiracies in the shadows, bids for power and survival, secret plans, masterful illusions, all of that stuff.

It could be on any scale that you'd like, from a duel of wits (think Light's and L's game of cat and mouse in Death Note)

...to a large-scale plot involving entire countries and their people (like any espionage networks during any major wars, such as the American Revolutionary War to World War II, and so many more)

...or even medium-sized conflicts (families, like in The Godfather, or smaller national disturbances like the Watergate scandal).

Below are 4 core tips on how you can successfully write (political) intrigue plots:

1. Read + Research

Despite how hard it may sound, it's actually pretty easy to craft a realistic yet thrilling intrigue plot—with so many examples in real life and fiction, you can easily base your plot on an existing one and just change a few things like the characters, setting, and maybe a few plot points.

History and current events are always great places to look to, but here are some books that are chock-full of great politics + intrigue:

Leviathan (Thomas Hobbes): one of the most famous treatises of politics + human nature and their intersection. The book is an in-depth exploration of human nature, government, politics, and all of the root causes of why they exist. While it does take a specific philosophical angle (you might not agree with Hobbes' ideas), they are detailed explanations of how things work + why they are required from one perspective.

48 Laws of Power (Robert Greene): GREAT BOOK for helping you plan out the means by which you want the intrigue to happen. There are lots of simplified rules that tell you why people plan and scheme (e.g. "control the options; get others to play the cards you deal," or "pose as a friend, work as a spy"). There are LOTS of really great small stories of when a rule is applied in real life that are also general plot inspo!

The Godfather (Mario Puzo): very very good, intricate, and more emotional because it deals with the intrigue surrounding families

Joseph Fouché: Portrait of a Politician (Stefan Zweig) (biography): Fouché is absolutely insane. A genius at political intrigue. His life is literally one of the craziest stories of scheming, betrayals, survival, and a general vying for power, especially behind the scenes.

The Prince (Machiavelli): obviously, I can't leave out the original tips + tricks book with explanations of WHY intrigue matters as a means, especially in terms of protecting your power.

Trust Me, I'm Lying (Ryan Holladay): a large part of intrigue plots (you need to cover up the actual game you're playing) is the manipulation of information, creating illusions and spectacles for other people to believe. This book goes in-depth about media manipulation and information wars.

Empire of Pain (Patrick Raden Keefe): takes a rather different angle, through the personal/corporate manipulation of government, as well as how wealth dynasties (especially within families) are established. Remember the opioid crisis? This book explores the generational politics of money and power that led up to that.

Prince of Thorns (Mark Lawrence): Look! Fiction! Anyway, I'm biased because it's one of my favourite works of fiction of all time, but it explores political intrigue not only through an actor participating in it, but through the lens of the common folk. I.e., the consequences all that power play has on the populace due to a lack of actual good governance...

A Song of Ice and Fire (George R. R. Martin): I haven't personally read/watched anything GoT, but it's pretty much obligatory to put this series down in a post about political intrigue. It's famous for doing it well.

2. Plan. Like, meticulously

First of all, decide what scale you want your intrigue to be on: large-scale government/international affairs type, a corporation thing, something between two people, or even within a family? There are so many possibilities.

Intrigue plots are like mysteries; they must be tightly logical to be satisfying. One of the best ways of ensuring this is through analyzing each involved party—the actors.

Each actor has their own motivations, goals, and psychologies. After you establish what they want OUT of their intrigue, think about how they'd go about achieving it: a naturally hot-headed person might try to intimidate their way into getting what they want, or they might learn through the course of the story to cool down a bit.

A naturally imaginative and analytical person might come up with all sorts of scarily genius plans, and near-flawless execution. Of course, they would also react in different ways, depending on personality. Character consistency alone will make your plot seem that much more logical.

However, cracks in logic will happen because humans are inherently imperfect and not always rational. These cracks must be DELIBERATE and realistic and must seem planned out; they can't seem more like the author forgot a detail, or didn't know how to explain something (e.g. something happened and the writer never included the consequence of it because they forgot). It must be clear that it is a flaw on the character's part.

3. Never write intrigue for the sake of the intrigue

The incentive of all scheming comes down to mainly two things: gaining power and keeping it. Of course, you could choose to explore more unusual things, such as characters exercising intrigue to satisfy boredom... (think Light and Ryuk from Death Note).

But, the bids for power, security, and survival can be used to highlight things about human nature. Themes to explore include ambition, sacrifice, the pursuit of happiness, the corruption of character, the preservation of innocence in a cruel system, etc.

4. Explore through a narrow lens

Most intrigue plots are full of complex motivations, characters, goals, and the means they use to achieve said goals.

You should gradually let your intrigue plot unfold through the POV of a few characters, preferably one or two. An omniscient narrator for this type of story is INCREDIBLY difficult to pull off without confusing the reader.

However, more POVs work if you use all of them to focus on ONE or a few intrigue plots only—it can provide a multi-layered effect, exploring the same line of action and consequence through different perspectives. But, if everyone has their own intrigue plot, it's too easy to create a tangled mess where readers can barely delineate one plot from the next.

∘₊✧────── ☾☼☽ ──────✧₊∘

instagram: @ grace_should_write

Sorry for the massive hiatus—I have officially started college!! I've been pre-occupied with settling in, classes starting, a social life, extracurriculars etc. etc...life has been super busy, but great :)

I've started working on my books as well as poetry more recently, and I'm glad I'm getting into a new workflow/lifestyle. It certainly is different, but I'm starting to enjoy it.

Anyway, I'm surprised it took me this long to do a post about this topic, considering the fact that it's basically my writergram niche and my entire personality IRL, but I think it was mainly because I was trying to find a good angle to approach this massive topic. But, stay tuned for (probably) a part 2 because there's SO MUCH MORE to cover.

Hope this was helpful, and let me know if you have any questions by commenting, re-blogging, or DMing me on IG. Any and all engagement is appreciated :)

Happy writing, and have a great day!

- grace <3

[graceshouldwrite]

How to Edit Your Novel (Pt. 1)

If you haven't finished writing your first draft yet, feel free to save this for future use :) If you HAVE finished first drafting (BIG CONGRATS! That's a massive accomplishment, and I hope you're super proud of yourself ❤️ ), I really hope this helps you!

There's a lot to get into regarding editing, so this post will focus on more macro edits while part 2 will focus on micro edits.

Reread

In my opinion, one of the MOST IMPORTANT parts of editing is rereading your own book.

I highly recommend printing out your book into a physical copy. Generally, you can print out hundreds of pages at the copy or stationery shop (e.g. Staples), and then put them in a 3-ring binder.

For presets, I highly recommend at least 12 pt. font and DOUBLE-SPACED!!! This is so you can annotate easily DIRECTLY between lines on the paper while you're rereading. For me, I annotate with a red pen. The biggest things to focus on for a first reread are:

Plot + subplots! Example questions:

What things don't make sense?

What things don't you like?

(Spec fiction specific, mostly) Any worldbuilding issues, like no introduction to the cool fantasy gadgets, lore not matching up, or no logistical possibilities (e.g. how do gladiators in your book use modern flush toilets when the world is based on Ancient Rome?)?

Is anything too confusing?

Unnecessary scenes?

Issues with important plot beats (e.g. inciting incident too late, climax too early, etc. depending on how you want your story to flow)?

Characters! Example questions:

Is the development clear?

Are their personalities, motivations, and backstories fleshed out?

Do they have distinct voices that can be relatively easily distinguished in dialogue?

Are their names/appearances/personalities too similar, causing confusion?

Do you have too many or too few characters?

Are the character/group dynamics organic, significant to the plot, and enjoyable to read?

Other things to get picky with include:

tone, mood, voices, general atmosphere

prose issues like dialogue, description, etc.

plot discontinuities (e.g. John has blue eyes in Chapter 4, but in Chapter 6, he has green eyes)

grammar

Go in with your red pen and do whatever you want, as long as you can clearly read what you scribble. Let yourself go wild with *circle* "GRAMMAR ERROR!" or *underline* "STRANGE CHARACTER INTERACTION" or *large bracket spanning paragraph* "BAD SCENE!" Don't worry about making it look "aesthetic," just go for it in whichever way is most efficient for you.

However, for your first reread, or just an earlier one, focusing on the big picture things should be your first priority! Imagine tweaking the prose in one chapter for it to read like the love child of Victor Hugo and Charles Dickens, but then you realize the chapter doesn't serve the plot at all and needs to be cut...

Revision

After rereading, it's time to revise. Revision is the BIG PICTURE, GENERAL edit! Remember those issues that you found? Now, you're actively brainstorming how to fix them. This is not the REWRITING stage yet—that comes after!

Refer back to the list of questions above, and find solutions. I like to do this in a systematic method where I make a table (in this case, using Notion):

You can make this in any spreadsheet software, or even just create columns in a doc or on paper. I sort it by the ISSUE, SOLUTION IDEAS, TYPE OF ISSUE (e.g. character development, worldbuilding), and STATUS (done?).

Of course, doing this in a linear fashion is also fine, where you directly go down the chronological plot order. However, I would suggest separately brainstorming for each issue before you begin this step.

For example:

ISSUE: Heist is too easy and underwhelming

IDEAS:

Increased number of trained security personnel + improved tech (e.g. city hired guards who were former thieves themselves, security cameras, classic laser beams protruding from walls, a door with more locks and a very hard constitution)

In the thief group, more tension between each other -> harder for them to all cooperate and coordinate, leading to some things going wrong

Decreased competence of certain thieves, or just careless mistakes (e.g. tripping, coughing because of dust and attracting attention, not scaling a wall properly, etc.)

After you comb through all the issues like this (or however much effort each issue warrants), you'll find yourself at the REWRITING step! We'll cover that next time :)

∘₊✧────── ☾☼☽ ──────✧₊∘

instagram: @ grace_should_write

I used to dread revising, especially after I'd finished the first draft of my first novel, but now, I quite like the process :) Yesterday, I just finished re-plotting an improved version of my story after LOTS of revising through 4 drafts! I can 100% say that no matter how difficult it is, a thorough revision is totally worth it!!!

OH! Also, goes without saying, but that spreadsheet revision example is NOT a real project hahaha

Hope this was helpful, and let me know if you have any questions by commenting, re-blogging, or DMing me on IG. Any and all engagement is appreciated :)

Happy writing, and have a great day!

- grace <3

[graceshouldwrite]

How to Write Devastating Betrayals (Pt. 2)

[FIND PT. 1 on @ grace_should_write on IG, or by scrolling through my Tumblr profile!]

Here are more elements + tips on satisfying betrayals that will destroy both your characters AND your readers! Sorry for the wait... 😅 As usual, the examples all contain spoilers!

1. How does the TRAITOR feel?

This is first because I feel it's SO so undercovered. I've definitely seen lots of tips about viscerally describing the feelings of the betrayed, but...how does the traitor feel?

Let's use the example of cheating, universally recognized as one of the biggest forms of romantic betrayal. Obviously, the person getting cheated on will probably feel devastated, but this betrayal can be made even MORE gut-wrenching if the writer explores how the cheater feels.

Maybe there's guilt that occurs before, during, and after the cheating. It might build over time, going from a small tinge to absolutely crippling shame. The cheater will probably realize what they really lost after they get caught. Maybe they reminisce on all the good times they had with their proper partner and immediately feel thrown back into reality, asking themselves how they could ever have done what they did. Maybe, after all this, it still kills them to see their partner so hurt by their actions.

Guilt is one of the most common feelings traitors have after betrayals, but a portrayal of the flip side—a ruthless, pragmatic satisfaction—can also be interesting.

One of the best historical examples I've seen of this is the life of Joseph Fouché, a French politician active from the 1789 French Revolution all the way to 1816, during the Bourbon restoration. For reference, that's a crazy long period of time for any politician to hold so much (albeit behind the stage) power.

Aside from being a master at political scheming and intrigue plots, he was known as a "chameleon"—able to seamlessly and shamelessly shift his loyalties. He never really committed to a single group or person, always joining a group as soon as it became, or had the potential to become, influential, and leaving it (often actively working against it) as soon as the group was projected to lose power.

One of the biggest manifestations of this is the juxtaposition of his own childhood to his adulthood—he was raised and educated in the Church and even taught in a Catholic institution for a while during his young adulthood. He never harboured any sort of hatred against the Church.

Then, when the French Revolution rolled around and religion was seen as highly unpopular and ultra-traditional, he was one of the most enthusiastic church ransackers and dechristianizers. He wanted to "[abandon] the role of religion in society altogether" just one year after he'd advocated for "the role of the [Church] in education." He pulled this sort of turncoat trick on group after group, even including Napoleon.

While guilt is generally recognized as emotionally effective, the LACK of guilt in a traitor is a super underrated tool. Often, a lack of guilt can be even more surprising and jarring to the reader, eliciting not only sadness, but anger, or just pure shock at how depraved humans can be. If the context doesn't really call for those emotions, at least this type of betrayal will be quite memorable.

KEY POINT: If it's something 100% morally reprehensible, e.g. cheating in a safe relationship, a parent selling a child for money, a friend betraying another purely for power, etc., NEVER justify the traitor's actions.

Showing the side of the traitor doesn't exonerate them; it just allows the reader to get hit with the full complexity of both parties' emotions. Twice the turmoil!

Of course, in more morally complex cases, you could choose to mainly explore the traitor's actions and motivations. For example, Brutus betrayed his friend Julius Caesar because he thought Caesar was becoming a tyrant who would take away democracy from the Roman Republic.

Here, Brutus' betrayal could be condemned if you purely look at it as "a friend betraying a friend." However, it could also be justified if you see it more as "a person sacrificing a personal relationship for the greater good of a nation."

2. How does the BETRAYED feel?

This point is definitely covered more than the previous one, so it will be shorter. However, here are a few other ideas of how the betrayed character can feel/react instead of the typically seen, angry "WHAT THE HECK? No way! How dare you?!"

they had suspicions very early on, and the betrayal doesn't shock them as much as it confirms their beliefs -> emotions like sadness, disappointment, and generally less aggressive forms of resentment will probably come out. (e.g. I can't remember where I've seen this but I have lol...but have a meta example. Think of when YOU see a character with major betrayal flags actually betray! Isn't that feeling just...more quiet resentment than fury? Now, think of how a character would feel)

they are understanding. Even if they're surprised, they can see why the betrayed chose to do what they did and aren't as resentful as they are compassionate. (e.g. Il-nam when Gi-hun betrays him in the show Squid Game)

they accept it. Although similar, this is still different from "understanding" because the betrayed character doesn't necessarily sympathize with the traitor; they just acknowledge that they're powerless to do anything at the moment, and they won't waste any energy getting angry. (e.g. Jesus when Judas betrays him)

quiet horror. No room for aggressive resentment, just that slowly dawning feeling of fear or hurt when they realize it happened. (e.g. Lydia Rodarte-Quayle when Walter White betrays her at the very end of the show Breaking Bad)

A diverse range of reactions can help your reader be more emotionally receptive. Seeing the same type of reaction to fictional betrayals can be quite numbing—these less commonly used ideas can feel more like cutting open a fresh wound, instead of rubbing salt in an existing one, if you get what I mean...

3. Aftermath of the betrayal

I RARELY see this covered at all, so I'll slip this in here: Betrayal is MORE than just the moment, even more than the foreshadowing in events leading up to it.

One of the most important parts of betrayal is the aftermath. The key question to ask yourself is: what is left behind?

What is lost? What is left? Most importantly, WHAT HAS CHANGED?

Now's your chance to imply, or even show, how the betrayed person/people/party will recover. Will they do it healthily, or destructively? What does this mean for the future of their relationships (existing or potential), endeavours (are plans ruined or improved?), self-image, and anything else important?

For example, lots of characters go on their angsty, "I'll never open up to anyone ever again and I'll brood forever" arc after a betrayal. Still, others try to process the betrayal as it tanks their self-worth. Of course, there are characters who process their betrayal through healthier coping mechanisms. They might choose to continue trusting and being open in the future.

For bigger parties, it can be even more complicated. Was the traitor an important person in an organization? Will the organization collapse without them, or will it thrive because they were only in it because of non-skill-related reasons? How did other people in the organization see them? So many options!

The aftermath can amplify feelings of anger, sadness, emptiness, or anything else your readers feel after your betrayal. It also allows for a more satisfying story conclusion (if that's what you're going for). It will even help your readers be even MORE invested in your characters because a betrayal is another big milestone that they've now experienced along with your characters.

∘₊✧────── ☾☼☽ ──────✧₊∘

instagram: @ grace_should_write

WHEW! Took a while before I finally fished this one out of my drafts and continued it. I love LOVE media and historical analysis in general, so I hope the length of this post is kinda complemented by the information I tried to provide.

I hope everyone's doing well! I'm super excited for a grad trip to ITALY NEXT WEEK!!!! As such, I might miss a post over that weekend, but stay tuned for more posts that week before then! Thank you all so much for engaging with my posts, it means the world ❤️

Hope this was helpful, and let me know if you have any questions by commenting, re-blogging, or DMing me on IG. Any and all engagement is appreciated :)

Happy writing, and have a great day!

- grace <3

[graceshouldwrite]

Make 4 "Annoying" Tropes Work (Ideas)

These four tropes almost ALWAYS top the "most annoying tropes" list, but they're also quite useful plot-wise (and can definitely be done originally), and realistic.

For example, certain people DO just seem more "destined" to do something than others, some stories are just better served without parental interference, other characters may not have the personalities they do without having a traumatic backstory, and love triangles do happen in real life. These tropes are simple ways to take care of certain plot holes without spending too much time developing something that's not integral to the main plot.

While there obviously are a lot of different ways to SUBVERT these tropes, this post is specifically about fresh directions you can take the original tropes.

1. Chosen One

Character APPRECIATES being the Chosen One, enthusiastically trying to fulfil their role instead of the typical "oH nO wHy Me" response that lots of Chosen Ones give at first. (IMO, lots of people would appreciate a call to a cool adventure + being labelled "different" or "special"—in the good way—in real life...)

Turns out, character is only "Chosen" for a very specific role, and still depends on the help of many allies -> this could present the theme that you don't have to be specifically "DESTINED" for something to make an impact, and that you definitely don't have to be the Chosen One (or anything like that IRL) to be a hero!

2. Dead Parents

Instead of dead parents = material for throwaway "oh yeah [trauma dump]" joke, or something the character occasionally thinks of, or even worse, something that's mentioned nonchalantly and NEVER BROUGHT UP AGAIN, let it have an impact. For example:

the character emulates (subconsciously or not) attributes/habits of their parents that they "inherited"; e.g. character = as optimistic as late father, or character twirls hair when nervous like late mother

the character dreams/thinks of them a lot

the character cares for others in a parental way to make sure that their friends feel safe and comforted in a way that they didn't

this way, you can still have dead parents for plot convenience WHILE portraying different ways characters might move on from or cope with the event

Also, a variety of parents! Parents don't all fall into either "overly nice" or "abusive" (contrary to lots of fictional portrayals). They can be lenient but firm, strict in a specific sense (e.g. academically, focused on appearance), dealing with their own trauma, thrill-seekers who like bringing their kids along, etc. Characters can remember things about their parents that AREN'T 100% perfect or 100% evil. Writers love moral ambiguity nowadays, so apply this to parents as well. This goes for living parents, too!

3. Tragic Backstory

**NOTE: I'm mainly addressing tragic backstory -> character = broody or angsty or evil trope!

Character goes through lots of stuff -> comes out kinder and more empathetic as a result, caring + reaching out to others even MORE! This is the reality for many people who experience screwed-up stuff. The idea that all people who've gone through traumatic events turn into disturbed, isolated, or morally twisted members of society is EXTREMELY misleading and only stigmatizes unpacking trauma. Of course, portrayals of people who deal with trauma destructively are fine, but seeing it all the time can be exhausting and unrealistic, making it all the more annoying of a trope. Instead, maybe...

Show people HEALTHILY processing trauma!!! For example, characters talking out their trauma with each other is a great showcase of character development as well as a realistic depiction of the healing process. Maybe they learned to continue being vulnerable + trusting their friends despite what happened to them. Maybe they've regained their confidence, knowing that how others treat them does NOT define their worth. So many ideas can be found simply by observing people around you, or by reading about people's lives.

4. Love Triangle

PERSONAL reasons WHY characters A and B like C, not just because C is attractive, etc. This doesn't apply just to love triangles but to romantic plots in general.

The main complaint I've seen against love triangles is that the centre of it (usually the protagonist) is this perfect Mary Sue/Gary Stu who's just gorgeous (usually doesn't know it), has a 190 IQ, is good at literally everything, etc. etc. Your love triangle centre will 100% have at least one redeeming quality, but think of other reasons why they're pursued! Love is about so much more than having an amazing appearance, intelligence, talent, etc.

IMO, this is pretty well done in the anime/manga Death Note, where *SPOILER ALERT* a girl named Misa has a massive crush on the protagonist, because he basically exacted vigilante justice against the armed robber who killed her parents. There's not really a canon love triangle, but it's just a good example of a personal reason for a crush. Sure, the protagonist is extremely smart and handsome, but that was not relevant at all to why Misa began liking him. Instead, she'd never even met/seen him before. (That's all you need to know—too much explaining to do otherwise!)

Back to OUR example, maybe C hung out with A when A was a social outcast at school or work, and they developed a friendship with A's life being brightened through C reaching out and helping them through tough times. Maybe C is super talented at playing an instrument, and B attended many performances featuring C and felt inspired—artistically, or other—by C's music. Let your imagination run wild :D

Next idea: PROPER COMMUNICATION. Let's go back to characters A, B, and C. Suppose C chooses B over A—C should properly let A know that they're not interested for whatever reason, and make clear to B that C wants to further the relationship.

A love triangle is inherently more complicated than a romantic plot involving only two people: it's all the turmoil between two people, MULTIPLIED. Communication is even more important here because an external person's emotions are also on the line!!!

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instagram: @ grace_should_write

At this point, I've accepted the fact that my posts are often dense and long...haha...

Sorry about sporadic posts this week. I had my ARCT piano exam (I put it off for like 3 years due to COVID, and it bit me in the ass because hanging out with the same 6 pieces for 3 years made me want to jump off a bridge)—I barely practiced my pieces regularly, so I spent the 2 days before my exam practicing for 6 HOURS A DAY. I'm not kidding. This is what I get for not practicing even 2 hours a week for basically 1 year 😭

ALSOALSO! Trying to set up some things relating to a YT channel...might post stuff about it here :) First video will be out soon! And while we're doing all that, of course, I'm writing and gaming and just basically dabbling in everything I want to before college eats me alive. Shouldn't be gaming that much, tbh. Oh well.

As always, hope this was helpful, and let me know if you have any questions by commenting, re-blogging, or DMing me on IG! Any and all engagement is appreciated <3333

Happy writing, and have a great day,

- grace <3

[graceshouldwrite]

The Most Powerful Hack to Make Your Readers Cry

You’ve seen it all: show, don’t tell, plant a visceral image in the reader’s brain of the environment/character, write a complex character arc with lots of growth and setbacks, establish deep relationships, high stakes, etc. 

All the advice for making readers cry I’ve seen so far is basically that list. But, while those things are absolutely important, I find that the thing that always does the trick, whether as a tipping point or in and of itself, is this: 

THE CALLBACK! 

Before we move on, this is an ANALYSIS heavy post, so all the book + show examples contain spoilers!!

So, what do I mean by a “callback?” Think of Chekhov’s gun, but, here, you use the gun to pierce your reader’s heart. As a refresher for anyone who needs it, Chekhov’s gun is just a rule in writing that anything you introduce in the book should play some role in the plot.

Specifically, the name comes from the example that if a reader introduces a gun in the first act, it MUST go off later, (maybe, say, in the third act). For example, in the TV show Breaking Bad, the protagonist Walter White prepares a vial of poison (ricin) that he wanted to use to eliminate an opponent early on in the series. After the assassination attempt falls through, the ricin makes an appearance again in the very last episode of the show, when Walt finally uses it to kill another opponent. 

Got that? Alright, onto the examples of successful, tearjerking callbacks: 

1. The Last Olympian (Rick Riordan); “Family, Luke, you promised.” 

Context: The character Annabeth says this line. Years ago, Annabeth had run away from home, and Luke had effectively adopted her into a found family with another kid named Thalia. Common reason for leaving home = parental trauma! Yay! He promised Annabeth that they would be each other’s “family” from now on. 

Now: Kronos, the antagonist titan, has possessed the demigod Luke and uses his body to strike Annabeth, injuring her. She’s also holding a dagger that Luke had given her when she joined his “family.”

Significance: her words + the dagger are a mental + physical reminder to Luke of his promise. They force him to recognize the sheer degree of his current betrayal by bringing him back to a different time. The fact that their found family only happened because of parental trauma bringing them together makes it worse—Luke felt abandoned by his Olympian father, Hermes. Now, he realizes that he basically did the equivalent to Annabeth by joining the titans. 

2. Les Miserables (Victor Hugo); Jean Valjean’s death 

Context:  At the beginning of the book, the bishop had caught Valjean trying to steal candlesticks to sell. Instead of handing him over to the police, the bishop told the police that he had given them to Valjean, saving him from arrest and showing him mercy. This changed his life forever, kickstarting his character redemption arc. 

Now: Jean Valjean dies surrounded by his loved ones, remembered as a benevolent man who bettered thousands of lives. He’s surrounded by light from candlesticks that once belonged to a bishop.

Context: Valjean had once taken in an impoverished woman named Fantine, showing her mercy and promising to take care of her daughter, Cosette, after Fantine died. Valjean then rescued Cosette from abusive quasi-foster parents (it’s a long story), raising her as his own daughter. This furthered his arc by allowing him to finally understand how unconditionally loving someone feels. 

Now: Valjean describes Fantine to Cosette, who never knew her mother. 

Significance: Both examples throw readers back to much earlier points in the story before the completion of Valjean’s character arc. In a way, this final scene feels like an external manifestation of his kindness paying off; both he and the reader feels a sense of accomplishment, relief, and just a general “OMG WE MADE IT.” Readers don’t feel cheated, because they were with Valjean every step of his 1,400 page arc. The weight of it all just crashes down on you...

3. Your Lie in April (anime); Kaori’s letter after she dies

Context: Kaori’s entire plot significance is that she helps Kousei, a piano prodigy who can’t play piano anymore due to traumatic parental memories associated with it, play again—but also, just to help him enjoy life again after a turbulent upbringing. She meets him a year before she dies of a medical condition, and her free spirit + confidence influences him to find beauty in life and music again. They basically do a crap ton of crazy funny stuff together lol

Now: Kaori has died, and she leaves a letter to him. Among other general confessions and thoughts, she references things they did and memories they shared: she says, “sorry we couldn’t eat all those canelés,” reminisces about  jumping with him off a small bridge into the stream below, “racing each other alongside the train,” singing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star as they rode the bike together, etc.

Significance: Yes, the nature of the letter is just sad because she’s revealing that she loved him all along, apologizing for not being able to spend more time with him, lying that she didn’t like him (to spare his feelings b/c she knew she would die soon), etc. BUT, these small details highlight exactly how many experiences they shared, and the depth of their relationship. Thus, they emphasize the significance of her death and the emptiness it leaves behind. 

4. Arcane (show); “I thought, maybe you could love me like you used to, even though I’m different.” 

Context: Character Jinx says this in the last episode to her now estranged older sister, Vi. Without going into the crazy complex plot, basically, orphans Vi and Jinx used to care for each other before a bunch of crap went down that got them separated. They then grew up on opposite political sides; Jinx grows up on the side of the underbelly city rebellion, and Vi grows up working on the side of the richer city that essentially oppresses the undercity. Thus begins the development of their opposing viewpoints and work environments, to the point where they always meet on opposite sides of a political battle, never able to come together as a family or understand each other again. 

Now: After a super dramatic confrontation, Jinx reveals that although she wants Vi to love her like she did before their separation, she knows it’s not possible because “[Vi] changed too.” She finishes with, “so, here’s to the new us” before blowing up a political council meeting a few blocks down filled with people Vi sides with. Oops! This cleanly seals the fate of their relationship as something basically irreparable.  

Significance: This callback isn’t through literal flashbacks or items like in the previous examples. Jinx’ lines are enough to bring back images of their childhood to the audience’s mind. Now, the audience subconsciously places this image of: 1) two sisters so different, hurt, and torn apart, right next to 2) the image of two sisters as innocent children who loved each other and would care for each other no matter what. 

Why do callbacks work so well? 

If you’ve noticed something in common with all of them, you’re right: they remind audience of a time BEFORE the characters have come so far on their arcs, developed, and put on so much more emotional baggage. 

Callbacks force the audience to SUDDENLY and IMMEDIATELY feel the weight of everything that’s happened. The character’s anguish and overwhelming emotions become the audience’s in this moment. Callbacks are a vehicle for the juxtaposition of worlds, before and after significant development. 

This works because we, as mortals, fear IMPERMANENCE the most. We fear LOSS. For us, time gone is time we will never get back; callbacks make us face that exact fact through a fictional character. A lost moment, time period, or even part of oneself may hurt as much as losing a loved one, and nothing makes humans grieve more than the realization of a loss. A callback slaps the audience in the face with the fact that something was lost; loss hurts so much because almost 99% of the time, what’s gone is gone forever. 

Of course, a good callback requires good previous character development, stakes, imagery, and all that jazz, but I thought I’d highlight this specifically because of how under covered it is. 

∘₊✧────── ☾☼☽ ──────✧₊∘

instagram: @ grace_should_write

I’ve been binging general media lately: I finished Death Note, Your Lie in April, and Tokyo Ghoul all within like a month (FIRST ANIMES I”VE EVER WATCHED!!), reread lots of Les Miserables, analyzed a bunch of past shows like Breaking Bad, watched a bunch of My Little Pony, worked to fix up my old writing... and that’s not even all! The amount of times I’ve CRIED while enjoying the above media and so much more honestly just inspired this post. 

Like, no joke, my eyes were almost always swollen during this period whenever I hung out with my friends and it was so embarrassing help 

Personally, I just find that this method works super well for me, and I watched a bunch of reaction videos to these above scenes (and read book reviews on the book scenes I mentioned), and it seemed that just about everyone cried during these parts. That’s when I realizes that the callback might also just be a universal thing. 

Anyway, this post is long and dense enough as is. SORRY! As always, hope this was helpful, and let me know if you have any questions by commenting, re-blogging, or DMing me on IG. Any and all engagement is appreciated <3333

Happy writing, and have a great day,

- grace <3

[graceshouldwrite]

4 Ways to Get Back Into Your WIP

You know when you might have taken a long break, worked on other projects, talked to other people about it, and basically did EVERYTHING to get yourself back into it, but it’s not working?

Even though you still want to LIKE your WIP and work on it? 

These tips are based on my own experience dealing with that feeling. I went through something like that for around a year, but now, I’m getting past it and returning to my main WIP more excited than I’ve been for a long time! 

1. List out WHAT you don’t like and fix it

COMMON CORE ISSUES:

Plot + Subplots? 

They might seem too (among other things):

lackluster

complex

unnecessary

confusing

You might not know how to:

develop the plots

make them believable

add the scenes you want without giving the book 800+ pages

choose scenes to cut to fit the word count goal...

Characters?

A BIG ONE: some writers try to force themselves to like X character for whatever reason (e.g. based them on a specific aesthetic, felt forced to add specific rep, etc), but they just DON’T. 

Or, maybe:

you don’t know how to develop your characters

their group dynamic is too difficult to write/doesn’t make a lot of sense

your character voices, personalities, or appearances might not be distinct enough

Prose?

You might:

want to add more humour (prose is too depressing and atmospherically dark)

want to add more gravity (prose is too comedic and romantic)

want to shift from past to present tense, want to tell story from another POV, etc. 

Organization?

OFTEN, the book’s just TOO COMPLEX with all the characters, subplots, etc. and it’s too intimidating to try to sort out all the mess that’s your WIP 

SO…

The lists I gave you are most of the big, common issues. Once they’re sorted into SPECIFIC types of problems, don’t they get less intimidating to look at? 

I know you might think, gee, Grace, these problems will take [insert comically large time frame] to solve. 

Well, if you genuinely want to like your project again and work on it, DO IT.

Slowing down your WIP finish date is worth it if it helps you get back into it. If you never get back into the project, you’ll NEVER FINISH IT. Late > never.

Heck, you might not even be too late—you might find yourself back in the passionate fever you were when you started it, and be in the headspace to write furiously :) 

I think you know how to solve these broken-down problems. Some require more sheer line-editing, while others require big executive decisions (e.g. getting rid of a character or rewriting an entire subplot/the plot). But, it will be worth it when you start to love your project again.

2. Remember why you started it 

Before each project, write a STATEMENT OF PURPOSE at the beginning of your doc to remind you why you’re writing this story in the first place. If you didn’t do this, it’s not too late to start one now! 

It could be something as close to heart as “I want to express how unrequited love feels,” or something as grand as like “I want to write a tragic allegory of the political and economic state of the world that explores human nature” (I am projecting in both of these examples, but you get it). 

Something SPECIFIC is a lot better for this than things like: “I told X this story idea and they liked it,” or “I promised to write this for X,” or “I want to tell this story just cuz.” These latter examples probably won’t fill you with passion. 

3. Listen BEYOND your WIP playlists. Look at images BEYOND your WIP aesthetics 

Many people think revisiting your old playlists / boards help, but that often contributes to the staleness!!!! 

Instead, by purposefully expanding your scope of consumed media, you open yourself up to more inspiration and ideas of where you want to take your project.  New images and new songs will give you new ideas on atmosphere, mood, scenes, and so much more. 

4. Compare your WIP to a similar book you like

You know THAT BOOK that comes to mind whenever someone asks you which book is your favourite/impacted you deeply? Think of how your book will impact readers in the same way. All the emotional turmoil and mental enlightenment That Book gave you is what YOU will give to the readers who resonate with YOUR book one day!

The author of the book you’re thinking about went through drafts, edits, and maybe even wanted to give up at some point, (LIKE YOU!) but pushed through it. Now, their book is on the bestseller list/on a bookshelf/a classic (whatever appeals to you)!  Don’t stop before YOUR book is there, too. 

∘₊✧────── ☾☼☽ ──────✧₊∘

instagram: @ grace_should_write

A LOT of this comes from personal experience; I had this mental tussle with my main WIP a while back, so I hope this helps anyone else dealing with the same problem :)

Hope this was helpful, and let me know if you have any questions by commenting, re-blogging, or DMing me on IG. Any and all engagement is appreciated <3333

Happy writing, and have a great day!

- grace <3