Helpful Writing Tips

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[helpful-writing-tips]

The bigger the issue, the smaller you write.

You don't write about the horrors of war. You write about a kid's burnt socks lying in a pile of rubble.

You pick the smallest manageable part of the big thing, and you work off the resonance.

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if you're trying to get into the head of your story's antagonist, try writing an "Am I the Asshole" reddit post from their perspective, explaining their problems and their plans for solving them. Let the voice and logic come through.

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giving characters flaws:

turn their best qualities completely upside down. turn those traits around on them.

they're too compassionate? maybe they're way too easily forgiving and get screwed over by it repeatedly.

extremely outgoing and extroverted? maybe they're apathetic to those who struggle with even having small talk, and make those people highly uncomfortable.

brave? maybe they can be reckless and often get themselves in unnecessary danger.

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When writing emotionally reserved characters:

Show your character's struggles with holding in emotions. Just because your character won't let themself go in public, doesn't mean they don't struggle holding everything in.

Find a motive. Pride and/or consideration for those around them can make emotionally reserved people hold back more than would be considered good for them. There are other reasons too, perhaps the initial cause and the reason now are different, but try to give them a reason.

Show side-effects. Everything you bottled up shows itself in another way, whether it's physical or mental. This can be long- and short-term, depending on the severity of the emotions.

Give them coping mechanisms. Everyone who wishes not to show certain emotions has a trick or two to keep themselves in check. Taking a sip of water, not looking people in the eyes, clenching their fists, breathing just a bit too deeply.

Write subconscious signs that they give off, which close friends or family might pick on. Just because these characters want to keep their emotions to themselves, doesn't mean they don't give off signs. Some manage to keep said signs well hidden from those closest to them, but it's more common for environment to pick up on something at the very least.

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basic things you should know about your main characters

how is their relationship with their family

what are their beliefs, if they have any

what is their motivation (preferably something unrelated to their love interest/romantic feelings)

who were they raised to be vs. who they became/are becoming

what are their plans for the future, if they have any

how they feel about themselves and how it affects their behaviour

how do they feel about things they cannot control

and last but not least: Why is This Character the Protagonist??

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how to write creepy stories

over describe things

under describe things

short sentences in rapid succession build tension

single sentence paragraphs build dread

uncanny valley = things that aren't normal almost getting it right

third person limited view

limited expressions

rot, mold, damage, age, static, flickering, espsecially in places it shouldn't be

limited sights for your mc - blindness, darkness, fog

being alone - the more people there are, the less scary it is

intimate knowledge, but only on one side

your reader's imagination will scare them more than anything you could ever write. you don't have to offer a perfectly concrete explanation for everything at the end. in fact, doing so may detract from your story.

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Be mean to your characters.

What do they take for granted? Take it away from them.

The one thing they know for certain? Make them doubt it.

Their worst fear? Throw it at their faces.

Make their plans fail. Make them cry. Make them question things and then learn about them and the way they react in the process.

Be mean to your character. Then be kind to them for a while, because after all that they may deserve it.

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A character flaw is only a flaw until it becomes useful.

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

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 remorseless? Well, that makes them pretty unlikeable... until a hard decision has to be made.

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How To End Your Story

The Circle Ending: A story that does a full circle and comes back to the beginning

The Moral Ending: An ending where you learn a lesson and see the character develop

The Surprise Ending: A big plot twist last-minute

The Reflection Ending: The character looks back on their past achievements and experiences

The Emotional Ending: Leave your readers feelings sad, bittersweet, or happy

The Cliffhanger Ending: End on something that will leave your readers at the edge of their seat

The Humor Ending: Finish in a funny or humorous way

The Question Ending: Make the reader wonder what will happen next

The Image Ending: Show, don't tell

The Dialogue Ending: Finish with a quote from one of your characters

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1. Find the thing the character wants to say, their deepest and most fundamental truth.

2. Now that's the one thing they cannot, under any circumstances, say. Imagine they're under a fairy curse if you have to.

3. But they want to. They want to, so bad. So it's going to bleed into everything they do say & everything they do.

What would you do for someone if you couldn't say you loved them? That you hated them? That you love them but the things they do remind you of your father?

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Murder Terminology in Layman's Terms

First degree:

You planned it out beforehand and then killed someone (example: many murder cases in drama and fiction)

Second degree:

You didn't necessarily plan it, but you definitely meant to kill the person. (examples: armed robbery, bar fight resulting in death, drive-by shooting, gang fights, etc)

Voluntary manslaughter:

You didn't necessarily mean to kill them beforehand or have any real need to kill them, but you lost your shit and did. Also called a "crime of passion" murder, or third degree murder.

(example: person A learns that person B is cheating on them with person C so in the moment of this discovery they're filled with rage and kill person B, C, both. Also see: The Warfstache Affair.)

Involuntary manslaughter:

You didn't mean to kill the person at all and were aware of what you were doing but you were an idiot and cause someone else's death

(examples: DUI, vehicular manslaughter, criminal negligence, unsafe working cconditions resulting in death, etc)

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Writing Traumatized Characters

Most characters won't happily talk about their trauma at any given time.

If they do talk about it, that won't besically make the trauma go away (although it's still good to talk to someone).

Give them something that relieves stress (nail biting, drawing on their arms, biting their lip, etc) if someone mentions it or if they think about it.

Don't make every character go through trauma the same exact way.

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If your plot feels flat, STUDY it! Your story might be lacking:

Stakes - What would happen if the protagonist failed? Would it really be such a bad thing if it happened?

Thematic Relevance- Do the events of the story speak to a greater emotional or moral message? Is the conflict resolved in a way that befits the theme?

Urgency - How much time does the protagonist have to complete their goal? Are there multiple factors complicating the situation?

Drive - What motivates the protagonist? Are they an active player in the story, or are they repeatedly getting pushed around by external forces? Could you swap them out for a different character with no impact on the plot? On the flip side, do the other characters have sensible motivations of their own?

Yield - Is there foreshadowing? Do the protagonist's choices have unforeseen consequences down the road? Do they use knowledge or clues from the beginning, to help them in the end? Do they learn things about the other characters that weren't immediately obvious?

credit:@cedar-west

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The greater the conflict and more important the goal, the more tension the chapter will have.

1) a goal your pov character wants to achieve.

2) a conflict your pov character has to work through

Good pacing should build from smaller, more personal goals with minor conflict towards large goals with great conflict, before dropping back to lesser goals/conflict once more, but never to a point of lacking both goals and conflict.

credit:@brynwrites

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if you write a strong character, let them fail.

if you write a selfless hero, let them get mad at people.

if you write a cold-hearted villain, make them cry.

if you write a brokenhearted victim, let them smile again.

if you write a bold leader, make them seek guidance.

if you write a confident genius, make them be wrong, or get stumped once in a while.

if you write a fighter or a warrior, let them lose a battle, but let them win the war.

if you write a character who loses everything, let them find something.

if you write a reluctant hero, give them a reason to fight.

credit:@aj-eddy

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Lawful: Rules matter more to me than individuals.

Chaotic: Individuals matter more to me than rules.

Good: Other people's well-being is more important than my own.

Evil: My own well-being is more important than other people's.

Neutrals: My opinion of what is more important is determined on a case-by-case basis.

So a Lawful Good character would be "I follow the rules because the rules keep the people safe, even if they are sometimes inconvenient or harmful to me or other individuals."

A Chaotic Evil character would be "Screw the rules and screw you."

credit:@mindfulwrath

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"Your curses are your blessings and your blessings are your curses."

is your character strong-willed? that can easily be stubbornness. is your character compassionate? maybe they give too many chances. are they loyal? than they'll destroy the world for the people they love.

it works the other way around too. maybe your villain only hates the protagonist's people because they love their own and just have a twisted sense of how to protect them. maybe your antagonist is arrogant but they'll be confident in everything they do.

for every human alive, their flaws and strengths are directly related to each other. you can't have one without the other.

credit:@writing-references-yah