Now an author nerd with writing tips

[themultilingualslytherin]

Writing techniques and stuff to pay attention to/improve etc

Perspective/Point of view

First person. ‘The gun nestled in my hands’

involves reader/makes them feel like they’re experiencing the story first hand

Third person. ‘The gun nestled in his hand’

narrative, makes room for more description and scene setting, can be formal or informal writing structure

Sentence structures

Short opening sentences build tension and create drama

Three short sentences build tension through repetition

Contrast between short sentences and long, complex sentences can be powerful when used correctly

Start sentences with different words to add interest

Start sentences with the same or similar sentences to build tension through repetition.

Personification, powerful descriptive technique

‘The concrete beneath me could’ve swallowed me whole’

‘But your feet defy the orders from your brain and stay rooted to the ground’

Pathetic Fallacy - weather reflects the mood

‘The leaden sky darkened’

Sensory description - sensations felt by the protagonist, gives a much more realistic feel to the content and the reader can relate to the sensations

‘I felt the sweat drip down my collar. I felt the trigger and the air in my lungs refused to leave my body’

Repetition, when used correctly can be very powerful for creating drama, suspense or tension

‘Again, I felt the pressure of my finger on the trigger; again, my lungs refused to exhale’

Cliches, used in suspenseful situations create a huge contrast point

‘Frozen in that moment if felt like a dream’

Similes, descriptive technique

‘It was like a movie’

Adrress the reader to involve them and give them interest, using ‘you’ makes the reader feel like the narrator is talking directly to them

‘One of those dreams when you want to move…every fiber of your beings long to feel’

Reflection on feelings/ physical and emotional response to events, descriptive and realistic technique. Often describing the reactions more than the actual event is more powerful and effective

‘It didn’t really feel like me. It was an out of body experience’

Metaphors, powerful descriptive technique

‘Trickling blood crept away from him, the trickle became a crimson flower that blossomed eerily over the grey concrete

Happy Writing

[highkingtictac]

Resources list for writers

BASIC WRITING ADVICE:

5 Ways to Write Like Your Hair’s on Fire

9 Reasons Why Readers Stop Reading

10 Tips for Better Writing

15 BIG Writing Blunders

Analogies

Beautiful Words

Blogs Help Writing Skills

Characterization

Common Spelling/Grammar Mistakes

Common Writing Mistakes

dialogue

Dialogue vs. Narrative: A Primer

How do you get readers to trust you?

How Many POVs?

How NOT to Write a Book Review

How to be Funny if You’re Not

It’s OK to Write What You Don’t Know

Know Your Character

Overcome Writer’s Block

Plotting

Plotting II

Problem with Voice

Prologue or Ch 1

Proofing Your Manuscript–Ten Tips

Setting is Not a Place, it’s an Emotion

Twitter and Good Writing

Write Your Novel Part II

Write Your Novel Part III

Writing Your Novel Part I

When Do You Follow Writing Rules?

When Writing, Shout it Out

Why I Don’t Get Writers Block

EMOTION ADVICE:

How to Show (Not Tell) an Emotion–S to Z

How to Show (Not Tell) Emotion–E to O

How to Show (Not Tell) an Emotion–A to D

GENRE SPECIFIC ADVICE:

Can You Mix Genres in Your Writing?

19 Tips for Children’s Writers

15 Tips for Young Adult Writers

59 Tips for Fantasy Writers

18 Tips for Memoir Authors

9 Tips for Mystery Writers

8 Tips for Romance Writers

32 Tips for Science Fiction Writers

11 Tips on Writing Thrillers

8 Tips for Horror Writers

EXTRA ADVICE:

https://worddreams.wordpress.com/2013/11/13/how-to-describe-a-fight-2/ - ways to describe FIGHTS

https://worddreams.wordpress.com/2015/04/22/37-ways-to-describe-pain/ - 24 ways to describe PAIN

https://worddreams.wordpress.com/2015/03/02/57-ways-to-describe-voice-in-a-novel/ - 57 ways to describe TALKING

https://worddreams.wordpress.com/2016/06/20/29-ways-to-describe-scents/ - 34 ways to describe SCENTS

https://worddreams.wordpress.com/2015/04/06/118-ways-to-describe-sound/ -  72 ways to describe SOUNDS

https://worddreams.wordpress.com/2015/03/11/65-ways-to-describe-sight-and-eyes-in-your-writing/ -  65 ways to describe SIGHTS

https://worddreams.wordpress.com/2016/05/16/24-ways-to-describe-rooms/ - 11 ways to describe ROOMS

SHARE IF YOU LIKE IT, FOLLOW FOR MORE.

[weepycat]

peak fantasy environment designs:

floaty islands

glowing mushrooms

bigger versions of normal animals

animalistic dragons

deep, sentient forests

sky/space whales

[souichisan]

crystal clutters

multiple moons

planet rings visible from the ground

[beastlyart]

waterfalls falling to nowhere

sun-drenched deserts with nothing for miles except some old, mysterious ruins

stone formations that create natural arches

[thatwritergirlsblog]

Writing great friendships - Part 2

A lot of people requested that I do a Part 2 to my writing friendships post, so here it is:

1. Knowing & keeping each other’s secrets

I don’t know about you, but when someone tells me a secret, you best believe I’m going to tell my best friend. That’s just how it works.

So, if you have two characters who are supposed to be the best of friends, I suggest having them know each other’s secrets. If your MC suddenly develops magical powers or has a new crush or got into their dream university, they’re probably going to want to share it with their best friend.

If best friends don’t know something about each other, there has to be a VERY good reason.

Hand-in-hand with this is the keeping of each other’s secrets. If your MC’s best friend turns into a werewolf every night, they should be able to trust that the MC won’t blurt it out to the press or their peers.

If you want to write an unhealthy friendship, you can subvert these. Have the one friend keep mountains of secrets/be unable to keep the other’s secrets. OR have there be a secret that is worth telling someone else, but the friends are so blindly loyal that they still keep it under warps i.e. one friend is hurting themselves/someone else/being hurt by someone. These cases warrant sharing a secret in order to protect your friend.

2. Helping each other without being asked

This doesn’t have to be in every friendship, but it’s a good way to show your readers how much these characters care for each other.

Maybe one friend has run out of money for the month and the other leaves cash in their bag without saying anything. Maybe one of the characters aren’t feeling well and the other makes them a care package. Maybe your MC’s best friend is struggling at school. It could be a real testament to your MC’s character if they helped that friend with notes/tutoring etc.

Friends want the best for each other and don’t need to be begged to help each other. This goes along with the point in my Part 1 post that friends can often tell what’s wrong with each other without having to ask.

If you want to use this for an unhealthy friendship, turn helping into enabling. If one friend has a gambling problem and the other is continually there to bail them out without consequences, that’s not healthy assistance - it’s enabling an unhealthy habit. If one friend is too lazy to do their homework and the other always allows theirs to be copied, the same applies.

3. Becoming like family

By now, my followers have probably realised that I like Supernatural, so I’m going to reference it once again: Family don’t end with blood.

Long-term friends become so comfortable around each other that they behave like family members (and oftentimes become close with the real family).

This means doing domestic things together with ease and already having the division of responsibilities figured out. One friend may cook when they’re together and the other washes the dishes etc. My best friend and I lived together for two years and we had a standard deal that she kills all the insects and I open all the jars/bottles. We didn’t even have to discuss it. We knew.

This could also take the form of extreme comfort (like not caring about appearances around each other/admitting gross details to each other). Think of close sibling relationships. 

This could also mean security in the relationship, meaning that they feel free to call each other out/bicker without fear of the friendship ending.

This can be turned around for toxic friendships - where one friend is manipulated to stay in an unhealthy/abusive friendship because the other is “like family”.

4. Freaking out when the other gets hurt

This is especially useful if you’re writing something with lots of action/battle.

If one of the friends gets wounded in a fight, the other should be crazy with worry. They should want to be by the other’s side/help with caring for their friend etc.

If one of the friends are unconscious, even better. This way, their friend can refuse to leave their bedside until they wake up or read to them while they’re in a coma or whatever.

I’m not saying this is necessarily the healthiest thing in the world, but including it in your book will definitely show the reader how much these friends care about each other.

5. Talking to each other

This may seem like a very obvious point, but oftentimes friendships are mentioned in literature, but never really shown to the reader.

It won’t cut it to just tell the reader that these two characters are best friends, you need to show them interacting frequently. They should be in as many scenes together as possible. And they should communicate a lot.

This is often neglected in stories where romance features heavily. Character A has a best friend, we’re told. We see said best friend, Character B, once in the beginning of the novel. Then A meets heartthrob C and is never seen doing anything with B or talking to B about anything but C. No. I’m not going to believe two characters are the best of friends because you tell me they are. Readers want to see it for themselves.

Alright, that’s all I have on writing friendships. I hope that this can be useful to you guys :)

Reblog if you found these tips useful. Comment with your own tips. Follow me for similar content.

[theliteraryarchitect]

Who? What? Clearing up Ambiguity in Your Story

Note: This is a sneak peak from my forthcoming book The Complete Guide to Self-Editing for Fiction Writers.

This section comes from the sentence-level section, but the guide covers story-level, scene-level, and sentence-level editing. If you want to be notified when the book comes out, follow the link above to get added to the book release updates list.

Clearing Up Ambiguity During Your Sentence-Level Edit

Most of the confusing or ambiguous parts of your plot should get cleared up during the story- and scene-level edit of your book. But ambiguity sneaks into stories on the sentence-level, too.

In your sentence-level edit, you’ll want to check for ambiguous words, pronouns, language, and/or phrasing—anything that creates unintentional confusion for your reader.

Ambiguous Pronouns

Anytime you use it, its, this, that, he, she, him, her, his, hers, they, theirs, etc. make sure it’s crystal clear who or what you’re referring to.

Karen took the garlic, carrots, and lemon juice out of the fridge, but according to the recipe it wasn’t enough.

What wasn’t enough? The garlic? Carrots? Lemon juice? All three? To clarify, keep in mind that a pronoun refers to the last named person (for he, she, they) or object (for it, this, that). So in the sentence:

Karen and Diane unpacked her groceries into the fridge.

“Her” would refer to Diane, the last named female person. If those are Karen’s groceries, you’d need to write:

Karen and Diane unpacked Karen’s groceries into the fridge.

It may seem like a minor concern, but ambiguous pronouns can cause serious confusion for the reader, especially if you’re trying to show an important event.

Before: Lars threw the vase at the window, and it broke.

After: The vase broke when Lars threw it at the window.

In the first example, we can’t tell what broke. Was it the vase? The window? The revision, though not exactly poetic, is more clear.

Keep in mind that you can rewrite or reorganize whole passages to remove ambiguity, reworking the problem area until it adheres to your unique style and purposes. These are just examples to guide you, not instructions on how exactly to reword your sentences.

Common Ambiguous Pronouns:

• It • Its • This • That • Those • These • He • She • Him • Her • His • Hers • They • Theirs

Ambiguous Words

Unless the character is truly uncertain, or you want the reader to be uncertain what you’re referring to, avoid using ambiguous words like “something,” “somewhere,” “thing,” “stuff,” etc.

Before: There was something about him she despised.

After: She despised his beached-blonde hair, and his arrogance.

Be specific! If your character really doesn’t know what she hates about this person, “something” could work. But make sure you’re not being vague out of habit or laziness. 

Before: She picked up her stuff from the dry cleaners.

After: She picked up her suit from the dry cleaners.

“Suit” is a better choice here because it’s specific, concrete, and visualize-able. We can’t really get a mental picture of “stuff.”

Common Ambiguous Words:

• Thing • Something • Anything • Somewhere • Stuff • Nothing

When Ambiguity Works

Ambiguity has its place if your character is truly uncertain or if you want the reader to be uncertain.

In Jeanette Winterson’s The Passion, the main character is never named or gendered. This was an intentional choice by the writer, who wanted the reader to be unclear about the narrator’s gender and sexual identity.

Similarly, writers of horror, mystery, or magical realism who are trying to create a mysterious mood will use words like “might,” “could,” and “possibly” to intentionally invoke ambiguity:

The fog drifted through the trees, almost corporeal in its movements. Could it be ghost? An apparition?

In this dream sequence from Little Kingdoms, Steven Millhauser uses ambiguous language to emphasize the main character’s uncanny experience:

“You see,” he said to Max, who for some reason had climbed the desk and then onto the top of the door frame, where he sat crouched like a gnome as dark wings grew from his shoulders; and opening his eyes Franklin could not understand the bright dawn light pouring through the window in his bedroom, while somewhere far away a cup was rattling on a dish.  

When used intentionally, ambiguity can enhance mood, raise questions, and contribute to suspense. Just make sure you’re doing it on purpose!

Note: This post is a sneak peak from my forthcoming book The Complete Guide to Self-Editing for Fiction Writers. If you want to be notified when the book comes out, follow the link above to get added to the book release updates list. :)

//////////////

The Literary Architect is a writing advice blog run by me, Bucket Siler. For more writing help, check out my Free Resource Library, peruse my post guide, or hire me to edit your novel or short story. xoxo

[aubreyelder]

A Basic Guide to Three-Act Story Structure

These sections are broken down for a 120 page (2-hour) screenplay only as an example.

ACT I

SET UP (page 1-15) We begin with our Hook - the opening scene, which grabs the audience’s attention and sets the tone of the story. We may begin with some prologue or backstory, or a framing device, but in this section we are mostly introduced to the Main Character (MC) in their normal, everyday life. We see their dreams and desires, their inherent problems or unhappiness – things which will justify their actions through the story. Somewhere in here is the Theme Statement, where a character states the central message/theme of the story.

CALL TO ACTION (page 15-30) Following this is a Catalyst-Debate-Decision sequence. An inciting incident occurs which throws the MC’s life off its planned course, presenting them with the opportunity to get what they’ve always wanted. Initially they may refuse the call, or cautiously debate it. But eventually the MC finally decides to go on their journey, stepping into the unknown for the first time (sometimes called “Crossing the Threshold”).

ACT II-I

SUBPLOTS AND ROAD OF TRIALS (page 30-45) Now that the story’s main plot has begun, we can begin our subplots. They can be romantic subplots, mini-stories with our villains or secondary characters, or additional stories told through flashbacks and flashforwards. Subplots need to add to the plot itself, either by deepening character’s relationships with one another, foreshadowing things to come, or giving the audience context for a character’s actions. Meanwhile, the MC is exploring this new world, training and overcoming small conflicts in the initial phase of their journey.

MIDPOINT (page 45-60)  Halfway through your story, we have a major plot point. It can be a victory, a defeat, a breakthrough, or an unforeseen obstacle. Maybe your MC gains allies, or the team gets separated from one another, thrown off course by a shocking revelation, or maybe they achieve a milestone they’ve been working toward so far. Romantic pairs fall in love, kiss, or have sex for the first time. These kinds of big, exciting moments keep the story from dragging in the middle and losing the audience’s interest.

ACT II-II

DOWNTURN (page 60-75) Things suddenly get worse for the MC. Major characters die, the mentor character is gone, the romance is broken up. The antagonist gains power and succeeds in doing what they’ve been threatening to do, upping the stakes and resolving the main tension of the story’s conflict. All hope is lost. They failed, and are tempted to abandon their journey and go back home. (Cue sad montage.)

UPSWING (page 75-90) The MC gets advice or encouragement from someone who cares about them. Despite how beaten down they are, all the remaining characters manage to band together to formulate a plan. Ultimately, they decide they’ve come too far to turn back now, and need to come back swinging.

ACT III

FINALE (page 90-105) This is where the main plot and all the subplots comes together in the action-packed climax of the story. It’s a battle sequence, chasing after the love of their life so they an profess their love, defeating the monster, or catching the murderer. But since the main tension of the story was resolved in the Downturn, a new source of high-stakes conflict needs to be introduced. With the Twist In The Third Act, a ticking time bomb is set up, and we are afraid that a character might die, or something important might be lost or destroyed.

RESOLUTION (page 105-120) After the highest point of action in the climax, we have the final lag of our journey. Your MC should be a changed person, the opposite of what they were at the beginning of the story. They no longer wish to return to their original life, having achieved some inner peace and defeated the fears that initially held them back. There are a lot of ways to end a story, but whether you want go resolved, unresolved, happy, tragic, plot twist, or segue into the next book, it has to be emotionally satisfying for the audience. The story concludes with the final scene (a reflection of the opening scene), reinforcing how the events at the beginning of the story tie into the end, making everything feel whole and complete.

[kwusen]

tag urself fantasy weapons

bow: considerate, healing personality, gentle voice, attentive, open fields watching the clouds, constantly talking about love, thought to be lazy at times, always in their thoughts

sword: protector, adventurous, late nights looking at the stars, the warmth of a sunset, usually late but always with reason, amiable, the gayest one, overly idealistic 

dagger: frank but fair, the first smell of rain after a hot day, sleeping in, cold drinks, sensible, doesnt share much about themselves, cares deeply, needs caffeine  

axe: brave, persistent but stubborn, rather use action than words, loud and boisterous, unmannerly but always apologizes, kind hearted, really likes dogs, the sensation of finally lying down in bed after a hard day

lance: cautious, practical, dumbass passing, overly defensive at times, prefers sweets to savory, the first to offer advice, a safe person to be around, probably bi

staff: intuitive and careful, writing poems, mid day tea, not the most athletic, sarcastic and witty, over working, lack of sleep, loyalty, probably really into frogs tbh

[brynwrites]

Do you have any advice on writing in a way that makes the reader feel confined/suffocated/trapped like the protagonist feels in the novel?

Writing overwhelming emotions.

My advice is to approach it the same way you would when you’re trying to make the reader feel a character’s overwhelming emotions in any situation.

Describe the character’s surroundings using words that add weight to the character’s emotions. (The tunnel was very small. -> The walls of the tunnel seemed to tighten at the edges of my vision, like a thousand small, shadowed hands reaching toward me.)

Show the character’s physical sensations. (A was afraid. -> My lungs tightened, refusing the stale air.)

Use sentence length to your advantage. (All the oxygen seemed to be gone from the air. -> Stale air choked me. Suffocating. Constricting. Too little oxygen.)

Build more tension with action. (A sat there and cried. -> I scrambled backward, but my shoulder slammed into rock. I recoiled. My elbow cracked against the other wall. Yelping, I flinched away from the pain, knocking my head into the ceiling. Darkness swarmed in.)

Adjust thought patterns. (If I stay here for another ten minutes with limited air supply I might pass out. -> Oh god am I going to die here. I can’t die yet. I can’t. I won’t.)

Remember that the tension should build as the scene progresses, meaning that the pov character should continue to feel more and stronger emotions and sensations until they reach a point where they make a choice to either put those feelings aside or to escape their predicament!

[el-norawrites]

Build a fantasy religion

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

Why create a religion for my world?: 

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

Where to start:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[oliviapaigewrites-deactivated20]

Hey, a chart! This is inspired by an ask I got (I’m gonna be honest, I promised the person I’d tag them, but then sent the reply before I wrote down the URL. So, if I told you I was gonna tag you in this, tag yourself!!)

[oliviapaigewrites-deactivated20]

THIS IS AN IMPORTANT ONE! Don’t ignore this in your writing!

[xbloodrunsredx]

expressions and how others see them

In writing, the expressions and body languages of our characters are very important; there are a few nifty tricks to convey meaning through facial expressions. Here’s a cheat sheet!

1) Discomfort

Rocking back on their heels because they want to escape the conversation, adjusting their weight on the seat because they’re uncomfortable, folding their arms tight across their chest; everyone expresses their disinterest or interest in different ways. Usually, out bodies pick up on the ‘this is wrong’ feeling, and try to settle so we feel comfortable. They chew on their bottom lip, their eyes flicking away before they’re forced to make eye-contact. They’re perched on the edge of their seat, ready to flee at a moments notice.

2) Sadness

Sadness is an emotion we tend to try and hide. It can lead to subsections of feelings, like embarrassment or guilt over whatever is causing us sadness. Your character’s eyes burn with the effort to hold back tears, and people see them visibly on edge; they’re shaking, they’re chewing on their lip in an effort to force the negative feelings away. Their brow is furrowed and they turn their body away from people like they’re trying to hide. When it gets too bad, their shoulders shake with the force of their tears, the heels of their palms pressing against their eyes in an attempt to push the tears back in. Their nose is runny and their face is splotchy, their eyes red-rimmed and the bags that lurk under concealer are exposed.

3) Anger

We all know anger. It’s where your cheeks flush and you feel hot and dizzy, all logical thought replaced with a burning need to get rid of whatever caused to feel this way in the first place. People see your character, their back straight and their shoulder square, barely keeping the adrenaline restrained to their body. Their eyes are narrowed, their fists are clenched, and the air around them seems to spark with electricity. They can’t keep still, or they’re too still; pacing or ramrod straight in their chair, their cheek twitching with a previously unnoticed tick.

4) Happiness

It’s a bit harder to pinpoint this when you feel it. Your character is floating on air, the air around them thrumming with glee at whatever has happened. Others see the smile that tugs their lips upward, the way the corners of their eyes crease and crinkle in a hidden grin. Their hands clasp together, and they press their fingers into the fat of their cheeks, bashful in how utterly content they feel. Their shoulders are relaxed as they dance around the kitchen, and the serene expression that coats their face is beautiful.

5) Guilt

The child that has their hands caught in the cookie jar, the accidental killer; guilt varies and expresses itself in different ways. Their eyes flick to the ceiling and their lips pull together tightly to avoid spilling the truth. They look down at their clasped hands, resting their head on the inside of their wrist so their hand covers their eyes. They’re self-conscious about what people can tell about them from their appearance, and they tug at their hair, pulling their shoulders tight together in a protective barrier.

6) Disgust

Disgust; at someone or something, a situation or place. Your character turns their nose up, and scrunches it at the putrid smells that hangs in the air. Their chin juts out arrogantly, the feelings of pride evident over this thing that is so clearly lesser. Their shoulders tense, and they step carefully to avoid anything they don’t want to touch. Their lips are a thin line, a barrage of insults dancing on the tip of their tongue. They squeeze their eyes closed for a quick moment, trying to regain their composure. They roll their eyes and cock their hip, ready to prove why exactly this thing is so horrible and disgusting.

7) Jealousy

Jealousy, over a person or thing. Material wealth or power. The tips of their ears burn red and their fists clench by their side, their lips pulling upward in the mockery of a snarl. Redness creeps down their neck, and they turn their nose up at whoever—or whatever—they are jealous of. They stare at a person, a shadow looming over their face as they furrow their brow and purse their lips to avoid ripping into them about why exactly their thing belongs to them.

8) Lust

They convey it with the intent to follow through, and they throw their all into letting the subject of their affection know. Their chest puffs out, their back straightens to show off height or how slender they are, and they stare at the subject from under heavy lashes. A light blushes dances over their cheeks and the bridge of their nose but they carry on, pointing their knees toward the subject and leaning into their personal space. They bite their lip, and they move to brush a lock of hair behind their ear, like they’re brushing away any nerves to do with the situation. Their lips part so they can breathe easier, and they set their brow in a firm line, the picture of confidence as they place their hand on the subject’s arms.

And that’s it for now! All these emotions have subsections where they can intersect or branch off, so plan your emotions wisely and see where you can align these actions to match multiple emotions!

[writingquestionsanswered]

Could I get some advice for writing ptsd? I have a protagonist who used to be in the space equivalent of the air force and didnt have the best time. Need some advice on ways to make his ptsd feel real to make his pain believable. Thanks!

Writing a Character with PTSD

Any time you’re writing a character with an experience, trait, or situation different from your own, the best thing you can do to make your portrayal real and believable is to research whatever it is you want to portray. Doing research is a critical part of being a writer, so it’s important to learn how to do research and not feel daunted when you have to do it. Fortunately there’s lots of information about PTSD available through a quick Google search. 

Here are some things you’ll want to flesh out/keep in mind while researching:1. What happened to cause this character’s PTSD?

2. Was their PTSD addressed/treated at all through the military?

3. Has anything helped alleviate the symptoms of PTSD? What does your character do to cope?

4. In what ways does the PTSD manifest and what are the triggers?

5. How has PTSD affected their daily life?

6. How has PTSD affected their job?

7. How has PTSD affected their relationships?

8. How do they feel about their PTSD?

9. In what ways is their society/world accommodating/not accommodating as far as their PTSD goes?

10. What does your character character wish people knew about PTSD?

Best of luck with your story!

[brynwrites]

Editing tip:

Just because something doesn’t work, (a scene, a character, a subplot, etc), doesn’t necessarily mean it was the wrong choice —it may just mean you’re executing in the wrong way.

And vice versa, if you find yourself struggling to execute something properly no matter how you attempt it, the problem may be that it actually needs to be rewritten into something entirely different.

Example: Maybe a conversation needs to be cut because it isn’t right for the scene, or maybe the problem is your execution of the tension is lacking so in order for the conversation to work you need to portray more conflict within the dialogue.

(This is also a beta reading tip btw! When you notice something amiss during a beta reading session, try and figure out whether your problem with it is the thing itself or simply the way it’s being written.)

[simplewritingtips]

Ways to describe a smile? Other than the generic smirk or smug expression.

Describing A Smile

Smiles are unique to the individual and the dependent perspective. If you’re speaking from the first person about someone you love, you might describe their smile as one that lights up the room and brings joy to the world. However, if you’re writing about a particularly villainous character, you may describe their thin lips twisting into something that only resembles a smile.

Examples:

A beautiful smile- “her eyes shone as her lips curled into a widespread grin”- “a chuckle escaped his throat and he beamed at her”- “the second she lay eyes on her her cheeks reddened and an involuntary smile settled on her face”

A malicious smile- “a shallow smile was his most notable feature”- “her vicious grin was enough to make her uncomfortable”- “something sinister was hidden behind his seemingly innocent smile”

[lets-get-fictional]

Hi! How to make sudden death scene looks tragically-touching? I feel like i've put all my emphaty but still, i don't think anyone will shed any tears. Please help me!

Thanks so much for asking, darling!  I know how much pressure these kinds of scenes put on us as writers.  There are so many amazing examples of death scenes in fiction already: from deaths as soft-played as in Up or The Hunger Games to the heavy-handed deaths in Titanic or Terms of Endearment, all of which defined their stories from there out.  There’s an expectation to “top” other death scenes with our own, but that shouldn’t be the goal in mind.  That’s just popular fiction trends making us insecure, as usual.

So instead of thinking about making other people shed tears, focus on yourself.  After all, it was Robert Frost who said, “No tears in the writer, no tears in the reader.”  That means that no matter how much you cater to the stereotypical tearjerker tropes, if you’re not feeling it, the readers will be able to tell.

What you should do, however, is the question.  And there are a lot of options.

How to Write a Heartbreaking Death Scene

Focus on the character involved.  Deaths must be tailored to the dying character and their own situation – after all, watching a 90-year old person die of cancer isn’t as heartbreaking as watching a 9-year old die of cancer, because their situations are different.  Consider the character’s support system, and how their death will most affect their loved ones; consider the character’s dreams and if they’ve achieved them.  Consider how they feel when they die – scared, or at peace, or lonely, or so in shock that they can’t even process it before it’s over.  Know what the character is experiencing and you’ll have less trouble finding the “empathy button”.

Fixate on small details.  Less is more – less emotion = more emotion.  Death scenes are more poignant when the character doesn’t have time to be sad about every little detail of their death, and when they can’t make peace with their loved ones, and when they can’t say everything or do everything they want to do before they go.  This goes for sensory details, too!  Instead of remarking on the paleness of their skin and the shake of their limbs and the pooling blood or whatever, pick something small… like the way their fingers grasp at the ground because they’re losing feeling.  Instead of letting us hear all the reasons the other characters are sad, show us one reason.

Diversify the grieving experience.  Many writers default to “sadness” and crying whenever they write a death scene, but these aren’t the only emotions involved.  There’s denial, and bargaining, and anger, and terror, too.  When a person is dying, they’re not always thinking about the long-term and why it totally sucks that their life is over – they may just be consumed by the pain.  They may be so terrified that they’re desperate to say things and get up and fix themselves, but they can’t do anything – they can’t even get words out, and that’s frustrating and agonizing.  So instead of Sally feeling sad because James is dying and their future is gone and he didn’t get a chance to live his life, she may be angry because he swore they would be okay.

For a, um, personal and sorta depressing example: my oldest kitty died last year.  She was my cat ever since I was in preschool, and as she was dying, I couldn’t really process it?  So I just kept… telling her to eat.  Telling her to drink water.  Getting angry because she wouldn’t just listen to me and just get healthy and just not die, because in my mind, it felt like it should just be a decision.  It wasn’t rational – she couldn’t understand, and even if she could, it wasn’t a solution to her disease.  It was just where my mind went.  Until we actually had to put her down, I was just so angry that I couldn’t be sad.  So that mixture of anger and bargaining can be a very real and powerful emotion to invoke in a death scene.  Don’t be afraid to mix stuff together and think outside the box.

Use a callback for that extra “ow” effect.  We see this most commonly in the form of repeating something that the character said before (e.g. in Tangled: “You were my greatest adventure.”), but this isn’t the only method.  Maybe bring up the first thing another person noticed about the dying character – for instance, maybe your character is very confident and smug, but as they’re dying, their shoulders cave and their expression melts and they don’t have that familiar, comforting confidence about them.  You can also mirror previous scenes or create an ironic twist – for example, if Casey sails by the stars and falls in love with the stars, it may have impact to let her die under the stars – to stare up at them and see them distort in her vision, twinkling as if they’re laughing at her, or waving her goodbye, or waiting for her up in the heavens.  This personalizes the experience so it feels like you’re there with Casey and not just some dying person.

Really emphasize the loss of control.  Death is a powerful decision of the body and of nature, and of whoever may have caused the death.  It’s one of the most uncontrollable feelings for the person dying and for the people present with them.  Reasonably, loss of control is a great source of anxiety for the human mind – so use this to your advantage.  Show that the character is running out of time, and that they don’t know what to do, and that they didn’t see it coming (even if you did).  Show that no one around them can stop it, and show how much they want to.  Avoid predictable tropes, predictable dialogue, or anything that seems familiar or comfortable to the reader (e.g. “I… always… loved you…” or that good old locket-trope: “Take this and I’ll always be with you.”).  Make the situation as uncertain and gutting as possible.

Don’t tie things up with a neat lil’ bow.  Death is rarely a case of perfect timing, resolution, and peace – not if it’s sudden.  You don’t have to tie up every plot point for that character.  You don’t have to fully evolve their relationships with every character for maximum impact.  Sometimes, the knowledge that everything is unfinished – that he really could have been a father figure for the main character – that she really could have changed the world if she’d just had one more day – that everyone could have survived if he had just made it through that door – can be much more devastating.  Let it leave you with that feeling of emptiness, and that question: “Why them?  Why now?  Did it have to be like that?”  Because those are real-life feelings, and real-life feelings are the scariest kind.

And I’ve rambled on like crazy, but this topic is very important to me so I wanted to go into it!  I hope this helps you with your story, nonny :)  If not, be sure to send another ask with more information and I’ll gladly get back to you.  Good luck!

- Mod Joanna ♥️

If you need advice on general writing or fanfiction, you should maybe ask us!

[thewritershandbook]