Writer In The Making @katanadontchawanna - Tumblr Blog

How do I make my writing “flow” well? That has always been my struggle.

There are a lot of things that contribute to this! Some things I personally focus on include:

Sentence variation. Just short sentences can get clunky. A few words here. A few words there. It gets pretty abrupt. But if your story is full of long-winded, Romantic sort of extended sentences, your story can become incredibly cumbersome, and your reader may even grow weary of all the words you have inundated them with. I recommend mixing it up! Of course, some scenes will call for more of one or the other; reading your sentences aloud can really help! (Or hearing them through a text-to-speech function)

Assonance, dissonance, consonance, alliteration. And all those fun other terms you associate with poetry. I’m not poet, but I like to apply some poetic aspects to my writing. If you don’t actually know what these terms mean, that’s okay! (I’m certainly not writing and thinking “Oh, I’ve got to make sure this paragraph has enough consonance!”) In short, this all really ties to the end of my last tip; you want to be aware of how your story sounds, not just what it says.

brenda-likes-stories-deactivate

Romance Novel problems?

You’re reading your book. I LIKE THIS SECONDARY CHARACTER. I HOPES HE/SHE HAS HIS/HER OWN BOOK.

Turns page. Well !#$!#$!. That poophead needs to die right now.

On one hand I am saving money. On the other , I don’t have a book.

creativepromptsforwriting

I enjoy writing and I have random scenes and characters in my head all the time and I want to further them and actually write something but I don’t feel like I’m very good and I also don’t have a good attention span so I get bored easily, do you have any advice for that?

Hi :)I totally feel you. I have an awful attention span especially with my stories because I have so many ideas in my head and I can’t get them out properly.If you don’t feel good enough, practice. Write something everyday and try to share it with someone who can give you an honest feedback. And for the attention thing… I just had to tell myself time and time again when I got new ideas in my head that no! This one, this idea is something I worked hard on and which I told people about who ask me how far I’ve come and who want to read is. This is the one idea I will finally finish.I actually fight against the urge to write something else by writing fanfiction especially AUs about my own characters. Sounds kinda weird to write fanfiction about your own stuff and especially stuff that isn’t finished yet but it helps me to not abandon my story just because I suddenly want to write about something else. And it also helps to get into your characters personalities and makes you understand them better in different circumstances.I hope that helps you as well!- Jana

writerswritecompany

Writers can use these 12 Archetypes to create characters

The 12 Common Archetypes by Carl Golden

The twelve archetypes are divided into ego types, self types, and soul types.

1) The Four Ego Types 1. The Innocent Motto: Free to be you and me Core desire: to get to paradise Goal: to be happy Greatest fear: to be punished for doing something bad or wrong Strategy: to do things right Weakness: boring for all their naive innocence Talent: faith and optimism The Innocent is also known as: Utopian, traditionalist, naive, mystic, saint, romantic, dreamer. 2. The Orphan/Regular Guy or Gal Motto: All men and women are created equal Core Desire: connecting with others Goal: to belong Greatest fear: to be left out or to stand out from the crowd Strategy: develop ordinary solid virtues, be down to earth, the common touch Weakness: losing one’s own self in an effort to blend in or for the sake of superficial relationships Talent: realism, empathy, lack of pretence The Regular Person is also known as: The good old boy, everyman, the person next door, the realist, the working stiff, the solid citizen, the good neighbour, the silent majority. 3. The Hero Motto: Where there’s a will, there’s a way Core desire: to prove one’s worth through courageous acts Goal: expert mastery in a way that improves the world Greatest fear: weakness, vulnerability, being a “chicken” Strategy: to be as strong and competent as possible Weakness: arrogance, always needing another battle to fight Talent: competence and courage The Hero is also known as: The warrior, crusader, rescuer, superhero, the soldier, dragon slayer, the winner and the team player. 4. The Caregiver Motto: Love your neighbour as yourself Core desire: to protect and care for others Goal: to help others Greatest fear: selfishness and ingratitude Strategy: doing things for others Weakness: martyrdom and being exploited Talent: compassion, generosity The Caregiver is also known as: The saint, altruist, parent, helper, supporter. 2) The Four Soul Types 5. The Explorer Motto: Don’t fence me in Core desire: the freedom to find out who you are through exploring the world Goal: to experience a better, more authentic, more fulfilling life Biggest fear: getting trapped, conformity, and inner emptiness Strategy: journey, seeking out and experiencing new things, escape from boredom Weakness: aimless wandering, becoming a misfit Talent: autonomy, ambition, being true to one’s soul The explorer is also known as: The seeker, iconoclast, wanderer, individualist, pilgrim. 6. The Rebel Motto: Rules are made to be broken Core desire: revenge or revolution Goal: to overturn what isn’t working Greatest fear: to be powerless or ineffectual Strategy: disrupt, destroy, or shock Weakness: crossing over to the dark side, crime Talent: outrageousness, radical freedom The Outlaw is also known as: The rebel, revolutionary, wild man, the misfit, or iconoclast. 7. The Lover Motto: You’re the only one Core desire: intimacy and experience Goal: being in a relationship with the people, work and surroundings they love Greatest fear: being alone, a wallflower, unwanted, unloved Strategy: to become more and more physically and emotionally attractive Weakness: outward-directed desire to please others at risk of losing own identity Talent: passion, gratitude, appreciation, and commitment The Lover is also known as: The partner, friend, intimate, enthusiast, sensualist, spouse, team-builder. 8. The Creator Motto: If you can imagine it, it can be done Core desire: to create things of enduring value Goal: to realize a vision Greatest fear: mediocre vision or execution Strategy: develop artistic control and skill Task: to create culture, express own vision Weakness: perfectionism, bad solutions Talent: creativity and imagination The Creator is also known as: The artist, inventor, innovator, musician, writer or dreamer. 3) The Four Self Types 9. The Jester Motto: You only live once Core desire: to live in the moment with full enjoyment Goal: to have a great time and lighten up the world Greatest fear: being bored or boring others Strategy: play, make jokes, be funny Weakness: frivolity, wasting time Talent: joy The Jester is also known as: The fool, trickster, joker, practical joker or comedian. 10. The Sage Motto: The truth will set you free Core desire: to find the truth. Goal: to use intelligence and analysis to understand the world. Biggest fear: being duped, misled—or ignorance. Strategy: seeking out information and knowledge; self-reflection and understanding thought processes. Weakness: can study details forever and never act. Talent: wisdom, intelligence. The Sage is also known as: The expert, scholar, detective, advisor, thinker, philosopher, academic, researcher, thinker, planner, professional, mentor, teacher, contemplative. 11. The Magician Motto: I make things happen. Core desire: understanding the fundamental laws of the universe Goal: to make dreams come true Greatest fear: unintended negative consequences Strategy: develop a vision and live by it Weakness: becoming manipulative Talent: finding win-win solutions The Magician is also known as: The visionary, catalyst, inventor, charismatic leader, shaman, healer, medicine man. 12. The Ruler Motto: Power isn’t everything, it’s the only thing. Core desire: control Goal: create a prosperous, successful family or community Strategy: exercise power Greatest fear: chaos, being overthrown Weakness: being authoritarian, unable to delegate Talent: responsibility, leadership The Ruler is also known as: The boss, leader, aristocrat, king, queen, politician, role model, manager or administrator.

Note: There are four cardinal orientations: freedom, social, ego, order. The types have a place on these orientations.

Article via soulcraft.co

justawritingaid

To be a better writer…

Don’t use a thesaurus just to replace a word– understand that not all synonyms are equal and some may have different connotations, double meanings, or even convey a completely different idea that doesn’t fit the scene or the narrator’s personality. However, there’s nothing wrong with reading up on the specifics behind synonyms to learn more vocabulary or to help you find the word you can’t remember.

“Why does your name tag say Den mother?” “What’s wrong with being a Den Mother?” “Dude, you’re a dude.” “And your point is?”

“My point is exactly that! You can’t be a den mother and a guy!” “Challenge accepted.” “No wait—“ “no no, I have den mothering to do.” “Dude.”

#creativewriting #werewolves #literature #writers #writer's block #writing #prompt #who says guys cant be den mothers

justawritingaid

Dialogue Tips

While dialogue should be guided by reality, it shouldn’t directly imitate it. If you actually wrote out all the pauses and “ums” and all the other small slip-ups people regularly make, it would be unnecessarily hard to follow conversation. That said, dialogue still needs a natural flow to it that can come from things like individual speech patterns, perspective that shapes word choice, sentence fragments, etc.

Take the exposition out. Use regular exposition and context to convey information instead of trying to show it in dialogue. Any conversation shaped specifically around conveying info is going to start sounding “off” really easily, plus it’s a quick track to cheesy and fake-sounding writing.

Make sure dialogue matters. Just like any other part of a story, dialogue needs to move the story forward (or backward) with a purpose. “Meaningless” conversation shouldn’t exist, but not every word needs to be 100% plot-related. Conversations should change something about the story, or at least teach the reader something about a character, the plot, or setting.

Watch the tags. It’s best to use “said” as often as possible and save any different tags for when the line really matters. Too many different tags cause the reader to focus on the tags rather than what’s being said, and it can get cheesy rather quickly. (You can use “said” 100% of the time, but some people like to write with variance– and that’s okay! Just be aware of the effects that different tags can have because not all tags are actually tags, some are redundant and weaken writing, and others are distracting due to connotations.)

Over-tagging is a problem too. In cases of 3+ characters all participating, you may have to tag every line, but when there are just two people in a conversation then untagged dialogue allows for easier flow. You still have to remind the reader of the speaker about every 5 lines, but there’s no need to tag every single line.

It’s better to use an action than an adverb. Adverbs aren’t the end of the world, but they’re still “telling” and weaken your writing. When you want to convey that someone should be saying something a certain way, describe their body language or an action to show the emotion because it better shows the scene by providing a concrete image for the reader.

Different methods of speaking are better shown by word choice and overall syntax. Don’t purposefully misspell a word or write out an accent. It’s one thing to use slang, it’s another to twist the spelling so it imitates the speech on every line. Not only is twisted spelling hard to read and forces the reader to do extra work, it can get offensive in some cases. Loose grammar and sentence fragments are acceptable and allow for an expression of character individuality– spelling, clarity, and portraying a character with respect are the biggest issues here!

Avoid “talking heads” by not just having dialogue. There will definitely be brief moments where conversations snap back and forth between people, but majority of dialogue should not be “he said, she said” over and over again. This is typically a more common issue when the writer fails to have the characters do anything meaningful, often by separating their story into “plot action” and “plot dialogue” when a better writer combines them into the same scene, and even better, the same moment. If your characters aren’t able to do something during the conversation, then take some time to explore the setting or at the very least body language.

Dialogue shows personality. We all speak differently and so will characters. Some might be more formal than others, some may be more expressive, others can use more precise language, etc. Let dialogue show things about people– it can often save the writer the trouble of spelling it all out in exposition anyway, and it’s more fun for the reader.

Five sentences maximum per piece of dialogue is a guideline. In the case of a speech or monologue, this won’t be the case, but in the average conversation there shouldn’t be blocky paragraphs of speech. Even if your character actually needs to speak more than five sentences, try and break it up with description, scene interaction, or the other person saying something instead of just having a giant block of text.

Read more. One of the best ways to learn is to read, and novels all have a strong variety of dialogue for you to see examples from. Just remember to critique as you read, noting how the different methods of dialogue affect the story. Every choice has an effect and every effect matters to make sure you get the story you want to get across.

Read it out loud for pacing and flow. Read your entire story out loud, actually, but in the case of dialogue this technique can be extra useful for determining if it sounds natural or not.

Good luck with your work and if there are any questions, drop them in my ask box and I’ll see how I can help. Just please read my Rules and Considerations page to make sure I’m the best resource, and consider a Gift of Coffee to grant me an energy boost, if you’re feeling generous.

bitrek

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, bc people care about other things, too, kthx)

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

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

how do they feel about themselves and how it affects their behaviour (i mean. you can’t tell me a character is shy then have them do things shy people wouldn’t do, like?????)

how do they feel about things they cannot control?

and last but not least:

WHY IS THIS CHARACTER THE PROTAGONIST

LBR DO THEY EVEN MATTER

promptsforthestrugglingauthor

Additionally, not all of these things have to come up in the course of your story, but it’s integral to who your character is as a person.

morsusengel-blog

“perhaps i am hard to love because i love too hard.”

— thought. |(morsus engel)|

humdrummoloch

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“This ride is too scary, I don’t think I can go on it.”

“We’re going on the teacups, would you just relax?”

(Submission by @kiwissoda )

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““When did you know you loved him?” Ratty curls tossed and turned around her delicate features as she walked to the bed and plopped unceremoniously onto the yellow and gray comforter. I smiled a little and stretched my legs out on the rough carpet that dragged like rough sandpaper across my skin. “He asked me about my scars,” I said quietly as the memory played out in mind. My fingers absentmindedly ran over the Pepto Bismol colored scar below my right knee. “We were laying in bed one day and he started rummaging all over my body, searching for the marks that I usually keep covered with makeup.” I laughed gently at the memory. “He placed a kiss on every inch of bruised skin and asked for the stories behind them all. Nobody else had ever payed so much attention to the details.””

— L.A.L. || The Details

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STOP

Stop being afraid to

Be fucking confident

Stop standing awkwardly

When people sing happy birthday

Fucking sing along

Stop saying “thanks, but that’s not true”

When people tell you you’re beautiful

Say “BITCH I KNOW”

Stop looking down when you

Walk past someone hot as fuck

Look them in the eye and

Fucking smile

I’m not trying to tell you what to do but

Please just stop being afraid to

Love yourself

katanadontchawanna

This is the hardest thing for me to accept. Fake it til ya make it I guess...

promptsforthestrugglingauthor

Writing Prompt #248

“You’re a…a…”

“A werewolf.”

“And you didn’t tell me? That’s…that’s…Dude. That’s the coolest thing, why wouldn’t you tell me? I’m so pissed right now, holy shit.”

katanadontchawanna

“So, uh, when you eat as a werewolf, does it affect your digestive system as a human?”

“Are you seriously asking me that? Now of all times?”

“Well, yeah, what’s wrong with asking you now?”

“IT’S THREE IN THE FUCKING MORNING!!”

“What’s your point?”

#werewolf #youwokemeupforthis #why #i couldnt sleep

Some cliché writing prompts aren’t so cliché-ish

okay so listen, I know that there is a ton of AU’s or short stories about the over-done Harley Davison/florist, or the skater boy/prom queen but I kinda sorta love them.

As long as they’re done right.

See, what I mean is, if you use one of these scenarios and then only go with the “he’s a rough around the edges” guy and I’m a “loves pink, only wears dresses” girl then yeah, we’re all gonna hate it.

But, if you find a cute little AU like the bakery and the tattoo shop right across the street, have the girl work at the tattoo shop and the guy work at the bakery.

the switch is not only adorable but it helps alleviate the stereotype that guys who work in bakeries are gay or whatever, and girls who work in a male-dominated workplace are normally butch and lesbians.

Make it cute, make it awkward, but most importantly, don’t go for the obvious.

#au #makeitawkward #endearinglyso #creative #writing #creativewriting