LilyWrites

Naomi| she/her | Febuary 6th (Aquarius) Book nerd|Writer|Artist Se habla español.

[pens-swords-stuff]

Writeblr Glossary

A list of words commonly used in the Writeblr community and their meaning!

I’ve gotten a lot of questions about what some things mean, so I thought it was time to compile a list of meanings.

Writeblr — A community of writers on tumblr; A blog that posts primarily about writing. See here for a more in-depth explanation. (Also written as Writblr on occasion)

WIP  — Stands for Work in Progress. Primarily, it’s a piece of fictional work that is still in the writing process and is unfinished. (Also see: WIP page)

OC  — Stands for Original Character. This is a character entirely of your own creation.

Tag list  — A tag list is a list of users who will be tagged in every post that a Writeblr makes about a certain WIP. It is often included at the bottom of a post, and people are free to ask to be included, or removed from it.

WIP Page  — A page or a post on a Writeblr that describes a WIP. Commonly includes a synopsis, setting, characters, etc. See here for what goes in a WIP page and how to make one.

Tag games — Tumblr games where people will do something (often answer questions, a snippet of their WIP, etc) and ask other users to participate by using the @ function in that post.

Ask games  — A tumblr game where a user will request people to send them things with the ask function. Often times will include a list of questions they wish to be asked.

Writing Sprints — An activity done by writers, where they write as much as they possibly can for a set amount of time (often 10-15 minutes). Can be done with multiple people, and is a common activity for a group of writeblrs to partake in.

Fanfiction  — Fiction written by a fan about an existing TV show, movie, book, etc. Often features the characters, the setting, etc. of that piece of media.

AU  — Stands for Alternate Universe. AUs typically feature the same cast of characters of a WIP or an existing piece of fiction with a major change or two. (For example, a Fantasy AU would involve placing the characters in a fantasy setting. There also may be an AU of what might happen if a certain character didn’t die in their story).

Canon  — Material or information that is accepted as an official part of a story. (i.e., the creator confirms it and includes it in their story).

Headcanons  — Ideas and interpretations of a fictional work that is accepted by a fan, but isn’t necessarily supported by canon.

Moodboard  — A collection of images meant to evoke a certain feeling or emotion. Often used by Writeblrs for their WIPs and OCs.

Ships — The concept of a fictional couple. Can be either canonical or not. If you ‘ship’ someone with another character, you like the idea of them being involved with each other, often romantically.

OTP — Stands for One True Pairing. This is often used to describe someone’s all time favorite ship.

BrOTP — Someone’s favorite platonic ship. A portmanteau of ‘bro’ and ‘OTP’.

Beta Reader — A person who reads through a draft before publication to give suggestions and feedback to the author to improve it. Can be paid or unpaid, depends on the author.

Sensitivity Reader — A person who reads through a draft to check for issues of representation, cultural inaccuracy, insensitive language, etc. For example, if you are a white author who has black characters in your story, you should have a sensitivity reader who is black, so they can let you know if you are accidentally being offensive, or misrepresenting them in any way. Many writers will have multiple sensitivity readers to give them feedback, so they can make the proper changes to be more inclusive and culturally sensitive. Can be paid or unpaid, depends on the author. 

TW — Stands for trigger warning. Often followed up with the trigger (i.e., tw: self-harm). This is to warn people that there is sensitive content in a post or a WIP, and that if they do not want to see it, they should not proceed any further. Used in tags and the top of the actual post for visibility, and often accompanied by a “Read more” cutoff.

OP — Stands for Original Poster. It refers to the person who originally made the post. If someone says ‘thanks op’ on a post, they are addressing the person who created the post in the first place, not the people who have reblogged or added things to it.

Have a word you’d like to see included? Let me know and I’ll add it!

Have a question on what a writeblr term means? Feel free to ask me!

[mottainaiiii]

The way you said “I love you.“

Some fluffy, some angsty prompts

As a hello

With a hoarse voice, under the blankets

A scream

Over a cup of tea

Over a beer bottle

On a sunny Tuesday afternoon, the late sunlight glowing in your hair

As a thank you

As an apology

When baking chocolate chip cookies

Not said to me

With a shuddering gasp

When we lay together on the fresh spring grass

In a letter

A whisper in the ear

Loud, so everyone can hear

Over and over again, till it’s nothing but a senseless babble

When the broken glass litters the floor

From very far away

With no space left between us

As we huddle together, the storm raging outside

Over your shoulder

Muffled, from the other side of the door

Through a song

Without really meaning it

In a blissful sigh as you fall asleep

Broken, as you clutch the sleeve of my jacket and beg me not to leave

A taunt, with one eyebrow raised and a grin bubbling at your lips

When I am dead

Slowly, the words dripping from your tongue like honey

Too quick, mumbled into your scarf

In awe, the first time you realised it

In a way I can’t return

On a post-it note

Before we jump

As a goodbye

[lizbetweenthelines-deactivated2]

[writingquestionsanswered]

Master List: Author & Writer Stuff

Author and Writer Stuff Guide: Collaborating with Another Writer Guide: Filling Your Creative Well Guide: Getting Your Writing Noticed on Tumblr Guide: Author Platforms-What, Why, and How? Guide: How to Promote Yourself as an Author via Social Media Character Voice vs Authorial Voice and How They Work Time Management for Writers When Experience and Research Are Out of the Question NaNoWriMo: Picking an Idea Balancing Writing with Work/School Where to Go from Initial Book Idea Posting/Sharing as You Write Making Sure Your Author Tone Comes Through Too Attached to Old Characters Choosing a Name for Your Author Tumblr Indie Authors, LLCs, and ISBN Numbers To Self-Publish or Traditionally Publish?

[heywriters]

I want to publish my fanfiction but I'm scared of getting it stolen. What should I do?

In that case, here are a few things you should know.

Fanfiction is the least likely to get stolen as it obviously has little value.

Most fanfiction sites will help you when you report someone copying your work because even if it’s fanfic you still have legal right to your work.

If you’re posting for the first time no one knows about you yet and therefore won’t have any interest in you or your work.

There are a MILLIONBILILIONMILLINO fanfics and fanfic writers online, most of whom have never been plagiarized.

Almost all fanfiction is exactly alike anyway, way more than original work. You can’t tell if thirty other writers “stole” your idea or just had one exactly like you. In fact, you probably had one just like them.

It’s hard enough getting people to even read your work let alone fighting them off with a stick.

Fanfic readers are in it for the funz, feelz, and lolz. They don’t want to steal your work and it won’t make them famous anyway. 

Do people plagiarize fanfics sometimes? Yes, but this just makes them look really sad and pathetic. Like, “Sure, steal my car that has a flat tire, no gas, and a boot, I bet you’ll get very far, sir.” And then call the police because, hey, they’re stupid but they’re still breaking the law.

Definitely post on Archive of Our Own because not only have I never had any problems there in the five years I’ve used it, but the organization that runs it is very protective of fanfic writers’ rights. 

I’d also suggest getting a Wattpad account just to look around and see if you like it first before posting. It’s harder to get readers on Wattpad, so make some friends & followers before you post.

TL;DR — You’re fine, post the fanfic, and laugh at all who oppose.

+ HEY, Writers! other social media: Ko-Fi // Wattpad // Pinterest // Goodreads

[seal-of-unknown]

me, begging, tears in my eyes: please. please just tell me what the book is about. the plot. please

a book annotation on the cover, unfazed: A Subversive Masterpiece. A Deep And Touching Story. The New York Times Bestseller. Go Fuck Yourself

[wipbase]

Introducing WIPbase!

The WIP database you didn’t even know you needed. 

Let’s face it, tumblr’s search engine and tagging system leave a lot to be desired. Some posts don’t show up, others get buried under mounds of unrelated things shoved into the tags for exposure. It can be difficult, especially as new writeblrs, to have our WIPs seen at all.

>Enter WIPbase<

Our goal is to help writers get their WIPs our there by posting them in our entirely searchable database. Works will be searchable by class, genre, and type. 

You can read our rules here and submit your WIP here.

If you have any questions, feel free to drop a message~! We look forward to hearing from you.

[thewriterswitch]

Writer 1: I need to know everything about the characters and plot before I begin.

Writer 2: I’ll write a vague outline but I don’t have enough faith in myself to believe that I’ll actually follow the outline so I won’t put too much effort into it.

Writer 3: I know nothing about this story, so I should probably start writing.

[sxltedcxramel]

Title: Rivals and Crushes

Ship: Plance, Pidge/Lance, Kaite/Lance

Rating: General Audience

Archive Warnings: No archive warnings apply

Words: 1168

Chapters: 1/1

Tags: @fromageinterrupted , @voltronbingoworks , @nessajjewell

Summary: Pidge and Lance are the Middle town high biggest rivals… in video games. Those two are willing to put everything away to beat each other in Middletown’s Annual Highschool Gaming Competition. But the question is will they be able to put their feelings away for it?

Snippet:

Allura rolled her eyes at the thought.

Then her eyes widened as she came up with an idea. “Pidge why don’t you use his own tactics against him.”

“You mean-” she pauses and then her smile widened. “The hunter has become the hunted.” She clapped her hands together excitedly “Girls, I think I’ll take up on that offer now.” She winks.

This year she’s going to crush him.

Read it Here

Request Here!

Voltron Bingo Card(s)

Bad Things Happen Card

[nanowrimo]

You Are a Writer. Own It!

Sometimes, you just need a little reminder that you are a writer, what you’re creating is worthy, and that you should keep going! Today, Young Writers Program participant Dawnia Nosrek is here to give you that reminder:

If you asked a normal human being what they’re afraid of, chances are their response would be something other than “a blank page”. But it’s different for us writers. We are not normal human beings. We are extraordinary people, capable of snapping realities and plots and characters into existence by merely placing pen to paper. 

Of course, if you’re anything like me, you’re terrified of the piece of paper in front of you. Of the wordless, empty blank page staring you down, scoffing at the very thought that you could produce anything worthwhile, credible, or even entertaining for any common reader.

But here’s the thing: just because you have a blank page doesn’t mean you’re fresh out of novel-worthy ideas. An idea is an idea even if it sounds dumb to you at first. 

Keep reading

[scribbledwriting]

“Show, Don’t Tell!”: Using the Five Senses in Writing

This is an extended piece to my ‘Show, Don’t tell’ post. When writing the senses, I like to imagine the scene as if I were watching a movie. It’s the simplest way for me to picture and write when it comes to descriptions. You don’t want to overload the reader, but you do want to paint the picture instead of telling them. Staying aware of the five senses in your writing will dramatically improve your skill. It not only helps the reader be a part of the story but helps the writer set important scenes, without having to outright state what is happening. In this post, I will explain how I use the five senses in my writing. As always, my advice is subjective and only to show what I personally do. Whether you keep the senses in mind as you write, or you edit them in later, making sure you pay attention to keywords will help eliminate the stress of going back later to figure out what (maybe!) went wrong. 

SEE: On Sight

One of the easiest ways to go about elaborating sight is to eliminate words related to vision (look, saw, gazed, peek, etc). It also helps to stay aware of items, colors, sizes, etc. Do the same thing you’d do with words related to sight, eliminate them. Of course, don’t erase every word or phrase, but being proactive, keeping them in mind, and avoiding them will help you avoid overloading your reader with too much purple prose. (Granted, I would die for purple prose, but I understand that’s not everyone’s thing). 

Examples:

Jill saw Jack running. He carried a silver pail. He tripped and fell down the hill. 

 There are a lot of sight-words in this example. As the writer, it is your decision to choose what you want to elaborate on, whether it is one thing, or all of them. How much of the story you want to paint is up to you—

Jack’s feet blurred against the green grass as his toe caught his ankle. He rolled on his side, his silver pail flying into the air and reaching Jill first.

Jill craned her neck to find Jack staggering down the hill. Water sloshed from the sides of the bucket, swinging and glistening in the sunlight. He stumbled and grabbed for the handle with his second hand as the pail threatened to leave his grasp, and then he slipped, toppling down the hill.

In both of these scenarios, the reader can “see” that Jack is running and tripped without specifically stating that Jill saw it. They also “see” he had a silver pail and dropped it. 

Being more visually descriptive is also very important for facial expressions. It takes a simple mood and elevates it. Describing the expression also gives the reader the chance to “feel” that way too, almost like a mimic, which helps them visualize and empathize with the character.

Example:

Maxine made a disgusted face.

Think of what a disgusted reaction looks like; usually, it involves frowning, pinching your nose, sticking out your tongue, etc. Sometimes, it can help to look in a mirror and write what you’re seeing, too.

Maxine flared her nostrils and stuck out her tongue.

In the latter example, the reader is able to infer that Maxine is disgusted by how the writer described her reaction.

HEAR: On Sound

Describing sound can be tricky. It’s also hard to remember when to use it. We tend to think of sound in terms of music or voices—okay, okay, sometimes we sprinkle in animals howling or the wind blowing, too!—but sound can be incredibly important in setting a scene and is often under-utilized. Sounds let the reader know their surroundings without pulling from what is going on and adds intensity!

Examples:

Manuel sat nervously at the coffee table.

Again, as the writer, you can decide where to incorporate the use of sound. Here are a couple of suggestions, based on the above example:

Manuel’s fingers drummed against the table and drowned out the low whistle escaping from between his teeth as he exhaled. All around him, there was cheerful chatter, through which the barista’s loud voice occasionally sliced.

Manuel’s thoughts whirred and hummed, a dull grinding and the clinking of glass broke through the constant thump of his knee against the underside of the table.

In both of these examples, the reader was able to gather that Manuel was nervous (tapping knee, drumming fingers, low whistle). They are also able to gather he is in a coffee shop (or a restaurant of sorts) without explicitly saying so.

TOUCH: On Sensation

The best way to handle touch is by imagining whatever it is you are describing and what it feels like. If you don’t know how something feels, google it. Don’t describe a snake as slimy just because its scales are shiny and gives it a slime-like effect. That said, touch doesn’t just deal with what your character is physically touching. It can also deal with emotions and help to express them without saying outright how your character feels. 

Example:

Opal touched the silk blanket. She felt sleepy and closed her eyes.

Here we can elaborate on what the blanket feels like when Opal touches it and how she feels to indicate she is tired: 

The supple fabric slid between Opal’s fingers like water. Her tired muscles sagged and sharp, tiny pinpricks pressed against her heavy eyelids as she lay back.

The reader knows the blanket was very soft and also that she is tired without specifically stating she was sleepy. 

TASTE: On Flavor

Taste is a fun sense to mess with. It can show the reader so much more than how delicious the bread is (or how gross dirt is). I like to play around with taste in the weather/air, the taste of fear, the taste of cat hair in your mouth because there is always cat hair in your mouth… all right, maybe that’s a personal thing.

Example: 

The sun rose over the city.

What do you use for taste here? A city can’t taste, the sun doesn’t taste, but your character does!

Yellow light spilled over the streets, soaking the grit from the rainbow puddles into the air. The bitter grease lingered and settled in his mouth, strengthening every time he scraped his teeth against his tongue. 

Experiment with taste in your writing. Describe things you wouldn’t normally think to taste, like crude oil*. The internet is a good resource when it’s something you don’t want to try yourself, like crude oil**. Chances are, someone out there has already tried it and explained what it tastes like online.

SCENT: On Smell

Ahhh, smell. Smell lets the reader know so much: they can figure out where a character is, what they’re doing, where they are, etc., just from a few scent-related descriptors thrown around. Smell is also useful in triggering memories or past events.

Danny walked through the forest.

You can use so many of the five senses here! But since we’re focusing on scent, let’s zero in on that:

A crisp hint of pine lingered in the air and blended with the pungent decay of the brown needles underfoot.

Without stating anything about a forest, the reader has an idea of where Danny is. You can also use smell to show emotion! 

Danny was in love.

How do you smell love, K? Well, you’ve got me there: you can’t. But as a writer, you can think of what love means to you and of things you associate with love, and work from there. Personally, I imagine it would have a sweet smell, maybe too sweet.

A rush of flowery sweetness filled his nostrils as the handsome young man walked by.

There you have it. Of course, there’s a lot more to writing the five senses, as there is with anything, but this is to give you a basic idea of what I do when I’m writing. Being proactive and keeping the senses in mind while writing can be tough and exhausting, but the more you do it, the easier it becomes. And you don’t leave it all for editing! Remember: the most important thing is to keep practicing. 

Happy writing!

* Please do not taste crude oil. I can’t believe I have to type this, but some people want to eat Tide Pods, so here I am.

** Do not taste crude oil. You will die.

[ofvisitorsthefairest]

When writing the first draft, don’t be a storyteller. Be an intrepid explorer, discovering what cannot be seen from the mouth of the cave.

[jessicacaseyauthor-deactivated2]

OKAY SO THIS IS ACTUALLY THE BEST ADVICE I COULD GIVE SOMEONE ABOUT A FIRST DRAFT.

Don’t tell

Just explore

[trashemoji]

me, tossing mediocre content into the internet void: Validate Me

[gettingitwrite]

My brain has two writing modes. Either this:

or this:

there is no in between

[coffehousecreations]

Coffeehouse Boost!!!

Somehow I’ve gotten 1000+ followers since I started this blog sometime in June which is insane

👏I👏stan👏all👏of👏you👏

Basically this is an excuse to put some names to icons, get to know more about y'all, and to let everyone have a chance to make new friends!

So I decided to celebrate y'all by holding a lil coffeehouse boost!

Rules:

Be following me

Reblog this post (likes and replies don’t count)

post a lil bio about yourself on your preferred blog 

tag me in it or put it in my submissions!

I’ll reblog it on here so everyone can get to know each other and find some cool new blogs to follow!!!

This has the potential to clog your dash so I’ll be queuing most of the bios to spread them out. If you don’t want to hear about this you can blacklist/filter #coffeehouseboost

This event will end on AUG 31st

I put a little template of a bio under the cut you all can check out for inspiration if ya like. Thank you so muchhh💕

Love, Coffee ☕

Keep reading

[the-togepi-man]

Writing an action scene-

In your head:

Trying to describe it like:

[literary-potato]

ADVICE TIME. I also plan very elaborate fight scenes in my head and it took me a long time to figure out how to write them. Obviously there’s no right or wrong way to go about writing a fight scene, but here’s my method if anyone wants to give it a shot:

1) Find some good fight scenes to reference. Note that while it should look *something* like the fight you’re going to write, you can be pretty flexible as long as you can translate the movements of the original fight into something that makes sense for your setting. For example, I once adapted elements of a bending fight in Legend of Korra into a lightsaber duel, even though the LoK fight didn’t involve swords or melee weapons, because I was able to retain the spirit of the LoK blocking in swordfight form. Turning that LoK fight into something involving guns, on the other hand, would be tricky. The reverse is also true - it’s tough to turn a gunfight into melee combat.

2) Watch the reference scenes a few times, and try to identify what about the blocking makes it cool. 

3) Watch the reference scene again, but this time watch it in slow motion or pause it every couple seconds. Make a mental note of what’s happening frame by frame. Try to break it down into smaller pieces as well as large movements - don’t just say “he swings a sword,” make a note of the micromovements that go into swinging a sword.

4) Block your fight scene without any flair or description. Just write a list of simple, one-line descriptors of what happens blow by blow. Draw on your observations of the reference fight scenes from steps 1-3. You shouldn’t copy a fight’s blocking verbatim, but you can borrow individual elements as long as the way you describe it in Step 5 brings something new to the table. (The equivalent in art would be using references. Tracing a picture and calling it yours? Bad. Plagiarism. Looking at pictures similar to the thing you want to draw and using that to figure out how it should look? Or looking at art and saying “hey the way they did x is really cool, I want to emulate that part of their style”? Good and fine.)

5) Once it’s blocked, THEN you go back in and add flourishes. Note that you shouldn’t add flourishes to every sentence. Some of them should be short & declarative. But figure out the places where you can add relevant information and flesh those out more. 

If you’re still struggling to write a fight scene, here’s a list of questions you can ask yourself about the fight scene. Use the answers to inform the blocking AND how you embellish on that blocking.

Are there lots of acrobatics? 

Is it fluid or choppy? 

Are the characters going for glancing blows or are they throwing their whole weight into the strike? If melee combat, do they have to follow through? If ranged combat, is there recoil? If it’s a heavy blow or recoil is involved, what does that feel like?

How do the characters and their weapons hold up as the fight progresses? Do they need to reload ammo? Do weapons break? Do they injure themselves? If the answer to any of those is yes, how does that change the course of the fight?

Are characters using the environment in interesting ways? 

Does the fight damage things around them? 

Are the weather or other conditions (lighting, smoke, hazards) complicating the fight?

Does the fighting style reveal something about the character, or the relationship between two characters? 

Does a fight have extra dimension because of the characters’ relationships, or the context of the fight?

What do the characters want out of the fight? Is it a no-holds-barred fight to the death, or is it a ceremonial fight with rules and norms to follow?

Is it strenuous? Do the characters tire? Do they sweat? Do they get dirty? Do any of those factors affect the fight as it goes on? How do characters deal with pain?

Are the characters used to fighting? Are they scared? Do they enjoy it? What does it physically feel like to experience those emotions while fighting? If they’re fighting to the death and they kill somebody, does that bother them? Have they done it before? Do they feel guilt or regret? If they’re numb to what’s happening, is it because they’re a hardened killer or because they’re running on adrenaline and survival instincts?

[wordfather]

a.k.a. you may find your work Bad and Cringy™️ but you wrote something and that’s a Good Thing™️.

All writing is good practice and progresses you as a writer.

[lilywrites]

@unassumingsoda