WE ALL KNOW THAT EMOTION
UNMUTE THIS
I’m the dog
My emotion right now is this dog.
NOOOOOOOO!
trying on a metaphor
Sade Olutola
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WE ALL KNOW THAT EMOTION
UNMUTE THIS
I’m the dog
My emotion right now is this dog.
NOOOOOOOO!
Prompt #37
“No one can hate you as much as I do.”
“You think you can hate me more than I hate myself? Think again.”
Underwriting: ways to boost your word count
I wrote a fic recently and the word count for the first draft came to about 40,000 words – roughly the length of a novella or ficlet. And that’s fine because I wasn’t striving for a novel or a 100K slow-burn coffee shop AU.
But coming to edit my first draft I realised something about myself. I am an underwriter. My fic could actually be at least 10k (maybe 20k) longer. Of course it’s not all about word count, it’s about the story, but in this case a smaller word count isn’t because I’m a fantastically efficient storyteller it’s because I’ve missed out a lot of stuff. Like, Important Stuff.
So as I set out to add muscle to the skin and bones I’ve already created in draft one I thought I’d share five tips for my fellow underwriters to help you flesh out your writing too.
1) Make sure to describe the place and space in which the action happens.
There are quite a few places in my first draft where there’s no indication as to where things are taking place– or there is, but it’s the bare minimum and not really enough to build up a clear picture. This probably because as the writer I know exactly what the place looks like so I make the assumption that a bare minimum description will mean the reader knows too.
Now I’m not saying go into masses of detail about what your settings look like. In some cases it’s not useful to describe setting in a lot of detail (e.g. during really fast paced action sequences) but doing a verbal sketch of the space is essential for putting your characters in context and reader understanding.
I really is a fine balance (which is why beta readers are your friend!) But definitely go back to your setting descriptions if you’re an underwriter, they might need some work.
2) Make sure to describe your character’s appearance.
Similar to the above point – you know what your characters look like, but unless you describe them, the reader won’t.
It’s fair to say that descriptions are open to reader interpretations, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t describe them in a healthy amount of detail. So you might try to nail down some of the interesting quirks about your characters to help the reader build a picture – not only will it help the readers understanding, it’ll boost your word count too!
Note: This one functions a little differently in a fic because the readers are probably familiar with how the character looks, but there is nothing wrong with adding your interpretation (or even reminding them, especially if the characters are from a book.)
3) Include character reactions outside of what they say out loud.
Real life conversations aren’t just about the stuff that comes out of our mouths. So much of human interaction is about body language – so include it in your writing! Saying that the character covers their mouth with their hand when they talk suggests shyness. While another character crossing their arms shows they’re defensive -perhaps because they’re feeling threatened. In real life we don’t always say what we mean – but a lot of the time our actions give away what we’re really thinking. By including these actions around dialogue writers can influence how we as readers view characters and how we interpret interactions between characters. And it can boost your word count too.
The big stuff:
4) Check your pacing.
When you write it feels like your scene is taking place over hours, days, weeks because when you’re writing it takes time. Reading, on the other hand, is much quicker. A seasoned reader can fly through a 100 page novel in a few hours – a seasoned writer can spend hours writing a 100 words.
When you read back your writing, make sure to check your pacing. You might just find that the Impossible Task you set for your characters at the start of the story is suddenly resolved within the next fifty pages. To boost your word count you might want to start by adding more obstacles between the character and their goal.
For example; your character has to find an object such as a precious jewel. Sounds relatively easy, right? But what if the jewel is lost in the mines of an ancient people, amongst thousands of other treasures that look very similar? What if no one has found this jewel because it’s guarded by a fire breathing dragon? What if the ancient mines and dragon are located in a mountain which is miles and miles away across dangerous lands? What if your characters need to enlist the help of someone with a very specific skill set?
You take one simple objective (finding the jewel) and you put into play a series of obstacles that must be overcome in order to complete the objective. Your underwriting tendencies, like mine, might just mean that there aren’t enough metaphorical (or real) dragons in your story!
5) Sub-plots.
A sub-plot is a smaller scale plot - often involving the supporting characters - which runs secondary to the main plot. It can be directly linked to the main plot, i.e. the info provided in the subplot directly influences events in the main plot. Or it can simply be linked through place, time or themes of the overall story (e.g. Hermione’s elf rights campaign ‘S.P.E.W’ in Harry Potter and the OoTP is linked to the overall theme of oppression.)
Sub-plots are great because they can serve as some respite from a traumatic main plot; your character is fighting a war (main plot) but also fighting and failing (in hilarious ways) to win the affection of their love interest (sub-plot).
Plus, sub-plots can also help with characterisation, can cause your main character to have the moment of realisation which allows them to overcome the obstacles they face in the main plot and is generally a better reflection of real life! Sub-plots often centre on side-kicks and other characters – people who might not be as devoted to the end goal as the protagonist is. In fact, well written side characters seemingly live their own lives with their own goals. You might choose to showcase this in your sub-plot by letting the conflict of interest cause more problems for the protagonist to overcome.
Either way you could find your word count sky rockets as soon as you add in a few clever sub-plots.
I hope this helped!
Got any questions? Send me an ask
It is both a blessing And a curse To feel everything So very deeply.
David Jones, Love and Space Dust (via wordsnquotes)
I am a series of small victories and large defeats and I am as amazed as any other that I have gotten from there to here.
Charles Bukowski (via wordsnquotes)
If you don’t have a massive alternative universe in your head with developed people and stories you’re lying.
mine is embarrassingly massive
I have generations, alternate dimensions, and spin offs.
I’m a celebrity in my mind
I have at least ten. Depends on what kind of day I had, which one I think of at night.
^^^^^^^^^^^^
Awe I love this, makes me feel less weird and alone, let’s meet up in our made up alternate universes
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i lost myself to imagination when reality stung too deeply. i am afraid i will never exist completely in the present due to suffering from the past.
Noor Shirazie (via noorshirazie)
i’m happy to announce that my second book is ready for purchase! battle scars, the sophomore addition to the into the wildfire series, is a book about endurance that confronts topics such as depression, anxiety, and loneliness. this compilation of poetry also highlights the power in inner strength, in recognizing your self-worth, and having the courage to protect it. available now on amazon, alibris, magrudy, and barnes + noble. also available with free shipping on wordery + book depository.
What I want is to be needed. What I need is to be indispensable to somebody. Who I need is somebody that will eat up all my free time, my ego, my attention. Somebody addicted to me. A mutual addiction.
Chuck Palahniuk, Choke (via wordsnquotes)
Your heart will fix itself. It’s your mind you need to worry about. Your mind where you locked the memories, your mind where you have kept pieces of the ones that hurt you, that still cut through you like shards of glass. Your mind will keep you up at night, make you cry, destroy you over and over again. You need to convince your mind that it has to let go…because your heart already knows how to heal.
Nikita Gill (via wordsnquotes)
Dont you dare tell me about a perfect world when I have seen I have seen bruises on naive skin I have seen slaves to their substances I have seen empty eyes draining faces I have seen scars littering flesh I have seen young girls with broken bodies I have seen disturbed men ruining innocence I have seen grown women spreading terror in children eyes I have seen fathers loathing their kids Don’t you dare tell me about a perfect world when I have seen I have seen teenagers wishing for death I have seen bones being sold to maintain a living I have seen hearts being torn to pieces by so called lovers I have seen tears spilling out of the kindest orbs I have seen hate rapidly taking over skeletons Don’t you dare tell me about a perfect world when I have I have shattered and gathered myself more times than I can count I have sheltered my soul from demons invading my head I have given my all to people who only wanted to toy with me I have broken too many vows than I should have I have hurt people who deserved the best Let me to tell you about a perfect world that doesnt exist but I have dreamed I have dreamed of rays brightening the horizon I have dreamed of grins spreading over lost faces I have dreamed of vanished darkness and a starry universe I have dreamed of Pureness, Serenity, And hope.
ladispxxte (via wnq-writers)
I don’t know what I feel or what I want to feel. I don’t know what to think or what I am.
Fernando Pessoa, The Book of Disquiet (via thequotejournals)
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I’m going to love you. You don’t have to love me back. But I’m going to love you with my whole heart. And even if you break my heart, I will always wish the best for you. I’ll love you for me, not for you. Because love is a flower growing in my heart, and if my heart chooses to grow a blue flower for you, I will trust my heart. So I love you. Even if you don’t love me back.
blueemelancholia (via wnq-writers)
I no longer have the energy for meaningless friendships, forced interactions or unnecessary conversations. If we don’t vibrate on the same frequency there’s just no reason for us to waste our time. I’d rather have no one and wait for substance than to not feel someone and fake the funk.
Joquesse Eugenia (via themotivationjournals)