Writing @mimiwritingmess - Tumblr Blog

This is an ultimate masterlist of many resources that could be helpful for writers. I apologize in advance for any not working links. Check out the ultimate writing resource masterlist here (x) and my “novel” tag here (x).

✑ PLANNING

Outlining & Organizing

For the Architects: The Planning Process

Rough Drafts

How do you plan a novel?

Plot Development: Climax, Resolution, and Your Main Character

Plotting and Planing

I Have An Idea for a Novel! Now What?

Choosing the Best Outline Method

How to Write a Novel: The Snowflake Method

Effectively Outlining Your Plot

Conflict and Character within Story Structure

Outlining Your Plot

Ideas, Plots & Using the Premise Sheets

✑ INSPIRATION

Finding story ideas

Choosing ideas and endings

When a plot isn’t strong enough to make a whole story

Writing a story that’s doomed to suck

How to Finish What You Start: A Five-Step Plan for Writers

Finishing Your Novel

Finish Your Novel

How to Finish Your Novel when You Want to Quit

How To Push Past The Bullshit And Write That Goddamn Novel: A Very Simple No-Fuckery Writing Plan

✑ PLOT

In General

25 Turns, Pivots and Twists to Complicate Your Story

The ABCs (and Ds and Es) of Plot Development

Originality Is Overrated

How to Create a Plot Outline in Eight Easy Steps

Finding Plot: Idea Nets

The Story Goal: Your Key to Creating a Solid Plot Structure

Make your reader root for your main character

Creating Conflict and Sustaining Suspense

Tips for Creating a Compelling Plot

The Thirty-six (plus one) Dramatic Situations

Adding Subplots to a Novel

Weaving Subplots into a Novel

7 Ways to Add Subplots to Your Novel

Crafting a Successful Romance Subplot

How to Improve your Writing: Subplots and Subtext

Understanding the Role of Subplots

How to Use Subtext in your Writing

The Secret Life of Subtext

How to Use Subtext

Beginning

Creating a Process: Getting Your Ideas onto Paper (And into a Story)

Why First Chapters?

Starting with a Bang

In the Beginning

The Beginning of your Novel that isn’t the Beginning of your Novel

A Beginning from the Middle

Starting with a Bang

First Chapters: What To Include @ The Beginning Writer

23 Clichés to Avoid When Beginning Your Story

Start Writing Now

Done Planning. What Now?

Continuing Your Long-Format Story

How to Start a Novel

100 best first lines from novels

The First Sentence of a Book Report

How To Write A Killer First Sentence To Open Your Book

How to Write the First Sentence of a Book

The Most Important Sentence: How to Write a Killer Opening

Hook Your Reader from the First Sentence: How to Write Great Beginnings

Foreshadowing

Foreshadowing and the Red Hering

Narrative Elements: Foreshadowing

Foreshadowing and Suspense

Foreshadowing Key Details

Writing Fiction: Foreshadowing

The Literary Device of Foreshadowing

All About Foreshadowing in Fiction

Foreshadowing

Flashbacks and Foreshadowing

Foreshadowing — How and Why to Use It In Your Writing

Setting

Four Ways to Bring Settings to Life

Write a Setting for a Book

Writing Dynamic Settings

How To Make Your Setting a Character

Guide for Setting

5 Tips for Writing Better Settings

Building a Novel’s Setting

Ending

A Novel Ending

How to End Your Novel

How to End Your Novel 2

How to End a Novel With a Punch

How to End a Novel

How to Finish a Novel

How to Write The Ending of Your Novel

Keys to Great Endings

3 Things That End A Story Well

Ending a Novel: Five Things to Avoid

Endings that Ruin Your Novel

Closing Time: The Ending

✑ CHARACTER

Names

Behind the Name

Surname Meanings and Origins

Surname Meanings and Origins - A Free Dictionary of Surnames

Common US Surnames & Their Meanings

Last Name Meanings & Origins

Name Generators

Name Playground

Different Types of Characters

Ways To Describe a Personality

Character Traits Meme

Types of Characters

Types of Characters in Fiction

Seven Common Character Types

Six Types of Courageous Characters

Creating Fictional Characters (Masterlist)

Building Fictional Characters

Fiction Writer’s Character Chart

Character Building Workshop

Tips for Characterization

Fiction Writer’s Character Chart

Advantages, Disadvantages and Skills

Males

Strong Male Characters

The History and Nature of Man Friendships

Friendship for Guys (No Tears!)

‘I Love You, Man’ and the rules of male friendship

Male Friendship

Understanding Male Friendship

Straight male friendship, now with more cuddling

Character Development

P.O.V. And Background

Writing a Character: Questionnaire

10 Days of Character Building

Getting to Know Your Characters

Character Development Exercises

✑ STYLE

Chapters

How Many Chapters is the Right Amount of Chapters?

The Arbitrary Nature of the Chapter

How Long is a Chapter?

How Long Should Novel Chapters Be?

Chapter & Novel Lengths

Section vs. Scene Breaks

Dialogue

The Passion of Dialogue

25 Things You Should Know About Dialogue

Dialogue Writing Tips

Punctuation Dialogue

How to Write Believable Dialogue

Writing Dialogue: The Music of Speech

Writing Scenes with Many Characters

It’s Not What They Say …

Top 10 Tips for Writing Dialogue

Speaking of Dialogue

Dialogue Tips

Interrupted Dialogue

Two Tips for Interrupted Dialogue

Show, Don’t Tell (Description)

“Tell” Makes a Great Placeholder

The Literary Merit of the Grilled Cheese Sandwich

Bad Creative Writing Advice

The Ultimate Guide to Writing Better Than You Normally Do

DailyWritingTips: Show, Don’t Tell

GrammarGirl: Show, Don’t Tell

Writing Style: What Is It?

Detail Enhances Your Fiction

Using Sensory Details

Description in Fiction

Using Concrete Detail

Depth Through Perception

Showing Emotions & Feelings

Character Description

Describing Your Characters (by inkfish7 on DeviantArt)

Help with Character Development

Creating Characters that Jump Off the Page

Omitting Character Description

Introducing Your Character(s): DON’T

Character Crafting

Writer’s Relief Blog: “Character Development In Stories And Novels”

Article: How Do You Think Up Your Characters?

5 Character Points You May Be Ignoring

List of colors, hair types and hairstyles

List of words to use in a character’s description

200 words to describe hair

How to describe hair

Words used to describe the state of people’s hair

How to describe your haircut

Hair color sharts

Four Ways to Reveal Backstory

Words Used to Describe Clothes

Flashbacks

Using Flashbacks in Writing

Flashbacks by All Write

Using Flashback in Fiction

Fatal Backstory

Flashbacks as opening gambit

Don’t Begin at the Beginning

Flashbacks in Books

TVTropes: Flashback

Objects in the Mirror Are Closer Than They Appear: Flashback Techniques in Fiction

3 Tips for Writing Successful Flashbacks

The 5 Rules of Writing Effective Flashbacks

How to Handle Flashbacks In Writing

Flashbacks and Foreshadowing

Reddit Forum: Is a flashback in the first chapter a good idea?

Forum Discussing Flackbacks

P.O.V

You, Me, and XE - Points of View

What’s Your Point of View?

Establishing the Right Point of View: How to Avoid “Stepping Out of Character”

How to Start Writing in the Third Person

The Opposite Gender P.O.V.

LANGUAGE

How To Say Said

200 Words Instead of Said

Words to Use Instead of Said

A List of Words to Use Instead of Said

Alternatives to “Walk”

60 Synonyms for “Walk”

✑ USEFUL WEBSITES/LINKS

Grammar Monster

Google Scholar

GodChecker

Tip Of My Tounge

Speech Tags

Pixar Story Rules

Written? Kitten!

TED Talks

DarkCopy

Family Echo

Some Words About Word Count

How Long Should My Novel Be?

The Universal Mary Sue Litmus Test

Writer’s “Cheat Sheets”

Last but not least, the most helpful tool for any writer out there is Google!

emotionalmilkshake

So so helpful

heywriters

I used several of these years before seeing this list, so I approve!

#reblog.

perpetual-stories

Different Types Of Dragons: Part One

hello, hello! welcome back to my page! so this post will be about dragons.

I was working on a fantasy short story and I recently finished it and I had different types of dragons included, so I figured I’d make a post about it.

1. Western Dragon:

are Dragons with four legs and a pair of wings for a total of six limbs.

The term Western Dragon comes from the Dragonology-series of books.

also a generic term for describing any and all European dragons in legends and folklore.

In Japan, all dragons from western myths are called doragon, while in eastern myths they are called ryū

most western dragons in fantasy look somewhat dinosaur-like.

were created as the embodiment of ancestral fears humans had for big cats, snakes, birds of prey and bats as they generally resemble some amalgam of these real animals.

western dragons often called True Dragons.

2. Oriental Dragon:

Oriental dragons have serpentine bodies, four legs and no wings, and can fly.

They are said to be a composite of various other animals-the body of a snake, the antlers of a deer, the talons of an eagle, the soles of a tiger, the scales of a carp, and the eyes of a demon

They are found in folklore, mythology, and religion all throughout East Asia.

Oriental dragons were known to not terrorize people unlike the western dragon.

These dragons were said to been guardians.

They were also said to have been the protectors and controllers of both the Earth's elements and its weather.

they can have different amount of toes depending on their depiction.

3. Dragonnet:

The Dragonnet is a small dragon.

They are just as vicious as their western counter parts.

They are quite rare.

Dragonnets have the same look as a classical western dragon.

It has the same scales, claws, and horns. It can fly and breathe fire.

The only difference between the two are the size.

Dragonnets are human-size or smaller.

Dragonnets live and hunt in packs.

A group of dragonnets can easily bring down a human victim, and have poisonous blood.

Most dragnets stay away from settled areas.

They live on high, cold mountaintops, where they survive by eating the babies of larger dragons.

Sometimes they sneak into a dragon's nest after killing one of its offspring. They act like babies to get free food and protection from the unsepecting parent.

4. Wyvern:

is a dragon that most recognizably has two legs as opposed to four

are distinguished as smaller, more animalistic variants of the modern dragon that may or may not have a poisonous stinger at the end of their tail

they are typically weaker, smaller, and less intelligent in comparison to the modern dragon, overall having animalistic tendencies and serving as apex predators

They may or may not have a breath weapon

Additionally, a new classification of Wyvern, the pseudowyvern, which are wyverns that use their wings as forelegs

5. Quetzalcoatl:

is a Mesoamerican deity whose name comes from the Nahuatl language and has the meaning of "feathered-serpent"

has no limbs only wings and feathers

in the Maya area he was known as Kukulcan or Ququmatz, names that also translate as "feathered serpent"

the worship of Quetzalcoatl sometimes included animal sacrifices, and in colonial traditions Quetzalcoatl was said to oppose human sacrifice

There you have it folks! I couldn’t find all the different types of dragons in one post, so I’ll make a part two soon!

Feel free to like, comment and reblog if you find it interesting!

Reshare on Instagram and tag me perpetualstories

Follow me on tumblr and Instagram for more writing and grammar tips and more!

#fantasy #masterlist #Dragons

perpetual-stories

Different Types Of Dragons: Part One

hello, hello! welcome back to my page! so this post will be about dragons.

I was working on a fantasy short story and I recently finished it and I had different types of dragons included, so I figured I’d make a post about it.

1. Western Dragon:

are Dragons with four legs and a pair of wings for a total of six limbs.

The term Western Dragon comes from the Dragonology-series of books.

also a generic term for describing any and all European dragons in legends and folklore.

In Japan, all dragons from western myths are called doragon, while in eastern myths they are called ryū

most western dragons in fantasy look somewhat dinosaur-like.

were created as the embodiment of ancestral fears humans had for big cats, snakes, birds of prey and bats as they generally resemble some amalgam of these real animals.

western dragons often called True Dragons.

2. Oriental Dragon:

Oriental dragons have serpentine bodies, four legs and no wings, and can fly.

They are said to be a composite of various other animals-the body of a snake, the antlers of a deer, the talons of an eagle, the soles of a tiger, the scales of a carp, and the eyes of a demon

They are found in folklore, mythology, and religion all throughout East Asia.

Oriental dragons were known to not terrorize people unlike the western dragon.

These dragons were said to been guardians.

They were also said to have been the protectors and controllers of both the Earth's elements and its weather.

they can have different amount of toes depending on their depiction.

3. Dragonnet:

The Dragonnet is a small dragon.

They are just as vicious as their western counter parts.

They are quite rare.

Dragonnets have the same look as a classical western dragon.

It has the same scales, claws, and horns. It can fly and breathe fire.

The only difference between the two are the size.

Dragonnets are human-size or smaller.

Dragonnets live and hunt in packs.

A group of dragonnets can easily bring down a human victim, and have poisonous blood.

Most dragnets stay away from settled areas.

They live on high, cold mountaintops, where they survive by eating the babies of larger dragons.

Sometimes they sneak into a dragon's nest after killing one of its offspring. They act like babies to get free food and protection from the unsepecting parent.

4. Wyvern:

is a dragon that most recognizably has two legs as opposed to four

are distinguished as smaller, more animalistic variants of the modern dragon that may or may not have a poisonous stinger at the end of their tail

they are typically weaker, smaller, and less intelligent in comparison to the modern dragon, overall having animalistic tendencies and serving as apex predators

They may or may not have a breath weapon

Additionally, a new classification of Wyvern, the pseudowyvern, which are wyverns that use their wings as forelegs

5. Quetzalcoatl:

is a Mesoamerican deity whose name comes from the Nahuatl language and has the meaning of "feathered-serpent"

has no limbs only wings and feathers

in the Maya area he was known as Kukulcan or Ququmatz, names that also translate as "feathered serpent"

the worship of Quetzalcoatl sometimes included animal sacrifices, and in colonial traditions Quetzalcoatl was said to oppose human sacrifice

There you have it folks! I couldn’t find all the different types of dragons in one post, so I’ll make a part two soon!

Feel free to like, comment and reblog if you find it interesting!

Reshare on Instagram and tag me perpetualstories

Follow me on tumblr and Instagram for more writing and grammar tips and more!

#fantasy #Dragons

heywriters

Hi! (I don't know if you have written about this before so I apologize in advance if I have missed it, I kept searching on your blog but I found nothing similar.)

To this day I still don't know how to write a 'suddenly' scene without it sounding awkward. I tried to but it ended up as ["Well I better get back to class—" she said, and suddenly there was an earthquake.] How can I make it smoother? Thank you so much!!

When “suddenly” feels abrupt or unnatural, that’s because it is telling the reader that something is about to happen when showing them is probably better. Like a scene in a movie, for an event to feel sudden there should be no lead-in. Characters are conversing one second, and action occurs in the next. The usual seamless flow between scenes is now unnecessary. While it is vital in the rest of storytelling, unforeseen events require disconnect and surprise.

You already show interruption in the dialogue by using an em dash, now support it by removing the attribution and interrupting the scene altogether.

“Well, I’d better get to class—”

[drop indent + immediate action]

Also like watching a movie or experiencing something irl, we don’t always get an explanation right away. We see the effects the action has on people and environment first. So instead of making the action “an earthquake,” show the reader what the earthquake is doing.

Expanding on your example, you can choose to keep terms like “suddenly.” Removing them increases the show factor and decreases the tell factor, which alters the effect slightly.

“Well, I’d better get to class—”

The floor suddenly rumbled. – vs – The floor rumbled.

Paintings on the wall began to tremble. – vs – Paintings on the wall trembled.

Removing these terms naturally makes it less obvious that what is happening is abnormal. So whatever action you choose should seem out of place enough that the reader knows this is an unusual circumstance. For instance,

The lights flickered and objects fell off shelves.

She hit the ground before she could say another word.

Both of these examples clearly indicate something is going wrong. If there isn’t an already established reason for these things to happen, the effect will be twice as strong—depending on how climactic you want your sudden action to be. Earthquakes in particular have different magnitudes, so it’s up to you and your research on how jarring the effects of this will be.

It also helps in any sudden scene to imagine which sensory cues will get your characters’ attention first. Will they hear that there’s an earthquake before they see the effects? Will they feel the ground shaking before hearing objects fall? You can write each one in the order you think your character would notice, cutting in with dialogue or other character attributions wherever it feels right. A little descriptive writing will go a long way towards putting the reader in the scene.

Avoid passive voice and stick with active voice to keep the scene feeling fast-paced. All the examples I’ve given are active voice. Passive voice would sound more like,

The floor was shaken by an earthquake.

A rattling sound was caused by paintings on the wall.

These sentences don’t contain the crutch “suddenly,” but passive voice makes them awkward and underwhelming in their own way. I’ll include a couple links that I used as reference while writing this, so you can double-check me and keep them as reference yourself.

Active vs. Passive Voice

Passive Voice Demonstrated by Zombies

Writing Tips—Don’t Say Suddenly, Show It!

Great question, and I hadn’t covered it yet so I’m glad you asked!

---

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#show not tell #suddenly #Writing tips

brynwrites

I stumbled across your blog while looking for some writing tips. I was wondering, how do you portray emotions through actions without using the emotion itself? I mean something like, "she angrily shut the door" when I say that. Basically, how do you portray emotions subtly through actions?

Showing emotion through action.

That’s actually a great example sentence because you make one easy change to turn it from an expository adverb to a emotion portraying action like this:

she angrily shut the door -> she slammed the door

You can come up with actions like these in a variety of ways. One tried and true method is to take an adverb-verb pair and find a stronger verb. Examples:

angrily shut/placed/moved -> slammed

sadly leaned -> slumped

nervously moved -> fidgeted

hungrily ate -> gobbled

grumpily walked -> trudged

Another great thing to do, especially as a writing exercise, is to simply consider things people commonly do what they feel certain emotions. Examples:

Sadness: People might draw into corners or under blankets, let down their hair, forget things like meals, gravitate toward pets, slump or curl up, set their head in their hands or on their knees, wipe their eyes, move more sluggishly, etc.

Happiness: People might move more energetically, dance or hum or whistle, twirl things around their fingers, make larger hand gestures or take up more room when they lounge, etc.

Nerves/fear: People might fidget, tap their fingers or chew their nails, fix their outfit even when there’s nothing wrong, pace, start doing something and then forget to finish, etc.

Remember that individual characters will have their own unique ways of dealing with emotion though! One character may slam a door, while another may focus so hard on closing it softly that their shoulders shake, while another may leave the door open specifically because they know the person they’re angry with will have to come close it afterward.

Because people (and characters) aren’t carbon copies, we usually have to use a variety of means to show emotion. Well chosen actions alone are great, but facial expressions, tone of voice, dialogue structure, and (for point of view characters) internal thoughts can go a long way in helping round out the emotion in a scene.

Ye Good Old Footnote: I wrote a book about a silly siren and a sillier pirate being idiots together and you can read it if you search for Our Bloody Pearl at your favorite book distributor!

#show not tell #writing tips: technique

derangedrhythms

Margaret Atwood, The Animals in That Country; from ‘Speeches for Dr Frankenstein’

#writing: inspiration

g--i--f--m--a--n--i--a

fuckyeahnaturalphilosophy

White horses are breathtaking. And it’s not just a term in English! Visuals like these are part of why Poseidon was a god of the sea and of horses.

#writing: inspiration #writing reference

frankdelflno

Surnames are just as important as given names. So, I compiled a list of the websites I use to find my surnames.

English Surnames

Dutch Surnames

Spanish Surnames

Scottish Surnames

German Surnames

Italian Surnames

Irish Surnames

French Surnames

Scandinavian Surnames

Welsh Surnames

Jewish Surnames

Surnames By Ethnicity

Most Common Surnames in the USA

Most Common Surnames in Great Britan

Most Common Surnames in Asia

bee-earthly

old-manrupee

For whoever needs these.

dragons-arrow

I NEED THE ITALIAN LAST NAMES SO BAD

ebvoice-deactivated20150727

We are like fireworks…: Surnames Master Post.

chronophobica

Chinese surnames

Indian surnames

Indonesian surnames

Pakistani surnames

Bengali surnames

Japanese surnames

Filipino surnames

Korean surnames

Syrian surnames

Mongolian naming and clan names

Thai surnames

Asia is not a single country.

analog-machine

AND THEY’RE NOT FROM fantasynamegenerators.com SO THAT MEANS IT’LL BE EASIER TO PICK POTENTIALLY

#NUT #I mean--#characters #names

thebibliosphere

Whgskl. Okay.

PSA to all you fantasy writers because I have just had a truly frustrating twenty minutes talking to someone about this: it’s okay to put mobility aids in your novel and have them just be ordinary.

Like. Super okay.

I don’t give a shit if it’s high fantasy, low fantasy or somewhere between the lovechild of Tolkein meets My Immortal. It’s okay to use mobility devices in your narrative. It’s okay to use the word “wheelchair”. You don’t have to remake the fucking wheel. It’s already been done for you.

And no, it doesn’t detract from the “realism” of your fictional universe in which you get to set the standard for realism. Please don’t try to use that as a reason for not using these things.

There is no reason to lock the disabled people in your narrative into towers because “that’s the way it was”, least of all in your novel about dragons and mermaids and other made up creatures. There is no historical realism here. You are in charge. You get to decide what that means.

Also:

“Depiction of Chinese philosopher Confucius in a wheelchair, dating to ca. 1680. The artist may have been thinking of methods of transport common in his own day.”

“The earliest records of wheeled furniture are an inscription found on a stone slate in China and a child’s bed depicted in a frieze on a Greek vase, both dating between the 6th and 5th century BCE.[2][3][4][5]The first records of wheeled seats being used for transporting disabled people date to three centuries later in China; the Chinese used early wheelbarrows to move people as well as heavy objects. A distinction between the two functions was not made for another several hundred years, around 525 CE, when images of wheeled chairs made specifically to carry people begin to occur in Chinese art.[5]”

“In 1655, Stephan Farffler, a 22 year old paraplegic watchmaker, built the world’s first self-propelling chair on a three-wheel chassis using a system of cranks and cogwheels.[6][3] However, the device had an appearance of a hand bike more than a wheelchair since the design included hand cranks mounted at the front wheel.[2]

The invalid carriage or Bath chair brought the technology into more common use from around 1760.[7]

In 1887, wheelchairs (“rolling chairs”) were introduced to Atlantic City so invalid tourists could rent them to enjoy the Boardwalk. Soon, many healthy tourists also rented the decorated “rolling chairs” and servants to push them as a show of decadence and treatment they could never experience at home.[8]

In 1933 Harry C. Jennings, Sr. and his disabled friend Herbert Everest, both mechanical engineers, invented the first lightweight, steel, folding, portable wheelchair.[9] Everest had previously broken his back in a mining accident. Everest and Jennings saw the business potential of the invention and went on to become the first mass-market manufacturers of wheelchairs. Their “X-brace” design is still in common use, albeit with updated materials and other improvements. The X-brace idea came to Harry from the men’s folding “camp chairs / stools”, rotated 90 degrees, that Harry and Herbert used in the outdoors and at the mines.[citation needed]

“But Joy, how do I describe this contraption in a fantasy setting that wont make it seem out of place?”

“It was a chair on wheels, which Prince FancyPants McElferson propelled forwards using his arms to direct the motion of the chair.”

“It was a chair on wheels, which Prince EvenFancierPants McElferson used to get about, pushed along by one of his companions or one of his many attending servants.”

“But it’s a high realm magical fantas—”

“It was a floating chair, the hum of magical energy keeping it off the ground casting a faint glow against the cobblestones as {CHARACTER} guided it round with expert ease, gliding back and forth.”

“But it’s a stempunk nov—”

“Unlike other wheelchairs he’d seen before, this one appeared to be self propelling, powered by the gasket of steam at the back, and directed by the use of a rudder like toggle in the front.”

Give. Disabled. Characters. In. Fantasy. Novels. Mobility. Aids.

If you can spend 60 pages telling me the history of your world in innate detail down to the formation of how magical rocks were formed, you can god damn write three lines in passing about a wheelchair.

Signed, your editor who doesn’t have time for this ableist fantasy realm shit.

prismatic-bell

Some options for other disabilities and aids:

“Jack had an unusual pair of sticks, unlike anything Jill had seen before; they were much like canes, but rather than ending in a knot or handle they continued up into a pair of bracelets, held together round his wrists by a cunning slide mechanism. They kept him, she noted, quite sure of foot even on the steep ground.” (wrist braces; cerebral palsy)

“Fandir wore a ring around her ear. It looked something like a fancy collar, its edges tipped outward as though forming a funnel, and when she was spoken to she turned it in the direction of the speaker.” (hearing aid, based off antique “hearing trumpets”)

“Victor’s left arm was a marvel of the modern age–held together with a thousand miniscule steel plates and ten thousand tiny gears, wearing a small brazier, much like a jacket cuff, to fire the steam that moved its mechanical fingers.” (prosthetic arm, steampunk)

“Sasha carried one of the most unusual canes Mara had ever seen: it was longer than might be considered useful to someone her size, and hollow, its walls so thin it surely couldn’t hold her weight. Mara watched as Sasha swept the cane ahead of her. At first she thought Sasha was merely clearing a path, but then the cane struck a large rock, and Sasha neatly sidestepped it having never been told it was there. Ah, that solved the mystery, Mara thought: the hollow stick vibrated in Sasha’s hands when it struck, and its sound told her what danger she might face.” (white cane, blindness)

“Sibatyn clapped his hands over his eyes. ‘Here,’ said Yanit, ‘put your scarf over your eyes and take my arm. I can lead you until the lightning is over.’“ (avoiding flashing lights, photosensitive epilepsy)

“‘She grows quite ill on bread, even Rosie’s best,’ Sam lamented. ‘Can’t keep a bit of weight on her. It isn’t proper, for a hobbit.’ Gandalf nodded. ‘Have you considered, perhaps, feeding her on Elf-bread? She may take well to grains not often found in the Shire.’“ (special diet, Celiac disease, food allergies)

I literally had to think harder about what disabilities I wanted to represent here than I did about how to represent them. It isn’t hard. You have no excuse.

shiraglassman

OP is spot on. Also, thank you @prismatic-bell for including the food intolerances/allergies one – that’s pretty much exactly how I handled it in my series. As with all of these, and indeed with many other forms of representation that sometimes get pushback in SFF, it’s just a matter of wording it in genre-friendly terms. Sometimes I get the feeling some people forget that’s an option, or it doesn’t occur to them. But obviously there is also often ablism and assumptions at play.

(I heard Gandalf’s lines in Sir Ian’s voice so that was fun :P )

#fantasy reference

theliteraryarchitect

Hey hello, sorry to bother!

I’m new to writing, more so to write a story in English. Not being my native language, however, i’m having a hard time.

My story is told in a first person POV.

I’m having issues with writing it without adding too many “I/my/me/mine” but, sometimes I struggle too much, so i ended up filling this story with many “the”, instead.

Can you please share some tips to avoid that? You would save my day and story as well! Thank you for all your hard work.

3 Tips to Avoid Overusing “I” in a First Person Story

Hi there! This is a great question. Rest assured that lots of writers have a hard time with this, even when English is their first language! Here are a few tips.

Tip #1: Remove filtering

If every observation is filtered through your POV character, it’s easy to overuse the word “I.”

Filtering:

I heard a bird singing outside my window.

Revised:

A bird sang outside my window.

Filtering:

I saw my mom walk up to the door.

Revised:

My mom walked up to the door.

Tip #2: Balance action with description, dialogue, inner monologue, and summary

If every sentence is an action, it’s also easy to overuse “I.”

All action:

I ran across the street. I hesitated for a moment. Then I knocked on Jesse’s door. I nervously twirled my keys in my hand. When no one came to the door, I started shaking.

Action + inner monologue + description + dialogue + summary:

I ran across the street. Jesse said he’d meet me at the bus stop at 4pm. It wasn’t like him not to show. I knocked on the door. The house was totally silent. Had he forgotten about me?

“Jesse?” I called.

No response.

I nervously twirled my keys in my hand. The last time someone bailed on me like this, that was it. We broke up the next day. I’d hoped things wouldn’t go that way this time, but history does have a way of repeating itself.

A neighbor’s dog barked, then another car whizzed by on the street. But still no noise from inside the house. I started shaking.

Tip #3: Remove “I” from inner monologue

In a first person story, we assume that inner thoughts and emotions are coming from the narrator. They don’t need to be tagged.

Before:

I couldn’t believe it. Shrimp? She knew I was allergic, I thought to myself. What was she thinking?

Revised:

Unbelievable. Shrimp? She knew I was allergic. What was she thinking?

Remember, you don’t need to eliminate every single instance of “I” in a first person story. If you’re doing syntax acrobatics and constructing a slew of awkward sentences to avoid using “I,” you might be going to far. First person stories will use the word “I” a lot--there’s only so much you can change that. Just do your best!

Hope this helps :)

#Writing tips #filter words

clevergirlhelps

Hi! I'm working on creating a clothing style/system for my world but I'm having trouble finding words for describe clothes or clothing terms. Can you help?

Top

Shirt

Blouse

Corset

Doublet

Turtleneck

Camisole

Slip

Vest

Undershirt

Sweater

Bottom

Pants

Trousers

Breeches

Leggings

Skirt

Sarong

Top & Bottom

Robe

Kimono

Dress

Gown

Tunic

Apron

Toga

Cassock

Tabard

Head

Turban

Headdress

Tiara

Crown

Circlet

Cowl

Headscarf

Hood

Hat

Helmet

Wimple

Hijab

Veil

Outerwear

Jacket

Trench coat, duster, long coat, greatcoat

Cape

Cloak

Coat

Chiton

Accessories

Scarf

Jewelry (necklace, ring, bracelet, anklet, earring)

Stole

Belt

Sash

Shawl

Epaulette

Keep reading

#clothing #reference

worldbuildingjune

Day 2: What's the Geography of your world?

Welcome to the second day builders! Today’s topic is about establishing or talking about the geography of your world.

Geography can play an important part in the stories you tell in your world. Distance and terrain can form barriers between people, rivers and roads can create a lane of trade, proximity can create associations. It’s not uncommon for the guilded castles of the rich heights to be divided from the tight-knit disenfranchised poor. Geography can also have a huge impact upon trade and economy, where the temperature, amount of fertile land, water, and other factors can decide what’s the most viable way to survive and thrive.

A lot of these concerns are things that will come up later during your world building so it’s good to be thoughtful about them when laying down a map.

There’s also valid reasons to not include a map, when maybe the physical layout of your world isn’t as important as it is to know where you are in it and getting lost in that place. Using the senses to paint a picture can help establish someone in a location. Contrasting the smell of grass on the wind in the open plains with the thick stale air of a dusty crypt can make someone feel a world away from each location.

Stay safe and get building!

#writing tips #Geography

inky-duchess

Fantasy Guide to Succession Systems

We usually write royal families based on the modern or medieval ones of history. We almost always fall into the trap of Male to Male succession because... that's usually what is done. We get confused over who is next when you kill off a cast of characters or have a strong female lead and we fall into a whole. But no longer. Here are some succession systems you can use in your fantasy setting.

Male to Male Primogeniture

This is when the firstborn son inherits everything outright from his dad. His son will inherit after him followed by his grandson and so on so forth. This is our main system of succession in real world history and fantasy. This can be an easy one to work off since there are so many examples. However, just as the real world is run by genetics, so will your fantasy land. There is a 50-50 chance of having a daughter or a son. You can't always bank on having a son. And if you have a surplus of sons, it can lead to trouble down the road.

Female to Female Primogeniture

There are some cultures that are strictly matrilineal, with inheritance passing to mother to daughter to granddaughter and so on. This can be another easy line to follow as it is basically the system up above just gender reverse. Examples of this succession can be found in Africa such as the role of Rain Queen where only females are eligible to take the throne and the Undangs of Negeri Sembilan in Asia. There are the same kind of issues such as the possibility that a daughter may not be born.

Tanistry

This is a Gaelic system for passing on titles and lands. The Tanist/ Tánaiste is the title bestowed upon the candidate chosen to inherit the throne who acts as a second in command. The eligible candidates would arrive at a chosen place and there would be a grand discussion on who gets to be named the heir. The candidates don't have to be a blood relative or even an ally of the current ruler. This was practised in Ireland, Scotland and the Isle of Mann and was also sort of practised in the Holy Roman Empire. The Vatican uses this to some extent though they might forgo all the drink... OK probably they do. There is no real issue with this, the best candidate is chosen and everyone has a say. Of course in politics, some force might be used in order of specific favourites to succeed but hey its nothing more than what's going on in modern politics.

Agnatic Seniority

This is another patrilineal inheritance system only this one is slightly more confusing. In this system, the succession goes from monarch to their younger brothers and then the monarch's own sons. The monarchs children don't inherit until the older generation have all died. Agnatic seniority bars all female descendants and their descendants from the throne.

The Ottoman Empire's Version of the Hunger Games (or just what siblings are like)

The Ottoman Empire had a fun succession order. Oh, perhaps not order. You see when a Sultan dies, his sons fight over who gets to be the next Sultan. The Şehzades (the male issue of the Sultan) will turn on one another, often having all their brothers and half brothers massacred by guards armed with bowstrings. This fratricidal system did work in the Sultan's favour as his throne was safe from claims of rivals. Yet if you get rid of all your heirs and you can't sire one and you die... well bye bye dynasty. The Şehzade who usually comes out on top will be the one who is backed by the military. This practise became less awful as years went by and the brothers of the Sultan were imprisoned in the harem in chambers called the Golden Cage or kafes. Some went insane and some actually succeeded the Sultanate.

Roman Adoption

The Romans didn't follow blood but rather the surname. Like the tanistry, a Roman noble/emperor would take stock of their relatives or even perhaps acquaintances and pick the best one. They would be given everything in the will including the right to inherit. Julius Caesar picked his great-nephew Octavian and in turn Octavian, now Augustus Caesar, chose his step-son Tiberius. If you go back through the Judo-Claudian dynasty you will see that most the heirs were adopted and not all came from the same bloodline.

Hope this helps @anomaly00

#fantasy reference #fantasy #glossary

inky-duchess

Fantasy Guide to Palaces and How they Work

I'm always being asked how palaces work whether its downstairs, upstairs or accommodation wise. It is a really difficult thing to explain since there are so many different versions. I thought up a great analogy for it. Treat a palace like a hotel with a whole town living in it, because that's technically what it is. So that's what we're going to do.

Accommodation

Accommodation can be a difficult thing to sort both as a writer and a steward. You might have a palace of 200+ bedchambers in which you must house a staff of 500-/+, a varying amount of nobles, the royal family (of a varying amount) and their own households. When assigning rooms it is best to think of a Russian nesting doll. Start from the inside and work your way to the outside.

The best rooms go to the monarch, their consort and their children/siblings/parent(s). These chambers would include the bedroom, a drawing room/ common area, a privy, a closet (a small chamber that can be used for prayer or work). They would be furnished with the best cloth, the best candles and whatever furniture brought by the resident since most royal courts travelled from palace to palace. They will also have chambers for their personal servants such as ladies in waiting and grooms.

The second best set of rooms would go to the highest ranking nobles/people in the court. These rooms would be less fancy and a little smaller. These would be given to from titled nobility descending from those of Ducal rank (Dukes/Duchesses) or even members of the council such as Thomas Cromwell in Tudor times.

The next set would be considerably smaller, perhaps minus a closet or a drawing room. Given to lower nobility.

The next level of chambers would be smaller perhaps only the bedroom and a common area given to minor nobles.

The last set of rooms would be small and only hold enough room for a bedroom. Servants would have to sleep on the ground on pallets beside their masters.

Any other guests at court would have to stay at off-site locations around the palace in the city. Some nobles at houses around major palaces just in case they arrived late or were kicked out of court.

Room Service

Most palace kitchens were in the lower extremities of the building. They would include an area for food preparation, pantries (rooms where they keep the food) and perhaps even a common area for the servants. Food would be cooked in large ovens, rather looking like pizza ovens or on spits over fire pits. The kitchens would turn out food on order of the nobility and royalty which would be brought to the rooms by the noble's own servants. But since royal palaces are so large and microwaves do not exist, the food would likely be cold when it arrived. For larger, more public dinners, the court would gather in the great hall together (for more on this).

Picture yourself at a banquet held at the local Lord's castle. The music is playing, the people are chatting and rustling about in their bes

Entertainment

If you hoard over a thousand people into a single building, you will have to keep them entertained or else they might start misbehaving, more than usual. Palaces would be well stocked with ways to keep the courtiers occupied.

Every palace would have a stable where the residents' horses would be chillin'. Some palaces have parkland around them for hunting and picnicking.

Most palaces would have common areas where courtiers would meet to play card games or gossip like a game room.

There would be lawns converted for games such as bowling, croquet and tennis.

Some palaces like Versailles would have indoor theatres and stages for traveling players to perform pieces for the court.

Mediaeval castles would have pits for cockfighting or bear baiting usually outside the main castle on the grounds.

Services

We've spent enough time upstairs. Now lets look at the servants portion of the palace.

The local servants (those who serve at the palace all year round) would typically sleep in mass chambers grouped together according to jobs and gender.

The stableboys would likely sleep in the stable's hay lofts.

The unmarried girls of the castle would be locked in to protect their virtue (a precautionary rule though was frequently broken).

The cooks would sleep near the kitchen in order to get to work early as they could or if they had to rise early.

Stewards (the main boss of the servants) would have the best accommodation as would the other heads of the different groups of servants including the housekeeper, the chef, the head gardener.

Servants who came along with the court would be housed either in close quarters to their masters or on the floor by their bed.

The servants have different corridors and staircases to get around the palace without being seen. These would be smaller and plain parts of the palace.

For @innergoldx sorry it took so long

#fantasy #fantasy reference #glossary

pilferingapples

The writer's guide to horses to help you write realistic scenes. Find out how far a horse can travel, how long a horse can gallop, and more.

#horses #writing reference

writingguardian-deactivated2024

Hey, I'm currently writing a story that takes place in a medieval setting and I'm having a bit of trouble with the different types of clothes and what the different pieces are called. Can you help?

I can try (:

Medieval Clothing for Authors