the prettiest of views

olivia's writing and sometimes graphics blog

[theworstassassinever]

Writing Masterpost

Character Help

MBTI Personality Test

MBTI Personality Descriptions

123 Character Flaws

Character Trait Cheat Sheet

List of Personality Traits

Character Virtues And Vices

Underused Personalities

7 Rules For Picking Names

Character Names

Character Name Resources

Surnames Masterpost

Types of Voice

Showing Character Emotion

Writing Characters Of Colour

More On Writing Characters Of Colour

All Characters Talk The Same

Character Description

100 Character Development Questions

Character Development Questionnaire

30 Day Character Development Meme

Character Development Check List

Character Development Through Hobbies

List Of Character Secrets - Part 1 - Part 2

Mysterious Characters

Flat Characters

European Characters

Creating Believable Characters

Writing A Drunk Character

Writing Manipulative Characters

Writing Witty Characters

Writing Natural Born Leaders

Writing Rebellious Characters

Writing Indifferent Distance Characters

Writing Bitchy Characters

Writing Popular Characters

Writing Child Characters

Writing Villains

Villain Archetypes

Avoiding LGBTQ Stereotypes

Writing Homosexuals as a Heterosexual

Writing Males as a Female

Writing Convincing Male Characters

Writing Characters Of The Opposite Sex

Revealing A Characters Gender

The Roles Of Characters

Creating Fictional Characters From Scratch

Creating A Strong, Weak Character

Writing Characters Using Conflict And Backstory

Switching Up A ‘Too-Perfect’ Character

Help I Have A Mary-Sue!

Dialogue

Dialogue Tips

Realistic Dialogue

Flirty Dialogue

On Dialogue

General Help

Alternatives To Said

Avoiding Unfortunate Implications

Begin A Novel

Finishing Your Novel

Creating Conflict

Show Not Tell

Words For Emotions Based On Severity

Getting Out Of The Comfort Zone

A Guide To Writing Sci-Fi

Naming The Story

The Right Point Of View

Essential Story Ingredients

Writing Fantasy Masterpost

Five Rules For Thrillers

Pacing Action Scenes

Writing Races

Using Gender Neutral Pronouns

Dos and Don’t of Writing

General Writing Tips

Plotting

Outlining Your Novel

Creating A Compelling Plot

The Snowflake Method

Beginning and End, But No Middle!

Prompts and Ideas

Prompt Generator Lists

Creative Writing Prompts

Story Starting Sentences

Story Spinner

Story Kitchen

Writing Prompt Generator

Quick Story Generator

Dramatic Scenes

Plot Bank

Masterpost of Writing Execrises

Research

Survival Skills Masterpost

Mental Illness

Limits Of The Human Body

Stages of Decomposition

Body Language Cheat Sheet

Importance Of Body Language

Non Verbal Communication

Depression

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder

Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder

Anxiety

Schizophrenia

Borderline Personality Disorder

Degrees of Emotion

List Of Phobias - Part 1 (A - L) - Part 2 (M -  Z)

Psychology In Writing

Psychology Of Colour

Mob Mentality

How Street Gangs Work

Street Gang Dynamics

How To Pick A Lock

Death Scenes

Realistic Death Scenes

Fighting and Self Defence

Fighting Scenes

Problems With Fighting Scenes

Every Type of Fight Scene

Fantasy Battle Scenes

Body Language Of Flirting

Flirting 101

Kissing

Sex Scenes

Ballet Terms

Torture Guide (Trigger Warning)

Sibling Abuse (Trigger Warning)

Dream Sequences

Kleptomania

Psychiatric Hospital

Understanding issues, -isms and privilege

Revision

Cliché Finder

Reading What You’ve Wrote So Far

Synonyms For Common Words

Urban Legends On Grammar

Common Grammar Mistakes

Revising A Novel 

Setting

Average Weather Settings

Apocalypses

World Building 101

Bringing Settings To Life

Creating A Believable World

Mapping A Fictional World

Mapping Your World

Religion in Setting

Sounds to listen to whilst writing

Coffitivity

August Ambience

Rainy Mood

Forest Mood

SimplyNoise

SoundDrown

iSerenity

Nature Sound Player

myNoise

Tools

Tip Of Your Tounge

Write Or Die

Online Brainstorm

Family Tree Maker

Stay Focused

This took me a good few hours and a lot of effort to make and even though it was mainly for myself anyone can feel free to use it, for the note it is still under construction and I am undergoing fixes. So If anyone actually does use this other than myself and notices a broken link or something not quite right, could you please inform me about it? Thank you.

[the-girlwhowouldbeking-blog]

for livvi, a song for (almost) every au these idiots have. (x)

i.coffee shop au; falling in love at a coffee shop - landon pigg ii.high school au; first date - blink 182 iii.legally blonde au; take it like a man - legally blonde the musical iv.single parents au; haven’t met you yet - michael buble v.teen pregnancy au; baby mine - disney’s on the record vi.wwii au; i’ll be seeing you - billie holiday vii. 50s au; if i give my heart to you - doris day viii.bad girl/good guy au; girl all the bad guys want - bowling for soup ix.punk band au; when it’s time - american idiot the musical x.forced into dating each other au; i like you so much better when you’re naked - ida maria xi.tramp is rich/country club au; can’t buy me love - the beatles xii.office au; step into my office baby - belle & sebastian xiii.superhero au; superman - taylor swift xiv. made of honor au; so close - jon mclaughlin (i understand the irony here) xv.flower shop au; enchanted - taylor swift

[betype]

TOP 10 FONTS OF THE YEAR

And finally this  are the best 10 fonts released in 2013. Click in the name of every font to see full details. :

Brandon Text  by HVD Fonts.

Nanami Font by Thinkdust.

Canaro by Rene Bieder.

Tide Sans by Kyle Benson.

Niveau Grotesk by HVD Fonts.

Trend by Latinotype.

Core Circus by S-Core.

Wishes Script by Typesenses.

Voyage Font by Fenotype.

Zulia by Sudtipos

You can check the full details in this site dedicated to the 100 fonts of 2013: 2013.betype.co

[entertain-thepain]

[lmnpnch]

Favourite ‘handwriting/handwritten’ fonts (a resource list):

yore | before breakfast | amatic | vinchand | sketch block | a gentle touch | trashHand | sunshine in my soul | return to sender | windsor hand | riddle | architects daughter | southern aire | gunny handwriting | janda elegant | jack story | always forever | pea naenae | rage italic | journal | jellyka estrya’s handwriting | art brewery | londrina | jenna sue | pacifico | housegrind | mixtape mike | bernard | skinny latte | green surf | Voluplate | beautiful

[sodaspop]

useful links about the 50s/60s/70s for fanfiction/imagine writers!!

slang:

50s 

60s

70s (includes lots of phrases used by hippies)

fashion:

50s

60s

70s

music:

50s

60s

70s

movies:

50s 

60s

70s

culture:

50s

60s

70s (women’s libs hyfr!!!)

inventions:

50s

60s

70s

extras:

cars (60s)

random facts (50s)

how much things cost (70s)

timeline (60s)

it’s good to be well-informed when writing fanfictions and such and i hope this helps u guys out!!!

[cathyhiatt-blog]

light textures by cathyhiatt

so i made a light textures pack! i based all the colour schemes on different broadway (and off-broadway) shows, because why not. the 10 shows included are (in order of how they’re displayed in the photo above): hair, matilda, newsies, in the heights, legally blonde, spring awakening, once, next to normal, the last five years, and the glass menagerie. their dimensions are 700x500.

please like or reblog this if you download, don’t claim as your own, and don’t redistribute. if you’re not sure how to use these, i typed up a little tutorial a while back covering a few ways you can consider!

thank you!!

download (mediafire)

[crimsoneyedfairy-deactivated201]

Writing Advice: by Chuck Palahniuk In six seconds, you’ll hate me. But in six months, you’ll be a better writer. From this point forward—at least for the next half year—you may not use “thought” verbs. These include: Thinks, Knows, Understands, Realizes, Believes, Wants, Remembers, Imagines, Desires, and a hundred others you love to use. The list should also include: Loves and Hates. And it should include: Is and Has, but we’ll get to those later. Until some time around Christmas, you can’t write: Kenny wondered if Monica didn’t like him going out at night…” Instead, you’ll have to Un-pack that to something like: “The mornings after Kenny had stayed out, beyond the last bus, until he’d had to bum a ride or pay for a cab and got home to find Monica faking sleep, faking because she never slept that quiet, those mornings, she’d only put her own cup of coffee in the microwave. Never his.” Instead of characters knowing anything, you must now present the details that allow the reader to know them. Instead of a character wanting something, you must now describe the thing so that the reader wants it. Instead of saying: “Adam knew Gwen liked him.” You’ll have to say: “Between classes, Gwen had always leaned on his locker when he’d go to open it. She’s roll her eyes and shove off with one foot, leaving a black-heel mark on the painted metal, but she also left the smell of her perfume. The combination lock would still be warm from her butt. And the next break, Gwen would be leaned there, again.” In short, no more short-cuts. Only specific sensory detail: action, smell, taste, sound, and feeling. Typically, writers use these “thought” verbs at the beginning of a paragraph (In this form, you can call them “Thesis Statements” and I’ll rail against those, later). In a way, they state the intention of the paragraph. And what follows, illustrates them. For example: “Brenda knew she’d never make the deadline. was backed up from the bridge, past the first eight or nine exits. Her cell phone battery was dead. At home, the dogs would need to go out, or there would be a mess to clean up. Plus, she’d promised to water the plants for her neighbor…” Do you see how the opening “thesis statement” steals the thunder of what follows? Don’t do it. If nothing else, cut the opening sentence and place it after all the others. Better yet, transplant it and change it to: Brenda would never make the deadline. Thinking is abstract. Knowing and believing are intangible. Your story will always be stronger if you just show the physical actions and details of your characters and allow your reader to do the thinking and knowing. And loving and hating. Don’t tell your reader: “Lisa hated Tom.” Instead, make your case like a lawyer in court, detail by detail. Present each piece of evidence. For example: “During roll call, in the breath after the teacher said Tom’s name, in that moment before he could answer, right then, Lisa would whisper-shout ‘Butt Wipe,’ just as Tom was saying, ‘Here’.” One of the most-common mistakes that beginning writers make is leaving their characters alone. Writing, you may be alone. Reading, your audience may be alone. But your character should spend very, very little time alone. Because a solitary character starts thinking or worrying or wondering. For example: Waiting for the bus, Mark started to worry about how long the trip would take…” A better break-down might be: “The schedule said the bus would come by at noon, but Mark’s watch said it was already 11:57. You could see all the way down the road, as far as the Mall, and not see a bus. No doubt, the driver was parked at the turn-around, the far end of the line, taking a nap. The driver was kicked back, asleep, and Mark was going to be late. Or worse, the driver was drinking, and he’d pull up drunk and charge Mark seventy-five cents for death in a fiery traffic accident…” A character alone must lapse into fantasy or memory, but even then you can’t use “thought” verbs or any of their abstract relatives. Oh, and you can just forget about using the verbs forget and remember. No more transitions such as: “Wanda remembered how Nelson used to brush her hair.” Instead: “Back in their sophomore year, Nelson used to brush her hair with smooth, long strokes of his hand.” Again, Un-pack. Don’t take short-cuts. Better yet, get your character with another character, fast. Get them together and get the action started. Let their actions and words show their thoughts. You—stay out of their heads. And while you’re avoiding “thought” verbs, be very wary about using the bland verbs “is” and “have.” For example: “Ann’s eyes are blue.” “Ann has blue eyes.” Versus: “Ann coughed and waved one hand past her face, clearing the cigarette smoke from her eyes, blue eyes, before she smiled…” Instead of bland “is” and “has” statements, try burying your details of what a character has or is, in actions or gestures. At its most basic, this is showing your story instead of telling it. And forever after, once you’ve learned to Un-pack your characters, you’ll hate the lazy writer who settles for: “Jim sat beside the telephone, wondering why Amanda didn’t call.” Please. For now, hate me all you want, but don’t use thought verbs. After Christmas, go crazy, but I’d bet money you won’t. (…) For this month’s homework, pick through your writing and circle every “thought” verb. Then, find some way to eliminate it. Kill it by Un-packing it. Then, pick through some published fiction and do the same thing. Be ruthless. “Marty imagined fish, jumping in the moonlight…” “Nancy recalled the way the wine tasted…” “Larry knew he was a dead man…” Find them. After that, find a way to re-write them. Make them stronger.

(via fictionwritingtips)

[sairobee]

Songs for Creating Stuff

I’m a big fan of film scores, and every year or so I get a bee up my bonnet to share my favorite tracks from my collection. So! Here’s 2012’s list, conveniently categorized according to the mood you might want to evoke. Enjoy!

FUN/JOY

WALL-E — Thomas Newman (WALL-E)

Forbidden Friendship — John Powell (How to Train Your Dragon)

Dead Already — Thomas Newman (American Beauty)

Discombobulate — Hans Zimmer (Sherlock Holmes)

Possibility — Thomas Newman (Pay it Forward)

First Date — Thomas Newman (WALL-E)

To the Stars — Randy Edelman (Dragonheart)

The Bathtub — Dan Romer and Benh Zeitlin (Beasts of the Southern Wild)

ROMANTIC

Juliette is Happy — Niall Byrne (Cairo Time)

Your Hands are Cold — Jean-Yves Thibaudet (Pride & Prejudice)

Latika’s Theme — AR Rahman/Suzanne D’Mello (Slumdog Millionaire)

The Sacrifice — Michael Nyman (The Piano)

Define Dancing — Thomas Newman (WALL-E)

Lovers - Flower Garden — Kathleen Battle/Shigeru Umebayashi (House of Flying Daggers)

Married Life — Michael Giacchino (Up)

HAUNTING

Iguazu — Gustavo Santaolalla (Babel/Deadwood/24/The Insider/Friday Night Lights)

Anne Dreams of Her Childhood — Trevor Morris (The Tudors)

Justin Calls Iris — Jeff Beal (Carnivale)

Ghosts — Thomas Newman (Road to Perdition)

Pruit Igoe & Prophecies — The Philip Glass Ensemble (Watchmen)

Revenge — James Horner (Legends of the Fall)

Child’s Footprint — Ernst Rejiseger (Cave of Forgotten Dreams)

Griet Remembers — Alexandre Desplat (The Girl with the Pearl Earring)

SAD

Life and Death — Michael Giacchino (Lost)

Any Other Name — Thomas Newman (American Beauty)

Tarr and Irina — Alberto Iglesias (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy)

His Name was Michael — Jeff Beal (Carnivale)

More Prays — Trevor Morris (The Tudors)

Valley of the Shadow — Thomas Newman (Little Women)

Elysium — Hans Zimmer/Lisa Gerrard (Gladiator)

Brooks Was Here — Thomas Newman (Shawshank Redemption)

Syriana — Alexandre Desplat (Syriana)

Brandon — Harry Escott (Shame)

The Nursery — Clint Mansell (Moon)

MELLOW

George Smiley — Alberto Iglesias (Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy)

The Ludlows — James Horner (Legends of the Fall)

Theme for the Diving Bell and the Butterfly — Paul Cantelon (The Diving Bell and the Butterfly)

The Grey Havens — Howard Shore (Return of the King)

We Don’t Have to Think Like That Anymore — Cliff Martinez (Solaris)

The Artifact & The Living — Michael Andrews (Donnie Darko/This American Life)

Panoramic — Atticus Ross (The Book of Eli)

Time — Hans Zimmer (Inception)

Deep in an Ancient Hawaiian Forest — Makana (The Descendants)

Avril 14th — Aphex Twin (Marie Antoinette)

Reverie — Ludovico Einaudi (Enlightened)

EXCITING

Romani Holiday (Antonius Remix) — Hans Zimmer (Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows)

Chant — Hans Zimmer (Black Hawk Down)

The Way of the Sword — Hans Zimmer (The Last Samurai)

Agent of Chaos — Hans Zimmer/James Newton Howard (The Dark Knight)

Molossus — Hans Zimmer/James Newton Howard (Batman Begins)

Mombasa — Hans Zimmer (Inception)

WALL-E’s Pod Adventure — Thomas Newman (WALL-E)

Those We Don’t Speak Of — James Newton Howard (The Village)

Psychological Recovery … 6 Months [2] — Hans Zimmer (Sherlock Holmes)

The Borgias Main Titles — Trevor Morris (The Borgias)

Sacrifice — Clint Mansell (Moon)

Imagine the Fire — Hans Zimmer (The Dark Knight Rises)

Opening Titles — Rob Lane (John Adams)

EPIC

The End of All Things — Howard Shore (The Return of the King)

Roll Tide — Hans Zimmer (Crimson Tide)

Isengard Unleashed — Howard Shore (The Two Towers)

Kaneda’s Death, Pt. 2 — John Murphy (Sunshine/Kick Ass/The Walking Dead)

Death is the Road to Awe — Clint Mansell (The Fountain)

The Battle of Kerak — Harry Gregson-Williams (Kingdom of Heaven)

Mind Heist — Zack Hemsey (Inception Trailer)

Helm’s Deep — Howard Shore (The Two Towers)

Rise — Hans Zimmer (The Dark Knight Rises)

… AND ROLL CREDITS

So Was Red — Thomas Newman (Shawshank Redemption)

That Next Place — Thomas Newman (Meet Joe Black)

Under the Stars — Hans Zimmer (The Lion King)

The Great Work Begins — Thomas Newman (Angels in America)

Road to Perdition — Thomas Newman (Road to Perdition)

The Battle is Not Over — Jeff Beal (Carnivale)

The Return of the King — Howard Shore (The Return of the King)

The Book of Kells — Bruno Coulais (Brendan and the Secret of Kells)

[sairobee]

I never expected so many people to enjoy last year’s list! For the 2013 edition, I’ve updated links on the old list, reshuffled and added some new songs, and created a few new categories. New additions will be marked in bold italic. Happy creating!

BEAUTIFUL

Song for Jesse — Nick Cave/Warren Ellis (The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford)

Winter — Saunder Jurriaans and Daniel Bensi (The Amish)

Finn (Intro) — Tori Amos (Great Expectations)

Fantasia on a Theme — Ralph Vaughn Williams (Master and Commander)

BUILDING TENSION

Pieces Form the Whole — Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross (The Social Network, This American Life)

Electricity — Alexandre Desplat (Syriana, various documentaries)

Hidden in Snow — Trent Reznor and Atticus Ross (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo)

Finish It — Clint Mansell (The Fountain)

Storm Shelter — David Wingo (Take Shelter)

NON-ENGLISH VOCALS

Gortoz A Ran — J’Attends — Denez Prigent/Lisa Gerrard (Black Hawk Down)

Kothbiro — Ayub Ogada (The Constant Gardener, Samsara, The Long Way Down)

Light of Life — Natacha Atlas (Kingdom of Heaven)

Inama Nushif — Brian Tyler (Frank Herbert’s Children of Dune)

Now We Are Free — Hans Zimmer/Lisa Gerrard (Gladiator)

Vide Cor Meum — Hans Zimmer (Hannibal, Kingdom of Heaven, Hannibal [NBC])

Tristes Apprets, Pales Flambaeux — Jean Philippe Rameau/Agnes Mellon (Marie Antoinette)

Omiya — Shubha Mudgal (Kama Sutra: A Tale of Love)

[frankdelflno]

Surnames Master Post.

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

[mouthfulofbirds]

ficlet game

1) Give me a character.

2) Give me an AU setting.

3) I will write you a three-sentence fic.

[goodystark]

Gossip Girl AU

Gossip Girl here, your one and only source into the scandalous lives of Disney’s elite. This just in, it seems both A and Little M have their eyes on the same boy, Berlioz Bonfamille. Who knew B would become so relevant? It’s beginning to look like the ultimate insider has lost the spotlight, and who’d of thought it would be to her younger brother. Watch out Marie, only one can hold the crown.

Spotted: My oh my, looks like Golden Boy has his eyes on the new girl on the scene, Charlotte La Bouff. Careful S, an old flame shines bright in the distance, with the news spreading fast, this fire can only leave a burn.

… And Lady M’s new boy’s name is— oh, who cares, but with both him and A head over heels in lust, where does that leave Darling?

Who am I? That’s one secret I’ll never tell. You know you love me.

Xoxo, Gossip Girl.

[moreofamarilyn]

character aus-- femme punk charlotte labouff

"she devoured men the way she devoured cigarettes"

[the-girlwhowouldbeking-blog]

I Left My Heart In Metropolis

A mix for a pair of supernerds.

Metropolis — Owl City || Holiday — Weezer || Write You A Song — Plain White Ts || Superman — Joe Brooks || The Middle — Jimmy Eat World || Last Of The American Girls/She’s A Rebel — Cast of “American Idiot” || Closer — Tegan and Sara || Hit The Ground (Superman) — The Big Pink || Miss Friday — Nico Stai || Stray Heart — Green Day || Must Have Done Something Right — Reliant K || Love It All — The Kooks || Mario Kart Love Song — Sam Hart

Listen at 8tracks.

[glorydayssera]

I decided to make another texture pack, but this time all the textures are scans. Hope you like it :) This pack contains 31 larger textures (1000x1350). Please like or reblog if you take, feedback are welcome.

Download: MF or DA

[thisgrrlwithhands]

Answer all these questions and you should have a fully-developed character for your audience to connect with. A strong character can carry a weak plot; but a strong plot can’t carry weak characters

[keyboardsmashwriters]

Describing colors

yourfavouritewalkingcorpse submitted:

http://phrontistery.info/colours.html

just found this really neat list of mostly obscure colour words, it was helpful for me in finally coming up with the right shade of brown i was trying to describe. thought it might be helpful to others!

This is a pretty cool list, and it would be especially helpful for anyone who’s writing an artist or a fashion/interior designer — characters who definitely know their colors and might use some of the more known from the list (like terracotta, mauve, ochre, etc.).

However, it’s also important to keep in mind that colors referred to by their name can be tantamount to medical terminology. Without unpacking, readers might not know what an electrocardiogram is or what it does, and the same goes for words like croceate, griseous, or mazarine.

Even the more known colors like terracotta (which Crayola taught me when I got the big boxes), only have as much significance as the writer gives it.

"Her skin was terracotta."

Versus:

"Her skin was the color of the clay earth in New Mexico when the sun set and the ground caught fire."

Sometimes simply terracotta is perfectly necessary, sometimes it’s all that’s needed, but sometimes describing the color instead of giving it away is a chance to breathe life into a simple word.

Thanks for the link!