mack!

✏ writing + book things 📖 (they/she/he)

[mossywritingg]

How To Write Women

For some reason, this needs to be talked about because authors (especially men) struggle to write women like actual characters. This is a huge problem because of the multiple stereotypes and expectations (mainly realistic) that are forced into women because of it

1. Women are literally just people

This is hard for people to wrap their head around sometimes, but in fact, women are just people, like any other person. So women/female characters should not be written any differently than male characters

2. Don't focus on the physical attributes

Of course, this doesn’t apply to every women character, there might be something important to point out. But do not make that the main description

The attention should be placed more on the character's personality and what role they play in the story. If they are only described physically it can also provide for a very undeveloped character. Especially when physical descriptions begin to describe… other things. Things like that are only important in smutty writing, other than that, please avoid it

3. Not every female character needs to be attractive

Granted, almost every character in a book is attractive because it’s a book and why not make everyone hot

But, not every character is attractive and they don’t need to be. Every character has flaws. Whether it be physical or personality-wise, women have flaws too Write about them, show your readers that your characters have these flaws, what the character does to overcome these flaws

4. The damsel in distress

There’s always the stereotype -- woman is in danger, man saves woman, woman is now safe. If you’re going to do this, don’t make it the whole point of the story. And definitely don’t make it a part of their personality because ???

Along with that comes the drama queen -- the women in the story are always scared, helpless, annoying. They’re usually the cause of the problem, and it’s so sad to see this in so many stories. I’m not saying “don’t make your women good and perfect,” I’m saying you shouldn’t do that SOLELY because they’re women

[mossywritingg]

Starting a Book

Listen, I'll be straight with you despite my lack of being straight. Just go for it. That is the biggest tip of all. Just start it, get what's on your mind onto the paper, then fix it later. If you don't, you'll quickly forget about where you wanted to take your story in the first place.

1. You can use inspiration from other books if you need to. That is 100% okay

Obviously, don't copy them or their ideas. But use them as stepping stones to begin and see where it goes from there.

2. Have the story in mind, but not the whole thing

The thing about writing is that as you go, you will get more and more ideas, and they will continue to change. Have a decent idea of what you want the story to be, what character goals are, who the characters are, plots, etc.

Ex. The book I'm working on now was supposed to be a dystopian novel about the government and how they created a disease that infects people. But more and more, as I've written, that story line hasn't exactly changed so much as improved.

3. Write for yourself, not for others

A personal struggle of mine, but it's true. When you're writing, don't think about what happens after. Don't think about who will read it and how many, just think about the story and getting your thoughts onto the paper and creating the story you want to write

4. Try to write something everyday, taking small breaks throughout the day

This helps a lot. Trust me. When I take breaks for days at a time, I literally forget what I was writing beforehand and have to reread a lot. Instead, try to write at least something everyday so that you have the story fresh in your head and so you can actually finish it

This doesn't mean don't take breaks. Breaks throughout the day is good, and obviously don't spend ALL DAY writing. But every 30 minutes or so, take a break from writing and do something else. It will make the whole process much more bearable.

[mossywritingg]

Writing Character with Anxiety/Depression

I have seen so many people who write these things and are so insensitive to people who actually experience these. These are just a few things that could be helpful to know/use in your writing when writing a character with these mental illnesses.

1. Depression isn’t just being sad and anxiety isn’t just constant fear

When writing these, you have to really get into the characters head, describe how they’re feeling

2. This is the biggest one: DO RESEARCH

LEARN. READ. Most likely, you're going to want to find personal experiences from people who have been though anxiety/depression. That is one of the best ways to properly write these characters

Depression

Feel unable to do anything (basic things like getting out of bed, getting dressed, brushing teeth, taking a shower, etc)

Feel worthless/question their worth almost constantly to a point where they think everyone around them hates them

Look happy - on the outside, a character could easily put on a huge smile, but then you have to remember, especially if it’s your protagonist, to describe their actual feelings (Ex. “She looked at me, concern prominent in her eyes. I smiled, giving it my all, showing her the opposite of what I actually felt. Right now, in this moment, I felt so helpless, almost as if the world would explode if I let anyone see how I really felt.”)

Disassociate - this is an important one. People with depression try to stray away from people so they won’t see how they actually feel. People with depression also usually feel like a burden, so it that’s also where anxiety could come into play if you’re writing the two together

Unable to sleep/sleep often. Insomnia can be developed due to depression

Feel angry, agitated, may come off as rude a lot of the time when they aren’t meaning to be

Changes in diet (increased or decreased) which can lead to changes in weight

Anxiety

Ask questions - anxiety, like depression, makes you question if you are actually worthy of the love you are receiving. People with anxiety usually need reassurance about a lot of things, not only their worth but other things as well

Apologize a lot - this comes from a place, once again, of needing constant reassurance. People with anxiety will often apologize for things that they didn’t even do because they fear it was their fault (a lot constant apologizing stems from trauma)

Symptoms of anxiety - palpitating heartbeat, sweating, feeling tired, hyperventilating, feeling a rising fear/wave of nausea wash over you, shaking/trembling

You feel anxiety build up (different from panic attacks). It can be caused by something or it can happen with no trigger at all

Types of Anxiety (or where anxiety can be presently shown) - social anxiety, generalized anxiety disorder (GAD), panic disorder, specific phobias, OCD, PTSD

[mossywritingg]

Writing Introverted Characters

As a writer, it is likely that you are an introvert. However, introverted characters are sometimes written incorrectly and/or poorly.

1. Introvert ≠ Shy/Anti-Social

If a character is an introvert, it does not mean that they don’t like to socialize or are scared to talk in general

People that are introverts tend to be normally social in any setting. The word introvert has nothing to do with their social skills

These characters don’t automatically have a fear of public speaking or have little to no friends

2. Introverts Need Alone Time

The most major point is these characters are needing time to themselves. Being alone is something that basically recharges the battery of the person

Not only do they need the alone time, but they want it, they enjoy it much more than hanging out in a social setting

3. Social Events

With these characters attending anything majorly social it is very possible that after a while they will get tired, feel unmotivated and be more lazy with their actions. It feels just like doing an action over and over and getting tired of it. Socializing can be exhausting for these characters.

[mossywritingg]

Developing a Protagonist

Developing a protagonist can be hard, maybe even one of the hardest characters to develop. You have to follow them for the whole story, which means their development is usually the most important. When creating your protagonist, keep these things in mind:

1. Make sure they have a purpose throughout the book, and have an ending for them in mind

Obviously since your protagonist is the one you’ll see the most of, they’re going to need a purpose. Give them a role in the story, something important, and make sure you have an ending in mind for you character (ex. they succeed in their goal, they fail, they die, etc.)

2. Give them flaws: don’t make them perfect!

You’re not perfect, and neither is anyone else. Your protagonist should be the same. Give them flaws/something that can be unlikable about the character. Some examples of characters with major flaws:

Katniss Everdeen {The Hunger Games} - can be extremely harsh and anti-social

Thomas {The Maze Runner} - curiosity overpowers him always, which can be good but has also proved to be slightly annoying

Tris Prior {Divergent} - extremely stubborn and focused on the past, which causes problems for not only her, but for the people around her

3. The protagonist need a reason to be the protagonist

Similar to #1, except this is more emphasis on making their purpose important to the plot. Obviously, if your protagonist isn’t important, then why are they even the protagonist?

4. Make them interesting

No one wants a boring protagonist. If they’re boring or flat, then readers will get disinterested in your story very quickly

5. Internal thoughts/conflicts

They should have doubts -- either about themselves or those around them, about their own goals. It creates a conflict throughout the story that isn’t at all related to the end goal itself, but more so the character and how they will end up as a person. It can create a conflict for the reader as well, which could invest them even more into the story