The Nicotine Tower - Writing isn't that easy

[writerswritecompany]

Five Classic Quotes By Writers On Writing

[writerswritecompany]

100 Beautiful and Ugly Words

by Mark Nichol

One of the many fascinating features of our language is how often words with pleasant associations are also quite pleasing on the tongue and even to the eye, and how many words, by contrast, acoustically and visually corroborate their disagreeable nature — look no further than the heading for this post. Enrich the poetry of your prose by applying words that provide precise connotation while also evoking emotional responses

Beautiful Words

Amorphous: indefinite, shapeless

Beguile: deceive

Caprice: impulse

Cascade: steep waterfall

Cashmere: fine, delicate wool

Chrysalis: protective covering

Cinnamon: an aromatic spice; its soft brown color

Coalesce: unite, or fuse

Crepuscular: dim, or twilit

Crystalline: clear, or sparkling

Desultory: half-hearted, meandering

Diaphanous: gauzy

Dulcet: sweet

Ebullient: enthusiastic

Effervescent: bubbly

Elision: omission

Enchanted: charmed

Encompass: surround

Enrapture: delighted

Ephemeral: fleeting

Epiphany: revelation

Epitome: embodiment of the ideal

Ethereal: celestial, unworldly, immaterial

Etiquette: proper conduct

Evanescent: fleeting

Evocative: suggestive

Exuberant: abundant, unrestrained, outsize

Felicity: happiness, pleasantness

Filament: thread, strand

Halcyon: care-free

Idyllic: contentedly pleasing

Incorporeal: without form

Incandescent: glowing, radiant, brilliant, zealous

Ineffable: indescribable, unspeakable

Inexorable: relentless

Insouciance: nonchalance

Iridescent: luster

Languid: slow, listless

Lassitude: fatigue

Lilt: cheerful or buoyant song or movement

Lithe: flexible, graceful

Lullaby: soothing song

Luminescence: dim chemical or organic light

Mellifluous: smooth, sweet

Mist: cloudy moisture, or similar literal or virtual obstacle

Murmur: soothing sound

Myriad: great number

Nebulous: indistinct

Opulent: ostentatious

Penumbra: shade, shroud, fringe

Plethora: abundance

Quiescent: peaceful

Quintessential: most purely representative or typical

Radiant: glowing

Redolent: aromatic, evocative

Resonant: echoing, evocative

Resplendent: shining

Rhapsodic: intensely emotional

Sapphire: rich, deep bluish purple

Scintilla: trace

Serendipitous: chance

Serene: peaceful

Somnolent: drowsy, sleep inducing

Sonorous: loud, impressive, imposing

Spherical: ball-like, globular

Sublime: exalted, transcendent

Succulent: juicy, tasty, rich

Suffuse: flushed, full

Susurration: whispering

Symphony: harmonious assemblage

Talisman: charm, magical device

Tessellated: checkered in pattern

Tranquility: peacefulness

Vestige: trace

Zenith: highest point

Ugly Words

Cacophony: confused noise

Cataclysm: flood, catastrophe, upheaval

Chafe: irritate, abrade

Coarse: common, crude, rough, harsh

Cynical: distrustful, self-interested

Decrepit: worn-out, run-down

Disgust: aversion, distaste

Grimace: expression of disgust or pain

Grotesque: distorted, bizarre

Harangue: rant

Hirsute: hairy

Hoarse: harsh, grating

Leech: parasite,

Maladroit: clumsy

Mediocre: ordinary, of low quality

Obstreperous: noisy, unruly

Rancid: offensive, smelly

Repugnant: distasteful

Repulsive: disgusting

Shriek: sharp, screeching sound

Shrill: high-pitched sound

Shun: avoid, ostracize

Slaughter: butcher, carnage

Unctuous: smug, ingratiating

Visceral: crude, anatomically graphic

Notice how often attractive words present themselves to define other beautiful ones, and note also how many of them are interrelated, and what kind of sensations, impressions, and emotions they have in common. Also, try enunciating beautiful words as if they were ugly, or vice versa. Are their sounds suggestive of their quality, or does their meaning wholly determine their effect on us?

From Writers Write

[fuckyeahfanficflamingo-blog-blog]

[I COULD BETA FOR YOU (Fanfic Flamingo) I THINK YOU’RE WORK IS GREAT]

[k009]

(´･△･`)

[lizznotliz]

[imgfave]

[parksandcaitlination]

I have a story to go along with this.

My 6th grade English teacher was insane. Like, certifiable, I’m fairly certain. She was nice enough, but she was crazy as shit.

One day, about February-ish, we come to school and she’s standing outside of her classroom (like she did every day between classes) wearing all black and sobbing into a kleenex.

Naturally we were worried.

I had her 3rd period, I think, and I remember all of the classes were sworn to secrecy about what the fuck was going on. When we got there, she had candles all over (against the school rules, but hey, who gives a flying fuck, right?), all the lights were out, and there was a tiny coffin up at the front of the room, right in front of the blackboard. (Yes, that classroom had a blackboard. Cower before my antiquity, younglings.)

Okay, so that ruled out any of her family members being dead.

Once we’d all gotten settled into our seats, she came striding in, still tearful and noisy, to announce:

“S-s-s-said is DEAD!”

What the ever-loving shit, Mrs. Hester. What the ever-loving shit.

The rest of class was a dramatized funeral (read: we had to write essays and read them in front of the class) and the announcement, heralded by these sheets, that we were not allowed to use the word “said” any more, as it had passed away.

Apparently she does this every year.

every teacher should do this

[a-broken-clockwork-heart-blog]

I’m writing a story right now. This is one of the most useful pictures for creative writing that I’ve ever seen.

[leonardnimoy]

For reference in NANOWRIMO. Of course, you could write a novel any sort of length you want, but let’s look at some graphs in order to understand the most annoying question ever— really how long is a book?

[mttbll]

You can’t write without a lot of pressure. Sometimes the pressure comes from anger, which then changes into a pressure to write. It’s not so much a matter of getting distance as simply a translation. I felt a lot of pressure writing some of those stories about women. Writers are lucky because when they’re angry, the anger—by habit almost—I wouldn’t say transcends but becomes an acute pressure to write, to tell. Some guy, he’s angry, he wants to take a poke at someone—or he kicks a can, or sets fire to the house, or hits his wife, or the wife smacks the kid. Then again, it’s not always violent. Some people go out and run for three hours. Some people go shopping. The pressure from anger is an energy that can be violent or useful or useless. Also the pressure doesn’t have to be anger. It could be love. One could be overcome with feelings of lifetime love or justice. Why not?

Grace Paley (via mttbll)

[carrylovescurry-deactivated2016]

Writing a novel

60% Staring onto a blank screen

20% Drinking tea/coffee

10% Freaking out because WHAT THE HELL SHOULD I WRITE?

10% Procrastinating on the internet

5% Looking for music to write with

5% Actually writing.

[flusteredandconfused]

That equals 110%

[theoneandonlyailat]

duh, we’re authors, not mathmagicians.

[writingbox]

“When dialogue is right, we know. When it’s wrong we also know - it jags on the ear like a badly tuned musical instrument.”

Stephen King - On Writing

Knowing whether dialogue sounds naturalistic is easy, knowing why it does or not is a different matter.

Start out by...

[nicotinetower]

The real amazing thing that fanfiction brings is the possibility of honeying such skills - as writing dialogue. When you have two characters that are already fleshed out by other people, they already have their own speech patterns. Even when they never met in canon, you can just "listen" to them until you get a sense of what their conversation might sound like. 

In this aspect, fanfiction on books is much harder than tv shows/animes/etc; because even with the same sentences and punctuation, each of us will read it differently. 

That does not mean that repeating patterns that are given to us by both text and actor's interpretations doesn't have it's own challenges. It is hard, for example, to repeat the way The Doctor speaks, even when you are completely familiar with the incarnation you are using. To mirror the kind of chemistry and dynamic that Bradley James and Colin Morgan have while talking is almost impossible. Some things just can't be written, but in the case of being inspired by acted media, you can rely on their canon to help you.

It is important, if you are writing fanfiction, to actually feel like those are sentences and a rhythm of dialogue that matches the tone and quirks of  the original one's. You have to be able to actually listen to their voices inside your head; and feel the pace of their exchange. 

I -always- have a harder time with the descriptions between dialogues, because once you have a clear picture of your character in your head; they will talk to you - to each other - more easily. The mid parts between the conversation have to keep the pace of the dialogue, and that's also challenging. 

As someone before me said, I also liked to re-read the bits out loud to see if they sound like I thought they would once I was writing. It sounds silly, yes, but in the end it helps you to construct the dialogue. (Nowadays, I hardly ever do that, but that's because I can hear them inside my head out loud LOL).

All things considered, dialogue is a MAJOR part of writing something, and frequently the bits the readers will keep in their minds - part of the feeling of whatever you are writing, so keep that in mind when building your tale.

[grevgrev]

Fan fiction is making teenagers better writers and better satirists, and allowing them to explore sexuality in a way decided by them rather than dictated by the entertainment industry. A purity ring doesn’t carry much meaning when Ron Weasley is pulling it off with his teeth.

The Guardian. (via lucyripley)

The rest of the article is pretty shitty, but the last sentence is pure gold - and incredibly true.

[needlekind]

Some Writing Prompt Generators

Serendipity (names, places, mapbuilding, etc.) Quick Story Idea Full Story Idea Writing Challenges General Character Quick Character really just all of Seventh Sanctum RPGesque generators Writing Prompts Inspiration Finder Story Arc Fantasy Story Situaton Adventure Chaotic Shiny is just really good in general Random Plot 

[commandersheena]

Oh snap, these are really useful. Especially if you can’t come up with names for characters like me LOL.

[dianaprallon]

When I read he was writing a story, I never knew if I’d be facing a ‘Exit Wounds’ kinda of episode (aka amazing, thoroughly well written, well connected, emotionally interesting and with a plot) or a ‘Cyberwoman’ kind of episode (aka what the fuck this is supposed to be?).

Now he seems to have...

[nicotinetower]

Rebloguing my own post just to point out that I still stand by everything I said, and this week's episode makes me believe it even more. 

He's become an amazing writer, the kind that is being set up to inherit the show someday. 

And I'm really pleased about it.

(Also pleased to have someone else to fangirl on other than Gareth Roberts, whose skill is also always growing. Can you imagine what it would be like have them both as Head Writers in the future? The show would be a blast!)

[nicotinetower]

me: this book brutally ripped out my heart and tore it to shreds then stomped it into the ground as i drowned in a sea of my tears and basked in eternal sorrow

me: here read it

[fyeahwriterleopard]

[writerswritecompany]

[witchoflancre-deactivated201511]

letter to Max Brod, 1922