Obscure Squirrel

Hey, I'm Molly! I'm a Slytherin, Scottish, and a 15 year old writer! Follow my Instagram, @obscuresquirrel :) IM NOT VERY ACTIVE ON HERE!

[obscuresquirrel-writer]

‘Escapril’ Day Five

[obscuresquirrel-writer]

‘Escapril’ Day Four

[obscuresquirrel-writer]

‘Escapril’ Day Three

[obscuresquirrel-writer]

‘Escapril’ Day Two

[obscuresquirrel-writer]

‘Escapril’ Day One

[obscuresquirrel-writer]

Just thought I’d mention...

If you don’t follow my Instagram already, please do! I post a lot more content there, and I’ll make sure I follow you back :)

My handle is @/obscuresquirrel <3 Thanks!!

[obscuresquirrel-writer]

Foreshadowing

Hi, I’m @/obscuresquirrel on Instagram! ✌

Foreshadowing is especially good for mystery, thriller, horror novels; anything with a twist or a reveal at the end. It can be used in any genre, however, and can really heighten the effectiveness and impact your work has on the audience. 

What is foreshadowing?

Foreshadowing is when a writer places a clue or hint somewhere, usually at the beginning of a story or chapter, that gives the audience a glimpse into the future. The audience may not necessarily notice until they’ve read the important incident, and it clicks. 

How can I use it?

Foreshadowing can appear in dialogue or descriptions, in a metaphor, text within the story, pretty much anywhere, even names. Just think of an incident or plot device you want to happen in the future, and give a subtle hint. It can be a sentence long, depending on how obvious you want to make it. 

Yeah, but how do I write it?

I found some great examples on: https://literarydevices.net/foreshadowing/ and https://examples.yourdictionary.com/foreshadowing-examples.html

Here are some:

Dialogue: Jaws: "Course, I don't know what that bastard shark's gonna do with it. Might eat it I suppose." - the shark later does just that.

Descriptions: “The evening was still. Suddenly, a cool breeze started blowing and made a windy night” - foreshadows a storm brewing. 

Metaphors: “Mary pulled back the curtains and saw some magpies sitting on the wall” - crows can symbolise gossip or bad luck. 

Character Names: Names in Disney films, like Cruella De Vil in 101 Dalmatians, are examples of a characters personality or foreshadowing. Cruella De Vil sounds like ‘cruel and evil’ so we know that she will be a mean character. 

Thank you for reading this post, and I hope you learned something about foreshadowing! Follow my Instagram for more! 👏

[obscuresquirrel-writer]

Dealing with Criticism

[coconut-cluster]

me accidentally writing a metaphor in my story after I got stuck and started typing nonsense:

[obscuresquirrel-writer]

Pacing Your Story: Factors!

Hey, I’m @/obscuresquirrel on Instagram! ✌

The pace, or the speed, that your story is told, is important for a few reasons. Too slow, and your audience may get bored if the story does not move along. Too fast, and your audience will quickly have no idea what the hell is going on.

Here are a few things to consider when finding the correct pace:

Genre and Style

Different genres require different speeds. For example, you may want a mystery novel to move slowly: building suspense, raising questions, adding twists, etc. 

Adventure stories, however, may move speedily, keeping the audience on edge and constantly having things happening that moves the plot along. On the very first page, you could shove the reader right into the scene.

Character

Your character can also have a big impact on the pacing of your writing. If your character is the type who takes in their environment in a slow, observant way, the plot can move along with the character, and this tells the reader more about the person themselves.

The same goes for the opposite. However, keep in mind that having an occasional fast scene or a turning-point for a character where the novel is narrated in a different way, can provide a fresh moment for the reader and SHOW that aspect of personality!

Plot and Series

This one pretty much goes without saying, but imma talk about it anyway.

If you have a very detailed, hundreds of chapters long plot, the novel will need to be placed in a suitable way that everything happens soon enough into the beginning, as well as spacing out events so that there is a little bit of breathing time. This is slightly easier with series, as you have more books to spill over.

The recommended time to begin ‘the change’ - the thing that triggers the plot to commence - is within the first 10% of the novel. 

YOO I made a post! It’s average and pretty basic but I did it y’all! Sad news: my A key is frickin stuck. Anyway, I hope this helped a little!  Follow my Instagram @/obscuresquirrel for more. Peace out dudes! 👏

[theliteraryarchitect]

What “Editing” Really Means

The idea of “editing” a story can be deceptive. So often writers fall victim to the fantasy that they can just read through their first draft, change a few awkward sentences, and be done with the editing process.

But even on a 3th or 4th draft, “editing” often means making substantial structural and developmental changes.

In other words, serious revision. Moving scenes around. Changing the point of view. Cutting. Composing new material. Realizing that what comes halfway though the story is actually the beginning. Having new insights about your main character’s motivations that require you to make substantial revisions to almost every scene.

So often I see beginning writers who imagine writing as a three step process: (1) Write the first draft; (2) “Edit” it; (3) Publish.

If that actually works and leaves those writers feeling satisfied, then more power to them. But what many people think of as “editing,” in my experience,  simply doesn’t represent the kind of bloodshed that the revision process often entails. Personally, my writing process is long, messy, unpredictable, and can involve upwards of 15 drafts.

So just know that if the process isn’t easy or quick, you’re not doing anything wrong! Hemingway famously said: “Writing is rewriting.” It takes time. It can be messy. And it’s totally normal.

[byjillianmaria]

If I might add on, I’d also like to note that different projects require different revisions! If your first novel took 3 rewrites and your next one takes 10, or vice versa, it doesn’t mean that you’ve gotten any worse! It’s just what the manuscript needs.

[thewalkingnerd]

If you heard of writer's block, get ready for reader's block. You want to read. You have time. You know what to read; how have a pile of books ready to be read. You cannot sit still and focus enough to do so or you can't even open the book.

[baracknobama]

remember the ice bucket challenge reblog if ur a true 2014 kid 

[corystssides]

Sometimes you just have to start 13 shitty wips in order to get to a story you really wanna write.

[previously-writer-zero]

I… have never considered a mindset where I don’t feel guilty for coming up with a new WIP once a month and then giving up on it within the first 3 chapters.

[obscuresquirrel-writer]

How to Get Story Ideas

Hey, I’m @/obscuresquirrel on Instagram! ✌

Every writer has gone through a phase where they just have no inspiration, no ideas, no material. Hopefully, some of these ideas will help you know where to find some!

Society

Society as a whole is a fishing pond full of ideas and plots. Think of a societal aspect, and mould it into something you can build into a story. Turn conventions on their heads, add rules to normal events. 

For example, a world where you can only become a parent if you kill someone.* 

I literally just thought of that right now. There are millions of different ways to interpret society and humankind. 

*if you use that idea, send your story to me! sounds cool :)

Personal Experiences

Everyone’s life is different. Take inspiration from something that has happened to you, or someone else, that you think is interesting or thought-provoking. 

This could be life-changing events, or maybe even just a tradition you have.

You’d be surprised how much material you can find!

Characters

You could actually come up with an idea or concept for a character before you even begin to think about the plot. 

Often, when creating backgrounds or personality, the story will begin to piece together and become a basic outline. 

Give it a try sometime!

Thanks for reading! Hopefully, this post gave you some new methods of coming up with book ideas. If you are struggling, look up some writing prompts too! Good luck :)

Peace Out Dudes! @/obscuresquirrel on Instagram! ✌

[h-brook-writes]

If you don’t write your story, then it’s not getting written. 

That means it’s not getting published. Not online, not self-published, not by an indie press, not by the Big 5. 

That means it’ll never be available for purchase, and your potential biggest fan will walk right past the empty gap on the shelf and pick something else up, and love that instead. 

They’ll go get someone else’s autograph on its title page and order the special edition and scream about it on the internet, all while your book is trapped

in your head

incomplete, on a hard drive or in your notebook

wishing it could be where the rest of the books are. 

I don’t know what else to tell you, because there’s only one way outta this, and it’s hard. Maybe it’s already knocked you on your ass once, or twice, or fifteen times. 

You have to write. Give a reader their favourite book. 

[mysharona1987]

[strangerays]

I use Garamond. I feel better about myself.

[obscuresquirrel-writer]

Times New Roman writers, rise up!