rumi’ very shitty guide in writing.
heyyyyyy! because someone was so nice to ask for advice in writing? i will write something short and sweet on how i write. i will also add my little tips as well that i had recently learnt! as i am always constantly learning and relearning how i used to write. i will iterate that i do not read novels or actual books.
my first writing hack, this is mainly when you are writing readers. this is something i am actually leaning slowly! avoid writing the appearance. this can be considered common sense. like rumi, this is literal the basics in writing readers and self inserts. AND I KNOW- but i recently found out; there is so much nuance in this. i will write some example.
- do not use the words, blush or flush crimson (i am guilty in this). often times dark skin does not show visible colour. so use terms like heating up. like ‘you felt your face heat up, from the apples of your cheeks to the tips of your ears. feeling your heart drumming into a loud beat’! if you want to describe being embarrassed, try to describe the feeling than the appearance!
- this also applies to hair! i am also guilty of this. but describing hair as silky or smooth tend to avoid more curlier or coily hair!
- of course, you can add small descriptions. like the reader should be shorter than the monsters. or someone who has hair because there are bald people. it really depends!!
- i would rely on how people feel and their emotions, descriptive perception in both visual and sensory. stick to the emotions and actions and sensations and visual cues that any normal person would feel!
my second hack. try to feel. envision things. i would always close my eyes and try to envision myself where and what i am feeling. after that, try to search if you can’t truly find the right words.
- if you want to use a more variety of words or even want to find more words, go on google and search. i know this is very easy to say but not everyone has a physical dictionary and a thesaurus quite close by. an example is the fact that for ticket taker’ side story; i could have used the word stinky, because that is in vocabulary. but i also knew the word pungent, then look at the description. and also use the meaning to emphasis. hence why i used the words ‘acrid’ and ‘biting’ to truly emphasis how bad the stench is.
- search and learn more! truly. i am not brazilian. i have never EVER stepped or visited brazil. but i chose to research, of course, spiral down the freak show has elements of the past. so i went out and research what was happening culturally and historically during that time period. then i researched more. some i made up because i try to use my imagination. but if i truly want to know more, i try to think of issues that happened around this period around the world. there were things like cholera and slavery. check and cross reference!
- truly google is your best friend. literally you can search what ipê trees smell like! what they looked like! i try to look at the google images and see if i can describe it, before looking through websites that would help add more depth in my writing! I WILL MAKE AN EXAMPLE HERE. btw usually i don’t write down my process, but i usually keep it in my mind.
let’s use new york! i have never been to new york. so this will be me doing some research. I DO FOCUS ON THE SENSES THAT MATTERS. obviously you would not be tasting things unless somehow water got into your mouth. touch would possibly be more focus on the body and self. but for this, i am going to create a scenario of mc in the morning, leaving their local cafe.
- weather: due to a website, depending on the season, summers are considered humid. winters are cold and snowy. it is generally rainy all year round.
- scents: chaotic. smells like garbage. a lot of food is often mentioned like nuts, pizza and pretzels. often described as something that stinks (isn’t applicable because mc maybe a new yorker)
- sight: architectural is usually having spires, skyscrapers, industrial lofts etc. predominant styles are art deco, beaux-arts, modernism, supertalls.
- sound: often described as chaotic. there are distant sirens, honking if you’re in the streets, steel wheels on tracks and the screeching if you’re near the subway, diverse accents and languages etc.
after that is done. i piece up the ideas together and create something like this. if you add more, repeat this. like researching more about scents. this would be a very short excerpt. YOU DO NOT NEED TO USE EVERYTHING. you could use it in a later date! THIS NOT BETA READ OR EVEN CORRECTED THROUGH GOOGLE DOCS (yes i do that haha)
coffee in hand. the paper cup was hot in the palm of your hands. warming your hand up in the bitter cold of autumn morning. the aroma of coffee wrapped around you, trying to tickle at your weary senses. it was dark roast. making the scent so much more intense. something you need and crave. the one that should shake you awake. or perhaps jolt you awake? you weren’t sure. you had possibly four hours of interrupted sleep. too busy calculating the hours you had worked and how much you would be earning. then putting them in their dedicated mental files. bills. rent. groceries. insurance. emergency funds. and last but not least of all, leisure funds which was barely enough.
you dragged your feet to the door of the cafe. your free hand pushing the door open. the sound of the bells chimed above you. now the soft sound of the cafe of muttering and chattering customers was now met with the loud honking of passing cars. the city of new york was already roaring and bustling. even this early in the morning. the loud conversation you can just about hear across the way. even the very distant screech of the subway steel wheels. you closed your tired eyes, questioning if you should shut the door and return back to the comfort of the cafe or leave to your job… it wasn’t an easy choice but it was a necessary one. so you stepped outside. your feet already leading towards the direction that you have been so familiarised. towering skyscrapers did nothing but aid the dark clouds that loomed over the city. the clouds already threatening to spill once more. you kept walking. your nose scrunching, the stench permeating in the air. garbage that piled in the sidewalk. it reek of animal urine… something you have particularly gotten used to over the few months. another day in new york. and you were mentally and physically exhausted.
yep. i got lazy to write more. i literally typed this in like thirty to forty minutes so. AND ITS LIKE 3-4AM HERE HAHA
@radishlover , i hope this little guide and hack helps! 👍🏼
