#learn how to write

[thenalushipper]

Going into 2024, can we please leave behind Natsu kicks Lucy off of a team he started with her for Lisanna stories, Lucy has Natsu’s secret baby and he finds out years later stories, Lucy is weak so she becomes a dragon slayer stories, and Lisanna is a bitch to Lucy stories behind. I thought we would be way past this by now.

Nothing happened after Lisanna came back. Natsu kept taking jobs with Lucy, Lisanna went back to her siblings who she was always on a team with, Lisanna isn’t a bitch, and Lucy is pretty bad ass as a celestial spirit mage and doesn’t need to become a dragon slayer to be badass. Like LET IT GO FANFIC WRITERS!

[mistymuimui]

If I see another "saturo" instead of SATORU I swear to Sukuna-

[strawbrymuriel]

Can of Writing Tips - Part One

Part One - Writing a God

Writing from the perspective of a god can be difficult consider we’re not all-powerful and all-mighty. While it might sound daunting, it is much simpler than you think. A god is just like any other character. They have a perspective, world views, likes, dislikes. The only difference is their likes and dislikes are probably much bigger than “this sauce tastes better.”

A god can be whatever you want. They can also be the god of whatever you want. For this post, I’m going to use my own god, Krishna, God of the Forest, as an example. Krishna is a very serious god who does not understand humans well at all. She calls people by their full names, uses big words, etc. But your god can be as silly as you want. The God of Memes. The God of Cake. Your god is your character- make them however you want.

If you god can be whatever you want, how are you supposed to make them “godly?” Think. What do most gods have in common in media you’ve seen? Some of them have incredible powers, some are indestructible. But what most gods have is a sense of mystery. We’re humans. We know nothing about gods, so you are free to make your god as bewildering as you wish. 

There are many ways to make a character confusing. Take Krishna. Krishna’s confusion comes from when she is first introduced. She is introduced as a forest, and written as a forest. I only refer to her as “the forest.” It is not said that she is a god, ever. It is just implied. Your god could do something similar. Or your god could say phrases that make no sense. “The thickness of the cheese equates to the depth of the soul.” I don’t know what that means. You don’t know what that means.

Another great way to write your god is to take in other media. Read things, watch things, listen to things. You can even read the bible. It is always good to consult other media before you write. Everyone learns to read before they learn to write. Use your recourses.

[writing-prompts-for-friends]

Notes from Robert McKee’s “Story” 04: Good Stories Well Told

Part 1: The Writer and the Art of Story

Subsections 3-6: The Story Imperative, Good Stories Well Told, Story and Life, Power and Talents

Today I’ve lumped several sub-sections together because my notes on them are brief and I feel like they are closely related. You might be wondering why I chose this post’s gif to be Saitama from one Punch Man, and I’ll get to that later. 

The Story Imperative

Lack of progression, false motivation, redundant characters, empty subtext, holes and other such story problems are the root problems of a bland, boring text.

I think we’ve all read a story or watched a show that we started out absolutely loving, but as we read/watched more, we found ourselves losing interest. Maybe it was because we couldn’t stand the “filler episodes” or, even worse, “filler seasons. Or maybe because there were pointless side-characters or sub-plots that just added nothing to the main plot. 

You can’t hide the above flaws behind witty dialogue or beautiful prose. 

In other words, you need more than just a way with words. If you don’t have a story to tell, it means nothing. 

McKee states that 75% of the total creative effort in a finished work goes into designing the story. The characters. Their desires, motivations, obstacles, etc.

I found that percentage pretty surprising. Most of my stories start because I have a single idea, a single scene in my head, like a seed. And once i plant it by writing it down, it grows almost on its own like vine, branching out and twisting. ...And because I spend so little time on designing the story, the characters, their motivations, etc., my stories end up being lacklustre. I noticed that particularly in the last story I wrote. 

So, as much as I dislike planning and plotting, I realized that I need to spend more time on that. Particularly on character development. All of them tend to blend into the same bland person. 

Good Stories Well Told

McKee defines a good story as: something worth telling that the world wants to hear. 

And finding that something is your task as writer. 

Story and Life

Don’t mistake verisimilitude for truth.

mundane ≠ relatable ≠ good story

Think of any Hallmark Christmas movie. The woman in her thirties quits her unfulfilling job and moves back to a new town, looking for a change. How mundane! Omg how relatable!!!! 

...Lol I think we all know that there is not a single Hallmark movie that is a “good story.”

Just because you tell a “plausible” story does not mean that it contains “truth.” 

Dream from Neil Gaiman’s Sandman says it beautifully:

The Sandman, Volume 3, Chapter 4, A Midsummer Night’s Dream

McKee says, “Truth is located behind, beyond, inside, and below the surface of things, holding reality together or tearing it apart, and cannot be directly observed.”

Because many of the world’s truths are things we feel but cannot see, we as writers must find a way to relate these truths in a concrete way through our stories. And if we can do that, we have a decent chance of creating a good story.

McKee also gives us another important caution:

Don’t mistake action for progression.

exciting and flashy ≠ development ≠ good story

The entire Fast and Furious series. They’re a good romp, right? Exciting, action packed. But does that race or that chase actually lead to character or plot development in a meaningful way? Mmmm, I’d have to say no. This was ultimately the downfall of the manga/anime Bleach. The characters were awesome. The fights were so cool. But the protagonist Ichigo never really seemed to grow from them, other than learning new attacks. 

So, I picked One Punch Man for the gif of this post because I think the first season of this show strikes the perfect balance between mundane and exciting. It shows us the truths of this world: that perfection does not lead to fulfillment, that heroes are not who we expect. And the fight scenes are SO. DANG. COOL. Also, we get to see Saitama’s and Genos’ development as they learn who they want to be and what they want to do.

Powers and Talents

In the previous section, McKee states that most stories fall either into the “mundane” or “exciting” bucket. Leaning too much towards one results in a bad story. Therefore it’s important to have a good balance between the two.

Writers who lean towards a “mundane” style of writing often have the power of the senses and can create strong imagery that pulls the reader in. 

Writers who lean towards the “exciting” have the power of imagination. 

McKee also states that it is necessary to have a balance of two skills:

Literary Talent: a.k.a., a way with words

Story Talent: the creative conversion of life itself to a clearer, more powerful, meaningful experience.

Now I just have to work hard to improve these two talents. 

Source: McKee, Robert. Story: Substance, Structure, Style, and the Principles of Screenwriting. York: Methuen, 1998. Print

[specters]

abusive behaviors in comics/television/etc are often meant to be read as “humorous” and that really just pisses me off

[writing-prompts-for-friends]

Notes from Robert McKee’s “Story” 01: Introduction

In the Introduction of Robert McKee’s Story, he delineates six fundamentals of what makes a story. 

1. Story is about principles, not rules.

A rule is something someone made up and could change at any time. A principle is something that works and has through all remembered time. 

Anxious, inexperienced writers obey rules. Rebellious, unschooled writers break rules. Artists master its form. 

2. Story is about eternal, universal forms, not formulas.

All the “formulas” for commercial success are nonsense. 

Story urges the creation of works that will excite audiences on the six continents and live in revival for decades. 

3. Story is about archetypes, not stereotypes.

Stereotype: a simplified and standardized conception or image invested with special meaning and held in common by members of a group.

Archetype: 1. the original pattern or model from which all things of the same kind are copied or on which they are based; a model or first form; prototype. 2. (In Jungian psychology) a collectively inherited unconscious idea, pattern of thought, image, etc., universally present in individual psyches.

The archetypal story unearths a universally human experience, then wraps itself inside a unique, culture-specific expression. 

Stereotypical stories stay at home, archetypal stories travel. 

A true story creates a new world that we eagerly explore, but once inside this new world, we are able to find ourselves. Deep within the story’s characters and the conflicts they grapple with, we rediscover our own humanity. 

We do not wish to escape life, but to find it.

This line in particular hit me hard. I have always thought of reading and my personal writing as an act of escape. A way to forget my stress or whatever bad situation I found myself in at the moment. 

But in the last story I finished, only nearly a year after I finished writing it, did I realize that in telling that story I had been trying to detangle the duality and solitude I have always felt because of how different I am from others. In America, despite being around people who should have been similar to me (be it ethnically, sexually, economically, interest/hobby-wise), I have always felt like an outsider. And moving to a smaller city in Japan where I am most definitely the odd one out in everything, this feeling has only intensified over the past few years.

So yes, I think Mr. McKee is certainly correct. As consumers and creators of content, we seek our own lives and a way to make sense of them. 

4. Story is about thoroughness, not shortcuts. 

It should go without saying, but telling a good story and telling it well takes patience and perseverance. 

5. Story is about the realities, not the mysteries of writing. 

Basically, your story needs to be built upon solid logic, firm motivation, vivid emotion. If you can do this, you will have no need to sit the reader down and “tell” the reader how they should feel. 

6. Story is about originality, not duplication. 

McKee defines originality as “the confluence of content and form--distinctive choice of subject plus a unique shaping of the telling.”

He also cautions us never to mistake eccentricity for originality. 

Yes, your story and its characters should stand apart. But if done in a slipshod manner, they end up just being edgy and forgotten, like that scene kid phase you went through.  

Source of quotes and 6 headers: McKee, Robert. Story: Substance, Structure, Style, and the Principles of Screenwriting. York: Methuen, 1998. Print

[writing-prompts-for-friends]

Notes from Robert McKee’s “Story” 02: The Decline of Story

The next segment in my own personal notes and musings about Robert McKee’s guide to screenwriting, Story: Substance, Structure, Style, and the Principles of Screenwriting. These are my own notes, but please feel free to reblog, comment, add your own thoughts, whatever you’d like! 

Let me just state as a disclaimer that I have only read the first 28 pages of a 418 page book, so I can hardly pass judgement, but so far, I’ve got to admit, I feel like Mr. McKee’s expectations for writers are lofty. To the point that the things he is saying are unobtainable, especially to those who are new to writing. 

But nothing is unobtainable. You can do this. So if you read this notes and find yourself going, “Wow, I could never see myself being able to do that,” don’t be so hard on yourself. Pick up your pen and keep going! 

Part 1: The Writer and the Art of Story

Section 1: The Story Problem

Subsection 1: The Decline of Story

Think about your day. Exactly how much of it is spent revolving around stories? I’m not talking about books or your writing, necessarily. The news. The gossip of your coworkers. Your sibling’s retelling of their weekend. The movie you watched. The song playing right now. All of these are stories. So why do we spend so much of our lives spent inside stories?

In the words of Kenneth Burke, “Stories are equipment for living.” 

In other words, whether it be through parables like Aesop’s fables or through Neil Gaiman’s Coraline, we use stories to find meaning and guidance in our own lives. 

Throughout time, man has sought the meaning of life through the four wisdoms:

Philosophy

Science

Religion

Art

In this age, we rely increasingly on art. 

McKee states that media is ever-expanding, yet the quality of the stories is declining. 

Flawed and false storytelling is forced to substitute spectacle for substance, trickery for truth. 

To be honest, I’m not sure that I agree with him 100% on this. I think that in the age of internet and streaming and self-publishing, for the first time ever artists are able to release their own content independently, without getting the approval and support of some “expert.” 

Does this mean that we are more likely to find works that are of lower quality than a properly published book? Sure. But doesn’t this also mean that we are able to find rare gems that would have never seen the light of day unless the artist had had the means to create and release it on their own terms? Most definitely.

With less of a “filter” on the art mediums, the sudden glut of content just means that it is a bit more difficult to pick out the true masterpieces hidden within, but surely there are more now than there were before the age of the internet. 

McKee believes that “a culture cannot evolve without honest, powerful storytelling,” and I agree with him there. A powerful story has the ability to change the minds of the masses. 

Source: McKee, Robert. Story: Substance, Structure, Style, and the Principles of Screenwriting. York: Methuen, 1998. Print