Discover Top Posts Tagged with #quick writing tip

Horror Stories Without Phones

If you've ever written a horror story, you might have run into the problem of cell phones. Why can't your characters just call for help and get rescued? Here are some ideas:

The killer stalks his victims by tracking their phones' locations. Once this is discovered, the characters dump their phones.

The danger in the movie is so strange that no one believes the characters when they call for help. For example, the characters call 911 and tell the operator that Civil War soldiers are returning from the dead and murdering "Yankees". The operator assumes it's a prank or some kind of "internet meme thing" and hangs up on them.

The killer works for (or hacked) the 911 call center and blocks all his would-be victims' numbers so their calls can't get through.

The danger strikes before people can call for help, like a sniper, a super-fast monster, a ghost that suddenly appears, etc.

The monster can turn invisible. Call for help all you want. It will just disappear until your rescuers are gone.

The monster is a shape shifter. If you call for help, it will just turn into one of your rescuers so you never know if they are here to save you or kill you.

The monster is a demon that possesses anyone it touches. If you call for help, you're just giving it another body to kill you with.

The killer is the ghost of a serial killer who died in the 1980s. When he stalks his victims, their clothes, weapons, and technology all revert to pre-cell phone era versions.

The would-be victims are all wanted fugitives. They can't call for help because they would just get arrested.

The danger is an AI that can control your cell phone. If you call for help, the AI takes over the call. The AI speaks in your voice, and the person you called for help never finds out you're in danger.

Need more inspiration? Get more story ideas here.

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Quick Writing Tip

I usually don’t like to nitpick, but a word that I’m guilty of using a lot and that weakens writing, and that I don’t see many people mention is “could,” or “can.”

He could feel his heart pound in his chest.

He felt his heart pounded in his chest.

Already, it’s more to the point. Obviously, there are tons of variations of this simple sentence, but this is the basic idea.

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quick writing tip #2

use scene banks.

and by scene banks, i mean little sections at the bottom of your manuscript, or in a separate little section, where you put random thoughts or blurbs or scenes you have no use of— yet.

i use these often; i used to use my phone notes, but with this, it’s really efficient and easy if i’m looking to use a scene, i can just scroll down.

writers block? search up a couple prompts or sentence starters, and write a couple scenes in your scene bank for future scenes.

when you’re ready or when you need a scene, click the scene bank, and you’ll either have ideas for a plot point, or a starting point/spark.

these come especially helpful when doing nanowrimo (Godspeed to those of you who are, we’ve got this) or simply writing in any format.

hope this helps someone!

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writing tip: sometimes all it takes to improve a sentence is switching around the clauses. i just wrote this sentence:

She entered the clearing, a dozen heads turned her way.

it’s not terrible, by any means. but it’s boring. so i changed it up in the hope that something would click.

A dozen heads turned her way as she entered the clearing.

so much better already! the meaning and purpose of the sentence stays, but it sounds more dramatic! more fun!

not every sentence needs this. but it can’t hurt to try it.

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Quick Writing Tip

If you’re trying to get into a habit of writing almost every day (not required to be a writer but some find that structure helpful), try following the No Two Days rule: If you miss a day of writing, the next day you absolutely MUST write. At least a little. No exceptions. The point of this is that it’s a lot easier for two missed days to turn into three to turn into four etc, but if you get back to writing before that happens, it’s a lot easier to maintain a habit.

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Quick writing tip: why I hate the amnesia trope

The amnesia trope is one of the most hated plot devices in fiction. Learn what makes it so annoying, and how to do it right.

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Quick Writing Tip:

If you’re having a hard time writing, try getting dressed. I know a lot of people enjoy writing in their pajama’s; PJs are comfy and not a lot of work. But they can also signal to your brain through association that it’s time for resting/relaxing. Getting up to change can be a signal to your brain that you’re starting the day and that it’s time to be more focused. Also by changing, you’ll be moving and getting your blood flowing just a little bit, which can help boost creativity.

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worldbuilding: discrimination

it is human nature to make judgements - but what happens when those judgements are taken too far?

this may be the cheesiest line i have ever written in my life, but let the world be your inspiration. there is, unfortunately, a whole load of discrimination in the world today - all sorts, with varying degrees and for a plethora of reasons.

types of discrimination:

race

culture

sexuality (or lack thereof)

disablities

“ugly” vs “beautiful”

religion

gender

certain powers (ie. those with magic/power vs. those without)

political beliefs

level of intelligence

jobs (ie. retail work or minimum wage jobs are looked down upon, “get a real job”)

economic status

literally anything that makes someone different/unique

these are only a few ideas, but some new ones can be created depending on how your world works. for example, in harry potter, purebloods vs muggleborns/squibs/muggles is a very big problem, but it doesn’t really fall into any of the listed categories.

hot tip: showing violence, or other very obvious forms of discrimination is great, but subtle stereotypes that slowly divide your world / destroy your character?? that’s top quality content there my friend

hot tip #2: keep in mind that any stereotype, even “positive” ones, can be damaging. ex. the “smart asian” stereotype seems like a compliment to non asians, but it can place pressure/set high expectations on asians who are actually no less smarter/better than any black, white, or hispanic person.

reasoning

many stereotypes have a reason behind them, even if they’re really bad reasons, whether morally bad or just plain don’t make sense. literally anything can make a reason, but if you’re going to include it you might as well make it good.

some dumb reasons to be discriminatory:

it goes against a religion

a few people from this group have done something questionable and now the whole group is assumed to act the same way

the discriminators simply don’t understand the dscriminee

it’s different

there are other reasons, of course. you can alwasys ask some friends in minorities/opressed groups about their experiences to use as a guide.

that’s all for this post, folks, hope this advice helps make your world more realistic. good luck on your wips y’all