#takemywriting

[promptsforpoemproseandplay]

Every sentence must do one of two things—reveal character or advance the action.

Kurt Vonnegut

[why-is-it-always-raining]

y’all,,

so I was at GSA and we were going around saying why we were there and some people were like “I’m an ally” or “it’s a safe space” or “I feel good here”

but then it came to the guy beside me

and keep in mind he’s a stereotypical hearthrob the girls love

and when he was called on he looked the teacher dead in the face and with the most deadpan expression and monotone voice he said,,,

“because I’m gay.”

[promptsforpoemproseandplay]

writing tip

if you can’t think of anything to write, watch the people around you. take one of their actions (e.g. sipping coffee), write it out, and try to figure out what they’re thinking of at that very moment (their ex, the end of the world, that girl they assassinated yesterday).

~Nyx

[promptsforpoemproseandplay]

royal hierarchy

Ah yes, settling down with a good old Jane Austen novel by the fireplace. I want to write me one of these, you think. Except with, like, kings and queens and dukes and... and uh...

You get about that far before you realize you don’t really know much about the royal hierarchy of the medieval and Victorian era. So here’s a totally not comprehensive list of (England’s)

✨royal hierarchy✨!

The Actual Order

Emperor or Empress

King or Queen

Prince or Princess

Duke or Duchess

Marquess or Marchioness

Earl/Count or Countess

Viscount or Viscountess

Baron or Baroness

Baronet or Baronetess

Master or Mistress

Knight of the Grand Cross

Knight Commander

Knight Office

Knight/Chevalier

Correct Addressing Based on Rank

Emperor/Empress: His or Her Imperial Majesty, Emperor of (Name of Country)

King/Queen: His or Her Majesty, the King or Queen

Prince(ss): His or Her Royal Highness, Prince or Princess of (Name of Country)

Duke/Duchess: His or Her Grace, the Duke or Duchess of (Name of Country)

All Else: Sir or Lady (Name)

And so now you can write your Elizabethian-set novel with a bit more peace than before. Have fun writing stuffy balls and making use of the

✨royal hierarchy✨!

~Nyx

[promptsforpoemproseandplay]

types of love

According to the romance novels your mom read when she was sixteen, there are limited types of love. According to Hellenistic Greeks, your mom’s novels were primitive!

So here’s a list of all the different 

✨types of love✨!

Greek Abstract Deities and The Love they Symbolize

Eros: love of the body; sexual love

Philia: love of the mind; sincere and platonic love

Storge: love of the child; familial love

Ludus: playful love; flirtatious and child-like

Agape: love for everyone; selfless and unconditional love

Pragma: longstanding love; commitment and compromise

Philautia: love of self; either selfish (using others, narcissism) or positive (supporting others and yourself, independence in love)

This is a cool little thing I recently found and wanted to share. Make sure to have all of these with you this Christmas ;)

~Nyx

[promptsforpoemproseandplay]

showing not telling

A lot of people actually sometimes have a bit of a problem with showing and not telling, and also making a scene seem less stiff and adding actions.

So here’s a totally not comprehensive guide to

✨showing, not telling✨!

Dialogue: if you want to insert action into dialogue, writing the dialogue out first and putting in action cues to insert later helps

Movie: a really good idea sometimes is playing a scene in your mind as a movie before writing it out, just to see what the characters would actually do to portray what they think or how they feel

Emotions: if portraying emotions, such as anger, it’s best to prioritize describing what a character does with their body (e.g. clenched fists) and then using action to show their emotion

Feelings: if portraying feelings, such as being tired, it’s best to prioritize describing what a character is doing (e.g. stumbling) and then what they’re doing with their body

Sadly, that’s all my available advice, because most 7th grade English teachers have already covered the rest.

~Nyx

[promptsforpoemproseandplay]

writing exercise

write your own character’s high school AU, or, of they’re already in high school, give them their Harry Potter AU. 

~Nyx

[promptsforpoemproseandplay]

writing tip

if you find yourself in a place where you can’t seem to continue, the problem is probably something you can change from a few sentences back.

~Nyx