Taker's Corner of the Universe

A Blog of Fanfiction, Pro Wrestling, and any other weird stuff I feel like talking about

[takerfoxx]

Table of Contents Compilation

Walpurgis Nights

Blood Island

Subconscious Teasers

The Staircase Under the Bed

Fanart

[dajo42]

i quit cold turkey

quit what?

cold turkey

yeah but what did you quit

im telling you, i quit cold turkey

alcohol?

no i quit cold turkey

i wasnt offering, im trying to figure out what you quit

and im telling you i quit cold turkey

wait. you quit cold turkey?

yes i quit cold turkey

like the meat?

no i dont like it thats why i quit it

cold turkey?

no im gradually weaning myself off it

[man-peach-reborn]

[dudethatsmypillowcase]

Two eridians and their wet dog

[a-randompan]

It’s pride month you know what that means :D

[hibiscus1star]

happy pride to the lesbians ever

doing this is kinda hard because some pngs of the characters look like they go together and then the proportions and coloring are different

i gave rei blue eyelashes and a little fang for fun but you can’t even see it thank you tumblr dot com

[wafflewarrior111]

So... I found this and now it keeps coming to mind. You hear about "life-changing writing advice" all the time and usually its really not—but honestly this is it man.

I'm going to try it.

[missroserose]

I love the lawyer metaphor, because whenever I see “John knew that...” in prose writing I immediately think “how?  How does he know it?”  Interrogate your witnesses.  Cross-examine them.  Make them explain their reasoning.  It pays dividends.

[heck-in-a-handbasket]

All of this, but also feels/felt. My editor has forbidden me from using those and it’s forced me to stretch my skills.

[ineedthesons]

This is your "show not tell" advice explained!

[tarysande]

Editor here.

First, let me preface this with something very important: you can treat all of this advice as SECOND-DRAFT ADVICE. It is so much easier to rewrite this kind of stuff once you have words on the page. Telling yourself the first draft is totally appropriate and acceptable.

What we’re talking about here are FILTER WORDS (and to some degree verbs of being). Yes, “thought” words are included. But so are “heard, saw, looked, tasted, smelled” etc.—most words having to do with the senses.

This isn’t black and white advice; sometimes you’ll use these words and that’s okay. They’re not WRONG. They’re just weaker. And they’re weaker because they create distance between the reader and the experience of the character.*

If you want your reader to feel like they’re experiencing the story right alongside the character, you want to cut down on filter words.

*This is particularly important with first person and close third POVs. The reader always knows whose eyes they’re seeing through and thoughts they’re privy to. So you don’t need to tell them “I saw X.” Or “I heard X.” Or “I thought Y.” You can just jump into the action/observation as it’s happening.

This is also where you want to pay attention to verbs of being.

“It was rainy.” Versus: “The rain pounded against the roof.” Or “The rain howled like an injured animal.” Or “The rain tapped against the window like an anxious lover.” All of these are inviting the reader deeper into the experience of the story by using stronger verbs and similes. And, at the same time, they stir feelings (instead of TELLING feelings). And feelings keep your reader engaged. Engaged readers keep turning pages; engaged readers become FANS.

[the-haiku-bot]

This is also where

you want to pay attention

to verbs of being.

Beep boop! I look for accidental haiku posts. Sometimes I mess up.

[defilerwyrm]

The most valuable advice that Author Ex gave me through the years that we wrote together was this: the problem with all these filter words is that they create distance in the POV.

That means that when you read a line like

John saw that the curtains were open.

It immediately takes you OUT of the character's perspective and instead tells you what they experience as a secondhand observation.

You don't have to get fancy or purple with how you rephrase things like this. Not everything needs a ton of breathing room.

You wanna know what's perfectly impactful while keeping a tight POV?

The curtains were open.

Simple as that.

[clownowo]

worlds most well adjusted teenaged girl

[lilyblisslys]

me with the. When she. When her. When the she her me

[mollyjames]

[cheeseproducts]

sad girl who loves british new wave

[t4ffyc4t]

[biggest-gaudiest-poltergeist]

i can't believe 2012 was 20 years ago.....

[elsa707]

Opposite energy of the other day when my brother said that 2006 was 10 years ago

[ferricsailor]

happy prjde month. tjis pride i will be doing the unthinkable, and posting drawings of lesbian couples and happenings. i know its a big change but i trust that you guys can take it

[scary-friend]

Who’s gonna come watch kpop demon hunters with me this pride?

It’s pride and it’s almost the 1 year anniversary, we’re getting whimsical.

[sniperct]

I feel like one of the reason polytrix exploded(especially on tumblr) is the conceit of 'two of the hottest people on the planet will listen to you infodump and actually listen' with a side of 'and want to fuck you because of it' for those so inclined

And that's beautiful

[allthingswhumpyandangsty]

tag yourself. I'm both

[allthingswhumpyandangsty]

[writingdose]

thank you ao3 for protecting writers and never allowing censorship to plague your platform. we love and respect you for this