When Putting Pen to Paper

a Story Begins

[groggydog]

There's a really great thread over on Twitter about how to outline a story effectively. I especially like it because Delilah points out where there's wiggle room, and where you really need to have an idea pinned down.

[2soulscollide]

WEBSITES FOR WRITERS {masterpost}

E.A. Deverell - FREE worksheets (characters, world building, narrator, etc.) and paid courses;

Hiveword - Helps to research any topic to write about (has other resources, too);

BetaBooks - Share your draft with your beta reader (can be more than one), and see where they stopped reading, their comments, etc.;

Charlotte Dillon - Research links;

Writing realistic injuries - The title is pretty self-explanatory: while writing about an injury, take a look at this useful website;

One Stop for Writers - You guys... this website has literally everything we need: a) Description thesaurus collection, b) Character builder, c) Story maps, d) Scene maps & timelines, e) World building surveys, f) Worksheets, f) Tutorials, and much more! Although it has a paid plan ($90/year | $50/6 months | $9/month), you can still get a 2-week FREE trial;

One Stop for Writers Roadmap - It has many tips for you, divided into three different topics: a) How to plan a story, b) How to write a story, c) How to revise a story. The best thing about this? It's FREE!

Story Structure Database - The Story Structure Database is an archive of books and movies, recording all their major plot points;

National Centre for Writing - FREE worksheets and writing courses. Has also paid courses;

Penguin Random House - Has some writing contests and great opportunities;

Crime Reads - Get inspired before writing a crime scene;

The Creative Academy for Writers - "Writers helping writers along every step of the path to publication." It's FREE and has ZOOM writing rooms;

Reedsy - "A trusted place to learn how to successfully publish your book" It has many tips, and tools (generators), contests, prompts lists, etc. FREE;

QueryTracker - Find agents for your books (personally, I've never used this before, but I thought I should feature it here);

Pacemaker - Track your goals (example: Write 50K words - then, everytime you write, you track the number of the words, and it will make a graphic for you with your progress). It's FREE but has a paid plan;

Save the Cat! - The blog of the most known storytelling method. You can find posts, sheets, a software (student discount - 70%), and other things;

I hope this is helpful for you!

(Also, check my blog if you want to!)

[ms-mazarin]

Words to replace said, except this actually helps

I got pretty fed up with looking for words to replace said because they weren’t sorted in a way I could easily use/find them for the right time. So I did some myself.

IN RESPONSE TO Acknowledged Answered Protested

INPUT/JOIN CONVERSATION/ASK Added Implored Inquired Insisted Proposed Queried Questioned Recommended Testified

GUILTY/RELUCTANCE/SORRY Admitted Apologized Conceded Confessed Professed

FOR SOMEONE ELSE Advised Criticized Suggested

JUST CHECKING Affirmed Agreed Alleged Confirmed

LOUD Announced Chanted Crowed

LEWD/CUTE/SECRET SPY FEEL Appealed Disclosed Moaned

ANGRY FUCK OFF MATE WANNA FIGHT Argued Barked Challenged Cursed Fumed Growled Hissed Roared Swore

SMARTASS Articulated Asserted Assured Avowed Claimed Commanded Cross-examined Demanded Digressed Directed Foretold Instructed Interrupted Predicted Proclaimed Quoted Theorized

ASSHOLE Bellowed Boasted Bragged

NERVOUS TRAINWRECK Babbled Bawled Mumbled Sputtered Stammered Stuttered

SUAVE MOTHERFUCKER Bargained Divulged Disclosed Exhorted

FIRST OFF Began

LASTLY Concluded Concurred

WEAK PUSY Begged Blurted Complained Cried Faltered Fretted

HAPPY/LOL Cajoled Exclaimed Gushed Jested Joked Laughed

WEIRDLY HAPPY/EXCITED Extolled Jabbered Raved

BRUH, CHILL Cautioned Warned

ACTUALLY, YOU’RE WRONG Chided Contended Corrected Countered Debated Elaborated Objected Ranted Retorted

CHILL SAVAGE Commented Continued Observed Surmised

LISTEN BUDDY Enunciated Explained Elaborated Hinted Implied Lectured Reiterated Recited Reminded Stressed

BRUH I NEED U AND U NEED ME Confided Offered Urged

FINE Consented Decided

TOO EMO FULL OF EMOTIONS Croaked Lamented Pledged Sobbed Sympathized Wailed Whimpered

JUST SAYING Declared Decreed Mentioned Noted Pointed out Postulated Speculated Stated Told Vouched

WASN’T ME Denied Lied

EVIL SMARTASS Dictated Equivocated Ordered Reprimanded Threatened

BORED Droned Sighed

SHHHH IT’S QUIET TIME Echoed Mumbled Murmured Muttered Uttered Whispered

DRAMA QUEEN Exaggerated Panted Pleaded Prayed Preached

OH SHIT Gasped Marveled Screamed Screeched Shouted Shrieked Yelped Yelled

ANNOYED Grumbled Grunted Jeered Quipped Scolded Snapped Snarled Sneered

ANNOYING Nagged

I DON’T REALLY CARE BUT WHATEVER Guessed Ventured

I’M DRUNK OR JUST BEING WEIRDLY EXPRESSIVE FOR A POINT/SARCASM Hooted Howled Yowled

I WONDER Pondered Voiced Wondered

OH, YEAH, WHOOPS Recalled Recited Remembered

SURPRISE BITCH Revealed

IT SEEMS FAKE BUT OKAY/HA ACTUALLY FUNNY BUT I DON’T WANT TO LAUGH OUT LOUD Scoffed Snickered Snorted

BITCHY Tattled Taunted Teased

[writing-reigns-deactivated20200]

reblog to save a writer 

[whispersandwhiskerburn]

Reblog because the titles for each category are comedy gold.

[obsessedwith83514]

I’ll just casually take these and dump them in my writing. Thank you!

[screnwriter-deactivated20220724]

prompts that hit in all the right places

showing up outside your enemy's door

only one bed

knife against the throat

''it’s always been you'' kisses

exclaiming ''because i love you'' during an argument

rain kisses

''use me''

''make me''

undressing your love interest, having to tend to their wounds, trying not to gawk their chest but failing to do so

asking your not yet lover to stay the night because you don't want to be alone

being pushed to the ground/wall with your hands pinned down

sexual tension when tending to someone's wound

''i didn’t know where else to go''

fake dating (it was real all along)

exes to lovers

''it’s not like i’ll ever see [my ex] again,'' but said ex is standing behind them, ready to announce they're moving back into town

a character claiming they’re not going to do ~the thing~, but can in the next frame be seen ~doing the thing~

''nothing is ever going to happen between us!''

two strangers bumping into each other on the street, instant attraction. not love, attraction!

the italicized ''oh''

''what is it that you don’t get? i’m not attracted to [name]!'' (proceeds to stare longingly at the person of their desire)

going to sleep on different sides of the bed, waking up entangled

forehead kisses but it's the male being kissed on the forehead

dancing together, one of them takes the other’s hand, kisses it

''what you're doing right now is really stupid but you're cute and i can't help but laugh''

''let's kiss, just to see what it's like''

going to sleep in separate beds, sneaking into each other's for some snuggles

when someone's like, i don’t know, hurt or something, and the other character's like, tending to their wounds, and then just, wrap the other into their arms, thankful they’re alive

character is taken hostage by the antagonist, their lover goes absolutely ballistic, doing everything in their power to protect their lover, the antagonist has to restrain them, but it doesn't stop the character from trying to reach their lover, doesn’t matter what happens to them, doesn’t matter if they get beaten as long as their lover is safe

[idrellegames]

Coding in Twine & Other Resources

This is a masterlist of everything under my coding in twine tag and links to useful Twine resources. Whether you're beginning to plan your game, experimenting in the Twine engine, or switching to SugarCube, these links should (hopefully!) be a good place to help you get started.

If you're struggling with the documentation or don't know where to start, you're welcome to send me an ask! 💕

Coding in Twine

I only work in SugarCube, so my own tutorials won't work with Twine's other story formats (Harlowe, Chapbook, etc).

Interactive Fiction Design

5 things to consider before you start making your game (x)

Twine Editor

How to colour-code your passages (x)

Mechanics

Make a clickable HTML map (also includes information on fantasy map creation tools) (x)

Using Chapel's notify macro to make an autosave notification (x)

Using conditional statements to block off areas of the menu until the player finishes a specific section of the game (x)

How to track variables for a Character Creator (x)

Using radio buttons to select variables (x)

Using buttons to close a dialog box and proceed to the next passage (x)

5 ways to notify the player of skill check failure (x)

Overview of setting stats in SugarCube and making a stat bar (x)

UI & Design

How to style buttons (x)

How to use ImportStyles to add icons to your game (x)

Making a Main Menu/Start Game page (x)

Adding a stats/relationship menu to the default side bar (x)

Editing the passage element to add a border radius (x)

Adding multiple themes to your game via the Settings API (x)

Other

How to force itch.io to launch your game in portrait mode on mobile (x)

Searching for assets in Canva (x)

Narrative design resources (x)

Other Resources

These are resources that may be helpful if you're just starting out. Chapel's custom macros are highly recommended for inserting common RPG mechanics into your game (things like notifications, inventory systems, etc) and general quality-of-life elements.

Twine Guides

Twine Grimoire (Grim Baccaris) (x)

Twine SugarCube 101 (@/townofcrosshollow) (x)

Templates

SugarCube Template (@/cerberus-writes) (x)

Annotated SugarCube Template (@/nyehilismwriting) (x)

SugarCube Template (@/vahnyawrites) (x)

Custom Macros

Chapel's custom macros (x)

Cycy's custom macros (x)

Updated: 2021-10-18

[vapolis]

completely unrelated to the story you're writing and stuff bUt i've really liked your writing style for a while and since i'm finally getting around to writing an IF of my own i'm wondering if you have any tips? i'm almost completely new to writing btw, so anything from coding tips and tricks to writing in general would help. thanks in advance and hope you're having a nice day!!

hello!! so sorry for the late reply, I just wanted to gather some useful resources before answering it! thank you btw <3

coding via choice of games

beginners guide

noob coding (very useful)

master list for beginners (check this out for everything basically)

gender choice

relationship stats

coding via twine

template

nicer interface

twine 101

unofficial twine guide

writing

show vs tell

character consistency

when to stop planning (actually used for books but also applies heavily to ifs)

different words for said

describing people of colour

describing people in general

more descriptions, this time of things

very useful blogs are @/writingwithcolor & @/wordsnstuff. both have posts that cover every aspect of writing and I’ve been checking their posts out a lot when I first started writing on english.

the best advice I really have is: keep practising. I know everyone says it but it’s really true. if you don’t try new stuff or write every couple of days you won’t improve! and also dont be discouraged if your writing does not turn out the way you hoped it would. the first few tries are always bad but you’ll improve with time and some useful feedback!

another piece of advice I personally stick to is write every single idea down. doesn’t matter if it’s 1am or you’re in the middle of something and you think you’ll remember it later. chances are you won’t and then you’ll be sad you forgot about it. I personally send myself an email with my notes because that’s the first thing I check each day and so I tend to see my ideas right away and can put it into my writing file for later use. I also tend to write with music as that usually sets the mood for me. if i write an action scene, I listen to fast paced music that fits the vibe of my story, which is almost always electro or songs that sound futuristic etc.

I hope I was able to help a little bit at least! and always remember to have fun. writing your story should not feel like a chore, which means since you’re the writer you can change any aspect you want to make it more fun for yourself. I wish you all the best with your game!!!

[arcane-apathy]

Prologue | Next

AN: The first full chapter of this new series. I’m trying very hard to make the character dynamics different than those of my other stories. Also writing things in a High Fantasy world is a challenge. As I’m used to Modern Fantasy and Sci-Fi. Enough talking from me! Thank y’all for the support, and I hope you’ll enjoy this chapter! 

Warning(s): Mention of Injury, Brief Mention of Self Harm/Suicide, 

Keep reading

[awanqi]

Eros and Psyche

[thoughtkick]

“But as bad as it was, I learned something about myself … That I could go through something like that, and survive.”

— Nicholas Sparks

[5-jorjas-in-the-fence]

Happy pride month to those who are scared

Happy pride month to those who are proud

Happy pride month to those who are out

Happy pride month to those who are closeted

Happy pride month if you’re trying to figure yourself out

Happy pride month if you’ve known for years

Happy pride month to those who it’s their first

Happy pride month to those who have celebrated for years

Happy pride month to those who are afraid to celebrate

Happy pride month to those who will scream it from the rooftops

Happy pride month to you.

[ahjiee-rana-deactivated20250402]

[Character has little to no concrete backstory]

Fanfic writers:

[queenerestor]

When you live with elves

[inky-duchess]

I can be sitting in my favourite chair, my laptop can be fully charged, my preferred beverages & snacks in reach and I could be in the most perfect uninterrupted silence and I will still be like:

[trapped-inadystopianovel]

I've been attacked!!!!!!

[inky-duchess]

Oh Tatiana & a Caesar reference! My heart ♥️

[jenny-jinya]

Full and finished short-story of the black cat. Please have a heart for black pets in general, animals do not deserve this kind of hostility. Please give credit when reposting, Thank you :)

[ceinelee-deactivated20230328]

My heart, my heart, my heart’s in pieces

But black cats are so beautiful and we have dogs here with black coats and they’re just so lovely 💕💕

[anxiety-within]

[galemalio]

This needs more notes.

[assindeto-deactivated20140621]

take me to art museums and make out with me

[cornputer]

But they said to not touch the masterpieces

[etherialism]

Well somebody’s gotta pin the artwork to the wall

[sirhenry-deactivated20210125]

the lord of the rings + mbti personality types (insp.)