Show vs. Tell
Great description of the difference.
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tannertan36

oozey mess
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PR's Tumblrdome

#extradirty
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taylor price
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KIROKAZE
One Nice Bug Per Day
$LAYYYTER
"I'm Dorothy Gale from Kansas"
The Bowery Presents

Jar Jar Binks Fan Club

pixel skylines
YOU ARE THE REASON

if i look back, i am lost
Cosimo Galluzzi

Product Placement
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@whomstdvewrotethis
Show vs. Tell
Great description of the difference.
Writers,
No matter where you are in your writing process, no matter how difficult, or stressful or impossible it seems, remember…
Your favourite author has been there.
@ all my fellow fic writers, I hope 2019 blesses you with inspiration, motivation and time to write, and your inboxes and messages are flooded with lovely comments and feedback/reviews
I’m looking for more writeblrs to follow so give this the ol’ reblog and/or like (especially if you write sci-fi) and I’ll check you out
Note to self
Stop thinking: “I’m not talented enough to execute this concept.” Start thinking: “I’m going to be a stronger artist when I’ve finished this piece.”
This is a fixed mindset vs. a growth mindset.
Your abilities are not static, and any challenges you have, anything that turns out different from how you imagined, is not evidence of failure, just a struggle towards improvement.
One thing that might be worse than naming character is renaming a character
Me: Today I will finish the thing!
Narrator: She did not, in fact, finish the thing that day.
Hi, I’ve been having trouble with writing out scenes. I mostly write romance fiction & I would imagine the characters in mind like a movie but when I try to write it out and put it into a scene, I don’t know where to start and how to go about doing it. Pls help
Sorry for the late response! It’s been a busy few days.
It’s always frustrating to see the scene and not be able to write it, isn’t it? I’ve been there. Since I don’t know the specifics, here’s just some general suggestions:
Just jump right in!
If you don’t know where to start, just jump right into the good part! Don’t worry about the beginning, setting the scene, establishing this and that or whatever — that can all come later. If there’s a certain dialogue or action that you’re imagining, start right there. Write out the exciting, interesting part without worrying about the set up and the other details so you can at least get started. You can edit and add things later, just focus on getting something down, and the most exciting bit can be the easiest to write!
Make an outline!
If you don’t quite know how to write a scene, try making an outline! It can be as simple or as complex as you want, but make a bullet point list and just jot down exactly what you see happening in your mind. If you’re really stuck, just make it super simple! Write down what you see playing out in your mind without worrying about how it’s coming out, just write out the actions if you have to. Once you have that down, you have a general outline and road map to help guide your writing. You have the bare bones down, all you have to do is prose it up and embellish it!
Focus on what’s important!
If you’re anything like me, you might be seeing this scene really clearly and vividly in your mind, since you mentioned that it was like a movie. I totally get this, but it can also be really overwhelming to figure out where to start because you’re seeing everything and you want to translate it into words. It’s going to be impossible to capture it like how it would be in a movie because the medium of storytelling is completely different. So you might want to try to really narrow down what’s the most important part of this scene and focus on that.
Is the character interaction what’s important? Is there symbolism in the scenery you want to emphasize? What is it the most important thing about this scene? Try focusing and writing just about that at first so you can get somewhere.
Hope this helps!
Me, in tears, halfway through writing a 300 word essay: I can’t do this anymore
Person on A03 who’s writing for fun:
Inconvenient Truth: these are the same person
16 Villain Archetypes
The TYRANT: the bullying despot, he wants power at any price. He ruthlessly conquers all he surveys, crushing his enemies beneath his feet. People are but pawns to him, and he holds all the power pieces. Hesitate before getting in this man’s way – he’ll think nothing of destroying you. The BASTARD: the dispossessed son, he burns with resentment. He can’t have what he wants, so he lashes out to hurt those around him. His deeds are often for effect – he wants to provoke action in others. He proudly announces his rebellious dealings. Don’t be fooled by his boyish demeanor – he’s a bundle of hate. The DEVIL: the charming fiend, he gives people what he thinks they deserve. Charisma allows him to lure his victims to their own destruction. His ability to discover the moral weaknesses in others serves him well. Close your ears to his cajolery – he’ll tempt you to disaster. The TRAITOR: the double agent, he betrays those who trust him most. No one suspects the evil that lurks in his heart. Despite supportive smiles and sympathetic ears, he plots the destruction of his friends. Never turn your back on him — he means you harm. The OUTCAST: the lonely outsider, he wants desperately to belong. Tortured and unforgiving, he has been set off from others, and usually for good cause. He craves redemption, but is willing to gain it by sacrificing others. Waste no sympathy on him - he’ll have none for you. The EVIL GENIUS: the malevolent mastermind, he loves to show off his superior intelligence. Intellectual inferiors are contemptible to him and that includes just about everyone. Elaborate puzzles and experiments are his trademark. Don’t let him pull your strings – the game is always rigged in his favor. The SADIST: the savage predator, he enjoys cruelty for its own sake. Violence and psychological brutality are games to this man; and he plays those games with daring and skill. Run, don’t walk, away from this man – he’ll tear out your heart, and laugh while doing it. The TERRORIST: the dark knight, he serves a warped code of honor. Self-righteous, he believes in his own virtue, and judges all around him by a strict set of laws. The end will always justify his nefarious means, and no conventional morality will give him pause. Don’t try to appeal to his sense of justice – his does not resemble yours. The BITCH: the abusive autocrat, she lies, cheats, and steals her way to the top. Her climb to success has left many a heel mark on the backs of others. She doesn’t care about the peons around her – only the achievement of her dreams matters. Forget expecting a helping hand from her – she doesn’t help anyone but herself. The BLACK WIDOW: the beguiling siren, she lures victims into her web. She goes after anyone who has something she wants, and she wants a lot. But she does her best to make the victim want to be deceived. An expert at seduction of every variety, she uses her charms to get her way. Don’t be fooled by her claims of love – it’s all a lie. The BACKSTABBER: the two-faced friend, she delights in duping the unsuspecting. Her sympathetic smiles enable her to learn her victims’ secrets, which she then uses to feather her nest. Her seemingly helpful advice is just the thing to hinder. Put no faith in her – she’ll betray you every time. The LUNATIC: the unbalanced madwoman, she draws others into her crazy environment. The drum to which she marches misses many a beat, but to her, it is the rest of the world that is out of step. Don’t even try to understand her logic – she is unfathomable. The PARASITE: the poisonous vine, she collaborates for her own comfort. She goes along with any atrocity, so long as her own security is assured. She sees herself as a victim who had no choice, and blames others for her crimes. Expect no mercy from her – she won’t lift a finger to save anyone but herself. The SCHEMER: the lethal plotter, she devises the ruin of others. Like a cat with a mouse, she plays with lives. Elaborate plans, intricate schemes; nothing pleases her more than to trap the unwary. Watch out for her complex designs – she means you no good. The FANATIC: the uncompromising extremist, she does wrong in the name of good. She justifies hers action by her intent, and merely shrugs her shoulders at collateral damage. Anyone not an ally is an enemy, and therefore, fair game. Give up any hope of showing her the error of her ways – she firmly believes you are wrong, wrong, wrong. The MATRIARCH: the motherly oppressor, she smothers her loved ones. She knows what’s best and will do all in her power to controls the lives of those who surround her – all for their own good. A classic enabler, she sees no fault with her darlings, unless they don’t follow her dictates. Don’t be lured into her family nest – you’ll never get out alive.
Opening up an old, half finished WIP
okay, but does anyone ever try like… different versions of your ideas? I feel tempted to change some major details like current occupations and the roles some character play and save it in a new draft and I don’t know if it’s a smart thing to do but I honestly am extremely excited about it
For sure! I love writing tiny little AUs like that because one change like that can really affect a lot of things, and it’s really fun to consider!
Honestly, a lot of ideas that make it into first drafts aren't great. (That isn't to say first drafts are bad - they just need work.) If you come up with ideas that you think might work out better than what you've got, you should absolutely try them out! Maybe the new ideas will work out better, maybe they won't, but your first draft (and any draft before the final, for that matter) isn't set in stone. It's meant to be changed, perhaps even drastically.
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Maturing as a writer doesn’t mean writing every day, it doesn’t mean the writing process gets easier, it doesn’t mean you’re actively finishing projects, it doesn’t mean you have hundreds of adoring fans.
Maturing as a writer means that your characters limp and stutter, it means that your characters have acne and moles and scars, it means that your characters don’t always get what they want, it means that your characters aren’t always right.
Maturing as a writer means that you are willing to write imperfect people, that you are willing to write imperfect stories.
A writing PSA: tropes are not bad. I repeat tropes are not bad. They are simply the building blocks which you use to craft your stories. Every story uses tropes. You need them. We figure out genres based on what tropes are present. The reader decides what to read and what not to based on what tropes might be there.
What’s bad is cliches. Trope is not interchangeable with cliche, cliches are tropes that have fallen flat and are 2D. You don’t want to write 2D characters or setting. So develop it.
But stop telling people that tropes make their work bad. It doesn’t! Tropes are not bad. Tropes are great, they’re fun!
Reading your own writing and thinking, “Ah yes, what fine garbage.”
I never understood why writers, and artists in general, should either go big otherwise they have failed. Like yes, I probably won’t be the next Stephen King and that is fine. I may as well publish a book or two, give a couple of interviews in the local newspapers and have a fanbase of like 1000 people. And it would be fine. Sure I would love to get big, but I’m also a real pessimist so…
Anyways the point is, for any other job the average is good. A doctor doesn’t have to find the cure for cancer to be respected. An architect doesn’t have to build the next Eiffel tower. A teacher is doing enough just by teaching a dozen of children how to read and write.
Just do your thing. Make sure you are doing it well. Keep your hopes high but don’t ever consider yourself less because society said so.