Wild Imaginations and Vague Ideas

I'm just a person trying to write a book. 

[wivibook]

Hello, Moon.

Are you hazy or am I?

[keepcalmandwritefiction]

Forget “strong female character.” Aim for: “Woman or girl with agency.” One who makes decisions, affects the story, pushes the plot. –– Chuck Wendig

[avi-why]

how to unstick that stuck scene:

- make sure you know how each character feels going into the scene, and how that progresses throughout

-understand what each character wants out of the scene

-understand why you are including this scene in the first place

-check the last scene and make sure it is resolved the way you want it

[michaelbjorkwrites]

5 frustrating workshop rules that made me a better writer

Throughout the 15 workshops I joined in college and grad school, I encountered two types of writing rules.

First, there were the best-practice guidelines we’ve all heard, like “show don’t tell.” And then there were workshop rules, which the professor put in place not because they’re universal, but because they help you grow within the context of the workshop.

My college’s intro writing course had 5 such rules:

No fantasy, supernatural, or sci-fi elements.

No guns.

No characters crying.

No conflict resolution through deus ex machina.

No deaths.

When I first saw the rules, I was baffled. They felt weirdly specific, and a bit unfair. But when our professor, Vinny, explained their purpose (and assured us he only wanted us to follow the rules during this intro workshop, not the others to come), I realized what I could learn from them.

1. No fantasy, supernatural, or sci-fi elements.

Writers need to be able to craft round characters, with clear arcs. While you can hone those skills writing any type of story, it can be more difficult when juggling fantastical elements, because it’s easy to get caught up in the world, or the magic, or the technology, and to make that the focus instead of the characters. So Vinny encouraged us to exclude such elements for the time being, to keep us fully focused on developing strong, dynamic characters.

2. No guns.

Weapons have a place in many stories, but when writers include a gun, they often use it to escalate the plot outside of the realm of personal experience and into what Vinny called “Hollywood experience.” He wanted us to learn how to draw from our own observations and perceptions of life, rather than the unrealistic action, violence, and drama we’d seen in movies, so he made this rule to keep us better grounded in our own experiences.

3. No characters crying.

When trying to depict sadness, writers often default to making characters cry. While there’s nothing inherently wrong with that, tears are just one way to show grief, and they aren’t always the most subtle or emotionally compelling. That’s why Vinny challenged us to find other ways to convey sadness — through little gestures, strained words, fragile interactions, and more. It was difficult, but opened us up to depicting whole new gradients of grief and pain.

4. No conflict resolution through deus ex machina.

This is the only one of the rules I’d say is generally universal. Meaning “God from the machine,” deus ex machina is a plot device where a character’s seemingly insurmountable problem is abruptly resolved by an outside force, rather than their own efforts. These endings are bad for various reasons, but Vinny discouraged them because he wanted us to understand how important it was for our characters to confront their struggle and its consequences.

5. No deaths.

Death is inherently dramatic and can be used to good effect, but many writers use death as a crutch to create drama and impact. Writers should be able to craft engaging, meaningful stories, even without killing off their characters, so this rule challenged us to find other methods of giving weight to our stories (such as through internal conflict).

How these rules helped me grow as a writer

First things first, I’ll say it again: apart from #4 (deus ex machina), these rules were never meant to be universally applied. Instead, their purpose was to create temporary barriers and challenges to help us develop key skills and write in new, unfamiliar ways.

For me, the experience was invaluable. I liked the way the rules challenged and stretched my abilities, driving me to write stories I’d have never otherwise attempted. They made me more flexible as a writer, and while I don’t follow the rules anymore (I LOVE me some fantasy), I’ll always be thankful for how they shaped my writing.

My recommendation to you?

Give some of these rules a shot! Follow them temporarily while writing 2-4 short stories — but remember to always keep their purpose in mind, because the rules themselves will only help if you understand what they’re trying to achieve.

Write with purpose, and you’ll always be growing.

— — —

For more tips on how to craft meaning, build character-driven plots, and grow as a writer, follow my blog.

[michaelbjorkwrites]

Your character is driven by 3 emotional motives. See? I even made a graphic.

(I’m proud of the graphic, too.)

Mood: The immediate (and temporary) emotions of your character. A feeling of joy after kissing the girl they like; frustration after a busy day working a summer job at the fair; despair after somebody eats the last Oreo.

Situation: The plot and relationship contexts of your character. The apprehension they feel with a friend in the weeks following a nasty fight; the nerves felt in the week leading up to their big championship game; the frustration and boredom of being grounded after crashing the family car into the county creek.

Struggle: The core, deepfelt pain of your character, which often emerges from their background. The fear of failure from overly demanding parents; a deep longing for a family they never knew; a desperate need to be accepted after spending years as an outcast.

How these 3 motives influence your character

The above emotional motives all play an important role in driving your character’s actions, muddying or even overriding their more logical intentions — just as it happens to the rest of us. (We’re all human, after all.)

That being said, while your character’s mood and situation will shift throughout the story, their struggle will remain constant: their true north, emotionally speaking. This struggle will always be at the root of their actions, even as you swap in new situations and moods.

Take Bethany as an example

Let’s say your character’s name is Bethany, and her struggle is this: a deep fear of failure, stemming from her parents’ impossible academic expectations, which conflicts with her own desire to finally experience the life she sees passing her by.

Her actions, while primarily driven by that struggle, are going to vary quite a bit depending on her situation and mood. For example, if it’s the night before a big test, she might blow off a friend’s invitation to a party so she can study.

But if the party is a week before the big test, and she finds a handwritten invitation in her notebook from Emma (the girl on the lacrosse team she has a crush on), Bethany might act differently. Maybe she feels a lightness and warmth in her cheeks as she reads Emma’s note. Maybe she puts those textbooks away, and maybe, just maybe, she sneaks out the window and goes to the party.

But if Bethany finds the note after her parents just chewed her out for being ungrateful and not studying hard enough? Maybe Bethany doesn’t go to the party. Instead, maybe she reads Emma’s note, trembles, then rips it in two, knowing she can’t disappoint her parents like that. Then she spends the rest of the evening studying. Alone.

Mood. Situation. Struggle.

All three kinds of emotional motives are important. Your character’s struggle is the anchor, but their mood and situation are the ever-shifting masks you use to express their struggle in fresh ways. 

And by the end of the story, hopefully your character will overcome their struggle — putting away the textbooks, sneaking out the window, and meeting their crush at a party. Maybe even having their first kiss.

Whatever the character, and whatever their struggle, I’m sure you’ll do great. 

So good luck! And good writing.

— — —

Your stories are worth telling. For tips on how to craft meaning, build character-driven plots, and grow as a writer, follow my blog.

[wivibook]

Estate Sale Ghosts

Instead of shoulder angels, I like to imagine that I’m haunted by the previous owners of the desk and desk chair I got at an estate sale.

I imagine that the previous owner of the oversized, antique, executive desk is a lanky, crotchety old man who doesn’t understand my writing or the action figures I put on the desk but nods approvingly when I remember to water my plants or hit a milestone. He’s the type that’d hover over the desktop or to the left the desk by my window and sigh when I forget which desk drawer to pull out first to unlock the other ones. Every time I pick up my phone or misspell a word, he’d be likely to glare daggers at me past bushy, ethereal eyebrows.

The other ghost is an agent of chaos I picked up with my brown, leather desk chair with padded arms and a slightly tattered right side. Another old man with a lop sided grin, he’d prop his feet on the desk when his counterpart isn’t looking and sit on the desk when I’m in the chair. He’d be amused when I get distracted, laugh when I lean back in the chair too far and cause my stomach to drop, and have passionately aggressive opinions on my writing. Chair Ghost would want to race my hotwheels cars across the desk, but Desk Ghost won’t let him.

I imagine both of them think I should be writing and that writing this doesn’t count.

[justawritingaid]

External vs. Internal Character, Part 2: Taking Advantage of POV

One major reason to choose a written medium over a visual one is that it more clearly shows the external vs internal workings of a character. This not only allows for reader closeness, but the direct link to the protagonist (or other POV characters) enhances the reader’s understanding of the character(s) and their motivations, personalities, and three faces.

Part 1: The three faces (link embedded) helps bring to light how varying company affects actions and highlights the “second face” as the “basic character personality”. It also puts emphasis on the “third face” where the point of view lives, but unlike the third face a narrating character’s POV can be seen no matter where they are or what/who surrounds them.

A character may be judged by other characters according to actions but POV writing allows access to thought and can affect the reader’s impression and knowledge. 

“Did you like it?”

It took June a moment to realize that Allen was talking to her, leaning so far over the bar to see past their colleagues that his hair brushed the Angry Orchard tap.

“Sorry, I was asking Pierre something,” she said, having to elevate her voice over the distance and din of the bar. “What am I judging?” 

“My show!”

Ah. The talent show. Her spine was still crooked from cringing at his attempt to rile up the tired work crowd to little avail. Some of the acts were decent, she wasn’t going to deny it, but most of the office only went for the free food and a measure of support that didn’t extend to the in-depth critiques and exuberance that Allen had been asking from everyone since the start of happy hour. 

She took a sip of gin and tonic and tried to think of something positive to not choke on. 

“It was cute,” she said. “I liked the stage setup and the banner was well-decorated.”

“It was beautiful, wasn’t it?”

It was hastily made and gaudy, but the color choice was complementary. She nodded anyway. 

Allen likely finds June to be an agreeable person, but June’s narration teaches the reader that her reaction is monitored to not give away her natural thought. Allen sees the external character, the reader sees the internal character, and the interplay of both shows June’s personality as critical but still outwardly polite and measurably concerned for her colleague’s happiness.

Not every moment of external vs internal warring has to be that dramatic. The point is that most people just don’t behave in ways that 100% matches their thoughts and that effect can shift depending on which of their three faces is prominent at the given moment. Perhaps June would have been more honest with a close friend, but still not as brutal as her thoughts automatically jump to. 

So how do you take advantage of the internal character to make someone more human?

Lies. Small or large, good intentions or bad ones, lies spill into everyday life and often go unnoticed by those being lied to. The thing to keep in mind is that people lie for a reason. June lied to spare Allen’s feelings, not just because she felt like it. Some characters may be more prone to “unexplained” lying than others but those characters should have a reason they’re chronically untruthful. 

Holding back emotion. A form of lying, but one that’s seen as much less distrustful and is extremely common in real life. Sometimes emotions are held back to avoid hurting others, to manipulate a situation to an outcome, to “stay strong”, etc. In the end it comes down to the consequences of letting the emotion out not being judged as worth it. 

Doing things they don’t want to. Something that everyone can relate to is having a task to complete that they’d really rather not, but while there may be complaining and internal fighting, it has to be done anyway. What a character doesn’t want to do, but does anyway, can show duality of personality by what they prioritize (or don’t prioritize) over how they feel.  

Personality traits fight for dominance. People are complicated. Someone can be competitive until they start losing. Someone can be cowardly unless a loved one is put in danger. Someone can be aggressive until their victim fights back. When necessary, let the internal character fight itself over which trait shows up more prominently in a situation.

There can be many more examples, but every POV character should have some form of external vs internal character depth because nobody has their true self out to the world at all times. Non-POV characters have it too– the reader doesn’t get to see that narrated part of them. It’s still possible to hint at the inner workings of a non-POV character with commentary on body language, especially if the narrating character knows them well or if clues are dropped that indicate that disagreement of thought and action, but at the end of the day it’s still all filtered through the eyes of the narrator.

Thinking of asking a question? Please read the Rules and Considerations to make sure I’m the right resource, and check the Tag List to see if your question has already been asked.

[theliteraryarchitect]

Writing Advice Posts: A Handy Reference Guide

(Updated 11/22/19) Hey all, I’ve got quite a few writing advice posts & answered Asks on my blog at this point, so I’m making this reference guide to make it easier to find what you’re looking for. Hope it helps!

Free Pocket Guide to Self Editing for Fiction Writers

A collection of 5 checklists to help you map out a revision plan and move forward with your story.

Pre-Editing Checklist

Story Editing Checklist

Scene Editing Checklist

Sentence Editing Checklist

Post-Editing Checklist

Download the pocket guide for free right here.

Free Resource Library Downloads

All of these PDFs are also available to download for free on my website:

Creating Character Arcs Workbook

Point of View Cheatsheet

Dialogue Checklist

Setting Checklist

Questions to Ask Before Hiring an Editor Printable Checklist

Proper Manuscript Format Printable Checklist

Short Story & Novel Submission Templates

World-Building Checklist

Access the Free Resource Library right here.

General

8 Ways to Improve Your Writing

10 Best Books About Writing Fiction

How to Spot Bad Writing Advice: 6 Red Flags to Look For

“Show Don’t Tell”? Not Always. Here’s When to Use Summary

How to start a story

More about starting stories

The first sentence

Weak words

Why Just About Every Published Book in the World Does 57 Things That Just About Every Book About Writing Tells You Not to Do

Creative Nonfiction Cliches to Avoid

How to Read Like a Writer

The Writing Process, Writer’s Block, & Inspiration

To all the Writers Suffering from Depression

How to Train Yourself to Write Faster

Just a friendly reminder that creativity is difficult to quantify.

Quick Writing Tip: Make a Note to Your Future Self in Your WIP

Quick Writing Tip: Take Notes!

Just a friendly reminder that writing is not always a linear process.

Quick Cure for Writer’s Block: Lower Your Expectations

Set Realistic Goals

Your Skills May Need Time to Catch Up to Your Vision

It’s Okay to Experiment and Be Weird As Fuck

Surround Yourself With Supporters

It’s okay to take a break.

Your First Draft is Raw Material

Getting into “The Zone”

Vomit Brain

Writing from Your Imagination vs. Reality

Dealing with Criticism

Getting Bored with Your Own Writing

Getting past a block

Doing research on topics you don’t have first-hand experience with

Journalling about your writing

How to Keep Yourself From Editing As You Write

Advice for Getting Over a Writing Slump

Dealing with Procrastination

How to Write Like You Used to, Before You Learned Stuff that Fucked Up Your Natural Creative Flow and Turned Your Writing into Boring, Stilted Garbage

Character Development

Creating Character Arcs with the DCAST Method

What Does Your Main Character Want?

How to Activate Your Passive Characters, One Verb at a Time

How to Use Description to Show Character Development

How to Create a Non-Cliched First-Meeting Scene

The “It Depends” Post

Shifting internal goals

When to identify your character’s goal

Writing about normal people with normal problems

If you’re worried about your character being too similar to someone else’s character 

Describing your characters without messing up your pacing

Story, Plot, & Pacing

Quick Plotting Tip: Write Your Story Backwards

Pause at the Threshold

How to Spot an “Info-dump”

Slowing Down the Pace of Your Story Without Boring Your Reader

Time Transitions

How to Create a Non-Cliched First-Meeting Scene

Creating Conflict

When & how to cut a scene

If you’re good at creating characters but awful at creating plot

When you’ve plotted your story but can’t get started

En Media Res

Writing to Your Ideal Reader

Deus Ex Machina

Foreshadowing

Finding an Ending

What to write between moments of conflict

Starting a story with waking-up scene

How to Know When You’re Done Outlining

Description, Setting, & Worldbuilding

How to Make Your Descriptions Less Boring

How to Spot an “Info-dump”

Adding Descriptions to Intense Scenes Without Messing Up Your Story’s Flow

How to Use Description to Show Character Development

Worldbuilding: How much is too much?

Modeling your fantasy world from stuff in the real world

Internal Consistency

Utilizing Sound

How to Do World-Building Research

Point of View

How to Choose the Right Point of View for Your Story

A Beginner’s Guide to Multiple Point of View

6 Questions to Ask About Your Point of View

How to decide if you should use first person or third person

More point of view basics

Head hopping

How to Head Hop without Head Hopping

Dialogue

How to Improve Your Dialogue

3 Ways to Make Your Dialogue More Interesting

Starting a story with dialogue

Are You Using Too Much Stage Direction?

Which is Better: Exposition or Expository Dialogue?

Publishing & Sharing Your Work

7 Tips to Build an Audience for Your Writing

Pros and Cons of Self Publishing

Quick Publishing Tip: Don’t Bury Your Gold

How to Properly Format Your Manuscript for Publication

A warning about posting writing online that you intend to publish later

Advice for writers who are worried about people stealing their work or ideas

Getting feedback on your writing

How to Create a Cover Letter for a Literary Magazine or Journal

Editing

10 Questions to Ask an Editor Before Hiring Them

Quick Revision Tip: Read Your Writing Out Loud

How to Keep Yourself From Editing As You Write

Cut the fidgeting

Are you suffering from -ing disease?

Are you Using Too Much Stage Direction?

What “Editing” Really Means

Quick Editing Tip: “That”

Quick Revision Tip: Read Faster

Editing Tip: Dialogue

Tips for Editing a Story

Should You Use a Contract When Hiring an Editor?

Quick Tip: Up & Down

Pre-Editing Checklist

…if you find any broken links please let me know and I will fix them! xo

*I changed the name of my blog a while back. All of these links should work, but if you come across a “Bucket Siler has moved!” page when clicking on a link inside an old post, there’s an easy way to find what you’re looking for: In the url, delete “bucketsiler,” write “theliteraryarchitect,” then hit return. Also, let me know about it & I will fix it :)

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The Literary Architect is a writing advice blog run by me, Bucket Siler. For more writing help, check out my Free Resource Library or get The Complete Guide to Self-Editing for Fiction Writers. xoxo

[kaylewiswrites]

I love the ambiguity of the term ‘WIP’. Is it a project in it’s third draft? A final draft being queried? An idea I came up with six months ago and haven’t written anything about yet? You don’t know. Nobody knows. 

[willowdove]

Least of all the author

[lilquill]

On Representation, Diversity, and “have characters of color just don’t write about the experience of being a person of color”

Alright. I’m gonna piss a bunch of people off and also confuse a bunch of well-intentioned white people because I don’t think that you can write about a character of color without talking about the experience of being a person of color of a certain culture.

Seriously. There’s so many conversations celebrating how people have narratives where it “doesn’t matter” that one of their characters is a person of color and that their characters’ identity as a person of color “doesn’t affect the storyline” or whatever.

I’m going to cut right to the chase here: as a reader and storyteller of color, I’m not a fan of narratives where race doesn’t affect the story.

My race and culture and ethnicity ABSOLUTELY impact the way I perceive the world around me! For instance, many South Asian families bond with lively debates and discussions and lovingly roasting their family members. The way that I develop positive relationships, often with a solid dose of conflict and loudness and argument, is therefore fundamentally different from the way a white person would develop relationships; in fact, many white people are intimidated by how loud South Asians like myself are. We’re dramatic and loud and love jokes with wordplay! That’s just how it is and it means I form bonds with people differently.

I also have different values. White people are often more individualistic in culture, with more weird distant formal bonds with their parents (shit like referring to their parents by first name or, on the other end of the spectrum, calling their dads “sir”???) as opposed to the more comfortable and closer bond I have with my parents, where my family is all up in my shit literally all the time LMAO.

Literally white families are SO DISTANT to the point where white people consider practices like co-sleeping with your young child, something very common in South Asian families, to be child abuse?? Like, as if keeping your baby in a crib in another room where they’re not close to you and it’s harder to hear them isn’t dangerous but apparently suffocating a child while sleeping (which is very rare especially since co-sleeping is a practice that has gone on for MILLENNIA) is the bigger threat here??

White kids might perceive that as invasive or a violation of their privacy; I don’t perceive it that way because of the way South Asian families are structured. There’s a stronger emphasis on closeness with family. Of course, there are situations of kids being estranged or difficult family relationships or child abuse in South Asian families as well, but family is more valued in my culture.

The plants I put in my garden are different because of my identity; flowers like bela (Arabian jasmine) and bougainvillea and roses and gladiolus and marigolds and such things are what I’m fond of because of biases based on what my parents and grandparents like. I even once grew nenua (a type of squash). (I’m gonna get my hands on a raat ki rani soon I hope!!) And, of course, not every South Asian is partial to these flowers, but there’s definitely a cultural aspect as to why I personally like them!

The colors and patterns I gravitate towards are also different! I’m not a big fan of western “neutrals” and I find bright colors more appealing, especially because hey, those vibrant shades look better on brown skin! And GUESS WHAT, part of why the western world gravitates towards neutral colors in formalwear is because of colonialism and a disdain for the vibrant colors and dyes that colonized countries used. I love wearing jhumka earrings and statement necklaces and bright, vibrant jewelry as well. Now, obviously, this isn’t the case with every South Asian, but there is certainly some level of impact on these choices from my culture and upbringing.

Hell, even the food I eat is different! I drink chai in the evenings. I gravitate towards spicier dishes and better seasoning. I don’t eat meat other than fish/seafood and chicken and occasionally turkey because of cultural stuff, though ofc lots of South Asians are vegetarian and on the flip side lots of South Asians DO eat red meat and stuff.

And this isn’t even universal to ALL South Asians by any means, because my parents are specifically Hindu and from northeastern India and I’ve grown up in California! And there’s so many other details I could go into but for the sake of not writing a twelve-page essay I’m stopping here. 

Basically, my point is, I don’t want representation where race “doesn’t matter” to the story. Race impacts so many aspects of my life and how I perceive and interact with the world around me.

It’s ridiculous to me how so much “representation” is basically just starting with a default of a white character, making her brown, avoiding the stereotypes, and that’s….it. It doesn’t feel real. It doesn’t feel authentic to take away cultural impacts on your characters. People start with white western archetypes and tropes and try to mold them to fit characters of color, instead of starting off with an authentic character of color, and it really, really shows.

Especially because Tumblr and writeblr are such white spaces, and also because culture is usually picked up from the environment as opposed to online, the conversations centered around “representation” are always about “don’t do x stereotypes” as opposed to how to actually learn about other cultures and actually….write a character of color. So many of y’all only know how to NOT write a character of color as opposed to how to ACTUALLY write a character of color.

I see so many lists of tropes and things to not include in stories, and not enough things about values and family structures and food and fashion and ways of developing relationships and all that fun stuff that will shape who you are as a person.

And some of y’all don’t even TRY to, I dunno, engage with the culture of your character of color to actually write them. For instance, if you’re writing a South Asian character, go explore South Asian cinema! Go make South Asian friends who can tell you little details about their lives as they, y’know, exist and are your friend! In general, explore the movies and literature and music and dance types and food and drink and whatnot of the culture your character is from! Form relationships with people of those cultures; it’s the internet! I know this is a super white space but there’s PLENTY of poc on here! Make an effort, not just to avoid harmful stereotypes, but to write a character of color whose identity actually MATTERS.

When I’m reading escapist fantasy/sci-fi/romcom/etc. literature where characters aren’t being hurt by racism, I don’t want a story where RACE doesn’t exist, I want a story where RACISM doesn’t exist. I want cultural understanding, empathy, and compassion!

I don’t want a role a white character would play just switched out with a character of color.

For instance, in the movie To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, Lara Jean’s identity as East Asian is reflected in her fashion choices; book author Jenny Han lent inspiration for this. The Yakult drinks she likes, inspired by Korean tastebuds, plays a role in the story, too. These are details that don’t necessarily heavily impact the plot; it’s a fake-dating high school romcom. But they make a more real, fleshed-out character. They’re little details, little in-jokes and references, showing that the character’s race and culture actually MATTER to the story.

There’s a part in Pacific Rim where Raleigh Beckett, a white man, is frustrated with Mako Mori, a Japanese woman, for not going against the wishes of her father figure, Pentecost. When he tells her she doesn’t have to obey him, she responds, “It’s not obedience, Mr. Beckett. It’s respect.” This depicts her cultural understanding of family and respect; her relationships and her responses to things are impacted by her culture.

This is what I’m talking about! In order to write an actual character of color, you MUST write about their experiences to a certain extent. Of course, don’t make your characters of a certain culture a monolith in terms of personalities and responses and all that, but understand how they may be similarly impacted by their identities.

Now, don’t write a whole damn novel about a character coming to terms with their racial identity and coping with racism, but you absolutely MUST holistically incorporate their identity into your narrative.

Otherwise, it’s not actually representation. It’s you essentially writing a racebent white character. It’s you using a white default and trying to adapt it to totally different experiences.

[alovelyyounglady]

yes to all of this! the small things matter!! like even down to the music I listen to—as much as I enjoy my fair share of western artists, I also listen to afrobeats a lot, because that’s my culture. or how I would never swear in front of or walk out on my mum, and she’s always in all of my business regardless of whether I want her there or not. but then that small thing can have bigger implications in the story, like I couldn’t just not talk to her for days or weeks at a time, so maybe if you’re writing a black/brown character who goes missing, their parent would notice quickly (not to imply white parents wouldn’t, don’t get me wrong).

there are just certain quirks and habits that come with being a poc that I really want to see reflected in these characters, even if they’re just small. they help flesh them out and make it clear that this is not just a whitewashed view of what it means to be a poc, and the emotional payoff to a character of colour’s arc may be different to a white character’s.

[jaydeiswriting]

This is all so right. I have read stories where both Black characters and queer characters act as if their worldview is not informed by these things and it just feels so wrong and poorly done. I have literally read a book where a Black lesbian raised in a Christian home has no thoughts on issues in the Black community, like police brutality, and doesn’t even wonder if her religious family will treat her differently for being queer or question any religious teachings at all. This doesn’t even make sense! I was just honestly dumbfounded. It was a white character with dark skin and an afro, that’s all. It felt so inauthentic.

That’s not representation. It’s not showing communities with the complexity and nuance required because the authors aren’t putting in the work to understand. It’s half-done and honestly somewhat trivializing. Like so many people say, privileged authors writing marginalized communites should do the research. And one of the things we need to stop advising people to do is to write “a person who just happens to be [x]” because it’s more like “a person who is informed by [x]” and preaching the former only leads to this hollow type of so-called representation that is only members of the default wearing our skin, but not our histories or cultures.

The conversation about what to do and what not to do when writing marginalized groups we are not part of needs to shift. Because it does matter and it is part of who we are, not just a sidenote to add later. That just makes things incongruent.

[lilquill]

Yes!! Thank you so much for articulating the experience of reading stories with hollow representation (seriously that’s some super clever word choice for this phenomenon, since it’s like….those authors give characters a certain race on the outside and not on the inside!) and the problem with the conversations on diversity right now!

I understand where the rhetoric of wanting stories where race, sexuality, gender identity, etc. “don’t matter” to the story comes from, but I feel like a lot of people don’t understand what it means. Like….I like seeing stories where racism or homophobia or things like that don’t exist if it’s a sorta escapist fantasy setting type thing, but people’s concepts of an “escapist fantasy story,” at least in western media, tends to be with a cishet, white, etc. default. Therefore, people will use their conceptualization of an escapist fantasy story and just paint their characters different colors, without meaningfully examining culture and how different aspects of identity will mean that a trope/archetype/etc. doesn’t actually work when you change such a meaningful aspect of a character’s identity.

I talked a little bit about this here, but if a character of color can just be switched out with a white character without meaningfully changing the story, then it isn’t actually…..representation. It’s just the spicier version of a white character!

Just….a lot of the whole idea of “race doesn’t matter in my story!” goes a little too close to the idea of ~colorblindness~ and the whole “i don’t see color!” thing that white people like to pull tbh and it makes me a little bit uncomfortable because it’s so…dismissive of how pervasively race affects people’s lives, and it’s so blatant in bad “representation” like what you described above @jaydewritesfiction!! And you’re so so right, it’s so trivializing because it’s like, “oh, this author doesn’t think that the environment I was literally raised in and the culture I grew up with was that impactful on who I am as a person at all” and it’s not as blatantly racist as, y’know, a racist stereotype, but it’s certainly insensitive in a very particular way.

And it’s awfully ironic, too. I think when white authors do this, it really indicates how blind white people are to how ubiquitous white western culture is in their media, to the point where they expect that their experiences are the default. They don’t realize how heavily whiteness affects their own perception of the world and of people of color, while also thinking that being nonwhite doesn’t actually affect that much.

Diversity isn’t about just telling the same exact (western) story but with spray-painted characters, it’s about understanding different identities and incorporating them holistically and meaningfully into your work!

[headspace-hotel]

I think the world needs more fantasy novels with completely made up animals. No more “horses.” No more “rabbits.” Deer can stay but ONLY if they’re weird. All wolves must have wings, NO exceptions. No more laziness, its time to Make Shit Up. I expect your heroes to be riding scaly civets with antlers by midnight. I demand a survey of wildlife in the nearby forest that leaves me with no idea what a single word you said meant. I want CREATURES WITH FUNKY NAMES THAT YOU MADE UP OUT OF YOUR OWN HEAD. I want to be UNABLE TO PRONOUNCE THEM. I want all of your RODENTS to be POISONOUS for NO REASON. I deeply desire GIANT BIRDS. I hereby sentence you to five hours on Wikipedia reading about the Carboniferous period and hydrothermal vents.

If you can’t be creative, at least reskin some dinosaurs. It’s time to decide what kind of man you are—the kind that would let his evil overlord ride a tyrannosaurus, or a coward.

[kyraneko]

Just lifting animals wholesale out of the past is a perfectly reasonable variant. Maybe your fantasy world has an oxygen content of 33% and everybody’s a part-time volunteer firefighter but you also have butterflies the size of sailboats and your knights ride war centipedes.

[emilyparagraph]

Weak Trope: Having a character’s driving motivation be REVENGE up until the last second when they pull the “revenge won’t bring my wife/sister/town/three-eared dog back” and leave the bastard they’ve been hunting down alive.

Strong Trope: Hello! My Name! Is Inigo Montoya! You Killed My Father! Prepare! TO! DIE! *corners count rugen* Beg for your life *slashes cheek* Offer me anything I want in the world!  *slashes other cheek* I WANT MY FATHER BACK, YOU SON OF A BITCH. *stabs count rugen to death*

[bongmamaw-deactivated20210105]

i’ve stopped trash talking comic sans after learning the font is actually one of the only dyslexia-friendly fonts that come standard with most computers and i advocate for others doing the same

[not-safe-for-earth]

In the event that you would like to continue hating Comic Sans, other dyslexia-friendly alternatives include Arial, Verdana, Tahoma, Century Gothic and Trebuchet.

[bigbardafree]

thank

[invaderxan]

Random fact: Verdana is one of the few fonts which was specifically designed to be as easy to read as possible, even at smaller type sizes. It was designed this way for use on screen, but the same principles apply in print too. This is part of why some Universities use Verdana as their default font for documents.

[sanctum-sanguinem]

“In the event that you would like to continue hating Comic Sans” is one of the best things I’ve ever read on this website

[writernotwaiting]

@pedeka @lunariagold @darklittlestories

[anastasiaoftheironwood]

I’ll take Comic Sans over Arial any day. 

[writernotwaiting]

Century Gothic and Trebuchet are both quite handsome typefaces.

[iamhisgloriouspurpose]

I’m partial to Century Gothic as well. It’s serif, but not boring.

[catwinchester-deactivated201901]

There’s also a dyslexic font designed especially for dyslexic people to read.

You can install on your tablets, laptops and browers etc, so not only can you change things like documents into it, you can change websites into that font as well! 

[catwinchester-deactivated201901]

I’m sure you’re bright enough to do a google search, but since I’m dumb enough to forget to post a link, here it is. Better late than never

https://www.dyslexiefont.com/en/dyslexie-font/

[captainlordauditor]

I default to arial for this reason, but I will now be defaulting to verdana or dyslexie. nice.

[formlessdemi]

I don’t think I have dyslexia but that dyslexie font was the easiest fucking thing to read ever. Books should be written in that shit.

[lunariens]

ALSO!!!

For computer reading, when you mix up lines of text, there’s a web browser app called Beeline Reader. It looks like this

The colors are also customizable, to an extent and while I don’t have dyslexia, I have adhd which makes reading large amounts of text harder and this helps A LOT.

[hashtagyourshirt]

This is dope. I freaking love how much more accessible this information is nowadays.

[welcometotheravenclawcommonroom]

for our dyslexic ravens.

[harpanini]

I always thought I was a decent reader, but holy crap that BeeLine made reading enjoyable lol

[dashaibo]

Not dyslexic myself, but this is really cool and I’m spreading this.

[archive-dogwrites-deactivated20]

And run you do, your paws are fleeting, time is brief, the hunter’s shadow long as you flee.

When did running stop feeling safe?

When did safe start meaning dead?

For the dead don’t run, and the hunter cares not for the dead, the dead are cold and alone,

you run on the warmth of your torn muscles, and on the company of the hunter; for he’s always there, there, there.

Does running still make you feel free?

When did your paws become your cage?

Now your body’s weak, your lungs are abandoning you,

you hear one heartbeat,

you used to hear five,

you’re beginning to hear none.

But there are still miles to go before you sleep,

there are miles to go, but now you hear none,

do you feel safe?

excerpt from a series of when wolves cry retellings.

[falkon8888]

Seen a few snippets from this story and I can't wait to read it in its entirety one day.

[lunamanar]

Things I Try to Remember When I’m Nervous About Writing

1. Write what you want to read. 

2. There is no problem with a story so great that it cannot be fixed in revision. Keep going.

3. If your story is as uncreative as you think it is, you wouldn’t want to write it so badly. You want to write it because there’s a unique spin on it you have never seen, and want to express. Many people may write similar stories, but it’s the details that make it personal. You may not know it now, but there is someone who is looking for exactly what you’re writing. If you don’t finish it, they’ll never see it. 

4. You can write something amazing and still be met with silence. There are myriad reasons for this that have nothing to do with the quality of what you produce. 

4.1 It’s okay to repeat post your work if no one has seen it. 

4.2 It’s okay to post your work in multiple places.

5. You don’t have to agree with every criticism (but take it gracefully anyway). 

6. Most writers are scared of the same things you are.

7. Don’t judge your works in progress against the archives of finished, polished stories other writers have put together. Archives are Internet portfolios and generally don’t show all the multitude of failures, incomplete, and draft-form works those writers are also struggling with. They aren’t perfect and you don’t have to be, either. Keep working and you will have a portfolio of your own. 

8. Don’t be afraid to share your ideas with other writers. It’s not annoying as long as you’re not self-important about it. Be humble and gracious, and others will reciprocate.

8.1 You can’t write as well in a vacuum; the more people know that you are working on something, and what, the more support you will get for that work. Starting a dialogue before you post something will make it more likely people will read it when you do post it. 

9. It’s okay to take breaks. If the ideas just aren’t coming, go do something else for a while. 

10. Be kind to yourself. Don’t call yourself names. You are not a failure, or uncreative, or boring. You wouldn’t call other people those things, so don’t do it to yourself. 

I don’t know if these are helpful to other people, but they are helpful to me, so just in case, here they are!

[writerinahat-deactivated2022051]

Don’t Worry About ‘Strong Female Characters.’

In a world where a woman showing her chest is somehow pro-feminist and anti-feminist at the same time, it’s easy to see why any writer would stress over their female characters.

Relax.

Chances are, if you know anything about writing, your fictitious females are fine, even if they are fine. But if you’re still worried, I have two good examples from Disney coming up. (Hint: They’re sisters.)

But first…

The term ‘Strong Female Character’ is ludicrous and makes writing worse.

There’s more scrutiny and expectation placed on female characters than male characters, and at a risk of writing a twenty-paragraph essay about who is to blame for that, let’s just say I think the term ‘strong female character’ is part of the problem. It isn’t just a case of high expectations that are impossible to meet, but also about the stress it puts on the author that halts the creative process.

So again, relax.

Stress aside, it can also lead to this:

“I want to write a strong female character. Someone inspiring. Someone every little girl can look up to. Someone…”

No. Stop right there, Idealist. This is why there are so many more Mary Sues than Gary Stus.

You didn’t even know Gary Stu was a thing, did you?

Let go of the idea of representation. You don’t represent anyone. Your character doesn’t represent anyone. You are you, and they are them. Write people.

What does ‘strong’ even mean?

Mentally strong? Physically strong? It can mean just about anything.

The vagueness of the term hasn’t helped.

A lot of people have taken it to mean – and stop me if you’ve heard this before – a fiery, no-nonsense woman, who don’t need no man.

That was good for the first, what, twelve times? Heck, I take that back. It’s still a good archetype, when done correctly. Sarah Connor and Ellen Ripley are beloved examples of this. Iconic, even. Since then, it’s been turned into a formula by people who don’t understand why those characters are liked to begin with, and repeated to the point of yawn-inducing parody.

A character who makes you yawn is not a strong character.

Remember: In writing terms, strong = well-written.

So what makes a well written character?

Let’s look at that example now.

Disney… Sisters… Eldest sings a famous song…

I’m sure you already know. It is of course…

Lilo and Nani.

…What? Who else did you think it was going to be?

Lilo and Nani are, hands-down, two of the best characters Disney has ever put out. They have interests, hobbies, and jobs. They love each other, make each other laugh, but also get on each other’s nerves. They have good qualities and they have bad qualities - and not bad as in Elsa’s ‘oh, I’m so insecure’ or Mulan’s ‘gosh, I’m so clumsy.’ They are flawed. Nani is short-tempered and irresponsible. Lilo is stubborn and violent. Yet, they’re still likeable because their situation makes it clear why they are the way they are. We can relate to them.

In short: They feel like real people.

And possibly the most important thing for any character: They drive the plot forward.

“Wait, Ashlee!” those of you who have seen the movie cry out, “What about Stitch? He’s the main character. He’s the one who drives the plot forward, surely.”

Stitch is the catalyst. The point of attack. The first plot point. The inciting incident. etc. At the start, its Stitch’s escape from the prison ship and crash landing on Hawaii that causes the plot. After that, it’s largely Lilo and Nani who control the story and the tension.

Speaking of tension…

Good characters have stakes. Raw bloody stakes!

Lilo and Nani have the most to lose. If Nani doesn’t get a job and Lilo doesn’t train the born-to-be-wild Stitch, they lose their home and each other.

To sum it up…

Character Checklist:

Vulnerable

Flawed 

Relatable 

High stakes and the ability to overcome them

Thank you for reading. Comments, criticisms, and trolls are welcome.

[urbanfantasyinspiration]

Interesting

[writerswritecompany]

Writers can use these 12 Archetypes to create characters

The 12 Common Archetypes by Carl Golden

The twelve archetypes are divided into ego types, self types, and soul types. 

1) The Four Ego Types   1. The Innocent Motto: Free to be you and me Core desire: to get to paradise Goal: to be happy Greatest fear: to be punished for doing something bad or wrong Strategy: to do things right Weakness: boring for all their naive innocence Talent: faith and optimism The Innocent is also known as: Utopian, traditionalist, naive, mystic, saint, romantic, dreamer.   2. The Orphan/Regular Guy or Gal Motto: All men and women are created equal Core Desire: connecting with others Goal: to belong Greatest fear: to be left out or to stand out from the crowd Strategy: develop ordinary solid virtues, be down to earth, the common touch Weakness: losing one’s own self in an effort to blend in or for the sake of superficial relationships Talent: realism, empathy, lack of pretence The Regular Person is also known as: The good old boy, everyman, the person next door, the realist, the working stiff, the solid citizen, the good neighbour, the silent majority.   3. The Hero Motto: Where there’s a will, there’s a way Core desire: to prove one’s worth through courageous acts Goal: expert mastery in a way that improves the world Greatest fear: weakness, vulnerability, being a “chicken” Strategy: to be as strong and competent as possible Weakness: arrogance, always needing another battle to fight Talent: competence and courage The Hero is also known as: The warrior, crusader, rescuer, superhero, the soldier, dragon slayer, the winner and the team player.   4. The Caregiver Motto: Love your neighbour as yourself Core desire: to protect and care for others Goal: to help others Greatest fear: selfishness and ingratitude Strategy: doing things for others Weakness: martyrdom and being exploited Talent: compassion, generosity The Caregiver is also known as: The saint, altruist, parent, helper, supporter.   2) The Four Soul Types           5. The Explorer Motto: Don’t fence me in Core desire: the freedom to find out who you are through exploring the world Goal: to experience a better, more authentic, more fulfilling life Biggest fear: getting trapped, conformity, and inner emptiness Strategy: journey, seeking out and experiencing new things, escape from boredom Weakness: aimless wandering, becoming a misfit Talent: autonomy, ambition, being true to one’s soul The explorer is also known as: The seeker, iconoclast, wanderer, individualist, pilgrim.   6. The Rebel Motto: Rules are made to be broken Core desire: revenge or revolution Goal: to overturn what isn’t working Greatest fear: to be powerless or ineffectual Strategy: disrupt, destroy, or shock Weakness: crossing over to the dark side, crime Talent: outrageousness, radical freedom The Outlaw is also known as: The rebel, revolutionary, wild man, the misfit, or iconoclast.   7. The Lover Motto: You’re the only one Core desire: intimacy and experience Goal: being in a relationship with the people, work and surroundings they love Greatest fear: being alone, a wallflower, unwanted, unloved Strategy: to become more and more physically and emotionally attractive Weakness: outward-directed desire to please others at risk of losing own identity Talent: passion, gratitude, appreciation, and commitment The Lover is also known as: The partner, friend, intimate, enthusiast, sensualist, spouse, team-builder.   8. The Creator Motto: If you can imagine it, it can be done Core desire: to create things of enduring value Goal: to realize a vision Greatest fear: mediocre vision or execution Strategy: develop artistic control and skill Task: to create culture, express own vision Weakness: perfectionism, bad solutions Talent: creativity and imagination The Creator is also known as: The artist, inventor, innovator, musician, writer or dreamer.   3) The Four Self Types   9. The Jester Motto: You only live once Core desire: to live in the moment with full enjoyment Goal: to have a great time and lighten up the world Greatest fear: being bored or boring others Strategy: play, make jokes, be funny Weakness: frivolity, wasting time Talent: joy The Jester is also known as: The fool, trickster, joker, practical joker or comedian.   10. The Sage Motto: The truth will set you free Core desire: to find the truth. Goal: to use intelligence and analysis to understand the world. Biggest fear: being duped, misled—or ignorance. Strategy: seeking out information and knowledge; self-reflection and understanding thought processes. Weakness: can study details forever and never act. Talent: wisdom, intelligence. The Sage is also known as: The expert, scholar, detective, advisor, thinker, philosopher, academic, researcher, thinker, planner, professional, mentor, teacher, contemplative.   11. The Magician Motto: I make things happen. Core desire: understanding the fundamental laws of the universe Goal: to make dreams come true Greatest fear: unintended negative consequences Strategy: develop a vision and live by it Weakness: becoming manipulative Talent: finding win-win solutions The Magician is also known as: The visionary, catalyst, inventor, charismatic leader, shaman, healer, medicine man.   12. The Ruler Motto: Power isn’t everything, it’s the only thing. Core desire: control Goal: create a prosperous, successful family or community Strategy: exercise power Greatest fear: chaos, being overthrown Weakness: being authoritarian, unable to delegate Talent: responsibility, leadership The Ruler is also known as: The boss, leader, aristocrat, king, queen, politician, role model, manager or administrator.

Note: There are four cardinal orientations: freedom, social, ego, order. The types have a place on these orientations.

Article via soulcraft.co