This is all forms of collaboration
wallacepolsom
Peter Solarz
$LAYYYTER
we're not kids anymore.
Fai_Ryy

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Kaledo Art

oozey mess

titsay

Kiana Khansmith

Andulka
Xuebing Du

Product Placement

Janaina Medeiros

izzy's playlists!

@theartofmadeline
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ellievsbear

★
NASA

seen from United States

seen from France
seen from Germany

seen from Ecuador
seen from Spain

seen from Austria
seen from Ukraine
seen from Ukraine
seen from United States

seen from Türkiye
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from United States
seen from United States

seen from United States
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seen from United States
seen from United States
@writersgalore
This is all forms of collaboration
20 Basic Plots
1. QUEST - the plot involves the Protagonist’s search for a person, place or thing, tangible or intangible (but must be quantifiable, so think of this as a noun; i.e., immortality).
2. ADVENTURE - this plot involves the Protagonist going in search of their fortune, and since fortune is never found at home, the Protagonist goes to search for it somewhere over the rainbow.
3. PURSUIT - this plot literally involves hide-and-seek, one person chasing another.
4. RESCUE - this plot involves the Protagonist searching for someone or something, usually consisting of three main characters - the Protagonist, the Victim & the Antagonist.
5. ESCAPE - plot involves a Protagonist confined against their will who wants to escape (does not include some one trying to escape their personal demons).
6. REVENGE - retaliation by Protagonist or Antagonist against the other for real or imagined injury.
7. THE RIDDLE - plot involves the Protagonist’s search for clues to find the hidden meaning of something in question that is deliberately enigmatic or ambiguous.
8. RIVALRY - plot involves Protagonist competing for same object or goal as another person (their rival).
9. UNDERDOG - plot involves a Protagonist competing for an object or goal that is at a great disadvantage and is faced with overwhelming odds.
10. TEMPTATION - plot involves a Protagonist that for one reason or another is induced or persuaded to do something that is unwise, wrong or immoral.
11. METAMORPHOSIS - this plot involves the physical characteristics of the Protagonist actually changing from one form to another (reflecting their inner psychological identity).
12. TRANSFORMATION - plot involves the process of change in the Protagonist as they journey through a stage of life that moves them from one significant character state to another.
13. MATURATION - plot involves the Protagonist facing a problem that is part of growing up, and from dealing with it, emerging into a state of adulthood (going from innocence to experience).
14. LOVE - plot involves the Protagonist overcoming the obstacles to love that keeps them from consummating (engaging in) true love.
15. FORBIDDEN LOVE - plot involves Protagonist(s) overcoming obstacles created by social mores and taboos to consummate their relationship (and sometimes finding it at too high a price to live with).
16. SACRIFICE - plot involves the Protagonist taking action(s) that is motivated by a higher purpose (concept) such as love, honor, charity or for the sake of humanity.
17. DISCOVERY - plot that is the most character-centered of all, involves the Protagonist having to overcome an upheavel(s) in their life, and thereby discovering something important (and buried) within them a better understanding of life (i.e., better appreciation of their life, a clearer purpose in their life, etc.)
18. WRETCHED EXCESS - plot involves a Protagonist who, either by choice or by accident, pushes the limits of acceptable behavior to the extreme and is forced to deal with the consequences (generally deals with the psychological decline of the character).
19. ASCENSION - rags-to-riches plot deals with the rise (success) of Protagonist due to a dominating character trait that helps them to succeed.
20. DECISION - riches-to-rags plot deals with the fall (destruction) of Protagonist due to dominating character trait that eventually destroys their success.
by Pavel Simakov
Color Synonyms
—– source: http://ingridsundberg.com/
—– additional synonyms added by me : @damselwrites
This is a living document and will be updated whenever I think of new words.
Keep reading
What To Cut Out Of Your Story
This kind of ties in with one of my previous posts, called Step-By-Step Plan: Editing Your Own Writing, which I highly recommend you check out:) I didn’t touch on this subject in that post, so I decided to make it a post of its own, also inspired by the questions regarding this subject.
Here is a small checklist for what you should NOT keep in your final draft, and how to fix them and improve them if you find them absolutely necessary.
Adjectives and verbs that repeat too often. Like, more than twice in one paragraph. Use synonyms to substitute for those repetitive words instead. You can find a whole post about synonyms for words commonly overused by writers here.
Pieces of information that will create plot holes. Perhaps you thought they would act as a nice bit of foreshadowing, or help the reader along to the conclusion, but now they make no sense because things in a story can change and those bits can escape your attention. Scan your draft and make sure that those pieces of information or suggestive dialogue are removed to prevent the complaint from your readers that there are a bunch of plot holes.
Pieces of information that may be untrue. If your story includes facts or conclusions that aren’t supported by real facts, {this excludes the sci-fi/fiction genre mostly} for instance, your character states that George Washington had 82 teacup chihuahuas, make sure that fact is true unless it serves some sort of purpose. Long story short, get your facts straight. Readers are good detectives and Google is their weapon.
Details that serve no purpose, bulk up the narrative, and lose the reader. If you describe the two main characters holding hands for 2 whole pages, you’re going to lose the reader. Condense it and replace that space with something that serves the plot and peaks the reader’s interest.
Cringeworthy lines and dialogue. There’s a book I absolutely hate, where the main character says something along the lines of “If there was an Olympic competition in hair, he would be the winner” and that is just so cringeworthy and embarrassing so please remove that. It’s not relatable and it isn’t cute. It’s laughably embarrassing for those reading it.
Lines that don’t fit the character’s voice or the tone of the story. Sure, characters grow and change through out their stories, but there is always some form of consistency in their personalities and everything they say/do should somehow be believable to the reader.
Request a prompt list/writing advice/playlist/study help post here
Art Blog || Studyblr || Studygram || Instagram || Twitter
This is a great post, but the first point shouldn’t be too stressed. Twice in a single paragraph isn’t so bad, unless it’s a very flamboyant word like, well, flamboyant. Once in every sentence of a single paragraph is definitely when you should consider rewording the sentences, or consider substituting the repeated word with a synonym. But, most importantly:
Make sure you know the definitions of the synonyms you are using. If you read back over your draft and see a synonym that you have taken from the thesaurus and think to yourself: “Wait, what does that word mean again?” I recommend taking it out. If you cannot recall the definition, it is likely that not many of your readers will know what it means, either.
Read the definition of the word carefully. While it may be the synonym of the word you are trying to replace, it could have a slightly different meaning. For example, exasperate means: to irritate intensely; infuriate, while its synonym antagonise means: to cause (someone) to become hostile. The meanings may seem the same, but irritate means: to make (someone) annoyed or a little angry, while hostile means: showing or feeling opposition or dislike; unfriendly. So, be careful when choosing your synonyms!
To end this, my favourite example of how repetition of a word in certain circumstances isn’t so bad comes from The Writer’s Art (1985):
100 one word writing prompts
Pick three (Or however many) And write!
1. Abilities
2. Arson
3. Agility
4. Adapt
5. Bright
6. Believe
7. Birthday
8. Bleed
9. Cabbage
10. Caught
11. Caper
12. Cave
13. Celestial
14. Danger
15. Distrust
16. Drown
17. Dagger
18. Echo
19. Elegant
20. Electricity
21. Embers
22. Frighten
23. Feral
24. Family
25. Forrest
26. Freedom
27. Greed
28. Grime
29. Gathering
30. Glitter
31. Hope
32. Hammock
33. Harp
34. Hatred
35. Invisible
36. Icing
37. Immune
38. Infant
39. Joke
40. Justified
41. Jellyfish
42. Jump
43. Kingdom
44. Kindness
45. Killer
46. Kleptomania
47. Lost
48. Law
49. Lonely
50. Liquid
51. Myth
52. Magic
53. Marble
54. Molten
55. Nightmare
56. Ninja
57. North
58. Neptune
59. Orange
60. Overlord
61. Overbearing
62. Onion
63. Pigeon
64. Pie
65. Pointless
66. Politics
67. Quiet
68. Quip
69. Quiver
70. Quill
71. Quake
72. Rusted
73. Revenge
74. Rome
75. River
76. Stalled
77. Skies
78. Silence
79. Sword
80. Scream
81. Trust
82. Traveler
83. Time
84. Team
85. Underneath
86. Unicorn
87. Unplug
88. Universe
89. Volcanic
90. Violin
91. Vault
92. Valley
93. Wave
94. Whimper
95. Wild
96. War
97. Zipper
98. Zoology
99. Zombie
100. Zone
101 Writing Prompts
1. “I didn’t know you two were related.” “We didn’t either.”
2. “I’m not saying I’m gay, but I would be if they were asking.”
3. “I’ve tried my hardest to fall for you, but it’ll always be them.”
4. “I don’t think anyone’s ever said that to me before.”
5. “I didn’t even want to come to this party. You lied to me about the pinata.”
6. “Spin the bottle is such a cliché. I’m in.”
7. “I have to go in there with you? I didn’t sign up to play 7 minutes in hell .”
8. “That’s not how you pronounce my name and I’m not even sure you tried.”
9. “Are you new here?” “We’ve been in the same math class for six years.”
10. “You really shouldn’t touch that… I told you.”
11. “I recognise you. Do you have a dog.”
12. “ You’ve never seen Harry Potter? ”
13. “Can’t we just lay here for a minute?”
14. “We have to stop running into each other like this.”
15. “Is it weird if I say that your dad’s really hot?” 16. “I know it’s 2am but can we meet up?”
17. “I don’t know how we ended up sleeping together but I know I’m mad about it.”
18. “Whatever you do, just don’t tell anybody!”
19. “I don’t come here often, it brings back unwanted memories.”
20. “They told me I’d forget about you; that I’d move on but it’s been three years and here I am.”
21. “I’ve waited so long for this moment, but now it’s here I don’t know how to feel.”
22. “You can’t just say that and then disappear!”
23. “I always hear my neighbour playing this beautiful music, but I’ve never actually met them.”
24. “Would it be alright if I pet your dog?”
25. “I’m so sorry to bother you this late but an owl got in my house and I have no idea how to get it out.”
26. “We can’t call the police! They’ll never believe us!”
27. “Why are you buying plane tickets? Are you leaving?”
28. “I swear I’ve seen them before in a dream.”
29. “I don’t want to be your partner either but we have to get this assignment done.”
30. “I never hated you, you just make me feel things I don’t understand.”
31. “It’s your fault, and I don’t think this is something you can fix.”
32. “This isn’t easy for me either.”
33. “I would never do this to you if I didn’t have to. You know that, right?”
34. “Can you at least promise me that?” “I don’t think I can, not this time.”
35. “I’m sorry but it’s very hard to focus when you’re dressed like that.”
36. “On a scale of 1 to 10, how hard to you want me to hit you?”
37. “I’d be scared if I were you.”
38. “You can’t go in there alone .”
39. “This seems like a lot of effort to go to for a mediocre joke.”
40. “Delete that picture right now or Mr.Snuggles gets it!”
41. “You didn’t go through my photos did you?!”
42. “Uhhh, I went through your photos and I have some questions.”
43. “I swear to god, if you tag me in one more bad meme I’ll make you regret it.”
44. “I really want to kiss you right now. I know I shouldn’t, and somehow that makes me want it more.”
45. “You have individual ringtones for everyone? What’s mine?”
46. “ Why wouldn’t you lock the door? ”
47. “Did you know kissing burns calories?” “I’m happy with my weight, thanks.”
48. “Your bad pickup lines aren’t cute, they’re just bad.”
49. “I’ll give you fifty bucks if I can take you to Christmas dinner and tell my family we’re together. They always ask if I’m dating and I can’t have that conversation again.”
50. “I don’t think you’re ever too old for trick-or-treating.”
51. “We’re dressing up for Halloween this year and that’s final.”
52. “I forgot what we were fighting about in the first place.” “I didn’t.”
53. “Fuck you.” “Not with that attitude.”
54. “90% of people admit to having at least a slight bondage kink, and 10% are lying about it.”
55. “I don’t understand why you won’t just use a map on your phone.”
56. “You know my house has a door? You don’t always have to use the window.”
57. “The truth is, my friends dared me to ask you out, but I’m really glad they did.”
58. “You know, I was joking in that birthday card when I said I’d help you hide a body.”
59. “Can we please turn off this song.” “But it’s a masterpiece .”
60. “I’ve known you for two years and I think I’ve been saying your name wrong the whole time.”
61. “Wow, you really are blind!” “Thanks for the update, can I have my glasses back now?”
62. “It might be petty but you borrowed my pencil three weeks ago and I’m gonna need it back.”
63. “I think they have a crush on you, which sucks because I’m kinda into them.”
64. “Just go and talk to them, they dont bite!” “What if biting turns me on? If they dont do it then what’s the point?”
65. “You can’t say that in front of children!”
67. “Seven years old is practically an adult.”
68. “Dude I ordered this on eBay and you have to see what they sent me.”
69. “I didn’t realise it meant so much to you.”
70. “I wish I was sorry, but I don’t regret any of it.”
71. “My friend thinks you’re cute, personally I don’t get it but this isn’t about me right now.”
72. “Not everything is about you!” “Untrue.”
73. “You can pry it from my cold, dead hands.”
74. “This is why I hate family dinners! It always gets awkward.”
75. “This can only end two ways and neither of them are pretty.”
76. “Not everything can be butterflies and rainbows! Things get hard sometimes, that’s just how it is!”
77. “My mom told me I shouldn’t talk to strangers, and you’re definitely strange.”
78. “I can’t believe you fell asleep when I was showing you my favourite movie of all time.”
79. “You shouldn’t be out here alone, it’s dangerous.”
80. “I could lie here with you forever. I wish I didnt have to leave.”
81. “Everything’s changing and I hate it! I liked the way things were.”
82. “You look so incredible, if that didn’t look so good on you I’d probably tear it off.”
83. “Do you think they noticed that we left?”
84. “The funny thing is, you could have fixed this and you didn’t even try.”
85. “Did it hurt when you fell from heaven? I’m only asking because it hurt when I did and I thought I might have done it wrong.”
86. “That was super cheesy and I’m lactose intolerant.”
87. “You didn’t tell me you were gay!” “You didn’t tell me you weren’t.”
88. “Your friend told me you had a crush on me, I just wanted to let you know your friend is a snake.”
89. “Are you staring at me or are you staring past me?”
90. “If you we’re a guy/girl would you go out with me?” “I am a guy/girl.”
91. “Sounds stupid. When are we doing it?”
92. “Can we tell my parents that I’m at your house, just incase they get suspicious?”
93. “This is the part in the movie where we kiss or one of us dies. My fingers are crossed for option one.” “Speak for yourself.”
94. “I’m offended that you don’t have more faith in me but, honestly, it’s understandable given past experience.”
95. “Its just a blind date! What’s the worst that could happen?” “I could literally die.”
96. “I would light myself on fire to keep you warm and you wouldn’t even hand me a coat if I were freezing.”
97. “I trusted you, and so I guess I should have seen this coming.”
98. “I had a really weird sex dream about you and I’m not sure how I feel about it, honestly.”
99. “Okay, but this is the last time I bail you out!”
100. “All I know is that if you don’t tell me to stop I’m going to kiss you.”
101. “I’m not sure when it happened, but I fell in love with you, and it was the best thing I’ve ever done.”
@serceleste
Okay, I’m feeling crappy, so let’s do this. Writing fun things will make me feel better, so help me out and send me a number and a ship! :D
Writing advice you're not going to like.
People sometimes send me Asks wanting writing advice. I suck at it. I don’t really know how I do the writing, or how one should do the writing, or what one should do to get better at the writing. All I can ever think to say is “write a lot of stuff and you will get better at the writing.” Which is true, but hardly a bolt from the sky.
Well, as it turns out, I do have one piece of Legit Writing Advice, and I am going to share it with you, right now. If you were in any of my writing workshop groups at a con, you’ve heard this advice already.
Warning: you’re going to fucking hate it. But if you do it, you will thank me.
If you have a piece of fiction you’re serious about, something you might want to actually shop around, or just something you really are into and want to make it as good as you can…do NOT edit it.
Repeat. DO NOT EDIT.
REWRITE.
As in, print out the whole fucking thing and re-enter it, every word (or use two screens). Retype the whole thing. Recreate it from the ground up using your first draft as a template. Start with a blank page and re-enter every. single. word.
I hear you screaming. OH MY GOD THAT’S INSANE.
Yes. Yes, it is.
It is also the most powerful thing you will ever do for a piece of fiction that you are serious about.
Now, let’s get real. I don’t do this for most things. I don’t do it for my fanfiction. But if it’s something original, something I might like to get to a professional level - I do it. You absolutely COULD do it for fanfiction. It’s just up to you and how much time you want to sink into a piece.
You can edit, sure. But you WILL NOT get down to the level of change that needs to happen in a second draft. You will let things slide. Your eyes will miss things. You will say “eh, good enough.”
The first time I did this, on someone else’s advice, I was dubious. Within two pages, I was saying WHY HAVE I NOT BEEN DOING THIS ALL THE TIME. I was amazed at how much change was happening. By the time I got to the end, I had an entirely different novel than the one I’d started with. When you’re already re-entering every single word, it’s easy to make deep changes. You’ll reformat sentences, you’ll switch phrases around, you’ll massage your word choice. You’ll discover whole paragraphs that don’t need to be there at all because they became redundant. You’ll find dialogue exchanges that need reimagining. Whole plot points will suddenly be different, whole story arcs will reveal their flaws and get re-drawn.
You cannot get down to the fundamental level of change that’s required just by editing an existing document. You have to rebuild it if you really want your story to evolve. You will be AMAZED at the difference it will make.
It will take time. It will seem like a huge, Herculean task. I’m not saying it’s easy. It isn’t. But it is absolutely revolutionary.
Try it. I promise, you will see what I mean.
*PSA: Tipsy!Lori wrote this post. In case you couldn’t tell.
some fucking resources for all ur writing fuckin needs
body language masterlist
a translator that doesn’t eat ass like google translate does
a reverse dictionary for when ur brain freezes
550 words to say instead of fuckin said
638 character traits for when ur brain freezes again
some more body language help
REBLOG TO SAVE A WRITER
The redirect to these links aren’t working, so here they are for your convenience.
http://translation.babylon-software.com/
http://www.bryndonovan.com/2015/04/10/master-list-of-gestures-and-body-language-for-writers/
http://www.onelook.com/reverse-dictionary
https://owlcation.com/humanities/400-Alternative-words-for-said (The article says 550 words)
http://ideonomy.mit.edu/essays/traits.html
https://writerswrite.co.za/cheat-sheets-for-writing-body-language/
A Quick Tip for Controlling Pacing
Short sentences speed up the action. They pack punch. They also draw focus to each event. Subject. Verb. Like a camera zoomed in close. Slow-motion shots. Good for fights and epic chase scenes. Don’t fear using sentence fragments. But don’t use it for everything. It can get exhausting for the reader.
Long, complex sentences slow down the action and can create suspense and tension. Imagine them like twisting corridors and long, slow camera pans following the action from beginning to end, moving smoothly from one image to the next without lingering too long over anything in particular. Whole years can pass in the duration of a long sentence; imagine them like those panoramic establishing shots where one season fades slowly into the next. Embrace semicolons; do not shy away from complicated sentence structure from time to time as necessary. But, like all things, practice them in moderation. Long sentences can slow the reader down too much, leading to boredom; they may wander away from the page.
Common Phrases Correctly
Oh thank the gods
You could always nip it in the butt too if that makes you happy.
Writing Tip
because I see this everywhere and most people don’t know about it. The hyphen(-), the en-dash(–) and the em-dash(—) are three completely different things with completely different uses. If you write fanfiction, it’s likely that your readers won’t care, but if you want to submit a manuscript for publishing, you need to know the difference.
The hyphen (-) is the basic symbol you find on your keyboard, and it’s meant to only be used for hyphenated words (well-being, two-thirds).
The en-dash (–) is a slightly longer dash. It’s usually the width of an uppercase N, hence the name. You can find it by looking through the ‘insert symbol’ option in MS word or many word processors, and it is meant to be used to show a particular distance, or for intervals (May–August, 1900–1916, pages 12–22)
The em-dash (—) is what people most commonly use, but they refer to it as a hyphen. It’s the longest dash, about the size of an uppercase letter M, and you can either find it through the list of symbols in your word processor, or some word processors actually automatically transform two hyphens (–) into an em-dash (—). It is meant to be used as a break in the sentence, in a place where a comma, semicolon or colon would normally be used or as a break in dialogue. (Her niece—the daughter of her oldest sister—is the one over there.)
*All three types of dashes are normally meant to be used without any spaces on either side of the dash.
Here’s a little bit on subplots!
angry sexual tension starters
a continuation of this meme: ( x ). as requested by anon. warning: these can be a bit crude.
“If you keep talking, I have no idea what I’ll do to you.”
“Unclench your fist unless it’s going up my ass.”
“Complain that you’re cold again and I’ll make sure you feel heated.”
“It’s two AM! You better be here for a booty call.”
“What is with you?! Stop leaning in so close to me!”
“NO ONE TELLS ME WHAT TO DO UNLESS WE’RE IN BED.”
“You better shut up, or I’ll do it for you.”
“I fucking hate you! Stop looking at me all sexy.”
“Let go of my shirt, unless you plan on ripping it off.”
“Kiss my ass.” / “Suck my ass.”
“Fight me! With your mouth! On my mouth!”
“If you turn your back on me again, you better be bending over.”
“Oh, so you wanna wrestle? Take your clothes off then!”
“You say ‘I hate you’, but all I hear is ‘fuck me’.”
“Stop cleaning already! There are better things for you to do on your knees.”
“You think you’re the boss of me just because you’re hot?!”
“You can take your middle finger and shove it up my ass.”
“If you keep yelling at me, I’m going to have to punish you.”
“Why’d you push me up against the wall?!”
“I can’t STAND when you look at me with those long eyelashes.”
“Stop biting your lip and bite me instead!”
“Quit saying you’re bored, or I’ll find a way to entertain you.”
Writing Character Arcs
Post suggested by @amethystvalkyrie.
Let’s get this out straight away: You cannot disregard character arcs. The way you can think of character arcs is that readers usually come for the plot but stay for the character because you can have a kick ass plot but if the characters don’t have depth and don’t grow or change throughout, then the readers can’t connect to the story. Readers need to care about the character to care about what they are going through and the best way to do this is through their arc. Now, though attention to character is always important, certain genres demand more than others just like certain genres demand more plot than others. For example, literary, contemporary YA, and romance put more emphasis of character than more plot-driven genres like thriller, adventure, fantasy and sci fi. In any case, character arc enhances the story but it can be tricky to understand how create this arc and how to use it to better the story, so here are some tips:
Really, think of it as a curve. Okay, so maybe not a nice smooth curve, more like one with a bunch of bumps and squiggles in it. Also, the direction of this curve depends on who you want your character to become. Usually, a protagonist will arc up, starting at point where they have some personal obstacles to overcome, whether this is just a few things or a major attitude adjustment. You can also have characters that arc down and progressively get worse, like a villain or a tragic hero. The point is that as the time goes on, your characters should move on the Y axis (sorry for the math). You can actually plot it out if it helps you understand the rises and falls of your character’s arc.
Find what each character really needs to change. What is holding them back from achieving their goal? Why is it so important that they change? What would happen or who would they be if they don’t change? Alternatively, what can go wrong if they change or change for the worse? Remember that not every character arc is a positive one and sometimes readers need to see the characters fall to understand what is at stake and cheer for them more when they get back up.
Don’t make it sudden or pointless. Like anything else in your story you want to make the character’s advancement (or deterioration) have a cause and effect relationship. Something that happens in the story causes the character to have to change or at least consider how their actions are impacting others and their own life. A drunk who gets into a car accident and nearly kills their kid. A hero whose selfishness nearly causes the destruction of a village. Typically, the biggest shifts happen near the climax where the stakes are highest and the character has to make the biggest decisions.
Don’t make the character passive. Passive characters, in particular passive protagonists are unbearable. These are the ones that have the plot happen to them rather than contributing to the direction and outcome of the events. A character needs to take charge of their own destiny even if it’s a story where destiny is literally coming after them. Like I said before, some genres have more room for this than others. A high-stakes thriller that’s more plot driven has moments where the characters have to struggle to keep up with the events happening to them, but they should still be making the major decisions that ultimately lead to the conclusion. When the characters aren’t being decisive they can’t grow or change and their personal story stays flat and boring.
How It’s Said (substitutes)
In a happy way: laughed, rejoiced, giggled, joked, lilted, sang out.
In a sad way: cried, agonised, bawled, blubbered, lamented, sobbed, groaned, snivelled, wept, mourned.
In a bossy way: insisted, bossed, demanded, preached, dictated, professed, ordered.
In an angry way: raged, miffed, seethed, fumed, retorted, thundered, blurted.
In a pained way: barked, cried out, cried, screamed, jabbered, bellowed, groaned, howled, shrieked, roared, grieved, wailed, yelped.
In a frightened way: quaked, stammered, shuddered, quivered, trembled.
In an understanding way: empathised, accepted, consoled, crooned, comforted, sympathised, agreed.
In a tired way: mumbled, struggled, emitted, wearied.
In a begging way: beseeched, begged, implored, pleaded, entreated, appealed to.
In a mocking way: mocked, ridiculed, derided, hooted, japed, insulted, jeered, parodied, taunted, teased, chaffed, flouted, degraded, sneered, disdained, jibed, gibed, disparaged, belittled, decried, flouted, fleered, leered, scoffed, sniggered, swiped, scorned, repudiated, lampooned.
In a seductive way: purred, simpered, coaxed, wheedled, persuaded, baited.
As an answer: As an answer: responded, retorted, replied, rejoined, answered, acknowledged.
[Source] [[Jack Teagle]
Don’t say it was “delightful”; make us say “delightful” when we’ve read the description. –C.S. Lewis
I found this great piece of writing advice from C.S. Lewis on twitter today.(courtesy of @thatboycanteach)
I know the phrase “show don’t tell” confuses a lot of people who are new to critiquing/workshops, because all writing is telling… isn’t it?
But this is exactly what writers are talking about when they use that phrase.
This is also why, when critiquing your work, writers might tell you to remove adjectives and adverbs, or why you might hear that those two types of words are “bad writing.” It’s not that you’re never allowed to use an adjective or an adverb, but that–like Lewis says–it’s much more preferable to be terrified, than to be told something is terrifying.
Whenever you tell your reader what the characters in a story are experiencing, instead of letting your reader have an experience alongside your characters, you miss an opportunity to invite your reader into the story. If you miss too many, eventually your reader will stop waiting for their invitation and simply leave.
tips for artists and writers who cant figure out whats “missing”
rooms should be messy to some degree, lived in, and should have personality, even a clean persons room shows they lived there
clothes shouldnt look recently bought unless thats part of the story
no space is empty
no part of the body is perfect
quirks show in accessories, what pocket does the phone go in, headphones or earbuds, how are shoes laced
when was an item bought? not every item is going to be up to date and trendy. age things appropriately
skin picking, nail fidgeting, bruises, chapped lips
quality of make up/self care
waistline of pants/shorts/skirts
are nails taken care of? chewed? polished? etc
damage to objects like helmets, phone, jeans
frizzy, loose hairs
SEAMS IN CLOTHES
signs of failed ambitions/projects. did they try to start using a fitness bracelet or keep succulents?
everyday allergies