Write wild

I write. I dream. Maybe I'm just like you. This is where I collect anything that might inspire my writing or encourage me as a writer.

[the-beauty-of-words-blog]

[writewild]

First step to creating convincing characters

A likeable character should be as real as any person in real life. Only better. That’s why we all have to pay attention to their deepest emotions and secrets in order to create beliveable, convincing and interesting characters. In my opinion, you only have to know the answer to three simple (only not) questions:

What is my character’s biggest fear?

What’s their biggest dream or aspiration?

What is their sense of morality like?

So let’s talk about each one and see if you agree with me or not. Your opinion is highly appreciated.

1. Fear

There are some people who say ‘fear is stronger than love’ which I agree with a lot, especially in literature. Fear is one of the strongest emotions a human being – or even an animal – can feel and depending on what your biggest fear is it can shape your whole personality. Everyone has something that they’re terrified of; loneliness, loss of power, loss of freedom, being forgotten etc. That fear will influence your actions. Whenever you’re facing an important decision you will instinctively choose something that will drive you farther away from any possibility of your ‘fear’ happening.

So, first of all, think about what your character’s biggest fear might be. If you’re having trouble finding that out, think about the way he/she was brought up – what could have triggered a particular fear?

You can also try and think about other famous characters and observe what their fears are and how they act accordingly. Voldemort’s (from Harry Potter) every action was basically determined out of his fear of dying and being ‘average’. Katniss’ (from The Hunger Games) fear was losing her family and she was determined to do anything to save her people. And so on.

Fear is what determines many (most) actions in stories. As soon as you figure out what your character’s biggest fear is, you’ll be able to understand him/her better.

2. Dreams and Aspirations

In every storyline characters are either trying to escape whatever their fear is from happening (for example: losing their family) or trying to make their dream come true (example: becoming rich and powerful). There must be either the chase of a dream or the flight from some fear for a story to be interesting. If your character’s just sitting around thinking about life he’s probably thinking about some dream or fear as well. There’s no escape: you have to know what your character’s dream is.

Figure out what your character’s aspirations are and you will know their motivations. This way you’ll know how he/she reacts according to different situations.

3. Moral sense

If you’re vegetarian, love animals and are against animal curelty, you won’t ever participate in anything that causes animals harm. And if you do, it’s because you’re very desperate and have no other choice. Someone’s sense of right and wrong is very personal and has been taught or learned throughout their life. It’s extremely difficult for anyone to do something that goes beyond their moral sense.  

Try to think about what your character would see as right or wrong and stick to it. His personality needs to make sense and be consistent – he can learn new views and ideas and he can shape his opinions during the story but at least in the beginning his point of view should be consistent.

As soon as you’ve figured these three points out you will understand your character much better and it will be easier for you to know how he/she reacts during any kind of situation.

—

Do you agree? What else do you think is important to create an interesting character?

[rustandruin]

I needed this.

[writewild]

Eliminate frequently repeated words

When you’re writing your first draft it’s not always easy to notice how many times you have already used a particular word. Especially when it comes to body language, we often use the same words over and over - like “he shrugged”, “he lifted his eyebrows”, “she rolled her eyes”, “she furrowed her brows”. 

Other words that might show up too often: “suddenly”, “very/really”, “probably” and so on.

Revising tip: Sit down and create a list with synonyms or similar expressions that you could use instead of your “favorite” words. 

While revising, you can easily use CTRL + F to locate a particular word you know you have used too frequently. Switch the word with one of the synonyms you listed, or change the expression. You obviously don’t have to switch the word every time, just observe how many times you have actually used it and if it’s too often, try to change it or change the whole sentence. 

Some books do have the same expressions many, many times and it can become a bit irritating, so revising your frequently repeated words will definitely improve your writing a lot. 

[agentthao-deactivated20200806]

Writing Diversity is Not Easy, But Don’t Hide From It

The topic of problematic writing has been a reoccurring one and I just wanted to address my thoughts on it, particularly regarding white, straight, able-bodied writers who try to include diversity in their stories. 

To those writers (the ones who are cis, white, maybe even male), I know writing diversity is not easy when you have not experienced it. I can’t tell you how often I have white male writers approach me at conferences and tell me they want to include strong females or strong POC in their stories, but they don’t know how. And when they do, they tell me they are afraid of the backlash for not getting it right. But I think it is important that people keep trying. I think it’s okay to fumble a little. I think it is important to learn why others are finding certain writing problematic. 

My advice to writers who have gotten backlash for trying: 1) DON’T GIVE UP. Don’t quit. Don’t stop trying. 2) Don’t get defensive about it. Listen to the reasons why people are finding your work problematic. 3) Research on how to address those problematic things. Look at how diverse creators address the same issues. Talk to people. Empathize and evolve. I think if writers do this, the world WILL change. 

So don’t allow fear of getting flamed by the internet prevent you from writing inclusively. It’s the internet. People get flamed for preferring strawberry milk over chocolate milk. Being a writer already involves thick skin, so just add this to your list. Write respectfully, write inclusively. When in doubt, reach out to your diverse peers. I’ve never seen a more supportive and helpful group of people than writers. I’m positive someone out there will be happy to help you find ways to add more diversity in your stories. Don’t make excuses.

[young-bookish-and-black]

Microaggressions in Fiction

When authors write about experiences that are not their own, particularly when these experiences involve a marginalized community, they may feel apprehensive, afraid, or anxious about the backlash they might receive if they do something wrong, which there is a 99.9% chance that they will. Here, I will outline some microaggressions that I notice when reading, each relating to anti-blackness and misogyny (as well as misogynoir, which is a combination of the two), as those are microaggressions that I face myself. If anybody has anymore to add, or would like to add some not related to anti-blackness or misogyny, feel free!

1. Comparing our skin to food. (coffee, toffee, caramel, chocolate, etc.)

2. Getting AAVE wrong. My degree is in linguistics, and although I am by no means an expert, I do speak a variant of that particular dialect, and can discern when it is being used improperly. Perceptions of Black English speech patterns are very racialized and politicized, and it annoys me when someone (probably white lbr) throws words that they’ve heard Black people say into a sentence without considering if this would be generated by the grammar of that dialect. If you have questions regarding a particular dialect, speak to someone who speaks it. Say your dialogue out loud to them and ask if that sounds grammatical.

3. The “Black Girl Best Friend” trope. We are not born sidekicks. We are not all sassy walking stereotypes. Some of us do embody stereotypes about Black women, and that’s perfectly fine! But do not stuff your Black girl character with stereotypes and call them character traits. Additionally, do not write your Black Girl Best Friend characters so that she is only there to uphold your white protagonist and step in when they need her. (Think Bonnie from The Vampire Diaries)

4. Hypermasculine, hypersexual Black men characters. Just don’t do it. This stereotype is harmful and contributes to a wider fear and distrust of Black men and black bodies.

5. The Magical Negro. We are not here to provide your protagonist with sage wisdom or solemn advice 

6. Colorism/”Palatable Blackness,” LISTEN. If your Black characters all look like Zendaya or Jesse Williams and have curly or wavy, rather than kinky hair? You might wanna consider the colorism ingrained in that choice, fam.

7. Not knowing how kinky hair behaves. This is related, kind of, to the above. Watch some natural hair videos or summn before deciding what hairstyle you want your black character to have, because kinky and coily hair behaves VERY differently from straight and wavy hair, and that should be considered when writing scenes.

[writewild]

This is great, I notice that a lot now in books I read. Where I come from (Brazil) descriptions of skin color are often like this, like “her skin was the color of cinnamon”, even some of the most popular books have these descriptions (Jorge Amado’s Gabriela for example). It feels awkward reading it and also objectifying because it always comes down to looking “exotic” or “delicious” or whatever. And stereotypes can be really hurtful and offensive, so any decent writer should stay away from it. If a book contains such stereotypes it only shows how lazy the author was while writing it.

Here is an article about describing characters of color that has many comments from writers, including POC, showing examples of their character description (also kinky hair and such). This doesn’t mean that all of those descriptions are “right”, but it might give a bit of a clue to other writers.

[writewild]

Unblocking your creativity

Hi everyone! I haven’t been active on here for a while but I hope to be able to post more now! 

I wanted to share something that might help others who are struggling with writing their book.

I finished writing the first draft of my novel last week (YAY still can’t believe it) and I managed to do that in three months. This sounds crazy to me because I got the idea for this novel in 2010 and have been trying to write it for years without success. So what helped me eventually?

Last year I read a few answers on Goodreads from the author Mark Lawrence. One fan asked him what happened with character X after the ending of one of his books, to which Lawrence replied something like: “I don’t know, I would have to write it to know what happened.” In another similar question, Lawrence said “I write like a reader. I don’t know what will happen unless I write.”

What Lawrence said wasn’t even a direct writing advice, it was actually only a reply to a fan. But never have I ever read something that helped me so much. I thought about this a bit and then decided to simply do the same - I stopped planning and started writing. 

I noticed that by outlining and planning my whole plot I was blocking my creativity and it took away all the fun of writing. 

So I followed that "advice" - I jumped into my story, not knowing what would happen. I had to write to figure out what would happen next (hence the "write like a reader" thing). Unless I wrote, I couldn't know what my character would do next because I stopped outlining everything excessively. Sure, a few things that would happen right after the scene I was writing I’d put on a note (I used Evernote) but nothing major. This sounded crazy to me at first because I thought I had to outline everything in order to write a logical book, but instead it really pushed my creativity. This was what really motivated me to write every single day because I was so excited and eager to find out what would happen next.

So maybe this is something you already do - but if not, I’d really recommend trying it. It’s really such a simple thing but it changed everything for me. It was so much fun and most surprisingly things fell into place almost as if I had planned it from the beginning.

Happy writing!

*credit for the picture above: Turan Ertekin 

[moeszyslakofficial-deactivated2]

no offense but if your writing is so dense and pretentious and superfluously flowery and confusing in its wording that more effort is spent in literally understanding what you’re trying to say than analyzing what you mean, it’s bad writing. half of academia is just bad writing

[writewild]

[writewild]

Writing advice from self-published author, Josiah Bancroft

Four pieces of writing advice from Josiah Bancroft, self-published author of “The Books of Babel” which was picked up by Orbit and is being re-released in 2018.

“Here are the four things I try to remember: 1. Don’t talk about your ideas or intentions. It’s normal to get excited about a personal goal. It’s also normal for writers to think about their current projects compulsively. So, it’s only natural for us to want to talk about our ideas and current projects. We want to share our passion and excitement, and we want someone to validate those feelings. But by receiving this premature validation, we erode the motivation that we need to do the work. We are less likely to finish something if we talk about too much. Productive writers are often secretive about what they’re working on because they don’t want to lose the drive to finish it. They’ve learned to take validation from doing the work rather than talking about it. 2. Reading will teach you everything you need to know about writing if you read broadly and carefully. Workshops, conferences, creative writing programs, and writers’ residencies are primarily social engagements. Writing is a lonely business, and so writers naturally look for access to a community. These interactions have an interpersonal value, but they will never teach you half as much about writing as reading will. Read classics, read your contemporaries, read outside your genre, read books that intimidate you, and read every day. Don’t be discouraged by people who brag about all the important, obscure, or difficult books they’ve read; many of them are exaggerating, anyway. Read at your own pace, but don’t stop reading. 3. Develop your own standards and define your own expectations for your work. Don’t look to your peers for validation. You can always find someone who is worse than you, and if you’ve read enough, it’s also easy to find someone who is better than you. While it’s natural to be aware of other writers’ failings and strengths, you’ll drive yourself crazy if you spend too much time measuring your work against the genius of others. Learn to appreciate your accomplishments; learn to identify your weaknesses. Neither critical acclaim nor popular reception will give you lasting self-confidence or self-knowledge. 4. Uneasiness, insecurity, and failure are essential to growth. Learning is often an uncomfortable process. It requires a lot of effort: some of it tedious, much of it discouraging. We can’t grow unless we are dissatisfied with our first efforts and our past accomplishments. We can’t grow unless we risk failure and exposure to scrutiny and criticism. It’s important to remember that failure is unavoidable. Those of us who never take risks don’t avoid failure, we just defer it to the end of our lives when we have nothing to celebrate, nothing to take pride in. That final failure is infinitely worse, not least of all because there is no opportunity for success. If you persist and if you learn from your experiences, you will eventually succeed. There are, of course, many different kind of success, and not all of them end in mansions and mobs of adoring fans. But the success that you earn by dent of diligence and sweat will be incredibly rewarding. I promise.”

[writewild]

Remind yourself: you are in control. It’s up to you and no one else to write this story. If nothing else is under your control in your life, writing is. One word after another. Just the way you want to. The only thing that matters is that you like what you’re writing. So remember that. This is your story and you are in control of it. Isn’t that amazing? So why would even worry? Just write.

[soracities]

Every book is for someone. The act of writing may be solitary, but it is always a reach toward another person – a single person – since every book is read alone. The writer does not know for whom she writes. The reader’s face is invisible, and yet, every sentence inscribed on a page represents a bid for contact and a hope for understanding.

Siri Hustvedt, from the Author’s Note, in Living, Thinking, Looking (via queerpyracy)

[fyp-psychology]

In general, people are not drawn to perfection in others. People are drawn to shared interests, shared problems, and an individual’s life energy. Humans connect with humans. Hiding one’s humanity and trying to project an image of perfection makes a person vague, slippery, lifeless, and uninteresting.

Robert Glover, No More Mr. Nice Guy: A Proven Plan for Getting What You Want in Love, Sex, and Life (via unmaiden)

[bookgeekgrrl]

I feel very strongly that if historical romance can give women a happy ending, it can give queer people a happy ending. M/f historical romance doesn’t tie itself in knots over the likelihood of the rake having syphilis, the terrible dentistry, the lice, the prolapsed uterus after multiple pregnancies, the prospect of death in childbed, or the horrifying legal discrimination against married women. We don’t close the book on the wedding scene reflecting that the heroine can now be legally raped, has just lost all her property to her husband…and would be vanishingly unlikely to obtain a divorce. Historical romance readers aren’t stupid; we know this stuff, but we choose to believe our heroine will be one of the lucky ones. And I don’t see why we can’t extend that happy glow to other stories, too. If women’s lives don’t have to be blighted by social oppression in romance, neither do those of people of color or queer people. Moreover, human nature doesn’t change. A lot of what we read about LGBT people in history is appalling because the rec­ords we have are the legal documents, the newspaper reports, the accounts of people who were victimized. We don’t generally have the hidden stories of the people who lived under the radar…. But we know…people we’d now call gay, bi, trans have always existed and [that] as a matter of statistics plenty of them must have lived and died without ever coming to the law’s attention. Which is not to hand-wave the horrors of the past but only to say that horror isn’t the only story, and it’s not an acceptable reason to deny marginalized people their happy-ever-after.

KJ Charles (Library Journal interview)  (via bookgeekgrrl)

[talesofpassingtime]

A classic novel isn’t good because it’s a classic, rather it is a classic because it was important to the development of the art. And that certainly doesn’t mean that any given person, on any given day, will enjoy reading it. It means that, as a writer, I should be aware of what the classic novel changed in the historical progression of novel story telling. Some classics are pretty terrible, even unreadable, but they are still important.

[urbanspaceman-deactivated201908]

Franz Kafka, on writing…..

[bonearenaofmyskull]

@pka42 

Tag yourself, I’m March 11.  XD

[becauseiamawoman-deactivated202]

For many of these women, the reading experience begins from a place of seething rage. Take Sara Marcus’ initial impression of Jack Kerouac: “I remember putting On the Road down the first time a woman was mentioned. I was just like: ‘Fuck. You.’ I was probably 15 or 16. And over the coming years I realized that it was this canonical work, so I tried to return to it, but every time I was just like, ‘Fuck you.’” Tortorici had a similarly visceral reaction to Charles Bukowski: “I will never forget reading Bukowski’s Post Office and feeling so horrible, the way that the narrator describes the thickness of ugly women’s legs. I think it was the first time I felt like a book that I was trying to identify with rejected me. Though I did absorb it, and of course it made me hate my body or whatever.” Emily Witt turned to masculine texts to access a sexual language that was absent from books about women, but found herself turned off by their take: “many of the great classic coming-of-age novels about the female experience don’t openly discuss sex,” she says in No Regrets. “I read the ones by men instead, until I was like, ‘I cannot read another passage about masturbation. I can’t. It was like a pile of Kleenex.” This isn’t just about the books. When young women read the hyper-masculine literary canon—what Emily Gould calls the “midcentury misogynists,” staffed with the likes of Roth, Mailer, and Miller—their discomfort is punctuated by the knowledge that their male peers are reading these books, identifying with them, and acting out their perspectives and narratives. These writers are celebrated by the society that we live in, even the one who stabbed his wife. In No Regrets, Elif Batuman talks about reading Henry Miller for the first time because she had a “serious crush” on a guy who said his were “the best books ever,” and that guy’s real-life recommendation exacerbated her distaste for the fictional. When she read Miller, “I felt so alienated by the books, and then thinking about this guy, and it was so hot and summertime … I just wanted to kill myself. … He compared women to soup.”

In No Regrets, women writers talk about what it was like to read literature’s “midcentury misogynists.” (via becauseiamawoman)