writing with your teeth

This blog provides information, advice, and resources to writers, readers, roleplayers, and other types of artists, new and experienced alike. Established June 2015.

[writingwithyourteeth]

What Does “Cutting My Posts” Mean And Why Do I Keep Seeing It On Everyone’s Rules?

So here’s the thing about threads.

If you’re using tumblr, this is how your threads are probably going to look. One person makes the starter, and the responding party reblogs it with their reply. Pretty cut and dry.

This is a little more tedious, especially if each reply is paragraphs long with icons and your mutuals have to scroll past it all every time you reblog.

So what’s the solution?

You’re gonna open up edit on that bad boy and trim down the earlier replies. It’s most common to leave only your RP partner’s latest response, along with your own new reply. That way, the thread still follows the flow of a conversation without getting all long and clunky.

“But wait, Kat!” You might be asking, “How am I going to remember what happened in each individual thread? Going back through my blog to find every single reply I’ve written seems annoying.” Well you’re absolutely right!

This is where being very thorough and rigorous about your tagging system comes in. For example, it’s very useful to tag each reply with the url of the person you’re replying to. That way when you look through the tag, you see everything you’ve written to that person right there. Giving each thread it’s own specific tag is also very useful, and makes it easy to organize your blog content.

I hope this has been helpful! Remember that the key is to be considerate of your roleplay partners, and being efficient creates less work down the road for you, too.

-Mod Kat

[libraford]

Reminder to self:

Your writing seems boring and predictable because 

You wrote it

You’ve read it like eight million times.

A person who has never read it before does not have this problem. 

[writingwithyourteeth]

5 Pieces of Advise I Would Give Myself as a Beginner Writer

Writing is Not Consistent

Sometimes, you might sit down and bang out the best 5000 words you’ve ever written, then 10,000 the next day. Other times, you might go days or weeks without writing a single sentence that you like. And while it would make life a lot easier if being a good writer meant grinding your way up from level one, it’s the nature of writing to be way more fluid than that. Don’t get down on yourself if you don’t love something you create as much as you love something you’ve done in the past.

Validation =/= Worth

There may come a time (or there has already been a time) where you get frustrated with yourself for not getting more attention for your work. Maybe you were expecting more notes or kudos. Or you saw a much more popular piece of writing with a wild huge amount of fans and wondered if you’ll ever write something people loved as much as that.

But there are an infinite amount of factors to how something gets a certain amount of popularity, and it could be that trying to pigeonhole yourself into what’s popular won’t help you like your creations any more than you did when you write what you enjoy and only get a handful of notes from a small but loyal group of friends. Not having a large fanbase doesn’t mean you aren’t working hard or that you’re not a good writer. But cherish the people who do support you.

Do What Feels Right

This directly fits into the point above.

Not all of your ideas are going to be popular, even if they’re creative or original. And it can feel a lot easier to just not walk that barrier for the sake of avoiding controversy. In certain cases, it may be because you want to avoid very real hate and intolerance for your creation. But it doesn’t do anybody any good if everyone writes the same kind of content. You have to write what speaks to you, as the author. 

That’s not to say you should never take any feedback and think through your decisions. You never know- people might have different insight than you do on what you’re writing about that you may end up finding useful. So it’s not just enough that your idea feels right to you because it’s easy to write. It should also feel right, in the sense that you’re doing something legitimately good with your creativity. Something to be proud of.

Take a Nap and Have a Snack

If you’re stuck, the hardest thing to do might be tearing yourself away from your project. But you gotta.

Take a minute to recharge. Fill your stomach so that being hungry isn’t a distraction. Take a 15-30 minute nap so that you aren’t too exhausted to think. Brainstorm in the shower. Pushing yourself can be one of the worst things to do to your imagination, and feeds into a cycle of frustration and toil. You may need to step outside that cycle to catch your breath before diving back in. Or if you really still want to write, do something silly and self-indulgent once in a while. It’s important to have fun.

Do Ya Thang

But as nice as it would be for me to say that these are the four steps to having a successful venture as a young writer here on the tumblr dot com, that can’t always be the case. I hope that giving advice to others is a useful thing to do, since that’s what this blog is all about, but these tips don’t even always work for me 100% of the time anyways. That’s what makes writing so fun and frustrating.

You could legitimately be the kind of person who only writes in top form at 2 AM in a cheetoh and red bull-fueled haze. Or my you feel like you can’t get a concept down until you talk about it with a friend and get their feedback. Advice should be helpful, suggestions can improve your progress. But the best person to tell you how to write is you, and it’s okay if it takes a while to figure out how to do that.

-Mod Kat

[endangeredslug-deactivated20170]

I wish that there wasn’t this feeling of “Haha, I suck.” Among fan fiction writers. Don’t apologize for not being able to update regularly. Don’t apologize for what happens in your life. Enjoy taking your time with things. Update when you want. Consume other works when (and while) you’re stuck. You’re not a word generating machine. You’re a person, and I am grateful that you’ve chosen to share your stories with us. Thank you.

I needed this just now thank you.

[writingwithyourteeth]

We’re still here!

We’ve all been very busy for the past few days, and understandably so! With the school year kicking off with a punch in the face, it’s hard for any of us (mods, writers, roleplayers) to be particularly active in our hobbies. 

Even so, we’re still moving forward! We’ll be primarily active on weekends, since that’s when we in the working/schooling world have the most free time. Please continue sending in questions and suggestions for topics that you’d like to see on this blog.

Thanks for understanding!

– Mod Brin

[writingwithyourteeth]

Ins and Outs of Icons

Icons are practically unique to Tumblr roleplay. I certainly didn’t know about them before I came here, and I can’t be the only person to have been utterly lost on the topic. I’m going to suggest a few generally-accepted guidelines for icons, acquiring them, and using them. 

What are icons?

Icons are small inline images, typically 100x100px in size, that are included in roleplay posts. They look something like this:

The icons you use depend on the blog you are running. If you are playing a canon character, then your icons will be icons of that character; if your character is an original, then you generally have to find a faceclaim for your character, or another character that looks like what you imagine your character to look like.

Though icons certainly aren’t a requirement, they are a fun way to break up your text and express characters’ emotions without needing to describe them — a useful thing when you’re trying to keep the action moving forward.

How do I get icons?

You make them! ...or you ask someone if they can help you make them. Many people in the roleplay community will offer you help if you ask. 

Additionally, there are tons of blogs out there dedicated to making icons of popular (or even not-so-popular) faceclaims! All you have to do is type ‘[character/actor name] icons’ into the search bar at the top and you’ll likely find something. 

What is not acceptable is going to another roleplayer’s blog and taking their icons off their blog. Unless they have given you permission to do so, most roleplayers will consider this to be theft. 

This may seem surprising and unfair, but plenty of roleplayers put lots of effort into finding images, resizing those images, editing those images, and in some cases coloring those images. Some even DRAW their own icons! Creating a single icon takes me anywhere from ten to twenty minutes, and that’s not counting all the countless hours it took me to gather the appropriate images and create the color pallets for each individual character. I wouldn’t want someone I don’t know using my icons, and neither would you — just like you wouldn’t want someone posting the exact same ideas on their blog, word for word.

The premise is simple, though. Don’t use other people’s icons without permission, and give credit where credit is due.

Where do I get the images for icons?

You should gather images from canon material. If you’re using an actor as your character’s image, you can gather screenshots from any show or movie that they’re in. For cartoons, you may be able to locate websites containing screenshots from that show — for example, you can find Avatar: the Last Airbender screenshots that are high-definition in multiple places. As for manga, you can directly screenshot the manga for your icon images.

DO NOT USE FANART IN YOUR ICONS WITHOUT PERMISSION. As tempting as it can be, especially for people who play minor characters, this is a form of art theft. Giving credit in your posts is not enough, as this still is distorting an image apart from the way the artist intended it.

You should also avoid doujinshi as a source of icon images. Though it looks like manga, doujin comics are also fanart. Using images from them in your icons is also art theft. 

Technically, making icons out of the official manga counts as art theft as well, but it’s generally accepted because everyone who has read a manga will know exactly where those images came from. 

But I don’t know how to make icons!

Ask someone!

I’m not going to try and list out ways to make icons, because everyone has different programs and operating systems. However, there are lots of methods available, so if you’re uncertain, make a general post and see what people around you do. 

Obviously there is a lot more I could talk about, but generally these are the most important things to keep in mind when thinking about icons. Hopefully you gained something from reading it!

– Mod Brin

[writingwithyourteeth]

Hi. So I've only been writing for a little bit, and my main problem is always they ending! How do you know when to stop? I always go way too far. Like. Just. How. Does. One. End. A. Story. When all stories can just go on forever?

First of all, thank you for a great question.

For me, I think an ideal ending should add a sense of closure, tying up lose ends and cutting off after everything has been said and done. In truth (and I know it’s the last thing anyone wants to hear) I think it’s a matter of practice. As you write more, you will get a better sense of what kind of writer you are and how your stories will end. You will get better the more you try. But a good rule of thumb is to keep it simple, short and sweet- it’s better to leave people wanting more than to spoil their appetites.

– Mod Kat

There’s a lot of contradictory advice about writing endings floating around out there. In truth, writing a good ending is one of the hardest things. It’s easy enough to write an interesting opening, since the main purpose of the beginning is to get the reader invested, and there are many ways to get a reader invested. On the other hand, endings determine what your reader will take away from the story. 

One of the most helpful pieces of advice I’ve heard is to start as close to the ending as you can and end as close to the beginning as you can. After a certain point, everyone knows how the story is going to end, regardless of whether they actually read to the end or not. Having too much extra material after that might throw a reader off, making them think there’s some plot twist left to uncover, when really it’s just an extended resolution. 

So, that’s my advice. Figure out where your ‘point of no return’ is — the point after which no major plot twists happen — and end your story not long after. 

– Mod Brin

Knowing when to stop is tough! One thing I always try to remember when it comes to endings is this: How do I personally want the story to end? Keep in mind that the end is one of the most crucial points of the story; it’s the last thing your audience will read and most likely the thing they’ll dwell on the most for the longest, so it’s important to plan out how you want your ending to feel and be received.

So, what do you want out of your ending? Do you want a cliffhanger that will lead right into the next story? Do you want a story frustratingly open-ended, leaving your readers in an emotional turmoil (if you’ve seen it, the movie Inception comes to mind for this)? Do you want all the strings to be tied up nice and neat, or do you want to collect some strings, but not others (be careful with this since it can come off as unfinished in a bad (sloppy / poorly written/planned) way, even if being ‘unfinished’ was your intent)?

Honestly, I feel it’s better to write too much and then cut back instead of writing too little. Write as much as you feel you can, then go back and reread it. See if you can find a place you feel the story should end, or maybe something you want it to end on. Have that one really great scene you feel is a good crescendo? Pick that and make it a goal for the story to end right after that scene. It’s also good to have a friend or someone your trust read it for you and give you feedback. Where do they feel the story could or should have ended? Do they think everything is finished, or does it read unfinished to them? Try to see if you can be there while they read it (or have them ‘liveblog’ their responses to you somehow, if possible). Are they giving you the emotional feedback you wanted, where you wanted?

If not, I’d suggest go back to the story and edit it. Keep hammering away until you feel satisfied with their reaction and your own choices.

– Mod Era

[writingwithyourteeth]

We appreciate everyone who has supported us by following us or reblogging any of our posts! Currently, our ask box is empty. This blog can only be as good as its contributions, and we can’t help you out if you don’t let us know that you need it! 

We would also love to know if there are any particular topics that you’d like to see on this blog! Even if you don’t have a specific question, please let us know if you are wondering about something or would like to read something in particular. We’ll do our best to comply.

So, do you have any suggestions?

[thecharacterchick]

Your Character’s Personality

Personality is the most important thing about your character.

So, whenever I see character sheets, most people just put a little paragraph for that section. If you’re struggling and don’t know what your character should say or do, what decisions they should make, I guarantee you that this is the problem.

You know your character’s name, age, race, sexuality, height, weight, eye color, hair color, their parents’ and siblings’ names. But these are not the things that truly matter about them.

Traits: 

pick traits that don’t necessarily go together. For example, someone who is controlling, aggressive and vain can also be generous, sensitive and soft-spoken. Characters need to have at least one flaw that really impacts how they interact with others. Positive traits can work as flaws, too. It is advised that you pick at least ten traits

people are complex, full of contradictions, and please forgive me if this makes anyone uncomfortable, but even bullies can be “nice” people. Anyone can be a “bad” person, even someone who is polite, kind, helpful or timid can also be narcissistic, annoying, inconsiderate and a liar. People are not just “evil” or “good”

Beliefs:

ideas or thoughts that your character has or thinks about the world, society, others or themselves, even without proof or evidence, or which may or may not be true. Beliefs can contradict their values, motives, self-image, etc. For example, the belief that they are an awesome and responsible person when their traits are lazy, irresponsible and shallow. Their self-image and any beliefs they have about themselves may or may not be similar/the same. They might have a poor self-image, but still believe they’re better than everybody else

Values:

what your character thinks is important. Usually influenced by beliefs, their self-image, their history, etc. Some values may contradict their beliefs, wants, traits, or even other values. For example, your character may value being respect, but one of their traits is disrespectful. It is advised you list at least two values, and know which one they value more. For example, your character values justice and family. Their sister tells them she just stole $200 from her teacher’s wallet. Do they tell on her, or do they let her keep the money: justice, or family? Either way, your character probably has some negative feelings, guilt, anger, etc., over betraying their other value

Motives:

what your character wants. It can be abstract or something tangible. For example, wanting to be adored or wanting that job to pay for their father’s medication. Motives can contradict their beliefs, traits, values, behavior, or even other motives. For example, your character may want to be a good person, but their traits are selfish, manipulative, and narcissistic. Motives can be long term or short term. Everyone has wants, whether they realize it or not. You can write “they don’t know what they want,” but you should know. It is advised that you list at least one abstract want

Recurring Feelings:

feelings that they have throughout most of their life. If you put them down as a trait, it is likely they are also recurring feelings. For example, depressed, lonely, happy, etc.

Self Image:

what the character thinks of themselves: their self-esteem. Some character are proud of themselves, others are ashamed of themselves, etc. They may think they are not good enough, or think they are the smartest person in the world. Their self-image can contradict their beliefs, traits, values, behavior, motives, etc. For example, if their self-image is poor, they can still be a cheerful or optimistic person. If they have a positive self-image, they can still be a depressed or negative person. How they picture themselves may or may not be true: maybe they think they’re a horrible person, when they are, in fact, very considerate, helpful, kind, generous, patient, etc. They still have flaws, but flaws don’t necessarily make you a terrible person

Behavior:

how the character’s traits, values, beliefs, self-image, etc., are outwardly displayed: how they act. For example, two characters may have the trait “angry” but they all probably express it differently. One character may be quiet and want to be left alone when they are angry, the other could become verbally aggressive. If your character is a liar, do they pause before lying, or do they suddenly speak very carefully when they normally don’t? Someone who is inconsiderate may have issues with boundaries or eat the last piece of pizza in the fridge when they knew it wasn’t theirs. Behavior is extremely important and it is advised you think long and hard about your character’s actions and what exactly it shows about them

Demeanor:

their general mood and disposition. Maybe they’re usually quiet, cheerful, moody, or irritable, etc.

Posture:

a secondary part of your character’s personality: not as important as everything else. It is advised you fill this out after. Posture is how the character carries themselves. For example, perhaps they swing their arms and keep their shoulders back while they walk, which seems to be the posture of a confident person, so when they sit, their legs are probably open. Another character may slump and have their arms folded when they’re sitting, and when they’re walking, perhaps they drag their feet and look at the ground

Speech Pattern:

a secondary part of your character’s personality: not as important as everything else. It is advised you fill this out after. Speech patterns can be words that your character uses frequently, if they speak clearly, what sort of grammar they use, if they have a wide vocabulary, a small vocabulary, if it’s sophisticated, crude, stammering, repeating themselves, etc. I personally don’t have a very wide vocabulary, if you could tell

Hobbies:

a secondary part of your character’s personality: not as important as everything else. It is advised you fill this out after. Hobbies can include things like drawing, writing, playing an instrument, collecting rocks, collecting tea cups, etc.

Quirks:

a secondary part of your character’s personality, not as important as everything else. It is advised you fill this out after. Quirks are behaviors that are unique to your character. For example, I personally always put my socks on inside out and check the ceiling for spiders a few times a day

Likes:

a secondary part of your character’s personality, not as important as everything else. It is advised you fill this out after. Likes and dislikes are usually connected to the rest of their personality, but not necessarily. For example, if your character likes to do other people’s homework, maybe it’s because they want to be appreciated

Dislikes:

a secondary part of your character’s personality, not as important as everything else. It is advised you fill this out after. Likes and dislikes can also contradict the rest of their personality. For example, maybe one of your character’s traits is dishonest, but they dislike liars

History:

your character’s past that has key events that influence and shape their beliefs, values, behavior, wants, self-image, etc. Events written down should imply or explain why they are the way they are. For example, if your character is distrustful, maybe they were lied to a lot by their parents when they were a child. Maybe they were in a relationship for twenty years and found out their partner was cheating on them the whole time. If their motive/want is to have positive attention, maybe their parents just didn’t praise them enough and focused too much on the negative

On Mental and Physical Disabilities or Illnesses

if your character experienced a trauma, it needs to have an affect on your character. Maybe they became more angry or impatient or critical of others. Maybe their beliefs on people changed to become “even bullies can be ‘nice’ people: anyone can be a ‘bad’ person”

people are not their illness or disability: it should not be their defining trait. I have health anxiety, but I’m still idealistic, lazy, considerate, impatient and occasionally spiteful; I still want to become an author; I still believe that people are generally good; I still value doing what make me feel comfortable; I still have a positive self-image; I’m still a person. You should fill out your character’s personality at least half-way before you even touch on the possibility of your character having a disability or illness

Generally everything about your character should connect, but hey, even twins that grew up in the same exact household have different personalities; they value different things, have different beliefs. Maybe one of them watched a movie that had a huge impact on them.

Not everything needs to be explained. Someone can be picky or fussy ever since they were little for no reason at all. Someone can be a negative person even if they grew up in a happy home.

I believe this is a thought out layout for making well-rounded OCs, antagonists and protagonists, whether they’re being created for a roleplay or for a book. This layout is also helpful for studying Canon Characters if you’re looking to accurately roleplay as them or write them in fanfiction or whatever.

I’m really excited to post this, so hopefully I didn’t miss anything important…

If you have any questions, feel free to send a message.

- Chick

[trashmeowthwhatever-blog]

A Crash Course in Submitting to Literary Magazines

[writingwithyourteeth]

steterkink:

1. Write a lot. No seriously. Every single day, sit your butt down, and pound out at least 500 words. Some people will tell you quality is more important than quantity. I say there’s no way to learn how to write besides doing it. Spend time crafting your precious masterpiece after you’ve got some experience under your belt, for christ’s sake.

2. Edit that shit. Read it out loud. Edit it again. Force your friends to read it. Edit it again.

3. Be mindful of your word count. Short stories and flash fiction are probably your best bet when you’re starting out. Why? Because there are more magazines looking for things in the 1,000-4,000 word range than there are publishers looking for full-length novels.

4. Make a list of five stories that are finished, five that are almost finished, and five you will continue to work on. Update this list as needed. Keep it somewhere obvious, like your desktop, so you have to stare at it when you’re not being productive.

5. Take those five finished stories (well, as close to finished as they can get, nothing is ever really done) and sign your ass up for duotrope. Duotrope is a service that aggregates a shit ton of literary magazines, publishers, and contests that are currently accepting submissions. It has search and sort options to help you find a nice home for your writing. It also keeps track of where you have submitted, and what your acceptance rate is. Another cool feature, is it tells you what the acceptance rate is of every listed market. Some places have a 4% acceptance rate, others have 50%. If you’re not feeling confident, you can start by submitting to places with high acceptance rates.

Keep reading

[writingwithyourteeth]

Writing on the Go

With the advent of the school year, a lot of us have to return a routine that involves waking up at an ungodly hour, spending 8-14 hours doing something less than enjoyable, and returning home exhausted, only to repeat the affair the next day. 

If you’re a writer or roleplayer, there is the extra stress of not having time to do what you love. You say you’ll make time for writing, but life gets in the way, or you’re simply too tired to get around to it. For those of us who find ourselves constantly on the move, a lot of the traditional advice for writing simply won’t work. No matter how much we love it, other things take priority because they have to, and that doesn’t make us any worse as writers.

But what can we do? It’s a work in progress, really. Some things that worked for me in the past no longer are effective, and vice versa. But these are some ideas that have worked for me at one time or another.

Tip #1: Change Your Conception of Writing

This is the most difficult tip on this list and isn’t going to happen without quite a bit of work. I know this because I need to do it myself. 

Basically, imagining yourself as a writer who can sit down and do nothing but write for hours at a time — no disturbances, no social contact, nothing — is a pipe dream. It’s impossible. It may or may not have been a possibility once, but if you’re reading this on a computer, if you have any kind of responsibility at all, then chances are strong that your writing sessions will be fragmented and vary in success.

You have to reconsider what you’re trying to accomplish in a single writing session. There is no one solution, since everyone is different. 

Personally, I recommend deliberately making a point to include several short writing sessions scattered throughout the day. In the past I would write for two hours straight and produce over 1000 words. If I try to do that now, I either sit there procrastinating or end up too busy to do it, meaning that I produce zero words. Even if a shorter writing session means I can only write 200 words in a day, that’s still more words than zero.

Here are a few examples of how you can reorganize your writing habits, based on a person who’d like to write for 80 minutes a day:

One 40-minute session + four 10-minute session

Five 16-minute sessions

Eight 10-minute sessions 

Being mathematically accurate is not the goal here; nor is writing for a quota. But the idea of writing for ten minutes is not nearly as intimidating as the idea of writing for 80 minutes, is it? Basically, you want to do things to make it easier to start writing when you do have the time.

Tip #2: Wake Up Early to Write

I know, I know. I’m a horrendous night owl. Add that to the fact that I have to leave for work before 7am these days and you can imagine how horrifying this sounds.

But I’m not saying you should wake up at 4am and pound out the next chapter of your big novel in the three hours before you have to leave. Ten minutes. Give me ten minutes, sitting at your desk in pajamas, scrawling out the first one-hundred words that come into your head. 

They don’t have to be good. But if you begin your day by writing, you automatically put the idea of writing into your head. Suddenly, you spend the bus ride to school thinking about what comes next. Even when you’re concentrating on something important, the idea of writing is fermenting in the back of your mind. 

That way, when you get home, you’ll be more likely to sit down to a productive writing session.

Tip #3: Work Through Lunch

Here is where you really must question your commitment to writing. Just how far are you willing to go? What are you willing to give up? And if you’d rather spend your 20-minute lunch break eating and talking to someone, I can hardly blame you. 

But you can always compromise. Bring a pen and notebook with you and jot down turns of phrase that pop into your head occasionally. Before you get your lunch, write three new sentences in whatever you’re working on. Instead of eating in the deli where you bought your lunch, take it to-go and eat at your computer. Maybe you even have a longer lunch break than I do and can actually socialize and spend ten minutes writing. A wild idea, I know. 

It isn’t just lunchtime, either. Chances are, you have brief snatches of downtime, no matter what you do during your days. Use them. As you saw in Tip #1, little bits of time add up. If you have three fifteen-minute breaks and you write for ten minutes during each, that’s 30 minutes. It seems inconsequential, but you take what you can get.

Tip #4: Rely on the Cloud

Technology is both a blessing and a curse to writers, but mostly a blessing, particularly when we know how to use it.

By the cloud, I’m referring to places where you can put your writing where you can access it on multiple devices. The best example is probably Google Drive, which has essentially replaced my computer’s hard drive as storage for all professional documents (saved me a lot of stress when dealing with a messed-up computer). This works particularly well if you have access to a school or work computer with internet. Just remember that

For those who won’t have internet access during the day, programs like Microsoft OneNote or iA Writer, both of which have computer and tablet versions, might work well. These programs will sync once you have internet access but do not require access in order for you to use them. Keep in mind that this only works if you own a tablet or laptop.

Roleplayers who are tempted to use Tumblr’s drafts system might want to choose a different way. Drafts sometimes vanish pointlessly, losing all of your hard work. While it might seem like a burden to copy and paste your partners’ replies just so you can write on the go, you might find that less so than losing hard work.

Obviously, if you keep all your work on a laptop and you’re willing to drag a laptop with you, then kudos. And if you have the bad luck not to have access to any of these things, then there’s always pen and paper. 

Tip #5: Make Notes During the Day

So, maybe you really are in a situation where none of the other options work. Even so, ideas will pop into your head throughout the day. On your phone or another device, try taking brief notes about plots, characterization, or other thoughts that occur to you. Even people-watching and writing down snatches of conversation can be informative. 

Can’t use your phone during the day? Try carrying around a small notebook and pen in your pocket. Even if you’re doing something where you can’t stop to write things down or take notes every second, using that notebook even once will preserve one thought for future use.

Tip #6: Don’t Sweat It

Maybe you’ve tried all of these suggestions and countless other lists to boot, and none of them have worked. Maybe you haven’t tried any of them but you’re not optimistic. 

That’s alright! You’re working hard. No matter what certain elitists might have you believe, sometimes we have to dedicate are time to things other than writing, and that’s okay. That’s life. 

You just have to find something that works for you.

– Mod Brin

[fandomstuckdiversity-blog]

[writingwithyourteeth]

fandomstuckdiversity:

Seven  things to remember to improve your writing of transgender characters:

1. We are not misery machines. Yes, life can be made hard for us because of all the transphobia in the world. But we do not exist to pity, and we not exist to angst. I don’t want to read sad trans people lit. I want lit with trans people in, where we get to be real characters.

2. Know your grammar and terms!

 Cisgender: Someone who is not trans. Not “normal,” not “default” not “comfortable in skin,”, just not trans.

“Transgender” not “transgendered”! You wouldn’t say “a gayed person”, so why say “a transgendered person”?

3. We are actually the genders we say we are. 

A trans man is a man, not less than a man or a ‘female man’, or becoming a man. A trans woman is a woman, not a ‘male woman’, or ‘trying to be a woman".

4. We can present however we want, and it doesn’t change our gender. “Presentation” refers to how someone presents themselves in appearance. Oftentimes in real life, trans people are held to strict standards to “prove” their gender.  A cisgender woman can look cute in a suit, but if a trans woman wore one, people take it as “proof” she isn’t really a woman and is faking. There’s no reason we should have to be so careful with how we present, and I feel writing characters who are unafraid to wear whatever they want, without a narrative that implies they’re less than the gender they say they are, would help destroy this idea.

5. You’re not “born as” a gender.

No, really.

Your gender is assigned because of genitalia (warning for a medical picture of genitals in this link), and contrary to belief, chromosomes, DNA, illnesses that supposedly affect one gender are all rather arbitrary.

Even cisgender people can and do have chromosomes of the falsely perceived “opposite” gender. There is absolutely nothing in one’s body that makes them any gender. You aren’t born as anything.

6. We aren’t all 100% male or female. 

7. We exist, and our existence is not “a social justice statement.” We are not special snowflakes just for wanting to see characters like us in media. And asking for that is not “too much”.  To imply that writing a transgender or nonbinary character is excessive is implying only cisgender people get stories about them, which shows lazy writing and poor morals on your part.

[writingwithyourteeth]

ozwinozwald:

inkerdoodle:

When you’re writing aND YOU CAN’T FIND THE RIGHT WORD

http://chir.ag/projects/tip-of-my-tongue/

you’re welcome

[thewordriven]

[fictionwritingtips]

How to Have a Successful Writing Session

[writingwithyourteeth]

fictionwritingtips:

Did you write anything at all? One sentence? Two? One Paragraph?

Did you work on your outline or start an outline?

Did you brainstorm? Did you think up any new ideas?

Congrats! You had a successful writing session!

I know it often feels like you need to make a ton of progress to feel like you added anything of value to your WIP, but it’s important to know that’s not the case. Whatever you do to work on your story or brings things forward a little bit makes you a successful writer.

It’s a lot harder for people struggling with depression or other mental/physical/emotional issues to feel like they’re having a successful writing session, so I want to remind you that taking the steps to write a novel is something that a lot of people don’t even attempt to do. Try to celebrate all your accomplishments and remind yourself it’s not a race! Write at your own pace and give yourself a break when it’s necessary.

Here are some additional tips for having a great writing session:

Plan Ahead

At the end of a writing session, I like to plan for the next day of writing. Try to adjust your outline for any changes made during the previous writing session and figure out what you’re going to do next. Having some kind of plan, even if it’s from day to day, can make a big difference

End with a Cliffhanger

Try to end your writing session in the middle of something exciting. Some writers feel like this helps because it doesn’t leave you stuck the next day. I think we often end our writing session when we feel like we don’t know what we’re going to do next—and that can be a bad idea. Leave yourself an open door for the next time you write.

Short Writing Sprints

You don’t have to have two hours of free time to have a writing session. Write for 20 minutes. Write for 10. Write one sentence. Simply adding to your WIP in some way helps you get motivated and excited about your project. Don’t be afraid of short writing sessions!

-Kris Noel

[writingwithyourteeth]

Rules Pages

For a roleplay blog, rules pages are absolutely vital. They allow roleplayers to safely lay out their expectations and requirements for interaction prior to anyone actually contacting them. In a way, a rules page sets up a baseline for the roleplay blog itself. 

What should I include?

Since rules pages are often the only page on a blog that other roleplayers will view before following said blog, it’s important to include everything that someone will need to know immediately. (If you’re worried about people becoming bored by a wall of text and stopping halfway, try making a ‘table of contents’ or bolding the key part of each rule.) It makes it easier on everyone if you get questions that lots of people want to know answered right away.

Keep in mind that there may be any number of additional items that you’ll want to include. This certainly isn’t an exhaustive list, just a list of things that I’ve seen on most of the rules pages that I’ve browsed (and I’ve seen a lot). For instance, some roleplayers like to include items that others might consider common curtesy.

Blog openness. Is your blog affiliated with a group or independent (’indie’)? Additionally, how selective are you? Are you private? Exclusive? Because these terms mean different things to different people, you will need to define what they mean on your blog. Also importantly, make sure to let people know whether you will interact with roleplayers who aren’t mutual followers. 

Age. You don’t have to let people know what your specific age is, but you absolutely need to make it clear if you’re under 18 years of age. This is not a maturity thing, but a safety thing and a comfort thing. Some roleplayers (particularly those running nsfw blogs) don’t want people under 18 years following them.  On that note, if you would prefer that only adults follow you (or, conversely, only people below a certain age follow you), this might be the place to add that as well.

Shipping preferences. The content of this can vary. It ought to include whether your blog is single-ship or multi-ship. If you’re playing a canon character, this can include your otp... or even your notp. It may also contain your character’s sexuality, or links to the characters that your character is already seeing. 

Content concerns. If you have triggers or things that you would prefer not to see (particularly uncommon things), let people know. You’re within your rights. You’ll probably still have to make a post or two asking people to tag those things, but as long as people pay attention to the rules page, there could be less of a problem. If there’s something you post frequently that others might want to know in advance, it’s best to include a note 

Formats of interest. It could be beneficial to mention if you have a type of roleplay — paragraph vs. one liner — that you prefer. 

Activity level. If there’s something that will greatly impact your ability to be online at times, mentioning that can clear up spurts of inactivity. Some partners get anxious, and this could alleviate some problems later on.

Messaging. Let people know whether you’re comfortable sharing your Skype or Kik with them. 

What if someone ignores my rules?

More often than we would like, other roleplayers neglect to read or outright ignore rules that we’ve set up. Though there are some things roleplayers can do to increase the visibility of their rules pages [post forthcoming], we only have so much control over the actions of others on their own blogs. 

There are lots of different ways to handle the infraction without being unnecessarily rude. 

Ignore it. For very minor things or with people who you are in regular communication with out-of-character, you can ignore your own rules without being a hypocrite. Remember, rules are for comfort. If you’re more comfortable with someone, then you can let them do whatever you want to.

Ask them to stop. This is a good idea when the rule broken pertains to content of threads. For instance, if there is a case of godmoding that you’re not comfortable with, send them a message asking them if they can change it.

Ignore the message. If someone sends you a message that breaks your rules, you can ignore or delete the message. Again, your blog, so you get to determine what content goes on it.

Drop the thread. If someone breaks your rules multiple times or is unwilling to work with you to change the content of a thread, you can always drop it, with or without notice. 

Unfollow or block them. It’s not recommended to follow this course unless someone is a repeat offender or has broken a major rule. Still, you have the right to a comfortable and safe roleplay experience. So if you deem this necessary, then by all means do what is necessary.

Calling someone out for breaking rules generally does not help the situation, so unless someone is severely crossing boundaries or behaving in a way that is harmful to you or others, this causes a lot of strife.

– Mod Brin

[writingwithyourteeth]

Aristotle Story Structure vs. Episodic Story Structure (part 2)

So if Aristotle’s story structure is the bread and butter to forming a narrative, episodic story structure is where things get a little more weird. Whereas Aristotle story structure is linked together by a linear program that follows a chronological path, episodic story structure is characterized as deviating from that path. It usually involves a series of stories (thus the name·‘episodic’ as in episodes) that are not connected by characters and theme, but the plots and settings are quite connected in the same way.

What is Episodic Story Structure?

So why write a story that doesn’t follow a single narrative, or even a plot? Well, because sometimes that style imitates real life better than Aristotle’s ideals. You don’t always get the dramatic climax and the neat, wrapped-up conclusion, so your writing doesn’t need to be tied down by the same principles. A touch of surrealism can also give your theme a unique twist- think about stories like Vonnegut’s·Slaughterhouse Five or Bradbury’s Martian Chronicles, which don’t follow a linear, chronological order and involve random people and locations and actions, but when put together each segment relates to a common core theme.

For episodic stories the theme outweighs the importance of the plot, and everything in the story should be geared to that theme. Episodic story structure is good for short stories and series, because you can focus on the theme very quickly without the long-term build-up that dramatic story structure prefers. Episodic can also be done with longer stories, but it involves a good deal of planning.

Elements of Episodic Structure

A story needs a theme. This pretty much goes without saying, a story will have a theme even if the author intends it or not. But it’s especially important to be conscious of theme in episodic stories, because the theme is the only consistent thing you’re really to focus each segment of your story on. Think about your theme. How are you going to keep it consistent in your story? Consider the use of symbols, repetition, or even just a specific main character. Ways you can make random events carry significance.

A story can be disjointed.·Just like how people don’t stay in one place our lives, a narrative doesn’t, either. Settings and time periods are subject to fluctuate, especially between story segments. The only thing that needs to be consistent is that each episode contributes to the theme. If your story is about a person who comes to terms with their own mortality, and their episode finds them in a gas station grocery store off the high way at 3 AM, all the better. Just let the experience connect. Think about your settings and situations. What about them is different, and what about them is the same? How do the experiences your character goes through change them from episode to episode?

-Mod Kat

Source info and further reading: x·x·x