You're all Write.

YOU'RE ALL WRITE is a blog ran by Rain that offers writing tips, resources, archives and inspiration. It's a safe place to ask questions, get prompts or advice, see my work and the works of others, or submit your own work. Though I run the blog, many articles and pieces are either reblogged or found from outside sources. It these cases, the credit can be found at the source or I will give it personally. Feel free to ask me any questions. Just throw them into my inbox and I will help you best that I can. YOU'RE ALL WRITE supports free expression. Please check our UPDATES.

[bookphile]

It seems like we’re talking about pirating again because some asshole uploaded an arc to a pirate site before the book was published and the author is now facing a possibility of losing a contract with a publisher. 

So here’s are a few reminders:

when you pirate books you help devalue them 

you may not have money for books, but authors may not have money to eat, pay their bills, etc. 

you are stealing, which is a crime in basically every country in the world

if a book is pirated enough the author loses not only money they could have made on those sales, but also future contracts. so not only are you hurting book sales, you’re literally ruining a person’s career

if you pirate a book that’s part of a series, the publisher may decide not to extend the author’s contract and not buy future books

if you live in a foreign country other than where the book is published and you pirate books, you are hurting not only the authors but the chances of ever having more books published in your country, because the decision of a publisher to ever publish in your country is based on the sales and piracy rates

If you live in the US and pirate foreign books, just remember that the amount of published foreign books is very tiny, and you’re helping make it even smaller

no books shouldn’t be free because they take a ton of labor and resources to produce and are a business. 

It doesn’t matter if you decide to buy the book later, you still helped contribute to piracy numbers

Also please refrain from telling people to go to the library to get their books. Many places, even in the United States, don’t have libraries or don’t have free libraries, so it’s really moot point.

Just remember that you don’t have to read the latest release or popular books. There are plenty of other reading materials. And if you really value books and reading, maybe don’t devalue them by stealing.

[kaylapocalypse-deactivated20201]

I would literally rather send people PDFs of my book for free on an individual basis than have them upload it to a piracy site. I would rather purchase and mail physical copies of my book to dozens of strangers a week than have them do this. I would rather call libraries in the readers area and ask them to order a copy than have them do this. The first time I saw The Wicker King on a piracy site my heart sank. I’m a debut author, my sales at the time determined whether I would continue to even get to BE an author. Please just… if you want to read something, reach out to the author. They might help you find a way.

[howtofightwrite]

Q&A: Short Fighters and Centers of Gravity

any specifics to be mindful of on writing a very short fighter? like under five feet tall? i don’t necessarily mean children, just like, ppl who are short

I’m going to discuss writing short combatants below, but I want to make it clear. What I’m going to be discussing is about adults, not children. You want to set a clear distinction between the two in your mind right now. Children are their own category, broken down into several separate categories of roughly 1-5, 6-8, 9-10, 11-14, 15-16, 17-19. Segment them out by age categories, break apart older and younger teens, and keep a beat for mental/intellectual/emotional maturity in line with their physical growth rates. Children are different from adults, and different ages face different challenges.

When you’re writing children, you need to take their age into consideration, the fact they’re bodies are still changing and growing, the fact their minds are maturing. They don’t have the same capacity as adults, the understanding, or the ability to utilize their experiences to the same degree. The problems for children are not just in their size, but in their brains, in the softness of their bones, in the bodies that are constantly changing, emotions only just emerging, which combined with a lack of experience and maturity often put them at a significant disadvantage.

A twelve year old who is set against a seasoned killer faces a lot more problems than just a height difference, would face those same challenges even if they were the same height.

Now, let’s talk about short fighters. They’re not much difference from anyone else, nothing more than a different set of natural advantages, that may not even mean much in the grand scheme. Spend too much time obsessing on physiological differences and you’ll end up thinking they’re the only thing that matters. There’s not that much difference between someone who is 4″10 versus someone who is 5″1 or 5″2 in terms of combat.

What you want to understand about the size of humans is that the benefits are mostly in the mind. There are a lot of culturally defined stereotypes, conventional wisdom, and cries of “realism” when it comes to martial combat that are complete bunk. The perception that short people are at an automatic disadvantage is one of them. Every body type comes with their own strengths and weaknesses, learning to compensate for the weaknesses and take advantage of the strengths is what training is all about. You’re going to need to throw out most of your internalized prejudices and start over. You’ll find you’re full of biases when you really get down to thinking about it,  ones you’ve subconsciously picked up over the years, and, I want to make this very clear, addressing them doesn’t mean you’re a bad person.

Center of Gravity – People who are short are closer to the ground. This is important because  the center of gravity is your body’s balance point. This is your body’s point of stability, and useful to know about for a large variety of exercises. This point changes based on each individual human being, with constant motion, and is somewhat subjective. So, everyone has to locate this point within themselves and find their own individual balance.-

However, what you need to know about for the purpose of this question is: Short people are very difficult to knock over if they know how to create their base and set their weight.

Now, the center of gravity in a man versus in a woman are physiologically different. A man’s is located in his chest, and a woman’s is approximately in her pelvis. Physiological differences mean men and women will show progress in different exercises more quickly because they’re more naturally inclined toward them. A woman’s balance point being lower lends itself to more stability in the lower body. From a practical perspective, what this means is that a man has to spread his legs wider and get lower in his stances in order to achieve the same physical stability as his female counterpart, and likewise a tall man has to bend his knees more than a short guy for similar results.

This is a taught advantage, not a natural advantage.

What does this mean?

Well, it doesn’t mean much of anything except that short people are naturally better at grappling than taller people. If they know how to set their feet and get down low then good luck throwing them. You won’t pick them up. They’re not going anywhere. After all, throws are not strength based (someone who is tall is not necessarily going to be stronger than someone who is short) but are instead dependent on destabilizing your opponent’s base (the position of their feet, and stance) then utilizing their own force against them.

Someone who is short is much closer to the earth than someone who is tall, and this advantage lends them more stability. Weight isn’t weight, and strength isn’t strength. The martial arts battle is primarily over an ever-shifting balance point and breaking your opponent’s stability. You’ve got to work harder to get them to fall over.

The Intimidation Station – Tall people can be naturally intimidating, because conventional wisdom says they are. Intimidation happens in the mind. However, short people can be intimidating, because intimidation comes from presence, not physicality.

Here’s something to keep in mind when writing short characters: When you’re short, you live in a world of tall. You’re used to being (physically) looked down on. These characters will have been learning to compensate (if they need to) from day one, so the idea they’ll fall apart while facing off against someone significantly taller than they are is silly… really silly. They’ll be more used to fighting tall people than someone who generally fights people of equal height or mild differences. If you’re used to constantly being at a “disadvantage” then that state becomes normal and you learn to just roll with it.

Aggression – Short fighters can be, but are not uniformly, or always more aggressive combatants, and women are often more actively aggressive in combat than men. This doesn’t mean they have more aggressive personalities, but they can be much more pro-active when it comes to rolling over into an offensive mode.

Reach – You’ll hear this one brought up a lot, mostly by people who don’t really understand the concept. Reach matters more with weapons than with bodies.

I hear a lot of writers searching for “natural” advantages, or see an over reliance on those perceived advantages in fiction. The reality of success lies with technique and hard work, not the body you were born with or the talents you were gifted with. You’ve got to polish what you have. In hand to hand, there are plenty of ways to compensate for a difference in height. The primary means of overcoming distance is footwork, not the length of your arms or legs.

Mind Over Matter – In terms of physiology, the rules aren’t hard and fast. They’re not black and white. There’s no can and can’t. There’s mind over matter, mind over internalized biases, and mind over perceived impossibilities. What there isn’t is magic. No matter who they are, your character will never be suddenly amazing or skip all the perilous trials of learning. There’s pain, yes, embarrassment, frustration, and failures, which are all part of building character. Skill requires training and practice. It’s difficult, it takes time, and you’ll need to do a lot of pushing past what you believe to be physically possible (rather than what is) before you’re done.

What your character perceives about their own abilities and their actual abilities are not one and the same, the same is true of their potential. The hill may seem impossible from the bottom, but we progress up it one step at a time.

Here’s one last thing to keep in mind:

They’re short. So, what?

-Michi

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Q&A: Short Fighters and Centers of Gravity was originally published on How to Fight Write.

[academicssay]

[wordsnstuff]

Tips On Starting A Scene

– Here are a couple tips on how you might go about starting a scene in your story! A lot of these have to do with planning beforehand, but it’s no secret that most of the writing process is in planning and editing, rather than actually writing. I hope this is helpful. Happy writing!

Ko-Fi || Masterlist || Work In Progress || Request

Decide What Kind Of Scene It Is

First, you should identify where your scene is positioned in the overall plot. Is it in the beginning, middle, or end? Knowing the position of your scene will help you decide how to mold it. Jerry Jenkins, on his blog, put it very eloquently:

Opening Scenes should be loaded with character and set up your premise. That’s where you want to slip in important bits of backstory.

Middle Scenes carry complications, twists, and raise the stakes.

Climactic Scenes should build to a riveting climax, so they might be shorter and packed with action and emotion.

Have Some Idea Of Its Main Purpose

It’s crucial to know the function of your scene, otherwise you’ll be wasting your time. If your scene doesn’t have a clear purpose from the beginning, you’ll end up cutting it out later. Here’s some examples of functions your scene may serve.

Develop characters

Move plot forward

Establish a connection between the subplot(s) and main plot

Show effects of earlier events/actions

Reveal crucial information

Identify Main Symbols and Ideas

It is very helpful when you’re writing to know exactly what symbols you’re meant to incorporate into a scene and what the main idea is. Even if you just sort it out in your head beforehand, you’ll find ways to sprinkle those things in as you go along, and that will add some nice material to prompt critical thinking in your readers. Knowing what symbols and main ideas you’re going to push in a scene will help you add subtext as you write, instead of having to go in as you edit and add it in afterward.

Know Where The Climax Is

It’s important to identify beforehand where the highest point of pressure is within that scene. This is so you can make a plan for how you’ll build up to it and make it stand out, as well as impact your reader more than other bits of the scene. 

The climax of your scene does not have to be in the middle, or anywhere near it. It’s 100% possible to have the climax near the beginning or at the very end of a scene. Just beware, if your climax is at the very end of the scene, there won’t be much time for falling action and resolution, so you will likely end that scene on a cliffhanger. 

Open Your Scene Effectively

It’s important to open your scene in a way that will grip your reader’s attention. It’s important to remember that there’s a first line to every scene, and that there should be a hook to all of them, and not just the first in your story. Below are some ground-level ideas for how you could go about beginning any one of your scenes.

5 Effective Scene Openings

Starting a scene with action

Starting a scene with summary

Starting a scene by revealing a character’s thoughts

Starting a scene with setting

Starting a scene with dialogue

List above credit to this article

Know How Your Scene Will End

If you know exactly how the scene will end, it’ll be easier to add build up and leave some room for falling action if it is necessary. There are many ways you can go about ending a scene, but the end should round back to the beginning, like the conclusion of an essay rounds back to the introduction. Having a plan beforehand of how you’ll end the scene will make it easier to do this.

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[inky-duchess]

Fantasy Guide to Medicine: Cold and Flu

Nature is our pharmacy. Here are some herbs to clear colds and flus.

Disclaimer: I am not a doctor. Research must be done on these before use.

Garlic – This is an antiseptic and can be used as an antibiotic.

Onion – Onions can be used treat coughing. Chemicals in onion can treat respiratory issues.

Thyme – Thyme can be used to cure respiratory infections and coughing. It also relieves stomach issues.

Sage – Another antiseptic. This can be used for to treat the sinuses. (Cannot be used by pregnant/breastfeeding women)

Cayenne powder – Cayenne is used preventative measure for a cold or flu. It can lessen the duration of these illnesses.

Peppermint – Used for lowering fevers and treating upset digestion.

Chamomile – It calms the nerves, improves sleeping patterns, curing pink eye and reduces fever.

Lemon – Can be used to fight flus and colds as well as reducing phlegm.

Nettle Leaf – contains vitamins and minerals to hydrate the body and destroy certain toxins. It can be used as an immune booster and to prevent illnesses.

Elderberry – Elderberry supports the body’s immune system even during illness.

Yarrow- Used for colds and flus. It can shorten illness if used correctly. It can combat fevers by sweating the patient. This is suitable for sick children.

[sunnydwrites]

Tips for Including Imagery

Hey everyone, Abby here! Today I want to talk about imagery and descriptions, and how to include them effectively in your writing.

What is imagery?

For the purpose of this post, imagery is defined as “[the use of] figurative language to represent objects, actions, and ideas in such a way that it appeals to our physical senses”. Put simpler, imagery is just a form of writing that helps the reader create vivid mental images of what’s going on.

Why is imagery important?

Do you remember in second and third grade, when your teacher would always ask you if the characters in your story were floating around in space? That’s why imagery is important. Your reader may not be that young, but having (even a vague) idea of where your characters are is better than nothing.

Neglecting imagery in your writing can sometimes make your readers think that a) you don’t care about this place or person, no matter what’s happening or b) this area or this person’s appearance has no relevance to the story at all. Let’s de-bunk these two.

You don’t care about this place or person, no matter what’s happening. This can often come of as unprofessional on your part. If you don’t care about the subject in question, why include it at all? You should probably try to include at least a phrase of description for everything you introduce.

This area or person’s appearance has no relevance to the story at all. Someone is going to find it relevant; many, many readers like to have a base for creating a mental image. As one of these readers, a lack of description of any sort is something I find highly annoying. And the same point above: if it’s completely irrelevant, why include it at all?

How much imagery should I use?

In order from least to most descriptive, I’m going to give four examples of imagery that I’ve seen before using an original character. Accompanying each one will be a quick description with some tips.

She had dark hair, brown eyes, and glasses.

This is a good method of description if you want to give a baseline introduction to a side character. It also works if you want your readers to be (vaguely) aware of a character who’s going to play a larger role in the story later, but in that case I would go a level up.

The phone in her lightly tanned hand reflected on the lenses of her glasses, hiding her dark brown eyes. There was a streak of electric blue in her shoulder-length brown hair.

This one is probably closer to the description level you would want to use for a character who will later be important to the story. You could also use this for major characters if you need the introduction to be a quick one, but if you have the time than you should probably step it up a little bit. Using this level of description for characters who play a very minor role in the story may be superfluous, depending on how they contribute.

Oblivious to the world around her, she scrolled on her phone. The light from the screen reflected brightly on her glasses, hiding the deep brown of her eyes. The cord of a single earbud disappeared in her shoulder-length dark brown hair, almost entangled in the streak of electric blue. She had a light tan that showed on her arms and through the rips of her dark jeans. She had the broad shoulders of someone used to fighting for her way and wore a t-shirt from a band she was sure nobody had heard of.

This is the general way I would go about introducing a main character. It’s a good way to show a bit of this character’s personality while also giving the reader a good idea of what she looks like. I personally prefer not to go much farther than this, unless there are any details that are screaming out for attention.

The phone in her hand lit up the lenses of her glasses in a cold light, masking the deep muddy brown of her eyes. Hidden behind those glasses were long, thick eyelashes, dark bags, and lightly applied makeup with a cat-eye wing. Her round, lightly tanned face was framed by dark brown shoulder-length hair, though the part at which she wore it revealed a streak of bright blue. She smiled down at the screen, revealing two wide front teeth and a dimple on one cheek. She wore an earbud in one ear, the cord dipping down below her phone before looping back up. Her black jeans, riddled with rips all the way to the upper thigh, were almost the ensemble of her outfit — they would have been if it weren’t for the leather jacket covering the t-shirt representing her favorite band. Masking brightly patterned socks were a pair of lace-up combat boots that climbed up to her mid-calf.

In all honesty, I cannot think of a regular situation in which this would be a suitable first impression. That is, unless your PoV character has a thing for recognizing every little detail or has an hour to spare to notice every single detail of this character. If you find yourself reaching this level of description, you wander into the dangerous info-dump zone.

Instead of introducing everything at once like this, try to include it all through context. Maybe at some point a wind picks up and she hugs her leather jacket tighter for warmth; that’s a lot better than just stating she’s wearing one.

Including Imagery in Your Writing

We got a little taste of the “levels” of imagery, but what else can we use hose levels for? Here’s a little set of guidelines that I like to follow in my own writing.

Level I Imagery

Use this one for:

Bare basics introductions

Moments when there’s not enough time for anything more

Somewhat relevant details that you think the reader should be aware of in the moment

Baseline description for a character that will be important later (usually in rare cases)

Characters that have less than five lines or don’t play a large role in your story

A quick run-down of a new place that the characters won’t be spending much time in

Returning to already established details in your story

Introducing details that are important to the story in the moment but may not play a large role later

Level II Imagery

Use this one for:

Describing characters that will be important later

Quick introductions of main characters

Regular introductions of side characters

An object or theme that will be important or recurring in the story

A place that the characters will be spending a moderate amount of time in

Introducing new details that may later become important in the story or that your PoV character would take the time to notice

Level III Imagery

Use this one for:

Introducing main characters in regular situations

A place that your characters will be returning to a lot or that will play a large role in the story

Anything major in your story that you want to draw your reader’s attention to

You’ll notice that I didn’t include anything about new details in the third level of imagery; if a detail is important enough to warrant an entire paragraph of description, if should probably be included in the main introduction.

So, that’s all I’ve got for today! In the future I’m going to make a post about actually writing with imagery that branches off of this one. Now that I’ve talked about how to include it, I should probably give some tips for how to actually write it. (Great planning on my part.)

If there’s anything you want to see me talk about in my next post or if you have any questions about this one, please don’t hesitate to leave a message in my ask! Until next time, much love! <333

[writing-ideas-inc]

Hey, thanks for all the things you do for us. Your really appreciated. When you get the chance can you help me with a character who I want to speak in a kind of old English kind of way only I don’t know how. Maybe you can point me in the right direction. Thanks again. XOXO

This is from a quick search and my own knowledge of old English, but this is definitely something you’re going to need to research and look into. 

Knowing the time period in which your story takes place (or is most influenced by) is the first step. Language changes a lot over years. I use old English to refer to the English language anywhere between about 1000 A.D. to 1800 A.D., but in reality old English was spoken up until about 1100 A.D. It was then followed by Middle English (12th to 15th century), Early Modern English (approx. 1480 to 1650), and Modern English (after 1650). I don’t know exactly which era you’re going for, so I’ll group it all together.

There isn’t a whole lot available to us that was written before 1100 A.D. in early English (what is out there may be hard to find, and isn’t in novel form), but there’s a lot of later works written in Early Modern English that should be able to help you. 

One of the biggest pieces of advice I can give is to look at other authors who write and or have characters who speak in old English. There are a TON of novels in old English. There’s Shakespeare if you’re looking into as far back as the 1500s, the Bronte sisters in the more “recent” 1800s; many classic books are written in an older English style. 

Don’t rely on stereotypes either and old ideas about writing in older English. I wrote a post a while back that included the meanings of words like thee, thine, and thy and their differences in use. Media has us convinced that slapping Ye Olde in front of everything and saying “thy” a lot is speaking in old English, and that’s wrong. 

Keep in mind:

Some words had different meanings. For example, acorn meant fruit rather than the hard-shelled seed from an oak tree.

Many words were spelled differently than they are now. However, if you plan on sharing your story with the public, then you might want to keep the modern spelling so it’s easier for your audience to read.

There were a lot of different dialects! Language was a lot more blurred centuries ago, and words/grammar/other language nuances would be shared among multiple languages.

Language and grammar become fixed and more stable after the printing press was invented

Hope this helps!

Mod Carolyn @theories-fans-andwombats

[borderlinebravery]

When Emotions Fit the Facts

Anger:

A significant goal is blocked or an activity you desire is prevented.

You or a loved one is attacked or harmed by others.

You or a loved one is bullied or threatened by others.

The integrity or status of your social group is offended or threatened.

Love:

Loving a person, place, or animal enhances your quality of life.

Loving a person, place, or animal enhances the life of a loved one.

Loving a person, place, or animal supports the achievement of a goal.

Sadness:

You’ve lost someone or something permanently.

A situation doesn’t meet your expectation or desire.

Fear:

Your life or the life of a loved one is threatened.

Your health or the health of a loved one is threatened.

Your well-being or the well-being of a loved one is threatened.

Disgust:

Something you’re touching could poison or contaminate you.

Someone you strongly dislike is touching you or a loved one.

You’re near someone who could harm you or a loved one.

Jealousy:

An important or desired relationship/object is in danger of being damaged or lost.

Someone is threatening to take away a valued object or relationship from your life.

Envy:

Someone else gets or has things you don’t have but want or need.

Shame:

You will be rejected by a person or group you care about if something about yourself or your behavior is made known.

Guilt:

Your behavior violates your own values or moral code.

Source: (x)

[justawritingaid]

Using Momentum: How a Secondary Project Can Help With Productivity

When working on a story, it’s quite common to get stuck. Writer’s block has numerous solutions depending on the cause, but one thing that tends to help most writers is to work with momentum. Momentum is not exactly the same as ‘inspiration’ or being ‘in the zone’, but rather the idea that once you get into a habit of regularly getting the words on paper, it’s easier to keep going. The “just write” advice is related to momentum, but it doesn’t tell you what to write. 

Adding a second project can help erase that ‘unknown zone’. The purpose is to serve as a break from the first when needed, but in a way that still allows for the increase of writing skills and work momentum that can be transferred to the main project. The key to pulling this off is that one of those projects needs a higher priority than the other to get rid of any time spent thinking “which one should I work on?”. Much like any aspect of writing the story, deliberating what to work on only takes up time that could be spent writing. That’s not to say that the secondary project can’t be the focus for a while, but rather that there’s a difference between a temporary focus and project abandonment.

Working on the second project is like a subplot to the first project. Not literally; they don’t have to be related, but in the way that it should serve to move the overall productivity forward. Sometimes, a project just needs a break. That break, for undisciplined writers, can easily turn into abandonment, and working with momentum can help prevent abandonment by keeping the writing muscles in use. (Preventing abandonment still requires active effort to not leave a project behind, but continuous work is a way to keep effort levels high.)

Second projects come with benefits and drawbacks, and each writer should think about those things before they try and commit to a goal.

Keep reading

[writeworld-blog]

I made this chart a while ago and it was brought to my attention that I deleted it from my Google Drive where it was accessible by the entire Interwebs. Thus, I’m sharing it again!

WRITEWORLD EDIT: This is awesome! Thank you! -C

[truebluemeandyou]

Types of Sleeves Infographic from Enerie. 

*3 images because Tumblr still cannot seem to host clear and sharp images of vertically long images.

Writers continue to reblog these infographics for their useful terminology. If you’ve missed any here they are:

Know Your Bras Infographic

Know Your Collars Infographic

Know Your Hair Buns Infographic

History of Hairstyles Part 1 Infographic

History of Hairstyles Part 2 Infographic

Fashion Pattern Vocabulary Part 1 Infographic

Fashion Pattern Vocabulary Part 2 Infographic

Know Your Sunglasses Infographic

Know Your Shoes Part 1 Infographic. Lobster Claws anyone?

Know Your Shoes Part 2 Infographic

Know Your Necklines Infographic from Paper Blog

Sleeves and Necklines Infographic

Know Your Hats Infographic

Know Your Collars and Cuffs Infographic

Know Your Necklines Infographic

Know Your Skirts Infographic

Know Your Nail Shapes and What’s Popular on Instagram Infographics

Know Your Eye Liners Infographic

Know Your Wedding Dresses Infographic

History of Swimwear Infographic

[wordfather]

small writing exercises

make up an origin and meaning of a name

write a family history going back centuries

pick a character and make them ramble about their favorite thing

make up a fable, pretend it’s as famous as the Grimm fairytales. how does this fable affect the world and what would people reference from it? (i love this one because it can be as crazy and silly as you want)

make a commercial for something that really shouldn’t be sold at all. try to convince people to buy it.

ACRONYMS. but, like, try to have it make sense

make a poem about your story/something in your story

rewrite a classic but put your own twist on it

make up a detailed recipe

make a monologue with a plot twist or punchline in the end

create a ridiculously detailed timeline for a character

childhood memory (real one or make it up!)

improv rap lyrics

the story behind an inside joke

make up a mythical creature

pretend to be a commentary youtuber and pick a topic

the what if? pick a story and create an alternate ending to it

pick one scenario and several characters. how different are the reactions based on their personalities?

[scribbledwriting]

Show, don’t tell!

Okay. But, like, how?

Easy enough. Replace all the ‘tells’ with ‘shows’ and voila!

Okay. But, like, how??

How I ‘show and not tell’ in my work

If the ‘Show, don’t tell’ rule feels redundant and useless to you, I’m here to help. I LIVE by this rule. This rule saved my soul and cleared my acne. Okay, not really, but it did save the soul and cleared up the unnecessary bumps in my writing. So, here are three things I do to make sure I am keeping it at the back of my mind.

* Use the five senses

Okay. But like. How?

Staying aware of the five senses is SO important to your story and gives it that extra ‘umph’ that you’ve been missing. You don’t want to overload your reader with senses but making sure you’ve got a few in place will keep you from having to go back and add a bunch in later.

I find it easier to sprinkle them in as I write. It also helps keep you in the zone. Let’s say you are writing your character outside a bar in the rain. Instead of saying:

Luke stood outside the bar. The rain poured from the sky. It was cold and he shivered.

You say:

Fat drops of water (sight) splattered over Luke’s bare toes as the garbled music and clinking glasses faded behind him (hear). The sharp air stung his lungs (feel), sinking into his throat until puffs of smoke slid between his chattering teeth. Huddled against the damp brick wall, Luke licked his cracked lips lifting the faint methanol and mint residue onto his tongue (taste).

Of course, you don’t have to elaborate every single instance where the 5 senses can be used. But, they help a lot when it comes to creating fuller scenes. Keeping touch, sight, hearing, smell, and taste in the back of your mind while you write will dramatically help you with the 'Show, don’t tell’ rule. This is especially important if your character is missing one or more of these senses. You will need to focus on the others and make them stronger.

*Eliminate filler words

Easy. Right? But, like, how?

I keep a list of filler words next to me at all times when I’m editing. Once you get the hang of what words to avoid, it’ll become easier in your writing. Since paying closer attention to the filler words and actively choosing stronger words, it has helped avoid 'telling’ immensely. A lot of filler words are also senses that need filling out.

Instead of saying: Ted saw the yellow ball.

You’d say: A yellow ball bounced away from Ted.

But to get away from senses, I’ll use another example.

Instead of saying: Isa thought about going to the store. (Thought being the filler word here)

You’d say: Isa opened the fridge, frowning when there was no milk. Closing the door, she grabbed her keys off the counter and jotted down a quick list of household items.

Instead of 'telling’ your readers that Isa thought about going to the store, you 'showed’ her thought process.

*Read your work out loud

Okay, but…wait? How will that help?

My editor @fmtpextended taught me this neat trick and it has helped so much! It is crazy how much this small tip has improved my writing, especially where 'show, don’t tell’ comes in. If your sentences feel choppy, don’t flow, and kind of jump from one to point to another, you’ll want to read it out loud. This will help your brain connect things that maybe you didn’t catch while writing or reading. Our brains also have a bad habit of filling in or correcting mistakes without us even realizing it.

When you read out loud, you catch those mistakes much easier the first time around. It also helps you know what it will sound like to others. And you can easily pinpoint where you can add the senses and eliminate filler words.

That’s it! There are plenty more tips and advice about this process. And, everyone has their own way about writing through the 'show, don’t tell’ rule. These are the three things that help me most and I hope that they’ll be of use to you. Happy writing.

[kiramartinauthor]

5 Ways to Develop a Convincing Character

For a lot of writers, creating a character is a huge process. Some can find themselves halfway through writing their novel and find that they don’t know their character. And if the writer doesn’t, bad news, the readers won’t either. So what do you do? (Video version here.)

Make a character profile. Questions spark development and add personality to your character. Pull a list like this one offline and get going! Answer them as if your character is in an interview and is being 100% honest. This will be hard for some of them.

Start with a base. This may sound like cheating, but if you do it right, your character will be completely different by the end. Base them off of an archetype, a person, or bits and pieces of both. Once you have a base, you can build your character from Frankenstein’s-monster-esque to novel ready. 

Imagine they’re real. If they were right next to you, what would they be doing? If they went through your day how would they react differently? How would they respond to current events? Curl up into a ball and cry? Flee the country?

Find your connection. For me, this step is huge. My characters are like locked houses that I can only study from the outside looking in. That is until I find a connection and the door clicks open. This connection is generally raw, like depression, loss, love, or hardship. Make pain your gain.

Take quizzes/tests for your character. There are stupid ones like everything by Buzzfeed (love ya Buzzfeed) or you can take the Myers Briggs Personality Test. You can spend days reading up on the results and they are very revealing. Many times the information looks very similar to your existing character notes.

Watch the video version here.

Chapter One / Website / YouTube / Facebook / Patreon

[homesteadchronicles]

You Will Write Again

I know I am not the only one in the writeblr community who has struggled with their original work lately.

At the outset of our literary adventure, it’s seemingly inconceivable how we could ever tire of our beloved novel, our passion project, our masterpiece-in-the-making. Yet, despite our initial enthusiasm, that apparently-infinite source of fervor starts to wane. Our writing becomes a chore, a task, another check on the laundry list of life. And then, all too soon, the story ends without its climax, its resolution, its “happily ever after”.

It’s no small secret that these symptoms have plagued my projects recently. After months of continuous inspiration, that outpouring suddenly ceased. So, I rested. That’s a lie. I tried to “power through it”, to work myself into a stupor - and I did. I could not understand what interrupted the overflow.

Throughout this time, one song continually came to mind - Honest Questions by Daniel Bedingfield. Oh, I had a lot of honest questions to ask. Why had the inspiration stopped? Should I work harder to overcome this obstruction or should I take this time to rest instead? But above all else, I wondered: am I to blame for my own inability to yield the result I desire?

I wrestled with this honest yet unanswerable question for weeks. I searched for an answer in every nook and cranny I could…except for the very song that prompted this expedition. Amidst these lyrics of pain and promise, one phrase haunted me: “I will pour the water down upon a thirsty, barren land and streams will flow from the dust of your bruised and broken soul. You will grow like the grass upon the fertile plains of Asia. By streams of living water you will grow.”

I have never possessed the power to change Winter to Summer, Spring to Summer, nor Fall to Winter. Why would I assume I could command my life to produce fruit in a dormant season? I cannot control the seasons in my life - but I can choose to trust the One who can. Or, for those outside of my own faith, trust that every season in life, just as on Earth, will too pass.

Yesterday, I trusted. Today, I wrote again.

I would love to tell you that I have an answer for your inspiration shortage. I wish I could give you a formula to follow so that the creativity returns to you once you complete these three easy steps. But ingenuity is not so straightforward. Life is full of winding paths and impassable roadblocks and gates that cost a hefty price to pass through. You might need to fasten your bootstraps and strut through that storm until you pass the rainclouds by. Or maybe you need to lay by the wayside and sleep until the storm subsides. I don’t know. But I do know one thing: this season of fruitlessness will not last. Seasons are, above all else, only temporary. And when the new season comes, those storms will have yielded a hefty harvest. Hold on to this truth:

You will grow again. You will create again. You will write again.

That is a promise.

[writerswritecompany]

[nanowrimo]

4 Things to Focus on in Your First Rewrite

Every year, we’re lucky to have great sponsors for our nonprofit events. Reedsy, a 2018 “Now What?” sponsor, is a user-friendly site that helps authors find editors, designers and publicists. Today, Reedsy staff writer Martin Cavannagh shares his top tips on how to approach your first novel edits:

Everybody talks about how hard it is to finish a first draft—as if to suggest everything that comes after that is a joyride. But in reality, the work has only begun.

Many advice posts will offer a laundry list of novel revision tactics: Show, don’t tell! Hone your dialogue! Get rid of unnecessary adjectives! These are all valuable tips, but your first rewrite must focus on basic storytelling. In this post, we’ll look at four things you should address in your first revision.

1. Uncover any hidden motifs and themes.

Keep reading