Tag: writing tips

anexperimentallife:

bookcharactersthough:

danielle-writes:

Some advice for when you’re writing and find yourself stuck in the middle of a scene:

  • kill someone
  • ask this question: “What could go wrong?” and write exactly how it goes wrong
  • switch the POV from your current character to another – a minor character, the antagonist, anyone
  • stop writing whatever scene you’re struggling with and skip to the next one you want to write
  • write the ending
  • write a sex scene
  • use a scene prompt
  • use sentence starters
  • read someone else’s writing

Never delete. Never read what you’ve already written. Pass Go, collect your $200, and keep going.

This is the literal best writing advice I have ever read. Period.

Special note: “Kill someone” means kill someone in the story. Please do not kill random real life passers by every time you hit a block. My lawyer says misunderstanding writing advice is not an acceptable defense. See you all in 25 to 50 years.

So hard not to edit as I go but this is good advice.

Ultimate Writing Resource List

audacious-little-fuck:

a massively extended version of ruthlesscalculus’ post

General Tips

Character Development

Female Characters

Male Characters

Tips for Specific Characters

Dialogue

Point of View

Plot, Conflict, Structure and Outline

Setting & Worldbuilding

Creativity Boosters* denotes prompts

Revision & Grammar

Tools & Software

Specific Help

Some of the links don’t work any more but there is still a bunch of good stuff.

Ultimate Writing Resource List

A quick tip for writers out there, who use Microsoft Words:

angst-in-space:

frislander:

exxos-von-steamboldt:

hiharry66:

doktorgirlfriend:

gretchensinister:

tejoxys:

miss-evening:

Change the background colour of the pages to a mint green shade.

It is said that green is a calming colour, however, the main reason why I like this, is because I can write for a much longer period of time now, as a white background I used before made my eyes dry and exhausted after just a few hours of working.

It is basically much more soft and careful to the eyes. I can’t precisely explain why that is. I think it’s that by making a pinch softer contrast of the text and the background, your eyes does not get exposed to as much light.

Just make sure to not make the background too dark, or else your eyes will get exhausted do to over-fixating the lack of contrast between text and background.

And maybe you find a nice pastel/light background shade that fits you; give it a try.

Different things work out and fits for different people. And I just felt like sharing this.

Here’s the shade numbers I used to get my preferred colour:

Thanks for reading.

DUDE

You just solved a very real problem for me! Thanks!

For those who might not know where to find this: It’s in the Page Layout tab.

I had no idea this was possible before today!

Open Office Writer has a similar function under Format – Page – Background.

WHAT

Is this why I can write on yellow paper longer too?

I’m guessing it’s like using a coloured overlay?

You can also do this in Google Docs by going to File > Page Setup… > Page Color! 

Good tip, can’t wait to try it!

Words to replace said, except this actually helps

champion-ofthe-sun:

imagines–assemble:

msocasey:

I got pretty fed up with looking for words to replace said because they weren’t sorted in a way I could easily use/find them for the right time. So I did some myself.

IN RESPONSE TO
Acknowledged
Answered
Protested

INPUT/JOIN CONVERSATION/ASK
Added
Implored
Inquired
Insisted
Proposed
Queried
Questioned
Recommended
Testified

GUILTY/RELUCTANCE/SORRY
Admitted
Apologized
Conceded
Confessed
Professed

FOR SOMEONE ELSE
Advised
Criticized
Suggested

JUST CHECKING
Affirmed
Agreed
Alleged
Confirmed

LOUD
Announced
Chanted
Crowed

LEWD/CUTE/SECRET SPY FEEL
Appealed
Disclosed
Moaned

ANGRY FUCK OFF MATE WANNA FIGHT
Argued
Barked
Challenged
Cursed
Fumed
Growled
Hissed
Roared
Swore

SMARTASS
Articulated
Asserted
Assured
Avowed
Claimed
Commanded
Cross-examined
Demanded
Digressed
Directed
Foretold
Instructed
Interrupted
Predicted
Proclaimed
Quoted
Theorized

ASSHOLE
Bellowed
Boasted
Bragged

NERVOUS TRAINWRECK
Babbled
Bawled
Mumbled
Sputtered
Stammered
Stuttered

SUAVE MOTHERFUCKER
Bargained
Divulged
Disclosed
Exhorted

FIRST OFF
Began

LASTLY
Concluded
Concurred

WEAK PUSY
Begged
Blurted
Complained
Cried
Faltered
Fretted

HAPPY/LOL
Cajoled
Exclaimed
Gushed
Jested
Joked
Laughed

WEIRDLY HAPPY/EXCITED
Extolled
Jabbered
Raved

BRUH, CHILL
Cautioned
Warned

ACTUALLY, YOU’RE WRONG
Chided
Contended
Corrected
Countered
Debated
Elaborated
Objected
Ranted
Retorted

CHILL SAVAGE
Commented
Continued
Observed
Surmised

LISTEN BUDDY
Enunciated
Explained
Elaborated
Hinted
Implied
Lectured
Reiterated
Recited
Reminded
Stressed

BRUH I NEED U AND U NEED ME
Confided
Offered
Urged

FINE
Consented
Decided

TOO EMO FULL OF EMOTIONS
Croaked
Lamented
Pledged
Sobbed
Sympathized
Wailed
Whimpered

JUST SAYING
Declared
Decreed
Mentioned
Noted
Pointed out
Postulated
Speculated
Stated
Told
Vouched

WASN’T ME
Denied
Lied

EVIL SMARTASS
Dictated
Equivocated
Ordered
Reprimanded
Threatened

BORED
Droned
Sighed

SHHHH IT’S QUIET TIME
Echoed
Mumbled
Murmured
Muttered
Uttered
Whispered

DRAMA QUEEN
Exaggerated
Panted
Pleaded
Prayed
Preached

OH SHIT
Gasped
Marveled
Screamed
Screeched
Shouted
Shrieked
Yelped
Yelled

ANNOYED
Grumbled
Grunted
Jeered
Quipped
Scolded
Snapped
Snarled
Sneered

ANNOYING
Nagged

I DON’T REALLY CARE BUT WHATEVER
Guessed
Ventured

I’M DRUNK OR JUST BEING WEIRDLY EXPRESSIVE FOR A POINT/SARCASM
Hooted
Howled
Yowled

I WONDER
Pondered
Voiced
Wondered

OH, YEAH, WHOOPS
Recalled
Recited
Remembered

SURPRISE BITCH
Revealed

IT SEEMS FAKE BUT OKAY/HA ACTUALLY FUNNY BUT I DON’T WANT TO LAUGH OUT LOUD
Scoffed
Snickered
Snorted

BITCHY
Tattled
Taunted
Teased

reblog to save a writer 

Horray!!

Character Development: Appearance

riona-is-writing:

Your character’s appearance is pretty useful for a reader. This doesn’t just include hair and eye color, but accessories, how they view their own appearance, and body language. The character’s appearance helps your reader to not only visualize the character they’re reading about, but also to let them know something about the character. Here’s a list of the different components in a character’s appearance:

  • eyes (color, shape, emotion, etc.)
  • hair (color, style, wavy/curly/straight/etc., long/short)
  • skin (color, texture – like is it smooth, pockmarked, covered in spikes, etc.)
  • build (height, weight, muscle, type of body)
  • body language (how they stand/move)
  • clothing – normal (e.g. what they’d wear while out and about in public or in general)
  • clothing – dressed up (e.g. when they’re trying to be fancy)
  • clothing – comfortable (e.g. when they don’t care about what they look like, only comfort)
  • footwear/accessories (shoes, bags, hairthings, jewelry, tattoos, etc.)
  • how do they feel about their appearance (e.g. are they proud of it, ashamed, or just don’t care?)
  • how they see themselves vs how others see them (tied into the one above – like if they don’t care about their appearance and see their appearance as perfectly fine, but other people think that they don’t wear good clothes. In other words, how does your character’s appearance influence their interactions with others?)
  • items/things that they carry around with them or that appear with them that don’t really fit into the accessories category (e.g. Disney princesses and their animals, or the Log Lady and her log in Twin Peaks) 

Of course, not all of this information will appear in your writing (unless you’re working with visuals, like film or comics), but it’s good to keep in mind as the author.

When you do describe your character’s appearance in writing, remember:

SHOW, DON’T TELL.

I know, you’ve heard it all before, but it’s pretty important. 

For instance, if you have a tall character, instead of saying

He was tall.

say

He carried himself the way many tall people did – slightly bent down so that people could talk face-to-face with him.

or

He was always accidentally hitting his head on doorways that were too small for him, or on strings of lights at parties hung to accommodate people much shorter than him.

From these descriptions, the reader knows that not only is your character tall, but also how his height affects him and others around him – he’s courteous and tries not to loom over people, and his surroundings aren’t built with his height in mind, indicating that there aren’t many tall people where he lives.

By showing, not telling, you’ll be giving the reader more information about your character and in a way that develops character/the story.

However, there are times when you shouldn’t spend a lot of time on description. If it’s not important to your character or story, don’t feel bad if you say something very simply. And if your character isn’t the type to notice appearances that much, then it wouldn’t make sense for them to suddenly notice appearances with no explanation.

For example:

We have two characters noticing the same guy. The first character is a girl who loves art and poetry; the second character is a girl who likes math and science.

Character 1: “The stranger had deep blue eyes, like the depths of a still pond. I kept peeking at him all through second period, dying to pull my sketchbook out and start drawing.”

Character 2: “The stranger was good-looking, I guess – all the other girls were cooing over him in first period English today. I wasn’t really listening; problem number 87, part b, was a bit of a challenge.”

To the first character, description with colors and metaphors are important, and so it makes sense that she would describe the stranger this way. But to the second girl, who isn’t very poetic, it wouldn’t make sense, so all she would say is “he’s good-looking and the other girls like him,” and the reader can fill in the blanks.

In conclusion, remember:

  • not all of your character’s appearance is going to make it into the story
  • try to show, not tell

Something I struggle with, these are nice tips. Thank you!

Do you have any writing tips? Because I really love your writing style and I’m trying to improve mine :3

First off, thank you for the compliment, both on the fact
that you like my writing and that you would ask me for tips. That is definitely
high praise indeed.

The first thing is just
keep writing. Now, that may sound odd but the phrase practice makes perfect
wasn’t said for nothing. The more you do something, the better (hopefully) you
will become because you will grow the existing skills you have.
 
Read…a lot. And I’m not just talking other imagines, though
that does help. Read books, read multi-chapter fanfictions of your favorite
shows, read different genres of stories to help glean their tones. Often there
are multiple tones which can occur in a story even if you have a centralized
theme (romance, horror, etc) so having a pile of inspiration to draw from is
helpful. Also, re-read stories you love with the intent to pay attention at how
you’re feeling, what you’re seeing in your mind. Notate what about the story
draws you in and think how to emulate (not copy of course) that in your own.
 
Keep a journal or notebook (paper and electronic) to write
down new ideas, plot points, dialogue, scene set up, etc. Inspiration can hit
at almost any time and it really sucks to have a GREAT idea or to work out a
plot point that was giving you trouble only to forget it later because you didn’t
write it down.
 
Get your ideas out but try not to critique too much as you
go. Some of that is fine because you don’t want to create double work for
yourself when editing. But I find that sometimes when I’m paying too much
attention to finer details I lose my overall focus of what I’m trying to say.
So instead, I just write what’s in my head and allow myself to worry about
trimming it down later. This works for me, it may not for you or others and truthfully,
I don’t do it all the time. But when I allow myself the freedom to just write sometimes I find my best stuff
comes out because I’m not overly criticizing it as I go which can stifle
creativity very quickly. I hope that made sense.
 
The above leads into the next: Re-read your work repeatedly. The first time, look for
grammatical, spelling, punctuation, and tense errors. Clean up the mess
(because it happens to all of us).
 
After you finish editing as above, step away from what you
just wrote and let it sit. I don’t always follow this because I get impatient
with myself but when I do manage to I’ve found my writing is of a higher
quality. If you can let it sit for a whole day without revisiting it, it gives
you a chance to read it with fresh eyes when you go back.
 
Now, after you’ve let it sit, if you’re working on a
multi-chapter, read the previous chapter and go right into the next. Check the
flow and makes sure everything makes sense. Does it feel choppy? Too wordy? Not
enough description? Too much description? How does the dialogue, feel/sound?
What can you do to convey your message as cleanly and simply as possible?
Writing with great description and detail is fine but our brains are really
good at filling in gaps using our imagination. We don’t have to spell
everything out.
 
When doing the second read through, if something feels like
it doesn’t fit or may fit later or you even wonder what the heck you were
thinking, don’t delete it. Open a separate
word doc and take what I call the scraps and put them there. Label however you
need to in order to remember what they are for. I usually have a scrap doc open
for any story I’m writing and use it only for that story. If I start a new one,
I open a new scrap doc and use it. This way, if you came up with a really great
scene that just didn’t feel well placed in one part of your story, you already
have it ready to go for the next. I’ve even had lines of dialogue that felt
more appropriate for later in the story and just hung onto them until I could
use them.
 
Finish your cut and paste then let it sit again if you can.
Again, this is to allow your brain time to step away from what you’re so close
to so that when you read it one last time you’re not filling in gaps or
glossing over errors because your brain is supplying the answers and your eyes
aren’t able to see them.
 
If you have someone you can trust that will give you honest
feedback, ask them to read it. Take their opinions and apply changes where
necessary. I have one person I bounce stuff off of and it helps me a lot. If
you don’t want to have someone you know personally do it, seek out a beta
reader.
 
Don’t give in trolls, just don’t. If someone has something
constructive say, listen with a grain of salt because you CAN’T PLEASE
EVERYONE. I stress this because I have to remind myself of it often.
 
The biggest thing to remember is: have fun. Writing like
this, while challenging, is supposed to be fun. It’s an indulgence to explore
options for characters you love so make sure you’re enjoying it!
 
I hope that answers your question and isn’t too
overwhelming. Everything I described above can be used for imagines/scenarios
too and your blog will stand out if you apply them.Thanks again for following, reading and reaching out. I’m
happy to help if you ever have any more questions. You can send an ask or DM me
if you like.