Is There Anything More Satisfying As A Writer Than Dropping The Title Of Your Wip In Your Wip?

You know. Reading is important. Because I'm like always trying to make every line I write this groundbreaking mindfucking art but like. A book is 90% just saying what happened. "I hugged him around the waist." "The chair was brown and overstuffed." "I woke up alone." Etc etc. Like normal ass lines. I just keep comparing my boring, necessary to set a scene lines, with famous authors' absolute best lines and like.... every line doesn't have to shatter the earth. Sometimes someone just sits in a chair and the lines that wreck you come later, one at a time, here and there. It's alright.

Toxic standards in the writing community

Sacrificing sleep for writing. I notice this joke a lot, and I know a good number of people do it. I would do it too, just for the sake of fitting the joke because I thought it would “make me a real writer.” Please value your health, words and your stories can wait until you’ve taken care of yourself!

We compare ourselves. A lot. Often, I see a lot of people say things such as “I wish I could write as well as ——!” Or “I wish I had your writing style, mine is so bad!” Loves, your words are your words. Find the beauty in what comes from your mind, not what you hope could come from your mind in the voice of somebody else. Your hands place words in a specific way because that is the unique language they were tailored to, and there is no need to replace it for somebody else’s. Be proud of what you create!

“Call out posts” aimed to writers that spend a lot of time making Pinterest boards/playlists etc, when really, it’s something that we should enjoy and appreciate just as much as the writing itself. Not everything has to be productive, we can create just for enjoyment. Spend hours figuring out which songs would fit that scene in your WIP, or which would be the best theme song if it ever became a show. Spend days scouring Pinterest for what reminds you of the fiction living in your head. Let it come to life in different forms of art than the words you build them from.

Writing everyday and completing books at a fast speed. No. Not everybody works at the same pace, and not everybody can manage to write every day. It isn’t a race to see who can write the most, which is what it feels like it’s become sometimes. Let’s slow down and just enjoy the ride :) whether it takes you 10 years or 10 weeks to write a book, it’s a masterpiece all the same.

(Btw forgot to put this in my last ask but I love the new aesthetic)

thank youu ❤

Writing a Unique Fairy Tale Retelling

Credit: https://lindsay-elizabeth.com/how-to-write-a-unique-fairy-tale-retelling/

Intro

Fairy tale retellings are one of my absolute favorite genres to read, so I had to make a post on it! Retelling a story is addressing the original one with your own love letter and homage. A retelling is also a deeply personal experience, because whatever you want to retell is something that you find worth returning to, over and over again.

This post is primarily for fairy tale retellings, but any of these elements can be applied to folklore, mythology and other literary retellings as well!

1. Get to know the original story

We all know the most popular fairy tales well because we’ve been told them so many times in a variety of ways. However, the original stories were penned centuries and even thousands of years ago, so there are a lot of things you’ll probably want to leave behind, like misogyny, racism, and underage/toxic/inappropriate relationships. There are many other interesting story details, though, that you can pick up from the original text that can make your retelling richer and more layered.

Every writer interprets things differently. You never know what detail could spark your imagination and turn out to be something few others have used, so definitely take the time to read the original works. You can find pretty much all of the classic fairy tales for free online since they’re in the public domain (meaning the original copyright has expired).

2. Pay attention to themes

What makes fairy tales timeless and so pervasive in every culture are the underlying themes that we all relate to. They’re the truths that we connect with and instantly recognize on a deeper level. They explore topics like transformation, self-discovery, justice, judgment, class, and love. We’re inspired by the main hero’s will, spirit, and perseverance as they face challenges and ultimately overcome them on their journey to finding true love and happiness.

These are deeply human feelings and experiences, which is why they resonate with people of all generations and backgrounds. Fairy tales (and the best stories in general) make us examine these truths and help us understand them more deeply.

When writing a fairy tale retelling, look for the core of the story that you’re putting a spin on. What human experience is at the heart of it? As long as you have this, you can get as creative as you want with the rest of it!

3. Take note of your favorite elements

Besides the themes, what else do you love about the fairy tale you want to retell? Take some time to examine the story and take notes on what draws you to it over and over again.

If it’s the love story, what is it specifically about the love story that captures your heart more than others? The dynamic between the characters or a particular trope?

Keep pulling back the layers. The more you understand what you’re drawn to about this particular fairy tale, the more creative license you’ll be able to take because you’ll know what needs to stay the same to maintain the core of the story and what you can play with to make it unique.

4. Look at existing retellings

Take some time to go through the books currently available in the fairytale retellings genre to see how other people are playing with these stories and what the common threads are. Some places to check are:

GoodReads Lists of Fairy Tale Retellings

BookBub’s lists like this one of 20 Magical Fairy Tale Retellings for Adults

Amazon’s Best Sellers List for Teen & Young Adult Fairy Tale and Folklore Adaptations

What is missing? What hasn’t been done that you would love to read? Just one twist on the story can be the starting point for something completely fresh and intriguing.

5. Take note of what you like and don’t like

In all of the fairy tale retellings you’ve read and watched, what were your favorite things about them? What did you love about the characters, the scenes, the plots, the dialogue? What inspired you and pulled you into the story? And what didn’t you like? What did you think could’ve been done better? What did you feel was missing? All of these answers could be the first spark and building blocks to your own unique retelling.

6. Read reviews from other readers

Take a peek at the reviews for some of the most popular fairy tale retellings. What did other readers like and dislike about them? You’ll learn a lot about genre expectations here, as well as expectations for each individual fairy tale, and pick up a lot of valuable information you can use when crafting your own.

You never know what could spark your imagination; something someone says they “wishes” had been different in the story or that they never see in fairy tale retellings could be the impetus for a whole new story idea!

Keep in mind, writing is completely subjective, so just because someone else likes or doesn’t like something doesn’t mean you can’t tell the story you want to tell! This is just a way to get different perspectives on the genre and individual fairy tales to get your own creative juices flowing.

7. Take liberties with the plot

Following the original plot (or the most popular adaptation of it) too closely can get boring and predictable because your readers will know what’s coming. This offers a great opportunity to subvert expectations with unexpected twists on them.

8. Ideas for twists

Besides playing with the plot, there are a lot of other ways to put a twist on a fairy tale. To make it really unique, combine multiple twists.

New genre

Different time period and/or location

Gender-swap, role swap, combine roles, change roles

Switch to a different POV

Crossover/mix stories

Prequel or sequel to the original story

one of my very favorite obscure story tropes is when there’s an episode/plotline/tabletop campaign session where the conceit is ‘each member of the gang gets trapped in a specially tailored dream/nightmare/illusory mindscape and has to break out’

just so yall know

art block is your brain telling you to do studies.

draw a still life. practice some poses. sketch some naked people. do a color study. try out a different technique on a basic shape.

art block doesnt stop you from drawing, it stops you from making your drawings look the way you want them to. and thats because you need to push your skills to the next level so you can preform at that standard

think of it as level grinding for your next work.

naming your characters - writing tips

name them after someone important

give them a name from their time

choose a name with a meaning that matches their personality

a name that foreshadows their future

name a character after someone you love

give them an unremarkable first name and call them by their last name

don't name two characters the same name, even with most reason—it gets confusing

avoid names that are too similar—"Anne" and "Anna", for example

choose names the audience will remember

research the meaning beforehand

choose a plant name

choose a colour name

invent a name by putting vowels and letters together

pick either a very unconventional name or very plain name

generally don't make too many characters or it could be confusing for the reader

choose a name associated with the character's personality

name them after a celebrity (with meaning)

name them after yourself!

pick a name you would want yourself to be named

go nameless until you find the right one—or keep switching when you feel you do

^^ try out many names

think of names from that genre

Unpopular opinion: not everything that makes you uncomfortable is bad. Sometimes discomfort means your worldview is being challenged. It’s okay to sit with discomfort and think about where it’s coming from.

How to Write Strong Friendships

Source: https://kingdompen.org/deep-friendships/

Post by @writingwithacutlass on instagram

Friendships turn a good story into a memorable one. They add more emotional weight and make the readers care about the story more. Deep relationships are hard to write, though, so here are some tips to help you write a strong friendship that will add value to your story!

make each character their own person

Do not add a character just so they can be “the friend”. This will lead to a flat, undeveloped and boring character. In order to write a deep friendship, you’ll need deeply developed characters. Sure, your main character will likely be developed and interesting. But make sure that “their friend” has a clear goal, interests, motivations, dreams, passions, a distinct personality, quirks, values, struggles, and so on. Unique, developed characters create a solid foundation for a strong friendship.

give them something in common

Now that you have two unique, developed characters, you need a reason for them to be friends. What brought them together? What similarities do they share that connect them and serve as something to bond over? These similarities could include status, hobbies, struggles, history, background, interests, enemy, goals, and dreams.

give them meaningful differences

With similarities also comes differences. Don’t just make the two characters different, but give them meaningful differences that can build off on each other. Let them support each other in their strengths and build them up in their times of weakness. These can be differences in skills, conflict resolution, personalities, method of action, and reaction. Keep in mind what each character’s strengths and weaknesses are. How do their similarities and differences complement each other?

give them history

It depends on how long your characters have known each other, but deep friendships often need time to grow. This means your characters have probably known each other for some time, and you need to make that evident. Throw out hints that they have known each other for a while, and make the reader curious about their history. A few ways to do this is giving the characters inside jokes, letting them banter often, having them communicate non-verbally, and showing how much the two know about each other.

give them glue

What is holding your two characters together? What is the reason they don’t drift apart? The “glue” holding your characters together could be a common goal, another character, or they are simply in a situation where they can’t get away from each other making it impossible to part ways. Do your characters’ goals, values, and personalities contribute to the lasting of the friendship?

create meaningful scenes

Now that you have all the key components of an amazing friendship, it’s time to develop it throughout the story. Make sure to include some friendship moments in your story, and show your readers the power of this relationship. These scenes are meaningful to your reader, but also develop the relationship between the two characters.

don't make their relationship perfect

No one is perfect, and no relationship is perfect either. After you’ve added all these perfect elements to the friendship, you’ll need to add some flaws as well. Friends don’t get along all the time, so it’s okay if they have arguments or avoid each other for a while. If the glue to their friendship is strong enough, they’ll come back to each other and reconcile. Perhaps their differences clash. Or maybe other things that are out of their control are forcing them apart. Make the friendship complex, as all real friendships are. The characters will have to overcome the obstacles to keep their friendship strong. Difficulties in their friendship leads to a much more compelling story, one your readers will be greatly invested in.