Writing - Blog Posts
Fun fact, you can instantly make any story 10x worse by using any of the Viscous Words™. These include undulating, viscous (of course), pustules, any wet sound word such as squelch, pulsating, and writhing. These all have real applications, but throwing them into a normal sentence such as turning "they shook hands" to "they clasp their undulating hands" is just kinda funny sounding.
“Just remember. None of us have any idea what we’re doing either. No one chooses to exist. You just do. You’re gonna be okay.”
— Halsey
life is too long to be unhappy
I want to be heard, but I have nothing to say. Know that I am here, even if you don't hear me. Listen to my shouts from the rooftops as I sit in my room. The sound of my screams through the door I keep locked. Please, hold my hand, as I push you away. I want to be heard, but I have nothing to say.
My Unrequited Love
My Unrequited Love https://www.inkitt.com/stories/romance/919724
This story is thanks to a friend who passed his idea and together we come up with ideas to how to write it. :)
Konner and Kelly from this thing I'm writing called 'The Traffic Light Island', a story where two kids move to this island and "get roped" into the hero/villain system, except the system isnt normal, some of the "good" guys arnt good and some of the "bad guys arnt bad. I'll explain it more in the future but these are their morning designs
A constellation of scars (with a soldiers story to tell)
A constellation of scars, they tell the story Of a young soldier, beaten and battle weary The taunts, the jeers of those who seek validation The whispers, the rumours of those who see a threat
A collection of memories, they tell the story Of a bright young child, ready to find glory Studying hard for years to come To see their families proud faces When they hit number one
A tale of joy, fleeting yet forever Their mother, their sister, their brother, their father The times spent together with friends Now only a fantasy
The reality of life, an empty black hole The void in their chest where a heart once called home That absence of feeling that clings to their skin The guilt running through their veins that they cloak themselves in
The temptation of pain, just an itch at first Grows to be unbearable in the times it is worst The scabs on their skin that refuse to heal As they are peeled back again and again For that brief chance to feel
The tunnel of darkness continued to grow Would it ever end? They really didn’t know A call from the shadows in the form of a blade Said it brought peace and a moment of escape
The darkness swarmed in on them, promised to keep them safe In the midst of their pain, they didn’t realise it was a cage As the cuts grew in number on their arms, legs, chest and heart They still felt nothing when skin and blade were apart
As the darkness continued to swallow them whole Their loved ones were worried “Where did they go?” And so the acting began, strings of denies “I’m just tired.” They would say, weaving a web full of lies
The fragile strands tightened and coiled Constricting even them into being embroiled. “Maybe I really am just tired, or overreacting,” “Maybe it’s just for attention, to try and feel what I’m lacking.”
The coils wound tight, choking them slowly And though they didn’t realise it, they were succumbing And so the thoughts of death started creeping onto their head “I feel nothing even when cutting, I’m better off dead.”
An attempt was carried out, though they can barely remember a thing Except waking up in hospital, alive and breathing Their mother had found them, draped over the bathroom sink Wrists slit, bleeding out An ambulance was called There was still no feeling
A year had passed and there was still no sign of the end The web of lies had been broken, but the void in their chest remained Even while being smothered with affection There was still no feeling
The world kept rushing past, they stopped trying to keep up months ago But one day it seemed to halt For just a second There was feeling once more
They had been out with their friends Who hadn’t given up just yet On making them feel again Yet another attempt that was set to fail But it didn’t
It was a simple thing really A joke, a smile and then a tidal wave of laughter Seeing the joy that they thought was lost It caused something to stir
An echo of happiness, plucked from a heartstring It resonated through their body And the void seemed to shrink ever so slightly There was life in them yet
Five years passed and they were still no better That echo being the only thing keeping them tethered to this life Why am I not better yet? I should be happy, I should be healed
They began to notice the world The whispers, the rumours Began to notice How the scars littered their skin
Their body, an art piece For those who merely skimmed the surface, it was dangerous and all consuming So they avoided it Criticising the artist to deny their looming feelings of dread To ignore how deep the scars ran
But to those who saw through the critics’ remarks Those who looked deeper Who broke down the walls Who braved the aggression, the masks and the cruelty And saw what lay behind it all A damaged soul, trying to fix themselves with cut hands
The soul of a broken child who grew up too fast A child with a fragile glass heart Shattered to pieces by the harshness of life The expectations, the judgement, the reality It was shattered to protect the holder from the worst But they were still left with their constellation of scars
Those who saw the true meanings were sometimes driven to madness The weight of it too much for their aching shoulders Too weak to carry yet another burden But there were those who could. Those who saw and still stayed Those who showed them, the echo of a life Pulsing through them still
That constellation of scars, that collection of memories, they tell the story Of a brave young warrior, battling enemies even some of the most experienced had never encountered. How exhausted they were, how sick of fighting Who gave up trying to fight back those monsters Who had lost all faith
But who had life in them A pulse that refused to let go Clinging to them even as the darkness led them, Deeper and deeper into despair Echoing constantly, begging for them to hear A pulse that people helped them find
That brought them from their knees That told the young soldier, “Don’t loose hope yet, I’m still beating.” The young soldier hadn’t given up yet They would be victorious
Their constellation of scars, told of memories Good and bad, joyous and despairing The memories of their life past And would tell of the life to come
As the new scars were added, the jeers stayed the same, Unwavering in their goal to hurt
But still, they lived Though their scars never fully healed, their pain never fully erased The void never fully gone
There were good days Where their scars seemed non existent And there were bad days Which broke them all over again
But what was important Was that even if the light disappeared from the tunnel, Even if the dark seemed inescapable, They would always have the pulse in their chest Cheering them on, keeping them going Awaiting the victory only they can achieve. Steadily beating.
the feminine urge to create a magic system for something you’ll never write
reblog if ur currently scrolling tumblr to procrastinate writing ur fanfic
Best Monsoon Monday gift ever
☾ The Porcupine Dilemma ☾
Pairing: Samsoon (Samuel Rodrigues/Monsoon)
Author: Yours Truly (CrescentMon) Word Count: 29584 Rating: E
Summary: (Post-MGR, taking place several months after the events of the main campaign. Samuel and Monsoon respectively survive their inevitable excursions, but are left with an unrelenting, sorrowful desire to isolate. However, the cold will prove to be much less forbearing than the inevitable.)
every time anyone talks about liberation for the intellectually disabled in any real material way (i.e. creating plain-language educational resources accessible to adults reading on a first-grade level, detangling literacy from basic requirements to participate in society, destigmatizing inability to benefit from pedagogy, criticizing the construct of financial literacy as a necessary skill, etc etc etc), some chud comes along calling it "anti-intellectualism" and blabbing about how you're a morally inferior person if you only read middle-grade novels for fun, i'm so tired and we are never making it out
Where to Start Your Research When Writing a Disabled Character
[large text: Where to Start Your Research When Writing a Disabled Character]
So you have decided that you want to make a disabled character! Awesome. But what's next? What information should you decide on at the early phrase of making the character?
This post will only talk about the disability part of the character creation process. Obviously, a disabled character needs a personality, interests, and backstory as every other one. But by including their disability early in the process, you can actually get it to have a deeper effect on the character - disability shouldn't be their whole life, but it should impact it. That's what disabilities do.
If you don't know what disability you would want to give them in the first place;
[large text: If you don't know what disability you would want to give them in the first place;]
Start broad. Is it sensory, mobility related, cognitive, developmental, autoimmune, neurodegenerative; maybe multiple of these, or maybe something else completely? Pick one and see what disabilities it encompasses; see if anything works for your character. Or...
If you have a specific symptom or aid in mind, see what could cause them. Don't assume or guess; not every wheelchair user is vaguely paralyzed below the waist with no other symptoms, not everyone with extensive scarring got it via physical trauma. Or...
Consider which disabilities are common in real life. Cerebral palsy, muscular dystrophy, stroke, cataracts, diabetes, intellectual disability, neuropathy, multiple sclerosis, epilepsy, thyroid disorders, autism, dwarfism, arthritis, cancers, brain damage, just to name a few.
Decide what specific type of condition they will have. If you're thinking about them having albinism, will it be ocular, oculocutaneous, or one of the rare syndrome-types? If you want to give them spinal muscular atrophy, which of the many possible onsets will they have? If they have Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, which one out of the 13 different types do they have? Is their amputation below, or above the knee (it's a major difference)? Not all conditions will have subtypes, but it's worth looking into to not be surprised later. This will help you with further research.
If you're really struggling with figuring out what exact disability would make sense for your character, you can send an ask. Just make sure that you have tried the above and put actual specifics in your ask to give us something to work with. You can also check out our "disabled character ideas" tag.
Here are some ideas for a character using crutches.
Here are some ideas for a character with a facial difference (obligatory link: what is a facial difference?).
If you already know what disability your character is going to have;
[large text: If you already know what disability your character is going to have;]
Start by reading about the onset and cause of the condition. It could be acquired, congenital, progressive, potentially multiple of these. They could be caused by an illness, trauma, or something else entirely. Is your character a congenital amputee, or is it acquired? If acquired - how recently? Has it been a week, or 10 years? What caused them to become disabled - did they have meningitis, or was it an accident? Again, check what your options are - there are going to be more diverse than you expect.
Read about the symptoms. Do not assume or guess what they are. You will almost definitely discover something new. Example: a lot of people making a character with albinism don't realize that it has other symptoms than just lack of melanin, like nystagmus, visual impairment, and photophobia. Decide what your character experiences, to what degree, how frequently, and what do they do (or don't do) to deal with it.
Don't give your character only the most "acceptable" symptoms of their disability and ignore everything else. Example: many writers will omit the topic of incontinence in their para- and tetraplegic characters, even though it's extremely common. Don't shy away from aspects of disability that aren't romanticized.
Don't just... make them abled "because magic". If they're Deaf, don't give them some ability that will make them into an essentially hearing person. Don't give your blind character some "cheat" so that they can see, give them a cane. Don't give an amputee prosthetics that work better than meat limbs. To have a disabled character you need to have a character that's actually disabled. There's no way around it.
Think about complications your character could experience within the story. If your character wears their prosthetic a lot, they might start to experience skin breakdown or pain. Someone who uses a wheelchair a lot has a risk of pressure sores. Glowing and Flickering Fantasy Item might cause problems for someone photophobic or photosensitive. What do they do when that happens, or how do they prevent that from happening?
Look out for comorbidities. It's rare for disabled people to only have one medical condition and nothing else. Disabilities like to show up in pairs. Or dozens.
If relevant, consider mobility aids, assistive devices, and disability aids. Wheelchairs, canes, rollators, braces, AAC, walkers, nasal cannulas, crutches, white canes, feeding tubes, braillers, ostomy bags, insulin pumps, service dogs, trach tubes, hearing aids, orthoses, splints... the list is basically endless, and there's a lot of everyday things that might count as a disability aid as well - even just a hat could be one for someone whose disability requires them to stay out of the sun. Make sure that it's actually based on symptoms, not just your assumptions - most blind people don't wear sunglasses, not all people with SCI use a wheelchair, upper limb prosthetics aren't nearly as useful as you think. Decide which ones your character could have, how often they would use them, and if they switch between different aids.
Basically all of the above aids will have subtypes or variants. There is a lot of options. Does your character use an active manual wheelchair, a powerchair, or a generic hospital wheelchair? Are they using high-, or low-tech AAC? What would be available to them? Does it change over the course of their story, or their life in general?
If relevant, think about what treatment your character might receive. Do they need medication? Physical therapy? Occupational therapy? Orientation and mobility training? Speech therapy? Do they have access to it, and why or why not?
What is your character's support system? Do they have a carer; if yes, then what do they help your character with and what kind of relationship do they have? Is your character happy about it or not at all?
How did their life change after becoming disabled? If your character goes from being an extreme athlete to suddenly being a full-time wheelchair user, it will have an effect - are they going to stop doing sports at all, are they going to just do extreme wheelchair sports now, or are they going to try out wheelchair table tennis instead? Do they know and respect their new limitations? Did they have to get a different job or had to make their house accessible? Do they have support in this transition, or are they on their own - do they wish they had that support?
What about *other* characters? Your character isn't going to be the only disabled person in existence. Do they know other disabled people? Do they have a community? If your character manages their disability with something that's only available to them, what about all the other people with the same disability?
What is the society that your character lives in like? Is the architecture accessible? How do they treat disabled people? Are abled characters knowledgeable about disabilities? How many people speak the local sign language(s)? Are accessible bathrooms common, or does your character have to go home every few hours? Is there access to prosthetists and ocularists, or what do they do when their prosthetic leg or eye requires the routine check-up?
Know the tropes. If a burn survivor character is an evil mask-wearer, if a powerchair user is a constantly rude and ungrateful to everyone villain, if an amputee is a genius mechanic who fixes their own prosthetics, you have A Trope. Not all tropes are made equal; some are actively harmful to real people, while others are just annoying or boring by the nature of having been done to death. During the character creation process, research what tropes might apply and just try to trace your logic. Does your blind character see the future because it's a common superpower in their world, or are you doing the ancient "Blind Seer" trope?
Remember, that not all of the above questions will come up in your writing, but to know which ones won't you need to know the answers to them first. Even if you don't decide to explicitly name your character's condition, you will be aware of what they might function like. You will be able to add more depth to your character if you decide that they have T6 spina bifida, rather than if you made them into an ambiguous wheelchair user with ambiguous symptoms and ambiguous needs. Embrace research as part of your process and your characters will be better representation, sure, but they will also make more sense and seem more like actual people; same with the world that they are a part of.
This post exists to help you establish the basics of your character's disability so that you can do research on your own and answer some of the most common ("what are symptoms of x?") questions by yourself. If you have these things already established, it will also be easier for us to answer any possible questions you might have - e.g. "what would a character with complete high-level paraplegia do in a world where the modern kind of wheelchair has not been invented yet?" is much more concise than just "how do I write a character with paralysis?" - I think it's more helpful for askers as well; a vague answer won't be much help, I think.
I hope that this post is helpful!
Mod Sasza
Obscure Hero Essays?
Hi, I feel bad for my poor followers and my lack of posting. Some of you may not know I’m a HUGE superhero and comic book nerd. Ive been thinking about writing an essay about my all time fave obscure super hero Guy Gardner and how not only is he the best and most underutilized Green Lantern but there’s a ton of interesting angels and storylines not being utilitized.
Also, Tora aka Ice of DC Comics deserves to be written about beyond her relationship with Guy and her Best friend and potential love interest Fire. I want to do an essay on how Tora became a symbol of women fighting against stuffed in a refrigerator syndrome and how nodboy recognizes it.
Would anybody be interested in me writing it?
Tips for people who like to write by hand
So you’re an old timey writer who enjoys the feeling of paper as you breathe life into a story? Or, like me, you can’t use your phone at school and just wants to get some writing done while math class bores the others?
Well, me too and I’ve come to your aid! I’ve done some pretty stupid things that costed me hours and hours of searching for lost scenes and struggling to find ideas I knew I’d written down so you don’t have to!
Find the right notebook for you
By experience, notebooks take a long time to be filled. In good nanowrimo times, I take from 6 to 8 months to finish one. So you’ll be stuck with this guy for a long time. Make sure to pick one that you like and is right for your needs. I, for example, prefer spiral notebooks. You can rip out pages if you need to (if you mess it up, if someone asks you for one, if you just need a page to write down a grocery list or something, etc) and you can put a pen on the spiral. I also like having a pocket to put pieces of ideas I have.
Some spooky stories about having the wrong notebook:
I got stuck with a brochure old planner for two years. My mom didn’t use it in the year it was meant for, so I thought oh, it’s free real estate. As it turns out, it had really small space between the lines, so the pages would take forever to fill, it had all those day and hour numbers and the paper was really thin. It was terrible and it made writing terrible. It would have been a thousand times better if I just spent a few bucks on a regular notebook.
More recently, I started using just the kind of notebook I like, a spiral notebook with a pocket. But I bought it a couple of years ago at a fandom event I attended and the cover was a personalized Divergent cover. At the time, I thought if was pretty cool and everyone would know the reference. But now it has aged so very poorly. The cover has blood all over it and it says “Faction Before Blood”. So now I’m scared to pull it out to write at uni and people will think I’m in a gang or something.
Number your pages
I know, it sounds like a lot of work. But you can get a notebook with pages already numbered, number it yourself or do it like I do and number it every 10 pages (just because it’s easier). If you don’t feel like doing all of this repetitive work, date your writing. It’s cool to see how much you progressed, how long you have been writing this project, when you had this idea, etc. One thing doesn’t have to exclude the other, but both methods serve the same purpose.
And this purpose is to help you get an idea of how much you write (and feel good about your progress) and to help you organize yourself on all you’ve been writing. Which takes us to the next tip.
Make the first page an index
Not only it will take the pressure off the first page, it will also help you so you don’t keep losing the awesome stuff you’re writing and forgetting it exists. Everytime you start a new scene or change projects, go to the index and write down the page or the date you started this new section. Since I number every ten pages, I find the first page with a number on it and start counting forward or back to the new page. But you can do it in any way that suits you.
Make a random idea page
It doesn’t have to be the second page (it usually isn’t for me), but it’s good to have one. Sometimes, in the middle of writing, you have that great idea for something you need to change on what you’ve already got, or you got a completely new insight. It’s good to have your idea page somewhere close you can just flip to, write it down and get right back to writing. And don’t go easy on that page! Write it diagonally, vertically, draw on it, anything. It’s just there to take out those ideas so you can take a look at it another time and not mess the flow you’re in right now.
Keep your enemies close. And your pen even closer!
You know your favorite bic friend? It has a secret weapon just for you to use. That little flap of the cap? Use it to keep your pen always close. I normally put it on the spiral of my notebook. But if you have a brochure, you can put it on the cover. Sometimes it damages it a bit, but it’s a good trade for having it always ready for action. If you use moleskine, I saw that they normally have designated pen places. If they don’t, I have a tip for it just under this one!
Take your time to find which kind of pen is your weapon of choice. Personally, I think nothing beats a black ballpoint pen. I know some people like fineliners for writing, but they make the other side of the paper all gross looking and I like to keep it clean. Plus, I write really small and fineliners often bleed in my handwriting. I took my time searching for my favorite brand and I settled on Molin ballpoint pens.
I would recommend buying your favorite pens in bulk. Nothing is worse than pen hunting around when you have an urgent idea. I bought 50 pens for super cheap and I stack them EVERYWHERE. In all my bags, in my sketchbooks, in my bullet journal, in my writing notebook, in my drawers, anywhere I think it will be easy to find one when I need it ( also giving some to my friends who keep stealing my pens).
Crafting the perfect notebook
You don’t have to be a crafter to modify your notebook to better suit you! Find a ribbon anywhere in the house. Cut it to be a little longer than the book. Tape that bad boy to the inside of the back cover and everytime you stop writing, put that ribbon on the page you stopped. This helps you not to get lost in your previous writing and get right back to business when you resume.
Also, if you really like that moleskine vibe but don’t have the cash, just get a regular clothing elastic, make cut it just the size of the notebook and glue both ends to the inner part of the back cover. There you go! Now you can close it (and keep it closed).
If you like post-its, you can take half of the block (or however many sheets you cant put in there and still close the notebook comfortably) and glue it to the inside part of the cover of your notebook so it will always be conveniently available for you.
If your notebook doesn’t have a place to put your pen on and you really don’t want to mess up the cover, you take a small elastic (smaller than the pen) and tape (or preferably glue it) it to the back part of the notebook with both ends inside. There! Ready for the trip! Speaking of which…
Always carry your notebook with you
You never know when inspiration is going to strike. In class. At the bank. In a mall. Whenever you have a little time, you can write something. Or just take a look at what you’ve done and feel good about it.
Not in the mood for writing? Edit. Reread what you’ve done and start finding what you want to change once you type it in. When doing this, don’t be scared to cross out entire sentences and rewriting them on top. If it starts getting too messy, go to a blank page and rewrite the scene and you think it should have been done the first time. It seems counter-intuitive in a copy+paste kind of age, but I assure you it is worth it.
Typing your work
This is one of the biggest reasons I love writing in pen and paper. When you type, your first round of editing is done!
Don’t zone out when typing. As I said, typing is your first round of editing. It is important to keep aware of all of the things you might have done wrong when writing. Some people say writing it on paper and then typing it is a waste of time. I say it saves time and lives.
Keep it loose!
Just because you are writing in an actual physical book, it doesn’t mean you are writing a actual physical book. This is still your notebook and these are still your notes. So don’t be afraid to get messy. Write things out of order (seriously, it’s okay to not go chronological. i know it’s hard). Outline. Sketch. Tip-ex the whole thing. Get post-its on it. Take notes. Make genealogical trees. Draw maps.
If you’re feeling down or uninspired, try very basic writing exercises: write what you see, what you feel, something to try and make you laugh or something to make someone cry. It’s your place to express yourself. And once you got those creative juices flowing, happy writing :)
I hope you enjoyed my tips and please, feel free to reblog this with your own tips and tricks. I’d love to hear them! And follow me for some more writing content!
Writing a Believable Family: Information You Need
So today I thought I’d help out myself and anyone else who’s writing something where family plays a central role, seeing as a lot of people write about families but I barely see any posts about it!
Families are really fun to read about (imo), but often hard to write, as each family has a different dynamic that you really need to get a hold of. It’s easy to get discouraged because sometimes your fictional family might feel like strangers when they interact with each other. So without further ado, here are some questions and prompts to help you get to know your characters’ families.
Questions
Who is in this family? Are they all important characters?
How big of a role does this family play in the story? The theme of family in general?
Who looks the most like who? What general physical features do they all share?
Who is closest with each other? Who feels more distant?
What is a tradition this family has?
What holidays does this family celebrate? What religion do they practice?
What does this family always fight about?
Are all the relationships in this family healthy? If not, what makes them toxic?
Who is in charge or seems to have the most authority?
Is there a social hierarchy within the family? Who generally seems the coolest to the others?
Does this family travel a lot together? Where do they go?
What was/were the older generation(s) like before the younger generation(s) were born?
Has anyone in this family died? How did this impact the others?
Do members of the family have different politics? How does this affect the family’s relationship?
How much do your characters value their family?
What movies does this family watch on movie nights? What movies do they refuse to watch together?
What role does extended family play in this family’s life? (Ignore if the family you’re writing about is an extended family.)
Who argues the most?
What personality traits does the family share?
What makes this family unique?
What did/does the younger generation do for fun as little kids?
If this family had a vacation home, where would it be?
Who looks up to who?
Prompts
Write a conversation at the family’s dinner table.
What was the most disastrous family reunion/outing? Write it.
Try making a character web (shown in this post) for the family.
How does the rest of the family behave when one member graduates?
Write the script for everyone’s favorite old home video.
Draw a family tree. See how many generations you can go back.
Write each family member’s favorite family memory.
Describe how a family road would trip play out.
This family becomes the family fighting in Walmart. Describe how this happened.
The family is known for their top-notch annual ________ party. Write one such party.
Have a character from the family give your reader a “tour” of the family home.
Who got drunk at the last reunion? What ensued?
A character from the family is going through their favorite family photos. What are they? Why do they like them? What is the story behind them?
Imagine that this family has one huge family scandal in its history. What was it? How did people react when they found out?
A character has been hiding a secret for years, and their family finds out.
Fantasy Guide to Balls
When we think of fantasy we think of castles and princesses and then we immediately think of ballrooms and dancing. After all, what court is complete without balls and feasts?
Types
Throughout time there have been many kinds of ball. In mediaeval times, a feast could be a nightly occurrence. The monarch would pay to host their friends and vassals for dinner and afterward would come the dancing. The first few years of Henry VIII's reign had feasts and masques almost daily if not weekly. As we come closer to Edwardian times, some balls abandoned the dinner aspect for dancing, music and gossiping.
Invite only
If the monarch announces a ball, they will send an invite to the nobility or the wealthy if their presence is either desired or cursory. Snubbing a noble of an invite would be seen as an insult, a very public one. No noble or guest can show up without an invite. That would be seen as impetuous and rude, almost the equivalent of wearing white to a wedding.
Precedent
When you step into the ballroom, sometimes you would be announced to the room or introduced to the royal family. There would be a special sequence in which this would happen. The highest ranking to the lowest ranking always. It would be a manor faux pas to announce a mere Lady before a Duchess.
Dancing
Actual dancing sometimes ran like bingo. A lady could have a dance card which she would ask her dance partners to sign as a keepsake. The men would dance to show their grace and manners whilst some might be chasing a new mistress and the ladies would dance to show their grace and skill. It could be considered scandalous for a woman to dance more than a single dance with a man which could lead to gossip.
Different kinds of historical dances
Carole
Ductia
Estampie (Istampitta)
Saltarello
Trotto
Farandole
Allemande
Basse danse
Branle
Canario
Coranto
Dompe
Galliard
La volta
Pavane
Sarabanda
Spagnoletta
Tourdion
Bourrée
Canary
Chaconne
Entrée grave
Forlana
Gavotte
Gigue
Loure
Menuet
Musette
Passacaille
Passepied
Rigaudon
Sarabande
Tambourin
For @viola-cola
Some words to use when writing things:
winking
clenching
pulsing
fluttering
contracting
twitching
sucking
quivering
pulsating
throbbing
beating
thumping
thudding
pounding
humming
palpitate
vibrate
grinding
crushing
hammering
lashing
knocking
driving
thrusting
pushing
force
injecting
filling
dilate
stretching
lingering
expanding
bouncing
reaming
elongate
enlarge
unfolding
yielding
sternly
firmly
tightly
harshly
thoroughly
consistently
precision
accuracy
carefully
demanding
strictly
restriction
meticulously
scrupulously
rigorously
rim
edge
lip
circle
band
encircling
enclosing
surrounding
piercing
curl
lock
twist
coil
spiral
whorl
dip
wet
soak
madly
wildly
noisily
rowdily
rambunctiously
decadent
degenerate
immoral
indulgent
accept
take
invite
nook
indentation
niche
depression
indent
depress
delay
tossing
writhing
flailing
squirming
rolling
wriggling
wiggling
thrashing
struggling
grappling
striving
straining
Academic Writing Resources
General:
The Five-Paragraph Essay
Using Punctuation Marks
Deadly Sins Checklist
Formatting Your Paper
Writing About Literature
Basic Essay
Revision Checklist
Planning and Organization
Editing and Proofreading
Latin Terms
Essay Structure
Tips on Introducing Quotes
Academic Writing Tips
Introductions:
Introductory Paragraphs
Introductions
Writing an Introduction
Preparing to Write an Introduction
Introduction Strategies
The Introductory Paragraph
Writing Effective Introductions
In The Beginning
Introductions and Conclusions
The Introductory Paragraph
Writing Introductory Paragraphs
How to Write an Intro
Body Paragraphs:
Paragraph Development and Topic Sentences
Transitions
Transitions
Transitions
Four Components of an Effective Body Paragraph
Writing Paragraphs
Paragraph Development
Body Paragraphs
Body Paragraphs
Strong Body Paragraphs
Body Paragraphs
Writing Body Paragraphs
How to Write Body Paragraphs
Writing the Body
Writing Body Paragraphs
Body Paragraphs
Body Paragraphs that Defend a Thesis
How to Write Body Paragraphs
The Perfect Paragraph
Topic Sentences:
Topic Sentences
Writing Topic Sentences
Topic Sentences
Topic Sentences
The Topic Sentence
Paragraphs and Topic Sentences
The Topic Sentence
Topics, Main Ideas, and Topic Sentences
Writing a Good Topic Sentence
Good Topic Sentences
Conclusions:
Writing Effective Conclusions
Introductions and Conclusions
Conclusion Paragraphs
Conclusion Strategies
Conclusions
Tips for a Strong Conclusion
The Concluding Paragraph
Ending the Essay
Types of Conclusions
Writing a Strong Conclusion
How to Write a Conclusion
Writing Conclusions
Guide to Conclusions
Thesis Statements:
The Thesis Statement
Thesis Statements
Writing a Thesis Statement
Thesis Statement
Tips and Examples
Writing a Thesis
Writing the Thesis
How to Write Your Thesis
The Thesis
Thesis Statements
Guidelines for Writing a Thesis
Thesis Statements
Thesis
Thesis Statements
The Thesis
Create a Strong Thesis
How to Write a Thesis
Developing a Thesis
Guide to Writing Thesis Statements
Thesis Statements
Citing:
When to Cite
APA Documentation
MLA Documentation
Suggestions for Citing Sources
Research and Citation Resources
Citation Information
MLA Guidelines for Citing Poetry
MLA Style for Poetry
How to Format Your Paper
Argumentative Essays:
Argumentative Essays
Argument
Argumentative Essays
Persuasive or Argumentative Essays
Argumentative Essay
Argument/Argumentative
Argumentative Essays
How to Write a Good Argument
How to Write an Argumentative Essay
Writing Conclusions to Argumentative Essays
Argumentative Essay
Persuasive Essay Writing
Writing Concluding Paragraphs
Constructing the Argumentative Essay
Writing About Poetry:
Writing About Poetry
Writing About Poetry
Writing About Poetry Q & A
Poetry Explications
Writing About Poetry
Writing About Poems
Explicating a Poem
Writing About Poetry
Writing a Thesis Paper About a Poem
How to Start a Poetry Introduction
Poetry Essay Structure
Poetry Explication
Expository Essays:
Structure of a General Expository Essay
Expository Essay Examples
Sample Expository Essay
Expository Writing
Expository Essay Model
Elements of Expository Essays
Expository Writing Information
Expository Essays
Writing Expository Essays
How to Write an Expository Essay
Tips on Writing an Expository Essay
Expository Essays
Essay Map
Writing Expository Essays
How to Create a Strong Expository Essay
Expository Essay Writing
The Expository Essay
Research Papers:
How to Write a Research Paper in Literature
Writing a Research Paper
The Research Paper
How to Write a Research Paper
Five Paragraph Research Paper
Sample Research Paper
Writing a Research Paper
Tips for a Research Paper
How to Write a Research Paper
Writing a Scientific Research Paper
Writing Research Papers
Research and Writing
Research Papers that Rock
How to Write an Effective Research Paper
College Application Essays:
Application Essay Tips
Application Essays
Tips
10 Tips
Application Essays
How to Write a College Application Essay
Tips for an Effective Essay
Do’s and Don’t’s
College Application Essay
How to Write a College Application Essay
Narrative Essays:
Narrative and Descriptive
Narrative Essay Writing
The Personal Essay
Narrative Essays
Narrative Essays
Writing Narrative Essays
Narrative/Descriptive
Narrative Essay
Writing a Narrative Essay
Tips on Writing a Narrative Essay
Helpful things for action writers to remember
Sticking a landing will royally fuck up your joints and possibly shatter your ankles, depending on how high you’re jumping/falling from. There’s a very good reason free-runners dive and roll.
Hand-to-hand fights usually only last a matter of seconds, sometimes a few minutes. It’s exhausting work and unless you have a lot of training and history with hand-to-hand combat, you’re going to tire out really fast.
Arrows are very effective and you can’t just yank them out without doing a lot of damage. Most of the time the head of the arrow will break off inside the body if you try pulling it out, and arrows are built to pierce deep. An arrow wound demands medical attention.
Throwing your opponent across the room is really not all that smart. You’re giving them the chance to get up and run away. Unless you’re trying to put distance between you so you can shoot them or something, don’t throw them.
Everyone has something called a “flinch response” when they fight. This is pretty much the brain’s way of telling you “get the fuck out of here or we’re gonna die.” Experienced fighters have trained to suppress this. Think about how long your character has been fighting. A character in a fist fight for the first time is going to take a few hits before their survival instinct kicks in and they start hitting back. A character in a fist fight for the eighth time that week is going to respond a little differently.
ADRENALINE WORKS AGAINST YOU WHEN YOU FIGHT. THIS IS IMPORTANT. A lot of times people think that adrenaline will kick in and give you some badass fighting skills, but it’s actually the opposite. Adrenaline is what tires you out in a battle and it also affects the fighter’s efficacy - meaning it makes them shaky and inaccurate, and overall they lose about 60% of their fighting skill because their brain is focusing on not dying. Adrenaline keeps you alive, it doesn’t give you the skill to pull off a perfect roundhouse kick to the opponent’s face.
Swords WILL bend or break if you hit something hard enough. They also dull easily and take a lot of maintenance. In reality, someone who fights with a sword would have to have to repair or replace it constantly.
Fights get messy. There’s blood and sweat everywhere, and that will make it hard to hold your weapon or get a good grip on someone.
A serious battle also smells horrible. There’s lots of sweat, but also the smell of urine and feces. After someone dies, their bowels and bladder empty. There might also be some questionable things on the ground which can be very psychologically traumatizing. Remember to think about all of the character’s senses when they’re in a fight. Everything WILL affect them in some way.
If your sword is sharpened down to a fine edge, the rest of the blade can’t go through the cut you make. You’ll just end up putting a tiny, shallow scratch in the surface of whatever you strike, and you could probably break your sword.
ARCHERS ARE STRONG TOO. Have you ever drawn a bow? It takes a lot of strength, especially when you’re shooting a bow with a higher draw weight. Draw weight basically means “the amount of force you have to use to pull this sucker back enough to fire it.” To give you an idea of how that works, here’s a helpful link to tell you about finding bow sizes and draw weights for your characters. (CLICK ME)
If an archer has to use a bow they’re not used to, it will probably throw them off a little until they’ve done a few practice shots with it and figured out its draw weight and stability.
People bleed. If they get punched in the face, they’ll probably get a bloody nose. If they get stabbed or cut somehow, they’ll bleed accordingly. And if they’ve been fighting for a while, they’ve got a LOT of blood rushing around to provide them with oxygen. They’re going to bleed a lot.
Here’s a link to a chart to show you how much blood a person can lose without dying. (CLICK ME)
If you want a more in-depth medical chart, try this one. (CLICK ME)
Hopefully this helps someone out there. If you reblog, feel free to add more tips for writers or correct anything I’ve gotten wrong here.
Stephen King's book On Writing is a great read, part biographical, part a look on his career, and part writing guide, reading this it's easy to see why his prose is so approachable. Even if you're not a Stephen King fan this book can at least be top tier beach reading material.
Fantasy Guide to Worldbuilding
Language and Culture
You have your land and your people. Now onto what kind of people they are and what they sound like. Culture is the greatest worldbuilding tool you need to master. Language is extra spice.
Culture
Culture is a collection of customs and attitudes formed over time. Culture forms around a land, metaphorical cling film if you will. Land influences culture.
Entertainment: What amuses your people? Bull fighting? Gladiators? Tasteful plays?
Food and drink: What food is common? Is there a delicacy popular in the region? Pasta is Italy’s delicacy. Beer is a common drink in Germany
Taboo: The no-no of society. What can’t be spoken about or done? In Harry Potter, the name of Voldemort is taboo. In our world, for most of us anyway, incest and cannibalism are the major taboos
Myths: Are stories that explain things without evidence from science. The Egyptians thought that a dung-beatle rolled the sun across the sky. Celtic cultures believe that a death is sounded by the scream of a banshee.
Games: What games are played by children or adults? Are card games popular or board games? Is it popular to watch games or gamble on them? How often are they fixed?
Traditions: What do your people do? Do they have holidays? In Incan tradition, human sacrifices were common. On a light note, the Greeks held the Olympics ever few years. Is there traditional ceremonies or words one says on a daily basis?
Values: The Spartans valued Spartan behaviour. Renaissance culture valued skill and honour. What is the important concepts of your people? Strength? Honour? Intelligence? Do people get treated differently when they don’t follow the values of the land?
Meeting and greeting: How do people say hello? Is there a word or saying? A signal? And goodbye?
Language
Language is the heart of a land. You don’t need to create a large lexicon of made up words and rules. You can. I did once, it was fun. You don’t need to show the language in every line. A word here and there can add spice to a story. Language effects accents and way of speaking.
Side note: “Tír gan teanga, tír gan anam.” A country without a language is a country without a soul. Ireland is a county with two main languages: Irish (Gaelige) and English. Colonization almost stamped out the language. The Irish language is difficult to learn but it brings pride to me as Irish girl to know parts of it. It breaks my heart not to be fluent in my native language. Language is not just words. It is the heart and soul of a land.
“Extremely detailed character sheet template”
Character Chart Character’s full name: Reason or meaning of name: Character’s nickname: Reason for nickname: Birth date: Physical appearance Age: How old does he/she appear: Weight: Height: Body build: Shape of face: Eye color: Glasses or contacts: Skin tone: Distinguishing marks: Predominant features: Hair color: Type of hair: Hairstyle: Voice: Overall attractiveness: Physical disabilities: Usual fashion of dress: Favorite outfit: Jewelry or accessories: Personality Good personality traits: Bad personality traits: Mood character is most often in: Sense of humor: Character’s greatest joy in life: Character’s greatest fear: Why? What single event would most throw this character’s life into complete turmoil? Character is most at ease when: Most ill at ease when: Enraged when: Depressed or sad when: Priorities: Life philosophy: If granted one wish, it would be: Why? Character’s soft spot: Is this soft spot obvious to others? Greatest strength: Greatest vulnerability or weakness: Biggest regret: Minor regret: Biggest accomplishment: Minor accomplishment: Past failures he/she would be embarrassed to have people know about: Why? Character’s darkest secret: Does anyone else know? Goals Drives and motivations: Immediate goals: Long term goals: How the character plans to accomplish these goals: How other characters will be affected: Past Hometown: Type of childhood: Pets: First memory: Most important childhood memory: Why: Childhood hero: Dream job: Education: Religion: Finances: Present Current location: Currently living with: Pets: Religion: Occupation: Finances: Family Mother: Relationship with her: Father: Relationship with him: Siblings: Relationship with them: Spouse: Relationship with him/her: Children: Relationship with them: Other important family members: Favorites Color: Least favorite color: Music: Food: Literature: Form of entertainment: Expressions: Mode of transportation: Most prized possession: Habits Hobbies: Plays a musical instrument? Plays a sport? How he/she would spend a rainy day: Spending habits: Smokes: Drinks: Other drugs: What does he/she do too much of? What does he/she do too little of? Extremely skilled at: Extremely unskilled at: Nervous tics: Usual body posture: Mannerisms: Peculiarities: Traits Optimist or pessimist? Introvert or extrovert? Daredevil or cautious? Logical or emotional? Disorderly and messy or methodical and neat? Prefers working or relaxing? Confident or unsure of himself/herself? Animal lover? Self-perception How he/she feels about himself/herself: One word the character would use to describe self: One paragraph description of how the character would describe self: What does the character consider his/her best personality trait? What does the character consider his/her worst personality trait? What does the character consider his/her best physical characteristic? What does the character consider his/her worst physical characteristic? How does the character think others perceive him/her: What would the character most like to change about himself/herself: Relationships with others Opinion of other people in general: Does the character hide his/her true opinions and emotions from others? Person character most hates: Best friend(s): Love interest(s): Person character goes to for advice: Person character feels responsible for or takes care of: Person character feels shy or awkward around: Person character openly admires: Person character secretly admires: Most important person in character’s life before story starts: After story starts:
found here
ATTENTION WRITERS
Google BetaBooks. Do it now. It’s the best damn thing EVER.
You just upload your manuscript, write out some questions for your beta readers to answer in each chapter, and invite readers to check out your book!
It’s SO easy!
You can even track your readers! It tells you when they last read, and what chapter they read!
Your beta readers can even highlight and react to the text!!!
There’s also this thing where you can search the website for available readers best suited for YOUR book!
Seriously guys, BetaBooks is the most useful website in the whole world when it comes to beta reading, and… IT’S FREE.
Hey guys! As a writer myself, it’s hard to have a lot of resources for writing in one place. That’s why I decided to create this masterpost, and maybe make more if I find future resources. I hope you like it, and expect to see more masterposts like this in the future!
Generators
Character
Appearance Generator
Archetypes Generator
Character Generator
Character Traits Generator
Family Generator
Job/Occupation Generator, (II)
Love Interest Generator
Motive Generator
Name Generator
Personality Generator, (II)
Quick Character Generator
Super Powers Generator
Names
Brand Name Generator
Medicine Title Generator
Name Generator
Quick Name Generator
Vehicle Generator
Town Name Generator
Plot
First Encounter Generator
First Line Generator, (II)
Plot Generator, (II), (III)
Plot Device Generator
Plot Twist Generator
Quick Plot Generator
Setting/World-Building
City Generator
Fantasy Race Generator
Laws Generator
Pet Generator
Setting Generator
Species Generator
Terrain Generator
Prompts
Subject Generator
”Take Three Nouns” Generator
Word Prompt Generator
Misc
Color Generator
Decision Generator
Dialogue Generator
Journey Generator
Title Generator, (II), (III)
Some Tips
Just a few I found from the writing tips tag!
Writing action / @berrybird
How to create a strong voice in your writing / @collegerefs
How to plot a complex novel in one day! / @lizard-is-writing
8 ways to get past writer’s block / @kiramartinauthor
psa for writers / @dasakuryo
”Write Using Your 5 Senses” / @ambientwriting
How People Watching Improves Your Writing / @wherethetransthingsare
Writing Science Fiction: Tips for Beginners / @fictionwritingtips
Creating Likeable Characters / @authors-haven
Vocabulary
Descriptive words / @somekindofstudent
Words to replace “Said” / @msocasey
Obscure color words / @mintsteelpeachlilac
Words to spice up your stories / @busyibee
Words to describe someone’s voice
Words to Use Instead of Very / @gaybybirth
Touchy Feely Words / @gaybybirth
Some Advice
Stephen King’s Top 20 Rules for Writers
”But my plot isn’t UNIQUE or BIG enough!” / @youreallwrite
8 Things Every Creative Should Know / @adamjk
(How To) Get Over Comparing Yourself to Other Creatives / @adamjk
How to Get Over Common Creative Fears (Maybe) / @adamjk
14 Tips From Stephen King On Writing / @i-can-give-you-prompts
Playlists
Electronic Thoughts / @eruditekid
“Mix About Writing” An Instrumental Mix / @shadowofemirates
Shut Up, I’m Writing! / @ninadropdead
Chill / @endlessreveries
Breathtaking Film Scores / @tweedskirts
Music to Write to Vol. 1: Starlight / @crestadeen
Music for Written Words / @ghoulpatch
Dead Men Tell No Tales / @scamandersnewt
Fatale / @dolcegf
All These Things that I’ve Done / @referenceforwriters
Feeling Soaking into Your Bones / @verylondon
I Can Feel Your Pulse in the Pages / @rphelper
Morally Ambiguous / @scamandersnewt
Wonderwall / @wheelerwrites
Pythia / @mazikeene
Ballet: To Dance / @tanaquil
Websites and Apps
For Writing
ZenPen: A minimalist writing website to keep you free of distractions and in the flow.
The Most Dangerous Writing App: A website where you have to keep typing or all of your writing will be lost. It helps you keep writing…kind of. You can choose between a time or word count limit!
Evernote: An online website where you can take notes and save the product to your laptop and/or smartphone!
Writer, the Internet Typewriter: It’s just you and your writing, and you can save your product on the website if you create an account.
Wordcounter: A website to help check your word and character count, and shows words you’re using frequently.
Monospace: An Android app for writing on the go when you feel the inspiration, but you don’t have your laptop on you!
For Productivity
Tide: An app that combines a pomodoro-esque timer with nature sounds and other noises! (Google Play / Apple Store)
ClearFocus: An Android app with a pomodoro-type time counter to let you concentrate easier and stay productive.
Forest: An app with a time counter to keep you focused and off your phone, and when you complete the time limit, a tree grows in your garden! (Google Play / Apple Store)
SelfControl: A Mac downloadable app that blocks you from distracting mail servers, websites, and other things!
Prompt Blogs
@writeworld
@dialouge-prompts
@oopsprompts
@prompts-for-the-otp
@creativepromptsforwriting
@the-modern-typewriter
@theprofessionalpromptmaker
@writers-are-writers
@otp-imagines-cult
@witterprompts
@havetobememes
@auideas
@putthepromptsonpaper
@promptsonpaper
@fyotpprompts
@otpisms
@soprompt
@otpprompts
@ablockforwritersblock
@awritersnook
Writing Tips Blogs
@writeworld
@anomalously-written
@awritersnook
@clevergirlhelps
@referenceforwriters
@whataboutwriting
@thewritershelpers
@nimblesnotebook
@slitheringink
self-editing for fiction writers
Showing vs Telling
Do you have any narrative summary, or are you bouncing from scene to scene without pausing for breath?
Characterization & Exposition
What information do your readers need in order to understand your story? At what point in the story do they need to know it?
How are you getting this info across to your readers? Is it all at once through a writer-to-reader lecture?
If exposition comes out through dialogue, is it through dialogue your characters would actually speak even if your readers didn’t have to know the information? In other words, does the dialogue exist only to put the information across?
Point of View
Look at your descriptions. Can you tell how your viewpoint character feels about what you’re describing?
Proportion
Look at descriptions. Are the details you give the ones your viewpoint character would notice?
Reread your first fifty pages, paying attention to what you spend your time on. Are the characters you develop most fully important to the ending? Do you use the locations you develop in detail later in the story? Do any of the characters play a surprising role in the ending? Could readers guess this from the amount of time you spend on them?
Dialogue
Can you get rid of some of your speaker attributions entirely? Try replacing some with beats.
How often have you paragrapher your dialogue?Try paragraphing a little more often.
See How it Sounds
Read your dialogue aloud. At some point, read aloud every word you write.
Be on the lookout for places where you are tempted to change the wording.
How well do your characters understand each other? Do they ever mislead on another? Any outright lies?
Interior Monologue
First, how much interior monologue do you have? If you seem to have a lot, check to see whether some is actually dialogue description in disguise. Are you using interior monologue to show things that should be told?
Do you have thinker attributions you should get rid of (by recasting into 3rd person, by setting the interior monologue off in its own paragraph or in italics, or by simply dropping the attribution)
Do your mechanics match your narrative distance?(Thinker attributions, italics, first person when your narrative is in third?)
Easy Beats
How many beats do you have? How often do you interrupt your dialogue?
What are your beats describing? Familiar every day actions, such as dialling a telephone or buying groceries? How often do you repeat a beat? Are your characters always looking out of windows or lighting cigarettes?
Do your beats help illuminate your characters? Are they individual or general actions anyone might do under just about any circumstances?
Do your beats fit the rhythm of your dialogue? Read it aloud and find out
Breaking up is easy to do
Look for white space. How much is there? Do you have paragraphs that go on as much as a page in length?
Do you have scenes with NO longer paragraphs? Remember what you’re after is the right balance.
Have your characters made little speeches to one another?
If you’re writing a novel, are all your scenes or chapters exactly the same length? -> brief scenes or chapters can give you more control over your story. They can add to your story’s tension. Longer chapters can give it a more leisurely feels. If scene or chapter length remains steady while the tension of the story varies considerably, your are passing up the chance to reinforce the tension.
Once is usually enough
Reread your manuscript, keeping in mind what you are trying to do with each paragraph–what character point you’re trying to establish, what sort of mood you’re trying to create, what background you’re trying to suggest. In how many different ways are you accomplishing each of these ends?
If more than one way, try reading the passage without the weakest approach and see if it itsn’t more effective.
How about on a chapter level? Do you have more than one chapter that accomplishes the same thing?
Is there a plot device or stylistic effect you are particularly pleased with? How often do you use it?
Keep on the lookout for unintentional word repeats. The more striking a word or phrase is, the more jarring it will be if repeated
Sophistication
How many -ing and as phrases do you write? The only ones that count are the ones that place a bit of action in a subordinate clause
How about -ly adverbs?
Do you have a lot of short sentences, both within your dialogue and within your description and narration? Try stringing some of them together with commas
Beneath the cut, you’ll find #76 character labels that I’ve thought up– they’re underused! I felt like I was sick and tired of seeing simplistic labels that defined the characters situation rather than their personality (eg. the teen mom, the loser, the rebel, etc.). Please like and/or reblog if you found this useful!