Writing Resource - Blog Posts

Victorian Slang for Steampunk Characters

Whether your character is a thief, sailor, noble, engineer, or average citizen in the 19th century, dialogue can be the quickest (and the funnest!) way to paint their personality and circumstances. 

Here is short list of resources I’ve found to be the most helpful, plus a compilation of 108 Victorian slang terms that happen to be my favorites.

Victorian Slang Resources

Passing English of the Victorian era: a Dictionary of Heterodox English, Slang and Phrase (1909) is a book of slang from all levels of society, categorized by origin and dates of use.

Vocabulum, or the Rogue’s Lexicon (1859) is a book of slang published in the Victorian era itself, specializing in the slang of criminals and miscreants of all sorts. 

An online list of 19th century American and Civil War era vocabulary, particularly helpful for military slang and for characters with an American background. 

And a list of equally delightful slang from the Edwardian era, technically not Victorian but with reasonable room for overlap—and besides, who’s going to do as much research as you? 

Now for my favorite slang terms, most of them compiled from Passing English. You’ll find some bias toward a roguish vocabulary, since my steampunk novella Aliferous is centered around air pirates!

108 Victorian Slang Terms

Above-board – Frank, open. From sailors’ lingo. Not between decks or in the hold, but above all the boards in the ship.

Ah, dear me!  – ejaculation of sorrow

Alexandra Limp (approx. 1872) – An affected manner of walking seen for several years amongst women. Said to have been imitated from the temporary mode in which     the then Princess of Wales walked after some trouble with a knee. (See Buxton Limp, Grecian Bend, Roman Fall.)

All his buttons on (approx. 1880 on) – Sharp, alive, active, not to be deceived. He is eighty-three years of age, but as we say hereabouts, has all his buttons on.

All a treat – Perfection of enjoyment, sometimes used satirically to depict mild catastrophe.

All over red (approx. 1840 on) – Dangerous, to be avoided.

Anti-Tox (approx. 1885) – A drug to sober a drunken person. Tox is, of course, the abbreviation of intoxication.

Balloon-juice (1883) – Soda-water; presumably suggested by its gassy nature. It’s as good as a bottle of balloon-juice after a night’s hard boozing.

Keep reading

60 Awesome Search Engines for Serious Writers

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! 

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. 

the suffering never ends

Alcohol

Types

List of alcoholic beverages

Beer list, beer, beer brands, most popular beers

Red wine, red wine 2, redwine 3, most expensive red wines

White wine, white wine 2, white wine 3

Whiskey vs. whisky, whisky cocktails, whisky cocktails 2, whisky brands

Vodka, vodka brands, vodka recipes, vodka recipes 2

Champagne, champagne 2, champagne brands, New Year’s champagne, champagne vs. sparkling wine

Martinis, martinis 2, classic martini, martini guide

Cocktails, cocktails 2, cocktails 3, 60s cocktails, most popular cocktails, Asian cocktails

Highballs and tall drinks

Lowball and on the rocks drinks

Sours and tropical drinks

Shooters and shots

Hot drinks, wine cocktails, and stick drinks

Medieval drinks, medieval drinks 2, medieval drinks 3

1920s drinks, 20s cocktails 1, 20s cocktails 2, 20s cocktails 3

Wild West drinks 1, Wild West drinks 2

Chinese drinks, sake, soju, Asian beer guide

Serving

How to mix drinks, mixology 2, mixology 3

Glassware, glassware 2, glassware pictures

Being a bartender

Bartender schools

Bar equipment

Drink measurements

What’s Hot 2013 Bar Survey

Liquors behind the counter (modest and advanced, advanced 2)

Wine/food and food/wine coordinator

Bartending terminology, bartending glossary

Bar name generator, tavern name generator, saloon names, speakeasy names

Legal

Minimum legal drinking age in different countries, minimum age 2

Laws regarding drinking (US, US Las Vegas, Europe 1 and Europe 2, Canada, Australia)

Minimum age to serve alcohol

US Prohibition, Prohibition glossary, speakeasies

Misc.

Slang terms for alcohol

National liquors

Find a drink

9 weirdest alcoholic drinks

Alcoholic consumption per capita

Top bar/pub chains (USA, Britain, Australia)

Canadian bar finder

Most expensive wines 1, 2, and 3

Hangover cures 1, hangover cures 2, hangover cures 3

Describing the taste of wine, describing the taste 2

Reading a wine label

Cheat Sheet for Writing Emotion

Anger:

Grinding teeth

Narrowing eyes

Yelling

A burning feeling in the chest

Heavy breathing

Unjustified or justified accusations towards other characters

Jerky movements

Glaring

Violence

Stomping

Face reddening

Snapping at people

Sadness:

Lack of motivation

Messy appearance

Quiet

Slow movements

Crying

Inability to sleep

Frowning

Red eyes

Isolating oneself

Fatigue

Not concentrating

Love:

Thinking about someone

Good communication

Not forcing a friend/lover into something

Smiling randomly

Making eye contact with loved one

Nervous behaviors (fiddling hands, biting lip)

Cuddling

Flirting

Inside jokes

Holding hands

Kissing

Offering gifts

Fluttering stomach

Racing heart

Losing track of time while with loved one

Daydreaming

Denial:

Disagreement with someone

Shaking head frantically

Backing away

Putting hand on one’s chest

Rapid speaking

Rationalization or justifying something

Dismissing someone or something

Embarrassment:

Blushing

Avoiding eye contact

Grimacing

Looking down

Changing the conversation

Rubbing back of neck

Shoulders slumping

A weak voice

Tightening chest

Panicked thoughts

Running away

Getting quiet

Concentrating on something else

Happiness

Smiling

Laughing

Squealing

Bouncing on toes

Warmth in chest

Fast pulse

A sense of contentment

Relaxed posture

Quick movements

Breathlessness

Desire to help

Fear:

Face going pale

Panicked thoughts

Jerky movements

Mind racing for a solution

Running

Freezing

Fighting

Fawning (doing what people tell you to do)

Side note: flight, fight, freeze, and fawn are all reactions to adrenaline. Aka the fight or flight response

Thinking of survival

Rapid breathing

A panicked feeling

Guilt:

Feeling horrible about oneself

Lying

Grimacing

Trying to redeem themselves

Asking for forgiveness

Anxious thoughts

Reasons to Keep Writing

•everyone starts small. just because you’re not big now, doesn’t mean you’ll never be. and if you’re just starting out, keep in mind those bigger blogs have been writing for much longer than you. building a following takes time. 

•there will always be someone who enjoys your writing. every like, reblog, and comment is one person who enjoyed what you wrote and i can assure you they want more! and remember, not everyone remembers to leave evidence that they liked your writing or they might just be too nervous to interact with you. invisible fans exist, and you’ve got them.

•going along with that last one, your writing has the potential to help others! you could write about a minority, or maybe you could publish a little something comforting at the exact time someone else needs it. and most of the time, when you affect someone like this they’ll tell you, whether it be through tags, or a private message or whatever. that’s an amazing feeling.

•getting a compliment from someone becomes a sure-fire way to make your day better. nothing feels greater than seeing a comment from someone saying how much they love something you worked hard on. maybe write down these comments somewhere, so you can look at them when you’re feeling negative about your skills as a writer.  

•writer’s block is not the end of your writing career. it sure feels like it sometimes, but everyone, even the popular writers you look up to, suffer from writer’s block. everyone puts out work they’re not 100% satisfied with sometimes, and that’s okay! when you get out of this slump, your writing will be better than ever before and you’ll enjoy it again. keep writing through a block so you can get there sooner.

These are the things I think about when I feel bad about my writing, so I hope they can help someone else too.

A very useful demonstration of the importance of sentence length.

Your Character’s Personality

Personality is the most important thing about your character.

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

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

Traits: 

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

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

Beliefs:

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

Values:

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

Motives:

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

Recurring Feelings:

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

Self Image:

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

Behavior:

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

Demeanor:

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

Posture:

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

Speech Pattern:

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

Hobbies:

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

Quirks:

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

Likes:

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

Dislikes:

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

History:

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

On Mental and Physical Disabilities or Illnesses

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

- Chick

Source If you want more facts, follow Ultrafacts

Resources For Describing Emotion

Emotions

Without Making Your Character Feel Too Self Aware

Showing Emotion Without Telling About It

Emotions Associated With Body Language

Telling Readers What The Character Doesn’t Want To Show

Hiding Emotions

Expressing Cardinal Emotions: Masculine vs. Feminine

Writing Extreme Emotion Without Melodrama

Specific Emotions

Conveying Shock

Conveying Embarrassment

Conveying Disappointment

Conveying Love/Attraction

Conveying Annoyance

Conveying Relief

Conveying Uncertainty

Conveying Impatience

Conveying Shame

Conveying Resentment

Conveying Panic

Conveying Guilt

Conveying Desperation

Conveying Sarcasm & Verbal Disrespect

Conveying Confusion

Conveying Stubbornness

Conveying Frustration

Conveying Indifference

Conveying Indignation

Conveying Confidence & Pride

Conveying Smugness

Conveying Enthusiasm

Conveying Curiosity

Conveying Hopefulness

Conveying Unease

Conveying Reluctance

Conveying Worry

Conveying Humility & Meekness

Conveying Happiness & Joy

Conveying Amusement

Conveying Disgust

Conveying Resignation

Conveying Jealousy

Conveying Anticipation

Conveying Contentment

Conveying Defeat

Conveying Excitement

Conveying Fear

Conveying Hatred

Conveying Hurt

Conveying Being Overwhelmed

Conveying Sadness & Grief

Conveying Satisfaction

Conveying Somberness

Conveying Sympathy & Empathy

Conveying Wariness

Conveying Defensiveness

Conveying Desire

Conveying Doubt

Conveying Energy

Conveying Exhaustion

Conveying Hunger

Conveying Loneliness

Conveying Physical Pain

Emotional Wounds

A Role Model Who Disappoints

A Sibling’s Betrayal

A Speech Impediment

Becoming a Caregiver at an Early Age

Being Bullied

Being Fired or Laid Off

Being Held Captive

Being Mugged

Being Publicly Humiliated

Being Raised by Neglectful Parents

Being Raised by Overprotective Parents

Being So Beautiful It’s All People See

Being the Victim of a Vicious Rumor

Being Stalked

Being Trapped in a Collapsed Building

Being Unfairly Blamed For The Death of Another

Childhood Sexual Abuse (by a family member or known person)

Discovering One’s Parent is a Monster

Discovering One’s Sibling was Abused

Experiencing a Miscarriage or Stillbirth

Failing At School

Failing To Do The Right Thing

Financial Ruin Due To A Spouse’s Irresponsibility

Finding Out One’s Child Was Abused

Finding Out One Was Adopted

Getting Lost In a Natural Environment

Growing Up In A Cult

Growing Up in a Dangerous Neighborhood

Growing Up In Foster Care

Growing Up In The Public Eye

Growing Up In The Shadow of a Successful Sibling

Growing Up with a Sibling Who Has a Chronic Disability or Illness

Having Parents Who Favored One Child Over Another

Having To Kill Another Person To Survive

Infertility

Infidelity (emotional or physical)

Losing a Limb

Losing a Loved One To A Random Act of Violence

Making a Very Public Mistake

Overly Critical or Strict Parents

Physical Disfigurement

Rejection By One’s Peers

Telling The Truth But Not Being Believed

The Death of a Child On One’s Watch

Victimization via Identity Theft

Watching A Loved One Die

Wrongful Imprisonment

Spending Time In Jail

Suffering From a Learning Disability

Motivation

Achieving Spiritual Enlightenment

Avoiding Certain Death

Avoiding Financial Ruin

Beating a Diagnosis or Condition

Being Acknowledged and Appreciated by Family

Being a Leader of Others

Being the Best At Something

Caring for an Aging Parent

Carrying on a Legacy

Catching The Bad Guy or Girl

Coming To Grips With Mental Illness

Discovering One’s True Self

Escaping a Dangerous Life one Doesn’t Want

Escaping a Killer

Escaping a Widespread Disaster

Escaping Confinement

Escaping Homelessness

Escaping Invaders

Finding Friendship or Companionship

Finding a Lifelong Partner

Having a Child

Helping a Loved One See They Are Hurting Themselves and Others

Obtaining Shelter From The Elements

Overcoming Abuse and Learning To Trust

Overcoming Addiction

Protecting One’s Home or Property

Pursuing Justice For Oneself or Others

Realizing a Dream

Reconciling with an Estranged Family Member

Rescuing a Loved One From a Captor

Restoring A Name or Reputation

Righting a Deep Wrong

Seeking Out One’s Biological Roots

Stopping an Event From Happening

Trying Again When One Has Previously Failed

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Showing Instead of Telling

@aithlynfreyeaesthetic said:

Hello. I hope you are doing well. I struggle with showing and not telling. Do you have any tips to get better at this? I apologize if you’ve already answered an ask like this.

Hi there, thanks so much for your ask! I don’t have much to say as a prologue-type thing, so let’s jump right into it!

The Difference Between Showing and Telling

“Nick was cold.”

This is telling. When you “tell”, you’re just giving your reader information. There’s not much room for the reader to deduce what’s happening or for you to include too many double meanings (if that’s your intention).

“Nick shivered as the strength of the wind grew, goosebumps appearing on his forearms.”

This is showing. Does it say Nick is cold? No. Could you have guessed that Nick is cold? Probably. When you “show”, you’re doing more than just giving your reader information; you’re giving them clues of sorts that lead them to the knowledge that, in this case, Nick is cold.

The Importance of Showing

In many cases, “telling” is a good way to make your readers believe that you think they’re stupid. Showing helps you give readers the opportunity to discover for themselves, and it also helps them paint a picture in their mind’s eye. 

Let’s look at the above example. Nick is cold, sure. But how does he react to being cold? How do we really know that he’s cold, as opposed to just being told? This is where showing comes in; it’s also a great way to include some imagery and for underwriters to boost their word counts.

Is telling ever acceptable?

Yes! Think, for example, of a time jump in your novel. If there’s something that you need to include but that doesn’t play a legitimate role in your story, this is where telling comes in. A week passed and nothing important happened? Write that.

For example, in my current project Smoke Shadows, I have the phrase: “Three days pass in a monotonous routine of…” Why? That’s all I need to write. Nothing important happened in these three days, but I needed my readers to know that three days passed.

It’s probably best to use telling to describe things like this, then jump right back into showing.

Some Tips for Showing

Here are some quick things to think of.

Do you ever state an emotion? Think of how you could let your readers know that your character is feeling this emotion rather than just telling them outright.

What about character traits? Sometimes those don’t need to be said outright, but instead you can pepper your writing with clues. Maybe a short character is always getting their hair ruffled or having people leaning their elbows on their shoulder.

Do your best to avoid forms of “be”. Unless it’s in dialogue or in a few other circumstances, the verb “be” is usually a sign of telling.

How are you describing the world around your character? Instead of saying they’re in a classroom, describe and give clues/description that would lead the reader to understand that the character is in a classroom.

Use your five senses! If you can really put yourself in the character’s point of view for this moment, then you can probably be sure that you’re showing instead of telling.

Read through your writing. Is there anything that seems abrupt, or that makes you feel like you’re just being given information? Unless it’s dialogue, you’re probably reading a bit of “telling”.

Remember that not everything needs to be shown! Trust your own judgment; if you’re telling but you believe that’s what’s best for your work, then don’t change it because of an advice post you’re reading on the internet.

So, that’s all I’ve got for today! If there’s anything else you want to see me write about in my next post, please don’t be afraid to drop a message in my ask! Until next time, much love! <333

The most valuable chart…

How To Fall In Love With Writing

Some of us are new, some of us are in a rough patch, but we all want to write, so here’s how to fall in love with it, for the first time or all over again.

Build a personal relationship with it. Make it a part of your lifestyle and your being. Start a journal or simply start writing something every day. It can be small, like a poem, a short journal entry, a description of what you did that day, a rant, a confession, anything you want. Just get used to depending on writing.

Turn everything you write into something beautiful, even if it’s your grocery list. Write in your nicest handwriting, write deep and interesting descriptions of everything around you, turn the world around you into poetry. It changes your mindset and that is one of the biggest parts of being a writer.

Involve the people you care about. Have your friends, partner, collegues, family, etc. read your work and help to encourage you. If your writing is not only a positive in yours, but your loved ones’ lives, it adds that extra bit of motivation as well.

Turn it into a routine. Make time every day to write and devote your attention to it. It’s important to let go of everything around you for even only a few minutes a day and enjoy yourself while you write. Do it for 10 minutes before you go to sleep, when you wake up, when you’re stuck in a cab, when you’re on the bus ride home, when you’re cooking dinner, etc.

Think of it as a hobby, and not a task on your to-do list. If you forget to write one day because of your busy schedule or because you’re just too tired, don’t be upset. It’s a hobby, and there is nothing really tying you to it except yourself, and you will always come first. Don’t force yourself to write when you don’t have it in you.

Make it a therapeutic experience. Light some candles, make some tea, get some chocolate, lay in bed with your laptop and your favorite record playing. If every time you write is a treat, then you’ll want to do it more. 

Make writing your escape from the stresses of your life. Writing is a task in which you clear your mind and go somewhere else. It’s like reading, but you’re controlling what happens and when.

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MY CURRENT WORK IN PROGRESS (Check it out, it’s pretty cool. At least I think it is.)

how to write a fat character

by: your local fat writer 

media seems to do such a terrible job at representing people like me and same goes for many fic writers who try to base their characters on these characters shown in media. Here are some basic do’s and and don’t’s to writing fat characters! 

DONT:

make your character in love with food- they’re allowed to eat like everyone else, but not every real fat person has an obsession over food. The rule can get iffy if your fat character is a cook.*

make your character the center of jokes- everyone has something “funny” about them, but don’t make your fat character constantly make jokes about their own weight. Fat people get enough bullshit from skinny people about their weight already. 

make your character incredibly unfit- there are real fat people who are incredibly athletic! their weight may be from genetics or from proper muscle building (not the muscle building we’re groomed to think is right in society). The choices your character makes is what affects their athleticism, not their weight 

make your character the Depressed One- yes, fat people do get upset over their body. Many go through horrible diets to try and get slim. It takes years for real fat people to get over it and realize their body is horrible gross. Their weight can simply be because of genetics, not because of how much they eat. 

make your character’s arc about things involving their weight- unless your fat character ABSOLUTELY needs to involve food, don’t make this their entire character arc. There are so many cooler things you can do with your character; sexuality, friends/family, simplifying the heroes journey, etc. make your character exciting! make them relatable! 

make your character the token fat character- the real world has many types of people, the fantasy world should not be too different from this fact. Your characters should always show diversity, and sometimes repetition is good when its the right character type. 

*making your fat character a chef can be a risky move. think about why your fat character is a chef. was it because they’re the fat character? or is there something that influenced them to become a chef? choose your answer carefully

DO:

make your character’s interests diverse- I like food! but i also like many other things! video games, bike riding, painting, singing, give your character varying interests! maybe your character has that one thing they love above all else. the game Fire Emblem: Awakening has always been my go-to favorite thing, what’s your character’s?

make your character an individual- develop their personality! how would your character react to seeing the ASPCA commercials? What’s their reaction when a family member dies? When their favorite artist is performing in town? Are there songs that make them emotional? What do they do to de-stress? Do they stim? There’s PLENTY you can say about your character that isn’t just “I love food.”

make your character as realistic as possible- just as skinny people are diverse, so are fat people. When you’re describing a fat character, don’t default to “pear shaped.” there are proportionate and disproportionate fat people. maybe they have fatter thighs than they do calves, their stomach pops out but they don’t have “bingo wings,” maybe their chin does that weird thing or maybe it doesn’t (this happens to skinny people, too!). and don’t forget stretch marks. they are real and they are not “taboo.”

write your character as if they’re like any other- it all boils down to one thing: the similarities and differences. I’m an XL and my friend is an XS, we both enjoy oversized hoodies! She would wear hoodies in the summer but I would rather walk around shirtless (if society didn’t tell us boobs are bad.) I would never wear short shorts when exercising because they ride up my thighs. Your fat character can act just the same as your skinny one(s).

Pros and Cons of Different Points Of View

Objective Point Of View

“With the objective point of view, the writer tells what happens without stating more than can be inferred from the story’s action and dialogue. The narrator never discloses anything about what the characters think or feel, remaining a detached observer.”

Pros

Adds a potentially useful suspense to the events of the story, as the reader cannot predict as easily what will happen next based on the characters’ internal thoughts.

More direct with the events and description of elements of the story, such as setting and the rate at which time passes in the story, which can be muddled in stories in points of view like third person, where these details can be overshadowed by descriptions of thoughts, feelings, backstory, etc.

Descriptions can come across more fluidly and make the actual images and scenes visualize more easily in the readers head. It is the closest point of view to a movie, as films don’t typically focus on what the audience is explicitly being told, but what they see and what they can deduce from the images in front of them.

Cons

This point of view can be more difficult to relate to as readers, due to the story being told and described in a more detached way, rather than being pulled into the story in a way that makes them feel like a character themselves.

You have to really utilize subtext and context with this perspective. You can’t convey the story’s tone through any of the characters’ thoughts or feelings, so you have to rely completely on the pure course of events to tell the story and grip the reader emotionally.

This makes it really hard to connect to the characters and understand their motivations unless the reader is looking really deep into the context and reading between the lines.

Third Person Point Of View

“Here the narrator does not participate in the action of the story as one of the characters, but lets us know exactly how the characters feel. We learn about the characters through this outside voice.”

Pros

This is pretty much exactly like first person narration, but with different pronouns. Instead of “I walked to the store” it’s “he walked to the store” and eliminates the reader’s potential skepticism of the narrator’s reliability while still telling the story in the same words.

You have the potential to divulge more about what other characters are thinking or doing at any point in time because you’re not technically limited to one character.

It’s a pleasing way of telling a story. It doesn’t take too much analysis for the reader to imagine how the perspective could be tainted by emotion in some way. It doesn’t require too much brain power to read. It flows nicely.

Cons

This isn’t as much a con as it is a warning. Your characters need to be rounded and diverse if you’re going to write a story in third person. If they all share the same characteristics and motivations and emotions, your story will fall flat super fast.

Third person has a viewpoint character, typically. If you want to be able to tell whatever you want about whomever you want, then you need an omniscient point of view. Third person usually focuses on a main character and occasionally shares about other characters when it serves the story.

Second Person Point Of View

“Second person is a point of view (how a story is told) where the narrator tells the story to another character using the word ‘you.’ The author could be talking to the audience, which we could tell by the use of 'you,’ 'you’re,’ and 'your.'”

Pros

Your reader feels what you write so much more intensely, because you’re referring to them specifically. It’s a reader insert point of view. You’re speaking directly to them. 

Action and romance are really good genres for this, I imagine, because those are stories where readers often put themselves in the place of the protagonist anyway, so second person would amplify that to your advantage.

There works so well when it’s done correctly, and if you take the time to practice with it and master the pacing and what really makes a reader tick in second person point of view, it will grab that reader and pull them very, very quickly.

Cons

You usually have to be really really vague about descriptions. If your reader doesn’t have blonde hair and hazel eyes, but your character does, this will really put a damper on their experience because every time you describe how their blonde hair blows in the wind, they’ll detach from the story.

Sometimes your reader may feel confused because second person is a very hard point of view to read about at first. It takes some time to get used to. A lot of fanfiction (mainly reader-insert) is second person point of view and I’ll be the (not) first to say that it took so time to adjust to, at least for me.

First Person Point Of View

“In the first person point of view, the narrator does participate in the action of the story. When reading stories in the first person, we need to realize that what the narrator is recounting might not be the objective truth. We should question the trustworthiness of the accounting.”

Pros

Is not limited to the point of view of the main character, as displayed in books such as The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald.

A certain connection between the reader and the character can create a sense of authenticity and intimacy between the reader and the story as a whole.

The themes and motives behind the story can become easier to decode, as they are disclosed in a more clear and direct manner.

The character can be easier to understand and relate to, as everything is being told by them, with their bias and interpretation included.

It puts the reader inside of the story rather than having them watch from the outside. The intimate details and description can make put them in a position to experience the story from inside and therefore make the story mirror their reality in a way.

Cons

It may become difficult for the reader to differentiate who is speaking to them in the story, as many sentences will begin with “I” or “we” and create a repetitive narration and lose the reader alone the way.

The reader may become bored with hearing the story from only one’s perspective. The style in which the story is told {the adjectives, the themes, the personality} may not vary enough to keep them entertained. 

Imagery can be difficult to pull off in this point of view because the writer may get into the habit of telling the reader what is happening instead of showing them through smooth interjections of descriptive vocabulary. 

The writer may experience a dependence on dialogue to try to compensate for lack of description of events, and the reader may lose track of story details that may become imperative to events later in the scene/story.

This makes it a lot easier to pull an “unreliable narrator”, as first person is only the perspective of a person, rather than the story told from a purely factual position.

Omniscient & Limited Omniscient Points of View

“A narrator who knows everything about all the characters is all knowing, or omniscient. A narrator whose knowledge is limited to one character, either major or minor, has a limited omniscient point of view.”

Pros

This makes it really easy to include details about many characters that you wouldn’t be able to from the perspective of a single person.

You are writing as yourself. You are the author, you have all the information to give the reader, and you get to give it in the least convoluted way you could ever desire, and in your own words. In any other point of view, you are pretending to be somebody else, even in third person, so this allows you to really demonstrate your unique voice as a writer and express your own style.

You can write fast paced scenes without the reader questioning what an individual character is feeling all the time. You can slip in whatever information you want at whatever point you wish and it just sounds natural to the reader.

Cons

Plot twists are ten times more difficult because there’s no reason why anything would be a surprise. Your reader technically has access to all information and foreshadowing required to predict what will happen next, so if you’re planning a big surprise, prepare for a challenge delivering it.

Keeping the focus on one subject is more important when you’re writing for younger, less experienced readers. You have to have a protagonist and a linear story for them to follow, which can be tricky with omniscient point of view. It’s important to keep your audience in mind if you’re going to choose any point of view, but especially this one.

These pros and cons are subjective, depending on what you are intending to convey in your story. Please consider this with a grain of salt and take the detail and unique qualities of your own work into account when using this resource. Not all pros and cons in this piece will apply the same to every story, and that is something to keep in mind. I hope this will be useful to you all. Cheers! 

Ext. Sources ~ x x x x 

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Useful Writing Resources II

Like the last one of these I did, this is a long list of resources for writers to use. Use them wisely:)

Find The First One Here

*** = Separate List Of Resources Pertaining To That Specific Subject

Productivity & Writer’s Block

Ways To Unstick A Stuck Story

10 Outlining Methods For Writers

Things To Do When You Can’t Seem To Write

Ambient Sounds For Writers Masterpost

ZenPen

The Most Dangerous Writing App

Evernote

Writer, the Internet Typewriter

Wordcounter

Character Development

Writing Types Of Characters *** Making An OC ***

Character With Social Anxiety

Female Characters To Avoid

Writing Healthy Relationships

List of 300 Possible Secrets To Give Your Character

Fantasy & Miscellaneous

Myths, Creatures, And Folklore

Helpful Things For Action Writers To Remember

Writing The Opening Scene

Fictional Kisses

Master List of Writer’s Questions Answered’s Posts

Writing Advice Masterlist

The Little Details

How bodies decompose

Wilderness survival skills

Mob mentality

Other cultures

What it takes for a human to die in a given situation

Common tropes for your genre

Average weather for your setting

Free Online Sources For Research

Japanese creatures

greek creatures

creatures organised by type

creatures listed by letter

humanoid creatures

filipino creatures

chinese creatures

cryptids

‘fearsome critters’

angels

beings referred to as fairies

creatures that pretend to be human

a page on therianthropic creatures

shapeshifters

hybrid creatures

extraterrestrial creatures

deities

a page of mythology page links

a section of folklore page links

flying creatures

theological demons

fictional species lists

mythology related lists

legendary creature related lists

Writing Emotional Scenes

Creating Story Structure

What You Need To Hear Before You Publish A Book

Description

Words to Describe Someone’s Voice

An Article About Describing Voice

Voice Types

Vocal Qualities

Panix.com Character Chart

Vocal Impressions

Speech Patterns

Gender and Speech Patterns

Speech Accent Archive

Speech Impediment

What Makes A Man’s/Woman’s Voice Sexy

Synonyms-Antonyms.com

TheCaveOnline

550 Alternative Words for Said

Plot

Subplots

7 Ways to Add Great Subplots to your Novels

The 7 Shoulds of Writing a Subplot

Who Needs Subplots?

Subplots

Knowing Your terms: Subplots

Weave Subplots into your Novel

Understanding the Role of Subplots

Plot, Plot Layers, and Subplots

Plot and Subplot

Subplots - Chicken Soup for your Novel

How Many Subplots are Acceptable?

Subplots by Word Count

Too Many Subplots?

Generators

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

First Encounter Generator

First Line Generator, (II)

Plot Generator, (II), (III)

Plot Device Generator

Plot Twist Generator

Quick Plot Generator

Brand Name Generator

Medicine Title Generator

Name Generator

Quick Name Generator

Vehicle Generator

Town Name Generator

City Generator

Fantasy Race Generator

Laws Generator

Pet Generator

Setting Generator

Species Generator

Terrain Generator

Subject Generator

”Take Three Nouns” Generator

Word Prompt Generator

Color Generator

Decision Generator

Dialogue Generator

Journey Generator

Title Generator, (II), (III)

Tips On Screenwriting

– Yay! The first of the beginners’ series on writing! I hope this is useful to those of you who requested advice on screenwriting. I have a few more short articles coming out about screenwriting in the future, but for now, here’s a general list of tips.

Parentheticals (Directions) ~ Don’t overdo it with the acting directions. Let the actors do their jobs and interpret the characters and the script. If it’s absolutely necessary that you specify how you want something said, then do so, but for the most part, allow the actors and director some creative freedom.

Cliches ~ Research movie cliches and avoid them. Here’s a fabulous article that lists a few of them.

Dialogue ~ Avoid doing pages and pages of dialogue in one scene. 

Opening Scene ~ Start your script in a strategic place and with strategic tone. Make an impression.

Archetypes ~ Use them. Mold them. Make them your own. Archetypes, however, should never be confused with stereotypes. 

Description ~ Screenwriting is minimalist. Describe what is necessary, leave room for interpretation, and leave much detail to the imagination.

Subtext ~ Utilise subtext by showing instead of telling. It’s a screenplay after all. Show us that the dog was barking instead of having a character yell “the dog is barking!”

Format ~ Know the format. Get to know the style of scriptwriting and use it correctly.

Length ~ 1 page of a script is usually about 1 minute of screentime. Most film scripts are about 120 pages long and therefore 120 minutes of runtime. Most tv show episodes are from 22 minutes to 42 minutes. be wary of page count, as time is an important factor in filmmaking.

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Ways To Fit Character Development Into Your Story

– Here are some ways you can develop your characters (in little ways as well as big ones) without info dumping on your reader. This includes detailing their backstory, revealing their values and motivations, their strengths, weaknesses, relationships with other characters, and growth throughout your story. I hope this helps those of you who have expressed having trouble with this, as I have as well and creating this guide for myself and you will be very useful for all of us, I hope. Happy writing!

Backstory

First of all, only include events from a character’s past that has shaped them and will enlighten the reader on the current situation. Once you decide that this particular event is important enough to include, show it instead of tell it. Elude to backstory instead of literally plucking it out of the past and placing it in the reader’s lap. 

Instead of telling the reader that your character was in an abusive relationship, show them the aftermath where your character now has their abuser’s rules engraved into their routines and the scars, physical and metaphorical, that the character has from that experience. Yes, there will be instances where you will have to come out and say it, but do it once and lightly, then let the subtext do the rest.

Core Values & Motivation

Character development is meant to be shown, not told, and therefore, your character’s values, beliefs, and motivations should reveal themselves though the character’s actions. If your character thinks that harming any living creature is the worst crime anyone can commit, then show their struggle when they’re put in a situation where they must ignore their own conscience. These moments are not only pivotal in the reader’s experience with your character, but humanize your character more than any other story element. It is the moments in which we must fight our own nature that show what our nature truly is, and it’s the same with the fictional characters you’re writing about.

Strengths & Weaknesses

In a story, the conflict will do a lot to show where your character thrives and struggles, but you cannot rely solely on the main conflict. Maybe your character is incredibly smart, but not physically strong, and is put in a situation where they must rely on an area they’re weak in and must struggle in front of the reader. It’s the same with strengths. Your character should have moments of glorious triumph phenomenal failure throughout your story. This makes them more alive, and therefore more relatable, which is important in any story.

Relationships With Other Characters

Relationships with characters should be shown through the manner in which they communicate and interact in your story. If they don’t like each other, there will most likely be some tension when they’re forced to work together and rely on one another. If they love each other, they’ll show it through affectionate gestures and sometimes their words.

Growth & Personal Development

The beginning and ending of your story doesn’t have to be a miraculous before and after, but your character should go through some sort of a personal evolution between the start and finish line. Whether that be in their self-concept, their relationship with someone else, or their views on something, they should transform, at least a little. This is just a characteristic of a rounded character, and that’s what you want. 

Show their development in ways such as putting them in a similar situation they’ve been in before and have them react in a way that highlights the change that has occurred. Show them realizing themselves that they have changed and now see through a different lens. Show them interacting differently as time progresses and imparting new words of wisdom, whether they’re correct or completely misguided.

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Things To Know About Your Real-Life Setting

– Settings are a tricky business in stories, whether they’re real or make-believe. For those of us who decide to choose a place that is somewhere on this Earth, we have a lot of research to do; so much that it can be daunting at first. Here’s a list to start you on the path of capturing that place on the pages.

Weather Patterns - 

What it’s like when it rains

What it’s like when it snows

What it’s like when the wind blows

How the people react

Where the weather is consistent and where it isn’t

How the weather effects people and their plans

You’d be surprised how large a role this plays in society.

Culture - 

Cost of living

Major subgroups

Dominant subcultures

Popular places

Trends

Slang

Fashion

Food

Politics

Accents

Populations 

Geography -

Street and place names

Landmarks

Locations

Distance between locations

Transportation

Become a local from far away.

Where It Could Go Wrong - If you’re going to use a place that exists in real life, where people could potentially visit or even have grown up in, please use discretion when deciding which parts of your story in which you decide to incorporate reality and which parts you decide to make it up.

Quick thanks to Ofsweetdreams for donating to wordsnstuff through my ko-fi account. Your support means more than you know:)

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Resources For Plot Development

Plot Structures

All About Plot Structures

The Novel Plotting Formula

Story Structure: Plot Points

Save the Cat! 15-Beat Plotting Method

The Snowflake Method 

The Hero’s Journey

Three Act Structure

29 Plot Structures

Methods Of Plotting

NaNoWriMo Prep: Plotting Your WIP with 90 Index Cards 

Plot from the End

27 Step Tutorial How Do I Plot a Novel

How to Create a Plot Planner — Part 1

Pre-Plot the Middle and End of Your Novel

Dance between Plotting the Overall Story and Writing

Pre-Plotting Made Simple

A Writing Plan that Incorporates Research, Plotting and Writing

NaNoWriMo Plot Development Guide

Cool Resources

One Page Novel Format Spread Sheet

Worksheets For Writers

Writing Blockbuster Plots

Pros and Cons of Pre-Plotting a Novel before Writing

How to Plot 2 Protagonists in a Novel

Plot Your Story Scene-by-Scene to Emotionally Engage Your Readers

Behind the Scenes – Scene Types

Plot and Emotion

3 Common Plot Problems

Control the Pacing of Your Novel

Plot Twists: What Are They and How to Plot Them

Above the Plot Planner Line: How to Test Pacing and Tension in Stories

Beginnings Hook Readers/Audiences. Endings Create Fans

Where To Start: How To Write the Exact Right Beginning of Your Story

How to Show Character Mastery and Transformation through both the Internal and External Plots

Cause and Effect Scene by Scene

How to Create Subplots

Emotional Elements of Plot: Stories that Last Evoke Emotion

How to Plot the End of Your Novel

Plot the Climax, Write the Climax, Re-Vision the Climax and Then Re-Write the Climax of Your Story

How to Decide Which Scenes to Keep and Which Ones to Toss

Where Exactly Does the End Begin in a Novel

Benefits of Pre-Plotting

30 Scene Ideas

Plot Generators

Romance

Fantasy

Paranormal Romance

Crime

Horror

Mystery

Science Fiction

Dystopian

Even More Options Here

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Resources For Describing Characters

Physical Appearance

Arms

Athletic Build

Back

Butts

Cheeks

Chest

Chins

Curvy Build

Ears

Eyebrows

Eyes

Faces

Facial Hair

Feet

Fingernails

Fingers

Hair

Hands

Head

Hips

Jaws

Knees

Legs

Lips

Muscular Build

Neck

Noses

Shoulders

Slender Build

Sickly Build

Skin

Stocky Build

Stomach

Teeth

Toenails

Toes

Underweight Build

Character Traits

Affectionate

Ambitious

Bossy

Brave

Calm

Cautious

Charismatic

Clever

Conceited

Courageous

Creative

Critical

Curious

Determined

Diplomatic

Dishonest

Disorganized

Eccentric

Excitable

Friendly

Funny

Generous

Glamorous

Guarded

Honest

Impulsive

Independent

Intelligent

Just

Kind

Loyal

Manipulative

Mature

Modest

Mysterious

Naïve

Optimistic

Prejudiced

Persistent

Proper

Responsible

Sensitive

Sentimental

Serious

Shy

Reckless

Stingy

Stubborn

Talented

Thoughtful

Thrifty

Visionary

Wise

Witty

Worry Wart

Wounded

Talents & Skills

A Knack for Languages

A Knack for Making Money

A Way with Animals

Archery

Astral Projection

Astrological Divination

Baking

Basic First Aid

Blending In

Carpentry

Charm

ESP (Clairvoyance)

Empathy

Enhanced Hearing

Enhanced Sense of Smell

Enhanced Taste Buds

Farming

Fishing

Foraging

Gaining the Trust of Others

Gaming

Gardening

Good Listening Skills

Haggling

Herbalism

Hospitality

Hot-Wiring a Car

High Pain Tolerance

Knife Throwing

Knowledge of Explosives

Lip-Reading

Lying

Making People Laugh

Mechanically Inclined

Mentalism

Mimicking

Multitasking

Musicality

Organization

Parkour

Photographic Memory

Predicting the Weather

Promotion

Psychokinesis

Reading People

Regeneration

Repurposing

Sculpting

Self-Defense

Sewing

Sharpshooting

Sleight-of-Hand

Strategic Thinking

Strong Breath Control

Super Strength

Survival Skills

Swift-footedness

Talking With The Dead

Throwing One’s Voice

Whittling

Wilderness Navigation

Wrestling

Elemental Abilities

Miscellaneous

Voices

Voice Types

Speech Patterns

Speech Impediment

List of Character Flaws

List of Archetypes

Hairstyles

Describing Body Types & How They Move Around

Secrets To Give Your Character

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Planning A Scene In A Story

– A lot of you have asked questions pertaining to a struggle with planning scenes, so I’ve decided to make a little rundown of questions to answer before writing a new scene of your story. Obviously, you probably won’t end up going through this process over and over again until the end of your writing career, as this will become like a second nature to you as you continue to practice it. If you have any further questions, my ask box is always open. Happy writing!

Intention

How is the setting of the scene relevant to the events that take place?

Is this scene easy to follow with the information given to the reader?

What role do past events play into this scene?

How will the events in this scene shift the story toward the resolution?

Does this scene solve any plot holes or create any new ones?

Purpose

What is the overall purpose this scene serves?

How will this scene progress the plot?

How will this scene help to develop your character(s)?

Information

What information is this scene supposed to reveal to the reader?

What information is required to make this scene make sense?

Subtext

Are there any hidden messages you need to plan beforehand?

Is there any foreshadowing taking place during this scene?

What context might alter the implications of this scene?

What consequences might come from the events of this scene?

Starting Point

Does this starting point make sense for the trajectory of the scene?

Does the starting point allow room for some rising action?

Is your scene starting abruptly or with a build up to a large event?

Is there space between the beginning of this scene and the last?

If there is, are there any blanks you need to fill in to continue?

Tone

What is the main way you’ll be conveying tone in the context of the scene’s events?

How do you want the tone to impact the reader’s experience?

Does the tone change drastically in contrast with the last scene?

How Do You Want The Scene To Leave The Reader?

Do you want your reader to end the scene asking a bunch of questions? 

Do you want one of the subplots to be resolved?

Do you want the reader to be shocked?

Do you want the reader to think, “Oh, that makes sense now”?

If you have any to add, feel free to leave them in the comments down below to help each other out!

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If you enjoy my blog and wish for it to continue being updated frequently and for me to continue putting my energy toward answering your questions, please consider Buying Me A Coffee.

Request Resources, Tips, Playlists, or Prompt Lists

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FAQ //monthly writing challenges // Masterlist

Writing Characters Who Don’t Know How to Relationship

Hey everyone, Abby here with another writing post! Today we’re talking about those classic characters, the ones who have crushes and no idea how to act on them.

Everyone knows that one person who can’t relationship. They can’t romance and at the moment it seems hopeless, but it’s also kind of entertaining to see how things work out for them. Today I’m giving advice on how to write that character, things to do and not to do, as well as some ideas to get the inspiration flowing.

So, your character doesn’t know anything about relationships. How do we know? These things usually start off with two things: a crush and a character who has no idea what to do with it. Do they act on it? Do they not? Do they stay friends? Do they just keep staring until their crush gets the message and asks them out? (That was weirdly specific but we’re rolling with it.) Who knows? Not them.

We’re also going to remember that anyone can have no idea how to relationship. It’s not always the quiet kid in the back with the high grades and big glasses, please remember this. It can be the star of the basketball team or the girl who’s friends with everyone. It can be anyone.

Also, there’s a difference between being “good in bed” and knowing how to maintain a proper relationship. There is a huge difference. Characters like this who get into serious relationships can end up being abusive or (more likely) only in it for the sex. If the other person wants a legitimate relationship, things aren’t going to work out.

If you’re character has no idea what they’re doing, they probably fall into one of two categories. They’ve either never been in a relationship or they’ve been in multiple that didn’t make it very far. So, you could probably consider them naive when it comes to relationships. So when they get into a real, lasting one, they’re going to be in love with the idea of being involved with someone. This can often be a misunderstanding or misinterpretation; they might project that love of being in a relationship onto the person they’re with, which could lead to some major issues.

Another problem is the media. It only portrays the extremes. You never see anything in the media about people in regular relationships, they’re either madly in love or falling apart. There’s no in between, and because your character has no experience to tell them otherwise they could fall into the trap of believing that’s the way real life goes. (Hint: it’s not.) This could end up creating a lot of unnecessary drama when things are going fine, because there’s nothing you would see in the news about that and your character expects action.

I just realized I’ve made this more of a list of the negatives of writing these characters. Why not some positives?

This is a relationship, and it’s important to them. If your character cares, they’re going to do everything they can to keep this relationship in a healthy state. This could include things like random little surprises, trips to random places for some time away, things like that. These things are all considered endearing and will definitely earn them some Romance Points™. 

If this character hasn’t been involved with anyone in a while (or ever) and they’re happy in their relationship, you bet they’re going to talk about it. This might include proclamations about how happy they are, how great their partner is, etc.

If your story is set in today’s world, the Internet is a thing. They’ll probably be turning to all sorts of articles to help them out, and the fact that they’re doing this is definitely a good thing. Even if they do something wrong, they cared enough to try.

So, there are some tips to follow. Just to get the ball rolling (because this topic isn’t a stranger to anyone, I’m sure) I’m going to throw in a few examples/ideas for your clueless characters.

Being afraid to talk to their crush.

Thinking about simple exchanges (saying hello in the hallways) for ten million years.

Finally working up the nerve to ask their crush out.

The intense joy that comes after they say yes.

Or the bout of sadness that comes from rejection.

Brainstorming little things to do, like making breakfast in bed or arriving to their house with a bouquet of flowers.

Intense confusion about first kisses, when they should happen, how they should go.

Long phone calls or texting late at night, being exhausted in the morning but it’s okay because at least they got to talk.

Things like this. I would probably die of a cute overload if book characters did anything like that; maybe I’m reading the wrong genre, but I don’t think I see enough of it.

Anyway, that’s all I’ve got for today. Like a lot of the topics I write about, there are plenty more pointers to give, but I think this would be enough to get you going. If there’s anything you’d like to see me write about in my next post, please don’t hesitate to leave a message in my ask. Until next time, stay lovely <333

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

These are great. It is really a fun way to broaden a character. I personally have a file with bios of all of my main, reoccurring, and generally important characters. For basic side characters I document information like names, titles, skills, appearances, personality, importance to story or characters, relations, jobs, miscellaneous notes, and other mundane information.

For my mains and other important characters I go into a lot more detail. This is my current standard starting info sheet for each VIP:

Name:

Gender:

Age:

Race:

Appearance:

Time with the collective:

Relations:

Skills:

Hobbies:

Job:

Favourite food:

Weapon of choice:

Personality:

Secret:

Fear:

Pleasure:

Origin:

History:

Role in story:

Additional notes:

I will take this form and add to it additional information about the character. Not every character has information in each spot. And there are characters with information that the reader will likely never know about. I personally find it much more enjoyable to write stories around characters then simply creating characters for specific stories. After a while, they just sort of write themselves and you start discovering things about your characters that you would have never guessed. It realy creates some interesting scenes.

Character Development Questions: Hard Mode

Does your character have siblings or family members in their age group? Which one are they closest with?

What is/was your character’s relationship with their mother like?

What is/was your character’s relationship with their father like?

Has your character ever witnessed something that fundamentally changed them? If so, does anyone else know?

On an average day, what can be found in your character’s pockets?

Does your character have recurring themes in their dreams?

Does your character have recurring themes in their nightmares?

Has your character ever fired a gun? If so, what was their first target?

Is your character’s current socioeconomic status different than it was when they were growing up?

Does your character feel more comfortable with more clothing, or with less clothing?

In what situation was your character the most afraid they’ve ever been?

In what situation was your character the most calm they’ve ever been?

Is your character bothered by the sight of blood? If so, in what way?

Does your character remember names or faces easier?

Is your character preoccupied with money or material possession? Why or why not?

Which does your character idealize most: happiness or success?

What was your character’s favorite toy as a child?

Is your character more likely to admire wisdom, or ambition in others?

What is your character’s biggest relationship flaw? Has this flaw destroyed relationships for them before?

In what ways does your character compare themselves to others? Do they do this for the sake of self-validation, or self-criticism?

If something tragic or negative happens to your character, do they believe they may have caused or deserved it, or are they quick to blame others?

What does your character like in other people?

What does your character dislike in other people?

How quick is your character to trust someone else?

How quick is your character to suspect someone else? Does this change if they are close with that person?

How does your character behave around children?

How does your character normally deal with confrontation?

How quick or slow is your character to resort to physical violence in a confrontation?

What did your character dream of being or doing as a child? Did that dream come true?

What does your character find repulsive or disgusting?

Describe a scenario in which your character feels most comfortable.

Describe a scenario in which your character feels most uncomfortable.

In the face of criticism, is your character defensive, self-deprecating, or willing to improve?

Is your character more likely to keep trying a solution/method that didn’t work the first time, or immediately move on to a different solution/method?

How does your character behave around people they like?

How does your character behave around people they dislike?

Is your character more concerned with defending their honor, or protecting their status?

Is your character more likely to remove a problem/threat, or remove themselves from a problem/threat?

Has your character ever been bitten by an animal? How were they affected (or unaffected)?

How does your character treat people in service jobs?

Does your character feel that they deserve to have what they want, whether it be material or abstract, or do they feel they must earn it first?

Has your character ever had a parental figure who was not related to them?

Has your character ever had a dependent figure who was not related to them?

How easy or difficult is it for your character to say “I love you?” Can they say it without meaning it?

What does your character believe will happen to them after they die? Does this belief scare them?