Finally!
Sorry for the hiatus. But I was simply not able to log in to Tumblr. Here’s hoping the problem is finally fixed.
Still some of the best advice there is.
BEST WRITING TIPS
So, I’ve been writing for a while now and just recently published my first novel. While on this journey I have come across too many writing tips to count. A lot of them contradicting each other. Here are a few simple ones that I have found helped me out the most and helped me to finish my first book and successfully start my second.
1. WRITE.
2. READ AS MUCH AS YOU CAN. PREFERABLY, WORKS FROM SUCCESSFUL AUTHORS.
3. KEEP A NOTEBOOK HANDY TO WRITE DOWN IDEAS. YOU DON’T WANT TO FORGET A GOOD IDEA.
4. BE OBSERVANT OF YOUR SURROUNDINGS. YOU WILL BE SURPRISED WHAT YOU COME ACROSS THAT CAN MAKE EVEN JUST ONE SENTENCE OF NARRATIVE BETTER.
5. LEARN GRAMMAR AND HOW TO USE THEM CORRECTLY IN STORY-TELLING. SOME RULES CAN BE BROKEN BUT DON’T OVER DO IT
6. MAKE YOURSELF SIT DOWN AND WRITE AS MUCH AS POSSIBLE. STOP BROWSING THE INTERNET. PROCRASTINATION ISN’T YOUR FRIEND.
7. ASK OTHER WRITERS ADVICE ABOUT SOMETHING IF YOU ARE NOT SURE. SOMEONE WILL HELP YOU.
8. DON’T WORRY ABOUT EDITING WHILE ON YOUR FIRST DRAFT. TRY TO JUST GET IT FINISHED. THIS MIGHT BE HARDER ON YOUR SECOND BOOK BUT DO IT ANYWAY.
Feel free to comment any writing tips that you feel have helped you. Thanks for reading.
This is it. The basics where all writers start.
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STOP THE STIGMA 🤗
So. Very. True.
every movie and tv show i’ve seen that portrays queer people in ancient greece and rome tends to either do a really shitty job with it or make it really sad so i’d like to propose some Fun Gay Ancient Media ideas:
- romcom about antony and curio, complete with antony’s ridiculous hi-jinks to sneak into his bf’s house after he’s banned from it by curio’s dad
- gay love poet trying to seduce their crush but their poetry is really bad
- i’m a local shepherd and you’re the rich noble who sees me when traveling the countryside and falls in love, after which you keep coming up with ridiculous reasons for going to the country to see me
- buddy-cop style movie about two amazon warriors who are partnered up on the field of battle
- we’re both gay and shy and instead of talking to each other we keep visiting the temple of aphrodite to pray for ideas until finally we run into each other there and get our shit sorted
Love this! Hope someone writes at least some of this.
Chuck Wendig goes on one of his epic profane rants, and it’s so very, very perfect to the topic at hand. *Pun inteneded.
me to the demon in the corner of my room: ain’t u got shit to do
He’d been lurking about for days now, this shadow thing. It used to scare me, terrify me straight into insomnia. But it had just stood there the whole time. Now it seemed part of the furniture, if I’m being honest.
I started talking to it. Probably not my best idea, I’ll give you that, but it’s not like I had anyone else around. I would tell it about my day as I readied for bed. Jeff was a dick at the meeting this morning. Had the best hot dog off the best cart in the city for lunch. SIX reports due by Friday? Kellen must be trying to kill me. I even wished it good night. And it just stared, with its glowing red eyes.
One night, I had to stay late at the office. Really late. Remember those six reports? They turned into fifteen. And if I didn’t get them done for this major client, it was my head on the HR guillotine. So I stayed late. I ended up crashing on the sofa in the break room and woke up to more work on my desk. That was Thursday morning. I had to get this all done by Monday.
On Friday night, around ten, I decided to go home and get some real sleep before going back to the office to finish this insane task. And then I felt it. Something was here with me and it wasn’t the janitor.
I looked in the corner and there were those eyes again, surrounded by shadow. I sighed. I really didn’t have time for this, not here.
“Ain’t you got shit to do?” I snapped, walking to the break room for yet more coffee. So much for going home to sleep.
A growling sound, then a deep, rasping voice said, “I miss you.”
I stopped. “What do you mean, you miss me? Aren’t you a demon or something?”
“You didn’t come home. I’ve been worried. What are you doing here?”
We’d never conversed like this. It was almost comforting, like a friend would be.
“I’m working, man. I’ve got a big client coming on Monday and Kellen put all these damn reports on my desk and if I don’t get them done, I’m probably gonna get fired.” I ranted as I took off my tie and ran my fingers through my hair.
The demon paused, thinking. It moved slowly around the room, taking it all in.
“Do you want me to eat Kellen?” it suddenly asked.
I laughed, “No, don’t eat Kellen. It’s not really his fault.”
“Then what shall I do?”
I sighed and considered. What could a shadow demon do to help me?
“Do you know anything about graphic design and marketing?”
It paused its roaming. “I ate an artist’s soul, once.”
“Good enough. Just sit behind me and tell me what looks good.”
On Monday morning, the company landed the client, I got a raise, and arranged it so I could work from home two days a week. We moved to a bigger flat two months later. It makes cinnamon pancakes on Saturdays.
I love this honestly
awwwwwww
A perfect little story.
This is the bane of my writing existence. What will other people think? My self-censorship is so strong just writing letters, yes letters, is downright painful. Like Cheryl Strayed said. “Own your shit!” That’s the only way. Of course, I know this, have known it for a long time. But it’s not all that easy to actually do.
Worldbuilding: Things That Might Have Been Missed
These are the miscellaneous questions I didn’t put anywhere else. Things that didn’t get enough questions to have its own post, or things I didn’t think of too much until the end. In this post, I have written a list questions of … . well, everything else?
Have fun, be detailed and creative, and by all means come up with questions that are not asked.
Because my computer ate everything, these questions are not directly taken from the NaNoWriMo website. Some are asked from memory, some are questions that sounded like ones I had, and others are ones I came up with.
How is a funeral held?
What happens to the body after someone has died?
Do they bury it? Place it in a tomb? Cremate it? Drop it to the bottom of the sea? Send it down the river? Toss it into a dragon’s lair?
How do people mourn?
What is consider an appropriate amount of time for mourning?
What color is used for mourning and funerals?
Black? White? Red? Blue? No specific color? What does the color symbolize?
Are there any coming of age rituals?
What happens during a coming of age ritual?
What age is the child normally at when he or she goes the coming of age ritual?
Does it vary by gender?
What kind of jobs exist?
Which jobs are held in high esteem?
Which jobs are despised?
How do people get jobs?
Do they become an apprentice? Do they need work experience? A college degree? How are they offered jobs? Do they apply? Talk with the owner? Get recommended?
What jobs are influenced by magic?
What is the most common way someone meets his or her future spouse?
By growing with them? Through connections? School? In the market? At a dance? Arranged marriage?
How technologically advanced is the world?
What is the latest piece of technology?
How does magic affect technology?
How is new technology viewed?
Is it embraced? Are people apprehensive? Do they outright spurn new technology? Do people care?
What does the average bed look like?
Straw mattress? Water bed? A pile of blankets? A wooden platform? A chair? A couch?
What are some rules regarding sleep?
Are mixed genders allowed or is that frowned upon unless they’re married? Do people have their own beds or share with siblings? Do the rules vary depending on where they’re sleeping? Is everyone smooshed in together at an inn? Can money get better bedding?
What are the basic pieces of furniture found in an average house?
Chairs? Couches? Tables? Beds? Bookshelves? How many are acceptable? How many pieces of furniture would indicate lavishness?
What are some toys for children?
What do people use as a light source when the sun is not available?
What kinds of dishes are used?
Plates? Bowls? Cups or glasses?
What kind of eating utensils do people use?
Chopsticks? Forks and spoons? Their hands?
What materials are dishes and eating utensils made of?
What kind of items are used for cooking?
Pots and pans? Clay pots? Crock pots? Skillets? Wok? A wooden plate?
Now, this is cool. Here are a bunch of world building questions most of us have never considered.
NaNoWriMo Prep: How to Plan a Story without a Story
Before you start writing, when your story idea is in its very earliest stages, if you even have one at all, you should make a list of things you love in books.
If you don’t know exactly what you love about books, go to your bookshelves at home, pick out four or five of your absolute favourite novels, and examine them. If you have time, read a few chapters of each. List what you love about those books specifically.
If you like Harry Potter–and I will always use HP as an example, because who doesn’t like HP?–instead of listing things like “Hermione” or “Hogwarts,” think about what you actually like about those story specifics.
For Hermione: Do you like Hermione because she’s a smart, self-determined female character? Or do you just like that she’s a bit of a know it all? Or are you happy to see characters with unruly, frizzy hair?
For Hogwarts: Do you like the boarding school setting? Or the enchanted castle? Do you like Scotland?
Whatever the answer is, write that down, and steal those story aspects to create something original and amazing.
Look for obvious things like character, plot, and setting, but also take into account how books are narrated and formatted. Think about themes, tropes, and language. Think about mood and tone and structure. The wider the variety of story elements you collect, the more helpful your list will be.
Here are some examples of story features to include in your list:
- Mystery
- Third person narration
- No love interests
- Alliterative names
- Exciting chapter titles
- Diverse characters
- Autumnal settings
- Small towns where everyone knows everyone
- Main characters with unusual interests
- Scenes of friends bonding besides crackling fire places
- Magic but you don’t know if it’s actually magic or not
What to do with your list:
- Use it to plan your novel
- Use it as motivation
- Use it when you get stuck
Using your list to plan your novel:
Use this list to help you figure out not only what your story is going to be, but how you’re going to tell it. You don’t have to include all of the things in your list in your story, but it will be an amazing source of story elements to have in your back pocket.
Using your list as motivation:
While writing, keep track of the story elements you love that you’ve managed to fit into your novel. Keep that list on your desk or wherever you write. When you can’t find any other inspiration, take a look at it. Let it remind you of what you love about your story. Let it motivate you to continue writing it.
Using your list when you get stuck:
Do you ever see those random story generators that get shared around the internet? They’ll generate random settings, random plots, random character names, random character traits, random murder methods. The list is long.
I don’t recommend putting random story elements in your book. I may be wrong, but that has never seemed like an intelligent idea to me.
However, if you have a large list of things you personally enjoy in books–if you have your own pile of character traits, settings, plots, etc.–there’s a good chance one of those things will inspire your next direction for the book when you get stuck. You may very well find a plot element, or type of scene, or character quirk that you will be excited to add to your story.
The Anti-List
If you’d like, you can even keep a list of things you hate in novels, to remind you of what you should keep out of your book by all means necessary. Knowing what you don’t like can even help you figure out what you like. You can go past simple avoidance and do the opposite of the things on your anti-list.
Now this is interesting. This is an approach I never even thought of.
sigeel