The Bechdel Test, The Ellen Willis Test, ALL THE TESTS: Or, A Handy Guide To Feminist Critiques Of Narrative

the Bechdel test, the Ellen Willis test, ALL THE TESTS: or, a handy guide to feminist critiques of narrative

(reference for when i am trying to explain these to people and they are looking at me like “huh”):

the Bechdel test: does the story have a) more than one women, b) who talk to each other, c) about something other than a man.

the Ellen Willis test: if you flip the genders, does the story still make sense?

the Sexy Lamp test (courtesy of Kelly Sue DeConnick): can you replace your female character with a sexy lamp and still have the story work? if yes, YOU ARE A HACK.

the Mako Mori test: there is a) at least one female character, b) who gets her own narrative arc, c) that is not about supporting a man’s story.

the Tauriel test (which i made up in response to The Hobbit 2 [which passes] and Skyfall [which fails]): a) there is a woman, b) WHO IS GOOD AT HER JOB.

and in justification of my recent TV obsessions, i would like to note that Scandal, The Vampire Diaries, Buffy, and Nikita (ALL HAIL MAGGIE Q) pass all of these tests with flying colors.

UPDATE: i just discovered the Finkbeiner test and it is FANTASTIC.

your character should be more than a tragic backstory. more than i lost my parents at a young age so now i rebel against the world. more than i have all these wicked skills without proper background or training. 

sass is great, and so is silence — but when aren’t they using their biting wit? when do they speak up? do they use their ass-kicking skills for good? for evil? have they lost people along the way — actually, it’s inevitable, so what happened after the funeral? did your character attend? did they seek revenge, or search for answers at the bottom of a bottle? 

don’t toss around tragedies if you’re not going to apply them to your characterization. alcoholics aren’t just loud and physically abusive; ptsd doesn’t mean you’ve boarded up the windows and refuse to leave your house. you won’t always continue to hate your parents after they’ve died. you will doubt your life decisions. being rich doesn’t make you sexy. being smart doesn’t make you socially awkward [ alternatively, it doesn’t make you the most attractive person in the room. ] even if you’re wicked smart, you’ll still get some things wrong. 

do your research. if you put your character through traumatic events, not everyone walks away unscathed. but being haunted by the ghosts of your past doesn’t make you attractive either. it’s a nitty gritty, dirty fucking business. you get mad, your world loses color, you feel alone, and sometimes you ask yourself why you’re the one who lived. 

treat your character like their own person. just because you wouldn’t say something to someone doesn’t mean they’ll keep their trap shut. it doesn’t mean they’ll want a big wedding or fast cars or apple pie made the way your mother taught you. maybe you’re pro-life and your character is pro-choice. maybe it’s vice versa. just because your character is a dick doesn’t mean it should be a reflection on yourself. but if they’re going to be a dick, and you want it to be believable, give them a reason to be a dick. a reason to hate the world, only slightly less than they hate the people living in it. maybe more. maybe it’s maybelline.

being smart and young and witty and attractive doesn’t mean your character will be respected. it doesn’t mean your character deserves to be respected. older, more experienced characters may trust your character less because they’re so damn young, no matter what you do or say to try to prove them wrong. 

BASICS:

Genres:

Alternate World: A setting that is not our world, but may be similar. This includes “portal fantasies” in which characters find an alternative world through their own. An example would be The Chronicles of Narnia.

Arabian: Fantasy that is based on the Middle East and North Africa.

Arthurian: Set in Camelot and deals with Arthurian mythology and legends.

Bangsian: Set in the afterlife or deals heavily with the afterlife. It most often deals with famous and historical people as characters. An example could be The Lovely Bones.

Celtic: Fantasy that is based on the Celtic people, most often the Irish.

Christian: This genre has Christian themes and elements.

Classical: Based on Roman and Greek myths.

Contemporary: This genre takes place in modern society in which paranormal and magical creatures live among us. An example would be the Harry Potter series.

Dark: This genre combines fantasy and horror elements. The tone or feel of dark fantasy is often gloomy, bleak, and gothic.

Epic: This genre is long and, as the name says, epic. Epic is similar to high fantasy, but has more importance, meaning, or depth. Epic fantasy is most often in a medieval setting.

Gaslamp: Also known as gaslight, this genre has a Victorian or Edwardian setting.

Gunpowder: Gunpowder crosses epic or high fantasy with “rifles and railroads”, but the technology remains realistic unlike the similar genre of steampunk.

Heroic: Centers on one or more heroes who start out as humble, unlikely heroes thrown into a plot that challenges them.

High: This is considered the “classic” fantasy genre. High fantasy contains the general fantasy elements and is set in a fictional world.

Historical: The setting in this genre is any time period within our world that has fantasy elements added.

Medieval: Set between ancient times and the industrial era. Often set in Europe and involves knights. (medieval references)

Mythic: Fantasy involving or based on myths, folklore, and fairy tales.

Portal: Involves a portal, doorway, or other entryway that leads the protagonist from the “normal world” to the “magical world”.

Quest: As the name suggests, the protagonist in this genre sets out on a quest. The protagonist most frequently searches for an object of importance and returns home with it.

Sword and Sorcery: Pseudomedieval settings in which the characters use swords and engage in action-packed plots. Magic is also an element, as is romance.

Urban: Has a modern or urban setting in which magic and paranormal creatures exist, often in secret.

Wuxia: A genre in which the protagonist learns a martial art and follows a code. This genre is popular in Chinese speaking areas.

Word Counts:

Word counts for fantasy are longer than other genres because of the need for world building. Even in fantasy that takes place in our world, there is a need for the introduction of the fantasy aspect.

Word counts for established authors with a fan base can run higher because publishers are willing to take a higher chance on those authors. First-time authors (who have little to no fan base) will most likely not publish a longer book through traditional publishing. Established authors may also have better luck with publishing a novel far shorter than that genre’s expected or desired word count, though first-time authors may achieve this as well.

A general rule of thumb for first-time authors is to stay under 100k and probably under 110k for fantasy.

Other exceptions to word count guidelines would be for short fiction (novellas, novelettes, short stories, etc.) and that one great author who shows up every few years with a perfect 200k manuscript.

But why are there word count guidelines? For young readers, it’s pretty obvious why books should be shorter. For other age groups, it comes down to the editor’s preference, shelf space in book stores, and the cost of publishing a book. The bigger the book, the more expensive it is to publish.

General Fantasy: 75k - 110k

Epic Fantasy: 90k - 120k

Contemporary Fantasy: 90k - 120k

Urban Fantasy: 80k - 100k

Middle Grade: 45k - 70k

YA: 75k - 120k (depending on sub-genre)

Adult: 80k - 120k (depending on sub-genre)

WORLD BUILDING:

A pseudo-European medieval setting is fine, but it’s overdone. And it’s always full of white men and white women in disguise as white men because around 85% (ignore my guess/exaggeration, I only put it there for emphasis) of fantasy writers seem to have trouble letting go of patriarchal societies. 

Guys. It’s fantasy. You can do whatever you want. You can write a fantasy that takes place in a jungle. Or in a desert. Or in a prairie. The people can be extremely diverse in one region and less diverse in another. The cultures should differ. Different voices should be heard. Queer people exist. People of color exist. Not everyone has two arms or two legs or the ability to hear.

As for the fantasy elements, you also make up the rules. Don’t go searching around about how a certain magic spell is done, just make it up. Magic can be whatever color you want. It can be no color at all. You can use as much or as little magic as you want.

Keep track of what you put into your world and stick to the rules. There should be limits, laws, cultures, climates, disputes, and everything else that exists in our world. However, you don’t have to go over every subject when writing your story.

World Building:

Fantasy World Building Questionnaire

Magical World Builder’s Guide

Creating Fantasy and Science Fiction Worlds

Creating Religions

Quick and Dirty World Building

World Building Links

Fantasy World Building Questions

The Seed of Government (2)

Guide to Science Fiction and Fantasy

Fantasy Worlds and Race

Water Geography

Alternate Medieval Fantasy Story

Writing Magic

Types of Magic

When Magic Goes Wrong

Magic-Like Psychic Abilities

Science and Magic

Creative Uses of Magic

Thoughts on Creating Magic Systems

Defining the Sources, Effects, and Costs of Magic

World Building Basics

Mythology Master Post

Fantasy Religions

Setting the Fantastic in the Everyday World

Making Histories

Matching Your Money to Your World

Building a Better Beast

A Man in Beast’s Clothing

Creating and Using Fictional Languages

Creating a Language

Creating Fictional Holidays

Creating Holidays

Weather and World Building 101

Describing Fantastic Creatures

Medieval Technology

Music For Your Fantasy World

A heterogeneous World

Articles on World Building

Cliches:

Grand List of Fantasy Cliches (most of this can be debated)

Fantasy Cliches Discussion

Ten Fantasy Cliches That Should Be Put to Rest

Seven Fantasy Cliches That Need to Disappear

Avoiding Fantasy Cliches 101

Avoiding Fantasy Cliches

Fantasy Cliches

Fantasy Cliche Meter: The Bad Guys

Fantasy Novelist’s Exam

Mary Sue Race Test

Note: Species (like elves and dwarves) are not cliches. The way they are executed are cliches.

CHARACTERS

Read More

10 ways to hit your readers in the gut

One of the strongest bonds that link us to our favorite stories is the emotional tie, or books that sink a fist right into our guts. When you finished a book where you couldn’t let go of after the last page, chances are, the author successfully punched you in the spleen. If you’ve ever wondered how to do just that, here are some of my favorite methods:

Make your reader root for your main character(s). Make your character stretch out their arm toward their goal, as far as they can to reach, until their fingertips barely brush it. Make your character want something so much that your reader wants it, too.

When your character trips and stumbles and stops to question themselves, the readers will hold their breath.

Push your character to their very limit, and then a little further.

When your character hits the bottom, they should scrape themselves back together and get back up. Give readers a reason to believe in your character.

If your character is challenging your plot, your plot should challenge your character.

Leave a trail of intrigue, of questions, of “what if?” and “what next?”

If a character loses something (a battle, an important memento, part of themselves), they must eventually gain something in equal exchange, whether for good or bad.

Raise the stakes. Then raise them higher.

Don’t feel pressured to kill a character (especially simply to generate emotional appeal). A character death should serve the plot, not the shock factor. Like anything else in your story, only do it if it must be done and there’s no other way around it.

What’s the worst that can happen? Make it happen. Just make sure that the reader never loses hope.

writing specific characters - advice

a young character

a character who lost someone important

a villain (2) 

a character based on yourself 

a hit man or mercenary

an indifferent character

a bitchy character

a dancer

a vampire

a drunk character

a manipulative character

a friends with benefits relationship

a natural born leader

a nice character

a rich character

a witty character

Including body language in your writing gives your characters more depth and provides a relatable, interactive experience for your readers.

I find that this helps me remember to add what’s happening in between a conversation, not just during it. I’ve started to describe how my characters sit in certain situations and their over all body and presence. It’s really helped me convey the power and the helplessness of some of the dynamics I have going on.