my name might be Osana. then again, it might not. oh well! | xxi | she/her
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How to Write a Synopsis
Back when I was doing my MA program, I typed up a guide to writing query letters. It’s the post from this blog that I’m most proud of: a thorough step-by-step guide that combines days and weeks of research, and dozens of sources, into a neatly packaged 1,800-word post.
And I have to admit, I didn’t write it for tumblr. I needed to write a query letter myself for a publishing class, and my post was little more than compiled homework notes, saved as a Tumblr post for posterity.
I’ve actually had pieces of this in my drafts for years, but now I actually have to write a synopsis and I’m piling up the research, so I thought it was finally time for the sister to my query post to be published here.
But first…
What is a synopsis?
A synopsis is a 1-2 page summary of the events that transpire in a book, either proposed or already written. It’s used to give people who haven’t read your book a quick overview, so they know the story that’s being told in the book without having to read it.
When is a synopsis necessary?
Some literary agents request synopses along with query letters. More often, they’re used slightly later on in a writer’s career, when they have an agent or an editor and they need to submit a proposal for a new idea or project. A synopsis can also be used later on, in situations that don’t involve the author. For instance, when an editor pitches the book to the marketing and publicity team, who may not have time to read every book they’re working on. Unlike a query letter, the book doesn’t necessarily have to be written when you’re submitting its synopsis.
Basic Style
The job of a synopsis is to lay out the story with little fuss and no frills. They let the person you’re pitching know what they’re going to find in that giant stack of pages on their desk or in that obscenely long Word document (or else in the Word doc they’ll eventually receive).
Most professional synopses follow these rules:
They’re told in third person
They’re told in present tense
Characters’ names are CAPSLOCKED at first mention.
They are double spaced.
They tend to avoid descriptions longer than this sentence.
They focus on the central conflict and the protagonist’s emotional journey
They spoil the ending
They should be 500 words or less. (That is 1 page single-spaced, 2 pages double-spaced.)
HOW TO WRITE YOUR SYNOPSIS
The plot
Writing your synopsis, you have one goal: to tell a 50,000-100,000 word story in 500 words. It can be a little difficult to do this right. A great way to do this is to identify the key turning points in your protagonist’s story.
Do you remember those little plot roller coasters you’d make in elementary school? They’d usually be pointy witch’s-hat shaped things labeled with the terms: “beginning, rising action, climax, falling action, and resolution.”
Those turning points are the events you should be including in your synopsis.This is the structure you want to emphasize to your reader. You want to make abundantly clear that your story works like a story, that the events of your book have a beginning, a middle, and an end, that there’s an intriguing beginning, an exciting climax, a satisfying conclusion. You don’t want to just list out the events of your novel, but highlight the function of those events. X moment is important because it’s the inciting incident, the moment that takes the protagonist from their normal life and throws them into the story.
There are tons of great story roadmaps out there, that go into more specific story elements. The Hero’s Journey is the most famous example of a detailed, and mostly universal, story structure. There’s also the three-act structure that’s famous among screenwriters.
Find a structure that fits your story the best and use that to identify the events of your story that need to make it into your synopsis. I’ll link to different sources at the bottom of this post that will give you variations of story structure.
If you can correlate key scenes in your novel to the descriptions of these plot points, you’ll find an easy roadmap to navigating the many events of outlining your novel.
Your protagonist’s journey
Your protagonist is the heart of your story, and should be the heart of the synopsis, too. The protagonist’s emotional journey may not string all of these plot points together, but it’s going to be what makes them matter to the reader. The human element of your story has to be represented in your synopsis.
There’s no room for long descriptions, so you’ll have to be smart about finding a few terms that not only tell your reader who the character is, but what their story will be. For instance, if your story is about someone trying to get their critically-panned paintings in the Museum of Modern Art by breaking into the museum and installing the pieces themselves, you may want to introduce them with a sentence that begins like so: “When IGNATIUS, an ambitious and untalented struggling artist, discovers his work is rejected from yet another gallery…”
In addition to these descriptive terms, you should spell out what your protagonist wants (or wants desperately to avoid) and their stake in the events of the story.
Along the way, tell us how these key aspects of their persons change due to the events of the story, or else how they influence the events of the story. Tell us about how after raving reviews for his DIY MoMA exhibit came in, Iggy realized that though he still liked painting, his talents actually lay in performance art. Untalented to talented, struggling to successful, all because his ambition pushed him to try new and daring things.
Tips:
As in query letters, you only name the most important characters and locations outright. If you’re writing a synopsis for Harry Potter, you’ll want to use Harry’s name in the query, but most other people and places can be referred to by their function in the novel. Ex: Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon can be “his cruel relatives.” Hermione and Ron can be “his friends.” Even Hogwarts can be a “school for people with magical abilities.” This makes it easier for a reader to understand what’s going on in your story. Too many names in such a small amount of space can be overwhelming.
All telling, no showing. This is one piece of writing where you’ll want to tell, instead of show. You need to get to your point as quickly, as clearly, and concisely as possible; this isn’t the place for creative storytelling.
Oftentimes, synopses are given along with other materials, such as pitch letters and sample pages. While a synopsis should be captivating in-so-far that it’s well told, and it should maybe be a little stylish, being captivating and stylish aren’t its main goals. Additional materials like sample pages and pitches have more room for creative flourishes and can do a better job of selling the story, while the synopsis focuses on telling it.
Your synopsis should show that you know how to tell a story. While a synopsis doesn’t sell a story like a query, it should still illustrate the fact that you have an interesting, unique and well-structured plot. When finished, your reader should be able to think to themselves “that’s a good story. I want to read that.”
Your first draft will be too long. Your first draft of a synopsis will always be at least a page or two longer than it should be. Identify the sentences and paragraphs where you explain why a thing happens and ax them. Identify sentences where you repeat yourself and ax them. Identify descriptors that aren’t vital to understanding of the story and ax them. Once you make your first painful cuts and see that the story still makes sense without those things, you’ll start to get a better understanding of what can and cannot be taken out of your synopsis.
Bibliography:
6 Steps for Writing a Book Synopsis
How to Write a 1 Page Synopsis
The Hero’s Journey
Learn How to Write a Synopsis Like a Pro
How to Write a Novel Synopsis
The Secrets of Story Structure
Three Awesome Plot Structures for Building Bestsellers
7 Ways Write Plot Outline
Synopsis for “Bill and Ted’s Excellent Adventure”
How to Plan Your Novel Using a 3 Act Structure - ex. “The Hunger Games”
Story Structure by Plot Point for “Raiders of the Lost Ark”
Archery information for writers that no one asked for but probably some of you need and I like talking about archery, so here it is.
when you put an arrow on the string, the verb is called “nocking” i.e. eyes glued on the target, he nocked the arrow
also the part of the arrow that gets put onto the string is called the nock. depending on the type of arrow this can be a piece of plastic glued into the arrow, or with wood or bamboo arrows it can be carved into the shaft of the arrow itself
you do not close an eye when aiming or shooting; you see better with both eyes open.
everyone has a dominant eye that more naturally your brain focuses with. that determines whether you are right or left handed when shooting, and doesn’t necessarily correlate to whether the person is right or left handed in anything else
so if you’re writing a character who has difficulty seeing out of one eye, take that into account when they are shooting
if they are right eye dominant, they hold the bow with their left hand and draw the string with their right. if they are left eye dominant, they hold the bow with their right hand and draw the string with their left
if they shoot left, the quiver sits on their left side/hip/thigh. shoot right - right side quiver.
there are several different ways to draw, if you are writing something historical or in a specific region, then do research on that style of archery. but for a generic place to start that is a more universal way of drawing a bow, here are some things to include
the chin stays down. raising your chin will fuck up your aim
the pointer finger on your draw hand rests on the side of your chin/jaw, and the string of the bow will touch the tip of the archer’s nose
weight is on the balls of your feet, leaning slightly forward off your heels
if it is an older bow/barebow, there is not usually a place for the arrow to rest on the bow. this means the arrow rests on the archer’s hand. if they are not wearing a glove on that hand, the fletchings (that’s the feathers on the arrow) will more than likely slice their hand when firing. this scars.
so if you’re wanting to describe someone observing and archer’s hands (hands are hot, don’t @ me) they would see a silver scar about halfway between the pointer finger knuckle and palm of the person’s hand. (turn your hand vertical and trace down the length of your pointer toward your thumb and stop next to the knuckle. that spot there.)
most archers wear something to protect their fingers on the hand that draws the bow. even with that, they have callouses. without it, a lot of callouses, scars, and blisters.
most common draw uses three fingers on the string: pointer, middle, ring. the arrow sits between the pointer and middle. just like where the draw point is, this is not universal and do research if you’re doing something culturally important.
barebow means that the bow is bare of any instruments. no sight, no weights, etc. the most basic/traditional form of bow
a recurve bow is anything where the tips of the bow curve back around forward, away from the archer
a compound is what you think of as a modern hunting bow, and is recognisable by having wheels at the ends and three strings
arrows have three fletchings that form a triangle, the point faces the archer so that the flat of the arrow will pass the flat of the bow on release. the arrow sits on the side of the bow facing the archer
archers with a larger/raised chest will sometimes where a chest protect so that the string does not catch when firing (this is regardless of gender, i know several cis-men who need it as well)
string can also catch on the forearm that is holding the bow and creates bruises and welts if you don’t wear a protector. modern ones are small plastic and cover just the spot, with elastic holding it in place. traditional ones are leather and wrap all the way around, lacing up on the back of your arm like a corset.
there is literally so much more, but i feel like this is plenty to get you started, and as always, feel free to drop an ask in my box if you need something more!
Why must I put thought into my conlangs? Why can’t they just appear in my mind fully fleshed out?
(source)
Unsplash - photography, illustration, and art
Pixabay - same as unsplash
Pexels - stock photos and videos
Stockvault.net - stock photos
freepngimg - icons, pictures and clipart
Veceezy - vectors and clipart
Kissclipart and kissPNG - more vectors and clipart (often transparent!)
Getdrawings - simplistic images and drawing tutorials
Gumroad - photoshop brushes (and more)
Canva - needs login but has lots of templates
Library of Congress - historical posters and photos
NASA - you guessed it
Creative Commons - all kinds of stuff, homie
Even Adobe has some free images
There are so many ways to make moodboards, bookcovers, and icons without infringing copyright! As artists, authors, and other creatives, we need to be especially careful not to use someone else’s work and pass it off as our own.
Please add on if you know any more sites for free images <3
FRIENDS
REBLOG IF YOU HAVE MULTIPLE WIPS!
the most relatable tag I’ve ever seen
Things to Consider When Creating a Fictional Mythology
How many gods and goddesses are there?
How are the gods and goddesses related to each other? How similar are these relationships similar to human ones?
Is there a ‘chief’ god? What makes them the strongest one? Have they always been the strongest?
How much do the gods meddle with human affairs? What motivates them to get involved?
Can humans have kids with gods? What special abilities to these kids have? How are they viewed by society?
Do humans pray, make offerings, or do other things to try to appease the gods?
Do people and/or societies tend to worship one god or goddess at a time, a handful that reflect their interests and priorities, or the whole pantheon? How does this vary between people and cultures? How do people who worship different gods or worship them to different degrees interact?
Which gods are the most widely revered?
What is the mythology’s creation myth? How does that reflect society’s values?
What traits does the mythology tend to idolize? What does it demonize? Have people’s interpretations of these things changed over time?
Who are the main, famous heroes of this mythology? What makes them so well regarded?
Do gods have different names, personalities, or physical portrayals in different cultures?
Have details about some gods been lost over time?
Do gods and goddesses look like humans? Animals? Something else entirely?
How have various myths been sanitized over time to make them more tame or child friendly? How many different versions of each myth are there?
Math was so basic I started planning another wip despite not even having a synopsis for my main
small writing exercises
make up an origin and meaning of a name
write a family history going back centuries
pick a character and make them ramble about their favorite thing
make up a fable, pretend it’s as famous as the Grimm fairytales. how does this fable affect the world and what would people reference from it? (i love this one because it can be as crazy and silly as you want)
make a commercial for something that really shouldn’t be sold at all. try to convince people to buy it.
ACRONYMS. but, like, try to have it make sense
make a poem about your story/something in your story
rewrite a classic but put your own twist on it
make up a detailed recipe
make a monologue with a plot twist or punchline in the end
create a ridiculously detailed timeline for a character
childhood memory (real one or make it up!)
improv rap lyrics
the story behind an inside joke
make up a mythical creature
pretend to be a commentary youtuber and pick a topic
the what if? pick a story and create an alternate ending to it
pick one scenario and several characters. how different are the reactions based on their personalities?
wip intro
THE LOTUS EATERS’ GUIDE TO FREEDOM
Bountiful flower with beauty diverse do all that touch know of your curse?
GENRE: ya contemporary
POV: third person omniscient
TRIGGER WARNING : use of vulgar language, violence, metaphorical reference/depiction of drug use and addiction, homophobia
SYNOPSIS: Time waits for no Soul and Life goes on whether one likes it or not. High school seniors: Mara, Asra, Damien, and Jae know this all too well. With the Future approaching too quick for comfort these four teens stumble upon the answer to all their prayers: the Lotus Flower.
CONFIRMED CHARACTERS
Asra Adams—the dreamer
Jaehyung Lee—the nerd
Damien Smith—the false god
Mara Williams—the loner
INSPIRED BY THE TALE OF ODYSSEUS AND THE LOTUS EATERS
Tips for developing mythologies in your stories:
Find something that naturally occurs in your story. Every myth has a basis in nature. Some cultures create myths to explain the occurrence of something that happen in everyday life.
Not all myths are religious based. They can be as simple as a Just-So Story in which something is created just by someone doing an everyday thing and it becomes a sensation.
It becomes more relatable if told by word of mouth. Many cultures have a colorful oral history. Most cultures even have a professional storytellers, many of which sing and perform the myths of the cultures they represent.
Many myths involve strange creatures. These creatures almost always have different symbolic meanings in every culture. Usually these creature are based on the fauna of the culture.
Myths have a grain of truth somewhere inside them. However ridiculous they may seem, they are almost always rooted in history.
As annoying as it may seem, myths can be political. Kings, queens, and political leaders are sometimes seen as avatars of gods and goddesses. The more powerful, divine, and immortal they look the better.
Myths have a lesson to teach. They often are cautious tales told to protect people from themselves or from thing they would not understand. That is why many locals avoid haunted places. They know the myths by heart.
Myths can be a way to control. Mythologies have a way of convincing humans to do things based on their emotions, most notably fear, death, pain, love and sex.
Some mythologies represent the everyday person. There almost always has to be a comparison between extremes to show the weakness of mankind.
Myths do overlap with religions and legends. A diverse culture should have a healthy mix of all three to keep it interesting.
Don’t forget the rituals involved in the myths. Myths are tricky and can be as superstitious as throwing salt over your shoulder. Even the little details are important.
writeblr intro
Greetings and salutations, everyone! I’ve kinda been lurking in the community for a little while and just finally decided to come out the shadows! Guess I should get to the introduction, huh?
about me
my name’s (allegedly) osana but it’s not like i was there when my birth certificate was being authenticated so who really knows?
i’m 18 and therefore legally an adult but please don’t expect me to be that mature that’s not really how i roll fam
i like to read and write particularly fantasy but i do branch off often enough
i’m a hufflepuff and that’s not necessarily relevant but i had to show my house some love (let’s go badgers!)
i (re-)made this blog mostly because the thing i struggle with most when writing is staying committed and i hoped that surrounding myself with other motivated creators would encourage me to keep writing
my current projects (under the cut)
Hollow Origins series
Genre: YA/NA Fantasy
Trigger Warning: blood & violence, more to be added
This is my main wip. It’s currently in the early outlining stages and I plan for it to be a trilogy but plans are for people the universe likes. It follows Akira, a very curious girl who’s aversion to sweets, supernatural heritage, and inability to stay put leads her to rediscovering a world that, for her sake, was better left alone.
In short, it’s kind of like the unasked for love child of TLoTR, Charmed, and OUAT.
“what you know isn’t real and what you don’t is a nightmare.”
The Lotus Eaters’ Guide to Freedom
Genre: YA Fiction
Trigger Warning: vulgar language, reference/depiction of “drug” use and addiction, more to be added
Synopsis: Time waits for no Soul and Life goes on whether one likes it or not. High school seniors: Mara, Asra, Damien, and Jae know this all too well. With the Future approaching too quick for comfort these four teens stumble upon the answer to all their prayers: the Lotus Flower.
Basically, these four teens, all with problems of their own, find an easy escape in a glowing flower that turns out to be more trouble than it’s worth in the end.
Inspired by the tale of Odysseus and the Lotus Eaters.
It’s technically a stand alone, although I (might) plan to expand it into a series of loosely connected stories.
Pinterest Page
“The issue here isn’t that I tricked you! No… No! The issue here is I told you the Lotus Flower was back and you all came running like moths to a flame. Tell me why that is! Huh?”
that concludes my little intro. if you wanna talk or tell me about your own wip, i’d love to hear about it as i’m always looking for new friends and motivation. if you’re shy and just wanna tag me in your wip, i’m fine with that too! i can’t promise you me reblogging will do you any good in exposure but i can promise i’ll bring the positivity!
so uh reblog so i can check you out too!
Bye! Thanks!
Dust/particles pack ‘dust/particles’ style gifs for you to use in your overlays, graphics or backgrounds - or just as they are! i did not make the original graphics, i’ve only made the gifs from Youtube resources. please like or reblog if you intend to use - many thanks…
Octomoosey <3
when I publish my novel I want you all to swear to me that you’re going to write uncomfortably erotic fic about characters I didn’t intend to have sexual tension
swear it
swear to me
Four teens really hate growing up but really like flowers.
The worse the explanation, the better.
A curious girl nearly dies rediscovering a mystical world simply because she doesn’t know how to stay put and doesn’t like sweets.
The worse the explanation, the better.
ps alternatives.
the arguement that one must be incredibly talented to use photoshop is pathetic. graphics, in a better sense are a visual way to see into the world of ones creation and mind. you don’t need the most over-the-top visuals to get your message across. simplicity can do just the trick. for those of you who don’t have photoshop or money to afford the progam should have a look at these websites!
gimp - a bit rough around the edges, but gimp has a wonderful toolbar and various adjustment levels. one can also edit gifs on this free software.
pixlr - a free online photo editor with various effects and filters to use.
sumopaint - a free online Flash-based image editor similar to Adobe Photoshop.
lunapic - is a free and easy to use online photo editor.
photoshop express ( find in play store )- is a free image editing and collage making mobile application from adobe.
i just found this website that can randomly generate a continent for you!! this is great for fantasy writers
plus, you can look at it in 3d!
theres a lot of viewing options and other things! theres an option on-site to take a screenshot, so you don’t have to have a program for that!
you can view it here!
Finding the information you need as a writer shouldn’t be a chore. Luckily, there are plenty of search engines out there that are designed to help you at any stage of the process, from coming up with great ideas to finding a publisher to get your work into print. Both writers still in college and those on their way to professional success will appreciate this list of useful search applications that are great from making writing a little easier and more efficient.
Professional
Find other writers, publishers and ways to market your work through these searchable databases and search engines.
Litscene: Use this search engine to search through thousands of writers and literary projects, and add your own as well.
Thinkers.net: Get a boost in your creativity with some assistance from this site.
PoeWar: Whether you need help with your career or your writing, this site is full of great searchable articles.
Publisher’s Catalogues: Try out this site to search through the catalogs and names of thousands of publishers.
Edit Red: Through this site you can showcase your own work and search through work by others, as well as find helpful FAQ’s on writing.
Writersdock: Search through this site for help with your writing, find jobs and join other writers in discussions.
PoetrySoup: If you want to find some inspirational poetry, this site is a great resource.
Booksie.com: Here, you can search through a wide range of self-published books.
One Stop Write Shop: Use this tool to search through the writings of hundreds of other amateur writers.
Writer’s Cafe: Check out this online writer’s forum to find and share creative works.
Literary Marketplace: Need to know something about the publishing industry? Use this search tool to find the information you need now.
Writing
These helpful tools will help you along in the writing process.
WriteSearch: This search engine focuses exclusively on sites devoted to reading and writing to deliver its results.
The Burry Man Writers Center: Find a wealth of writing resources on this searchable site.
Writing.com: This fully-featured site makes it possible to find information both fun and serious about the craft of writing.
Purdue OWL: Need a little instruction on your writing? This tool from Purdue University can help.
Writing Forums: Search through these writing forums to find answers to your writing issues.
Research
Try out these tools to get your writing research done in a snap.
Google Scholar: With this specialized search engine from Google, you’ll only get reliable, academic results for your searches.
WorldCat: If you need a book from the library, try out this tool. It’ll search and find the closest location.
Scirus: Find great scientific articles and publications through this search engine.
OpenLibrary: If you don’t have time to run to a brick-and-mortar library, this online tool can still help you find books you can use.
Online Journals Search Engine: Try out this search engine to find free online journal articles.
All Academic: This search engine focuses on returning highly academic, reliable resources.
LOC Ask a Librarian: Search through the questions on this site to find helpful answers about the holdings at the Library of Congress.
Encylcopedia.com: This search engine can help you find basic encyclopedia articles.
Clusty: If you’re searching for a topic to write on, this search engine with clustered results can help get your creative juices flowing.
Intute: Here you’ll find a British search engine that delivers carefully chosen results from academia.
AllExperts: Have a question? Ask the experts on this site or search through the existing answers.
Reference
Need to look up a quote or a fact? These search tools make it simple.
Writer’s Web Search Engine: This search engine is a great place to find reference information on how to write well.
Bloomsbury Magazine Research Centre: You’ll find numerous resources on publications, authors and more through this search engine.
Merriam-Webster Dictionary and Thesaurus: Make sure you’re using words correctly and can come up with alternatives with the help of this tool.
References.net: Find all the reference material you could ever need through this search engine.
Quotes.net: If you need a quote, try searching for one by topic or by author on this site.
Literary Encyclopedia: Look up any famous book or author in this search tool.
Acronym Finder: Not sure what a particular acronym means? Look it up here.
Bartleby: Through Bartleby, you can find a wide range of quotes from famous thinkers, writers and celebrities.
Wikipedia.com: Just about anything and everything you could want to look up is found on this site.
Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy: Find all the great philosophers you could want to reference in this online tool.
Niche Writers
If you’re focusing on writing in a particular niche, these tools can be a big help.
PubGene: Those working in sci-fi or medical writing will appreciate this database of genes, biological terms and organisms.
GoPubMd: You’ll find all kinds of science and medical search results here.
Jayde: Looking for a business? Try out this search tool.
Zibb: No matter what kind of business you need to find out more about, this tool will find the information.
TechWeb: Do a little tech research using this news site and search engine.
Google Trends: Try out this tool to find out what people are talking about.
Godchecker: Doing a little work on ancient gods and goddesses? This tool can help you make sure you have your information straight.
Healia: Find a wide range of health topics and information by using this site.
Sci-Fi Search: Those working on sci-fi can search through relevant sites to make sure their ideas are original.
Books
Find your own work and inspirational tomes from others by using these search engines.
Literature Classics: This search tool makes it easy to find the free and famous books you want to look through.
InLibris: This search engine provides one of the largest directories of literary resources on the web.
SHARP Web: Using this tool, you can search through the information on the history of reading and publishing.
AllReaders: See what kind of reviews books you admire got with this search engine.
BookFinder: No matter what book you’re looking for you’re bound to find it here.
ReadPrint: Search through this site for access to thousands of free books.
Google Book Search: Search through the content of thousands upon thousands of books here, some of which is free to use.
Indie Store Finder: If you want to support the little guy, this tool makes it simple to find an independent bookseller in your neck of the woods.
Blogging
For web writing, these tools can be a big help.
Technorati: This site makes it possible to search through millions of blogs for both larger topics and individual posts.
Google Blog Search: Using this specialized Google search engine, you can search through the content of blogs all over the web.
Domain Search: Looking for a place to start your own blog? This search tool will let you know what’s out there.
OpinMind: Try out this blog search tool to find opinion focused blogs.
IceRocket: Here you’ll find a real-time blog search engine so you’ll get the latest news and posts out there.
PubSub: This search tool scours sites like Twitter and Friendfeed to find the topics people are talking about most every day.
I made these as a way to compile all the geographical vocabulary that I thought was useful and interesting for writers. Some descriptors share categories, and some are simplified, but for the most part everything is in its proper place. Not all the words are as useable as others, and some might take tricky wording to pull off, but I hope these prove useful to all you writers out there!
(save the images to zoom in on the pics)
Resource: Writing a Character with Magical Powers
So you want to write a magical character, but you can’t decide on a power, or you’re not sure of the “laws of magic” and how they apply to your specific story. There are many different magical realms in literature, each with a few different qualifications and “rules,” but when it comes to writing your own, here are some basic guides and outlines to forming your magical world, your magical character, and their powerful capabilities;
General Advice:
Writing Realistically About Magic
How to Create a Unique Magic System For Your Book
How to Write a Character Using Supernatural Powers
Creative Uses of Magic In Your Fantasy Story
Writing Magical Powers
How to Include Magic In Your Story
About Magical and Mythical Creatures
So You Want to Write a Magical Girl Series
The Definite Rules For Writing Magic
Sanderson’s Laws of Magic
Monsters and Magic: A Sample Character
A Guide to Writing Magic
How to Write Magic
Choosing a Power:
Tips and Ideas to Make Better More Interesting Powers
The Top 5 Magical Powers in Fantasy Fiction
Magic and Powers
List of Supernatural Powers and Magic
The 30 Coolest Superhero Powers
What Magical Ability Should My Character Have?
Remember, even witches and wizards are human, so you’ll need to spend just as much time developing their internal characterization as you’ll do creating their powers.
hey do you have any tips on plot development? how to do come up with relevant but dramatic things to keep the plot going? i also don’t want to make it too intense?
I actually have quite a lot of resources that I’ve created over the years surrounding plot development. I’ve linked as many as I could find for you:
Resources For Plot Development
Useful Writing Resources
Useful Writing Resources II
31 Days of Plot Development
Novel Planning 101
How To Write A Good Plot Twist
How To Foreshadow
What To Cut Out Of Your Story
Tackling Subplots
Things A Reader Needs From A Story
A Guide To Tension & Suspense In Your Writing
How To Turn A Good Idea Into A Good Story
Planning A Scene In A Story
21 Plot Shapes and the Pros and Cons Of Each
How To Outline Effectively
Tips On Writing Intense Scenes
Writing The First Chapter
Tips On Starting A Scene
Plot Structures
Finding & Fixing Plot Holes
How to Outline: For Beginners to Writing Veterans
Let me start out by defining a few things:
Pantsers
These types of writers generally plan out very little before diving into their novels. They might have some ideas, maybe a small outline, but they feel free to take their story in any direction they please. The lack of outlining and planning lends itself to untethered creativity.
Plotters
These types of writers usually have some sort of outline that they follow while writing their novel. They spend some time planning and rewriting their outlines and know what’s going to happen (to an extent). Usually the novel is planned out before they begin writing it, which cuts out the element of surprise for the writer and tends to reduce writer’s block.
There’s no right way to be, but personally I’m a plotter. I probably plot too much. If you’re a pantser and it’s working for you, keep doing it! More power to ya!
However, if you’re looking to experiment with plotting or you just want to learn how to do it, check out these tips below:
Where to Begin:
Skeleton Outline
If you’re looking for a little bit of direction, but don’t feel like/find it necessary to build a huge outline, this is probably what you’re going for. Create an outline that focuses around the main points of your story.
Detailed Outline
A detailed outline usually builds on what you did for the skeleton outline. This adds more detail to the structure of your story and helps focus on fleshing out what’s going to happen throughout the novel. I usually add in some sections about my characters and any sort of world building I might do.
Chapter-by-Chapter Outline
This is literally when you plan out each chapter of your novel. Some might find it unnecessary to get that detailed, but if you have pacing problems or want to cut down on extensive editing, this might work best for you.
How to:
Skeleton Outline
This is essentially the “road map” of your story. Figure out what the conflict is and focus on the beginning, middle, and sometimes the end (a lot of writers aren’t completely sure what their ending will be, but sometimes it helps to have to planned out so you can effectively lead up to it in the story. It could also help with tone issues. Example—if you ending is dark, you might want to set up the audience for that).
For a skeleton outline it helps to focus on story arcs. For example,
· Stasis
· Trigger
· The Quest
· Surprise
· Critical Choice
· Climax
· Reversal
· Resolution
Learn more about story arcs here: http://www.dailywritingtips.com/how-to-structure-a-story-the-eight-point-arc/
Filling out those story points will help you build a more detailed outline if you choose to do so and will help you focus your story, so it’s not all over the place. If you want to have a clear idea where you’re headed, but don’t want to bog yourself down with the details, a skeleton outline might be best for you.
Detailed Outline
For a detailed outline, you basically just take your skeleton outline and flesh it out. Add to each section of the story arc and drop in more detail. Focus on what scenes will help you get across each main story point.
For example:
Stasis – Amy lives with her mother and her sister in a house that’s nearly falling apart. She’s unhappy with her life and her family doesn’t treat her well.
This is Amy’s everyday life, but you can do more to plan it out before jumping into writing. What’s Amy’s home life like? What does her family do to treat her poorly? What scenes will you explore to show the audience what’s going on.
Maybe Amy’s sister teases her or makes her do all the chores. Maybe Amy’s mom often doesn’t come home or doesn’t take care of her children. Explore these ideas and use them to flesh out your outline. Then, you’ll have some idea what to write when the time comes, instead of just something vague. This could also help you cut down on telling instead of showing.
Chapter-by-Chapter Outline
This takes a lot of time, but from experience, it does help cut down on the editing process, AND it helps you write a synopsis and query letter when or if the time comes. I spent around a month writing my last chapter-by-chapter outline, so I know exactly what I’m going to do when I start writing. I prefer this because I know I won’t get stuck and I’ll be able to get through the draft quickly. If you like to write fast, which I do because I like to keep my excitement for my project up when I’m writing, a chapter-by-chapter outline might work for you.
A chapter-by-chapter outline might be difficult for your first time writing a novel because you might not know how long it should be or what your strengths and weaknesses are as a writer. There’s no right answer for how long a chapter-by-chapter outline should be because only you know how long your chapters usually are or if you have any problems with word count (Is your novel usually too long? Too short?).
Anyway, if you feel like you want to do a chapter-by-chapter outline, I usually do something like this for each chapter:
Chapter 1:
Paragraph or more about what’s happening in the chapter. Think about each chapter as its own tiny story. Each chapter should have a beginning, middle, and end, and should lend itself to the overall story. Think about what the purpose is for each chapter and what information you want to convey to the reader.
Conflict (I tend to write a sentence about what the conflict is in each chapter. If I can’t find any, I know that’s a sign I need to rewrite that section of the outline. There should always be conflict! There should always be something driving the plot forward!)
I also suggest letting your chapter-by-chapter outline sit for a week or so and editing it. I know that sounds like a lot of work, but that will help your catch any plotting, pacing, or conflict problems BEFORE you start writing. If you’re a planner, this will help tremendously.
Additional Notes:
Obviously, some people like editing. They feel that’s when their story really comes together and they love that aspect of it. They like tearing their story apart, starting over, and building something new. That’s perfectly okay! You don’t need to have a detailed outline if that doesn’t work for you.
The reason I focus on planning is because I can look at the bigger picture before I start the draft. I have a clear focus and I know what’s coming next.
Also, there are plenty of ways to write an outline. How I do it isn’t necessarily right, it just works for me. Experiment with it until you find something that makes you feel comfortable.
What I’m really saying is:
There are no rules for writing. Whatever feels right or whatever makes you happy is what you should focus on. If you don’t want an outline, don’t write one. If you’ve been having trouble with writer’s block or the editing process, maybe try it out! Figure out what’s right for you!