Writers Tips - Tumblr Posts

Writing tip no. 5

When writing dialogue for characters remember that people in real life don't always speak in a grammatically correct way. Further more the way characters speak can tell us a lot about their background. For example a character that always speaks in a grammatically correct way may be in a position of high society, and thus be very educated. And Vice versa. That being said, there are times when you need to be careful with certain dialects and how you use them, because if you're uninformed can come across as unintentionally offensive.  For instance a lot of white writers misuse African American Vernacular English (AAVE), because they don't have a sensitivity reader or they don't do proper research.

Writing tip no. 6

Make sure you hire multiple sensitivity readers from the same group. Minority groups are not a monolith, and the individuals within the minority group may bring in different perspectives that some members of said group may not have previously known.

Writing tip no. 7

Schadenfreude can be a great motivation.

Writing tip no. 8

Learn as much as you can about everything. Having a catalogue of knowledge in the back of your mind is incredibly helpful for writing.

Writing tip no. 9

You can make your world in your story as unrealistic and ridiculous as possible, as long as you clearly convey the logic of your world, and make the logic internally consistent.

Writing tip no. 10

Understand what parts of your story need to be explained and what doesn't. 

 To illustrate this,The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka would not benefit from a deep explanation of how Gregor Samsa became a bug. In fact the story is far more terrifying because of the lack of information. 

 On the other hand we have RWBY. The lack of information in relation to the world building makes the story far more confusing and not in a good way.

reblogging for when i actually start writing again-

a list of 100+ buildings to put in your fantasy town

academy

adventurer's guild

alchemist

apiary

apothecary

aquarium

armory

art gallery

bakery

bank

barber

barracks

bathhouse

blacksmith

boathouse

book store

bookbinder

botanical garden

brothel

butcher

carpenter

cartographer

casino

castle

cobbler

coffee shop

council chamber

court house

crypt for the noble family

dentist

distillery

docks

dovecot

dyer

embassy

farmer's market

fighting pit

fishmonger

fortune teller

gallows

gatehouse

general store

graveyard

greenhouses

guard post

guildhall

gymnasium

haberdashery

haunted house

hedge maze

herbalist

hospice

hospital

house for sale

inn

jail

jeweller

kindergarten

leatherworker

library

locksmith

mail courier

manor house

market

mayor's house

monastery

morgue

museum

music shop

observatory

orchard

orphanage

outhouse

paper maker

pawnshop

pet shop

potion shop

potter

printmaker

quest board

residence

restricted zone

sawmill

school

scribe

sewer entrance

sheriff's office

shrine

silversmith

spa

speakeasy

spice merchant

sports stadium

stables

street market

tailor

tannery

tavern

tax collector

tea house

temple

textile shop

theatre

thieves guild

thrift store

tinker's workshop

town crier post

town square

townhall

toy store

trinket shop

warehouse

watchtower

water mill

weaver

well

windmill

wishing well

wizard tower

Top Ten Tips for Beginner Writers

Understand

Writing is amazing. It is so satisfying to be able to hold your success, to see your success, to know your hard work paid off. On the opposing side, writing can be a pain. As unfair as it may seem, to succeed, you need to fail.  Truthfully, writing is more than putting words on a page. In order to be a successful writer, you need to understand that.

Writer Friends

No one will understand a writer's mind better than a writer. Of course, every writer is different. Even so, they have been/are where you are. They will assist you in growing as a writer, probably better than any English teacher ever could. 

First drafts

Think of a building. Obviously, you build from the floor upward. Essentially, your first draft is the foundation of your story - something to build upon. That being said, your first draft is not the story as the floor is not the building. 

Keep Writing

As previously stated, in order to succeed, you need to fail. If you aspire to be a successful writer, you need to also understand that it is not the fact you fail, but whether you rise despite the failure. Furthermore, if you wish to improve, you need to continue writing beyond your mistakes. 

Originality

Originality is not mandatory. If your plot derives from an AU, writing prompt, or already exists (a book or movie having the same general plot), your story does not lose its value. Some of the best stories exist more than once. 

Yes, it counts.

If you post on Fanfiction, you are a writer. If you post on Wattpad, you are a writer. If you write, you are a writer. Your work is valid, no matter what you decide to do with it. 

Writing Journals

There will come a time when the perfect idea hits you and you don't have access to a device. Sure, we operate digitally. Even so, invest in a journal. You’ll never know when you might need it.

Reading Books

Reading action packed books helps me understand how to effectively shift between a scene/moment in a chapter. Even if you’re not much of a reader, rest assured the techniques you wish to master are hidden in pages for you to observe. 

Taking Advice (the irony is strong)

You will stumble upon posts instructing you on what to use in a sentence, what not to use, how to express emotion, et cetera. Keep in mind that not all of it will apply to you. Use the word “very” if you want to, end a sentence with a preposition if you would like, don’t name your chapters if you don’t feel like it. You are in charge of your story.

Taking Breaks

It is okay to take an hour break, or a week-long break, or even a three-month break. It does not make you any less of a writer. Do whatever you need to do to become the writer you aspire to be, even if that means not writing for a while. 

If you have any questions, or feel I missed something, feel free to let me know!

Character Development

When developing a character, I choose the role I want my character to play, then decide how I could make it realistic.

Take my character Remi Wolf, for example. Remi is always in the center of chaos, and she is aware of it. To save herself an emotional breakdown, she plans ahead. Some would call it being prepared, but when her doing it affects her everyday life, it slowly starts to be an anxiety disorder.

There are ways to portray Remi’s anxiety without saying she has anxiety, such as giving her noise cancelling headphones. Since she has been around chaos most of her life, she may be sensitive to noise. Remi could wear these in a classroom, in the cafeteria, et cetera.

As tedious as this task may be, putting a reason behind the tiniest detail not only helps the development of the character make sense, but it humanizes the character in a way where the reader can relate to them.

(Tip: Everybody gets anxious, but if it’s to the point where your anxiousness is affecting how you perform everyday tasks, talk to someone about it. Preferably, a doctor of some sort, but it helps to talk to your peers.)

If you have any questions regarding character development, or feel as though I’ve missed something, feel free to let me know!

Character Traits

An interesting trick I learned from scrolling through my Instagram feed (instead of writing) is to focus on the extremes of your character - the two ends on a character’s personality spectrum.

Take a perfectionist, for example. This person strives to be perfect all of the time, therefore, they work extremely hard. However, this person is so obsessed with being perfect that they can come off as condescending or controlling.

A character’s personality traits also depend heavily on the viewpoint at which you’re looking. Take an abusive parent. When the parent is at work, all of their co-workers may see them as a caring, respectful, and friendly person. To their child, they’re seen as uncivilized and a monster.

I’m not saying you have to use the “extremes” concept on every character. In fact, assigning only negative traits helps the reader identify who the antagonist (or villain) may be. However, giving a character both positive and negative traits helps humanize the character.

If you have any questions regarding character traits, or feel as though I’ve missed something, feel free to let me know!

Characters Types

Protagonist: 

The Protagonist is the main character of your story. They are the most mentioned, the one who drives the plot, the one the readers will be paying most of their attention to. Generally, there is only one, but there can be more than one protagonist in a story. 

Antagonist:  

The Antagonist is the character that goes against the Protagonist. An Antagonist doesn’t have to be a person, necessarily. It can be a group of people, society, nature, et cetera. They don’t even have to be evil, they just need to go against the Protagonist’s motives.  

Villain:

Both the Villain and the Antagonist are opponents of the Protagonist. Though, the main difference is the Villain has bad intentions. They are evil.

Dynamic Character:

A Dynamic Character is the person who undergoes a change throughout the story, whether it be good or bad. The character’s motives or morals are different than they were in the beginning. The change is normally permanent.

Flat or Static Character:

A Flat or Static Character is the opposite of a Dynamic Character, hardly experiencing any changes throughout the story, if at all. Generally, the reader doesn’t know much about this character. 

If you have any questions regarding character types, or feel as though I’ve missed something, feel free to let me know!