Writing Life - Tumblr Posts
Commas are all that’s holding my fics together
3 of the worst story beginnings (and how to fix them)
Big no-no’s for story openers!
Now, don’t get me wrong - every type of story beginning can come out really well if you write it well, a skilled writer can make your typical wake-up-morning-routine-with-the-hero sound super interesting, but 9 times out of 10, this is not the case.
Especially if you are JUST starting out on your writing journey, I’d highly recommend to test out an unexpected opener for your story instead. Think of what makes your hero different, and HOW their normal is different than someone else’s.
#1 Waking up
Your protagonist wakes up to their alarm, tries to turn it off and drops the clock or breaks it. They get up and get ready for their day, typically while describing themselves in the mirror and telling us about their daily routine. Yawn. Pun intended.
✔️ The fix: If you’re going to start with a character’s wake-up routine, show us why it’s interesting. What’s different about their routine that could take your readers off-guard? Do they get up in the middle of the night? Inside a bunker? A submarine? If their routine is just like everyone else’s, there’s no reason to show it.
#2 Traumatic flashback
As soon as we open the book, we’re thrown into some kind of important and emotional moment of your protagonist’s life that happened years ago. The problem? We aren’t familiar with the protagonist yet, so we’re not going to care what happened to them.
✔️ The fix: Save the big important flashbacks for later. If you immediately hit with the biggest punch, then what is there to work up to? If you’re starting with a flashback, make sure it’s one that paints the character’s internal conflict well and makes us root for them.
#3 Exposition
Commonly found in prologues and first chapters, when we learn all about the story world, its history, the relationships between the characters in this scene, and their backstories. Also known as a surefire way to bore your readers before they’ve even started reading.
✔️ The fix: Subtext. Train yourself to think through subtext, and trust that your readers are smart enough to pick up on it. When we start the story we don’t care about the fascinating things of your world and complex backstories. We want to get to know who the characters are, and let them slowly reveal all the puzzle pieces through the book.
My final piece of advice is to focus on creating questions for your readers to wonder about, and resist the temptation to answer those until later chapters.
Did you hear I’ve got a Youtube channel? Subscribe through [the link here] or below, and watch my latest video about Creating Complex Characters!
Writing will have you googling shit like this
*Taking notes*
Making Fight Scenes Sound Nicer
Euphonics is all about how the words "feel". By incorporating certain sounds, you can influence the mood of the passage.
Mood: Foreboding
use words with 'ow', 'oh', 'ou', 'oo' sonds. These are good for building tension before the fight.
moor, growl, slow, wound, soon, show, show, grow, tow, loom, howl, cower, mound.
Mood: Spooky
use words with 's' sounds, combined with an 'i' sound.
hiss, sizzle, crisp, sister, whisper, sinister, glisten, stick.
Mood: Acute Fear
use word with 'ee/ea' sounds, with a few 's' sounds.
squeal, scream, squeeze, creak, steal, fear, clear, sheer, stream
Mood: Fighting Action
use short words iwth 't', 'p' and 'k' sounds.
cut, block, top, shoot, tackle, trick, kick, grip, grab, grope, punch, drop, pound, poke, cop, chop.
Mood: Speed
use short words with 'r' sounds
run, race, riot, rage, red, roll, rip, hurry, thrust, scurry, ring, crack
Mood: Trouble
use words with 'tr' sounds to signal trouble
trouble, trap, trip, trough, treat, trick, treasure, atroscious, attract, petrol, trance, try, traitor
Mood: Macho Power
If you wan to emphasize the fighters' masculinity, use 'p' sounds.
pole, power, police, cop, pry, pile, post, prong, push, pass, punch, crop, crap, trap, pack, point, part
Mood: Punishment
If your fight involves an element of punishment use 'str' sounds
strict, astride, strike, stripe, stray, strident, stroke, strip, instruct, castrate strive
Mood: Defeat
use 'd' sonds
despari, depressed, dump, dig, dank, damp, darkness, drag, ditch, drop, dead, deep, dark, dull
Mood: Victory
use 'j' and 'ch' sounds
joy, cheer, jubilant, jeer, chuck, chariot, choose, chip, jest, jamboree, jig, jazz, jive, rejoice, rejoin
In print, the effectiveness of such euphonics will be very subtle, and it can only serve as an embellishment to what you already have.
Don't use or replace words for the sake of achieving euphonic effects, but this can be something to keep in mind when you are editing your draft!
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(reblog for science)
Writing Prompt #2329
Merry festivals were a wonderful place to make mischief and cause all sorts of problems.
BREAKING NEWS: Writer discovers for the millionth time that they can write whatever they want. Join us now to see if the lesson will stick.
Happy STS! 💜💌 When you write, especially when developing a new story/plot, do you find that you actively challenge yourself to write something (genre, character archetype, theme, plot element, voice) that tests the edges of your comfort zone? Or do you prefer to work at really perfecting the things you know that you do really well? :) - @liv-is
Happy Storyteller Saturday! Thank you for the Ask, @liv-is!
When you write, especially when developing a new story/plot, do you find that you actively challenge yourself to write something (genre, character archetype, theme, plot element, voice) that tests the edges of your comfort zone? Or do you prefer to work at really perfecting the things you know that you do really well?
A mix of both! I always try to challenge myself constantly to improve, even when I'm writing something that I know well, while I also like to perfect the styles I'm familiar with. I like to try new things within the range of genres that inspire me and get me wanting to write (fantasy - high fantasy, dark fantasy, medieval fantasy; Victorian fantasy, science fiction - space adventure, superhero, futuristic, cyberpunk; supernatural fiction; mystery, etc) and I generally don't try to write things that could get me uninspired.
I love trying out new storylines and adventures within my WIPs, seeing how I can take the scenes in a whole new direction, or how I can make it comfortingly familiar - it always depends on my mood or intention when writing!
I would have liked to sleep, but at 3:37 a.m. my brain decided to wake me up to implement some restrictions to the encounters in relation to MC malus, and who am I to resist it?
I'm studying the geography of Michigan in order to complete the next After Dark update... Thank you Google Earth and Wikipedia, without you I would be so lost...
The time off from writing is over. Back to The In-Between...
some people think writers are so eloquent and good with words, but the reality is that we can sit there with our fingers on the keyboard going, “what’s the word for non-sunlight lighting? Like, fake lighting?” and for ten minutes, all our brain will supply is “unofficial”, and we know that’s not the right word, but it’s the only word we can come up with…until finally it’s like our face got smashed into a brick wall and we remember the word we want is “artificial”.
I would like to hereby state that I am, in fact, not in control of my story.
It was supposed to be a 10k fic. We've passed the 60k already and there are characters in it that were never supposed to be there.
I have no clue either 🤷♀️
I would like to hereby state that I am, in fact, not in control of my story.
It was supposed to be a 10k fic. We've passed the 60k already and there are characters in it that were never supposed to be there.
I have no clue either 🤷♀️
I would like to hereby state that I am, in fact, not in control of my story.
It was supposed to be a 10k fic. We've passed the 60k already and there are characters in it that were never supposed to be there.
I have no clue either 🤷♀️
“A story should entertain the writer, too.”
— Stephen King
welcome to my library 📓♫₊˚.🎧 ✩
𝐍𝐨𝐰 𝐥𝐨𝐚𝐝𝐢𝐧𝐠. . .
INTRO ˏˋ°•*⁀➷
╰┈➤ ( WHAT I DO: giving writing tips && motivation + book reviews)
call me kay! pronouns:they!she!he ENFP
fandoms : grishaverse, swiftie, hunger games, kotlc, pjo, chappell roan, marauders, the umbrella academy, etc
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THIS IS A SAFE SPACE! I REPEAT THIS IS A SAFE PLACE!
[all photo credits go to rightful owners/all found on pinterest && no symbols are mine]
- ͙۪۪̥˚┊❛there are no laws for the novel. there never have been, nor can there ever be.❜┊˚ ͙۪۪̥◌
by Doris Lessing
- ͙۪۪̥˚┊❛I don’t need an alarm clock. My ideas wake me.❜┊˚ ͙۪۪̥◌
by Ray Bradbury, WD
now…let’s get writing!
↻ ◁ II ▷ ↺
Writers should NOT feel guilty about:
Skipping a day of writing.
Not having a perfect first draft.
Partaking in sinister, arcane rituals for inspiration.
Working at their own pace.
Enlisting demons and/or helpful spirits to aid them with editing.