Writing Tricks - Tumblr Posts
NEED HELP WRITING? (a masterlist)
I have likely not added many that I've reblogged to this list. Please feel free to roam my blog and/or ask/message me to add something you'd like to see on this list!
Synonym Lists
Look by @writers-potion
Descriptors
Voices by @saraswritingtipps
Show, Don't Tell by @lyralit
Tips & Tricks
5 Tips for Creating Intimidating Antagonists by @writingwithfolklore
How To (Realistically) Make a Habit of Writing by @byoldervine
Let's Talk About Misdirection by @deception-united
Tips to Improve Character Voice by @tanaor
Stephen King's Top 20 Rules for Writers posted by @toocoolformedschool
Fun Things to Add to a Fight Scene (Hand to Hand Edition) by @illarian-rambling
Questions I Ask My Beta Readers by @burntoutdaydreamer
Skip Google for Research by @s-n-arly
Breaking Writing Rules Right: Don't Write Direct Dialogue by @septemberercfawkes
Databases/Resources
International Clothing
Advice/Uplifting
Too Ashamed of Writing To Write by @writingquestionsanswered
"Said" is Beautiful by @blue-eyed-author
Writing Tip:
When you’re first starting a new project (and still have all that wonderful creative energy and enthusiasm going) write out a statement of what you want to get out of the project, and why you’re excited for it. Make it as long and rambling (or short and sweet) as you want, and read back over it whenever you feel unmotivated about your piece.
This helps you remember why you wanted to write the thing in the first place, and make sure you’re not getting caught up in details that have nothing to do with the concept that originally drew you to the piece. Sometimes getting unblocked can be as simple as remembering that you don’t need to be getting caught up in detailing the function of a resistance movement when you came to your novel wanting to write about found family. (Or vice versa.)
Hope this helps someone, and happy writing!
REMINDER
THE POINT OF A PLOT TWIST IS TO ENRICH YOUR STORY, NOT OUTSMART YOUR READERS!!!! SPRINKLE IN YOUR FORESHADOWING!!!! LEAVE CLUES!!!
(im not saying to spell it out/make your plot twist cliche or boring. we are going for a "how did I not see that coming" vibe)
Just so y'all know, if I ever become famous, I'm not telling y'all. I am going to wait a while, and then drop that I am.
Like oh btw guys I'm famous now :0
and then y'all can guess who I am
TRUST YOUR READERS
i swear, TRUST THEM!
Leave gaps for the readers to fill in. Don't spell everything out. Leave things up to interpretation. The gaps are pockets for people to put fanfiction/theories/ideas into.
I'm not talking about "this doesn't make sense"
I'm talking "insert your ideas here"
Tips for when you can't write a scene or can't get into it:
Find the song your character listens to all the time and try to find why that song is special and what they think when they hear it.
Imagine/write the scene in the same or a similar place where it unfolds, be it the kitchen or the garden. (And...)
Imagine/write the scene at the same time it occurs. Cover yourself with a blanket to pretend it's night if you have to.
When you're imagining, pretend you're the pov character and write down the special details they *insert all senses*, what they would like to do but can't and the thoughts that come to their mind.
Write dialogue that feels special first and try to find a way to make it shine and be of importance when writing the scene. (Or... )
Write physical language first, subtle or not, and make it special or important.
Wow, this is cool (and handy because I’m learning Spanish too!)
A couple of things I experience being bilingual (for your writing)
Writing a bilingual character is probably very difficult for someone who isn’t bilingual. So, here’s a quick post on a couple of things I do and experience as someone who is bilingual.
For context my first language is English, but I’ve lived in Spain for over 15 years now and my partner who I live with only speaks Spanish, so I do speak more Spanish on the average day than English.
1.-I forget words, all the time, in both languages. Sometimes my brain is only going to give me one version of that word and that may not be the language I’m aiming for. Depending on the word or circumstance though, I’ll often just throw it into the conversation and hope for the best. This works a lot because usually if my brain doesn’t supply the word, it’s actually because they’re very similar. Examples of words I may forget (supposedly/supuestamente, acusation/acusación, salary/salario…) a sentence I often say to my roommate is, “I don’t know the word in Spanish but I’m just a couple of letters or a syllable away.”
2.-Expressions are my worst nightmare. Seriously, the amount of times I forget which expressions exist in which language and just say them anyway is concerning. In the best of cases, this ends up with people simply not understanding. But in the worst of cases, you get the fact that the Spanish expression for being put under anaesthetic is “le van a dormir” literally translates to “they’re putting him to sleep”, so when I told my mom my cat had a urinary infection had to stay at the vet because they were putting him to sleep… well, she interpreted something slightly different (for anybody who English isn’t their first language, being put to sleep is an expression that means to put down, like… medically induced death).
3.-Despite the fact that I am bilingual enough to realice five episodes in I forgot to change my streaming to English, I can’t do two languages at the same time. By which I mean, if I have a show on in the background in English, I can still write, in English. But if I an hear the TV in Spanish, then I can only write in Spanish. I don’t know why this happens, but it does. Also if I’m witting in English and someone starts speaking to me in Spanish, I have to ask them to start over.
4.-Translating. So, I’ve heard people complain about the whole “oh I struggle to switch sometimes” when referencing bilinguals in writing. But I genuinely experience something similar while translating, so I most often translate for my boyfriend when my family speaks to him in English, and then I translate what my boyfriend says in Spanish back to them. Yep, that’s how translating works, the problem is, if say my boyfriend knows how to say something in English, he then does that, and I’ll automatically translate what he said in English to Spanish for my English family.
Hey, you give me one thing, I give you back the other. It’s not my job to pay attention to what goes in and out.
5.-Sometimes cultural difference and language differences are blurry lines. For example, in English if someone were to offer me something, say a sandwich, and I didn’t want it, I’d say, “no thank you,” and when the same thing happens in Spanish I say, “no gracias.” However, most Spanish would just say “no”, and I have had people say to me, “you don’t say gracias when it’s a no, only when it’s a yes…”
This is also is really weird because whenever I take my boyfriend out for dinner with my family and they offer him something he just replies no and it kind of sounds rude even though we all know it’s just the difference in culture. So, it’s a fun thing you can keep in mind when writing a character’s dialogue.
As usual, check out my socials and book here.
Any other bilingual experiences?
NEED HELP WRITING? (a masterlist)
I have likely not added many that I've reblogged to this list. Please feel free to roam my blog and/or ask/message me to add something you'd like to see on this list!
Synonym Lists
Look by @writers-potion
Descriptors
Voices by @saraswritingtipps
Show, Don't Tell by @lyralit
Tips & Tricks
5 Tips for Creating Intimidating Antagonists by @writingwithfolklore
How To (Realistically) Make a Habit of Writing by @byoldervine
Let's Talk About Misdirection by @deception-united
Tips to Improve Character Voice by @tanaor
Stephen King's Top 20 Rules for Writers posted by @toocoolformedschool
Fun Things to Add to a Fight Scene (Hand to Hand Edition) by @illarian-rambling
Questions I Ask My Beta Readers by @burntoutdaydreamer
Skip Google for Research by @s-n-arly
Breaking Writing Rules Right: Don't Write Direct Dialogue by @septemberercfawkes
Databases/Resources
International Clothing
Advice/Uplifting
Too Ashamed of Writing To Write by @writingquestionsanswered
"Said" is Beautiful by @blue-eyed-author