its-a-writer-thing
writerswritecompany
I found a list of the 17 most common scenes found in screenplays on The Script Lab and it got me thinking that authors can, and do, use all of these when writing novels.
When we write books, we tell a story in scenes (action) and sequels (reaction). I divided the screenplay scenes, with their given definitions, into these two groups.
Although you are not writing a screenplay, these 17 scenes may give you more ideas for creating conflict, and, for making peace, in your plotting.
its-a-writer-thing
fixyourwritinghabits
This post is for all those people out there who don’t know ANYTHING about the publishing industry.
This post is for people who write me and say:
This post is for everyone unable to form a more specific question than:
How do I get my book published?
writingwithcolor
Anonymous said: how do I describe a fictional nation of people that are based on Arabic people without calling them Arabic? My story is similar to Game of Thrones as there are white people and other people with darker skin, but I am not sure how to describe the POC. Please help and thank you so much in advance
“Game of Thrones” may not be the best source of reference, as I find the hints at barbaric Arabs to be offensive at times. If you’re describing Arabs, then I’m guessing you’re looking for physical characteristics? Arabs are usually known for thick hair in different shades of brown (though I know of redhead Palestinians), large, usually “almond-shaped” eyes in varying degrees of brown, skin tone that can be quite pale in some Arab countries (Palestine), while darker in others (Saudi), not-small noses, big mouths, etc.
Aside from physical characteristics, ancient Arabs were known for their intelligence. Poetry is something that was quite popular in the past, and is a historical source for a lot of what we know about Arabs currently. The physical setting such as a desert is also usually a dead giveaway, though it’s worth noting that a large part of the Arab world lives in greenery.
-Yasmin
writingwithcolor
becroleplays-deactivated2017011 asked:
PT. 2) The other two are from a child weapon setting. One is a pacifist and push-over due to trauma, who does what he can to help others, which includes running errands. I chose to make him black because the demonization of blacks felt like it fit with his story. The other is conditioned to only act on command and basically helpless without orders. I’m worried my thinking might be tied to something like black-servants, but this doesn’t seem to happen with my black characters of other genders.
Please create variety in the personalities and nature of your Black characters. You still decided to put the Black men in the roles you did even if you hadn’t decided on race initially, so unpack that decision process and tread carefully when assigning Characters of Color with roles with potentially stereotyping characteristics. Also, his submissiveness does not have to equate to weakness, being a pushover or negativity overall. Still, a variety of characteristics per character is best.
As for the fantasy elf race, are they all Black coded or is their visual, human-coded race variety? Is the Black male elf shown in his thoughts, actions and treatment to be particularly more submissive than others? On the other hand, how are Black women elves treated? Are you attributing Black women elves to being dominating, controlling and strong?
Overall I see a stereotyping issue if you single out Black elves in the roles of submissive Black men and dominant Black women. If you have a variety of human coded races within this elf race, it is less of a problem as long as you attribute the mentioned traits to the elven (is that the word?) culture.
~Mod Colette
P.S. Avoid calling Black people “Blacks.”
sweetlittlevampire
Had to upload this on GIPHY to show it to you on here -click on it to see it move.)
So @fallenchococookie gave me some tips on how I could save my CSS animation as .gif - and it worked!
I had to make this CSS animation for one of my classes, to hand in for my semester grade. The final animation does not have the black borders, so there´s that. Just in case it´s not visible: the white dots in the eyes are moving, as well as the nose (it´s kind of “pulsating” to indicate that the cat is sniffing something).
Might not be perfect or impressive…but keep in mind that I didn´t even know what HTML or CSS codes even looked like in October 2016, so I´m pretty proud of this.
its-a-writer-thing
thewritershelpers
hatressoflore-deactivated202006 asked:
thewritershelpers answered:
Here’s the thing, Hatressflore. If you’re writing and do it because you enjoy it, then you’re already a writer.
We all experience those problems as some point in our lives. Where the editor comes out far too early and fills us with doubt before we can even get the finished work. I do have a few suggestions, and I encourage everyone to join in with them.
1: Work on the piece everyday: It can be two words, it can be an entire page, it can be more. It could simply be you reading through and fixing things. Its just important that the work stays as a constant reminder.
2: When you’re writing, turn off spell check: There’s fewer things more distracting than that little red line. And seeing it takes your focus off your work and onto the editing, which then adds in the doubt and makes you think you’re doing something wrong. It breaks the flow.
3: If you don’t like what you’ve written, fix it: It is absolutely never too late to fix something you’ve written. Even when its published on a website, you can go back in and replace a chapter with a revised version. Don’t think in the terms of “this sucks, I’m the worst.” Try “this doesn’t work. Let’s do it this way instead!” If you don’t like something but have no idea how to change it, you’re allowed to walk away and come back later. In some cases, that’s even your best option. Just remember to go back so you can look at it from a new perspective.
4: Use those negative reviews: There are two things negative reviews will be. opinions of that particular reader and actual critiques. If there’s nothing you can get out of the review to help you grow as a writer, then it’s someone shouting their opinion at you. You’re not going to please everyone with your writing and not everyone is going to take that gracefully. It’s just the way of the world, especially with the internet making it easy to forget that’s another person with their own thoughts and feelings.
5: Do not beat yourself up: I cannot stress this point enough. Probably one of the most dangerous things about creating something new is that nagging feeling that you’re doing it wrong. In turn, there will be moments you’ll want to listen. Don’t fall into the cracks and tell yourself you’re worthless because you haven’t written or you can’t bring yourself to finish a work. That’s only going to further your own self-hatred and cause you to work on it even less.
Always remember there is no such thing as the perfect writer. All the mistakes you make are simply you learning what doesn’t work so you can better figure out what does.
This is all the advice I have for now. I hope I was able to help! Happy Writing!
-Jay
its-a-writer-thing
writingqueerly
When I was fourteen or fifteen, I liked to draw. I’d look up internet tutorials on how to draw the human figure, and nearly all of them suggested going outside and sketching anyone who goes by. Not only was this relaxing, but I noticed my art style become more realistic over time. I think we can apply similar concepts as writers to improve sensory description.
How to practice: Try writing down specific details about the people you see. How is their walking gait? What does their voice sound like? What quirks about them stand out as you observe them? Write down descriptions using all of the senses (except maybe taste) and, over time, you’ll notice your words become more lively.
You don’t have to be Sherlock Holmes to benefit from observation skills. Writing stories is all about noticing connections and seeing the extraordinary in ordinary life. People watching can boost your ability to notice little details and recognize them as important, and it can help you sense patterns more easily.
How to practice: In this case, remember once again that you are not Sherlock Holmes. Don’t assume that you know a person’s life story based on what socks they’re wearing (and definitely don’t try making such assumptions with friends or family).
Try to take in people who pass by and the small, unique details about them. Notice how they’re interacting with other people and the world around them. Think about why that might be and write down any thoughts or connections that interest you.
Writing first drafts can paralyze anyone. We all know that getting the words out is the first, most important step, but that can feel like torture sometimes. If you’re a hesitant writer, freewriting can help you feel less self-conscious when writing and jot down thoughts or impressions as they come. Other exercises can help you with editing later on, but you can’t get there unless you freewrite.
How to practice: Write down anything that strikes you without worrying whether it’s important or you’ll use it later. I like to focus on one person per minute and during that time, write anything that I find interesting. Once the sixty seconds are up, I move onto another person and continue that cycle as long as I want to keep going. With time, you’ll get faster and may notice that words come more easily.
In the book Stargirl, one of my favorite parts is when Stargirl and Leo go to the park and play a game where they make up stories about the strangers they pass. As they connect together little observations, they create vivid backstories that may not necessarily be true, but that’s not the point. What matters is stretching their minds.
How to practice: Play this game for yourself. Pick a person at random and, piecing together little details you notice about them, give them a backstory. What are they doing, and where are they going (both right now and in the long-term)? Why are they hurrying so quickly to wherever they’re going or walking almost aimlessly along? Don’t worry about getting it “right” so much as creating an interesting story for this person.
Developing empathy as a writer is so important, though not often talked about. If you can put yourself in the shoes of another person and consider what complexities, challenges, and little joys life holds for them, you will create emotionally powerful pieces. People watching helps train your eye to notice those around you more and remember that yours is not the only voice in the world.
How to practice: Remember the definition of the word “sonder:” the realization that each random passerby is living a life as vivid and complex as your own. Look for those complexities. Notice relationships. Notice facial expressions and emotions. Don’t just look at them but see them, and write down what strikes you about them.
thatsthat24
anthonyamorim
I am all about this
I’m that guy dancing as he walks in the background
This is how I want the world to be always.
its-a-writer-thing
clevergirlhelps
(A table of contents will become available at the end of the series. As always, you can find the most recent posts in the posts by pear tag. This series will remain open for additional posts and the table of contents up-to-date as new posts are added.)
Dialogue gives us complete control over information. Yes, characters go out and experience events and discover things and have their adventures, but not every character is going to be present for every event. Conversation with each other is how they’re going to understand what’s happened. If a character goes out scouting and sees a large encampment lingering just through the trees, no one else is going to know what they’ve seen unless they share that with others. If one character has a vision, they may choose to tell someone about it or not. Those discussions are how we authors control information, and dialogue is one of the tools we use to distribute it.
Show, don’t tell; tell, don’t show
The Great Debate surrounding the popular advice to show, don’t tell. The advice aims to get writers to make scenes more active. Rather than simply saying, “She was nervous,” narrate the nervousness in a way that the audience can see and feel. In general, it’s good advice. We should always strive to put images into our audience’s heads, and the best way to do that is to show it. On the other hand, sometimes information or off-screen events warrant telling, not showing. That’s where dialogue comes in!
If you’re writing a piece in a point of view that doesn’t allow for “head hopping,” there are bound to be events in your story that you can’t show. If you’re writing with any kind of point of view that’s limited, and someone does something while not in the company of the person on whose shoulders the narrative sits, then you have to let the character know what’s happened somehow. You can certainly use narrations to sum up, but you can also use dialogue to have a character tell another what’s happened.
Save this tactic particularly when dealing with stories where you want to stick with a particular point of view. Not everything has to be on-screen, so remembering that you have dialogue at your disposal–that people talk to each other–can help alleviate the pressure you might feel to write a multiple pov narrative when you don’t need to. This is often what causes prologues (along with the other common cause: time); often that information can be woven into the rest of the story, maybe even through characters that know of the prologue events telling stories or mentioning details in conversation as the story progresses.
We get “show, don’t tell” pushed in our faces so often that we forget we can use dialogue in place of some things. It can help us keep from breaking form and help shorted sequences that need to be known, but perhaps don’t need to have every single detail spelled out. Keep it in your arsenal and use it sparingly.
Make it known to all.
Something obvious about dialogue: It occurs out loud for all to hear. You have complete control over the distribution of information to other characters in your story. It’s easy to fall into the trap of believing that everyone in the story knows what your perspective character is thinking and that everyone is working off the same information, but that only happens if someone tells someone else, whether that’s face-to-face in a conversation or in a note or some other way.
Communication is key to everyone being able to work together as a team, so utilizing dialogue to make sure everyone knows what they need to is just as important. You can’t assume your characters are aware. Better yet, you can use the confusion of your characters to provide you a platform to help explain confusing events or circumstances to your audience.
Miscommunication is a huge trope within literature and the gate-keeping of information is a contributor to it. The entire genre of mystery books is built off who knows what information. Some types of miscommunication can be very frustrating for audiences, but some can be critical to keeping the tension of your story. Keeping secrets and sharing them in turn can provide dramatic moments if you can control the information well. Keep track of what each of your characters is aware of, who have they talked to between key events, and who might have overheard what. Use dialogue to bridge the gaps.
What’s great about using dialogue for these kinds of things is that you get this other character’s perspective through their story-telling. You get their voice and their vocabulary, their opinions, and you have the opportunity to present other views of the world than what your perspective character gives. In short, it gives you a whole new avenue to relay information to your audience. Conversation, muttering to oneself, overhearing things, discovering notes, all of the ways we have of communicating are all integral ways of giving information.
Next up: Dialogue and world-building!
sweetlittlevampire
babyanimalgifs
softselfsignificance
yourfavouritedoll