Give Yourself Freedom To Create Something Different.

Writing Tip February 26th

33 Ways to Write Stronger Characters (Part 1/3)

To Give:

1. Give them a goal. A strong goal not only gives your character purpose, it helps you map out your plot with ease.

2. Give them a motivation. Something is driving your character to chase down their goal. It could be a negative emotion like fear, guilt, or regret; a negative trait like pride, vanity, or greed; or a positive emotion like love, determination, or passion. Whatever the case, giving your character a motivation will make the actions they take to achieve their goal seem realistic and relatable.

3. Give them purpose. Consider how your character adds to the story. Do they create conflict or undergo emotional development? If not, your character will seem pointless.

4. Give them a fear. Fear is an emotion that all humans feel. It leads to insecurity, impatience, and conflict, which is why fear is the perfect emotion to include in your story. It both hooks readers and drives the plot forward. Just don’t let your characters cower in fear for long; make sure that they take action, too.

5. Give them a flaw. Perfection is boring. Imperfection is human. Write a human story by giving your character flaws. Go beyond the physical and give your character a poor personality trait, bad standing in society, or an unpleasant circumstance to live in.

6. Give them a history. Allow your character’s past to shape who they become. Give your character a rich history that will affect their present-day decisions.

7. Give them a present story. Don’t drown your novel in backstory. Give your character a present-day story, a quest or a journey that will shape and grow them.

8. Give them a personality. Don’t let your character have a dull, flat personality. Make your character complex by giving them contradictory traits and avoiding clichés at all costs.

9. Give them interests. A character that doesn’t like anything simply isn’t interesting. Give your character a passion, even if it’s one your readers will hate. Fervor breeds interest, no matter the subject.

10. Give them a quirk. Everyone has their strange habits. And strange is just as interesting as passionate. Give your character a quirk to help them stand out from the crowd.

11. Give them a name. More specifically, give your character a name with purpose. Showcase a time period, foreshadow their actions, or hint at their interests. Give your character’s name a role in your story.

12. Give them a desire. Desires are powerful motivators. Some desires may lead your character to accomplish their goal while others may lead your character away.

13. Give them a love. How can your readers love your character if your character loves no one? Your character doesn’t have to be all hugs and smiles, but they do need to hold love for at least one person if you want your readers to like them.

-She’s Novel Blog

Hey, a chart! This is inspired by an ask I got (I’m gonna be honest, I promised the person I’d tag them, but then sent the reply before I wrote down the URL. So, if I told you I was gonna tag you in this, tag yourself!!)

blooming blossom: lockdown

@flashfictionfridayofficial

the world is silenced by a virus it is scarily quiet in my town even the station is calm because of the lockdown on the road I see only an empty bus   my whole world is turned upside down captured between these walls I feel lifeless how do you stay all right in such a crisis? so alone and so scared of this new crown   but through my window I see the blossoms of my cherry tree even now not everything is wrong I take a picture to remember nature is still growing normally   I send it to my sister, who works in a hospital all day long I send it to my grandma, who I now cannot visit safely I send it to you, I hope you stay safe and fine and strong

Hi! I was just wondering, what's the best way to make/write out a plot?

Guide: How to Outline a Plot

The best way to write out a plot isn’t the same for everyone, and sometimes it’s even different from story to story. There are lots of different methods, and most writers use a combination of them, so you just have to try different things to see what works best for you. Here are some of the most common methods:

1. Just Write

Some writers are what’s known as “pansters” meaning that once they have a story idea in mind, they prefer to “fly by the seat of their pants” and start writing without any planning in place. The key to making this method work is to remember that you’re only writing the first draft. Nothing you’re doing is set in stone, so don’t feel the story has to be perfect in one shot. Follow your gut and write the story to the best of your ability. Worry about tightening and polishing in subsequent drafts.

2. Synopsis

Some writers prefer to start by writing beginning to end summary of the story, describing all the important details and events in the order that they unfold. Summaries can be a great way to flesh out an idea for a plot, and they can also serve as a nice guideline if you want to “just write” your story but need a bit more structure first.

3. Old-Fashioned Outline

Do they still teach academic outlining in school? I don’t even know… when I was a kid, we learned how to do outlines with Roman numerals for the main points, capital letters for the minor points, and numbers for sub-points. If you’re good at outlining, this can be a great way to outline your plot.Edit: to clarify, it looks like this:I. Main Idea       A. Minor Idea            1. Sub-Idea                   i. sub-idea                  ii. sub-idea            2. Sub-Idea                  i. sub-idea                 ii. sub-idea     B. Minor Idea            1. Sub- Idea                   i. sub-idea        ii. sub-idea… … and so on. And no, I don’t mean the “seven step story structure outline.” This is an academic outline. It can be used for anything, including outlining a story. :)

4. Timeline

Creating a timeline for your story can be a great way to map it out. All you need is a beginning event, climax event, and end event. From there you can start filling in the events that follow and precede those events. Even if you don’t know the exact date for when a scene takes place, you can still mark it down in the right general place.

5. Scene List

If you have a pretty good idea of the scenes that need to take place, or at least a good number of them, you can start by writing out a scene list. It’s nice to do them in a table if you can so you can organize important details, like chapter, scene number, date and location, who’s in it, and then a short summary. Though, how you organize it is up to you. If you prefer, you can just write the scene number and then a brief summary.

6. Story Structure Map

Some writers like to map out their story according to whatever story structure they want to follow. They’ll pull up a graphic or chart of the structure, transcribe it onto paper or into a document, and then note each relevant event for each structure “mile marker.”

7. Subway/Tube Map

This is a new one I recently heard about. I haven’t had a chance to try it yet, but I think it’s fascinating. And there are even subway map creators you can use if you don’t want to draw it out. Ultimately, the goal is to map out the events of your story in the style of a subway/tube map. This method makes it easy to illustrate subplots and see how they relate to the rest of your story.

8. The Mind Map

Mind maps can be a fantastic way to get the most important parts of your story out on paper, and to start figuring out where other parts fit in and how they relate to everything else.

9. Index Cards

Some writers have luck writing out key scenes, moments, bits of dialogue (or anything else they have in mind) on individual index cards, which can then be laid out in order on a table, allowing for cards to be easily moved around, added, subtracted, etc. until a more complete story starts to emerge. Some writers even invest in giant cork boards for this purpose. Others use a dry erase board and draw out the “cards” instead. A lot of story writing software, such as Scrivener, even includes digital bulletin boards and index cards that you can use to visualize your story.

10. Method/Theory/Template

There are numerous methods/theories/templates dedicated to building/fleshing out plots. Some to look into:

- The Snowflake Method- Dramatica Theory- Save the Cat! for Novels- The Hero’s Journey

If one of the above doesn’t work for you, you’re sure to find even more ideas online. Try doing a search for “how to outline a plot” or “outlining a novel” to see what comes up. You might even try searching for your favorite author’s name plus “outlining” to see if they’ve done any posts sharing their own methods. You may also want to look into books, software, and apps/web sites that offer ways to help you plot your story.

Good luck!

So You Want To Write A Book..

Where Do Writers Find Their Ideas?

On Inspiration

How To Write A Novel

Getting Started With A Book

Hints About Writing A Story

Novel Outlining 101

From Notes To Novel

Plotting A Novel

Why Don’t I Have A Plot, And Where Do I Get One?

How To Create A Character

Creating Characters

Character Creation

Name That Character! (2)

You And Your Characters

How To Write Backstory Without Putting Your Reader To Sleep

How To Use Foreshadowing

How To Write Dialogue (2)

How To Make Your Writing More Interesting 

Writing Block

How To Get Unstuck

Advice For Young Writers (2)

On Word Counts And Novel Length

Top 4 Ways to Know Your Idea is Novel-Worthy

How A Book Gets Published

How Do You Go About Getting Published

And remember: Google is your best friend.

Character Introduction:

Name: Victor Romanov

Wip: The Hunters

Alignment: Lawful evil

Occupation: Former scientist and weapons expert.

Physical Appearance: White. Tall and lean. Chaotic eyes that people have trouble meeting. Mischievous smile.

Summary: Currently an outlaw on the run. Created a weapon of mass destruction secretly. It accidentally went off the damage was minimal but could’ve been catastrophic. The government and criminals alike saw the potential the weapon had. Fearing the destruction the weapon could cause he threatened that if anyone came for him he’d destroy everyone. The government painted him as a bomb crazed power hungry lunatic. The government finally caught him took the weapon and used it to stop a revolt killing millions in the process. Now that he’s escaped from prison he wants to get revenge on the people who stole from him. Wants to hold the government accountable for their actions. Often seen as crazy, chaotic and unstable. Intelligent, analytical, quiet and reserved. Short temper. Cares about the truth. Observant. Very closed off. Prefers to stay in the shadows. Does things just to see what will happen. Likes to collect machines, tools, and weapons.

Quote: “You used to be a complete no one!”

“I did,” the Victor admitted, sounding oddly wistful. “I wish I still was, most days.”

“Then why did you start showing off the weapon? Threaten everyone?”

“Because I didn’t have a choice. When the world found out what I could do, when the government found out what the weapon could do…” He sighed. “It was control the destruction or be powerless to it. So I made my choice.”

Acing pacing in your writing

I’ve read too many books and watched too many shows where pacing has ruined a good story. So, here are some of my tips for getting pacing right:

1. Don’t take too long to get to the inciting incident

Look, showing the ordinary life of your protagonist might be interesting if there’s something strange about their life, but readers want stuff to happen.

At least with genre fiction, you shouldn’t take too long to get to the action - the event that gets the story going.

If you can do it well and have readers invested from the start, you can start with the inciting incident. However, for most works I would recommend having it in the second chapter.

Your readers want to know what the story is about, not what the character thinks of his English teacher

2. Keep it moving, but don’t rush

Action is important. It drives the story and it’s interesting. You should make sure to put enough action in your work. Things should be happening.

BUT a novel is not a play or a movie or a comic. What makes reading a full-length novel so entertaining is the detail. The in-depth characterisation and description. The emotion and thought processes.

So, keep it moving, but don’t sacrifice the juicy details. Don’t skip from one action or dialogue scene to the next without taking your readers deeper into the intricacies of the story and characters.

It’s a delicate balance that can only truly be found by reading a lot and practicing.

3. Avoid a sagging middle

Your beginning is solid. Your end is exciting. But the middle is a chaotic mess that bores the reader. Trust me, it happens more than you might believe.

Sagging middle syndrome is a thing, and the only way to avoid it is to plan.

Look, I like pantsing, but planning the middle of your novel will help your pacing exponentially.

Make a rough outline of what needs to happen to get your characters to the climax. Add a few lighter/character-driven scenes where there are too many action scenes in the sequence. Remove events which are unnecessary. And make sure that everything makes sense!

This counts for second books in series as well. It should be good on its own, not just as a filler.

4. Don’t fast forward to the end

I’m looking at you, Game of Thrones.

If you’ve built up the story and set up everything for the final big bang, you have to deliver.

Keep the pacing somewhat similar to that of the rest of the story. Your readers have gotten used to it. And if they’re still reading at that point, they probably like that pace. Don’t write a relatively slow book and then have the climax be over in three pages.

I know you want the climax to be exciting. So, yes, make it a little more fast-paced than the middle. But not massively different.

5. Trust your characters

As with every aspect of creative writing, character is most important.

Is your character experiencing the scene quickly and choppily? Or are they slowing down and taking in everything?

If you stick with what your characters are feeling, you will get it right.

Look, exams have fried my brain. So, this isn’t the most well-formulated post I’ve made. But I hope that it can be helpful.

Reblog if you found these tips useful. Comment with your own pacing tips. Follow me for similar content.

Mysterious Masquerade: a fairy tale

@flashfictionfridayofficial

The Princess had reached the right age to marry. Her father picked some young noblemen and noblewomen from families that he had an allyship with as marriage candidates. However, when he presented his daughter the options she rejected all of them. "Father, I'm in love with my best friend. I will marry her or no one at all."

The King was not satisfied with that answer because he was in conflict with that family. "I don't believe you're really so in love with her. You'll have to prove it. Next week I host a masquerade ball in celebration of my birthday. Show me you still recognise that girl when her face is hidden under a mask." 

The Princess agreed. 

A week later the masked Princess entered the ball room. It was crowded with guests from all over the country. A few of them dared to ask the princess for a dance but she declined them all. Soon she spotted her friend in her heavenly blue dress. She was masked but the Princess could still see how her smile lightened up her whole face when their eyes met. "Will you dance with me?" 

"I saw you dancing with her the whole night, how did you recognize her?" the King asked the Princess the next day. 

"That was easy, father," she answered. "She wore the dress we sewed together last year and a necklace I gave to her."

"That's not fair," he said. "I still don't believe you're really so in love with her. You'll have to prove it again. Next week I host a party in celebration of the anniversary of my reign. Show me you still recognise that girl if you go there with a blindfold on." 

The Princess agreed. 

A week later the blindfolded Princess entered the assembly room. She bumped into a few acquaintances but she left them alone as soon as possible. She went to the terrace, one of her friend's favourite places. "Hi?"

"There you are, I was already waiting for you!"

"I saw you talking with her the whole time, how did you recognize her?" the King asked the Princess the next day. 

"That was easy, father," she answered. "She wore the same perfume as always and I can recognize her voice everywhere."

"That's not fair," he said. "I still don't believe you're really so in love with her. You'll have to prove it again. Next week I will have dinner with the noble families of this city to celebrate my successfulness. Show me you still recognise that girl if you can't see, hear or smell her." 

The Princess agreed bitterly. 

A week later the Princess entered the dining hall, her eyes, ears and nose covered. She sat the whole evening quitely besides the King. 

"You did not recognize her this time, did you?" the King asked the Princess after the guests had left. 

"No, but neither did you," she answered.  "Look, I am not your daughter. The Princess left this morning, with her girlfriend." 

"But why?" the King cried. 

"You proved her you don't really love her."

Light Up the Forge!

WorldAnvil.com!

WorldAnvil is a suite of worldbuilding and rpg tools. We help authors, GMs, hobbyists, and creators of all sorts write and keep track of their worlds!

WorldAnvil introduces templates for writing about every aspect of your world, from characters to nations. They act as a guide, allowing you to have all the things you need at your fingertips when your memory fails you on what to describe!

Our templates also let you create placeholder links on the fly! Never have to stop mid-flow to create the other article you just mentioned, or go back later to add links!

The system will connect the articles and provide a link. If your article doesn’t exist yet, it is as easy as clicking on it to create a new article and start writing!

Our timeline system lets you keep track of everything that has ever happened in your world.

Use it to keep track of worldbuilding, party encounters, character’s lives and more. Attach a timeline to an article, or keep it as an independent summary of world history!

A visual person? We have you sorted with our maps suite! Upload your own maps, and bring them to life with markers that connect to your articles, layers and overlays!

Come join us, your world awaits! WorldAnvil.com

first of all: THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR 500 FOLLOWERS !! this is a milestone i dont think i have ever hit on any other platform with anything else i’ve ever done? so i just want to say thank you that you all are here and have been involved with me and my work, completed or not. with my thank yous out of the way ( even though there’s not enough thank yous to give ), let’s get to the celebration !!

so i wanna do something a bit different from my 200 follower celebration by making this a raffle ( is that the word? ) ! basically, follow the rules before and you could win a couple prizes !!

how to enter …

reblog this post by march 28th ( about a week from when this is posted ) ! this way i can keep up with who will be in the randomization to be chosen as winners. ( likes will be counted as bookmarks )

every person gets one entry to make it fair! meaning multiple reblogs won’t count

be following me ( new followers are always welcome ! ) — and if you’re a sideblog and you aren’t sure i know what your main blog is, please dm me so i can keep track ! ( if you don’t tell me and i don’t know it’s you, you might not win :( )

what to win …

FIRST (1ST) PLACE : a character edit of a character from one of your wips; a film edit from a scene in your wip; and a poem based on a word ( or emotion ) of your choice

SECOND (2ND) PLACE : a character edit of a character from one of your wips and a poem based on a word ( or emotion ) of your choice

THIRD (3RD) PLACE : a film edit from a scene in your wip and 5 writeblr recommendations

i’ll try to post character edits between the time this is posted, but i already have some film edits on my blog under #film edit ! when it comes time that i announce the winners, i will provide more information on how to give me me the information i need for the edits !!

again, thank you all SO much for being so supportive and i hope you all are having the best time you can and are staying safe and healthy !! if you have any questions about this celebration, please come send me an ask or a dm and i’ll answer when i can !! ♡