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chiroyu · 4 years

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50 Habits,Quirks and Traits - What makes your character unique?

Quirks are usually idiosyncratic (peculiar to the individual). And, they’re likely to seem odd to the people who interact with your character. Maybe your character cultivates quirks for effect. Maybe they’ve become habitual, or they’re deeply rooted in their nature, and they can’t readily change them.

Habits are matters of daily routine, things your character has done so often that they’ve become automatic and would be extremely hard to change. Habits may be unique to your character or may be common in your character’s community.

A trait is a distinguishing quality or characteristic, typically one belonging to a person. It can be a genetically determined characteristic.

Traits are formed by a person’s behaviour and attitude to others. We all have good and bad character traits.

One of the hardest and most satisfying parts of writing is making your characters fully alive so your readers can recognise them, visualise them, believe in them and care about them.

Here’s a list of examples that may be useful:

Cracks their joints all the time

Drags their feet when they walk

Has a noticeable mark on their body, e.g birthmark, scars, burn scar

Has tattoos or piercings

Thrives in cold weather, hates warm weather (or vice versa)

Has an accent

Excessively uses initials or acronyms for common and uncommon phrases and doesn’t bother to explain them

Makes up random lies about unimportant things for no reason (this could also be a mania.)

Whistles

Calls everyone by a pet name (e.g. babe, sweetie, doll)

Repeats a common saying constantly

Often mixes up sayings

Tells dirty jokes, even when not appropriate

Talks to inanimate objects

Always answers a question with a question

Constantly tells jokes that aren’t funny

Cannot stand the texture of certain things (e.g. the feeling of carpet)

Plays with a lighter / always carries one, even though they don’t smoke

Won’t eat their food if the items on the plate are touching

Often talks to themselves / thinks aloud, sometimes a the most inappropriate moments

Mumbles in their sleep

When ever they walk up or down stairs, they have to count the steps

Has an involuntary twitch

Has a phobia of something either common or uncommon

Collects something

Has the ability to fall sleep anywhere

Has an extreme amount of knowledge about a really bizarre subject for some reason

Doesn’t like to wear _____ (could be any item - maybe, for example, they hate socks)

Bites their finger nails

Chews their hair

Picks at their skin

Gets too emotionally attached to things

Is excessively ______ (e.g. excessively polite, indecisive, argumentative)

They bruise really easily

Maybe they’re extremely clumsy too

Incredibly intelligent but has a horrific memory

Cannot stand certain smells (e.g. Feels incredibly ill or irritated whenever they smell _____)

Cannot bare the sound of people chewing

Bounces their leg/foot a lot, especially when bored or nervous

Sniffs all the time, even when they aren’t ill / habitually scratches their nose

Has to do something several times before being able to settle (e.g check the lock on the door 3 times, turn a light off and on 7 times etc.)

Unnecessarily carries a ______ everywhere (e.g. unnecessarily carries around a briefcase)

Wakes up at the same time every day, even when they don’t need to

Cannot sit with their back to the room

Constantly checks the time, but is late to everything

Cannot look people in the eyes when speaking

Is quite a selfish person (e.g. they want to be more dependable and self-disciplined, but their selfishness is preventing them from achieving this.)

They’re helpful (e.g. A helpful character may inadvertently find out information when they are lending a hand. This information could create conflict and might force them to act or react)

They’re blunt (e.g. This could cause conflict if their blunt words cause offence)

Your character may be highly intelligent but lacking in emotional skills

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chiroyu · 4 years

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The Many Kinds of Editing and Revising for Novels

This was asked by an anon, but I thought it deserved a bigger post. This is not a complete list or definitive list. It is simply a list of the most common forms of editing within the editor/author world that I could find.

And keep in mind that a lot of these are done both by the writer before submission/querying and after by a professional.

Developmental Editing

This is done before anything has been drafted but after an outline has been made and usually with the help of someone besides the writer. The purpose is to bring insight into making sure the idea/storyline has good structure and organization and is interesting, for lack of a better term. A professional can be hired for this, but you can also consult your peers, mentors, and others in the craft. This step is purely about solidifying the story.

Substantive / Content Editing

This is where someone evaluates a draft in its entirety. This can be done by the writer, a beta/critique partner, or a professional.

Structure, clarity, consistency, possible discrepancies, and organization are all looked at. Plot points, plot holes, characterization, worldbuilding, and the other facets of the story are also analyzed.

This should lead to big changes that affect chapters, storylines, arcs, characters, and plot points as well as smaller changes that affect information and scene placement. However, this does not mean the nuts and bolts of prose like grammar or syntax is looked at.

It’s also normally the first kind of self-editing a writer does because it can affect so much of the draft. You wouldn’t want to go through correcting grammar in paragraphs that are later rewritten entirely.

From my understanding, this is the primary job of THE editor you work one-on-one with after you sign a contract with a publisher.

This is where everyone involved is trying to make the story the best it can be.

Rewriting

This can be two very different things.

Before submission, it involves the writer completely rewriting a portion or the entirety of a draft. Sometimes this is because some writers use it as an intensive way to revise the novel while keeping basic scenes/plot points and sometimes it’s because the writer is unsatisfied with the majority of the story.

At the very least, most writers will rewrite some paragraphs here and there to perfect the story and prose.

Before publication, this could be a request from THE editor you work with one-on-one to correlate with the criticisms that arose during the substantive/content editing stage. However, because you’ve already signed a contract with a publisher, this means they definitely won’t ask you to rewrite major portions. They bought your book because it had substantial potential as a draft, not a bare-boned idea. The editor will probably not ask you to rewrite more than some paragraphs, if anything specically at all. More likely, they’ll just ask for broader edits that may or may not involve small rewrites.

Manuscript Review / Evaluation / Critique / Assessment

This is not so much editing or revising as it is the precursor to such. This is when a writer pays a professional or asks a beta reader/critique partner to write a “diagnosis” of the text. This diagnosis is feedback that includes highlights of areas that may benefit from revisions and criticisms that may arise during someone else’s first read, the substantive editing, and the line editing stages. This isn’t as necessary a step as others, but it is available.

Writers with betas/critique partners can easily skip this step if feedback is already being given at such a level as this.

Sensitivity Reading

If you’re dealing with a sensitive topic that you (the writer) do not have first-hand experience of, you might want to hire a sensitivity reader. Especially if you’re self-publishing.

Their job is to read through the draft (or at least where the sensitive topic is mentioned),and give feedback on how you handled it.

They are not going to tell you that the intentionally racist character says racist things, they are going to tell you if a well-intentioned character is accidentally insensitive without correction or if your 3rd Person narration is insensitive.

If you’re traditionally publishing, any concerns about the subject matter will most likely be brought up and resolved during that stage.

There are two types of content that may need a sensitivity reader.

One is the prolonged focus of a sensitive topic. These are the mentions, memories, actions, events, experiences, and otherwise explicitly stated instances of a sensitive topic.

The other is the portrayal of a character with specific attributes, circumstances, background, and history that may be considered a sensitive subject to handle if their relation to that aspect is brought up a lot.

The main thing to remember here is that you hire a sensitivity reader to make sure you are handling something in a respectful way. If you are confident you are already doing this (and maybe your betas/critique partner agree or you have a beta reader serving as a sensitivity reader), then you’re probably fine without one. If you’re self-publishing, though, and the majority of your novel deals with a potentially-sensitive topic that you don’t have first-hand experience with, you should probably consider hiring an official sensitivity reader.

If you are hiring a sensitivity reader, this should probably be done before you hire a line editor or do line editing yourself. This way, if you need to make changes on the story, you don’t have to go back and redo line edits.

Line Editing

This is where someone (writer, editor, et al) goes through line-by-line reading the draft for the nuts and bolts of prose. It looks for grammatical and spelling errors, style, syntax, word repetition and use, and clarity within the words/sentences/paragraphs. Instead of looking at the big picture, this step goes deep to make sure the flow and effectiveness of the story are not hindered by those little mistakes. This is the beginning of polishing a finished manuscript for submission or for the next stage of publication.

Proofreading

Before submission (either to an agent/publisher or for print), it involves someone reading/scanning through the work for minor errors that may have been leftover from line editing. It’s essentially a second or fresh pair of eyes that looks for errors in the aforementioned nuts and bolts of prose.

Before final publication, it involves a professional going through a test print version of your novel. They make sure that everything from the text to formatting is as pristine as humanly possible. It’s the final chance to catch mistakes with formatting and the nuts and bolts of prose. At this point, your story is finalized.

Copy Editing

Some professionals consider this to be the same as proofreading (before submission), so make sure you clarify with an editor before hiring either service.

The main difference between the two seems to come down to style editing. Style editing is maintaining the consistency within word usage, grammar, and “rules” a publication may have. It can make sure you use the American “gray” instead of the English “grey”, confirm that you only used the Oxford comma rule, and check many other little details for consistency. You usually see this step used specifically for work submitted to papers, journals, and the likes, but it’s good to know about.

Format Editing

There are two things a manuscript needs to be formatted for: submission and publication.

For submission to an agent/publisher, a manuscript is usually required to be in a particular format. Thankfully, most require the same standard formatting, but always check! And, again thankfully, this format can be achieved using software. Scrivener is the go-to name for manuscript formatting. However, as a disclaimer, I have never used it and this is just what I know from some published authors.

For publication, format editing is done by a professional 99% of the time. I’ve heard things passed around that some self-published authors do this themselves, but I cannot recommend this if you are not a professional. This formatting is much more intensive and complicated. If you are being traditionally published, they will take care of this for you. The text has to be formatted differently for EVERY form it takes (hardback, paperback, ebook, et al). There are many services that offer this and some self-publishing businesses may include it in your price.

This is not the very last step before submission/publication, though. Final proofreading by a professional (see above) is done before it goes to print.

—–

I know this list seems incredibly daunting, but I promise that you’re probably already doing most of this on your own already. And if you’re planning to traditionally publish, 99% of the stuff you can’t do alone will be covered by the publisher.

And my main tip is to not edit as you write unless it’s your tried-and-true method. Editing during your first drafting stage can lead to procrastination, staggered work ethic, disenfranchisement, and other icky hindrances.

Best of luck!

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chiroyu · 4 years

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tips for actually writing

*especially relevant with nanowrimo 2019 quickly approaching in less than a month now…

- get away from distractions. turn off your phone, put it in a different room or area. mute it or delete certain apps if you have to keep it near. turn off your wifi connection to your laptop and just sit and stare at your doc with no escape.

- that includes pointless research! need to know what year x was legalized? can’t find the perfect word? need to work out of the logistics of an action scene? no. put a note in your doc to revisit later. it’s only the first draft.

- avoid backspacing at all costs. if you make a typo or want to switch up the syntax, that’s valid, but writing, deleting, rewriting, deleting, then giving up is a completely awful system. hate the last two pages? continue writing from the end of that scene and edit it later. if your reasonable mind in hindsight still thinks it’s bad/irrelevant/etc, it probably is, but your judgment is always altered when the writing is still fresh in your mind.

- similarly, if the temptation of ctrl+a, backspace is too much, break out the pen and paper, or typewriter if possible, and do things the old fashioned way. it’s easier to keep the words when they’re physically brought into the world and can’t be destroyed in four seconds.

- change up the formatting of your writing. if you usually write in docs with times new roman 12 pt., try using your laptop’s built in wordpad in comic sans! seriously, writing in comic sans has changed my life; instead of focusing on the aesthetics of the word, i’m seeing right into the skeletal structure of my prose.

- accountability is very effective… nothing motivates you like the impending judgment of your peers! during nanowrimo’s in specific, i post my daily word count on my instagram story, and while the words themselves are still hard to find, i feel proud to spite those who bullied me for being an introverted nerd in high school.

- you don’t need to write chronologically. don’t feel like writing a certain scene right now? don’t. counting down to the climax? why wait? i’ve been told this for years and always was scared to do it, but it’s been incredibly helpful. since i’ve started making a frankenstein project out of my novels, i’ve been tripling my daily averages and having at least ten times as much fun doing it. also, it’s made for better writing; if it’s boring to write, it’s usually boring to read, so all of my exciting, fun scenes have made for a better experience overall in the production and consumption of my work.

note: not all of this will work for everyone, but i suggest giving all of these a shot! if you’re already not writing enough, you really don’t have anything to lose.

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chiroyu · 4 years

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Biggest Issues for Novice Writers

(And how to fix them)

I tried to have some fun with the titles. Please don’t make fun of me lol.

You Had Me at “Hello”… You Lost Me at the Second “Hello”

Unless there is subtext or fragments of important exposition in your small talk, no one wants to read the mundane small talk of the characters. The only small talk– or any conversation, really– should be for a purpose. Are you showing your readers there is underlying tension? Are you sprinkling in the fact that two characters used to date? What is the purpose not only of the conversation but of every single line spoken?

Even important dialogue shouldn’t drag on forever. Reading two characters ask each other how they are, only for both of them to say “good”, and have no subtext of exposition, is boring. Have them speak with purpose. You don’t have to include the niceties if they unfold over more than two lines.

The Daenerys Problem

Inconsistent characterization is a big problem that I see in amateur writing and bad novels. You need to have a clear idea of who these people are, where they come from, and what they want. It’s also important to nail down their voice (both as speakers and narrators) and keep it consistent. Inconsistent characters lead to readers losing their investment in them– and ultimately, the story. Know these characters.

Bad Dads

This is most common in fanfiction, but I’ve read it in original fiction, too. The teenage MC will have absent, neglectful, or abusive guardians SOLELY for the purpose of giving the MC free range to do whatever they want without parental repercussions.

If your story is about kids that come from these households, I don’t have a problem with you. Let’s be clear. It’s the stories where the only effect we see of these guardians is that the MC is allowed to do whatever they want– run away, break rules, spend nights outs, etc.

If your story isn’t about the other effects of neglect, absence, or abuse from guardians, then you should use present guardians for the MC for conflict in other places. They can still be dysfunctional or antagonistic people, but you don’t have to invoke the seriousness of abuse, neglect, and absence that you would otherwise (wherein you have to give the seriousness the attention it deserves, or end up falling into this trope).

If your MC has guardians who are “normal” people and notice when they’re gone, then you still have the option for conflict. Just in different ways.

Please stop including criminally-bad parents for the sole purpose of giving the teenage MC free run of the world. It’s disrespectful to those who actually went through this situation. Give the emotional trauma the actual attention it deserves in a narrative, or give them different parents.

This applies to dead parents, too. Webeen knew about the overuse of the orphan cliche.

Wow! This is Hard to Read!

Stilted syntax. This is when your actual writing, the words and sentences on the paper, don’t sound natural or become too much effort to read. Very long, winding sentences can do this, as can unvaried sentence length. Not only should a reader be able to say the sentence aloud without taking another breath, but they should also feel a melody to the sentences.

Imagine I write like this. I only use single-subject sentences. No commas or conjunctions in sight. Every paragraph is like this. Every sentence is like this. There is no melody here. There is rhythm. No melody. It’s boring. It’s repetitive. The reader is getting anxious.

But now, imagine that I write sentences that are very long and flowy, without a real sense of particular direction, or narrative purpose. It’s not just that these sentences usually break grammar rules, because let’s be honest, grammar doesn’t always matter when you have your own writing style, but it’s because there’s too much winding for these sentences and they require too much work from the reader in terms of reading- and literary-comprehension.

But what if we shorten those sentences and vary our sentence length? It has a melody. We’re here, we’re engaged, and we’re getting a melodic story. Right? The story doesn’t have to be beautiful in words, but it should be beautiful as a collection of sentences. Giving readers breaks. And breaths. The easiest way to accomplish this is not while you write. Though it is good to keep in mind as you write. However, it is best to just write and then come back during editing. Sentences are easy to rearrange to make it more varied. Word choice will also help. Some words are longer than others. Some words flow better. It’s all. about your gut-feeling.

Insta-Love

It doesn’t matter if you believe in love at first sight. Two characters who meet and immediately fall in love isn’t a super interesting trope to read on its own. There are two routes of fixing this.

First option, you avoid the L-O-V-E and start with more realistic feelings. Lust, infatuation, and attraction are all normal things for someone with romantic/sexual orientations to experience upon first meet. And those can grow into love. But it doesn’t start with the L-word.

Second option, you keep the insta-love and subvert the trope. Two characters meet and feel like they’ve fallen in love. But instead of growing stronger, it deteriorates. They start in love and gradually fall out of love. Instead of the build up from Option 1, it’s a break down. Sad, but a subversion nonetheless.

I Can Practically See the Characters. But Where the Hell am I?

White Room Syndrome is a problem. You give beautiful, deep descriptions of the characters and the action, but you don’t describe the room they’re in enough. They could be practically anywhere and no one would be able to tell. Again, there are two easy ways to fix this.

A) You give a static description of the room. This is the basic description. What it looks like, what’s there, what feeling it invokes, etc.

B) You let the setting be an active character. Active settings are intrusive. They continually affect the people in them. A very hot or very cold place that worsens a character’s comfort again and again is active. Being outside at night with a bunch of pesky mosquitoes is active. In comparison, a static setting would be a bedroom that doesn’t continually become invasive of the main storyline. If the bedroom has striped wallpaper that goes all different directions and makes a character nauseous (a la I Lovy Lucy), then it becomes active.

Either option you take per setting is up to you, but hopefully it will aleviate the White Room Syndrome.

Virgin Airlines

This mostly applies to YA, sci-fi, fantasy, and romance/erotica novels, but it’s worth thinking about no matter your genre. So often, I see either a whole plot or subplot that revolves around a heterosexual female character who is, obviously, a naive virgin. Maybe she’s not worldly naive, but she’s naive when it comes to romance, sex, and practically everything men do around her.

It’s annoying. I’ve read it a million times. And their first partner is nearly ALWAYS an experienced dude. And some of these women have never even masturbated or felt arousal or thought about sex.

It’s a tired trope that dismisses a female character’s agency. Especially when the man is NOT in the same boat. Are female virgin characters bad? No. But for God’s sake, their romantic plot does NOT need to revolve around the repeated detail that she is a virgin.

And not all virgins need to be naive about romance or sex. And… it’s definitely okay to have a good romantic subplot with a non-virgin female character. There can still be new feelings of intimacy! Gasp! Yes! There are different kinds of sexual encounters! Even if this isn’t the first man she’s slept with, this could still be the first man she’s felt intimate with.

Food for thought. And again, for clarity, I have nothing against (naive) female virgin characters. But I do think there is more ground to cover.

Let’s All Be Friends!

Please add conflict to your story at every chance you get. Is there such thing as TOO much conflict? Yes. But that shouldn’t stop you from experimenting with more conflict. It can be found anywhere. And it raises stakes, which increases suspense and reader investment.

If you need brainstorming ideas, work backward from what they might lose (i.e. the stakes). This character is most afraid to lose _________. This character would be a wreck if they lost ________. Here is a list of things a character could have at stake. Say, in the middle of your big plot, your character is relying upon their mentor. What if that mentor will move cities if the character doesn’t _________? What if that mentor will die unless the character ________. While knee-deep in the main conflict, they have to solve this or risk the main goal. Boom! More conflict, more stakes, more reader investment and suspense.

People… Don’t Talk Like This?

Bad dialogue is a plague to read and plague for writers to figure out. Here’s the thing: good dialogue in books and films ISN’T 100% realistic. It just isn’t. Human speech is messy, unscripted, meandering, and confusing. We don’t say the perfect closing line for a scene because there are no scenes in life. We live continuously.

However, it isn’t about realism. It’s about what sounds natural to us. Natural dialogue borrows from realism, but it doesn’t rely upon realism. It relies upon what carries the narrative along, what the FICTIONAL characters with FICTIONAl backgrounds would say, and what sounds natural to readers/viewers and writers alike.

Think about the movie you think has the best dialogue. Now think about if it was a real story with real people. Would it be as articulate or well-paced or smooth? Chances are, you’d lose a lot of clarity and eloquence.

Good dialogue isn’t necessarily about taking real words and putting them in. It’s about taking the natural feel and applying it to your fictional situations.

Can there be good dialogue that is as true to realistic dialogue as possible? Yes, but my point is that it isn’t necessary or always the best option.

When in doubt, go au naturel.

Tokens are for Arcades, Not People

Don’t put all of your diverse traits into one character. You can have a character with multiple diverse traits, but they shouldn’t be the only diverse character. Especially within the pantheon of important main characters.

Continue to include your deaf, lesbian Asian character, but you might want to check to see if they are the only important character that is part of the LGBTQ+ community, a person of color, or not completely able-bodied. They shouldn’t be a unicorn.

This isn’t a call-out post for people who are against including diversity for some odd reason. I’m not here to argue with you on that. Because why argue with a rock? This is just food for thought. If you think including ONE diverse character is enough, then ask yourself why you’re including them at all. You should want diverse characters because it mirrors real life, not because you think it’s a modern-day quota. If you think it’s a quota, write your monolithic cast and do what you will. Don’t tokenize people.

And don’t beat yourself up if you ACCIDENTALLY only included one diverse main character. It can happen. But if you want diversity and it was just an accident, then be mindful when planning later projects. It’s a learning curve, which no one wants to tell you. We consciously and unconsciously write stories about what we know and if we only know our little slice of the world, it can be hard to naturally cast characters unlike us. You’re probably not doing it maliciously, which means all you need is a little more mindfulness.

Hope this was insightful!

Please don’t be mean if you disagree. This is just from my own perspective and I’d really like to not have nasty replies and reblogs. Civil disagreement is fine. But please don’t be mean! Let’s keep the writeblrcommunity friendly.

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chiroyu · 4 years

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5 Ways to Find Your Novel Title

Note: Keep a running list of title ideas you could use for future projects. This is endlessly helpful for me.

1. Find it in the text itself

Maybe there is a really good phrase hidden in your work that encapsulates the work as a whole. I love when I come across the title while reading. Write down good contenders as you go along editing.

2. The Motif / Imagery

If there is a running motif or image in your work, that alone can be a good title or at the very least, be a part of the title.

3. Eponymous

If your story relies heavily on a single character (or family and you use the surname), and the name is interesting: use it! There are very dynamic names in literature that could stand alone on the cover.

4. Eavesdrop

The amount of good titles I’ve heard in phrases of conversation I overhear is incredible. Sometimes, strangers string together the words better than you could just by brainstorming.

5. Figures of Speech

Whether you straight up use the figure of speech or adapt/subvert it to fit your story, these can be really good and eyecatching IMO.

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chiroyu · 4 years

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Is there a list of describing a characters voice?

There are two ways to describe a character voice: the actual sound of it and what it does through words and tone. I’ll provide both since I don’t know which one you want specifically :)

Adjectives for the Sound of a Voice

Soft

Gravelly

Breathy

Abrasive

Brittle

Acidic

Barbed

Course

Dulcet

Guttural

Sweet

Hoarse

Honeyed

Shrill

Deep

High-pitched

Quiet

Loud

Mumbly

Squeaky

Wavering

Velvety

Smooth

Weak

Broken

Adjectives for What the Voice Does with Words and Tone

Accusatory

Admiring

Amused

Animated

Anxious

Deadpan

Apologetic

Ardent

Arrogant

Assertive

Authoritative

Bleak

Bored

Bubbly

Cautionary

Cheery

Defeated

Confused

Critical

Curt

Defiant

Defensive

Detached

Diplomatic

Disheartening

Disheartened

Cold

Docile

Frustrated

Intense

Intimate

Lifeless

Loving

Objective

Righteous

Sincere

Urgent

Vindictive

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chiroyu · 4 years

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how do i write when i have adhd and cant even outline the first three chapters:( i always get stuck after three, get bored, and never come back. any advice ?

Writing with ADHD (by a writer w/ adhd)

1. Consume caffeine and/or do cardio for 30min before sitting down to write. Listen to music, a themed playlist perhaps. Do not log onto the internet or have any distractions nearby (books, pets, clutter, food, unfinished projects). Keeping a dohickey like a stress ball around or even a lightweight dumbbell is a decent proxy when your brain craves distraction. Chewing gum can also help you focus.

2. Don’t outline by chapter, I cannot get farther than five or six when I do that. Outline from beginning to end, but make sure to have a middle! Write a synopsis of what happens and break it into chronological chunks. Only outline by chapter once you’ve got a general outline of the whole story, and even then only outline a couple chapters at a time.

3. Write whatever comes to you, but keep it in order in your document. You want to write how your character discovers a secret, but you know that’s not until chapter 20. Write it anyway and title it chapter 20. Do this with every scene you’re inspired to write, then slowly fill in the gaps. If that proves difficult, it’s okay to make the reveal chapter 9 instead and connect everything with [and then this happened] so you’ll know to sew it up later.

4. However short or long the story ends up being, finish it. You can set a goal of 30 chapters, but if 10 is easier finish by chapter ten. Come back (much) later, reread, and add any new ideas you come up with. A short story is sweet! A novella is nice! Train your brain to write longer passages until it can achieve a story of the length you want.

5. (optional) Outlining is for people who can focus, just start writing somewhere and figure it out along the way. I had a very general outline for my longest novel, but mostly I made everything up and ignored it. Maintain focus, know your end goal, and even if you stumble there and take some shortcuts it still counts. Any messiness can be improved in future drafts.

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chiroyu · 4 years

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Valley of the Foreshadowing of Death

>> Foreshadowing FAQ

__________________

What is foreshadowing?

Foreshadowing is an early warning for readers and characters alike. It’s the ominous cloud, the tornado siren, the tide receding. It can be on the more obvious side or the more subtle side. Imagery or dialogue or otherwise.

What is effective foreshadowing?

Effective foreshadowing is a few things. One, it is used sparingly and only for relevant, important events or revelations. Two, it’s not so subtle it’s impossible to catch the first time and it’s not so obvious that the reader knows 100% it’s signaling that something bad will happen. It should be something indefinite the first read and obvious the second. In other words, it should unsettle the reader the first time they read it and confirm their suspicions after they read the scene it foreshadows.

Effective foreshadowing also has a payoff. There’s closure and validation in the foreshadowing. If you have a tornado siren and no tornado, you have some explaining to do.

Why should you use foreshadowing?

Foreshadowing doesn’t naturally fit in all the time, but when it does it can provide suspense or hidden causes of events. Though it can be a complicated concept to some (including myself up until, like, a year ago), its payoff is a more enriched, complex plot.

When should I add the foreshadowing in?

Make your entire outline. Then go back and look for opportunities. You need to be able to look at the whole picture before placing anything in.

Do I need foreshadowing?

No. It’s a stylistic choice no matter the plot, genre, et al. Though for thrillers, mysteries, dramas, horror, and the likes, it is easier to add in and has more benefits. And as long as you’re careful and follow the suggestions, it really can’t hurt to add more depth like this to any genre or story.

What does foreshadowing look like when it comes to editing and revising?

It looks messy. Because it probably looks obvious to you the thousandth time you think/write about it. You should be open to editing it and moving it to a different scene and things like that while editing alone. However, big changes or the removal of it shouldn’t be your go-to. Use your beta readers, critique partners, or even just a friend who is willing to read the story. See how they respond to it when they go in with fresh eyes (i.e. don’t tell them what to look for beforehand). If they find it offputting, obvious, too subtle, or anything like that, ask how they think it would work better. In the end, go with your gut, edit to your liking, and have them read it again.

This is all good and fine, but how do I actually add foreshadowing to my story?

Before we get to that, let’s examine the big “Don’t” of foreshadowing:

Cliches. Cliches offer none of the enrichment or suspense original foreshadowing techniques do. A character that can definitively sense danger is a cliche. An old character vaguely warning the MC is a cliche. If you can subvert these cliches into nuanced tropes, then awesome! If not, don’t use them.

Alright, here are 6ish ways to add foreshadowing:

1. Naming, No Explaining

This is a dangerous game because it can veer into cliche territory very easily and it’s overused in certain genres. So use this wisely.

For this technique, characters use cryptic or unspecified names for an event, person, or place.

This is very overused in sci-fi and fantasy. Very, very overused. So I would only have one occurrence of it within a work of these genres, if at all. As for other genres and stories, it can actually feel fresh. If you have a modern-day suburbian thriller, for example, having a bunch of soccer moms refer to a mysterious event as The Sharpening is freaky.

2. Background Object

This is easiest to use with subtlety in visual media, but not unachievable in prose fiction if we tweak a few things. In visual media like a film, the Background Object is something that is off. It’s also not fully noticed upon first glance. But it’s there in plain sight, just beyond the focus.

In prose fiction, the use of a background object changes a little. Instead of being an early warning sign, it becomes an in-scene warning sign. You can’t really have a character mention or see an off-putting object without it being too obvious of a foreshadow. (You can still include something like this, it just wouldn’t be foreshadowing.)

However, if you have them mention or see a specific and normal object, it can be a warning sign later.

For example, say a character sees a gilded, jeweled chalice while exploring the secret lair of an unidentified bad guy. In the lair, it blends in with other junk like it. It’s part of the scenery, not the focus. But the character notes it in passing. Later, while they still don’t know the identity of the bad guy, they go to a dinner party hosted by a local aristocrat. The aristocrat makes a toast… rasing his gilded, jeweled chalice. Maybe only the readers notice this and the character ends up in a trap or maybe they notice, too, and form a plan. Either way, we’ve been warned beforehand. Boom! Foreshadowing!

3. Imagery and Motifs

This one is pretty similar to numero dos in the way that it mostly relies on the background and things out of our main focus.

For this, there’s a specific image or motif that shows up periodically or at a particular place/with a particular person. It’s off-putting, but without reason. There’s just… a feeling.

My favorite example is from the movie Sorry to Bother You. Without spoiling it (because you should see it!), there’s a scene where the MC enters a new setting with a sketchy character. We as an audience are already unsettled by the character himself. And what doesn’t help that unsettling feeling… is the horse motif in his room. Horses… everywhere. Soon after, we learn the real meaning behind all of that imagery. Rewatching it makes the horse motif just that much unsettling.

4. Speaking of sketchy characters…

Our best defense as humans is our gut. We know when something is off, even if it’s subtle or maybe just a byproduct of hypervigilance. We can feel it. Your characters are no exception. If another character, a place, or something occurring around them is… off, they can pick up on it! Like the example in #3, a sketchy character sets off all kinds of alarms. Especially if the MC has never met or been alone with them before. Weird propositions, vague comments, and undecipherable ramblings add up to a heap of creep. It’s usually more of an in-scene warning rather than an early warning, but not always. And the worst part is that it’s indefinite until the reveal. We don’t know if the character is actually secretly evil. We can’t really prove that the feeling means what we think it means. We could be wrong. And maybe we are and it’s a red herring…

5. Itty Bitty Flashbacks

What happens when you keep showing small bits and pieces of the same flashback? Suspense! You’re foreshadowing that this event has a big impact on what’s going on and/or what has set the whole thing in motion. But we don’t get enough to tell what exactly happens or what it means. Not yet. Until we see the whole picture, we as a reader assume it’s the missing piece in the puzzle of the quest. It could be the answer they need. It doesn’t have to be, but the whole picture should reveal a critical bit of information nonetheless.

6. Symptoms, Symptoms, Symptoms

For this technique, I’ll be using a metaphor (that in and of itself could be a literal use of this technique).

We have a very sick character that’s been poisoned. But we don’t know he’s sick yet. And we definitely don’t know that he’s sick because of a poisoned food supply yet.

We start by watching him develop the first symptoms. Easy-to-shrug-off symptoms everyone largely ignores. Nausea. Headache. Fatigue.

Then, he gets worse. Throwing up. Sweating. Weak muscles. We, along with more characters around him, starting to notice something is off.

Then, the final straw. The point of no return when no one can deny something is wrong. He passes out. He needs emergency care. Maybe he dies.

But wait. It’s not just him. Other people are showing the same symptoms he did. The characters investigate and the problem is found.

That first sick character is the early warning system. But it isn’t until he’s right up in our face, sick as a dog, that we see it. And by then, it’s too late.

Hopefully, you’re following me on the metaphor and you’re seeing the potential. Personally, nothing is more gut-wrenching than foreshadowing that isn’t apparent until it’s too late. That’s primo storytelling for me.

The sick character can be anything. The poisoning can be any wrongdoing. The symptoms should follow the stages of intensification but can be anything relating to the wrongdoing’s effect.

You can also take the same idea of sickness and tweak it. Maybe flowers start to wilt and die. Then it’s entire gardens. Then animals. It’s too late to do anything once it’s your pet. Your neighbor. You. After some investigation or reveal, we find out there’s been radiation poisoning. Because of a secret military experiment.

This was a long explanation full of examples, but hopefully you get it.

7. Something is Out of Place

This is pretty close to previous ones, but I feel it deserves its own place. This is simply something (or somethings) that exists or happens that doesn’t make sense right away.

The clearest example I can think of is from The Last Jedi. Luke Skywalker and Kylo Ren’s final showdown is filled with this technique.

We find out Luke is astral projecting to the fight. He’s not really there. But we don’t know this at the beginning of the fight. Before the reveal, we get hints.

These hints don’t add up or make total sense as they happen (and stay this way until we learn he’s projecting).

We see that Kylo’s foot breaks through the white outer layer of ground to reveal the red underbelly. We see that Luke’s doesn’t. He also shows up in the rebel base without alerting anyone, even though it’s been established there’s no way in or out except through the First Order. AND, he appears more well-kempt and groomed than we’ve seen the entire movie.

If you don’t discount these signs right away as mistakes, they become a warning sign.

What about other techniques?

There are so many ways to foreshadow. Much more than I could ever list here. As always, my main piece of advice is to watch and read stories. Be on the lookout for foreshadowing uses.

I have a question that isn’t in this FAQ.

Send me an Ask. If I feel I didn’t properly cover the answer already, I will add it to this post. If it’s not Anon, I will credit you for asking.

___________________

I really hope this helps! I spent a good while on this to try and make it as thorough as possible for clarification!

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chiroyu · 4 years

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The Two Types of Pacing

Pacing is a tricky, tricky thing. Hopefully, by breaking it down into two schools of thought, we can better our understanding of maintaining effective pacing.

as requested by @whisperinghallwaysofmirrors

First, Some Definitions

According to Writer’s Digest, narrative pacing is “a tool that controls the speed and rhythm at which a story is told… [H]ow fast or slow events in a piece unfold and how much time elapses in a scene or story.“

Pacing can be a lot of things. Slow, fast, suspenseful, meandering, boring, exciting, et cetera et cetera. While we don’t want meandering or boring, getting it to be the other things can be a feat.

As I go through all of this, I would like to say that the number one thing you should be keeping in mind with the pacing of your story is the purpose.

What is the purpose of this story, scene, dialogue, action, arc, plot point, chapter, et al? This and only this will keep you on track the whole way through.

Without further ado, here are the two types of pacing…

Micro Pacing

This, to me, is the harder of the two. Macro pacing usually comes naturally with our understanding of overall story structure that we see in books and movies. Micro is much more subjective and labor-intensive.

The first step of every scene you write is to identify what kind of pacing it needs to be effective. Is a slower pace going to nail in the emotional tone? Is a faster pace going to convey how urgent the scene is? Is choppy going to show how chaotic it is? How much attention to detail is needed? Et cetera. And even with the scene’s tone, there are also tones within with action, dialogue, and narrator perception.

There is no one-size-fits-all trick to mastering pacing. All you can do is try to keep it in mind as you draft. Don’t let it consume you, though. Just get it down. After drafting, look at the pacing with a critical eye. Do important scenes go too fast? Are unnecessary things being dragged out? Is this scene too detailed to be suspenseful?

A lot of errors in pacing are quick fixes. The adding or removal of details, shortening or lengthening of sentences, changing descriptions. However, these quick fixes do take a while when you have to look at every single scene in a story.

Macro Pacing

Rather than the contents of a scene, this deals with everything larger. Scenes, chapters, plot points, storylines, subplots, and arcs. This is taking a look at how they all work for each other when pieced together.

One of the biggest resources when it comes to analyzing macro pacing is story structure philosophy. The common examples are Freytag’s Pyramid, the 3-Act Structure, Hero’s Journey, and Blake Snyder’s 15 Beats. They follow the traditional story structure. Exposition, catalyst, rising action, climax, and resolution (albeit each in different terms and specificity). Though some see it as “cookie-cutter”, 99% of effective stories follow these formats at a considerable capacity. It’s not always about how the story is told, but rather who tells it. But I digress.

Looking at these structures, we can begin to see how the tried-and-true set-up is centered around effective pacing.

The beginning, where everything is set up, is slower but short and sweet. The catalyst happens early and our MC is sent out on a journey or quest whether they like it or not. The trek to a climax is a tricky stage for maintaining effective pacing. Good stories fluctuate between fast and slow. There is enough to keep it exciting, but we’re given breaks to stop and examine the finer details like theme, characterization, and arcs.

The edge before the climax is typically when the action keeps coming and we’re no longer given breaks. The suspense grabs us and doesn’t let go. This is the suspense that effectively amounts to the crescendo and leads to the emotional payoff and release that follows in the resolution. The resolution is nothing BUT a break, or a breather if you will. Though it is slower like the exposition, it is longer than that because this is where we wrap everything up for total closure. This is what the reader needs, rather than what they want. So you can take your time.

Not every story has to follow this recipe step-by-step. Critically acclaimed movies such as Pulp Fiction, Frances Ha, and Inside Llewyn Davis* break the traditional structure. However, they still keep certain ingredients in it. Whether it be the concept of a climax, the idea of a journey, or the overall balance of tension and release.

If you’re struggling with the macro side of your story’s pacing, I would try to identify what the weakest areas are and see if applying these story structure concepts and methodology strengthens it at all. If not, it may be that your story idea doesn’t fit the “substance” requirement of an 80k+ word novel. It may need more or fewer subplots or an increase of conflict or more things getting in the MC’s way. You could also see if adapting it to a shorter medium (novella, et al) or a longer medium (series, episodics, et al) would alleviate the pacing issues.

*sorry all my references are movies and not books, but I’ve seen more movies than I’ve read books

In Short–

Pacing, both macro and micro, are incredibly subjective concepts. The only way to really find out how effective your story’s pacing is, is to look at it through the lens of traditional structures and ask for feedback from beta readers. How a reader,who doesn’t know the whole story like you do feels about pacing is the best resource you could have.

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chiroyu · 4 years

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When to End a Story

Finishing stories is a valuable skill. But it’s not always easy to tell, especially for us non-planners, when a story is really done. Personally, I have three things I consider and combine to tell for sure.

I find the story is finished when the promise given by its opening pages/core premise is fulfilled. Simply, it’s the answer to “why this story”: what exactly is it that I’m telling? What’s a question this story is an answer to?

Arcs, both character and plot. A story is done when there’s been a change in either the character or the character’s surrounding/situation, in such a way that, if you took the character from that point and put them in their own shoes at the beginning, it would no longer develop into the same story. That said, a lot of things change and shape characters along the way, so pinpointing the ending might require thinking about the promise/Question of the story alongside this.

If I’ve successfully brought characters/worlds to life, there’s always more story; more before this one, more after this one, even if the character dies or the world gets destroyed. So I thought of a fun trick. I wonder, at which point does this story I’m writing become backstory? If I were writing a story set right after this one, what is the last thing I would have to weave in as character/world backstory in order for that story to be strong? That point is the ending point of the story I’m actually working on. I do admit, this method comes with a likely side effect of rogue sequels.

Finally, it’s worth noting, I listen to my intuition. Many times the story just feels done—and later as I analyse it, it turns out the point where I stopped does tick all these boxes. Stories secretly know what they’re doing.

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chiroyu · 4 years

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If You Give a Book a Title…

Book Titling FAQ

This post will mainly refer to novels and their nitty gritties, but a lot of this can also be applied toward short stories, novellas, poems and poetry collections, films, and the likes).

First Thing: What Does a Title Need to Do?

That depends on a lot of things. The listed things below are not always required but are typically all considered. You know your story best and what you intend on doing with it, so trim the list accordingly.

A title should…

represent the story, themes, and purpose as a whole

be marketable and easy to pitch

NOT resemble titles of other works in your genre

NOT be the exact same as another work, regardless of genre and medium (although some creator’s have proven otherwise; trust your instincts)

be easy to say and remember for an average joe when they bring it up in conversation

reflect your genre, sub-genre(s), and overall tone

make you feel proud to say and mention to others

get to the point

be interesting and raise questions or create mystique for someone unfamiliar (right between super-vague and super-specific)

be able to reach a wide audience

Are There Any Contingents?

Yes, both good and bad.

The Bad: If you are traditionally publishing, your publisher has the final say on the title. I know a lot of us have heard this scary statement, but I did some digging and found out some key things on this.

Yes, it is 100% true; a publisher has the final say. However, it doesn’t seem to be common practice and it’s not done without reason. A good publisher isn’t changing the title because they have their own good idea. When a good publisher changes the title, it’s because these industry professionals (who NEED your book to sell well) feel as if you have done a disservice to your book’s marketability with its original title.

The most common reasons I could find for a publisher changing the title were:

It was too long

I’m not talking The Knife of Never Letting Go or Are All My Friends Hanging Out Without Me? long. I’m talking very wordy compound sentences long. Said-In-Two-Breaths long.

It was too specific and narrowed down potential readers

Furiously Happy by Jenny Lawson appeals to many kinds of non-fic readers; The Roller Coaster of Emotions of a Mentally Ill Blogger by Jenny Lawson, although a funny title (and I love that book), narrows down that broad potential readership

You have to hook ‘em before they know what hit ‘em

It was too similar to another work

Either too similar to another work within the genre, too similar to another work within their publishing canon, too similar to another work coming out at the same time, too similar to a famous work, or just too similar to another work in general

tl;dr: If you think you have a strong, unique, and effective title, chances are you’ll be able to keep it.

The Good: You could be off the hook for a lot of the “necessary” things for a good publishing title if you’re not publishing on a wider scale. If you’re posting on tumblr, Wattpad, AO3, et al. or you aren’t publishing for the public AND you care more about the title meaning than the “marketability”, than you are good to go. There’s no shame in publishing work for your own fun and not for a “bigger goal”. Plus, if you decide to aim for a bigger goal, you can always tweak the title.

The Extra Good: There are opportunities to create nuanced titles all the time that don’t follow any “rule” listed in the first question. And even if they aren’t nuanced, IT’S ART! Do what you want! The advice here is simply to guide writers who want to focus on what makes a good title within a market. Both quests are noble and you should choose based on your story and your goal.

The Extra EXTRA Good: A lot of leeway can be given for series installments (see below).

How Do I Know if It’s a Good Title?

A great way is to survey your friends, mentors, and writerly peers. You could give them the title your set on for feedback or you could give them a list of options for them to vote on. The purpose isn’t to let them decide if your title is bad or to choose which title, but for you to get feedback to use how you want. Sometimes I throw in filler titles that I come up with off the cuff and THEY are the ones who get chosen. Feedback is just food for thought.

Another way is to research published titles in the same genre. Both to analyze overused trends, patterns, motifs, and words AND to get an idea of what gets a lot of readers interested. Of course, the cover and author and so many other variables go into a successful book, but the title is at least one facet.

Overall, you should think about its effectiveness. Does it evoke the tone you want? As you think about plot points and themes, does the title still make sense? Would you read a book with this title? Could this title be misleading in any way?

Slow Down! How Do I Find a Title in the First Place?

First, try to make a list of potential words and phrases to include in the title. There are many ways to find these which include, but are NOT limited to:

a common motif, symbol, image, or theme in the story

a character and their name

a once-said phrase/fragment from the text

a key word, phrase, setting, or name specific to the story’s world

words you like and/or sound pretty and are applicable

words that are uncommon but pretty and applicable (i.e. latin, historical/archaic terms, etc.)

a common expression, proverb, or saying

Now, let’s do some puzzle work.

Some of your words and phrases that you have compiled are perfectly fine on their own as titles. Other may need some support. I have a post on this concept, but I’m going to put it all here and expand upon it.

Here are some common ways author’s arrange these words/phrases into the title*:

The Long-Title Metaphor w/ Imagery

ex. The Knife of Never Letting Go

The Short-Title Metaphor w/ Imagery

ex. Lost Stars

A Sentence Fragment

ex. And I Darken

_______’s _______

ex. The Savior’s Champion

The Main Character(s) (No Names)

ex. The Book Thief, The Help, The Time Traveler’s Wife, Dark Disciple

The Pair of Recurrent Theme(s)

ex. Pride and Prejudice

_________ from ________

The Execution from the Silent Valley

The Easter Egg

ex. Fahrenheit 451

(paper burns at that temp)

The Command

ex. Fall on Your Knees, Call Me By Your Name, Tell the Wolves I’m Home

The Introduction

ex. I, the Sun

An Utterance

I Might Regret This, You Don’t Have to Say You Love Me

_________ of ________

Trail of Lightning, Evidence of the Affair, Monsters of Men

Adjective + Noun

Hillbilly Elegy, Sharp Objects

*some of these examples include titles that appear in their entirety within the text, which means the author didn’t really have to manipulate a list like yours, but I still think they’re good examples to know

How Should I Title for a Series?

For this answer’s purpose, I’ll be referring to series with interrelated stories rather than anthologies like Goosebumps.

There are two parts here: individual installments and the series as a whole.

Individual Installments:

You should look at other series of the same length and genre. Some have titles that correlate and some prioritize other things like imagery.

* I’d also like to note that it is much easier to get away with a title that is similar/identical to another work if it is the 2nd+ installment in a series.

In fact, it’s easy to disregard most of the aforementioned “rules” for the 2nd+ installment once it’s under the umbrella of a unique first book title. You don’t have to worry about a title that will “hook” a random reader so much. You do that more with the first book.

Here are some examples to get you started:

Dystopian trilogies

The Hunger Games, Catching Fire, Mockingjay

Divergent, Insurgent, Allegiant

Historical trilogy

And I Darken, Now I Rise, Bright We Burn

Fantasy romance trilogy

Caraval, Legendary, Finale

Dystopian romance series

Shatter Me, Unravel Me, Ignite Me, Restore Me, Defy Me, etc etc

Matched, Crossed, Reached

YA Mystery/Thriller Series

The Naturals, Killer Instinct, All In, Bad Blood

Series Names

The series’ name can take so many different forms. So, as always, I’ve got some examples for you.

The Conqueror’s Saga

Chaos Walking Trilogy

The Hunger Games Trilogy

Only example here named after the first book

Southern Reach Trilogy

The Chronicles of Narnia

Variants

Willow and Birch

Goodnight Family

Above all, an effective series name is short, unique, and memorable.

How Should I Title For an Anthology?

requested by @books_of_lunacy

An anthology, when referring to a collection of multiple books*, is when a series is comprised of stand-alone installments. It is less about a specific story or set of characters and more about broader concepts.

All anthologies have a theme, whether it’s based off of genre or something else, and some have a specific setting (which can sub in for a theme). When you are naming an anthology, you should have its theme and/or setting nailed down.

There are some easy words to tag onto a series title to make it clear it is an anthology.

The _______ Anthology

Stories of _______

Tales from _________

et cetera et cetera

However, you can also include the word “anthology” within the synopsis or book cover. Depending on if you traditionally publish, they will most likely try to make it very clear it is a stand-alone book and advertise it as such. In this case, you might not have to be so explicit with your series title itself.

Above all, it should still follow the guidelines of a series title and be short, unique, and memorable.

It also helps to be more specific and denote the theme, genre, or setting at hand. This hooks a reader in just like a title does. For example, a popular TV anthology is pretty specific: American Horror Story. And while that might objectively seem too specific, subjectively, it works. It tells prospective viewers the setting, theme, and genre. Each season ( or “installment” that works like a full novel) grows more specific on the setting. “Murder House”, “Asylum”, “Roanoke”, etc.

Now, for titling the Individual Installments

Just like an interrelated series, anthology installment titles can be coordinated or uncoordinated. It depends on your goal.

If your goal is to produce a canon of work where each book is successful upon themselves and not the anthology, title your books as you would a non-series book. The more coordinated your titles are, the more likely they are to rely upon one another for full comprehension, which alienates a reader who just wants to delve into one book.

If your goal is to produce an anthology that is more often recognized as a whole than by single installments, coordinate your titles. This enforces the idea of “unity” between individual books within the context of the anthology. Like the AHS examples above, this could be that every installment title comes from a specification within the theme and/or setting at hand. This could be a character, place, year, etc. You could also create a prefix or suffix fragment that bookends a new title. For example, each book title could begin with “The People vs. ______” if your anthology revolves around court cases.

Always remember your goal for the anthology and its installments.

*some anthologies are stories within a single book. however, this was not the requested question

I Have More Questions!

Awesome! At the risk of totally filling up someone’s dash with one post, I’m going to stop here for now. However, I encourage you to send further questions to my Ask box! Make sure it isn’t anon, though, because I will be updating this post with your question/my answer and I would like to give credit!

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chiroyu · 4 years

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how to make a story file

As I am preparing for Camp NaNo*, I have been working on my story file. It occurred to me this might not be common or popular practice. “Story File” is a name I gave it and maybe some of y��all have a different name with the same contents.

*There’s still time to apply to join my Camp NaNo cabin!

My Story File contains everything about my story that doesn’t go in the outline.

It’s broken up into major categories and specific templates. So without further ado, here is how I structure my Story File.

Intro

Title

Logline

Synopsis

Genre

Estimated Total Length (word count)

Draft Length Goal (word count)

Character Bank

Main characters and brief, one-sentence descriptions with ages

Themes and Character Development

Central Question

The Yes/No question that is being asked through the whole story

Should have objective qualities, rather than subjective

i.e. “Will they fall in love?” (subjective) vs. “Will they leave their partners and become a couple?” (objective)

Thematic Questions

These are the internal conflict questions that reside in your character(s) and your story

ex. “Can there really be a successful government?”

ex. “Does grief excuse bad actions?”

Themes at a Glance

Words or phrases that relate to the themes of the story

ex. person vs. nature

ex. isolation

ex. grief

ex. first love

Motivation / Stasis State / Final State

for each main character, you should write a sentence or two pertaining to these three things

Motivation: What is the drive behind this character and their past, present, and future actions? What part of their background makes them the way that they are? What are they looking for? What do they want out of this/a situation?

Stasis State: What are they like before the inciting incident? What problems and questions do they have?

Final State: What has changed about them and their outlook? What questions have they resolved? What has happened to their internal conflict?

Relationships

I usually make a little web of the MCs and their relationship to one another. One for the stasis and one for final.

Stasis: How do these characters see each other? How do they act toward the other? (All before the inciting incident)

Final: How do these characters see each other now? How has their idea of one another shifted?

Even if a character dies before the end, include the most recent relationship status in the Final web.

ex. this is how I organize it, using the Draw feature of Google Docs

Character Bank

This is just a very preliminary character bank. If you prefer a more in-depth one, check out my 6 Box Method.

Per (relevant/important) character:

Name

Nickname/preferred name

Age

Field/Occupation

Physical Description

Personality

Personal History

Education/Occupation History

Extra Notes:

Worldbuilding Bank

(Check out my worldbuilding posts on Categories Pt. 1 and 2 for better context)

Seasons and Climate

Languages

Other Cultural Pockets

Folklore and Legends

Fine Arts

Dress and Modesty

Classes

Jobs

Currency and Economics

Shopping

Agriculture and Livestock

Imports and Exports

Literature, Pop Culture, and Entertainment

Food and Water

Holidays and Festivals

Family and Parenting

Relationships

Housing

Religion and Beliefs

Government

Health and Medicine

Technology and Communication

Death

Transportation

Plants, Animals, and Human-environment Interaction

Education

Beauty Standards

Gender and Sexuality

—————————

I hope this helps y’all and supplements what you’re probably already doing. I know it’s helped me tons to have everything in a central place.

Best of luck!

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chiroyu · 4 years

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Naming Chapters

I personally think naming chapters beyond the standard “1”/ “I”/“One” is an art we lose after middle school chapter books. And while I do think the minimal numbering fits certain books, I also think detailed chapter names fit others. So how do you name a chapter (and how do you know if it fits your story)?

1. Chapter names can be much longer and break the more strict nature of book titles

Chapter names can be a single word all the way up to a full sentence while still being manageable. They also don’t have to be as catchy or marketable as a book title. This means you have tons more freedom in the name. Which is really fun.

2. How to Name a Chapter

What kind of tone the chapter title evokes is important. It doesn’t have to match the overall tone, but it should mirror the one within the chapter. Just like the book title, you’re telling your readers what to expect. Here are some ways to find a chapter name (P.S. All the examples are made up):

Within the text

Ex. The sentence “The morning was awash with simple pleasures.” can turn into the title “Awash with Simple Pleasures”

Name of a side character who gets their moment in the chapter

Ex. “About Emily”

A question the reader and/or MC may have about their circumstances

Ex. “What Do You Do When the World Ends?”

A chapter’s motif

Ex. If the chapter revolves around a character getting the MC a pearl necklace, the title could be “Pearls”, “A Girl’s Best Friend”, etc.

An allusion

This could really be anything. Some of the most common allusions refer to Shakespeare, mythology, old songs, famous poems, and classic literary works. Of course, you could make an allusion to something niche (or otherwise unknown) that relates directly to the story.

Ex. “Et tu, Brute?” (referring to Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar) could a title after the reveal of a betrayal

An utterance

Anything your MC would think or say, given the opportunity to break the 4th wall, bridges the gap between character and reader a little. It’s not something they’ve said to anyone in the story. And it has an air of self-awareness.

Ex. “So This is Where We Are Now”, “This Wasn’t Supposed to Happen”

Foreshadowing

Use this sparingly and carefully, but you can plant clues and things similar in nature in the title

Ex. The chapter ends with the abrupt murder of a character using a coffee pot that was previously inconspicuous. The tile is “Coffee Pot”.

3. The “Other” Kind of Chapter (AKA The Part)

There are two main ways to split up a novel. The chapter and the part. Chapters are usually a given and can work concurrently with the story also being split into parts. If you read The Hunger Games, among many others, you’ve seen this in practice.

The parts of a novel are usually in 3s. This can (indirectly or inexplicitly) mark beginning/middle/end or childhood/adulthood/elderhood. Or it can mark more story-specific events, like The Hunger Games and its sequels. You mostly see this in sci-fi/fantasy novels, but they can go anywhere.

The titles of these parts are usually short and correlate with each other (similarly to how book titles in series can correlate).

Ex. “The Dawn”, “The Day”, “The Dusk”

Ex. “Spark”, “Flame”, “Wildfire”

Ex. “The Test”, “The Proof”, “The Job”

Ex. “4″, “16″, “25″

Where you place these divisions is up to you. It works best if it feels natural and fits in well with the pacing. You can plot your story around these parts, or add them in later. Either way, whether they work or not is going to be subjective and you might need beta readers/a critique partner to help you out.

4. So, is it right for my story?

That’s totally up to you and all I can really give you for an answer is my opinion. I think chapter titles are a given for stories with a comedic tone. There’s an easy sense of irreverence or goofiness that comes with it when used right.

Other stories can be tricky, though. I think unless your story is super serious (like a thriller), you can effectively use chapter titling. With serious stories, it might be a bit more tricky to maintain the stricter tone with title, but it’s accomplishable.

And of course, you don’t have to add titling. Sometimes the minimalistic nature of “One”/”I”/”1” fits a story better than any other title could.

If you feel so inclined to title your chapters, it can add a whole new layer of mechanics to better tell and represent your story that you can experiment with. And if you don’t feel inclined, don’t worry about it! It’s a personal choice, not something you’re missing out on. And isn’t that what your writing is? Your own style based on what you do and don’t add?

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chiroyu · 4 years

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How to write about Grief:

There is no right or wrong way to experience grief. Just as there is no right or wrong way to write it. Everyone is different, each set of circumstances are different.

The point of this post is to show you how different people react in different ways, and give points on how you might write that, depending on your character and story.

Reactions to Grief

Numbness: Your character may go into auto-pilot and be unable to process the events that have unfolded.

Anger: This can be aimed at other people, at a Higher Being, or at nothing in particular.

Unsteady: Your characters may be unsteady. For example, unable to stop their voice from shaking or they may find it difficult to stand.

Focusing on Others: Your character may disregard their own feelings because they are so overwhelmed and instead concentrate on someone else’s well-being.

Seek out routines: Amid upheavals, your character may seek comfort in tasks that are familiar and “safe,” such as working, cleaning, making their bed, making absurd amounts of tea or taking a morning walk.

Pretending that Everything Is Okay: Grief is viewed as an emotion that should cease or be concealed once the funeral is over. So people mention the news in an offhand comment, then talk and laugh as if all is right with the world.

Denial: Some people deny the reality of death and convince themselves that the news is a joke or can’t be true.

Reactions from people surrounding your character:

People may avoid your character as they do not know what to say or simply can’t find the right words.

Some may even go as far as to cross the street when they notice your character approaching.

Even people that the character has known for years may act strange or standoff-ish, simply because they don’t know what to say.

On the other side of that, some people may be overly helpful and friendly.

It is not uncommon for estranged friends, family or others to suddenly reappear in a person’s life after they have experienced grief.

Either because those people want to offer their support and love or because they’re being nosy and they want to be kept up to date on the “drama”.

Most people will move on from the event fairly quickly if they weren’t emotionally invested.

Some people may even get annoyed at your character for still being upset weeks or months later.

When talking about the person they have lost:

Your character may recall a memory or tell a story about their loved one, these are possible reactions. (I have encountered all of them.)

Your character may being to cry or get upset at the thought of the person they have lost.

The person they are talking to may become awkward and avert eye contact when your character brings up the person they have lost.

Others may ask or tell your character to stop talking about the person they have lost. They may roll their eyes, cough awkwardly, or cut off your character mid sentences so that they can change the subject.

Some people may ask inappropriate questions about the circumstances in which the character’s loved one passed away. Depending on the personality of your character then may react differently.

Other things to note:

Grief is not constrained by time.

One of the main problems with grief in fiction is that a character is typically heartbroken for a couple scenes and then happy again. But grief does not evaporate because the world needs saving.

Allow your character to wrestle with their grief.

Your character may feel guilty. Your character may feel a twinge of guilt when they laugh or have a good time with someone else; when they do something to remind them that they’re alive, and their loved one isn’t.

Grief is a game changer. A previously outgoing character may withdraw and isolate themselves. Some people may take grief and/or bereavement as a sign that life is too short; they may make big decisions in an attempt to make themselves feel better and grow away from their pain.

Sometimes grief can help you find your purpose.

At first grief can be all consuming. It hurts and you can’t really control it. It may seem unrelenting. Eventually the grief will become easier to deal with, your character may find the days to be better, but that doesn’t mean that when the grief hits it doesn’t hurt any less.

For most people, grief never really goes away. “Sometimes you have to accept the fact that certain things will never go back to how they used to be.”

It is rare that a person will ever give a long speech about their feelings, a lot of people struggle to even find the words. But that’s okay. Show the reader how your character feels, rather than just telling them.

Don’t pause the plot to deal with the aspect of grief. This could overwhelm the readers and drag the pace down. In reality, life doesn’t just stop due to grief, the world keeps spinning and things still need to be done. Use the character’s grief as a backdrop for the story’s events.

Yes, grief affects the character’s day-to-day life, goals, and relationships. But it shouldn’t drive readers away or stagnate the story. Instead, should engage readers and produce empathy that keeps them turning pages.

You don’t need to tell your readers that everything will be fine. You don’t need to provide all of the answers.

“Skirting grief and treating it lightly is easy. But by realistically portraying it through a variety of responses and its lasting effects on the character’s life, readers will form a connection with your characters.“

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