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joaneunknown · 1 year

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Diversity in writing, why is it so important?

What is diversity?

Well, diversity is the state of being diverse; variety. It is the multitude of differences between people in the same group. For example, think of a class filled with students. No one is the same, some are white, some are black, some are Christian, some are Muslim, some are Asian, some are African America, some are straight and some have other sexual orientations.

Diversity means having a range of people with different religions, ethnicities, sexualities, races, cultures, and lifestyles all together in the same group. Diversity is what allows us to learn about the people who are somehow different from us, without following stereotypes that are just stereotypes. Diversity means a lot of things, but mostly, inclusion. Having a group of people different from one another does not only help you learn and change the perspectives and views created by society and the media, but it also allows you to get everyone included no matter the differences between them.

Why is diversity important in writing?

Well, diversity is important in everything, everywhere, whether that would be our day-to-day life, school life, social life, or, in our situation, writing. Fictional characters are inspired by real-life people, and that means your characters should have the differences real people have from one another. After all, no one wants to read a novel in which all the characters are the same. That would be like reading about characters who have no identity at all. Our differences make us special, so how can a writer create diversity in his or her novel?

#1 Do the research first

If you want to have characters of different races, ethnicities, genders, religions (and more) from yours, do your homework ahead of time! Don't rely on certain facts/stereotypes or things that you have heard to draw your characters. Why? Because the information you know can be wrong and can offend people who are the same race/religion or have the same ethnicity or disability the character or characters have. Try to collect information from credible sites about the races, cultures, ethnicities, religions, and sexualities that you are interested in.

#2 Be careful what you joke about

If you are writing a book that is somehow funny or is based on humor, you should be careful what you joke about. Nowadays, everyone gets offended over the tiniest things, and I know that can fence you a lot, especially when all you intend to do is to joke about a situation. However, there are certain topics or situations that I believe you shouldn't make fun of. If you need a real-life example, just look up the most scandalous celebrity nowadays that went from billionaire to millionaire after joking about a very serious and heartbreaking situation in which millions of innocent people had to die from just because of their ethnicity.

As a side note, I am not mentioning the name of the person, but I guess most of the people reading this know who I am talking about, and that person is not the only one out there. And, if you want to joke about a character's ethnicity, race, sexuality, disability, or religion (and more), do it very carefully, so that the reader who relates to the character/characters doesn't feel attacked or offended.

#3 Don't be narrow-minded

There are always things we cannot understand about others. Especially if the differences you and the person have are quite far from one another. Be open-minded about all aspects, rituals, and habits a religion, an ethnicity or a culture has. After all, what may seem strange to you is normal to someone else. So, when describing a character or its background, don't compare yourself to it and just write on the character's behalf. Write about her or his religion, ethnicity, culture, and so on as if you were the character.

#4 Don't structure your character based on its background

This is more of a personal preference, but I hate it when I read about characters that are built around their backgrounds (and by that, I mean religion, culture, ethnicity, sexuality, and so on). How would you feel if your whole identity was surrounded by the fact that you are Muslim? Or that you are Asian? Or, perhaps, gay? No real person would like to have their entire story only highlighted on the differences they have from others.

The key here is to think how you would feel if you were in the character's place. If it doesn't make you feel alright, then it won't make your character feel alright. Still, there may be some exceptions. I have read a few books that have characters that are individualized mostly by their race, ethnicity, or religion, but those were special cases. Why? Because the books were either non-fiction or the characters' race, ethnicity or religion explained most of the book whose story was told exclusively by them.

This was all for this week, unknowners! Thank you for reading this post, that is a bit different from the ones I usually post, but I thought it would be a great idea to bring up the importance of diversity in writing. I wish you a great weekend, and I will see you next week with another #TalkingUnknown post! If you enjoyed this post, like, share, comment, and follow for more @joaneunknown_author on Instagram!

#writers on tumblr #writer things #writing inspiration #writing advice #book blog #writerscorner #books #writing book #book genres #my writing #diversity #writing #book writing #booklr #teen author #authors

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joaneunknown · 1 year

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joaneunknown · 1 year

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Five tips for writing realistic characters

Happy New Year, dear unknowners! I wish you the most successful, loving, and happiest year of your lives with everything you desire and are currently working for. And, for those who are new here, I am Joane Unknown, author of two books (almost three) and writer for my blog series "Talking Unknown". Today, I will be focusing on giving the most important five tips for writing realistic characters that connect with the readers. So, let's get started!

#1- Make them seem human

Characters in books should act like normal people, who make mistakes, who feel emotion, and that make readers feel like they are human. Give your characters different identities and you can do that by looking not only at yourself but at others too. In order to do that you need to give them a past, a history, filled with a variety of experiences that matured your characters. Now, although it may seem heartless, I like and tend to write my characters’ pasts in a very dramatic manner, to shake up the reader and change the development of my characters from a young age...

#2- Hand them problems to solve and goals to achieve

Humankind has always struggled to find solutions to problems. I think that without challenges and problems, we would be far from where we are now. Also, by handing your character a problem or a situation to deal with, you could turn the solution of a problem (or more) into their end goal. Not to mention how many things you can notice in a book character during the time they are challenged to solve a problem/situation. After all, no one wants a book where everything is all fine and where the characters have a fairy-tale life (and not even fairy tales' characters don't always have such perfect and sunny lives)

And, by giving them goals to achieve, you automatically set the way for them. A path to follow, on which they meet with problems and situations that are staying in their way.

#3- Involve secondary characters that make a difference

We are always surrounded by people. Some are more important in our lives, and some are less important in our lives. Secondary characters, whether they would be alive or dead, can make a huge difference in the character's attitude and behavior. For example, let's imagine a dead mother who negatively marked their child. As the character who had been marked in childhood grows up, he/she indefinitely grows with that scar on their skin, and their attitude, behavior, and life choices are ultimately affected by it.

All people leave a mark or an impression on us and so do characters to other characters.

#4- Characterize your characters in depth

Depending on the importance of your characters, you can and should characterize them physically and emotionally. Does she/he have scars? Does he/she have wrinkles? Does he/she suffer from any health/mental problems? What is she /he like? How do they see themselves? By adding these tiny and seemingly non-important details, the reader portrays the character, getting more and more familiar with the characters you have created.

#5- Put them through difficult situations

Your character's identity and character show best while dealing with difficult situations, that require a lot of time and fuss. I have to admit that since my very first story, all my main characters' lives had been a reassembly of what hell would be like (I am the real villain in all my stories). The honest truth is that no one wants to read or write a book that is all sunshine. As a reader, the first thing I am looking for while reading a book is trouble.

This is today's #TalkingUnknown post! I hope you liked and learned something from this post, if so like, like, comment, share and follow for more posts like these :) I wish you a great day and year, filled with reading writing, and great coffee along the way.

#writers on tumblr #writer things #writing inspiration #writing advice #writerscorner #books #book blog #writing book #book genres #my writing #book writing #bookish #bookworn #my characters #original characters #teen author #writerscommunity #writing

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joaneunknown · 1 year

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Truest thing I read today

Idk who needs to hear this but you dont need a fully formed idea to write. Just write what you have and pull shit out of your ass until it's done and maybe imagine your ocs in an amv. It may suck but thts what first drafts are for.

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joaneunknown · 1 year

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Ten things I would have liked to know about writing a thriller-suspense book before starting my first one (now that I almost finished it)

"Thriller" definition

A thriller is a type of mystery with a few key differences. As its name suggests, thrillers tend to be action-packed and fast-paced with moments full of tension, anxiety, and fear. Without fail, they are plot-driven stories.

Hello, unknowners and new readers to another episode of #TalkingUnknown! Because last week was finals week, I had made the responsible decision to not post and focus on studying. Fortunately, now that is all over, I am here ready to share ten tips from the thousands of tips I wished I knew before writing my very first thriller, now that I am halfway through its last and final chapter. I would also like to mention that my thriller is bloody and explicit and my tips are somehow centered around my way of writing. Anyway, now that we are done with my endless unnecessary side notes, let's get started!

1. Killing characters in excess does nothing but bore the reader

Now, depending on your storyline, I consider that killing piles of characters does not help your book. The only exception would be having the kind of storyline where each character dies from an unknown killer and, yes, then it would help your book.

2. Going over the limit is necessary

I think that writing a thriller consists of crossing over the limit to have a spectacular thriller. I, personally, have made myself horror a few times while writing my 400-page thriller. I had times when I couldn't touch my keyboard from how frightened and disgusted I was. I had nights when I couldn't sleep from how graphic or descriptive were some of the paragraphs I had written.

But, overall, I believe that is what a reader wants or, at least, that is what I want from a thriller book. I want to be frightened, I want to be scared for the characters' destiny and I stand by the fact that a great thriller MUST make the reader think that the characters have no way out of an impossible situation

3. It will take a long time to finish it

After more than a year, I am still writing my thriller. Thankfully, I am halfway done with the last and final chapter of it even if I had planned to finish it by April 2022. The only problem is that your view of the thriller changes, especially when you have a complex storyline.

4. You will have to fill each chapter with action

Thrillers are packed with action and as a writer, you have to maintain that action and suspense throughout each chapter, which can become a challenge over time. I, for one, have always tried to create that action and suspense by dropping hints, rhetorical questions, or any other kind of event that would spark a fire.

5. You will have to read a lot of thrillers before and during the process of writing one

As always, reading remains the writers' first tool to success. Reading in the genre you are writing your book in inspires you more than you could imagine. The more you read in suspense, the more suspenseful your writing will be. There are a lot of things to learn from reading thrillers while writing one, from setting the scene to creating a crazy plot twist that will leave your readers' mouths wide opened

6. Your outline should be written before starting to write your book

Thrillers, from my experience, are quite complex and as I stated before, you should have action in each chapter and each chapter should get the readers closer with one step to the ending. All of that means you need to know exactly what each chapter contains before begining your first draft. Now, there is a good possibility not to have your path already set, so I suggest you at least have the destination set. If you have your destination, the rest of the road will become clearer.

7. Creativity is not enough to finish a thriller

You may be the most creative person but that doesn't mean it is enough for begining a thriller. You need to be a little bit crazy and psychotic to write a book in this genre, especially if your idea is bloody. Of course, by crazy or psychotic I don't mean that you should be a serial killer, what I actually mean is that you need to think crazy and cross over your mental barrier. I have gone through that and I do have to admit that after one very bloody writing session, I did think I was a bit crazy, which leads me to my next tip

8. Your writing can affect the way you look at yourself

If there is one thing I would tell myself before starting BOTB (my almost finished thriller), I would heavily mention that what you put on paper may affect the way you look at yourself. I am the kind of writer who loves writing very graphic and heavy scenes that are just two feet behind the "too much to handle" barrier (for me at least), and that itself created an identity crisis for me. I had moments where I couldn't recognize my own writing and ultimately myself because of the words I would lay on paper.

After going through a few of these kinds of episodes, I concluded that some of the things that I wrote did change my view on the person I was for a bit mostly because I couldn't set apart the world on paper from the real world. If there are any writers reading this, I am here to tell you that writing remains on the paper at all times and that you shouldn't take to heart what you wrote. After all, your job is to create fictional worlds, write as if you are living in them, and then go back to the real world.

9. You will come across a lot of challenges

I won't lie when I say that writing a thriller takes more patience and persistence than creativity, skill, or magic. When you have a complex or a twisted structure ahead of you, there is no way you will not come across challenges, maybe only if you have written ten thrillers before or are just an amazing writer with a God-given talent that no one has. But, because I haven't written ten thrillers before this one and because I don't see my talent as a God-given one, I did run into some challenges that I ultimately got passed by.

Most of them took place when I got lost on the path to the final chapter. There were a few moments where I didn't know what should have come next and that itself turned into a challenge. Now that I am here, halfway through my thriller's very final chapter, I would tell anyone who is stuck to not give up and somehow spark a light to see the path towards the final end of the story you have created. You have to be persistent and see each challenge as an opportunity to learn and improve your writing.

10. You will need to grab your readers by the throat (not literally, of course)

If there is one thing I would beg my younger self to do before starting our thriller was to start off with a bang. The introduction I had written more than a year ago on the thriller that I will very soon finish is probably the worst introduction I have ever read in my entire life because of how boring and melodramatic it is. My advice is to start off your thriller in a dynamic way. Someone was killed, someone just killed somebody, or just something that catches the readers' attention and that is far from making them not continue your thriller.

Now, there is no shame in admitting that your introduction is boring, the real shame is publishing it boring. After all, being a writer does involve editing and I encourage any writer who thinks that their begining/introduction is just slacking in boredom to rewrite it. You can do that while still writing the book or after you have finished it because then you know your final destination.

This was all for today and hopefully, my tips are going to help you in your writing process. Like always, there are far more tips I would have liked to know and that I still haven't discovered. If you liked this post, don't forget to like, comment and share, and follow me for

#TalkingUnknown, my weekly series where I share tips and talk about different aspects of writing. See ya next week with another unknown post

#writers on tumblr #writer things #writing inspiration #writing advice #book blog #writerscorner #books #writing book #book genres #my writing #thriller #suspensebook #suspense thriller #teen author #teen writer #writeblr

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joaneunknown · 1 year

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Eight tips for having a successful writing blog as a writer

“Blogging is good for your career. A well-executed blog sets you apart as an expert in your field.”- Penelope Trunk

Hello, and welcome back to another Talking Unknown post. Today, I have decided to share some tips for owning a successful writing blog as a writer, and, since I have been doing this for a couple of months now, I have concluded that I do have some tips to give to you, unknowners. Therefore, let's get started!

Tip 1: Find and choose on which topic to write about wisely

There are a lot of topics I wanted to write about in my blog but sometimes the topic I end up choosing doesn't fit with either my writing or the experience I have gained. And there is also another case, where the topic is just too sensitive or controversial to touch. It is great to have ideas and topics to write about but just because you have them, doesn't mean every single one of them is worth writing about.

Tip 2: Research on the chosen topic

Research is the most important tool a writer must have to write for their blog/book. You can't know everything about everything and, since all the answers are a click away from you, I heavily suggest researching on the topic you have chosen to write about. Researching can also help you understand a certain topic better than you did before. One website I recommend checking out, from which I have been inspired by, is https://www.masterclass.com/articles.- I read some of their articles and I do have to admit that they are very well-written and helpful for all writers.

Tip 3: Post weekly

I have had weeks of not posting and not posting for your blog affects its activity and your visibility to new readers. I know, it is hard to post every single week but if you don't have the time to post a fully written blog post, you can easily upload a post related to writing (a photo with a coffee and a book, the behind the scenes of writing for the blog and so many more).

Tip 4: Read other writers' blogs

Honestly, on Tumblr, I have found countless very nice and helpful blogs about writing made for writers by writers (and no, the platform didn't die). Reading other writers' blogs helps you discover new topics and can also be beneficial for your way of writing for your blog.

Tip 5: Don't write in big paragraphs

This is a personal preference, but I enjoy reading short paragraphs more than longer ones, and that is why I mostly write short tips and explanations underneath them. I stand by the idea that an informative blog doesn't have to be too complex to be good, especially one made for writers who need straight forward tips.

Tip 6: Make your blog seem professional to others

Personally, I can't post a blog knowing that it has grammar bugs or editorial problems. I want my blog to seem as if it was made by a professional because that is what I believe gives you credibility as a writer who has a blog. Now, I am not telling you to do what I am doing but, what I am telling you is to make the best out of your blog's posts. Write them clearly, edit them carefully, edit them properly and promote them nicely.

Tip 7: Share the personal experiences you gained while writing

Reading other writers' experiences is a way of learning what to do and what not to do while writing. As a writer with two books published and one in the making, I have lots of untold experiences and tips, and sharing them in my blog posts helps other writers learn from my mistakes and find my blog helpful, which attracts readers who want to learn more.

Tip 8: Post what people like the most

In my situation, the Talking Unknown series where I share tips about writing attracts the most activity and likes, and obviously that is what I upload the most. You shouldn't feel ashamed of posting what gains the most activity because that is the point in having a blog, getting in touch with others and having activity. Of course, that doesn't mean that you should post only what works the best because ultimately, people will get bored of it. You, as a writer and as a blog owner, should experiment and by experimenting you can get an idea of what kind of posts are most popular and what posts aren't so popular with the public.

Besides these informative blog posts, I share spoilers of the book I am currently writing, what I am reading, stories and other things that are included in the spectrum of writing and reading.

I am Joane Unknown, writing for #TalkingUnknown, more like these on my profile or at the link in my bio. Have a good writing day and I will see you next week with another great post!

#writers on tumblr #writer things #writing inspiration #writing advice #book blog #writerscorner #books #writing book #book genres #my writing #blogger

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joaneunknown · 1 year

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writing reminders

it's ok to write only for yourself

it's ok to not share your writing with the world

it's ok to want validation

it's ok to write self-indulgent stories

it's ok to write only one genre

it's ok to share your writing regardless of your skill

it's ok to praise your own writing

it's ok to abandon wips

it's ok if you don't write every day

it's ok if you write fanfiction (because people who claim it isn't real writing is wrong)

it's ok to use clichés

it's ok to have a bad day of writing

it's ok to be a slow writer

it's normal to have days in which you doubt the things you write, that doesn't mean you're a bad writer

it's ok to ask for feedback

it's ok to cringe at your old writing

it's ok to hype up your writing online

it's ok to celebrate your achievements

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joaneunknown · 1 year

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Eight steps in making the editing process of your book easier

It is that time again. You have finished telling the story and now, you have to edit it, so that your novel will be perfectly edged like a diamond. But, although it may seem easy, it is not. I have gone through it three times and a new editing process is coming way soon and, honestly, editing the first draft of the novel you have written sucks. I would describe editing your novel as a non-editor the work of the fucking devil, and I am not speaking about its grammar. I am speaking about the plot and the storyline. Just think of how many things you have learnt since you have started writing your book, and with the more things you have learnt, the better your writing became Unfortunately, no one knows everything from the first page and your writing style can also change throughout the book which makes everything even harder than it already was. So, now that I have finished procrastinating, I am going to show you eight steps into making the editing process of your book more bearable and less terrifying.

Step 1: Make a list with the editorial changes while writing

Writing a book takes a lot of time and during that time, you learn a lot of things. Your writing fluidity changes, the book's ideas start having a clearer form and your entire writing style changes. Since your ideas become clearer, you have to edit each chapter, from the beginning to the end, which means that once the writing process is done, you will have to start from the introduction and change some things. Those things could be names that you have changed throughout the book, wrong dates, different descriptions of the same characters or places and so on. My advice is to make a list of all the tiny things that you will have to fix during the editing process, while and after writing your draft. Tiny things can also include formatting changes that you think are necessary to make your book better. Maybe, it can be important information that you might have altered which should stay intact during the plot. Remembering specific information is vital when editing your draft. The main point of this step is to know the tiny details you will have to either clean up or rewrite, besides the more important information that your future you shouldn't forget while editing.

Step 2: Read your book after finishing it

I consider that reading your unedited work is also a very important step because it can give you an idea of what must be changed and how the book looks so far. I would personally give it a few days after finishing the last chapter to start reading it, so then the story wouldn't be so fresh in your mind. Also, while reading your book, whether that would be on paper or on a device, I would recommend having the list that you have made at step one next to you, so then when you spot a mistake, you'll write it down right then.

Step 3: Make a list of the chapters/moments that must be rewritten

Unlike step one, this is more serious because if there are holes or discontinued chapters that just don't fit the book, you should not only acknowledge them but rewrite or cut them off completely. I, for example, am going through this right now. My introduction is not only awkward and cringe, but it doesn't fit the book at all, and in a couple of weeks when I will be done writing the book, I will have to take out the introduction and write another one to fit the whole. So, find the biggest problems and resolve them.

Step 4: Rewrite what has to be rewritten in another document

I believe that writing those parts in a separate document is going to make your official draft look cleaner and give you more freedom in rewriting or just writing the problematic chapters. Obviously, after you have written those chapters/parts/moments, you must insert it back into the official draft and that takes us to the next step...

Step 5: Make the rewritten parts fit into book

Now that you have got rid of the parts that didn't fit the book, you should make the rewritten parts fit with both the pages before and the pages after it. I don't think it is a problem with gluing the rewritten parts back into the official draft just as long as they are on a straight line with the other pages before and after them.

Step 6: Edit the details in your editorial notes

I would call this the easiest part of all. You already have the direction, now you have to stick to it. Besides those details, it could also be grammar problems that you could solve easily with a few changes.

Step 7: Delete the useless and fill what hadn't already been filled

Just like an editor, you must know what parts have no chance of being entertaining or important to the book. You must read all your pages and edit them like a critic. What is useless and bores out your readers goes out into the trash pin and what could be fully developed must be fully developed. If you feel like a paragraph just didn't fulfill its potential, then you should grow it out until it becomes the best you could have ever made it.

Step 8: When you finish editing it, leave it off for a while before reading it

I heard this advice from Neil Gaiman during one of his masterclasses on Masterclass and since then I have found this advice extremely useful. After a while, the story will no longer be as fresh as before and when you will read it, you will feel like the reader.

I hope those steps will make you feel less frightened by the editing process that is standing on your shoulders. All you do is to make your book better and even if that could annoy and bore you, that is part of a writer's job. Just because you have written it doesn't mean it is ready to be published. You may edit your book a couple of times before feeling as if your book is ready to be posted and I think that is also fine. All that counts is to get your book edited and ready to be given to your readers.

"Most of writing is editing...It is the responsibility of the writer to provide the reader with the best material possible"- Harry Heckel

This was Joane Unknown for #TalkingUnknown, more like these on my profile and at the link in my bio. Have a good writing day and see ya next week with another one of these!

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joaneunknown · 1 year

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"BOTB" spoiler featuring this bouquet of flowers and the draft 💐🐝

*And by the way, thank you for all the support you have given to the last three posts. You have totally made my days brighter 🤗🧚‍♀️

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joaneunknown · 1 year

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What does it take to be a writer? Well, it is more than just writing...

Maybe you have been thinking that you have the talent and the creativity to become a writer and have been planning to begin your first book. Honestly, being a writer, even if you aren't well-known and you don't have too many readers besides your family and friends, is way more than just writing.

And, as I have been writing for almost two years now and with two books on the market, I have got a taste of how it is to be a writer even if I am part of the writers that struggle building a small heap of readers month by month. With all that has been said, here are ten things a writer must do besides writing

1. Maintaining a consistent reading habit

I have said this a thousand times but reading improves everything you write. It inspires, it makes you create other versions of a situation, it takes you to different worlds and ultimately, reading teaches you how to write. Having a consistent reading habit means, from my point of view, always reading something. Maybe not every single day but constantly having a "now reading" book. Read how many books you can in a month, whether that would be one or three or five or even ten books a month! Reading is your tool as a writer, don't let it collect dust.

2. Daydreaming/Brainstorming every single minute of the day

Daydreaming as a writer is also a vital tool. If you don't daydream, then you won't come up with a book idea or even a short-story idea. You constantly have to let your mind wonder and daydream. Yes, most ideas coming from daydreaming are shit but if you know how to select the ones that are worth transforming into a book, then half of your job is done. If you have an idea, then the rest of the writing will flow right through.

3. Motivating themselves to keep going

Personally, there have been a few times where I found myself lost in a rabbit hole with no exit. I didn't know what to write and how to write it because all the writing I was doing at the time was just flat with no flavors added. And, somehow, I got out of it even when I thought that writing was no longer my calling. Of course, I got over that quite quickly by thinking of what I could write, and the pleasure writing gives me.

4. Thinking out of the box

Now, I consider that writing isn't for everybody because when you are writing you must think out of the box and think of all the stories and plots that exist. Sometimes, that is not as easy as every single one of us (especially the writers that are just starting out) has a larger or smaller fear of being judged. Judging nowadays comes from the tiniest pieces of crap, so I came to the conclusion that no matter what I would write about, people are always going to judge it.

5. Visualizing their story

Mentally, I think all writers visualize their stories and turn them into movies. Visualizing your story should be active most of the time even when you are not writing because it can reveal new ideas and possibilities that you haven't seen before.

6. Being designers

Even if you are a self-published author or a traditional published one, all writers desgin their books' covers. If you are like me, a person with no artistic talent like painting, drawing or sketching, then you will have a problem turning your imaginary design created in your mind into a physical drawing or painting. I did that with both of my eBooks and luckily for me I had such a good designer that visualized the cover of my books better than I did. But, although it may seem like the easy part that comes with being a writer, it truly isn't. Your book must have a cover that relates to it and that could attract readers to it too!

7. Being some good damn researchers

Researching is vital for any kind of book, and, thanks to the internet, you have all the sources to come up with a good research project. Researching ends only when you are done with your book because while writing the book whether that would be in the middle or the end, you still need certain information to make your story more credible.

8. Having managerial and marketing skills

Marketing your book and yourself as a writer is also a part of this job, especially when you don't have a team behind your name. I, for one, understand how hard it is to market and manage your books so that people don't forget about them two days after you release them. Luckily, social media platforms are a great way to market, manage and promote yourself as a writer but it does take a lot of time and patience to build a platform.

9. Being a harsh editor and a pretentious reader

Editing is a very hard job to do that gets even harder when you are editing your own writing. Why? Because as a writer you think your writing is impeccable and to edit your books properly, you must be harsh and cruel. If it doesn't seem interesting to you, cut it. If it is too flat, grow it out. If it doesn't make sense, delete it. And I could go on with such examples for the next eight hours. Being a pretentious reader helps you edit your draft more than any other editorial skills. Having high standards for your writing does nothing but improve it.

10. Being vulnerable

All writers must be vulnerable in their writing. Writing is the place where you let it all bleed and not all people are courageous enough to expose themselves in such a way. I, for one, consider that writing is for people with thick skin because it takes a lot of strongness to put your pain out there. Not only that but you have to dig deep into yourself to make your work heartfelt and emotional and, even if not all readers notice it, there is always more behind a beautifully written story. Beautifully written stories start with a hurting soul and end up with a healed one...

With all this being said, what are you waiting for? Grab a pen and something to write on and begin your writing journey today! Remember, write what entertains you and it might also become something that entertains others!

"Start before you are ready" - Steven Pressfield

This is Joane Unknown, thank you for reading this week's Talking Unknown post and get ready for another one next week. More at the link in my bio👇

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joaneunknown · 2 years

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"When the raindrops were going down my body, I could feel my existence going down with them. I could feel myself draining into those rain drops as if I was nothing but water. As if I was no longer human but multitudes of liquid feelings. In my hands, I was holding my own person, which was falling between my fingers, looking at it and not knowing how to stop it. I could see my reflection in those muddy drops of rain, not wanting to let them go. It felt comforting to have my own feelings in front of myself althought they had thorns getting thru my hands' skin. At least, I knew they were real after all. Even if, those feelings shut the light off, leaving myself in the darkness most of the time, I still couldn't let them go.

At the very end, I let them go. I let them go knowing there was no possibility to save myself from falling and going back to being human"

-Written by Joane Unknown

-Artist: Adam Riches

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joaneunknown · 2 years

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Reading, why is it so important for writers?

"Reading is like breathing in, writing is like breathing out." - Pam Allyn

I would like to start by saying that reading is not only important for writers but for any person in this world. Reading is more than sentences laid on nice smelling pages. Reading gives you the freedom to walk thru different worlds. Or, if we are talking about non-fiction, it could easily insert new information into your brain without you even realizing it. In this post, however, I will be focusing on reading fiction and the reasons why reading is so important for writers and their writing.

1. Reading walks you through new worlds

Books are the doors to new worlds and reading is walking inside of those worlds. By walking and switching realities with other fantastic worlds it automatically helps the creative side of your brain (the right side) develop and with its development, the creativity and imagination raises, and new ideas are born. Although not all ideas are transformed into books, they could also be used for shorter projects which is still a great way to exercise your writing.

2. Reading let's you see how you could improve your writing

Personally, I love analyzing other writers' style of writing. You shouldn't try to write like someone else. Instead, I think it is way better to combine the things you like in other writers' writing and incorporate it in yours. Maybe you liked how they set the scene and that could potentially help you set yours using your own dynamic and ideas without even mentioning the vocabulary or the descriptive sequences from which you could inspire from. Maybe you want to make your introduction more interesting, then you should read more and more books, taking a little from each books' introductions and forming your own introduction.

3. Reading helps you find your books' genre

As a writer, I enjoy both writing and reading thriller/suspense and crime. Of course, I don't only read what I write about but if you like reading books in certain categories maybe you will also find a matching writing genre for your book. Now, books shouldn't fit under a label and each book, from my point of view, has a main category and two or three secondary ones. For example, thriller goes hand in hand with suspense and crime. When you are reading thriller, you are surrounded by suspense and thrill. Write the books or stories that you enjoy both writing and reading. Entertain not only the readers but yourself.

4. Reading makes you understand what your readers may like or dislike

You should look at the books you are reading not only from the reader's point of view but also from the writer's point of view. What would you change? What would you add? Do I like the dynamic of the action? Take the things you like from other writers' books and put them in yours, adding it to your own writing, and then learn from what you didn't like from other books. I absolutely hate when dialogues are flat, almost awkward and cringey, and that became my all-time writing fear because I don't want my characters to sound like robots. I need my characters to be as natural and humanly as possible. And, I don't mean to say that your writing should be perfect because no kind of art is perfect in the first place. However, you should learn not only from your mistakes but from others' mistakes because that is what evolving means after all.

5. Reading motivates you to write

Reading an amazing, well-written book could motivate you to start or continue writing your own book or story. Even if it may sound harsh, your idea means nothing if you don't put it on paper, so you better read to motivate and inspire you in order to get that idea out and mold it how you please.

In conclusion, you should go and read something right now. Something you like or something that you may have not had enough time to start reading. Read whenever and wherever you can. Get inspiration, develop new ideas from other books and don't be afraid to get inspired by other writers' writing. Every writer writes differently, and all writers should learn from other writers.

So, what are you waiting for? Like, follow, comment, share and then grab a book!

With all this being said, I am Joane Unknown, thank you for reading my post and get ready for another one next week! This post is part of my #TalkingUnkown series, more like these on my profile.

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joaneunknown · 2 years

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You published your novel, now what?

There you are again, looking at your computer. Everything had been finished. Your book is out there but although you feel proud, there is still something bothering you. The hard part had been succeeded, why am I feeling like this? Well, I have felt that once and I can have gained some experience after releasing two books and I do have to admit that once you have published your writing, you will feel stressed.

So, why do you feel like this?

I have to admit, after I published "Runaway" there was a big hole left inside of my heart because I had been focused on that project for almost a year before putting the plot, the characters and ultimately my thoughts and feelings out there. I felt like I left something on the road that I couldn't get back and that I will never be able to get back. I could compare that feeling to a mother when her child is leaving her house to move in another city or country for university. I feared, I was stressed, and I was sad.

As a writer, I personally get attached to my work even if it isn't perfect. It is something I create and leaving my creation was hard. I felt guilty for not coming back to it to add something more. It was my first novel ever published and I felt like the shittiest author-mother to leave my child out in the world, letting strangers judge it. Your book is your baby, but all babies grow up and as writers we must distance ourselves once we are done setting up the road for them. Still, there is a question remaining in your mind- What will I do next?

But before you decide that, how do you stop the launch of your book affect you?

I think that publishing your writing takes a lot of courage. Last year, when I published "Runaway", I didn't think two minutes before deciding to release my book because that was part of my plan. Now, I thank myself for not changing that decision because of the fear of judgment and negative criticism. We can't change how others react to our writing, but we can change how we react to their judgment. I have got good and bad criticism so far and sometimes even hate.

What did I do? I stopped giving a single shit. Afterall, I am free to publish whatever I want and if you don't like it then just quit reading it. It is sounds hard, but it is easier than worrying about other people's negative/hateful opinions of your book. And, if we are talking about positive criticism, where there are pointed the flaws of your work, then you should take it like a professional writer with some thick skin laying on your skeleton. Take those criticisms and improve your writing without taking it personally (this is also I something I struggled with quite quickly after I started writing short stories)

Another thing to stop the launch of your book affect you must be checking your sales constantly. Once again, I have been there. There are very very few writers who became best-sellers with their first, second or third book. Don't compare yourself to those very very few writers, just be proud of the work you have done because you have written a whole goddamn book! You should be extremely proud of yourself just for that, you don't need to prove to anyone anything. You only need to make yourself proud and if you did so, then congratulations!

What will you do next?

Quite frankly, it is totally up to you but what I totally recommend you to do is to keep on writing. Maybe you have other ideas that could be developed into larger projects like books, or you don't have any ideas but prompts sound interesting to you, then you should go ahead and write short stories underneath prompts. Maybe, you need a break for some time, well, in that situation, you should recharge your batteries before going back to writing. Afterall, you are not making any huge decisions. Write what makes you feel good. What you want to do after you publish your book is up to you, think and make a decision or just go with the flow until you end up attaching to something new.

With all this being said, I am Joane Unknown, thank you for reading my post and get ready for another one next week. This post is part of my #TalkingUnknown series, more like these on my profile.

#writers on tumblr #writing inspiration #writer things #book blog #writing advice #books #writerscorner #writing book #novel #publishing

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joaneunknown · 2 years

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Reading, why is it so important for writers?

"Reading is like breathing in, writing is like breathing out." - Pam Allyn

I would like to start by saying that reading is not only important for writers but for any person in this world. Reading is more than sentences laid on nice smelling pages. Reading gives you the freedom to walk thru different worlds. Or, if we are talking about non-fiction, it could easily insert new information into your brain without you even realizing it. In this post, however, I will be focusing on reading fiction and the reasons why reading is so important for writers and their writing.

1. Reading walks you through new worlds

Books are the doors to new worlds and reading is walking inside of those worlds. By walking and switching realities with other fantastic worlds it automatically helps the creative side of your brain (the right side) develop and with its development, the creativity and imagination raises, and new ideas are born. Although not all ideas are transformed into books, they could also be used for shorter projects which is still a great way to exercise your writing.

2. Reading let's you see how you could improve your writing

Personally, I love analyzing other writers' style of writing. You shouldn't try to write like someone else. Instead, I think it is way better to combine the things you like in other writers' writing and incorporate it in yours. Maybe you liked how they set the scene and that could potentially help you set yours using your own dynamic and ideas without even mentioning the vocabulary or the descriptive sequences from which you could inspire from. Maybe you want to make your introduction more interesting, then you should read more and more books, taking a little from each books' introductions and forming your own introduction.

3. Reading helps you find your books' genre

As a writer, I enjoy both writing and reading thriller/suspense and crime. Of course, I don't only read what I write about but if you like reading books in certain categories maybe you will also find a matching writing genre for your book. Now, books shouldn't fit under a label and each book, from my point of view, has a main category and two or three secondary ones. For example, thriller goes hand in hand with suspense and crime. When you are reading thriller, you are surrounded by suspense and thrill. Write the books or stories that you enjoy both writing and reading. Entertain not only the readers but yourself.

4. Reading makes you understand what your readers may like or dislike

You should look at the books you are reading not only from the reader's point of view but also from the writer's point of view. What would you change? What would you add? Do I like the dynamic of the action? Take the things you like from other writers' books and put them in yours, adding it to your own writing, and then learn from what you didn't like from other books. I absolutely hate when dialogues are flat, almost awkward and cringey, and that became my all-time writing fear because I don't want my characters to sound like robots. I need my characters to be as natural and humanly as possible. And, I don't mean to say that your writing should be perfect because no kind of art is perfect in the first place. However, you should learn not only from your mistakes but from others' mistakes because that is what evolving means after all.

5. Reading motivates you to write

Reading an amazing, well-written book could motivate you to start or continue writing your own book or story. Even if it may sound harsh, your idea means nothing if you don't put it on paper, so you better read to motivate and inspire you in order to get that idea out and mold it how you please.

In conclusion, you should go and read something right now. Something you like or something that you may have not had enough time to start reading. Read whenever and wherever you can. Get inspiration, develop new ideas from other books and don't be afraid to get inspired by other writers' writing. Every writer writes differently, and all writers should learn from other writers.

So, what are you waiting for? Like, follow, comment, share and then grab a book!

With all this being said, I am Joane Unknown, thank you for reading my post and get ready for another one next week! This post is part of my #TalkingUnkown series, more like these on my profile.

#writers on tumblr #writer things #writing inspiration #writing advice #book blog #writerscorner #writing book #books

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joaneunknown · 2 years

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“We who make stories know that we tell lies for a living. But they are good lies that say true things, and we owe it to our readers to build them as best we can. Because somewhere out there is someone who needs that story. Someone who will grow up with a different landscape, who without that story will be a different person. And who with that story may have hope, or wisdom, or kindness, or comfort. And that is why we write.” ― Neil Gaiman, The Graveyard Book.

#Neil Gaiman #writing book #stories #books #writers on tumblr #writing inspiration

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joaneunknown · 2 years

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Tips on how to handle criticism and hate

Welcome back to Talking Unknown, little unknowns 😃👋 This is the seventh post on this series and I wanted to talk to you about criticism and hate regarding your book and your writing journey from my experience handling both. Today's topic can be useful for everybody, not only writers because all of us get criticism and hate once in a while.

One thing we have to clear out is the difference between criticism and hate.

Criticism is the analysis and judgement of the merits and faults of a literary or artistic work. Many people, whether they are writers or not, take criticism as a negative thing but, as the definition said, criticism is the analysis and judgment of both the good things in your book and the not so good things in your book. I consider criticism a hit in your butt that makes you step forward.

Taking and reacting to criticism says a lot about you as a writer but, most importantly, as a person. Now, I am going to show you the comments I got on some short-stories I wrote almost a year ago and the way I accepted the criticism. For those who want to read them, click the link in bio.

" A baby abandoned in an orphanage grows up to be a medico. Someone in the neighborhood tells the medico that her mother lives nearby. They meet and the medico seems content that she has met her mother and they are reconciled. This blog has been categorized as historical fiction. There is no history involved except in the fact that once upon a time a one child policy was introduced and then withdrawn. English is poor. Blog doesn't satisfy the prompt. CRITIQUE CIRCLE."

The story was about the One Child Policy in China and how the mother and the daughter found themselves after the mother abandoned the girl. I have to admit two things. One, the English was poor and it is a thing I am constantly working on because I keep on repeating certain words and I know as a reader how annoying that is. Two, I shouldn't have taken such a topic for my short story. Why? Because the policy was withdrawn years before I got to write the story and I didn't have enough information about this policy to be able to write about it. You have to be very careful when picking topics to write on and, based on that topic to research in detail.

Advice! when you receive this kind of comments analyze your work once again and be true to yourself. All stories have flaws and mistakes and getting criticism is important because it makes you see things you haven't seen before and that by itself makes you a better writer. It is true, it hurts a lot when you work on something and it gets judged and criticized.

However, you have to accept the criticism if and only if they aren't direct hate towards you or your story. When somebody critiques you, they need to have arguments supporting why they think that and if they don't have those necessary arguments to support their opinion then the comment may be a hateful one that you should just ignore.

" Well first off, I would like to address the spacing. If it was written as one big block instead of different paragraphs it can become confusing on where the scene changes. When you said Ms it is a way of saying they don't know what their status is, Mrs is saying they are married and since you said she was Mr. Lopez's wife you should've used Mrs. Expansive? Don't you mean expensive? The money sign should go before the numbers like this $40 dollars. Instead of + you should say and...

One part is says Isabella and another it says Isabelle you want to read through it and look for any mistakes. The story is very interesting, you spent quite a while on how rich and what they were doing on the pageant, some things could've been shortened and explanations not as long. Please if you wouldn't mind checking out my recent story I worked extremely hard on it and would appreciate some feedback as well!"

This was the first criticism comment I have ever gotten and, back then, I was very sensitive when someone judged my work. At the moment, I agree with everything regarding my story and all the things he noticed were absolutely right. I would lie if I wouldn't say that I wanted to delete the comment but I decided to respond and thank this guy politely.

Now that you have seen the comments I got, I want you to reflect on the way you react to criticism. If those comments bother you in a way that you can't sleep at night or you get anxious when you are writing something new, maybe writing is not for you. If you get depressed or severely anxious while writing because of the criticism you may get, I just want you to re-think your journey. If you want to be a writer, you will always have to face both criticism and hate, and if facing them hurts you, making you lose your passion and confidence in yourself/your writing, maybe being a public writer is not your thing.

There are writers who write for themselves, not for the audience, and maybe writing for yourself without publishing your writing is your thing but if you are not out there with your writing then you won't be able to make a career based off writing.

Hate- to show hate toward, criticize, or belittle, usually unfairly. Hate is part of bullying, whether the bullying is face to face or cyberbullying, both of them are based on hate and hating on others. Bullying is more than hate but I felt like mentioning it.

Now, every case is different, maybe yours is not bullying and it is just the others belittling what you are doing. People will always bring people down. If you don't like someone or don't like what they are doing, leave them alone. One thing you will have to accept is that everyone does what the hell they want with their life (as long as they are not hurting others). If you want to write, draw, paint, sing, vlog, do it! Don't listen to the haters, just focus on what you are doing and making it the best you could ever be able to do it. Until this day, I have never gotten hate based on my books or short-stories.

Like any other person who found a passion, I did get some belittling comments about my dream to become a successful writer. Did I ever give a single shit about their jokes, comments, remarks etc.? No. I know what I am going to do and I am passionate enough to be able to pursue that dream of mine and that is what you should do too. People are always going to talk but that doesn't mean you have to listen to everybody speaking their crap about what you are doing.

Remember to listen to the voices that actually matter because those are the voices that will help you improve as a writer.

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joaneunknown · 2 years

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How to add more action to your book

Welcome back to Talking Unknown, little people! 👋😄 How's everybody? Hopefully, everyone's alright during this wonderful weather. Today, I decided that it is time to give you some tips that could potentially add more action to your book.

A story must have action because a story without action is the death of the reader. Also, the action depends on the genre you have chosen and, of course, the structure of your book but it is helpful to have more options when it comes to actions your protagonist or characters can do. Anyhow, let's get into the tips for adding more action to your story.

Read other books- I will say this for the tenth time but reading is your base when it comes to writing your own book. By reading books and by seeing how other writers express themselves and the actions their characters are doing, you could easily insert the moments you liked from another book to your own book. That is not copying, well, as long as you don't rob the main idea of the book, I would call it inspiration. We get inspired from everything, people, places, books, movies, documentaries, events in history, podcasts, and so on. Books open doors to new worlds and places, don't let them pass by undiscovered.

Cause unexpected problems- In my scenarios, the protagonist always ends up with an unexpected problem that may have fallen on their back out of the sky but every problem needs a solution. Now, your protagonist's unexpected problem may start with a text message, a phone call, a letter, a new person or may have been created by what they had done in the past that returned to bite them right in the butt. The problems your protagonist has should have an impact on them and the story and, as I said before, your protagonist should solve those problems to ultimately get to the climax and bring the story to an end.

Bring back the protagonist's past- I know I am cruel but especially if your protagonist has a more complicated past, it is an opportunity for you to add more action and more credibility to your character and, of course, to the story. Some things to bring back the protagonist's past would be: old letters, diaries, notes, childhood toys, weathered pictures of them, the place they have grown up in, definitory moments in their childhood etc.

Create plot-twists- In a moment, you can totally change the story at 360 degrees, leaving both the reader and the other characters in shook. How to do that? Make your protagonist do the thing your readers would expect the least from them. Or drop some mouth-dropping, heart breaking discovery/secret about the protagonist, the other characters or the protagonist's past.

Add more villains in the story- Usually the villains create problems in any stories, so by adding villains to the story and making them have a point in the story, they automatically create waves in the story. However, you can also bring back a character you left behind and making them active in the plot again.

Bring up the spice- Now, you can understand spice how you want, but when I mean spice the story, I mean making the protagonist have certain feelings (hate, love, empathy etc.) for another character, more or less important in the story that ultimately gets more important because is in the interest of the protagonist and who doesn't have the best intentions. From my point of view, the character whom the protagonist has a certain interest into should be portrayed as the kind of person not worth trusting, who changes faces, mostly, the villain of the plot.

Make your protagonist introspect more- Your protagonist carries the book and the more it realizes stuff about them and about the situation, the other characters and so on, it opens a door for them to new solutions and may create new goals to achieve.

Change your point of view- You are the God of the world you have created into your book and you should use that role to the maximum. Enter the other characters' skins, both the good ones and the not so good ones. How are they feeling? What are their plans? How do they feel about the situation? Do they consider changing something or doing something that may not be agreed by everyone? Don't stay only into the protagonist's skin because it limits your opportunities to come up with new actions. You should think of your characters as people who think, who have goals, who have regrets and a past, who are not friends with everyone, who have their own personal beliefs, who have their own shadows and devils to fight and who only want the best for themselves and the best for their loved ones.

These were all the eight most important tips I learned and tested on my own writing, which I still use every single day I am writing something. Your story is carried by all the characters in your story, make each and every one of them be different from one another. Don't only count on your protagonist because your protagonist is not perfect, they don't always make the best decisions for them and for the ones around them and that may give you a leg up sometimes.

This was Joane Unknown for Talking Unknown, can't wait to see you next week for another helpful writing post :)

#writer things #writing advice #writers on tumblr #writing inspiration #writerscorner #book blog #teen writer #authors

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