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Cat’s Writing Tips: Trimming the Fat
Hello, and welcome to another Writing Tip Monday on a Tuesday with Cat! My name is Cat, and I was busy yesterday. For those that are new here, I’ve been writing unprofessionally for 16 years. I’ve learned a thing or two in my time, but feel free to take any of my advice with as many grains of salt as you see fit. Let’s get into it.
If you’re someone who constantly has high word counts and are looking to cut them down to fit into a zine or just in general, then this post is for you! I’m talking to all my over-writers out there. Today I want to talk about how to trim down unnecessary words and phrases from your writing to be more concise and less confusing and redundant. Keep in mind that there are times when you can use these things, but I’m just saying that a majority of the time you shouldn’t. And before anyone gets their feelings hurt, I’m guilty of a lot of these during drafting too because sometimes it’s just easier to use them and get the words onto the page. These are all things to eliminate in editing. If it’s easier for you to use them during your actual drafting process, then by all means. Just be sure to go back and edit them out, and eventually, you’ll reach a point where you can avoid them during drafting all together.
1. Filler Words
“Cat what do you mean by filler words?”
Words like “that,” “very,” “really,” etc. 9/10 you don’t need them, but let’s talk about each one specifically.
That is one that I’m particularly guilty of. Maybe it’s a regional dialect thing, but I use “that” in my regular conversations when I’m speaking a lot. The thing about “that” is it’s usually unnecessary, and sentences can make sense without it. Key word: usually. I’ll give a couple examples to show you the difference between when “that” is appropriate, and when it’s not needed:
Appropriate use of that:
“Hey, can you hand me that?” She pointed to the wrench on the counter.
Here, context will matter, but it’s perfectly fine to replace an object in a scene with the word “that” in this context. Sometimes “that” does have a place, so I’m not saying go out and delete all the “thats” from your stories. Just assess whether or not it’s necessary in each context, like my next example:
Unnecessary use of that:
Something told her that he couldn’t be trusted.
In this context, the sentence can work without the word “that.” It still makes grammatical sense to say, “Something told her he couldn’t be trusted.” The word “that” is just an extra word filling up space in the sentence. Delete it.
“Very” and “really” tend to serve the same function, so I’ll lump them together. These two words offer a scale your readers don’t need. In most cases, it’s best to replace these words with stronger verbs, more specific adjectives, or just delete them all together. I’ll give some examples:
Weak: A very big cake sat on a table, colorful birthday candles waiting to be lit.
Stronger: A large cake sat on the table, colorful birthday candles waiting to be lit.
Weak: She was very tired.
Stronger: She was exhausted.
Weak: This wasn’t really how he planned on proposing.
Stronger: This wasn’t how he planned on proposing.
These words aren’t as descriptive as you might think, and more than anything, they just bog down the sentence. Your writing will pack more of a punch if you replace them with better descriptors and actions.
2. Epithets
“the brown haired girl”
“the blonde”
“the writer”
“the musician”
I see epithets used a lot, and I want to commend epithet users because it comes from a place of good instincts. You use them as an alternate means to describe someone because you worry people will get tired of reading a character’s name over and over, and you are correct. People will get tired of that, but they’re also going to get tired of the overuse of epithets too. Here’s my two cents on the matter:
Epithets are fine if the character doesn’t have a name or if they don’t bear any importance to the story. Let’s say your character buys a coffee in one chapter from a random coffee shop they’ll never visit again. Saying something like, “The barista handed him his coffee,” is fine because the barista is serving one purpose in the story--they’re a barista. They don’t need a name because the readers are never going to see them again.
However, if you’re using epithets for important characters or even the MC, what you’re really doing is creating distance. And in some cases you’re also confusing the reader just as much as if you used their names over and over.
“Hey,” the blonde said.
“How’s it going?” the brunette replied.
“Great! How about you?” Her friend smiled.
Like, you see how that’s just as annoying? I promise you, I would much rather just read the characters’ names in this situation, but how do we fix this in a way that doesn’t involve repeating character names or pronouns, which can also get tricky in scenes where people of the same gender are talking? There are a couple of different ways.
-Break up long conversations with action or description
Very rarely should your characters just be standing around doing nothing except talking. Create movement in the scene, utilize the surroundings, have your characters do something instead of just talking. Even if that’s all your characters are doing in a scene because a conversation needs to be had, you should still break up the conversation every now and then. How does your MC feel about what’s being said? What things might they be leaving unsaid? How does what they’re feeling manifest physically? What is their body doing?
Ex from my own writing:
“Can I make you some tea?” She offered, setting her bag on the stairs.
“Sure.”
Perfect. Tea was a good excuse not to look at him. She kept her back to him while she worked, pretending that she didn’t know where things were to stall for time. His eyes followed her every move. Watching. Waiting. She couldn’t keep this up forever, so she might as well get it over with.
“So, what’s up?” she asked while filling the kettle.
Instead of immediately continuing the conversation, you can pause to give the reader a breather, but it really depends on the situation. If you’re going to break a conversation, be sure it makes sense for the character to pause and reflect. If characters are having a heated debate, inserting a paragraph where the character is reflecting on their feelings might pull the reader out of the tension in the moment. Just be aware of what the tone and intention of the scene is.
-rather than overusing dialogue tags, consider occasionally using an action tag.
“Said” is fine. I’m not advocating for the overuse of action tags or giving every piece of dialogue a hyper-specific tone descriptor. But if you write an entire conversation using only things like “said” “asked” “replied,” you’re going to suffer from White Room Syndrome/Talking Heads Syndrome.
“Cat, how is this different from the previous example?”
The previous example was about interjecting a non-dialogue paragraph and getting inside the character’s head or following their actions. This example refers to how you tag dialogue itself. I’ll give another example from my own writing:
“Wow.” Marinette’s eyebrows raised. Her makeup never looked half this good when she did it herself—a skilled hand made all the difference. She peeked up at Gabrielle applying her own lip gloss and pursed her lips. “So, what kind of party is this?”
“Relax, goody-two-shoes, the most exciting thing at this party is wine. My parents don’t let me go to trashy parties.” Gabrielle rolled her eyes, removing her large trench coat to reveal a sparkly black dress with mesh cutouts along the waist. “Just try not to act too lowbrow, okay? Don’t embarrass me.”
“I’ll do my best?” Marinette said as they pulled up to the front steps.
“Great.” Gabrielle tossed her compact into her purse and kicked open the door. “Oh, and just because we’re arriving together does not mean you are allowed to socialize with me here. Don’t hang off me like a sad little koala. Go dance and have fun with other people.”
“Right. Wouldn’t want anyone to think we’re friends,” Marinette said.
In this case, having action tags instead of dialogue tags helps keep the scene flowing without the repeated use of their names becoming redundant. Keep in mind that there are more ways for characters to interact during a conversation other than just speaking. Body language can tell the reader a lot about how characters might be feeling and what their relationship is to the person they’re speaking to.
But just like the last point, I’m not advocating for you to go and delete every dialogue tag in your writing and replace it with an action tag. Use of action tags still needs to make sense and add something to the conversation. Using action just for the sake of action can be just as redundant and annoying to read. Conversations are a balancing act. Remember: “said” is fine, but using only “said’ is boring. Writing is a balancing act, so assess your scenes carefully.
-create distinct character voices (*a topic I’ll touch on another day in more detail)
I’ve talked about dialogue tags, action tags, breaking up conversations with inner monologues, but what if I told you some lines of dialogue don’t need any tags at all? I’ll give an example from my own writing:
“I know I messed up. I’m sorry.” He lowered his gaze. “I learned my lesson.”
“Good. With your silly little conscience out of the way, we can actually get some real work done,” Chloe said. “I do have a few ideas for you, but…”
“But what?”
Chloe leaned against her fist with a wicked grin. “I need to test your loyalty. If you’re going to lie down with the dogs, you can’t be afraid to get dirty, so I need to know you’re capable of breaking the rules.”
A chill prickled his spine, and Adrien shifted in his seat. “What kind of rules?”
“See? This is why I have trust issues, Adrikins.”
In this example, I have two lines of dialogue that are untagged, but in both cases, it’s still clear who is talking. Given that this is a conversation between two people, and by sheer adherence to the “new speaker, new paragraph” rule, you can rightfully infer that Adrien is the one who says, “But what?” Similarly, you can assume the last line is said by Chloe, but the last line in particular is very specific character voice. Chloe is the only person who calls him “Adrikins,” so even if there was another person in this conversation, you’d still know it was her talking. Giving your characters a specific manner of speaking can help readers infer their dialogue in situations like this. This specific manner of speaking is known as “character voice.” It’s literally what it sounds like--the “voice” that readers will hear in their head for a specific character. If your character has a distinct and strong voice, readers will be able to pick up on their dialogue more easily.
3. Adverbs
I feel like everyone gets heated about this one, and some writers will cling to their precious adverbs until their dying day. Cool, you do you, but I’m here to tell you that adverbs aren’t doing as much as you think they are.
Don’t get me wrong, I like adverbs, and I’m not one that’s going to tell you to go out and delete every single adverb from your story. Adverbs do have their place and can add to a scene, but you need to be conscious of how you’re using them. Let’s talk about some examples of good and bad adverb usage:
Bad adverb: “She ran quickly down the road.”
Running is inherently something people do quickly. By definition, it’s faster than walking.
Good adverb: She smiled sadly.
Smiling is normally something people do when they’re happy. By adding the adverb “sadly” in this instance, it changes the meaning of the smile.
When using adverbs, it’s best to ask yourself what exactly the adverb is adding to the scene, if anything. Is it changing the meaning of something, or is it being redundant? In general, most adverbs can be replaced with stronger verbs to improve a sentence or just deleted all together.
It’s fine to just say: “She ran down the road.” But if you’re trying to convey a bigger sense of urgency in the way she’s running you could say: “She darted down the street.” or “She sprinted down the street.” Both of those are ways to say she’s running faster than normal. You could also get showy with it and say something like:
“The rubber soles of her shoes hit the pavement, ragged breaths weighing her lungs. Her child’s pained cries fell silent in her arms, and she cradled her closer. The hospital was still three blocks away.”
There are a lot of ways to eliminate adverbs from your writing to make it stronger. The world will go on without them. Please, let them go.
There are plenty more things you can do to trim down word counts, but I feel like these are the big three I see a lot. Another option is cutting unnecessary scenes, but that’s a topic for another day. A lot of the time, you can easily cut down words by making these little line edits and improve your writing exponentially. If anyone has any more questions on how to trim these examples specifically, feel free to send me a message or leave a comment on this post. I’m always happy to talk writing! As always, we improve by helping each other, so don’t be afraid to ask. I’ll see you guys next time!
#cats writing advice#writing advice#writing tips#writing help#writing ref#writing reference#writing community#writing
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post/734733274896809984/do-you-ever-worry-your-own-writing-might-come-off that makes sense. i was asking because i'm afraid of accidentally writing misogyny myself and i kind of admire what you do
Hmm... I wish I had better advice to give you on this front, but honestly, the only thing I can tell you is to consider the perspective of your female characters.
Women are people. They have thoughts and feelings of their own, so like... just let them have their own arcs. A lot of the worst misogyny in WC comes from the way that the writers just don't care about their girls (or, in the case of tall shadow, actually get undermined and forced to rewrite entire chapters), so they're not curious about their lives, or WHY they feel the way they do or what they want, or any direction for their character arcs.
Turtle Tail as an example. She'll often just end up feeling whatever Gray Wing's plot demands. She's gotta leave when Storm dumps him to make him feel lonely. She shows up again to love him in the next book. Lets her best friend Bumble get dragged back to Tom the Wifebeater, but is sad enough about her death to be "unreasonably angry" with Clear Sky, and then calms down and accept Gray Wing is right all along.
And then she dies, so he can have his very own fridge wife.
In this way, Turtle Tail's just being used to tell Gray Wing's story. They're not interested in why she would turn on Bumble, or god forbid any lingering negative feelings for how she didn't help her, or even resentment towards Clear Sky for killing her or Gray Wing for jumping to his defense. She isn't really going through her own character arc.
She does have personality traits of her own, don't misunderstand my criticism, but as a character she revolves around Gray Wing.
So, zoom out every now and then, and just ask yourself; "Whose story is being told by what I wrote? Do my female characters have goals, wants, and agency, or are they just supporting men? How do their choices impact the narrative?"
But that's already kinda assuming that you already have characters like Turtle Tail who DO have personalities and potential of their own. Here's some super simple and practical advice that helped me;
Tally the genders in your cast. How many are boys, how many are girls, how many are others?
And take stock of how many of those characters are just in the supporting cast, and compare that to the amount you have in the main cast.
If you have a significant imbalance, ESPECIALLY in the main cast, fire the Woman Beam.
It's a really simple trick to just write a male character, and then change its gender while keeping it the same. I promise women are really not fundamentally different from men lmao. You can consider how your in-universe gender roles affect them later, if you'd like, but when you're just starting to wean yourself off a "boy bias" this trick works like a charm.
Also you're not allowed to change the body type of any girl you Woman Beam because I said so. PLEASE allow your girls to have muscles, or be fat, or be old, or have lots of scars. Do NOT do what a cowardly Triple A studio does, where the women all have the same cute or sexy face and curvy body while they're standing next to dwarves, robots, and a gorilla.
Or this shit,
If you do this I will GET you. If you're ever possessed by the dark urge, you will see my face appear in the clouds like Mufasa himself to guide you away from the path of evil.
Anyway, you get better at just making characters girls to begin with as time goes on and you practice it. It's really not as big of a deal as your brain might think it is.
Take a legitimate interest in female characters and try not to disproportionately hit them with parental/romance plots as opposed to the male cast, and you'll be fine. Don't think of them as "SPECIAL WOMEN CHARACTERS" just make a character and then let her be a girl, occasionally checking your tally and doing some critical thinking about their use in the story.
(Also remember I'm not a professional or anything, I'm just trying to give advice)
#I wish I had more succinct and practical advice to give you besides the woman beam trick#Honestly I just kinda feel it out because I like telling stories about girls#I made it fun for myself by clapping and cheering and whooping and hollering whenever a girl does something#because it's not fun to write like a monk in a monastery#With the spectre of Brother Smockbimble looming over your shoulder telling you to Write Perfectly Every Time#Characters aren't real people. You can just fix it if you happen to fuck up or do better next time with what you learned.#Making mistakes is just part of acquiring skill#and writing is an art just like painting or drawing.#So don't make a fun OC project into homework! You should be enjoying making your own art! Express yourself!#Please understand that when I'm ripping into the series I'm being so harsh because it's bestselling corporate media#Read by HUNDREDS of thousands of kids worldwide#Raking in millions of dollars a year. Written by a TEAM of professionals.#So I have higher expectations of it than of a fandom rando on the internet. Or even a self-published author who's just One Guy.#Hence why I'm infinitely more charitable to Ratha than I am to Battle Cats#bones gives advice
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This is THE video for anyone looking for a comprehensive and thorough way to outline your book! Kat goes chapter by chapter with the beats you need to hit, and also gives an example from her own story, which really helps you understand! If you watch only one video from this blog, it should be this one! Reposting this because it's SO GOOD
#katytastic#outline#writing outline#on writing#writing advice#writing tools#writing#writing tips#writing help#youtube#rightwriter#haunted tattoo#save the cat#writer#writerslife#writerscommunity#writers on tumblr#novel#novel writing#Youtube#nanowrimo#nanowrimo 2023#preptober
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Could you share your thoughts about beats in writing, please?
OKAY HERE WE GOOOOO this is going to be long but honestly it could have been so much longer so oops!
tl;dr: Beats are when things in the story happen.
So in a mystery novel, for example, when does the crime occur? when do they think they've solved it, but they're wrong? when do they realize they were wrong? when is their life in danger? when do they know who did it? when does the reader know who did it? when is the b-plot introduced and when it is resolved?
These typically happen in a similar place in each mystery novel, because of course it wouldn't make sense if it went: (1) you think you know who did it, and then (2) the crime is committed. Right? or if the very first person they suspected did it and they catch them immediately! that's never what happens because then what's the other 200 pages of the book?
so there is relative order, and you know it even as a passive reader, so then the question is how spaced out are those things throughout the fic or manuscript?
in a romance, it's the same. typically we see:
meet cute/first meeting/first canon meeting (the pilot)
e.g. alex meets maggie at the airport and they fight over jurisdiction, or jane and maura work a case together as usual but it's the first one where jane is scared, aka a new start to their existing relationship
why aren't they together off the bat? (aka why is this a romance novel and not a romance sentence?)
e.g. alex thinks she's straight and they're good friends, or maura dates elon musk types and jane is, you know, not that
complication
e.g. alex comes out and then asks maggie to be her gf but maggie says no because alex is fresh off the boat, or maura starts dating jane's dumbass brother
false high (if there is a third act breakup, this is the happy time before that)
e.g. alex and maggie get together and are very happy kissing the girls they want to kiss, or maura dumps tommy because her life with jane is more important to her
low point (this is often the 3rd act breakup, but doesn't have to be)
e.g. alex freaks out when family conflicts with romance and dumps maggie, or jane kills maura's dad
KISS KISS KISS (aka the happily ever after)
e.g. alex apologizes and sanvers stays together forever because the show was cancelled, or jane performs surgery on maura in the woods and then they kiss forever because the show was cancelled
SO, all of those things have to happen, and beats are when. you can of course put your plot points whenever you want them. it's your life and your art and your hobby!! have fun! but if you want to learn "craft" or whatever, or get traditionally published, you need to know when the conventional beats for your genre are, so that you can show you know what you're doing.
You've noticed beats even if you haven't thought about them. Sometimes a fanfic feels like it's going on too long or ending too abruptly, which is because they didn't place their beats carefully. Maybe it's taking forever to get past the set-up, and then the ending feels rushed. Maybe they got to the end of the plot but kept writing little one-shots or vignettes that don't have any tension in them. Almost all pacing problems can be solved by beats!
There are two main beat sheets I use for writing romcoms, Save the Cat and Romancing the Beat. There are book and workshops for both. My spreadsheet I use for every book uses Save the Cat beats, which was originally developed for screenplays. Here's a screenshot of that from the spreadsheet i use religiously:
I try to focus on
inciting incident at 0 or 10% (catalyst)
fun and games 25-50%
mid point high right around 50%
Things get bad from 50-75 until dark night of the soul from 75-80%
Redemption 80-90%, climax around 90%, final snippet less than 1,000 after end of climax
I do the math on my word count and ideal final word count to reverse outline where i am. in my book that's going to be published, i was really struggling with how to fill the 50-75% chunk; it was perfectly paced up until the shattering of the false high at 50%, and I knew what would happen after the dark night of the soul at 75%, but my project was to figure out how i could keep the plot driving forward and interesting while the MC's mood and situation tanked for a full 25% of the book. It turns out in the most recent draft, that stuff is 52-86%, and is stuff i really love. i was able to work in other plot points earlier that had time to breathe and got the space they needed in that portion, as well as find the balance between 20k of boring moping and maintaining tension while the romance was tanked.
it's very very hard to use beats in a fic you're posting as you're writing it (which is most of the fics i post), but even having it in the back of my mind helps. For the Ultimatum fic i'm writing and posting now, i knew before i started posting what the midpoint false high would be, plus the dark night of the soul, plus the endgame. it's important to make sure any b-plots, or in the case other couples, get their shit resolved around the same times as Kacy does, so that we don't need too much wrap up/exposition after the kacy climax.
what other questions or thoughts do you have about beats and plot pacing? send them to me!
#ask zipps#writing advice#writing fiction#writing fanfiction#writing original fiction#writing beats#save the cat#romancing the beat
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Using Tarot To Help You Write
Right ok, so I’ve wanted to do this for a bit - there are vague references to tarot in my story TRT and I’ve answered a few questions about how I use the RWS-style tarot to write but now I have a little bit of time while I wait for my laundry to dry. So let’s get into it.
If you’re looking for another tool in your writer’s kit, you could strongly consider adding a box of tarot cards to the bag. Set aside, for a minute, what you’ve heard about it. Set aside any spiritual aspect, telling the future, the ‘OoOOOooOOh evil’, or even the ‘DRAW DEATH MEANS DEATH’ you see in movies. Instead, strip it down to its base.
Tarot is about telling a story.
(Below: Oak, Ash, & Thorn Tarot)
From a storytelling perspective, the first 18 cards of the RWS style tarot, known as the Major Arcana, essentially tell the Hero’s Journey as the Hero sets out on an adventure and searches for knowledge. There’s disaster, love, temptation, and wise people they meet along the way before eventually finding enlightenment at the end of their journey. The Major Arcana contains major archetypes and themes present through so many stories. When you add in the rest of the cards in the Minor Arcana - the other 56 cards, encompassing a variety of emotions, archetypes, figures, and various life events you might run into - you’ve got something perfect when you want to introduce new elements to your story. I keep a small deck on my desk and use it frequently when creating random OCs, plotlines, or problems for characters to solve.
And before you go, holy shit Pasta that’s a lot to take in, using tarot for your story doesn’t have to be complicated. You don’t need to have 20 years of tarot experiences, you don’t need to be an expert, you don’t need A Great Gift. You don’t have to know about tarot at all, really. You just need one thing:
The right storytelling deck.
More below the cut.
Look, there are a million styles out there, some that focus heavily on storytelling imagery and some that focus more on symbols; some that feature animals or nature, and some that focus on people. I generally lean towards animal-based decks since I’m more familiar with animal/nature imagery, body language, and symbolism, but in reality the best deck to use for writing is simply the one you’ll actually use. If you’re drawn to one, go for it. That being said, if you’re looking for something to use without needing to get into all the symbolism of each card, I generally recommend using a deck in which all cards, including the Minor Arcana, depict a scene you can examine - aka, one that plays up a story rather than a straight up symbol. Let me show you an example with three decks.
Left: Mystical Cats tarot; Middle: Oriens tarot; Right: Children of Litha tarot
These all depict the same card: the Seven of Swords, meant to depict deceit, theft, betrayal, lies, and trickery. The middle card relies a little more heavily on symbolic meaning (the black widow spider, which ‘betrays’ when mating and uses a sticky web - symbolizing a potential trap), whereas the other two cards show an active scene (Card 1: OH NO HE’S GONNA STEAL YER MOUSE WHILE YOU’RE NOT LOOKING; Card 3: YOU LOVESTRUCK DIPSHITS, TURN AROUND, THE SNAKE’S EATING YOUR EGGS). I’ve found cards like Card 1 and Card 3 are faster and more convenient for storytelling, because you’re basically presented with a scenario/characters/a situation right off the bat, whereas a symbolic card is more open-ended and might require some digging unless you’re already fairly familiar with the symbolism. If you’re going to get a deck that depicts people instead, I recommend looking for a deck that’s diverse. Humans come in all shapes, sizes, and colors, and having a deck that reflects that (something like the Modern Witch tarot) is valuable for storytelling. So if you’re picking a deck to help you write, look for:
Decks that use scenes/storytelling imagery for all cards
Decks with imagery/body language you can easily read at a glance
If you’re looking for a deck with people - decks with a diverse range of body types, ethnicities, sexualities, and genders
A deck with imagery you actually like, otherwise you won’t want to use it
‘Ok, so let’s say I’ve found a deck, or I already have one. What does using tarot for fic even look like?’
Let’s do two quick readings for two writing scenarios you might use this for! This will also show you can be as complex or as simple as you need to be. These are also the two scenarios I use tarot for most when writing - character construction, and plotline construction. First I’ll use the Children of Litha tarot, which uses a moderate amount of storytelling imagery. Then I’ll use the Mystical Cats tarot, which is probably the most story-heavy deck I have, imagery-wise. That way, you can see how construction gets a bit easier depending on how scene-heavy a deck is.
Scenario: I need an original character for this chapter or scene! Quick, draw three cards!
Quick reading: she’s very gentle but there are also two tigers inside her and one of them wants to kill you, especially if you fuck with her pet birds
More complex reading - Personality, Flaw, Backstory:
Card 1 - Personality: This character is someone who’s unafraid and bold in their kindness even when faced with danger, and they know when a gentle touch is needed. They believe strength is found not in being cruel or violent but in responding with love. This usually works out for them, to the point that even Scary People (TM) seek this character out, knowing they’ll find love and affection. Alternatively, this character is one half of the Brooding Rough One Loves The Gentle Soft One trope. Whatever works for you!
Card 2 - Flaw: Despite all that, the gentle character’s got a temper, and it exists in direct conflict to what they believe about strength, thus producing cognitive dissonance. This is someone who’ll dodge conflict to avoid showing their temper, but eventually that repression’s going to blow up into a real fight and it’ll be messy.
Card 3 - backstory: This temper and conflict avoidance is due to some tragic incident in their past that left them deeply wounded. It’s one reason they’re so gentle, but there’s a lot of lingering anger and trauma. These wounds are not healed, and if you look deep enough, you’re going to find blood.
Depending on how important this character is, you could add even more: a card for a strength, a card for a challenge they need to overcome to grow as a person, their family dynamic, etc. Again, you can make it as detailed or as simple as you need.
PASTA NOW I NEED A LITTLE PLOTLINE FOR CHARACTERS TO SOLVE. Quick, draw four!
Quick reading: holy SHIT your characters gotta move fast, cause there’s a pissed off dude out there who wants revenge NOW and is ready to fuck up a *shuffles cards and draws* religious temple of peaceful cat loving monks, one of whom is the one that fucked up Angry Dude in the first place WHEN HE WAS A BABY WITH HIS MAMA, PLOT TWIST OH NO, IT’S PROBABLY THAT ASSHOLE STEVE IN THE BACK OF THE THIRD CARD, LOOK AT HIM LOOKING OFF INTO THE DISTANCE.
More complex reading - Theme, Problem, Setting, Solution:
Card 1 - Theme: As you can tell from our cat with zoomies, your protagonists are on a clock. The theme here is urgency, it’s speed. Things will start off with a bang and they won’t have much time to slow down. This’d be good for a one shot or a chapter.
Card 2 - Problem: look at that cat, they’re so ANGRY, they are PISSED, someone did them dirty and they’ve been stewing over it for a while. They can’t stop feeling that betrayal no matter how much they try to lick it off shake it off forget about it. They want REVENGE for what was done to them and they’re gonna cut someone up.
Card 3 - Setting: Ah, a peaceful, sunny place where everyone’s just chilling. Everyone’s happy. Maybe a religious place, say, a church or a convent or hell, a nudist retreat. Either way, no one knows what’s coming. Except (and this is why scene cards are so fun)... for STEVE there in the back. Look at him. Everyone’s relaxing in the sun but he’s staring out into the distance. He knows. And just like that, Steve’s the In Hiding person who betrayed our Problem - Steve the Asshole isn’t a part of the Sun card’s meaning, but a storytelling scene card lets you stretch like this and have fun.
Card 4 - solution: Clearly the only person who can stop Bad Person... is their MAMA (or potentially his siblings). Maybe a character goes to find the Problem’s mother and brings her to the church to talk the Problem into giving up. Maybe the protagonists desperately tell the Problem that your family wouldn’t have wanted this, even if that family was hurt - the Empress is generally very nurturing and loving, so that’s a fair bet. Either way, the solution to the Problem is their family.
Once you get the hang of this, you’ll start to find other ways you can use it. I’ve used it for creating quick or more complex or more randomized characters, for creating plotlines and character arcs, for a few of Jane’s cases in TRT. You can use it for backstories, for settings, for problems and solutions, for deeper themes to explore with your characters. Hell, if you want some practice, you could literally go through the Major Arcana and write one-shots dealing with each card’s theme. Ultimately the possibilities are endless, whether you want to construct a detailed plotline or if you just have a new character you want to randomize or flesh out a bit.
In short: go get yourself a deck and have some fun!
#tarot#writing#writing advice#fanfic advice#fanfic#fic advice#writing tips#fic tips#tarot for writing#basically look for a deck that tells a good story and then you won't have to to know anything about tarot for it to work#you can just go 'oh cat has zoomies in this card so this character is a hyperactive wild child always on the move and is amusing'#you can make it as deep or as hilarious or as shallow as you want#decks used here: oriens tarot - children of litha tarot - mystical cats tarot - oak ash and thorn tarot#honestly the mystical cats tarot is prime storytelling material
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I’m like actually so tired of the trope where it’s like the Cat and the Dog are the Moon and the Sun respectively, like I’ve met dogs who are the Moon and cats that are just the Sun they need. Give me my New Moon Great Dane and my Solar Flare Torbie. Stop being cowards.
#writing#tropes#writing prompt#writing inspiration#writing advice#writing ideas#creative writing#writer#on writing#writing community#sun x moon#black cat x golden retriever#character dynamics#ship dynamics
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how does your creative process work? i always struggle to have ideas and create worlds that still have cats but are unique with unique roles. any advice?
Ok so the biggest piece of advice I can give is don't get caught up worrying about if your story/world is unique enough! Everyone gets inspiration from somewhere, especially in fandom spaces! Plus with so many of us making silly little cat worlds, our ideas are bound to overlap!
Tbh I think some of the best ways to make your world come across as unique is to take inspo from lots of different sources and just mix them together in your own fun ways! Just think about different things that you like the world building for and make a world building soup out of them!
For the Kinship world I took a lot of inspo from The Guardians of Ga'hoole, I love the owl society in those books, I liked the idea of multiple roles that one could train to become a part of, I liked the more advanced tools, materials and weapons, I liked that the world took place in a post human extinction that is just never explained. I took all of these things and made them my own for the Kinships! I mixed together ideas from Warriors with TGoG and then customized it to fit the vibes and setting/environment of the Kinships!
Also speaking of environment, the setting of your story can really help make your world your own. Coming up with a cool place or just a place that you like a lot can really help in giving you ideas for your world and story! I love Yosemite National Park and California's Pacific Northwest in general so I decided to set the Kinships in a territory that is very similar to that area! Deciding this really helped me come up with more ideas, how would this society interact with the environment? How would they need to adapt to the seasons and world around them? What sorts of things would they eat? Ehat plants could they use for healing? What objects from their territory would they use as names? Idk.. it just really helps get the creativity flowing!
#cryptid answers#cryptid's the hawthorns#warrior cats ocs#warrior cats#warriors#warriors ocs#xenofiction#world building#writing advice#world building advice
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I am trying to write a story where a dog is a prominent part of the main character’s life (a guide dog). I am struggling to write the relationship between the character and his dog, as well as how to write about a dog in general. Do you have any suggestions?
Phew, okay, you've asked a very cat person about dogs, so there's not much I can offer you, but I'll give it a shot.
Breed matters. Different dog breeds were bred for specific jobs, and no matter how little their current lives have to do with that job, the traits remain. Herding breeds will try to herd everything from cats to small children. Small hunting dogs were bred to dig prey out from holes and will continue to dig when they can. Small, yappy dogs were often guard dogs, which is why every little thing will set them off. Even mixed dogs will retain such behaviors, so your first step is to figure out what kind of dog you want. Guide dogs are often labradors, retrievers, and german shepherds, but those aren't your only options, and you can always mix things up by going for an unconventional breed.
Personality matters. Dogs may display traits based on their breed, and you'll find a lot of generalizing about how each breed behaves, but most pet owners will tell you dogs have their own unique personalities. Your dog character is going to have their own quirks, from favorite food to toys to how they play, react to new people, and signal that they want something. Think about how the dog not only interacts with the main character, but also their environment and the people around them.
Training matters. Guide dogs go through very specific and careful training depending on what job they're being tasked with. Not all dogs, no matter the breed, are suited to be guide dogs, and the training process is structured to ensure if they're entrusting the dog with a person's safety, they can do the job. Researching what kind of training your dog would go through and what reward system they rely on will be important.
How your character interacts with the dog is also something worth exploring. If you don't have any experiences with owning a dog yourself, reach out to people who do. See if you can volunteer at a shelter and pick the brains of the people there. You can find a dog park to do some dog-watching (like bird-watching!), or you can see if you can tag along with a friend when they take their dog for a walk.
The best way to figure out how dog/human relationships work is to spend some time around dogs and their humans. If your opportunities are limited, you can also reach out to collect stories from people. How would they describe their dog? What kind of interactions do they have? What weird things do they do?
When you have a decent amount of material, give yourself permission to write the story even if you don't think you'll get it right. You can always seek feedback and fix things in the future.
#characters#dogs#writing advice#like man i guess i own the world's most princess baby cat#you have to talk to dog people
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Bengal Cats vs. Tabby Cats
I keep seeing people describe cats that are stripy as Bengal cats. I can see their logic: Bengal tigers are stripy, there is a breed of house cats called Bengal cats, and the cat they're trying to describe is stripy like a little tiger. Basically cat is stripy > tiger stripy > tiger bengal > cat bengal is the thought process.
However, Bengal refers to a region of Asia, not a pattern. Bengal cats look more like little jaguars with spots than they do tigers, even though they have the tabby M. Bengal cats are a breed.
Tabby is the word these people are looking for. Tabby isn't a breed; it's a coat pattern. Tabby cats have a cute little M shape on their foreheads and stripes on its face, back, and tail. Tabby cats look like little baby tigers.
#creative writing#writing advice#writing animals#cats#writing tips#bengal cats CAN be tabby sometimes but that is NOT what people mean smh
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where do you get your writing inspiration?
I’m just going to ramble and I hope I answer your question at some point, oh mysterious anon.
Being in fandom has helped a lot. Reading other people’s fics is useful for characterization. Just having more content to pull from or seeing characters in new situations. Posts on here also give me ideas. Like someone wondered what Holloway was up to during the apotheosis and now I have a whole fic outlined for that. Seeing other people be excited about the same things or starting conversations with people just keeps those ideas in my mind. Also, fanfiction authors posting their work helped me with my confidence. It took me months to work up the courage to post my first fic, but I was so inspired by what everyone else was writing I wanted to join in.
I also think if scenarios in my head before I go to sleep. This is the time to throw all the terrible ideas at the wall and see what sticks. Things blatantly out if characters, everyone dies for no reason, plots that make no sense. Then I see what had potential and work from there. I have lost sleep doing this though, so be warned. Sometimes I need to make myself stop on a school night.
Writing to write. This is advice I got from my dad which is basically: writing will get more ideas flowing than trying to plan every minute detail. Just starting a story and seeing where it goes is so much more productive than a beat by beat outline. Outlines and plans are very helpful, but I often get lost in them and then never write anything. Putting pen to paper and spewing out words, even if they will need some heavy editing later, gives me something concrete to work from, rather than a nebulous idea in my mind.
I use writing prompts if I have no ideas. This list has a lot. They are more for practice than anything I actually post. Usually they help me out if a slump. I also scribble down any random ideas I gave at the top of my work in progress doc (It’s titled Misc Fics), so whenever I open it up I have something to ponder.
Talking to people also helps. I usually do this with my parents. Side note: my mom keeps thinking Duke’s name is Dean because of Holloweane. Having someone else to bounce ideas off of is so helpful. As much time as I spend thinking about my favorite characters, an outside voice brings so many new ideas I never would have come up with on my own.
I hope this was helpful on some way.
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My writing buddy
#writing#creative writing#writing exercise#writing advice#writerscorner#romance#romance writing#romance writers#writing buddies#cats of tumblr#cat#cute cats#writing blog#writing community#writing routine#writerscommunity#writer stuff#writer#scottish fold
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Cat’s Writing Tips: Keeping Tenses
Hello! Welcome back to another Writing Tip Monday with Cat! My name is Cat, and I’ve been writing for 16 years. I’m not a professional, but I have learned a thing or two in my time, so take any advice I give with as many grains of salt as you see fit. Let’s get into it.
Let’s talk tenses. You have past tense, present tense, and future tense. Typically in writing, people use past or present tense, depending on their preference. Future tense isn’t typically used in an overall sense, so we’re going to focus on past and present tense today. So, what does that look like?
Past tense:
She walked down the street.
Present tense:
She walks down the street.
Which one you use is entirely up to preference, one isn’t more “correct” to set your story in than the other (in general). The issue comes when people mix the two because it can be jarring and confusing for the reader. Here’s an example:
She walked down the street to the coffee shop on the corner, joining the line of other patrons. While waiting, she pulls out her phone and checks her email.
Now, this is kind of an obvious example, but I have seen people do this. While it doesn’t necessarily matter which tense you pick, you do need to only pick one. Then stick to it. Whether you’re writing in past or present tense, you need to write the entire story in whichever tense you picked. Keep an eye on your verbs and make sure you are being consistent with your use of tense.
Sometimes tense slips are trickier than the one I listed above. If you’re worried about slipping tenses, read back through your works carefully and consider which tense each sentence is in. Ask a beta to read over it for you. Tense slips are an easy enough fix if you know how to spot them, and once you learn how to correct them, it becomes easier to spot them during the drafting process and eliminate them from the beginning.
If you have any more questions about tenses, or if you have another writing topic you want to see me cover, let me know in an ask or in a comment on this post. I’m happy to talk writing any day of the week, not just Mondays. See you all next week!
#writing#writing tips#writing advice#writing help#writing community#writing ref#writing reference#cats writing advice
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Hi I just wanted to ask if you have any tips on like organizing writing because currently I just make shit up as I go along and then that gets me burnt out rq
Cos I have like 3 Top Cat fanfics I wanna work on but then I get stuck almost immediately 😭
-The most important thing when you begin writing a story is to decide on the beginning, AND the end. The middle can always be handled as long as you have the destination in mind.
-A good story begins with a question/mystery, and must end with an answer to that question. [Eg. Spook left the gang and is roped up with another one. Will T.C. be able to get him back?]
-Show, don't tell: don't be a bodiless narrator of the story and don't try hitting readers on the head (DO YOU SEE THAT THING? DID YOU SEE WHAT JUST HAPPENED READER LOOOOOL). Just let events happen. Let characters breathe and talk. Let the readers come to their own conclusions as to what's really going on as if they're invisible spectators there in the middle of the action.
-Pay attention to how characters speak realistically: this is super important to make a character feel like a real person, not a parody. Be attentive to how people talk in general, both in real life and in good quality media. Realistic speech patterns, tics, accents, dialects, etc is very important.
-Although it's tempting, not every single character in your story needs to have their own full-blown arc. I mean, take Harry Potter for example. Amazing world building and characters, but not everyone is super important or central to the plot.
-Stories that reflect the human condition in their worldbuilding are more interesting to read. In CGaL, for example, one of the themes you'll find in the story is classism and power/wealth imbalance, if subtle.
-I'm forgetful and probably have some form of ADHD, so sometimes during the most random times of day an idea comes to my head and I immediately wanna put it into the story before I forget. That's what your Notes app on your phone is for. Write snippets, conversations, ideas, etc. as notes. They don't have to be pretty, you're just keeping them so you don't forget. Then copy them later to your story doc so you can eventually use them. For example, I have snippets written for what'll eventually be the last chapter of the story since like 2013. They're just sitting pretty for later.
-Pacing is very important. Your story - especially if multi-chaptered - shouldn't move too slowly, nor too fast. That's off-putting. Learning how to pace your story comes with practice, and with watching/reading other high-quality stories.
-Don't hesitate to delete entire pages if you think they're bringing down the story's quality. Don't fall for the Sunken Cost Fallacy. Sometimes you'll write a lot and then eventually decide it's just not working. Delete it and move on. What's important is the quality of the final version, not how many pages you wrote.
(Good timing btw! I just finished these new CGaL Pfp icons. Let me know if you wanna use any of them.)
#top cat#don gato#hanna barbera#classic cartoons#cgal#jellystone#fandom#fanfic#writing#writers on tumblr#writing advice#I tried to keep it short so I don't keep going on and on like a lecture XXD#Choo Choo#Benny the ball#the brain top cat#spook top cat#fancy fancy#officer dibble
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Chivetiger joined the clan long ago under the lead of Pinestar, but his life as a loner isn’t even a distant memory now. Though he spends much of his time alone, thinking up dialogues and stories in his head that fill his chest with pounding excitement, he is often the cat others in the clan turn to with their problems, as he always seems to have a hypothetical on how to handle everything. He’s happy to spit out his opinion on the matter, and then be left alone, no other conversation necessary. He can often be found in a shady corner, off to himself, sorting his collection of shiny rocks and mumbling softly to himself in little voices.
#If it wasn’t obvious#this man is AUTISTIC#All my characters are a little autistic because I’m autistic. So they all get autism infused#But I looked at this guys in game traits and said oh so this guy has autism then. This is INTENTIONAL autism writing#He collects rocks. Geology is his special interest. The ‘whispering to himself’ is him writing ‘dialogue’ for stories aloud#And talking in character. Ie. what I do every night to fall asleep. The scenarios(tm)#He’s so good at coming up with stories and scenarios and thinking about how things are solved. That when people ask him#He’s like oh yeah i figured that out for this story i came up with one time. Here’s your answer#And they’re like woah you’re so smart… advice prodigy…#And he IS. But not by intuition. By many years of accrued knowledge#His gender description is also directly inspired by my relationship with gender#I am me. I like some girl stuff and some boy stuff. None of the words bother me#But in my community where I actually live. I’m just what I was born as. Because its easier and I don’t feel strongly one way or another#Because I’m me! And that’s. What Chivetiger is too#‘Probably agender but I have a job so let’s not worry about that’. Or something. Let’s call it that#Tom until otherwise stated#righteous pines#clangen#clangen oc#warrior cats#warrior cats oc
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Society if WaCa fandom kept it's ship hate our of the ship tags
#listen u r allowed to dislike ships#but others are allowed to like them also#and seeing only ship hate when u go looking for something is#not the point of fandom.#warrior cats#crowleaf#bristelroot#firesand#ofc some of u r rightfully criticizing the writing too#and thats fair#but at least tag THAT with “ship criticism” or “ship hate” or sth of the like#so others can filter it out#thats what tumblr is all about#u dont allow people to curate their own internet experience#that goes against everythjng us old people (..im 21) have been advicating for :(
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hi! sending this on anon bc this is a sideblog, lol. but! i’ve been very inspired by your drawings, your world building, and everything else that you’ve been doing with ofnd. i’ve just started my own warriors rewrite, and i’m really inspired by what you’re doing!
anyways, i wanted to ask if you have any tips? like for world building, character designs, names, etc. i’m new to warriors as well as rewrites, so it would really help me out! no pressure, ofc. but thank you again!
— @rust-wc
🥺🥺🥺 I’LL CRY, HELLO?? AAHHH
Well first and foremost: welcome not only to OFND, but to the rewriters community as a whole!!
As much as I’d love to offer as much advice as I can, I do want to preface that every individual’s work will be different, even when offered the same materials. Admittedly I’m a bit cluttered when it comes to my resources and “tips”, but I will absolutely do my best!!
For OFND specifically, I suppose my “main pillars” when it comes to considering every detail of the story (to the characters, to the world building, to the cultures and setups of various groups, to the lore and science behind everything) is: environment, intelligence, and the impending change.
Environment: This is the setting, not only of your story but of your world as a whole. It’s easiest to start at the very beginning when it comes to making something new, so I try to split the ‘building blocks’ into questions that are easily digestible and fun to answer! So: What is the immediate setting of your story? What is the landscape like? Who (or what) can be found here?
Intelligence: A bit more of a steeper hill to tackle. What does intelligence look like within your story; how is consciousness handled, considered, and split? Do they behave similarly to something found in our world? What are their cultures? Their beliefs, either via superstitions, personal, or religious? This question can also be broken down into something far more specific when it comes to characters; it’s usually my very basic building block when it comes to them.
The Impending Change: In other words, the main conflict. The turning of the tides. What are the small conflicts found within the setting of the story? What are the big conflicts? Are they devastating, a promise of destruction, or are they smaller, more personal?
Though of course, those’re just my basic rules! They obviously leave a lot to be desired, but where I struggle to fill in the gaps, I use public resources! The following are a few personal favorites:
Mass World Building Mind Map
Elements of a Binge-Able Story
How to Write a Believable World
A Step-by-Step Guide to Immersive World Building
Some Quick Character Tips
How to Develop your Characters
10 Rules for Writing a Good Novel
I hope these help!! And best of luck to you! <3
#old faces new dawn#ask#rust-wc#world building#writing#writing help#warrior cats rewrite#warriors rewrite#fan clan#writing tips#writing tips and tricks#writing advice#creative writing#fantasy writing
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