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graceshouldwrite · 10 months

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The Most Powerful Hack to Make Your Readers Cry

You’ve seen it all: show, don’t tell, plant a visceral image in the reader’s brain of the environment/character, write a complex character arc with lots of growth and setbacks, establish deep relationships, high stakes, etc.

All the advice for making readers cry I’ve seen so far is basically that list. But, while those things are absolutely important, I find that the thing that always does the trick, whether as a tipping point or in and of itself, is this:

THE CALLBACK!

Before we move on, this is an ANALYSIS heavy post, so all the book + show examples contain spoilers!!

So, what do I mean by a “callback?” Think of Chekhov’s gun, but, here, you use the gun to pierce your reader’s heart. As a refresher for anyone who needs it, Chekhov’s gun is just a rule in writing that anything you introduce in the book should play some role in the plot.

Specifically, the name comes from the example that if a reader introduces a gun in the first act, it MUST go off later, (maybe, say, in the third act). For example, in the TV show Breaking Bad, the protagonist Walter White prepares a vial of poison (ricin) that he wanted to use to eliminate an opponent early on in the series. After the assassination attempt falls through, the ricin makes an appearance again in the very last episode of the show, when Walt finally uses it to kill another opponent.

Got that? Alright, onto the examples of successful, tearjerking callbacks:

1. The Last Olympian (Rick Riordan); “Family, Luke, you promised.”

Context: The character Annabeth says this line. Years ago, Annabeth had run away from home, and Luke had effectively adopted her into a found family with another kid named Thalia. Common reason for leaving home = parental trauma! Yay! He promised Annabeth that they would be each other’s “family” from now on.

Now: Kronos, the antagonist titan, has possessed the demigod Luke and uses his body to strike Annabeth, injuring her. She’s also holding a dagger that Luke had given her when she joined his “family.”

Significance: her words + the dagger are a mental + physical reminder to Luke of his promise. They force him to recognize the sheer degree of his current betrayal by bringing him back to a different time. The fact that their found family only happened because of parental trauma bringing them together makes it worse—Luke felt abandoned by his Olympian father, Hermes. Now, he realizes that he basically did the equivalent to Annabeth by joining the titans.

2. Les Miserables (Victor Hugo); Jean Valjean’s death

Context: At the beginning of the book, the bishop had caught Valjean trying to steal candlesticks to sell. Instead of handing him over to the police, the bishop told the police that he had given them to Valjean, saving him from arrest and showing him mercy. This changed his life forever, kickstarting his character redemption arc.

Now: Jean Valjean dies surrounded by his loved ones, remembered as a benevolent man who bettered thousands of lives. He’s surrounded by light from candlesticks that once belonged to a bishop.

Context: Valjean had once taken in an impoverished woman named Fantine, showing her mercy and promising to take care of her daughter, Cosette, after Fantine died. Valjean then rescued Cosette from abusive quasi-foster parents (it’s a long story), raising her as his own daughter. This furthered his arc by allowing him to finally understand how unconditionally loving someone feels.

Now: Valjean describes Fantine to Cosette, who never knew her mother.

Significance: Both examples throw readers back to much earlier points in the story before the completion of Valjean’s character arc. In a way, this final scene feels like an external manifestation of his kindness paying off; both he and the reader feels a sense of accomplishment, relief, and just a general “OMG WE MADE IT.” Readers don’t feel cheated, because they were with Valjean every step of his 1,400 page arc. The weight of it all just crashes down on you...

3. Your Lie in April (anime); Kaori’s letter after she dies

Context: Kaori’s entire plot significance is that she helps Kousei, a piano prodigy who can’t play piano anymore due to traumatic parental memories associated with it, play again—but also, just to help him enjoy life again after a turbulent upbringing. She meets him a year before she dies of a medical condition, and her free spirit + confidence influences him to find beauty in life and music again. They basically do a crap ton of crazy funny stuff together lol

Now: Kaori has died, and she leaves a letter to him. Among other general confessions and thoughts, she references things they did and memories they shared: she says, “sorry we couldn’t eat all those canelés,” reminisces about jumping with him off a small bridge into the stream below, “racing each other alongside the train,” singing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star as they rode the bike together, etc.

Significance: Yes, the nature of the letter is just sad because she’s revealing that she loved him all along, apologizing for not being able to spend more time with him, lying that she didn’t like him (to spare his feelings b/c she knew she would die soon), etc. BUT, these small details highlight exactly how many experiences they shared, and the depth of their relationship. Thus, they emphasize the significance of her death and the emptiness it leaves behind.

4. Arcane (show); “I thought, maybe you could love me like you used to, even though I’m different.”

Context: Character Jinx says this in the last episode to her now estranged older sister, Vi. Without going into the crazy complex plot, basically, orphans Vi and Jinx used to care for each other before a bunch of crap went down that got them separated. They then grew up on opposite political sides; Jinx grows up on the side of the underbelly city rebellion, and Vi grows up working on the side of the richer city that essentially oppresses the undercity. Thus begins the development of their opposing viewpoints and work environments, to the point where they always meet on opposite sides of a political battle, never able to come together as a family or understand each other again.

Now: After a super dramatic confrontation, Jinx reveals that although she wants Vi to love her like she did before their separation, she knows it’s not possible because “[Vi] changed too.” She finishes with, “so, here’s to the new us” before blowing up a political council meeting a few blocks down filled with people Vi sides with. Oops! This cleanly seals the fate of their relationship as something basically irreparable.

Significance: This callback isn’t through literal flashbacks or items like in the previous examples. Jinx’ lines are enough to bring back images of their childhood to the audience’s mind. Now, the audience subconsciously places this image of: 1) two sisters so different, hurt, and torn apart, right next to 2) the image of two sisters as innocent children who loved each other and would care for each other no matter what.

Why do callbacks work so well?

If you’ve noticed something in common with all of them, you’re right: they remind audience of a time BEFORE the characters have come so far on their arcs, developed, and put on so much more emotional baggage.

Callbacks force the audience to SUDDENLY and IMMEDIATELY feel the weight of everything that’s happened. The character’s anguish and overwhelming emotions become the audience’s in this moment. Callbacks are a vehicle for the juxtaposition of worlds, before and after significant development.

This works because we, as mortals, fear IMPERMANENCE the most. We fear LOSS. For us, time gone is time we will never get back; callbacks make us face that exact fact through a fictional character. A lost moment, time period, or even part of oneself may hurt as much as losing a loved one, and nothing makes humans grieve more than the realization of a loss. A callback slaps the audience in the face with the fact that something was lost; loss hurts so much because almost 99% of the time, what’s gone is gone forever.

Of course, a good callback requires good previous character development, stakes, imagery, and all that jazz, but I thought I’d highlight this specifically because of how under covered it is.

∘₊✧────── ☾☼☽ ──────✧₊∘

instagram: @ grace_should_write

I’ve been binging general media lately: I finished Death Note, Your Lie in April, and Tokyo Ghoul all within like a month (FIRST ANIMES I”VE EVER WATCHED!!), reread lots of Les Miserables, analyzed a bunch of past shows like Breaking Bad, watched a bunch of My Little Pony, worked to fix up my old writing... and that’s not even all! The amount of times I’ve CRIED while enjoying the above media and so much more honestly just inspired this post.

Like, no joke, my eyes were almost always swollen during this period whenever I hung out with my friends and it was so embarrassing help

Personally, I just find that this method works super well for me, and I watched a bunch of reaction videos to these above scenes (and read book reviews on the book scenes I mentioned), and it seemed that just about everyone cried during these parts. That’s when I realizes that the callback might also just be a universal thing.

Anyway, this post is long and dense enough as is. SORRY! As always, hope this was helpful, and let me know if you have any questions by commenting, re-blogging, or DMing me on IG. Any and all engagement is appreciated <3333

Happy writing, and have a great day,

- grace <3

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thesefallenembers · 8 months

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if you ever feel bad about your writing, remember that you did not publish this line:

“Aro started to laugh. ‘Ha, Ha, Ha,’ he chuckled.”

—Stephanie Meyer, New Moon

also a friendly reminder that this book became a bestseller. if this can do it, so can you.

#twilight rivals 50 shades in quality #writer things #writerblr #writergram #writer #writing #writer advice #writing advice

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m-i-r-p · 3 months

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So,

I’ve been thinking a writeblr/gram for a while, SO HYPOTHETICALLY, what do you think a good name would be???

I love mirp, but idk if it could work…

Also I’m indecisive, so

Send help

Pls

#you don’t understand just how much executive dysfunction having to choose a name is causing me #send help #and cookies #writerblr #writergram #writer problems #also some motivation to write would be appreciated #ao3 #ao3 writer #writer #wip #writing #writer memes

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tadowl · 8 months

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𝐖𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐄𝐁𝐋𝐑 𝐈𝐍𝐓𝐑𝐎

𝖧𝖾𝗅𝗅𝗈, 𝖨𝗆 𝖺 𝗐𝗋𝗂𝗍𝖾𝗋 & 𝖻𝗈𝗈𝗄 𝗅𝗈𝗏𝖾𝗋! 𝖨𝗆 𝗇𝖾𝗐 𝗍𝗈 𝗐𝗋𝗂𝗍𝖾𝗍𝖻𝗅𝗋. 𝖧𝖾𝗋𝖾’𝗌 𝗌𝗈𝗆𝖾 𝖿𝖺𝖼𝗍𝗌 𝖺𝖻𝗈𝗎𝗍 𝗆𝖾!

she/they

marvel, starwars, fear street, sherlock holmes, criminal minds, walking dead, Disney, harry potter.

isfp | aries | ravenclaw

black | Jamaican

wips/writingpromps/books/other interests

would love to make friends, so feel free to dm! ‎

coffee luver

‎ — 💌🕯️🍵🎧🪷

‎ ‎

I also write books on wattpad, if you would like to check them out. Read at your own risk.

@Kismetslxt

#writerscommunity #writeblr #writers on tumblr #wattpad #creativewriters #readers #romance books #books #writergram #bookblr #booktok #intro post #marvel #the walking dead

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theimpalingpen · 1 year

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𝐒𝐎𝐂𝐈𝐀𝐋 𝐌𝐄𝐃𝐈𝐀’𝐒 𝐈𝐌𝐏𝐀𝐂𝐓 𝐎𝐍 𝐖𝐑𝐈𝐓𝐈𝐍𝐆 — 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐩𝐞𝐧

Disclaimer: This is an opinion post, and not a definitive guide on how you should view social media nor writing as your own hobby/aspersion. This is purely my thoughts on the matter, and you can take it how you please!

ALSO, this post is mainly aimed toward writergram, rather than the tumblr community which I’m still new to.

Thank you to all my lovely discord members & fellow writers for contributing to this post ! <3

— 𝐅𝐎𝐂𝐔𝐒…𝐎𝐍 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐖𝐑𝐎𝐍𝐆 𝐓𝐇𝐈𝐍𝐆𝐒.

In my view, one of the most aggravating parts about entwining your writing into a social media presence is the pressure to focus your energy on writing posts & create content about writing rather than writing itself. No matter the reason for writing, creating advice posts and prompt posts, etc. can take up way more time and energy than expected. Which leaves you spending less time writing, and focusing on your WIPs. Depending on your limits and self boundaries…that can be extremely troublesome. The problem isn’t always the act itself. It’s seeing other people post offen, the quality & time spent on said posts and perhaps being left with an internalized pressure.

We all need to learn how to stop assigning value to numbers and how much attention posts get. It’s hard to do, and especially hard when you need/want your stuff out there. Impossible? Absolutely not. You have worth, your work has worth and you should remember that.

Of course, you can balance this.

- Don’t apologize for not always putting your social medias first.

- Learn your limits! Understand your goals & reasoning behind using social media to enhance your writing experience. If you intend to make it part of your career, you especially should learn the limitations.

- Create a formula for yourself. Write down your ideas. Have genuine fun & enjoyment making posts.

- Find an amount of posting that works for you. You can’t forget to actually write instead of just posting about it!!

— 𝐓𝐑𝐄𝐍𝐃𝐒 & 𝐓𝐑𝐎𝐏𝐄𝐒

Let me start off by saying I love taking advantage of fun trends, reading about tropes and seeing how they can be interestingly utilized.

I hate simplification of tropes as an advertisement method. There are hundreds of tropes for different genres, and yet they’ve been watered down to a few buzzwords that gets clicks & revenue. Do I necessarily have a problem with authors using this to their advantage? No! Blame the system, not the person existing within it! But I do have a problem with manipulating an audience with said tropes in order to avoid creating an actual plot, strong characters and well-thought out work.

More so, attempting to shove everything into a box creates repetition. When you try to be unique, there’s a perpetual worry of losing attention which again, inhibits creativity.

In my opinion, how should tropes be utilized?

As guideline, not a rule book. If you’re going to market with them, mention them after your shit is written, not before. Don’t base your plot off, “my selling point will be how this is an amazing enemies to lovers!” The point of literature, even fun and lighthearted things is exploration & expression. Write enemies to lovers, god damn it, but make it that way because your characters suit it, your world suits it and it sparks joy within you. Not because it’s popular.

Regarding trends…let’s be honest. The writing community on instagram is absolutely an echo-chamber as well. I feel as though many people experience a moral pressure to speak on issues they’re unsure of and don’t truly care about said issues, but instead wish to be perceived as good. I’m not blaming anyone for feeling said pressure. It’s not an issue for me as someone who lacks guilt and emotional empathy, but…that almost makes it more frustrating. I think me, and many members of the groups/people affected by certain issues people speak on see straight through the surface level analysis.

Social justice is not a trend; rather, it shouldn’t be. But it is made one on social media in general. This is by no means exclusive to this community nor is it a personal attack on anyone. If you personally feel attacked by the point made above, perhaps you need to re-think your reasoning for claiming to care about said issues?

— 𝐃𝐄𝐒𝐈𝐑𝐄 𝐕𝐒 𝐅𝐄𝐀𝐑

I’m writing from the perspective of someone who wishes to make money and a solid career out of their writing. I’m also speaking from the perspective of someone who is heartbroken by the fear of not making it because of the perpetual commercialization of art.

We see it everywhere. AI Art, AI writing, what I mentioned with tropes being used as a marketing scheme, writers losing their joy in expression because money and survival is at the forefront of our minds. Especially in a day and age where we can be all too aware of so many other people’s success, their opinions. Subject to the manipulation of bigger influencers who may have biases and covert methodology. By no means do I imply success = manipulation. Instead I imply that today, art and expression as a career can be very competitive and viciously so. Even without intending to have a career, instead doing it as a hobby, we can worry how much validation and attention we’ll get in the social media promotion of our work as well!

Trying to balance the true desire to express and do so wholly, freely & passionately with understanding audience limitations and publication as an industry? Exhausting. Fearful and discouraging. We see what other people hate, what they love and internalize it. Instead of focusing on ourselves, what we want to say, love or hate.

— 𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐏𝐎𝐒𝐈𝐓𝐈𝐕𝐄𝐒!

All of that said, I think there are some wonderful advantages to the impacts of social media and writing!

• All of the wonderful advice and resources you can find.

• Easier to find beta readers and people interested in looking at your work.

• Liberty to build a platform and self publish despite the difficulty of it.

• Using said platform to share opinions, thoughts and have discussions about them.

Finally…

All the wonderful people you meet!! <3

I sincerely adore many of you.

THANKS FOR READING!

| ᴊᴏɪɴ ᴍʏ ᴅɪsᴄᴏʀᴅ | ғᴏʟʟᴏᴡ ᴍᴇ ᴏɴ ɪɢ |

#cw flashing gif #writing #writer #writeblr #writer things #writerblr #writerslife #writing tips #creative writing #writers and poets #writergram #writing advice #writer pain

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writing-lane · 1 year

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I don’t want to know it in my heart or my head.

I want to feel it in my bones.

#female poetry #original poem #poems and quotes #poetry #writergram

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merlinswritings · 2 years

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Criminal Attorney

@neowritings on IG {no reposts}

Hi, welcome (back) to my page! I felt like I want to have a crime theme in the future, with only crime-related posts! However, I am very impatient so here you have the first post!

Disclaimer: These are primarily based on the American justice system and random countries that give me the needed information! Please correct me (kindly) if I'm wrong or should add some things.

Trigger warning: crimes, anything related to crime and law

What is an attorney?

The word kind of has two meanings of the same.

An agent or someone authorized to act for another

A person who has been qualified by a state or Federal Court to provide legal services, including appearing in court.

While countries such as the US tend to classify all practitioners of law under the title of attorney, some countries have developed a tradition of creating titles that help to identify the era of expertise.

The type of legal services provided by an attorney varies, as many attorneys choose to focus their practice on a particular portion of the law

Ex: An attorney may choose to focus on criminal law, while another chooses to build a practice around family law.

The reason there are specializations of degrees is that it helps make it easier for clients to find the right lawyer who has the right knowledge that will prove helpful with a given set of circumstances.

What is criminal law?

Criminal law is a part of law that concerns crimes that are committed against the public authority. It's not the same as civil law, which involves crimes people commit against each other, not necessarily against the whole public.

Ex 1: Civil crimes are like suing your partner for cheating on you and wanting full custody of your child. Or suing a company for not giving the promised things. Ex 2: Criminal law is murder or robbery. It goes against the law. And although there is a specific victim, murder in general runs against the interest of the public.

Three broad types of crimes appear in the criminal code:

Misdemeanors: A crime less serious than a felony - petty, theft, prostitution, intoxication, simple assault, etc.

Felonies: A crime of high seriousness - murder, animal cruelty, tax invasion, robbery, battery, etc.

Treason: The crime of attacking a state of authority to which one owes allegiance - participating in a war against one's native country, (attempting) to overthrow the government, etc

Defense Attorney vs Prosecutor

What is a defense attorney?

A defense attorney is a lawyer who defends a person or business against criminal charges. There are two primary types of these professionals: civil defense attorneys and criminal defense attorneys. Civil defense attorneys represent clients who face fines due to non-criminal lawsuits. Criminal defense attorneys work for clients who may serve jail time if convicted.

What is a prosecutor?

A prosecutor is a lawyer and elected official that represents an individual or an entire body of citizens of jurisdiction when they press legal charges against a person or corporation. Prosecutors are responsible for charging the accused with specific crimes and presenting evidence for members of a jury to conclude beyond a reasonable doubt that the accused party is guilty. These professionals are public officers, meaning they represent the district attorney's office, an elected official responsible for criminal prosecutors within a jurisdiction who the government funds with public money.

Then what is the difference?

The difference is that the prosecutor is on the side of the government and the law. Their clients (often cops) have a case against the said-to-be guilty and try to convince the jury that they deserve a specific punishment (usually jail).

A defense attorney has to convince the jury that their client is in fact not guilty, even when they are they still have to make sure there will not be, or as minimal as possible, a punishment.

Criminal defense lawyer

what do they do? (duties)

Investigate the case and interview witnesses

Research case law, statutes, crime codes, and procedural law

Build a defense and develop a case stragety

Negotiate with the prosecution to plea a bargain to lesser charges

Draft, file, and argue motions such as motions to dismiss and motions to surpress

Advocate for the defendant at trual

Draft, file and argue appeals

Do they help the bad guys?

Defense lawyers get hired, they can choose not to do so but will miss out on lawyers. It can so happen they have to prove someone is not guilty, even if they are, and they might win. They also help innocent people from being put with the blame.

Education, Training, Certification:

Education: Like all lawyers, criminal lawyers will first need to complete a bachelor's degree, then get a law degree. Those two degrees typically take a total of 7 years to complete.

License: Criminal Attorneys must pass the bar examination in the state whoch they intend to practice.

Certification: Criminal lawyers earn a board certification from the National Board of Legal Specialty Certification (NBLSC). The NBLSC is a non-profit organization accredited by the American Bar Association to provide board certification for attorneys and is an outgrowth of the National Board of Trial Advocacy.

Skills needed:

Writing and speaking skills: Excellent oral and written advocacy skills in order to argue a client's case and pursuade the jury.

Research and investigative skills: Are important in building a client's case and establishing a strong defense.

Creative and analytical skills: Strong creative thinking and analytical skills to develop a legal strategy, analyze case law and litigate complex cases.

Legal knowledge and experience: In-depth understanding of state, federal, and local rules, court procedures, evidentiary laws, and local judges to navigate the criminal justice system efficiently and competently.

Interpersonal skills: Excellent interpersonal skills are necessary to build a strong client-attorney relationship. Criminal defendants are a finicky group who somethimes go through many lawyers before setting on one they like. Therefore, the ability to attract and retain clients is essential to thriving criminal defense practice.

Fun facts:

salary:

Criminal lawyers employed in law firms generally ern the highest salaries; experienced criminal attorneys can earn well into six figures. The highest-paid criminal lawyers are often those that represent high-profile, wealthy defendants in high-stakes cases.

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS), the salary range for all attorneys, including criminal attorneys, is as follows:

Median Anual Salary: $120,910 ($58.13 /hour) Top 10% Anual Salary: More than $208,000 ($100 /hour) Bottom 10% Anual Salary: Less than $58,220($27.99 /hour) Public Defender and Non-Profit Salaries are usually modest (the $30,000 - $50,000 range is common).

Costs: Costs of legal representation depend on the bureau they work for, or if they are freenlancers. It can even depend on how many cases they have won. Some go by the hour (expect above the $150,- an hour.) and some by a fixed or set fee (will depend on the outcome mostly). Note that you will make a lot of hours with them.

#writingcommunity #writers of tumblr #writers #writer #writblr #writing #writings #writersofinstagram #writersociety #writing tips #writers tips #writergram

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v-67 · 1 year

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Sometimes i feel this panic rise within me.

The panic of the future, the panic of being in a relationship which is toxic and not appreciated and the most further from love, the panic of being pressured into the workaholic culture when I clearly am not into that

I want a life where I finally am with the person i really love, i want a life where I'm away from the stupid toxic customs and traditions, I want a life where my family is with me and I'm working a job which doesn't eat away my living hours. I want a life where I'm appreciated and asked about simple things : did you eat? Are you okay? I love you, be safe, ...

I want a life which is like that, but everything i want cannot coexist together.

And that part sucks.

I've been through shit, but that shit isn't even the shit when I look at other people's lives.

But i remind myself always, to not compare.

That the things I've been through are valid and if they made me suffer, then they did. It has nothing to do with being strong or weak.

It is only about ( i don't know what is it about)

But sometimes i wish i could just go back to the past and warn myself about the things that shouldn't have happened. The things that definitely shouldn't have happened. I wish i could go back and give myself a boost, i wish i could go back and hug myself and tell her that it's okay, it's all gonna be okay. I wish I could help her get out of her comfort zone and I wish I could tell her so many more things.

Would i have turned out differently if i could have?

But I can't. And so, I will keep telling the current me all of these things. I love who i am, and i love the version of myself I'm becoming, there have been hard times, times I never thought I'll return from, but I did. I did return. And so I will live, and i will live the way I want to. Except ofcourse i need to keep my family happy so there's a little adjustment over there.

Sometimes it gets difficult, too difficult. The mind becomes a violent battlefield, gnawing away at my heart, cutting all around my soul, making it a little hollowish, or making it ache. The pain tho, is always better than the hollowish part.

But we'll get through the difficult part, with our weird coping mechanisms. We will get through them. But make sure your coping mechanisms aren't causing you harm.

So hey, it'll be okay.

And we'll be fine.

And we will live.

And we will. We really will.

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lunasilversworld · 2 years

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Tipps, um dein Buch zu beginnen

___________

Instagram: @_lunasilver__

Bei Verwendung meiner Inhalte bitte credits geben! <3

__________

1. Stelle deine Hauptfigur vor

Versuche den/die Protagonisten/-in möglichst natürlich vorzustellen; Aussehen, Stimme, Kleidungsstil usw.

Welchen Problemen muss er/sie sich entgegenstellen? Evtl. Traumata oder ähnliches? Damit erreichst du, dass dein Leser sich in die Figur hineinversetzen kann und wissen möchte, wie die Handlung vorangeht. Vermeide aber sowas wie: „Hey, ich bin Hannah, 23 Jahre alt und 1.67m groß!“ Die Vorstellung der Hauptfigur sollte ungezwungen von statten gehen und mehr so nebenher.

2. Beginne mit der Sichtweise einer Nebenfigur

Suche dir eine interessante Nebenfigur aus, die aus ihrer Sicht die Geschehnisse schildert. Das funktioniert aber nicht in jedem Buch! Ist aber ein guter Weg, um das Interesse für die Handlung zu wecken und eine andere Perspektive einzubauen. Wichtig ist, dass die Nebenfigur im Laufe des Buchs weiterhin erwähnt wird.

3. Starte direkt mit Action

Werfe den Leser direkt mittens in’s Geschehen (ohne viel zu erklären). Das erzeugt Spannung und man möchte dann natürlich weiterlesen. Hier kann man alles mögliche an Action verwenden: Kampf-, Streit- oder Smutszenen. Suche dir das aus, was am besten zu deinem Buch passt.

4. Cliffhanger

Man kann am Anfang des Buches auch eine spätere Handlung vorwegnehmen (und diese mit einem Cliffhanger enden lassen). Möglicherweise ein eskalierender Streit, bei dem das Ende ungewiss ist. So wird der Leser zum weiterlesen angeregt, da man ja wissen möchte, wie die Szene letztendlich ausgeht. Achte aber darauf, dass du die Handlung nicht zu sehr spoilerst oder die Spannung wegnimmst. Cliffhanger sind die besten Freunde des Autors.

5. Schocke den Leser

Beginne mit etwas unerwartetem, zum Beispiel dem Tod, einem Unfall oder ähnliches. Damit hat man sofort die Aufmerksamkeit des Lesers, da dieser wissen möchte, was passiert ist. Achte aber darauf, dass die Handlung realistisch bleibt und nicht gezwungen/aufgesetzt wirkt.

6. Einordnung der Geschichte

„Es ist fünf Minuten nach sechs Uhr morgens, die Sonne ist noch nicht aufgegangen. Eine Katze huscht durch den großen Garten und erklimmt dann die Stufen zum Haus unserer Nachbarin Frau Kärcher.“

Die Situation wird hier klar wiedergegeben und der Leser bekommt einen Eindruck, um was es geht. Man beschreibt genau, was passiert und wann. Umso präziser, desto besser. Diese Art des Anfangs ist geradeheraus, genau und abstrakt. Zu erwähnen ist, dass dieser Einstieg in die Geschichte nicht zu jedem Buch passt.

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undertheroolight · 2 years

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A List of Phobias

This list contains common, and uncommon phobias. This is for educational purposes only!

Phobias of insects/animals:

Arachnophobia - the fear of spiders

Entomophobia - the fear of insects

Zoophobia - the fear of animals

Herpetophobia - the fear of reptiles

Musophobia - the fear of mice and rats

Ophidiophobia - the fear snakes

Phobias of specific situations:

Autophobia - the fear of abandonment

Nyctophobia - the fear of the dark

Acrophobia - the fear of heights

Aerophobia - the fear of flying

Thanatophobia - the fear of dying

Phobias of social situations:

Social Phobia - the fear of social situations.

Anthropophobia - the fear of people

Glossophobia - the fear of public speaking

Pistanthrophobia - the fear of trusting others

Haphephobia - the fear of physical touch

Medical-like phobias -

Mysophobia - the fear of germs

Nosophobia - the fear of disease

Trypanophobia - the fear of injections

Emetophobia - the fear of vomiting

Nosocomephobia - the fear of hospitals

iatrophobia - fear of doctors

Rare Phobias - ( I’m sorry I was wheezing- )

Arachibutyrophobia - the fear of peanut butter sticking to the roof of your mouth ( terrifying- )

Arithmophobia - the fear of numbers ( math ppl- )

Hippopotomonstrosesquippedaliophobia - the fear of long words ( the irony am I right )

Decidophobia - The fear of decisions ( me- )

Eisoptrophobia - the fear of mirrors ( me when I see myself bro- )

#writingcommunity #writing tips #writersociety #writergram #readers of tumblr

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rainybouquet · 2 years

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"I love meeting new people, I really do. But I need... More time than someone would call normal. And not everyone is willing to give me this amount of time. I need time to watch, to observe, and feel a little more comfortable. I need time to get to know people before I let people know me. And sometimes I wish those people gave me more time, but maybe the universe just wanted me to meet those people who gave me enough in order for me to give them even more." - An observer #writergram #writerlife #writerscommunity #writerofig #writing #writersofinstagram #writer #writer #writersociety (bij Observer) https://www.instagram.com/p/ChcNIdDoFQk/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

#writergram #writerlife #writerscommunity #writerofig #writing #writersofinstagram #writer #writersociety

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graceshouldwrite · 7 months

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How to Write Political Intrigue (with book recs)

POLITICAL INTRIGUE! Intrigue in general! What is it?

For the purposes of this post (as well as how it's usually used in the writing/reading community), think: scheming. Plotting. Conspiracies in the shadows, bids for power and survival, secret plans, masterful illusions, all of that stuff.

It could be on any scale that you'd like, from a duel of wits (think Light's and L's game of cat and mouse in Death Note)

...to a large-scale plot involving entire countries and their people (like any espionage networks during any major wars, such as the American Revolutionary War to World War II, and so many more)

...or even medium-sized conflicts (families, like in The Godfather, or smaller national disturbances like the Watergate scandal).

Below are 4 core tips on how you can successfully write (political) intrigue plots:

1. Read + Research

Despite how hard it may sound, it's actually pretty easy to craft a realistic yet thrilling intrigue plot—with so many examples in real life and fiction, you can easily base your plot on an existing one and just change a few things like the characters, setting, and maybe a few plot points.

History and current events are always great places to look to, but here are some books that are chock-full of great politics + intrigue:

Leviathan (Thomas Hobbes): one of the most famous treatises of politics + human nature and their intersection. The book is an in-depth exploration of human nature, government, politics, and all of the root causes of why they exist. While it does take a specific philosophical angle (you might not agree with Hobbes' ideas), they are detailed explanations of how things work + why they are required from one perspective.

48 Laws of Power (Robert Greene): GREAT BOOK for helping you plan out the means by which you want the intrigue to happen. There are lots of simplified rules that tell you why people plan and scheme (e.g. "control the options; get others to play the cards you deal," or "pose as a friend, work as a spy"). There are LOTS of really great small stories of when a rule is applied in real life that are also general plot inspo!

The Godfather (Mario Puzo): very very good, intricate, and more emotional because it deals with the intrigue surrounding families

Joseph Fouché: Portrait of a Politician (Stefan Zweig) (biography): Fouché is absolutely insane. A genius at political intrigue. His life is literally one of the craziest stories of scheming, betrayals, survival, and a general vying for power, especially behind the scenes.

The Prince (Machiavelli): obviously, I can't leave out the original tips + tricks book with explanations of WHY intrigue matters as a means, especially in terms of protecting your power.

Trust Me, I'm Lying (Ryan Holladay): a large part of intrigue plots (you need to cover up the actual game you're playing) is the manipulation of information, creating illusions and spectacles for other people to believe. This book goes in-depth about media manipulation and information wars.

Empire of Pain (Patrick Raden Keefe): takes a rather different angle, through the personal/corporate manipulation of government, as well as how wealth dynasties (especially within families) are established. Remember the opioid crisis? This book explores the generational politics of money and power that led up to that.

Prince of Thorns (Mark Lawrence): Look! Fiction! Anyway, I'm biased because it's one of my favourite works of fiction of all time, but it explores political intrigue not only through an actor participating in it, but through the lens of the common folk. I.e., the consequences all that power play has on the populace due to a lack of actual good governance...

A Song of Ice and Fire (George R. R. Martin): I haven't personally read/watched anything GoT, but it's pretty much obligatory to put this series down in a post about political intrigue. It's famous for doing it well.

2. Plan. Like, meticulously

First of all, decide what scale you want your intrigue to be on: large-scale government/international affairs type, a corporation thing, something between two people, or even within a family? There are so many possibilities.

Intrigue plots are like mysteries; they must be tightly logical to be satisfying. One of the best ways of ensuring this is through analyzing each involved party—the actors.

Each actor has their own motivations, goals, and psychologies. After you establish what they want OUT of their intrigue, think about how they'd go about achieving it: a naturally hot-headed person might try to intimidate their way into getting what they want, or they might learn through the course of the story to cool down a bit.

A naturally imaginative and analytical person might come up with all sorts of scarily genius plans, and near-flawless execution. Of course, they would also react in different ways, depending on personality. Character consistency alone will make your plot seem that much more logical.

However, cracks in logic will happen because humans are inherently imperfect and not always rational. These cracks must be DELIBERATE and realistic and must seem planned out; they can't seem more like the author forgot a detail, or didn't know how to explain something (e.g. something happened and the writer never included the consequence of it because they forgot). It must be clear that it is a flaw on the character's part.

3. Never write intrigue for the sake of the intrigue

The incentive of all scheming comes down to mainly two things: gaining power and keeping it. Of course, you could choose to explore more unusual things, such as characters exercising intrigue to satisfy boredom... (think Light and Ryuk from Death Note).

But, the bids for power, security, and survival can be used to highlight things about human nature. Themes to explore include ambition, sacrifice, the pursuit of happiness, the corruption of character, the preservation of innocence in a cruel system, etc.

4. Explore through a narrow lens

Most intrigue plots are full of complex motivations, characters, goals, and the means they use to achieve said goals.

You should gradually let your intrigue plot unfold through the POV of a few characters, preferably one or two. An omniscient narrator for this type of story is INCREDIBLY difficult to pull off without confusing the reader.

However, more POVs work if you use all of them to focus on ONE or a few intrigue plots only—it can provide a multi-layered effect, exploring the same line of action and consequence through different perspectives. But, if everyone has their own intrigue plot, it's too easy to create a tangled mess where readers can barely delineate one plot from the next.

∘₊✧────── ☾☼☽ ──────✧₊∘

instagram: @ grace_should_write

Sorry for the massive hiatus—I have officially started college!! I've been pre-occupied with settling in, classes starting, a social life, extracurriculars etc. etc...life has been super busy, but great :)

I've started working on my books as well as poetry more recently, and I'm glad I'm getting into a new workflow/lifestyle. It certainly is different, but I'm starting to enjoy it.

Anyway, I'm surprised it took me this long to do a post about this topic, considering the fact that it's basically my writergram niche and my entire personality IRL, but I think it was mainly because I was trying to find a good angle to approach this massive topic. But, stay tuned for (probably) a part 2 because there's SO MUCH MORE to cover.

Hope this was helpful, and let me know if you have any questions by commenting, re-blogging, or DMing me on IG. Any and all engagement is appreciated :)

Happy writing, and have a great day!

- grace <3

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