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writers-potion · 2 days

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Could you give any advice for "descriptive" writing of any scene or action scenes or mapping out the scenery (Mountains, forests, streets etc) - i believe this is a struggle for Non-English speaking writers due to lack of vast vocabulary.

Common Scenery Description Tips

Vocabulary is clearly an important part of description, but it doesn’t have to be a limit. The most important thing about description in fiction is picking the right details to mention:

How does the details add to the mood of the story? A mountain ridge will be dark, gray and foggy if the overall mood is meant to be mysterious/brooding. In contrast, a mountain can be brilliantly snow-capped, lush green and “smiling down” upon the character if they’re out for a light stroll.

How are the contrasts/complementary aspects being brought out?

Are you using the five senses? You can even combine the senses, ie. blue ringing of the church bells

(If you have the POV character) what

Some other tips for setting description:

Use similes and metaphors. Creative figures of speech always get my attention as a reader.

Mention story-specific elements. For example, “The sky was the shade of Zoes’ eyes” or “the mountains looked like a group of trolls sleeping on one another”

Be concise. Today’s readers don’t want to read paragraphs and paragraphs about one landscape. Outline the larger elements in the scene, their location and general mood. Add some details, then move on.

If the same location appears multiple times, differentiate the description little by little as you write, instead of trying to lay out one scene in too much detail at once.

That said, here are some helpful words/phrases:

Forests/Mountains

Color: bone-white, phantom-white, hazy gray

Sound: rumbling, booming grumbling, bellowing clapping, trundling, growling, thundering

Shape: crinkled, crumpled, knotted, grizzled, rumpled, wrinkled, craggy, jagged, gnarled, rugose

Action: sky-punching/stabbing/piercing/spearing, heaven-touching/kissing, snow-cloaked/hooded/wreathed/festooned

Sloping sides, sharp/rounded ridges, high point/peak/summit

Majestic, gargantuan humbling, vast, massive, titanic, towering, monumental, mighty, vast, humbling

Mountains having faces, etc.

Seas

Color: blue-green, crystal-clear crystalline, emerald, frothy, hazy, glistening, pristine, turquoise

Size: boundless, abyssal, fathomless, unconquerable, vast, wondrous

Sound: billowing, blustering, bombastic

Action: boisterous, agitated, angry, biting, breaking, brazen. Churning, bubbling, changing, brooding, calm, convulsing, enticing erratic, fierce, tempestuous, turbulent, undulating

Alluring, blissful, betwitching, breezy, captivating, chaotic, chilly, elemental, disorienting

Deserts

Sight: A landscape of sand, flat, harsh sunlight, cacti, tumbleweeds, dust devils, cracked land, crumbing rock, sandstone, canyons, wind-worn rock formations, tracks, dead grasses, vibrant desert blooms (after rainfall), flash flooding, dry creek

Sounds: Wind (whistling, howling, piping, tearing, weaving, winding, gusting), birds cawing, flapping, squawking, the fluttering shift of feasting birds, screeching eagles, the sound of one’s own steps, heavy silence, baying wild dogs

Smell: Arid air, dust, one’s own sweat and body odor, dry baked earth, carrion

Touch: Torrid heat, sweat, cutting wind, cracked lips, freezing cold (night) hard packed ground, rocks, gritty sand, shivering, swiping away dirt and sweat, pain from split lips and dehydration, numbness in legs, heat/pain from sun stroke, clothes…

Taste: Grit, dust, dry mouth & tongue, warm flat canteen water, copper taste in mouth, bitter taste of insects for eating, stringy wild game (hares, rats) the tough saltiness of hardtack, biscuits or jerky, an insatiable thirst or hunger

Streets

Dusty, fume-filled, foul, sumptuous, broad, bucolic, decayed, mournful, seemingly endless, empty, unpaved, lifeless, dreadfully genteel, muddy, nondescript, residential/retail

Bleach, flimsy, silent, narrow, crooked, furrowed, smoggy, commonplace, tumbledown, treeless, shady

The blacktop streets absorb the spring sunshine as if intent upon sending heaven's warmth back through my soles.

The streets absorbed the emotions in the air, the city as the steady and reassuring mother.

The streets were a marriage of sounds, from bicycle wheels to chattering.

In the refreshing light of early daytime, the streets had the hues of artistic dreamtime, soft yet bold pastels.

Cobbled streets flowed as happy rivers in sunlight.

Parties

Some extra tips for locations like parties, where lots of action is going around practically everywhere:

Focus on the important characters - where they are, who they’re with.

Provide some overall description of the structure of the party scene (a pool, a two-storey house with yard?), then move on to details.

Don’t try to describe everything.

whirlwind of laughter and music, a symphony of joyous chaos.

It was a gathering that shimmered with the glow of twinkling lights and echoed with the rhythm of dancing feet.

The air was alive with excitement, buzzing with conversations and the clink of glasses.

Every corner held a story waiting to unfold, a moment waiting to be captured in memory.

It was a tapestry of colors, a mosaic of faces, each adding their own brushstroke to the vibrant canvas of the night.

Laughter cascaded like a waterfall, infectious and unstoppable, filling the room with warmth.

The night was a carnival of senses, with aromas of delicious food mingling with the melodies that filled the air.

Time seemed to slip away in the whirl of the party, moments blending into each other like colors on a palette.

The energy of the crowd was electric, pulsing through the room like a heartbeat, binding everyone in a shared moment of celebration.

It was a celebration of life, where worries faded into the background, and the present moment was all that mattered.

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novlr · 1 day

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“Write one good clean sentence and put a period at the end of it. Then write another one.” — M. F. K. Fisher

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erraticprocrastinator · 13 hours

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Pro tip for befriending writers: Help us with the weird shit. Meeting up for coffee is nice and all, but if you offer to spot me while I practice collapsing in different ways for my WIP, you'll literally be my person, no questions asked. Listen to me talk about all the random and oddly specific things I've learned through my research? Best friends. Let me use you as a human Barbie doll to visualise my scene? I will die for you.

#my best friends may or may not have done all of the above #and more #writeblr #writing community #erraticprocrastinator #writers #writing #fanfic writers #writers of tumblr #ao3 writer #writing mood #writing tip #life tip #writers life #writers on tumblr

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lannegarrett · 21 hours

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Writing in my head; Beautiful flowing sentences full of powerful phrases and witty dialogue.

Writing on my page: They did a thing and said some stuff. There was snark.

#books #writing #writersnetwork #writers #writers on tumblr #writing community #author #writerscommunity #writers life #writer #tumblr writing community #writer problems #writer things #writers of tumblr

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catfayssoux · 1 day

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risafeywritesdrarry · 7 hours

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It's "glode," and anything different is unacceptable. On a serious note, it's quite the opposite for me. I will probably never get Laid vs Layed correct. I would probably be that reader thinking the author is "stupid", meanwhile my own writing would say: "She glode across the hardwood floor and then laid down." Now, I edit my writing very thoroughly, but I make no promises with Laid vs Layed. Only time I will get it correct is when it's an accident.

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vavandeveresfan · 8 hours

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The Writing Profession's general attitude.

Me, a professional writer.

#writblr #writers on tumblr #writing community #writers of tumblr #writers on ao3 #fanfic writing #fanfiction writer #fanfic authors #ao3 writer #writer #writers #writing #writers life #writing life #writing memes #writing meme #queue

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em-dash-press · 5 months

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I am going to take a deep breath and just remind you:

Writing is messy, even for the best authors. It's supposed to feel a little uncomfortable, exhilarating, freeing, natural, and terrifying.

It's supposed to inspire you and feel like a too-heavy backpack.

Sometimes, you're going to love being a writer and sometimes, you'll feel so disconnected, you'll wonder if you were ever a writer to begin with.

Give yourself room to make mistakes and hate your work and return to it with renewed confidence that yes, you will get 1% better next time.

It's what we're all going through. Let's speed up the growing process a little by accepting the entirety of it.

#writeblr #writing encouragement #creative writers #writing advice #writing tips #writers of tumblr #creative writing #writing community #writing inspiration #writing help #writing #writers block #writers #writers craft #writers life #writers on tumblr #writers and poets

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agirlwiththoughtsandnegativity · 2 months

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”oh so how did you get into writing?-“ no, writing got into me. Actually it infiltrated my brain, starting with the slow takeover of my room with books to the extremely fast claiming of my notes app and now there’s no way to stop it and no way for me to stop.

#short story #writing #poetry #books #fiction #orginal writing #writer #writers on tumblr #writeblr #writing memes #writing humor #writing problems #writer problems #writer stuff #writers life

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angelasscribbles · 2 months

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The Feral Writer lol

Writers Corner

#Writeblr #Writing community #Writing humor #Writers corner #Writers life #Writers #Writerscommunity #Writing #Writer #Creative writing #Fiction writing #Female writers #Tumblr writers

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ghostmistdraws · 10 months

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Creative slump? No, no. Creative frenzy. Too many idea, not enough time, not enough energy. It's too much, I do nothing.

#art block #writers block #writing #writeblr #artblr #creative burnout #creative block #textposts #ghostsposts #artist life #writers life #writer memes #artist memes

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writers-potion · 3 days

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How do I accurately include diversity, and not make it look like I’m just putting it in there for the sake of it?

Writing Diverse Characters - Things to Remember

Honestly, there's no definitive answer to this.

Your characters are people with clear goals, desires and a role to play in the plot. As long as they aren't just sitting there with little else but their race/gender/disability, etc. as their ONLY personality trait, at least you're on the right path.

As for representing a diverse character realistically, here are some things you can consider to get started.

Do's

RESEARCH. There are plenty of blogs/YT vids/websites that exist to help you! Meet people!

Get beta readers.

It doesn't have to be explicit. Racial identities become quite clear early on through the setting, name, and initial description(hair, eye/skin color, body shape, etc) without having to drum it into the readers each time. Gender diversity can be conveyed through the use of certain pronouns without awkward declarations.

Character first, diversity second. Please don't intentionally create a diverse character and then think about how you can push them into the cast. Have a working character, who happens to belong to a particular group.

Read works that have represented a group well. There are plenty of non-fiction works, movies and documentaries that capture the lives of people around the world with a good eye.

Use the correct terms/language

Include different types of diversity

Don'ts

Race/gender/diability is NOT a personality trait. Please. Telling me that you have a Korean girl tells me next to nothing about the character herself.

Using sterotypes. Now, it's all right if your character has a few sterotypical traits, but definitely not if sterotypes are the only thing they have.

Diversity is not a "shock factor". Suddenly revealing that a character is actually gay and has been in the closet all this time as a refresher so that it draws readers' attention? Not a good idea.

One diverse character does all. This can often be seen in female characters of slightly dated works where one woman will play the role of supportive mother, sister, femme fetale and sexy Barbie at the same time. Don't write a diverse character who basically does everything a diverse character can possibly be. All that it proves is that the writer is lazy.

Things I personally hate seeing:

Weird pronunciation of languages. As a Korean person, I always get turned off by works (mostly badly written fanfics, yes, I read those...) that try to transfer Korean dialogue directly onto the page without even checking for the correct way to spell them out. A similar example would be pinyin for Mandarin. Please, this makes the character sound stupid throughout...

Character sticking out almost painfully. If your character isn't from the region but have lived in it for a long time, what reason do they have not to blend in?

Relying on variety shows/dramas as reference. Media representation of diverse characters that are meant for entertainment is not the best source for authentic research. I die every time someone lists a number of Korean rom-coms they've watched for "research". IT DOES NOT COUNT.

As a last note, remember that there's no limit to the kind of characters a writer can writer. Accept that our job as writers is to step into other people's heads, not seeing things from one (our) perspective - and it is not going to be easy.

Hope this helps :)

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daddiesdrarryy · 7 months

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Me when I finish writing something:

#writing #be it a fic a poem or a novel anything fr #writing meme #writing humour #writing things #the og line is ‘filmmaking’#hayao miyazaki #life of a writer #writers of tumblr #writer #writers #writerblr #writers life #writer things #writing funny #he’s just so iconic 😭#source: 10 years with hayao miyazaki #writers block #writeblr

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charliejaneanders · 25 days

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Writing any kind of story is a scary proposition, especially if it deals with personal stuff. And writing about trans people during a bogus moral panic is especially daunting -- it's easy to either pull your punches, or feel as though the burden of good trans representation weighs on your shoulders. The good news is that we are living during a time of extreme riches when it comes to trans stories, and a ton of wonderful authors are writing trans tales that defy categorization and bust through boundaries. So please write the story that speaks to you, the story that only you can tell about your own obsessions and dreams. It can be scary or funny or comforting or escapist, or all of the above — don't worry that what you write will be singled out as the One True Trans Story, or seen as a representation of all trans people. Just write your story.

Writing Trans Stories For Fun (and Liberation) --- My latest newsletter!

#writing #trans #transgender #nonbinary #non binary #writing advice #writers of tumblr #writers life #creative writing #books #newsletters #quotes #lgbtqia #trans rights readathon #trans day of visibility

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risafeywritesdrarry · 22 days

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#writing #writing memes #writers #writers on tumblr #writing humor #meme #memes #writers life #writers and poets #author #authors of tumblr #writerscommunity #writblr #ao3 #ao3 writer #writers of ao3

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lannegarrett · 1 month

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I felt this.

#writers block #books #writing #writersnetwork #writers #writers on tumblr #writing community #author #writers life #writerscommunity #writer #writers and poets #writeblr #writing process #writers of tumblr

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