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writingwithfolklore · 1 day

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holy shit I might just spend all night reading all of your posts 😍🥰

Thank you! <3 <3 glad you're enjoying them!

#ask box

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writingwithfolklore · 2 days

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Making the Most out of your First Draft

As someone who used to write every first draft without planning and then use that to figure out characters and outlines, I have a lot of experience in first drafts that are incredibly helpful to forming an actual story, and drafts that don’t add much.

So here’s how to make the most out of your first draft:

1. Write what doesn’t make sense

One of the most helpful first drafts I ever wrote abandoned plotlines and started new ones as though they had existed all along like several times. It was also the longest draft I had ever written because I had packed so many ideas into it. The reason why this is helpful is because you can test out what a plot point will look like in the middle or even end of your story without having to go back to the same beginning again and again.

It doesn’t need to make sense, just try things out. Disappear characters who don’t work, add a best friend near the end that acts like they’ve been there the entire time, whatever idea you’re interested in you can try out without worrying too much about what makes sense or what you’d need in place to set it up. It's like literally stream of consciousness writing, and you're going to learn so much more about your world, plot, and characters than trying to make it make sense.

2. Write poorly

I spent a lot of that first draft having characters monologue to themselves or each other about their interests and problems and lives which allowed me to explore their backstories and voice even if that’s not something I would do in a final draft. I had the wackiest plot points to see how my characters would react, what would happen to the plot, and if I didn’t like it I would keep going like nothing had happened, I did a lot of yadda-yaddaing over worldbuilding and setting the scenes and making up things on the spot to see if they’d stick, skipping sometimes to the interesting stuff, or adding in a random scene just for fun.

It doesn’t have to be good. Even a little bit. You’re learning about your world and your characters and the story you want to tell, but you aren’t writing it yet. Allow it to be the worst thing you’ve ever written.

3. Make notes on what you like

As you go through and throw spaghetti at the wall (figuratively speaking), make notes on the things that stick. If you write a line of dialogue you really like, or a piece of backstory or even a vibe, make sure to make a note of it somewhere. This will help you narrow down your ideas to what you want to keep when you start writing your story. And if you’re like me and you want to outline or plan your subsequent drafts, these notes will be invaluable to start forming your planning.

Anything else I missed?

#writing #creative writing #writers #writing community #screenwriting #writing inspiration #books #filmmaking #film #writing advice #first draft #making the most out of your first draft #pantsing #pantser #writers on tumblr

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writingwithfolklore · 5 days

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How to Hold Yourself Accountable as a Professional Writer

Okay maybe you’re not self-employed or professional yet and writing definitely isn’t bringing in the big bucks, but you’d like it to some day, and you’re working right now on making that a reality. This post is for you, because the best time to practice getting into a healthy writing habit and holding yourself accountable to writing for that future where it’s your full time gig is now—before it’s essential to do so.

1. It will never be easy

It’s easy to think that maintaining a schedule or habit for writing would be easy if only it was your full-time gig and all you needed to do. While it might be easier than trying to cram in writing between classes or jobs, it will never be easy. You’re always going to have multiple things going on, there’s always going to be something you could be or need to be doing other than writing. Developing good habits right now, when it is really hard, is going to set you up far better than just waiting for it to get easy before you fully commit to it.

2. Set a schedule that actually works for you

I did a whole post on making a writing schedule you can actually manage and maintain here:

But the TL;DR is that in order to keep to a schedule, you have to make sure it’s attainable. Fit when you write around your other life schedule. For example, if you’re really not a morning person, planning on waking up at 5am every morning to write for a couple hours is probably not something you’ll be able to maintain. But setting aside an hour before bed may be more manageable for you.

3. Form a habit

To train your brain to make your writing schedule a habit you’ll actually stick to, you should make it into a routine. Similar to how you have a bedtime routine that sets you up to feel sleepy at night, a routine that sets you up for writing will make it harder to turn away from your manuscript, and help inspire a productive writing block.

You can create a writing playlist with songs that inspire your project you listen to whenever you begin writing, make a tea or other drink to sip on while you write, grab a snack, share your schedule with a writing buddy and write together, put together a document of inspiring quotes, photos, or other muses you can read, or really anything that gets you into the writing mood. By following this routine every time you set up to write, you’ll train your brain to get into a mindset that will make it easier to stick to your writing block.

4. Reward yourself

Brains love doing things for a reward. Maybe after a productive writing block you can spend some time doing something else you love, like watching an episode of your favourite show, lighting a candle, taking a bath, or having a glass of wine, I don’t know, anything that would give your brain the happy juice in response to your good work.

5. Set deadlines and goals

Writing consistently is basically the majority of the battle. I don’t typically worry about word count, but I do know that it can be helpful for others to set wordcount goals and deadlines to ensure productivity. If that sounds like you, make sure your goals are actionable while also being attainable. “Finish novel” isn’t a great goal, but “write 2000 words per week for three months” could be helpful if you know that 2000 words is attainable for you.

Same as before, you can also set rewards for when you reach your goals. I have a big tattoo upcoming if I complete my goal for the year.

The last tip I have for this point is to try to find an accountabili-buddy to hold you to your goals and deadlines if you think that would be helpful for you. As a professional writer, you may be held accountable by an editor or agent, so practicing through asking a buddy to help you set deadlines and deliverables will help prepare you for writing towards a date.

The TL;DR is find out what works for you and practice doing it consistently! Anything else I missed?

#writing #creative writing #writers #writing community #screenwriting #writing inspiration #books #filmmaking #film #writing advice #How to Hold Yourself Accountable as a Professional Writer #professional writing #full time writer #accountability

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writingwithfolklore · 11 days

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Writing Advice

If you don't have whipped cream, a little dollop of vanilla yogurt on your stack of pancakes is just as good. I used greek but I'm sure other yogurts would work as well.

#writing #creative writing #writers #writing community #screenwriting #writing inspiration #books #filmmaking #film #writing advice #pancakes

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writingwithfolklore · 14 days

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Thanks for the tag! <3

5 Things I Like Writing About

Imperfect friend groups

Subtle magic

Powerful + dangerous women

Isolated settings

Food <3

Open to anyone!

Thanks for the tag @elsie-writes!

5 Things I Like Writing About

Bitchy characters

Dnd-esque magic

Waterside trade cities

Characters with close platonic bonds

Milf villains

I'll tag @echowritesstuff @writingwithfolklore @bargainbincheese @bard-coded and anyone else who wants in :)

#writing #writerscommunity #writblr #5 things I Like Writing About #open tag #tag game

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writingwithfolklore · 16 days

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So I’m not going to give you too much of an info dump but real quick context-

I’m working on possibly a vampire book that I plan to either be an anthology of different PoVs or have multiple POVs per book(think ASOIAF although that isn’t really the inspo tonally). And in developing my characters there are lot of ideas I have for their past detail, potential plot future points, inciting incidents depending on what period of history the first book will be.

And I like a lot of what I have but think that I’ve created too many ideas and I don’t know the best way to narrowing things down/pin point my ideas to what I can realistically work on without overworking myself.

So TLDR: do you have any suggestions for once you have a lot of ideas knowing which ones to focus on?

Hi! I know exactly what you mean and I have the same problem all the time. I think the most important part is to figure out who is carrying the story, really.

While you may have several characters with POVs, there's probably only like one or two that are carrying the meat of the story--the big overarching change to the world. Consider your big inciting incident, the change the world goes through, and who is directly impacted by it and looking to solve that change? Those are your key players.

Now that we have that, we know who to spend the most time on, and who to explore the most details of. Other characters can definitely still be explored and have moments to shine of course, but they shouldn't be the focus.

Reminder that any and all backstory should be revealed when it is necessary in the moment (not before to set up the moment) and action carries character. In just knowing this, you'll be bogged down a lot less by all these ideas and details to get onto the page. If it doesn't come up naturally through action and in the moment it needs to, then it might be unnecessary to include overall, y'know?

I think the last thing to keep in mind is to plan it one book at a time and build from there. You can narrow down your ideas by categorizing things by what you need right now, what you'll need next, and what you'll need at the end of all of this. Develop the main characters you'll need in the first book, figure out their story, create a really solid book on its own before you start on figuring out the next, and the next.

I hope that helps! Let me know if you need more help.

#writing #creative writing #writers #writing community #ask box #anon ask #ask and answer #writing advice

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writingwithfolklore · 22 days

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Writing Fictional News

Eee this is one of my biggest pet peeves in movies, games, stories, anything… As someone who reads and edits a lot of news articles for my job, I can tell soo instantly when fictional news articles or broadcasts were written by someone who has never written news before. I’m constantly saying, “hmm, they’d never publish that.”

So here’s what you gotta know about writing (fictional) news stories.

1. They’re to the point… but not like that

This is the biggest thing I see in fiction that has news in it. People tend to write headlines that have the worst, gory details. For example,

“Student Sadie Walker murdered by 50 stabbings last night.”

While dramatic (and informative), I don’t see this as a news headline. The same situation (Sorry Sadie) may actually be reported as,

“Young woman passed away after involvement in stabbing late last night.”

While news articles are to the point and informative, remember that they’re written for the general public. We often don’t get the super gory details (at least, not in the headline).

2. They have a pretty specific voice

While most journalism is meant to be free of bias, news is the most importantly objective. This tends to result in articles written in a more formal tone. They also follow a structure: the most specific details to the most general.

Imagine you’re writing a piece that you’re expecting the reader to drop out at any moment. The headline is the attention grabber so your first line has the most important details of the story, so that someone can read it and know the jist.

Following our example, the first paragraph might be,

“Last night in June County a young woman was found unconscious, having suffered severe injuries. The woman was identified as Sadie Walker, a 21-year-old student attending June County University nearby. According to police reports, Walker had been walking between campus and the student dorms around midnight when she was struck and stabbed 30-50 times in the chest and back. Walker was found by a peer returning home an estimated hour after the attack and taken straight to Red Mill General hospital, where she passed away shortly after. The perpetrator is still unknown at this time.”

Remember the 5 W’s and 1 H. Your first few lines should inform the reader of Who, What happened, Where did it happen, When did it happen, how it happened, and maybe why if you know—though since news is so timely, often the answer isn’t known right away.

3. Where the article is found in the news is telling

While a story like our example might make the front page of the paper (especially if nothing else is really going on in June County), only one story can make this top spot. Some papers are divided between the top and bottom of the page, known as “above the fold” and “below the fold”. It’s a bit more traditional format, but the ‘above the fold’ spot is the best one, because that’s the story people see when they’re passing by the newsstand, while ‘below the fold’ is another important story making the front page, but one would have to pick up the paper and unfold it to read it.

Not to mention all the stories found inside the paper. Consider how important your article is--not to your characters/plot, but to the general society your fictional newspaper is serving. Would your MC’s win at the local dog competition make the front page of big city news?

Any other news writers on here? What did I miss?

#creative writing #writing #writers #writing community #screenwriting #writing inspiration #filmmaking #books #film #writing advice #writing news #writing fictional news #news writing

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writingwithfolklore · 24 days

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I want to write a book called “your character dies in the woods” that details all the pitfalls and dangers of being out on the road & in the wild for people without outdoors/wilderness experience bc I cannot keep reading narratives brush over life threatening conditions like nothing is happening.

I just read a book by one of my favorite authors whose plots are essentially airtight, but the MC was walking on a country road on a cold winter night and she was knocked down and fell into a drainage ditch covered in ice, broke through and got covered in icy mud and water.

Then she had a “miserable” 3 more miles to walk to the inn.

Babes she would not MAKE it to that inn.

#this is super interesting!#I'd like to maybe do a post on this some day #If I end up reading the book I'll come back and share the knowledge with you all #writing #creative writing #writers #writing community #screenwriting #writing inspiration #filmmaking #books #film #writing advice

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writingwithfolklore · 28 days

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Character Agency

Your characters should have agency. That means they have the power to influence what’s happening around them. We talked a bit about agency last time, revolving around how many female characters get agency stripped away from them. But overall, agency is important for any character to make them active participants in their own stories and feel necessary to the plot.

So here’s how you enable your characters agency:

1. They make active decisions

Okay this is the obvious one in theory, but still manages to sneak by in stories undetected. An active character with agency makes things happen through their decisions, instead of just their reactions. Take these two examples of a scene plan:

John is walking home when he is caught by a sudden storm. Looking to hide from the rain, he ducks under the cover of a bus shelter. Inside is Mya, and they strike up a conversation about their shared sucky situation.

Vs.

John is walking home when he is caught by a sudden storm. Luckily he brought an umbrella in his bag, and draws it out. Then, he sees Mya getting drenched by the rain ahead of him. He jogs to her, offering to share the umbrella. They strike up a conversation.

In the second example John isn’t just reacting but making a choice that’s changed something in the world. He may just happen to run into Mya, but it was his decision to run up to her, to offer her his umbrella. This action is a great indicator of his personality—he’s kind, trusting, and thoughtful even towards strangers.

That’s the most important part. A character who just reacts to everything doesn’t show off any personality, whereas action lets you demonstrate who your character is at their core (especially in difficult situations that call for difficult decisions).

2. Their actions have consequences

Similarly, the decisions your active character makes aren’t really decisions if they don’t impact any part of their world. For good or for bad, every decision your character makes should have a consequence. This could be shown through their relationships with others, their environment, or even their own mental, physical, or spiritual state.

If we’re going from the example above, John sharing his umbrella with Mya maybe starts their friendship, but her jealous, toxic boyfriend sees them through his window, making her and now his life difficult.

It’s a decision that has multiple consequences throughout his life—a new friendship, and also a new enemy. And Mya is also facing consequences—from her decision to walk with him, and his decision to offer her the umbrella.

Make sense? How do you ensure your character has agency?

#writing #creative writing #writers #writing community #screenwriting #writing inspiration #books #filmmaking #film #writing advice #character agency #main characters #side characters #active characters #active vs passive characters

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writingwithfolklore · 1 month

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Do well by your female characters

Back in film school you wouldn't believe the amount of scripts I read from my (mostly male) classmates that featured the same character; a kind, helpful woman reflective of the male protagonist who showed up when he needed her to offer warm words and support, allowing him to overcome obstacles and go for what he needs.

I hope she doesn’t sound familiar to you.

One of them was a coworker, another a train station attendant, another the best friend who lived next door—it didn’t matter, they were all the same character, uninvolved in their own lives, created to help a man get to his goal. Let’s be wary of this trope, and stop robbing our female characters of their own agency. We can do this in a few ways:

1. They aren’t convenient

One confusing fault of the female characters I read in my peers’ scripts was that she was always around right where the protagonist needed her to be. It didn’t matter if he was having a crisis in the alleyway, or by the museum, or in his own house, she’d show up like she’d been summoned.

She needed a place to be—a life outside of him. A job, school, hobbies. Sometimes when he needs her—she shouldn’t be there.

2. They have an actual personality

While being warm, kind, supportive, and empathetic are all admirable traits people do have, I’ve never met a real person where that’s all they were. Like building any character, she needs flaws, interests, something to her that isn’t just for other people’s benefit. Consider what traits she has that aren’t just ways she serves others.

Allow her something just for her. Something selfish.

3. They have and work towards a goal

Related to her not being convenient—she’s got her own thing going on. Like any other character, she has goals and objectives, motivations, something to work towards. As much as she supports the protagonist, she also takes from him to fulfill her own goal.

Give her wins, disappointments, a little something going on. Something to gain from her interactions with him.

What else bothers you about common female character tropes? Or what did I miss?

#writing #creative writing #writers #writing community #screenwriting #writing inspiration #books #filmmaking #film #writing advice #female characters #writing female characters #mary sue trope #character agency

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writingwithfolklore · 1 month

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When to Cut a Character

Last time we talked about getting rid of what’s not serving your story, but sometimes it can be hard to tell when something just needs a bit of adjusting to work, or needs to be cut entirely. This is a very case-by-case occurrence, but there are a few tell-tale signs for when a character just isn’t necessary.

1. You struggle to remember to include them in scenes or dialogue

If you often feel like you’re adding your character into a scene just because we haven’t seen them in a while, or even find yourself forgetting they exist at all—they are just as, if not more forgettable to the readers. This is a big sign you can cut them out, and save yourself the effort of including them in random scenes.

2. Their dialogue/purpose could be given to someone else

The best way to check if someone (or something) is necessary is to try to take them out. If you find that you can give a character’s plot importance and dialogue to someone else (or split across multiple characters), you can cut the character. By trying this with all your characters, you’ll find that only the absolute necessary ones remain. Besides, a smaller cast of characters is often easier to develop and juggle, allowing them all to shine throughout the story.

3. They only really show up as a plot device

While maybe not necessary to cut out completely, characters who only show up at the most convenient times to provide some plot device or deus ex machina tend to land flat. When I catch these in my own work, I cut them out to force my main characters to solve their own problems.

One big example of this (and spoilers for the movie Passenger (2016)!) is when the characters, who are the only ones awake on the ship, need access to a certain room they don’t have the clearance for. This door proves an obstacle for the entire movie. Then, we reach the third act and need to end the movie so one of the other passengers who has access to that door wakes up because of a sudden malfunction, helps them through the door, and then dies soon after.

Given that was in a blockbuster movie, I’m sure you could get away with doing this, but I personally would have cut out that character and figured out a way for them to solve the problem on their own. (I think even if they had woken him up intentionally, giving them action and agency to solve this problem, it would have been better, but I digress).

There are tons of purposes for characters which is what makes this so case by case. If you’re unsure about a character being necessary, try taking them out and evaluate what is lost. If nothing is lost, or whatever’s lost can be made up by someone else, maybe the cut should be permanent.

Any other signs a character is worth writing out of the story?

#writing #creative writing #writers #screenwriting #writing community #writing inspiration #filmmaking #books #film #writing advice #when to cut a character #kill your darlings

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writingwithfolklore · 1 month

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Kill Your Darlings

This is another one of those common pieces of advice that gets traded so often it’s somewhat lost its meaning, similar to “write what you know”. Kill your darlings doesn’t mean ‘kill your favourite characters’, or even ‘take away what your characters love most’ (though that’s good advice for your midpoint.)

Kill your darlings means ‘get rid of what’s not serving you’. That may be a character you like but ultimately adds nothing to the plot (or adds something another character could easily also add), a plot point that is exciting and fun but takes the story off the rails, or even as specific as a line of dialogue you love but just doesn’t fit into the conversation anywhere.

It means, even if you love it, if it isn’t serving your story it’s gotta go. Cut out the fluff. Kill your darlings. In work that’s intended to be professional, this is incredibly important (fanfic writers and people just writing for yourself, you get to do whatever you want haha).

To make this easier, I keep a separate document I call the “graveyard” where I put everything I cut out of my draft. Scenes, lines of dialogue, or even ideas I had to strike all end up in the graveyard where they’re safe. This way, if I ever want to use them in another project (or they end up working out after all), they’re somewhere I can find them again.

What’s another piece of advice you find gets taken out of context or misunderstood?

#writing #creative writing #writers #screenwriting #writing community #writing inspiration #filmmaking #film #books #writing advice #kill your darlings #writing foundations: kill your darlings #novel writing #common writing advice #graveyard #grave tending

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writingwithfolklore · 1 month

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Happy St. Paddy's day everyone! Throw back to my old Folklore Friday series :,)

Folklore Friday: Leprechaun

Happy April Fools day! I don’t have a trick up my sleeve for you, but I do have a trickster. Today we’re talking about Ireland’s most mischievous little creature, the Leprechaun.

Leprechauns are said to be fairies who look like tiny old men, standing around two to three feet tall. They often wear little pointy hats and aprons. In traditional folklore they work as cobblers—making shoes with tiny hammers.

And of course, everyone knows about the leprechaun’s hidden treasure. Often stored and hidden in a golden pot at the ‘end’ of the rainbow, leprechauns are known to hoard gold and treasure. If you find and catch a leprechaun, it’s said he has to tell you his hiding place—as long as you keep him in your sights. If the leprechaun can trick you into looking away, he’ll disappear without telling you anything.

I’ve also read that the leprechaun may grant wishes if caught, though it’s unsure if this is a ‘genie’ situation or not, as they’re known for being mischievous and playing pranks. Though it should be noted they aren’t said to be wholly good or evil, they’re just only loyal to themselves (I’d probably place them around chaotic neutral for you D&D fans). They’re also very smart, and will do almost anything to prevent being captured by a human, so those who do should be very cautious when trying to talk to the slippery little guys.

While we often associate the leprechaun with green, before the 20thcentury it’s said that they were depicted wearing red! Some theories suggest the style and colour of clothing may depend on where the leprechaun is from. Either way, they usually have the same pointy shoes, buckles, and buttons. It’s also said there have never been a report of a female leprechaun—one theory being leprechauns are actually just discarded children of fairies.

Leprechauns are said to live in underground caves or in hollow trees. They love Irish music and dancing, and are expert musicians as well as shoemakers. I’ve heard they needed to become shoemakers out of necessity as they dance so much. The word leprechaun comes from an old Irish word that means “little body.” These guys are just packed with Irish culture and pride—they’re hard not to love!

Today of all days you should be especially cautious of these guys. Their pranks are beyond human detection, and you definitely don’t want to get caught in a lifetime of bad luck.

Don’t just take my word for it!

leprechaun | Irish folklore | Britannica

Leprechaun | Myths and Folklore Wiki | Fandom

Irish Leprechaun Facts & Myths - Irish Folklore Stories From Ireland (yourirish.com)

Myth of the Leprechaun (celtic-weddingrings.com)

Folklore Friday: The Leprechaun Is Ireland’s Biggest Little Fairy - Shamrock Craic (shamrockgift.com) (Very in-depth source!)

#writing #writers #creative writing #writing inspiration #writing community #books #film #screenwriting #filmmaking #folklore Friday #Folklore #magic #myth #leprechaun #ireland #irish #st. patricks day #st. paddys day

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writingwithfolklore · 1 month

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Bringing this back this year. Happy Ides of March everyone!

Writing Prophesy (Ides of March)

All you classic lit fans out there know what yesterday was! That’s right, it’s the ides of March, the day Julius Caesar was betrayed by his closest friends—if only he had listened to his wife’s prophetic dream…

And that’s what we’ll be talking about today--writing prophesy into your stories, and how to use it in a way that feels earned and exciting. If you’ve ever tried to write a prophesy into your story, you probably already understand why it can be really difficult. While stories don’t survive off surprise, a certain amount of the unknown keeps us interested—which can be hard if someone has prophesized all the events.

However, having your prophesy not coming true at all—unless some amount of lore or intention can explain it, feels incredibly cheap. Can we really claim it’s prophesy if it doesn’t come true?

So here’s how I’ve gotten around this issue (you have a couple options).

Option 1. Make the prophesy so unbelievable that it’s surprising it actually comes true.

My last project started with a very simple promise, that someone was going to die. The story revolved around his friends attempting to find a way to save his life, with an amount of success that it felt hopeful, believable that they were all going to get through it okay. So of course, when the prophesy comes true at the end… it’s still surprising, still a satisfying ending, and allows the prophet some integrity.

There was a certain amount of mythology behind it. How do you save someone from their fate without muddling a bit with the universe? So consider how you can make readers believe that the prophesy can be circumvented. Is it through gods? Magic? Powerful beings? Wishes? Otherworldly creatures? In your world, what has power over fate, over prophesy? Make it believable, and we’ll have hope, only for the big reveal at the end, that prophesy always comes true.

Option 2. The prophesy comes true, but not in the way you think it will.

I also mixed in a little bit of this in my last project, and I’d recommend that you do combine your options to maximize the effect. This one is pretty obvious, you say the donut is going to get eaten, you assume by the main character, instead it’s by the goat. Encanto does a lot of this with Bruno’s gift, we see a vague prophesy and assume it comes true in one way, but instead it comes true in another.

Think about how you can create assumptions by the readers, and set up an expectation that seems so obvious until something alternative happens.

I would caution against choosing to be super vague in order to do this. If it’s vague, it’s not very surprising because really anything could happen—you’re setting up the expectation for anything to happen rather than controlling the narrative. So, make it specific, but leave room for something surprising. In Julius Caesar we know he will meet his end on the Ides of March, but he never would have guessed it was by his closest friends.

As well, to have prophesy you need a prophet. This is the character that foretells the future, or senses the omens to come. Consider what gives the prophet their gift. Were they born with it? Cursed? Gifted? Was it a sort of sacrifice? The one thing I’ll caution against is the “blind prophet” stereotype—there’s a great video about stereotypes surrounding disabled characters I’d recommend watching HERE if you’ve never heard of this.

What does prophesy add to your narrative? Does it create suspense? Tension? Mystery? Sometimes it’s an added component to the narrative, sometimes it’s the center stage.

Prophesy can be a really clever story element if you use it well and create expectation without spoiling the rest of the story. Good luck! And happy Ides of March!

#writing #writers #writing tips #writing advice #writing inspiration #creative writing #writing community #books #film #filmmaking #screenwriting #creative #ides of march #classic literature #prophecy #prophets #writing prophesy

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writingwithfolklore · 1 month

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Failing with Momentum

Last time we talked about antagonists so this time we’re talking about conflict. Sometimes I think writers are afraid to allow their characters to fail. Trust me, there’s a big difference between characters making poor decisions that seemed good in the moment (or failing), and being the protagonists in slasher horror movies. Your characters can be a bit stupid, and fail often, without ruining your plot or characterization.

1. Fail Forward

One way we do this is by allowing them to fail forward. This means that your plot actually relies on their failure, rather than just on their successes. They get totally rejected for the school dance, but that leaves them out in the hall to witness something they weren’t meant to see. They get caught sneaking around in the bad guy’s lair, but now they know their accomplice is actually on the other side.

This takes reworking of your entire plot, so consider while crafting your outline how a failure can get the character to where they need to be rather than a success.

2. Everything comes with consequences

Another way to allow your character to fail is to not reveal that they’ve failed right away. Most decisions we (and characters) make aren’t so black and white—right or wrong. It shouldn’t be obvious right away when a character has done something stupid—we reveal that it was stupid later on, when consequences come back to haunt them.

So another way to say “let your characters fail” is just “let your characters face consequences.” Maybe a decision isn’t necessary stupid, or ‘bad’. Maybe it allows them to achieve something they really needed to. However, it should also come with unintended consequences—a negative to the positive.

3. Failing is a chance to show their strengths

When something (usually caused by the antagonist) stands in their way, it’s just another chance for them to demonstrate what they’re strong at. Say the antagonist kills the person who has all the answers before the protagonist gets to talk to them, now they have to pivot—maybe they dig up the information through research, or find someone related to talk to, or reach out via medium to the spirit realm, whatever.

This pivoting is the kind of challenge that allows your character to grow. Their path isn’t a straight-shot, easy romp through a meadow but one filled with twists and disappointments and frustrations and challenges. They are forced to do things they maybe never would have, and this leads to them thinking about themselves or their worlds differently.

What other ways are there to fail forward?

#writing #creative writing #writers #screenwriting #writing community #writing inspiration #filmmaking #books #film #writing advice #failing with momentum #conflict #writing conflict #antagonists

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writingwithfolklore · 1 month

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When your Antagonist is Also your Protagonist

If there’s one thing humans are all really good at, it’s getting in our own way. Most stories have at least some element of protagonist against themselves—we create this block between our protagonist and what they want when we create their flaw.

However, stories that rely on this conflict with self have to do a bit extra work. Internal motivations and antagonists are a bit more challenging, but still a valid way to introduce conflict into a story. Here’s three considerations for when your antagonist is also your protagonist:

1. What is preventing them from what they want?

This is the same question we ask ourselves when creating character flaws, but I think it deserves repeating here. There has to be something you can name that is standing in the way of your character, or this won’t work. It must be deeply ingrained, difficult to overcome, and effective in preventing them from getting what they want.

Maybe what they want is to ask out their crush, but they’re horribly shy. Or they want to take down their evil ruler, but they’re secretly in love with them. It’s important these are traits they can’t just snap their fingers and fix. Like, if your character really wants to win a weightlifting contest, the thing standing in their way can’t be that they’re just too weak, because people can work out and become stronger—that doesn’t make for a very compelling story, and it also doesn’t explain why they couldn’t have just done that sooner.

There’s a reason your character doesn’t already have what they want.

2. How will you use that to introduce conflict?

In order to be effective, this trait has to act as the antagonist, which means at every turn, they have to be thwarted by themselves. Maybe your character comes face to face with their crush and physically can’t talk and it comes off as awkward and weird. Or they’re approaching their evil ruler and can’t seem to pull the trigger.

Their inability to get over their trait should be frustrating and challenging for them. If it helps, think of it like a little invisible guy hovering over their shoulder and forcing them to do the opposite of what they want to do.

3. Other ways of standing in their own way

Characters can also be thwarted by their own minds in other ways. Some stories take the route of reality being unreliable, whether through drugs, mental illness, or a magical/fictional reason. Memento, the movie, is sort of an example of this, where because of Leonard’s memory condition, he’s unable to know who to trust or what the truth is, and what's a lie.

One of my favourite video games is Fran Bow, where the distorting of reality is both the problem and sometimes the answer.

What are some other ways the protagonist can act as their own antagonist?

#when your antagonist is also your protagonist #writing #creative writing #writers #screenwriting #writing community #writing inspiration #filmmaking #books #film #writing advice #antagonists #writing antagonists

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writingwithfolklore · 2 months

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When Your Antagonist Isn't a Person

Last time I talked about how to character create an antagonist (check it out here if you missed it!) but what happens when your antagonist isn’t a person?

Antagonists don’t necessarily have to be another character (or even one singular character). Rather, an antagonist is anything that raises the stakes and creates conflict for your protagonist. You will likely find this antagonist in your worldbuilding.

1. What your world may say about your antagonist

In a survival story, your protagonist will likely be out in the wilderness alone—thus, their antagonist may be creatures, starvation, dehydration, exposure (freezing, sunburn). Or something like a giant storm, or other natural phenomenon/disaster.

In an urban setting, the antagonist may be the ‘system’ itself; politics, institutions, a way they’ve been disadvantaged or otherwise put down by their world. (Often these systems can be represented by a person, if you so choose).

And a futuristic world opens up to technology being an antagonist; things aren’t working as they’re meant to, AI has gone wrong, or it’s gone too right—the technology is taking away from what the protagonist wants.

2. Goals and Motivations

Your non-human antagonist may not have goals or motivations, or very basic ones. Does a nasty storm exist to destroy humans? Probably not, it just is as it is. A creature’s goal may be to eat, it’s motivation being that it’s hungry.

However, a system or institution may have deeper goals/motivations. For example, Amazon is a company built to make Jeff Bezos money. Your institution may have a goal it presents to the public, and a true goal (usually monetary, but could also be religiously or politically motivated).

3. Additional sources of conflict

Sometimes non-human antagonists need some extra support to make your character’s life suck. A dangerous storm brewing in the distance is great, but you may also need some additional sources of conflict to keep your character moving until it reaches them.

If your character is taking down Amazon, they may be targeted by police, or drones with guns, or people who live off an Amazon salary, or require the convenience of it.

Often stories without one human antagonist tend to have multiple little antagonists. Survival stories are great for the amount of different conflicts you can throw at a character. You may even introduce small conflicts between other characters, even if those characters aren’t fully antagonists.

Next time I’ll talk about character vs. self, what do you do when your antagonist is also your protagonist?

#writing #creative writing #writers #screenwriting #writing community #writing inspiration #filmmaking #books #film #writing advice #antagonists #when your antagonist isn't a person

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