british-dimples

[british-dimples]

Your character is driven by 3 emotional motives. See? I even made a graphic.

(I’m proud of the graphic, too.)

Mood: The immediate (and temporary) emotions of your character. A feeling of joy after kissing the girl they like; frustration after a busy day working a summer job at the fair; despair after somebody eats the last Oreo.

Situation: The plot and relationship contexts of your character. The apprehension they feel with a friend in the weeks following a nasty fight; the nerves felt in the week leading up to their big championship game; the frustration and boredom of being grounded after crashing the family car into the county creek.

Struggle: The core, deepfelt pain of your character, which often emerges from their background. The fear of failure from overly demanding parents; a deep longing for a family they never knew; a desperate need to be accepted after spending years as an outcast.

How these 3 motives influence your character

The above emotional motives all play an important role in driving your character’s actions, muddying or even overriding their more logical intentions — just as it happens to the rest of us. (We’re all human, after all.)

That being said, while your character’s mood and situation will shift throughout the story, their struggle will remain constant: their true north, emotionally speaking. This struggle will always be at the root of their actions, even as you swap in new situations and moods.

Take Bethany as an example

Let’s say your character’s name is Bethany, and her struggle is this: a deep fear of failure, stemming from her parents’ impossible academic expectations, which conflicts with her own desire to finally experience the life she sees passing her by.

Her actions, while primarily driven by that struggle, are going to vary quite a bit depending on her situation and mood. For example, if it’s the night before a big test, she might blow off a friend’s invitation to a party so she can study.

But if the party is a week before the big test, and she finds a handwritten invitation in her notebook from Emma (the girl on the lacrosse team she has a crush on), Bethany might act differently. Maybe she feels a lightness and warmth in her cheeks as she reads Emma’s note. Maybe she puts those textbooks away, and maybe, just maybe, she sneaks out the window and goes to the party.

But if Bethany finds the note after her parents just chewed her out for being ungrateful and not studying hard enough? Maybe Bethany doesn’t go to the party. Instead, maybe she reads Emma’s note, trembles, then rips it in two, knowing she can’t disappoint her parents like that. Then she spends the rest of the evening studying. Alone.

Mood. Situation. Struggle.

All three kinds of emotional motives are important. Your character’s struggle is the anchor, but their mood and situation are the ever-shifting masks you use to express their struggle in fresh ways. 

And by the end of the story, hopefully your character will overcome their struggle — putting away the textbooks, sneaking out the window, and meeting their crush at a party. Maybe even having their first kiss.

Whatever the character, and whatever their struggle, I’m sure you’ll do great. 

So good luck! And good writing.

— — —

For more tips on crafting theme, meaning, and character-driven plots, check out the rest of my blog.

[british-dimples]

a massively extended version of ruthlesscalculus’ post

General Tips

Joss Whedon’s Top 10 Writing Tips

Getting Out of Your Comfort Zone

34 Writing Tips that will make you a Better Writer

50 Free resources that will improve your writing skills

5 ways to get out of the comfort zone and become a stronger writer

10 ways to avoid Writing Insecurity

The Writer’s Guide to Overcoming Insecurity

The Difference Between Good Writers and Bad Writers

You’re Not Hemingway - Developing Your Own Style

7 Ways to use Brain Science to Hook Readers and Reel them In

8 Short Story Tips from Kurt Vonnegut

How to Show, Not Tell

5 Essential Story Ingredients

How to Write Fiction that grabs your readers from page one

Why research is important in writing

Make Your Reader Root for Your Main Character

Writing Ergonomics (Staying Comfortable Whilst Writing)

The Importance of Body Language

Character Development

10 days of Character Building

Name Generators

Name Playground

Universal Mary Sue Litmus Test

Seven Common Character Types

Handling a Cast of Thousands Part 1 - Getting To Know Your Characters

Web Resources for Developing Characters

Building Fictional Characters

Fiction Writer’s Character Chart

Character Building Workshop

Tips for Characterization

Character Chart for Fiction Writers

Villains are people too but…

How to Write a Character Bible

Character Development Exercises

All Your Characters Talk the Same - And They’re Not A Hivemind!

Medieval Names Archive

Sympathy Without Saintliness

Family Echo (Family Tree Maker)

Behind The Name

100 Character Development Questions for Writers

Aether’s Character Development Worksheet

The 12 Common Archetypes

Six Types of Courageous Characters

Kazza’s List of Character Secrets - Part 1, Part 2

Creating Believable Characters With Personality

Body Language Cheat Sheet

Creating Fictional Characters Series

Three Ways to Avoid Lazy Character Description

7 Rules for Picking Names for Fictional Characters

Character Development Questionnaire

How to Create Fictional Characters

Character Name Resources

Character Development Template

Character Development Through Hobbies

Character Flaws List

10 Questions for Creating Believable Characters

Ari’s Archetype Series

How to Craft Compelling Characters

List of 200 Character Traits

Writing Characters of the Opposite Sex

Making Your Characters Likable

Do you really know your characters?

Character Development: Virtues

Character Development: Vices

Character Morality Alignment

List of Negative Personality Traits

List of Positive Personality Traits

List of Emotions - Positive

List of Emotions - Negative

Loon’s Character Development Series - Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4

Phobia List A-L (Part 1), M-Z (Part 2)

30 Day In Depth Character Development Meme

Words for Emotions based on Severity

Eight Bad Characters

High Level Description of the Sixteen Personality Types

Female Characters

How Not to Write Female Characters

Writing Female Characters

How to write empowering female characters

Why I write strong female characters

Red Flags for Female Characters Written by Men

Writing strong female characters

The Female Character Flowchart

Eight Heroine Archetypes

Male Characters

Eight Hero Archetypes

Tips for Specific Characters

Writing A Vampire

Writing Pansexual Characters

Writing Characters on the Police Force

Writing Drunk Characters

Writing A Manipulative Character

Writing A Friends With Benefits Relationship

Writing A Natural Born Leader

Writing A Flirtatious Character

Writing A Nice Character

Fiction Writing Exercises for Creating Villains

Five Traits to Contribute to an Epic Villain

Writing Villains that Rock

Writing British Characters

How To Write A Character With A Baby

On Assassin Characters

Dialogue

It’s Not What They Say…

Top 8 Tips for Writing Dialogue

Speaking of Dialogue

The Great Said Debate

He Said, She Said, Who Said What?

How to Write Dialogue Unique to Your Characters

Writing Dialogue: Go for Realistic, Not Real-Life

Point of View

Establishing The Right Point of View

How to Start Writing in the Third Person

The I Problem

Plot, Conflict, Structure and Outline

Writing A Novel Using the Snowflake Method

Effectively Outlining Your Novel

Conflict and Character Within Story Structure

Outlining Your Plot

Ideas, Plots and Using the Premise Sheets

How To Write A Novel

Creating Conflict and Sustaining Suspense

Plunge Right In…Into Your Story, That Is

Tips for Creating a Compelling Plot

36 (plus one) Dramatic Situations

The Evil Overlord Devises A Plot: Excerpt from Stupid Plot Tricks

Conflict Test

What is Conflict?

Monomyth

The Hero’s Journey: Summary of Steps

Outline Your Novel in Thirty Minutes

Plotting Without Fears

Novel Outlining 101

Writing The Perfect Scene

One-Page Plotting

The Great Swampy Middle

How Can You Know What Belongs In Your Book?

Create A Plot Outline in 8 Easy Steps

How to Organize and Develop Ideas for Your Novel

Create Structure in your novel using index cards

Choosing the best outline method for you

Hatch’s Plot Bank

Setting & Worldbuilding

Magical Word Builder’s Guide

I Love The End Of The World

World Building 101

The Art of Description: Eight Tips to Help Bring Your Settings to Life

Creating the Perfect Setting - Part 1

Creating a Believable World

Setting

Character and Setting Interactions

Maps Workshop - Developing the Fictional World Through Mapping

World Builders Project

How To Create Fantasy Worlds

Creating Fantasy and Science Fiction Worlds

Creativity Boosters* denotes prompts

*Creative Writing Prompts

*Ink Provoking

*Story Starter

*Story Spinner

*Story Kitchen

*Language is a Virus

*The Dabbling Mum

Quick Story Idea Generator

Solve Your Problems By Simply Saying Them Out Loud

Busting Your Writing Rut

Creative Acceleration: 11 Tips To Engineer A Productive Flow

Writing Inspiration, Or Sex on a Bicycle

The Seven Major Beginner Mistakes

Complete Your First Book with these 9 Simple Writing Habits

Free Association, Active Imagination, Twilight Imaging

Random Book Title Generator

Finishing Your Novel

Story Starters & Idea Generators

Words to Use More Often

Revision & Grammar

How To Rewrite

Editing Recipe

Cliche Finder

Revising Your Novel: Read What You’ve Written

Writing 101: Revising A Novel

20 Common Grammar Mistakes That (Almost) Everyone Makes

Synonyms for the Most Commonly Used Words of the English Language

Grammar Urban Legends

Tools & Software

Tip Of My Tongue - Find the word you’re looking for

Write or Die - Stay motivated

Stay Focused - Tool for Chrome, lock yourself out of distracting websites

My Writing Nook - Online Text Editor, Free

Bubbl.us - Online Mind Map Application, Free

Family Echo - Online Family Tree Maker, Free

Freemind - Mind Map Application; Free; Windows, Mac, Linux, Portable

Xmind - Mind Map Application; Free; Windows, Mac, Linux, Portable

Liquid Story Binder - Novel Organization and Writing Application; free trial, $45.95; Windows, Portable

Scrivener - Novel Organization and Writing Application; free trial, $39.95; Mac

SuperNotecard - Novel Organization and Writing Application; free trial, $29; Windows, Mac, Linux, portable

yWriter - Novel Organization and Writing Application; free; Windows, Linux, portable

JDarkRoom - Minimalist Text Editing Application; free; Windows, Mac, Linux, portable

AutoRealm - Map Creation Application; free; Windows, Linux with Wine

Specific Help

Fashion Terminology

All About Kissing

Genre Help: Romance

187 Mental Illnesses

Types of Mental Illness

Eye Color List

Spectral Groupings

[british-dimples]

Writing agent Jonny Geller gives advice to young writers. 

[british-dimples]

[british-dimples]

I’m wondering, how do I come up with good ideas to write a sub-plot that actually fits into the story and won’t make the reader lose the connection with the main plot?

How to Write A Sub Plot

If you look back on every single bestselling book ever printed, the chances are that most, if not all of them, contain sub-plots.

A sub-plot is part of a book that develops separately from the main story, and it can serve as a tool that extends the word count and adds interest and depth into the narrative.

Sub-plots are key to making your novel a success, and, although they aren’t necessary for shorter works, are an essential aspect of story writing in general.

However, sub-plots can be difficult to weave into the main plot, so here are a few tips on how to incorporate sub-plots into your writing.

1. Know Your Kinds of Sub-Plots and Figure Out Which is Best For Your Story

Sub-plots are more common than you think, and not all of them extend for many chapters at a time.

A sub-plot doesn’t have to be one of the side characters completely venturing off from the main group to struggle with their own demons or a side quest that takes up a quarter of the book. Small things can make a big difference, and there are many of these small things that exist in literature that we completely skip over when it comes to searching for sub-plots.

Character Arcs

Character arcs are the most common sub-plot.

They show a change in a dynamic character’s physical, mental, emotional, social, or spiritual outlook, and this evolution is a subtle thing that should definitely be incorporated so that the readers can watch their favorite characters grow and develop as people.

For example, let’s say that this guy named Bob doesn’t like his partner Jerry, but the two of them had to team up to defeat the big bad.

While the main plot involves the two of them brainstorming and executing their plans to take the big bad down, the sub-plot could involve the two getting to know each other and becoming friends, perhaps even something more than that.

This brings me to the second most common sub-plot:

Romance

Romance can bolster the reader’s interest; not only do they want to know if the hero beats the big bad guy, they also want to know if she ends up with her love interest in the end or if the warfare and strife will keep them apart.

How to Write Falling in Love

How to Write a Healthy Relationship

How to Write a Romance

Like character arcs, romance occurs simultaneously with the main plot and sometimes even influences it.

Side-Quests

There are two types of side-quest sub-plots, the hurtles and the detours.

Hurdle Sub-Plots

Hurdle sub-plots are usually complex and can take a few chapters to resolve. Their main purpose is to put a barrier, or hurdle, between the hero and the resolution of the main plot. They boost word count, so be careful when using hurdle sub-plots in excess.

Think of it like a video game.

You have to get into the tower of a fortress to defeat the boss monster.

However, there’s no direct way to get there; the main door is locked and needs to have three power sources to open it, so you have to travel through a monster-infested maze and complete all of these puzzles to get each power source and unlock the main door.

Only, when you open the main door, you realize that the bridge is up and you have to find a way to lower it down and so forth.

Detour Sub-Plot

Detour sub-plots are a complete break away from the main plot. They involve characters steering away from their main goal to do something else, and they, too, boost word count, so be careful not too use these too much.

Taking the video game example again.

You have to get to that previously mentioned fortress and are on your way when you realize there is an old woman who has lost her cattle and doesn’t know what to do. 

Deciding the fortress can wait, you spend harrowing hours rounding up all of the cows and steering them back into their pen for the woman.

Overjoyed, the woman reveals herself to be a witch and gives you a magical potion that will help you win the fight against the big bad later.

**ONLY USE DETOUR SUB-PLOTS IF THE OUTCOME HELPS AID THE PROTAGONISTS IN THE MAIN PLOT**

If they’d just herded all of the cows for no reason and nothing in return, sure it would be nice of them but it would be a complete waste of their and the readers’ time!

2. Make Sure Not to Introduce or Resolve Your Sub-Plots Too Abruptly

This goes for all sub-plots. Just like main plots, they can’t be introduced and resolved with a snap of your fingers; they’re a tool that can easily be misused if placed into inexperienced hands.

Each sub-plot needs their own arc and should be outlined just like how you outlined your main plot.

How to Outline Your Plot

You could use my methods suggested in the linked post, or you could use the classic witch’s hat model if you feel that’s easier for something that’s less important than your main storyline.

3. Don’t Push It

If you don’t think your story needs a sub-plot, don’t add a sub-plot! Unneeded sub-plots can clutter up your narrative and make it unnecessarily winding and long.

You don’t have to take what I’m saying to heart ever!

It’s your story, you write it how you think it should be written, and no one can tell you otherwise!

Hope this Helped!

[british-dimples]

Practical Tips For Writing With Depression

With depression, it’s hard enough trying to find the motivation to get out of bed in the morning before the next day begins. Summoning the energy it takes to write can be even harder, especially since depression (and sometimes medications used to treat depression) can stifle creativity. Here are some practical tips to help writers suffering from depressive disorders: 

1. Write one sentence a day – on your phone. The sentences don’t have to form a story or even be related. Just set a daily reminder to open your Notes app and type a single sentence. Make it an opening line, a one-line synopsis, a description of the weather, anything! Let it be as vague, boring and inconsequential as “She opened her eyes and pulled off the covers.” The end. Congrats! You have just achieved your goal for the day!

2. Change your work space. Instead of writing slouched in bed, sit at the kitchen table, or vice versa. If you can’t leave your room, sit on the opposite end of your bed or even the floor. You don’t have to clean or decorate your space to make it cute. Your brain has become accustomed to its surroundings and even a small change – like facing the opposite direction – can help break away from this.

3. Thinking about writing counts as writing. This rule doesn’t usually apply but we’ve made an exception just for you! Your depression is affecting your creativity but, ironically, having a creative outlet can help. If you can’t physically write, set aside a few minutes a day to think about writing. Great if you’re bad at meditation.

4. Experiment with different methods of storytelling. Try a voice recording instead of your usual handwriting or typing. This way, you don’t even have to leave your bed. Set small goals like “I will create a one minute voice memo of a character description”.

5. Share your success! And your failures! Post on Tumblr, tell your friends, tell your pet… It doesn’t matter how small your success, celebrate it by telling another human (or otherwise) who will understand what it means to you and congratulate you for it. Treat it like a big deal even if it’s just a single sentence. Similarly, tell people about anything you perceive to be a “failure” no matter how small or silly. Get it out of your system and maybe find some support, so you can move on.

6. Instead of abandoning your goals, alter them! Don’t give up if you failed to meet your goal once or even ten times. You need to retrain your brain to understand that these attempts at bettering yourself are lifestyle changes. If something isn’t working, don’t abandon ship. Make your goals easier, for example: instead of writing daily, plan to write once a week, even if it’s just one sentence.

7. Abandon deadlines and the like – sort of. Some structure is good - even required - in recovery. But if trying to stick to a routine, meet a deadline, keep up your word count, wake up or write at a certain time or similar rules are restricting you from writing (for example, if you feel so bad about constantly missing them that you sink further into depression and write even less) then be sure to give yourself days without them every now and then. Make a note of whether this is helpful (you’re more productive - yay!) or harmful (you backpedal - oops). The trick is to keep experimenting with different methods until you find something that works for you!

8. Accept your circumstances. Instead of seeing yourself as an ex-writer or a failed writer, reaffirm that this is simply a time in your life where your mental health (and possibly other circumstances) have made it difficult for you to flourish creatively. Don’t fret over how long it’s been since you picked up a pen or opened your Word document. Accept that this is a temporary break or a roadblock that will be over one day. Until then, your task is to focus on healing.

Good luck!

[british-dimples]

[british-dimples]

not sure what should happen next in your story?

Embarrass your protagonist. Make them seem weak and vulnerable in some way.

Shoot someone. That always takes the reader by surprise. 

In relation, kidnap someone. Or, rather, make it seem to your protagonist like someone has been kidnapped. 

Have one of your side characters disappear or become unavailable for some reason. This will frustrate your protagonist.

Have someone kiss the wrong girl, boy, or person, especially if you’ve been setting up a romance angle. It’s annoying.

If this story involves parents, have them argue. Push the threat of divorce, even if you know it won’t ever happen. It’ll make your readers nervous.

Have someone frame your protagonist for a crime they didn’t commit. This could range from a dispute to a minor crime to a full-blown felony.

If this is a fantasy story involving magic or witchcraft, create a terrible accident that’s a direct result of their spell-casting. 

Injure your protagonist in some way, or push them into a treacherous scenario where they might not make it out alive. 

Have two side characters who are both close to the protagonist get into a literal fist-fight. This creates tension for the reader, especially if these characters are well-developed, because they won’t know who to root for.

Make your protagonist get lost somewhere (at night in the middle of town, in the woods, in someone else’s house, etc.) 

Involve a murder. It can be as in-depth and as important as you want it to be. 

Introduce a new character that seems to prey on your protagonist’s flaws and bring them out to light.

If it’s in-character, have one of your characters get drunk or take drugs. Show the fallout of that decision through your protagonist. 

Spread a rumor about your protagonist. 

If your protagonist is in high-school, create drama in the school atmosphere. A death of a student, even if your protagonist didn’t know them personally, changes the vibe. 

If your story involves children, have one of them do something dangerous (touch a hot stove, run out into the road, etc.) and show how the protagonist responds to this, even if the child isn’t related to them. 

In a fantasy story, toss out the idea of a rebellion or war between clans or villages (or whatever units you are working with). 

Add a scenario where your protagonist has to make a choice. We all have watched movies where we have screamed don’t go in there! at the top of our lungs at the main character. Make them go in there. 

Have your protagonist find something, even if they don’t understand the importance of it yet. A key, a document, an old stuffed animal, etc. 

Foreshadow later events in some way. (Need help? Ask me!)

Have your protagonist get involved in some sort of verbal altercation with someone else, even if they weren’t the one who started it. 

Let your protagonist get sick. No, but really, this happens in real life all the time and it’s rarely ever talked about in literature, unless it’s at its extremes. It could range from a common cold to pneumonia. Maybe they end up in the hospital because of it. Maybe they are unable to do that one thing (whatever that may be) because of it.

Have someone unexpected knock on your protagonist’s door. 

Introduce a character that takes immediate interest in your protagonist’s past, which might trigger a flashback.

Have your protagonist try to hide something from someone else and fail.

Formulate some sort of argument or dispute between your protagonist and their love interest to push them apart. 

Have your protagonist lose something of great value in their house and show their struggle to find it. This will frustrate the reader just as much as the protagonist.

Create a situation where your protagonist needs to sneak out in the middle of the night for some reason.

Prevent your character from getting home or to an important destination in some way (a car accident, a bad storm, flat tire, running out of gas, etc.)

[british-dimples]

A Character Journey in 4 Steps

Establish the Struggle: Convey your character’s core emotional struggle near the beginning of your story.

Push your Character with Plot: Use the plot points of your story to push your character to confront their struggle incrementally — making small realizations and victories, having setbacks, making progress again, and so on.

Build to a Moment of Crisis: Continue pushing your character until they reach a moment of emotional crisis, where they’re forced to either overcome their struggle or succumb to it.

Demonstrate the Change: After the crisis (which is often the climax), have your character take an action that demonstrates their change.

Here’s what that looks like in an outline:

1. Establish the Struggle

Sara is a talented singer-songwriter who’s always lacked confidence; but now, after an envious boyfriend/co-writer tore her down during a messy breakup, she’s lost nearly all confidence. She no longer performs in front of crowds or writes music.

2. Push your Character with Plot

Late one Saturday night, Sara goes to her college’s empty music hall, sits at a piano, and sings a song she wrote before the breakup. Katherine, a music student who’d fallen asleep drunk in a nearby practice room, wakes up, barges in, and scares Sara off as she tries to tell her how great she sounds.

Katherine runs into Sara again on campus and apologizes for scaring her. She asks a bunch of questions, and Sara admits she used to write music. Katherine asks to hear more of her work, but Sara refuses.

Sara gets cornered by Katherine in the music hall on another Saturday night, but Katherine has a new tactic: she asks Sara to help her finish a song she’s been working on. Sara tentatively agrees.

Katherine performs the song they wrote together at an open mic, and the crowd loves it. Sara seems to gain some confidence, but refuses to admit her capabilities.

Still, later that night, alone in her apartment, she grabs her roommate’s out-of-tune guitar from the closet (Sara had sold her own) and starts playing around with a new song.

A week later, Sara shows the song to Katherine, and Katherine loves it. She records the performance on her phone, shows Sara how happy she looks performing, and convinces her to join her at an open mic.

They perform together in front of a small crowd. It goes well. As the story progresses, maybe there’s drama with the ex-boyfriend, maybe there’s romance with Katherine, etc., etc. But wherever the story goes, everything continues to push Sara forward (with maybe a few temporary steps back) on her journey to overcome her struggle.

3. Build to a Moment of Crisis

Sara has come a long way in regaining her confidence, now writing and performing regularly. But that confidence is still fragile.

The college’s end-of-year talent show arrives, and Sara and Katherine perform together. In the final round, Katherine surprises Sara by backing off the stage and having her sing her original song alone. Sara begins the performance beautifully, but then some drunk guys in the front row distract her, she fumbles, and the song falls apart.

Sara runs offstage, mortified and angry at Katherine — vowing to never do any of this again. But then, someone from the crowd approaches and tells her how much the song connected with them, and that makes Sara pause.

4. Demonstrate the Change

Katherine doesn’t hear from Sara for two weeks. She fears she’s given up on music. But then she goes to a local bar for open mic night, and there’s Sara onstage — with a guitar in hand and a nervous, but determined, smile.

Parting Notes

You can show a character’s journey in various ways; this is just one of the clearer, more straightforward methods. It’s also pretty effective. :)

When using this approach, be careful not to oversimplify complex issues (such as mental illness) by using the “crisis” as an overly simplistic fix/cure. Always give the subjects of your story the depth and complexity they deserve.

Remember, life is an ever-continuing journey, so if you write a multi-book series, you can use this structure repeatedly to continually evolve your character. For example, in my own WIP, the main character’s arc is a long, complex one, so I’m running him if through this process in each book to bring him incrementally closer to his full realization.

— — —

Everyone has stories worth telling, and I’d like to help with yours. Check out the rest of my blog for more writing tips.

[british-dimples]

Any advice for an aspiring fic writer? I try sometimes but I feel like my writing is awful 😂

I’m going to list things that I wish that I had known when I was starting out. So some of these may be helpful to you, but some may not. Hopefully most of them will be though. 

It’s okay if you don’t get a lot of hits early on. And it’s okay if you don’t get a lot of hits, even after having written for a while. Fanfiction has a ton of unique readers, so sometimes what you write, may only be interesting for a small amount of people. But that small amount, will appreciate every bit of effort and time you have given. It’s also okay to take pride in your work if it does get a lot of hits.

It’s normal to feel that your writing is bad. It’s normal to have self-doubt and a lack of confidence, especially when starting. You’re putting yourself and your ideas out there, so of course you’re worried. Even now, I’m still worried about certain fics when I release them. Start Again is an example of that. Even now I dislike a lot of my earlier works. Tinderella is an example of that.

Edit. If you have a ton of errors, either grammatical errors or spelling errors, it can be a huge turn off for readers. It makes the experience less enjoyable because no one wants to try to decipher a sentence. If you’re able to get a beta to edit your work, then go for it. I had one for a while and it was fantastic. I’ve been editing my own work lately to reduce wait time for chapters, but I also just sent her a random fic a couple weeks ago to edit too. So having a beta is not needed, but is nice to have in many ways.

Format correctly. Make sure that new dialogue is a new paragraph. Make sure you don’t have paragraphs that are twenty plus sentences long. Again it goes back to the flow of the piece and making it easy for the reader. That doesn’t mean to skip out on detail and plot though. Keep what’s important. 

The more you write, the more you’ll improve. Keep on working and you’ll see a difference in your work. This isn’t always obvious. It may be that you write faster. You become more concise. You become more creative. There are so many ways improvement can be displayed. The only way to improve is to write continue to write more. 

Writing is hard. Trying to convey emotion is hard. Having unique dialogue and interesting dialogue is hard. Creating new ideas is hard. Committing time to write is hard. But it goes back to the idea that the more you write, the more you’ll improve. It’ll get easier.

It’s okay to self-promote. If you don’t self-promote, less people will see your work. I struggled with this greatly and now I’m all for self-promoting, even if it does feel awkward.

Don’t feel pressured to write at a certain pace. Write at your pace! It’s so important not to burn yourself out. So if that means taking months to finish a chapter, that’s fine. If you’re a speed demon and publish chapter or fic after fic, it’s okay to take a break. It’s okay to not release the newest chapter as soon as possible. But if having a schedule and setting times works for you, then do it. In general, just write at a pace that is comfortable for you and ignore the anons that try to rush you.

Branch out and try new things. Fanfiction is a world where you can create and do whatever you want. You may feel that your ideas are weird or others won’t like them, but do it. There will be an audience that will appreciate you for doing what you’re doing. This also means that you shouldn’t feel obligated to stay in a single niche. You can explore, try new things. If you want to write canon compliant stuff, then do it. If you want to write modern AUs, then do it. If you want to write about space travel, then do it. Do what you want.

Comments are your best friend. They help you get to know your audience and your following. They can help you improve. They can help motivate you. So read the comments that are left on your work and try to reply to them. Also, folks, make sure to leave comments on fics when you can. It can really be a great boost for writers.

Accept feedback and constructive criticism. There are some amazing writers out there who read a lot of fics. Their critiques aren’t meant to bring you down or insult you, they’re trying to help you improve. There are also a lot of readers that are well educated or well versed in fanfiction, so accept their feedback too. But there are times when people do hate, and you just have to move on. Don’t feel ashamed about removing a rude comment if its harmful to you or your readers. There’s a difference from someone just hating and someone giving constructive criticism. 

You don’t always need to be unique. There are a lot of tropes that happen in fanfiction. There’s an abundance of college fics, similar canon compliant fics, coffee shop fics, etc. It’s okay to do these prompts, just know that there are others out there and add your own voice to it. I personally have read more college fics than is humanly acceptable and I don’t care. I’ve also written a lot of college fics too.

Fics won’t always hit the audience like you hoped, and that’s okay. Sometimes things hit and sometimes things miss.

Have fun. Writing is supposed to be fun. Reading fanfiction is supposed to be fun. So have fun with it.

Hopefully some of this advice is helpful to you. I hope that one day I’ll read one of your fics, anon! Keep working at it and I wish you the best of luck!

[british-dimples]

Tips for Fanfiction Writers

Most of these are things I’ve learned myself, about my own fics. Hindsight is 20/20. Here are some glasses (tips) so you don’t have to do the embarrassing look back that I did.

Don’t tell us it’s your first fic. I know the intent is to make us less judgmental about any possible errors or poor plotting or whatever, but it actually does the opposite. 

Don’t tell us how much you already have written - or not. If we know you have stuff written, we expect to see it soon, sooner than you’re perhaps ready to part with it. If we know that you’re completely winging it, have no plans and no schedule, we’re far less likely to give what you’ve already posted a chance. ‘Cause what if it’s never finished?!

If you can’t finish something, that’s fine. Sure, apologize if you’d like. There’s that unspoken pact between writer and reader that you’ll come through with an update and the reader will read it. But this is something you’re doing for free, in your own time and very likely around your normal schedule of work and sleep and things. If you can’t finish something, that’s fine, because you don’t owe us anything. And we’ll get over it.

Ignore comments that distress you. There will always be someone who only ever says “next chapter please!” right after you uploaded the current one. There will always be someone who requests for something to happen that you don’t want to write. There will always be someone who hounds your discontinued fic two years after you discontinued it and asks for an update, for some reason. There will always be that arbitrary person who has no tact and will comment something inappropriate or rude. Ignore them. You, the writer, are gifting the fandom a fic for free, so if they want to be selfish about it, that’s their prerogative.

Don’t insert author’s notes inside of your fic. This was much more prevalent in the older days of ff.net, but still. It doesn’t help your credibility. And since we do this for free, what our readers think of us is kind of a large part of what we write for, even if we claim otherwise. If you want to address something mentioned in the comments, just reply to the comment itself or make a note at the bottom, separate from the story.

Don’t break the fourth wall. Same vein as the last one. Don’t talk to your readers in the context of the story. Do it outside the house, where there are no walls.

Do NOT make promises about ANYTHING. Don’t tell us when you’ll update. Don’t tell us that the thing the comments has been predicting will happen is going to happen. Don’t speculate about how long the fic will be. Don’t say you’re taking a break but are definitely coming back. Just don’t promise anything at all. Chances are, you will break at least one, and once you’ve broken the first one, all the rest are easier to break as well. I know you mean well, but just don’t.

When you’re not sure if it’s good enough, it’s good enough. If editing is stressing you out, just post the chapter anyway and come back to it later with fresh eyes. If you just put it away, it’ll never be seen. And you do want it to be seen, most likely. We are fairly forgiving of the little things. If you use the word “said” and start a lot of sentences with “and,” big deal. Nobody cares.

Big things that we are less forgiving of: huge paragraphs. Poor or no punctuation. Different characters talking in the same paragraph. Colons used instead of quotation marks. Constant change of tense. Commas used instead of periods. No paragraph breaks. No spaces between sentences. Super excessive use of adverbs. Flashbacks without italics or line breaks to indicate them. Super excessive use of flashbacks in general. These are the things to smooth over before posting. You can fix the little typos later.

Please do reblog with anything else. 

[british-dimples]

Getting Attention for Your Fanfic

So you started writing fanfiction, and you’re having fun, but you wish you got more reviews (or comments, kudos, reblogs, maybe even just views). Fandom’s all full of encouragement for you, and full of scoldings for other fans who aren’t reading your fanfiction, but you know you can’t force someone to enjoy your writing and honestly, platitudes aren’t much of a replacement for reviews.

You have nothing to be ashamed about! We all want readers! We all want them to love our stories! It’s frustrating when you see that some stories and authors become popular and some don’t, and you don’t know why.

Of course there’s no magic formula behind it, but there are a few patterns I’ve noticed that may work as tips for new writers. They may be a little counter-intuitive, and I know I don’t hear them nearly as much as the platitudes and scoldings, but writing with them in mind has made my time in fandom more enjoyable and maybe they’ll do the same for you.

Make friends with other writers, especially those who are at about the same skill level that you are. Read their stories. Leave long comments that can turn into discussions. Follow each other around to different sites, rambling about the characters you all love. In a word, reciprocate.

Since most of the communication around here is through the written word anyway, make the most of it. A blog post like this one uses many of the same standards of readability as a work of fiction; think about how to form each sentence you write, what sounds good and why. Not only will you develop your sense for a natural writing voice, but people who are interested in your post might transfer that interest to your fanfiction, and those aforementioned friendships get sparked.

You don’t need constructive criticism to improve. Seriously. It helps, but producing and posting content helps more, regardless of errors it may still contain. Remember that another writer who reads through your story and comes back to you with a list of helpful suggestions is doing you a favor: they may be happy to do it, but ultimately it doesn’t tell you whether your idea is a hit or a miss. The readers who are there because they want to be? Hit.

Read books. I’m not telling you not to read fanfiction, I’m not telling you not to watch TV and movies, but the knowledge you can soak up through published literature is irreplaceable. If you’re not accustomed to devouring novels, you may not know where to start and it may take a while to get anything out of it (habitual readers may not know this, or want to admit it). Hang in there and believe it’s worth it.

Don’t take the wrong lessons from popular stories. Sure, those kajillion kudos probably have something to do with the characters, ships, and fandoms it includes. If they’re not the ones you would have written about anyway, though, throwing them in isn’t going to make your story better, and you’re not going to enjoy writing it as much, and now you’re already on a downward spiral. Likewise, if you hear a lot of complaining about something that “everybody” writes about, don’t let it stop you. They haven’t seen your take on it yet.

Self-promotion is a delicate balance. If you want to put neon lights on your story and bring it up in every conversation, you may get more hits or you may just begin getting on people’s nerves. Again, producing a lot of content is the best way to build a reader base. Some fans (not naming any names) will sit there hitting the refresh button until there’s an update in their favorite tag. Be that update and they’ll come to you.

Many of us are drawn to fanfiction for the quiet, personal scenes between the big canon moments. Those make great one-shots, but for anything longer, things have to happen. Pile on the conflict without even pausing to think about how you’re going to resolve it: if a character has a troubled relationship and is also on the run from a hitman, give him some overdue bills to worry about too.

Proofread! Even if you’re not sure about certain rules of grammar and style, you can give it a careful read through and spot your typos, plus capitalization or punctuation you might have missed. Readers who are chill about everything else will still lose patience with frequent visible errors.

Take advantage of the tag system and write a straightforward, short description of your premise to draw the reader in. If you can’t think of what to say in the summary, pick a few sentences from the story that describe something about what’s going on. Don’t annoy your readers by advertising some element of the story that doesn’t end up playing much of a part.

Do it because you love it. Yes, this is the same advice you’ll find in those platitudes I was talking about, but it has a practical application too. If you’re writing the story you want to write, aiming for an end product that you would want to read, your enthusiasm will be reflected in the quality of your work and it will only get better the more you keep that fire going.

[british-dimples]

Commandments of Fanfiction

Thou shalt not say put in the summary, “Summary sucks, I suck at summaries/etc…” - Please stop. If your summary sucks, then what do you think I already think of your story? I am not saying this to be mean, but if you can’t write a summary, I’ve doubts right off the bat. Do this: I hate writing summaries because I never know what I what to conceal or reveal, so rather I like to take a quote from the story that I think really amplifies what the story is about or stick to the basics “Somebody Wanted But So Then” (This is the summary technique I’ve taught 4th graders, it works well). Talk about who the main character is and an overview of the main conflict.

Thou shalt format thy story.  - I was a graphic and web designer. One of the number one ways to make someone not read your story (or any piece of information) is to have a super large block of text. It’s overwhelming, and it takes a lot of work for the eye to follow. Do this: Skip lines between paragraphs, at the very least. Also, make sure when you upload your story it stays in the intended format. Make sure the reader can follow what is going on, which brings me to the next….

Thou shalt check thy work. - I AM GUILTY AS FUCK. I AM THE FIRST TO ADMIT IT. I will straight up finish a chapter and post it without looking at it ever again. I despise editing and revising! I know the feeling of working on something for hours or days and just wanting to be done with it. Also, it’s exciting to post a new chapter or story especially if you’ve been struggling with it. I get it, but horrific continuous errors can ruin the readability of a story. I have seen errors that include main characters names being misspelled (repeatedly), not starting sentences with uppercase letters, not ending sentences with punctuation, not formatting dialogue correctly. Yes, I have stopped reading in the middle of a story (or of a first chapter) because it was so hard to understand. I am not saying this has to be a perfect endeavor, hell there are probably errors in this, but it should be reasonable. Do this: Read over your work. Put it away for the night or for an hour and read over it before you post. You could also have a beta reader look over it and help you make edits.

Thou shalt not hold thy story hostage for reviews. - You know, once you finish a chapter someone says “I’ll continue if I receive 5 reviews”. I’ll admit, I did this when I first started writing fan fiction. (And it’s not as common as it was years ago.)Yea, it worked sometimes, but when it didn’t it made me mad because I didn’t receive reviews, and I put myself in this uncomfortable situation of continuing the story of abandoning it. Do this: Continue or discontinue a story because YOU want to. It’s wonderful to have people support and praise your work, but it shouldn’t be the only reason you write. Yes, people should support the arts, in a perfect world, but ultimately in the world of fanfiction, you are using a lot of time and energy to write novels for free. Love. What. You. Do.

Thou shalt not annoy writers to write your favorite otp. - The keyword here is annoy! Of course it doesn’t hurt to ask, but don’t overdo it. I understand there are some authors that take requests. Some don’t. I take requests. If you see that an author does not take requests, don’t annoy them.  And, consider what you are asking that author to write. I consider myself a multi shipper in some fandoms, in some fandoms I have one tried and true otp. Some authors have preferred pairings and types of stories (adventure, romance, smut, humor, etc…) they write. So, know who you are asking and know they might not be inspired to write it! Do this: Respectfully ask the writer if they would write it. Know who you are asking and don’t be offended if they decline the idea. And writers, nicely decline if you aren’t into the idea or pairing. If the author decides not to take a request, you could always write it yourself, so don’t be afraid to do that. If you really believe in the idea and/or the ship then contribute!! 

So… What else would you guys add to the Commandments of Fanfiction? 

[british-dimples]

How do i post something ive written in hopes of a lot of people reading it?

Formatting. Short paragraphs > long paragraphs. If I see that someone’s written something that’s one long paragraph, I don’t even bother trying to read it. It’s an immediate red flag that the person is either lazy or has no idea what they’re doing. Make the writing easy to read. Give it a correct structure. 

Aesthetic. There are a lot of fics on here, and not all of them are good. Make sure you have a header, or even just a simple and relevant gif or picture, that will make people recognize your writing or at least intrigue them enough to give it a shot. Ever hear, “Don’t judge a book by its cover”? Well, that’s bullshit. All we do is judge books by their covers. As awful as it sounds, I’ve literally passed on fics because people had made headers that look like they were created in Windows Paint. But, in my mind, I’ve translated that to them not having a good creative eye, so then I assume their writing is going to be just as bad. 

Tags. I’ve seen people post stories and then see that they added, like, three tags to it. The more you tag, the more people your fics will reach. I would say add at least 10 tags. But make sure they’re actually relevant and honest, otherwise you’re just going to piss people off. Do NOT tag your fic as a Tony Stark x Reader story if Tony Stark is not the love interest. 

Reblogs. I reblog every chapter of every series I do at least 5 times. Sometimes people don’t have their notifications on and Tumblr can be a real asshole. People are in different time zones and people go on Tumblr at different times. The more you reblog at various times, the less people are going to miss your story or update. But make sure you add the same tags to every reblog. (took me far too long to learn that one.)

Consistency. At the end of the day, Tumblr is a social platform to a degree and a website that has an algorithm just like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. The more consistently you post, the more you get rewarded by the platform. Do you post a chapter for a series and then not update your blog for 6 months? The algorithm will punish you. Furthermore, people have probably unfollowed you and/or forgot who are completely and won’t care when you finally write that next chapter. WRITE CONSISTENTLY. UPDATE YOUR BLOG CONSISTENTLY. 

Grammar. I am by no means a grammar expert. Neither am I going to pretend that I am one. Typos happen. Mistakes happen. But, for the love of god, at least try to replicate the style and mediocre grammar you see in books or other the fic writers on her that you admire. Proofread your chapters at least once before posting. 

Quality. OK. This one might be harsh. But, at the end of the day, if you’re writing is good… then people are going to find it and they’re going to read it. And if they’re nice, they’re going to reblog it, which spreads your writing to a new audience. If you build it (and it’s good) they will come.  

Obviously, if you ask another fic writer on here the same question, they might say something completely different. But this has always been my practice. I literally posted my first fic on here and learned as I went. I didn’t know anything. I didn’t even fully understand Tumblr yet. I just kept a writing and people responded. My audience grew slowly, but surely. I don’t even do taglists, and it hasn’t hurt me. 

[british-dimples]

The Three Deadly Fanfiction Sins and How to Avoid Them

I love fanfiction with all of my heart.

I think it’s an amazing tool to use to hone in on your writing skills and learn about time management, how readers view your work, and in some cases− if someone leaves a helpful review− how to improve your writing overall. Not to mention that if you have a severe case of writer’s block on your WIP, writing fanfiction is a great way to keep yourself writing even if it’s not on your main work.

As a reader of fanfiction, however, I often come across works that, when I read the description, I get super excited about. It’s the perfect fic! It’s about my favorite pairing, the plot sounds amazing, it has ten chapters with a sufficient word count, AND it’s complete! And then I open it up and immediately click out of it before I finish reading the first paragraph, disheartened but determined to find something else that sounds just as good.

We all know that feeling when we’re excited about a great-sounding fic and then we open it up only to find that it’s committing one of the Three Deadly Fanfiction Sins.

What are these sins, you ask? And how can you avoid them when writing your own fanfiction?

Well, buckle up tight because I’m here to tell you what will make readers immediately click out of your story and move on to another one.

JUST A NOTE:  ONE OF THESE POINTS ARE JUST MY OPINION, AND I DON’T INTEND TO OFFEND ANYONE WHO MAY ENJOY WRITING/READING FICS LIKE THIS

Keep reading

[british-dimples]

I really want to start writing fanfiction but... the knowledge that my writing is going to suck and will be cringeworthy scares me so much that I just can't start. I have so many ideas for so many fandoms and have so many notes on them, but *actually* writing? sharing it with people? scares the crap out of me and paralyses me. Especially when I see how new writers get nearly no feedback at all and kind of have to guess what's wrong with their writing. Any tips?

When Writing

Don’t post it until you’re satisfied. 

Write the story you want to read and polish it until it’s just right. 

Get your formatting, grammar, tenses, and punctuation to a clean standard. Online readers uniformally sigh with relief when a fic is tidy, even those that can enjoy any hot mess.

Always take your time! Fanfic’s for the writer first and foremost!

Before Posting

On whatever site you intend to post on, read/review/follow like a normal user and establish a little presence there. 

Post a couple practice one-shots, small things you don’t care too much about, just to test the waters as well as give readers an idea of the fandoms you’re into and the kind of stories you like to tell.

Don’t post if you think it’s scary. It’s not, I promise, but don’t stress out!

After Posting 

Never assume there’s something wrong with the writing because if there is readers will tell you.

Low readership early on is normal.

Usually though, readership will stay low because there’s something lacking in your blurb, tags, or other searchable/promotional aspects that should draw people to it in the first place.

General Posting Tips for Fanfic

If it’s a small fandom, you may never get much traffic. 

If it’s a currently happening fandom, time your updates to big events within fandom (when possible). Ex: if I post a Marvel one-shot about a movie that just came out, readership will go through the roof for that fic because it’s the first one out there.

Try doing that once ^ just to get readers and feedback. It’s a great way to get attention fast.

Rare but beloved ships can also get surprise reads from people desperate for that ship. 

Enjoy yourself. Don’t be scared. Take your time. 

[british-dimples]

This graph is based on Joseph Campbell’s The Hero with a Thousand Faces.

Basically “The Hero’s Journey ‘W Graph’.

 I made the top picture by hand and scanned it. I’m sorry about the messy writing as I tried my best to make it as neat as possible, but my penmanship is not the best. 

THE FICTION WRITER’S CHEAT SHEET PICTURE DOES NOT BELONG TO ME.

So anyway, I got a few questions about planning stories and honestly I don’t plan them. I just do it from the top of my head–which is very bad, I know. But I am now starting to plan my stories and it does make it a bit more manageable and organized. Soooooo I went researching for tips and found something called Fiction Writer’s Cheat Sheet. I liked the idea of the “W Graph” so I decided to make it by hand in different colors. Then scanned it to have a digital copy to work on it through my computer in a pdf file or if I want to do it by hand I can just print one out. Always  make sure to “save as” a different document. 

I am not sure if something like this is already out there, but I thought it would be easier to have something printable out there and just plan it out, not having to struggle with the format.

Hope this comes in handy!!!

Good luck my fellow writers!