bruisedkneewriting

[bruisedkneewriting]

Alright I need more friends and WIPS to fawn over ya’ll so if:

you’re a writeblr

a book blog

reblog this. yup that’s it, that’s the gist. 

[bruisedkneewriting]

one day you’ll have written a novel of your own.

you’ll be able to hold it in your hands, feel the weight of it - each chapter, each page, each word that you so lovingly crafted. you’ll be able to watch each scene, something you built and tended and know most intimately, unfold beneath your hands again with every turn of the page. you’ll be able to run your thumb down the spine of the book and feel the shape of your name pressed into the side, because this is yours.

so keep writing. because your novel is just waiting for you to bring it into existence.

[bruisedkneewriting]

Editing: What To Change, Draft By Draft

– Editing is a lot of work, and can be really daunting when you’re doing it all by yourself, as not all of us can afford to hire a professional editor. I decided to troll the internet for various resources and guides to editing, as well as use my own system to hopefully make a useful, step by step plan for thoroughly editing your own work. However, there are always improvements to be made in several different areas of literature, so if you have any suggestions for things to revisit and revise, feel free to leave them in the comments below! Happy editing!

Some Tips Before You Start

Print out your first draft. Please. Your writing looks so much different to you when it’s in physical form right in front of your face. It is amazing how easily you can skip over the most obvious mistakes when editing on a screen. Just trust me on this one. Also, it’s fun to go in there and physically mark up and interact with your own work.

Allow for some time between when you finish your work in progress and when you edit it. Letting some time pass will allow you to distance yourself from the story and go in on it with less sentiment and less hesitation. Yes, I know, you want to get it edited so that you can get it out into the world as quickly as possible, but trust me, there are things in there that you will keep purely because there is some attachment you have to it, which is fine in some cases, but detrimental in others.

Please remember that editing takes more time than actually writing. Editing is about finding problems, then solving them, then repeating, because once you make one change you have to morph the story to accommodate that change. Be patient with yourself.

Draft #1

By this point, you have outlined and begun the research for your story. In this draft, you will flesh out the basic plot, establish a basic timeline, and start to introduce your characters and various settings. You have not done any grammatical or spelling editing or anything like that. This is simply the skeleton that you will work off of.

Draft #2

Spend some time developing the characters and effectively conveying the emotion in the story. Work on the timeline, tinker with the backstory and add in details here and there.

Draft #3

By this point, you should have the characters, timeline, and more story based stuff figured out. Make sure settings are established, details are where they need to be, and the story elements are consistent and intentional.

Draft #4

Now it’s time to revise! Go in there and mess with grammar and spelling and word choice and sentence structure and metaphors and all that good stuff. Use all of your knowledge from English class to get the message across in the best possible way and make your writing style shine through in the best possible light.

Draft #5

Go in and double check if there’s anything you’re unsure, unhappy, or uneasy about. If there is, highlight it and see how you can make it work better. Improve on your story in any way possible. If there is anything you want to change before it goes out there, make sure you change it.

Draft #6

Now is where you find some beta readers. Have them read your story, give you feedback and suggest ways you can change your story to fit their taste as readers. This is super important. You don’t do much physical work in this draft, as they’re the ones picking it apart, but try not to be too defensive, yeah? They’re trying to help. 

Draft #7

Reach into that pool of feedback you’ve just received and decide if and where you want to apply it. This may take some difficult decision making, but you can do it. Remember, no matter how many drafts you go through, you will never be done with your story. You will never be 100% satisfied, but try to find a place where you can abandon it in peace. 

This infographic was helpful in forming this post, so if you want a visualization of this article, here it is!

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[bruisedkneewriting]

REBLOG IF YOU WILL FINISH YOUR WIP WHETHER THE WORLD WANTS YOU TO OR NOT GOD DAMN IT

[bruisedkneewriting]

literature edit: ‘the raven boys’ by Maggie Stiefvater

“The way Gansey saw it was this: if you had a special knack for finding things, it meant you owed the world to look.”

[bruisedkneewriting]

Writing ship-able couples

Here are some tips for writing relationships your readers can get behind:

1. Give them reasons to click

The two characters must have things in common - a hobby, a philosophy, a background. There has to be some element that connects them.

Your readers will root for relationships in which the characters fit together better than they would with others.

Also, make their traits compatible. Have them share some characteristics or have their strengths and weaknesses be complementary. Is the one hotheaded? Maybe the other keeps their cool well in situations of conflict.

There are endless possibilities. Just make sure there’s a reason these two people like/love each other.

2. Have them be vulnerable in front of each other

Personally, this is the best way to get me to love a couple.

Have them share secrets, open up about their feelings and tell each other things they haven’t told anyone. Have them cry in front of each other and comfort each other.

This can be taken to a whole new level by having them understand the other’s emotions even without speaking and already offer comfort. Keep in mind that this will probably only be possible with long-established couples.

And having them open up is also a great way for them to discover all the things they have in common/love about each other.

3. Build up the tension

I cannot emphasise this enough: DO NOT MAKE YOUR COUPLES GET TOGETHER TOO QUICKLY.

One of the best elements of a romantic subplot (or even main plot) is the tension. Your readers want to see the pining! They want the build-up.

And no, I’m not saying that you should introduce endless, petty obstacles. That can become tedious and appear forced.

Just give your characters time to sort through their feelings. Make them fall in love slowly. Have them be unsure. Insert SOME obstacles/conflicts.

Have them almost kiss a few times. Not all the time. Too many almost-kisses can become frustrating. But you should throw a few in there.

And, if you feel comfortable with it, add some sexual tension. Have them notice each other’s bodies and imagine what they’d like to do to each other (that sounds more explicit than I intended :) )

4. Write a healthy relationship

This could just be me and my rejection of unhealthy romances, but I will not root for abusive relationships.

Have your characters be kind to each other, support each other and truly care for each other.

If your characters are constantly putting each other down, physically/emotionally abusing each other or going against the other’s wishes, they’re not in a healthy relationship.

A great way to write a healthy relationship whilst still maintaining the tension, is to have the conflict in the relationship be external. Instead of having the conflict be due to internal struggles between the two characters, have obstacles enter from outside.

Your readers should want them to be together and for that, they should be good for each other.

5. Have their friends/family see their chemistry

I find it beyond adorable when two characters are still figuring out their feelings for each other, but the fact that they’re perfect for each other is crystal clear to everyone around them.

Have their friends tease them about the relationship. Have family members ask after the them. Have their loved ones conspire to get them to admit their feelings.

If your other characters are rooting for them, your readers will probably do so as well.

Plus, this means that the chemistry between the two characters is so strong that it’s obvious, which is always good for an exciting romance.

That’s all I’ve got for now. If you have any further questions about writing OTPs or any other aspect of writing, feel free to message me or pop me an ask.

Reblog if you found any of this useful. Comment with your own tips. Follow me for similar content.

[bruisedkneewriting]

Reblog of you have aro/ace characters in your WIP!

[bruisedkneewriting]

How do you become a writer? You lie. You tell a story, and you lie and lie and lie until you’re fluent.

You lie to your readers, making a story believable enough that they fall in love with a fiction. You tell them that everything will be okay, and tear their hearts to shreds. You give them just enough scraps to keep going, and hold the feast just out of reach. You tell them that you don’t want to let them have everything, and that is a lie too.

You lie to your characters, manipulate them, send them on journeys that will break them. You run rings around them, promise things that never come. You control them, plague them with monsters, send them spinning through terra incognita terrified and alone. You pretend not to care, but that’s a lie too.

The story also lies to you. Be ready. It did, after all, learn from the best. It tells you that you’re going down one path, and takes us in circles until we’re lost. It lies by omission, keeping the most important information until the end. It flays the creativity from your brain and refuses to co-operate. You pretend that your relationship with your story is complex and painful and in that, only part is a lie.

The story is a monster, a fae. Tame it as you will, but unlike a wolf it will never be made a dog. Quivering, it will curl in your lap like a cat, waiting for the right moment to bite the hand that feeds it. You nurture it anyway, you have to. You feed it with whispers and sleepless nights and tears. It won’t ever show kindness in return, but perhaps it will give gifts more freely.

And you keep lying, because telling a story is the most honest form of lying there is.

- On the nature and nurture of a story | A.r.t

[bruisedkneewriting]

STOP

Every time you see this post on your dash, open up your WIP and write one sentence. It doesn’t matter if the sentence is good, makes sense or works perfectly with your story. You can go back to edit it later. 

Congrats, you made some progress on your WIP!

Make sure to reblog to help fellow writers make progress on their wip!

[bruisedkneewriting]

your character should be more than a tragic backstory. more than i lost my parents at a young age so now i rebel against the world. more than i have all these wicked skills without proper background or training. 

sass is great, and so is silence — but when aren’t they using their biting wit? when do they speak up? do they use their ass-kicking skills for good? for evil? have they lost people along the way — actually, it’s inevitable, so what happened after the funeral? did your character attend? did they seek revenge, or search for answers at the bottom of a bottle? 

don’t toss around tragedies if you’re not going to apply them to your characterization. alcoholics aren’t just loud and physically abusive; ptsd doesn’t mean you’ve boarded up the windows and refuse to leave your house. you won’t always continue to hate your parents after they’ve died. you will doubt your life decisions. being rich doesn’t make you sexy. being smart doesn’t make you socially awkward [ alternatively, it doesn’t make you the most attractive person in the room. ] even if you’re wicked smart, you’ll still get some things wrong. 

do your research. if you put your character through traumatic events, not everyone walks away unscathed. but being haunted by the ghosts of your past doesn’t make you attractive either. it’s a nitty gritty, dirty fucking business. you get mad, your world loses color, you feel alone, and sometimes you ask yourself why you’re the one who lived. 

treat your character like their own person. just because you wouldn’t say something to someone doesn’t mean they’ll keep their trap shut. it doesn’t mean they’ll want a big wedding or fast cars or apple pie made the way your mother taught you. maybe you’re pro-life and your character is pro-choice. maybe it’s vice versa. just because your character is a dick doesn’t mean it should be a reflection on yourself. but if they’re going to be a dick, and you want it to be believable, give them a reason to be a dick. a reason to hate the world, only slightly less than they hate the people living in it. maybe more. maybe it’s maybelline.

being smart and young and witty and attractive doesn’t mean your character will be respected. it doesn’t mean your character deserves to be respected. older, more experienced characters may trust your character less because they’re so damn young, no matter what you do or say to try to prove them wrong. 

[bruisedkneewriting]

Neutral soft and chaotic soft here!

Found this on Instagram and it’s very true

[bruisedkneewriting]

i don’t know who needs to hear this today, but to the writer who’s just hit that point in their first draft where this feels impossible and you hate all of your characters and you want to delete every copy and backup of this story immediately and the ENTIRE WORLD IS EXPLODING -

it’s not. seriously. go eat some fucking carbs or something. you’re fine.

[bruisedkneewriting]

Writer Ask Game

1 : What age-group do you write?

2 : What genre do you write?

3 : Do you outline according to big ideas or small details?

4 : Which do you prefer–line-editing or plot-revisions?

5 : Do you write better with or without deadlines?

6 : What would be the biggest compliment you could hope to receive on your current WIP?

7 : How long is your current WIP?

8 : What author would you be most excited to be compared to?

9 : What do you struggle most with as a writer?

10 : Do you brain-storm story ideas alone or with others?

11 : Do you base your characters off of real people?

12 : Is your writing space clean or cluttered?

13 : Do you write character-driven or plot-driven stories?

14 : Do you have a favorite writing-related quote?

15 : If you transport your original characters into another author’s world, which world would you choose?

16 : Would your story work better as a movie or tv show? Why?

17 : Do you make soundtracks for each story?

18 : If you could assign your story one song, what would it be?

19 : Would you rather live in your characters’ world, or have your characters come live in our world?

20 : What book would you love to see adapted for the big or small screen?

21 : Do you finish most of the stories you start?

22 : Has your own writing ever made you cry?

23 : Are you proud or anxious to show off your writing?

24 : When did you start considering yourself a writer?

25 : What books are must-reads in your genre?

26 : What would you like to see more of in your genre?

27 : Where do you get inspiration from?

28 : On a scale of 1-10, how much do you stress about choosing character names?

29 : Do you tend to underwrite or overwrite in a first draft?

30 : Does writing calm you down or stress you out?

31 : What trope do you actually like?

32 : Do you give your side-characters extensive backstories?

33 : Do you flesh-out characters before you write, or let their personalities develop over time?

34 : Describe your old writing in one word.

35 : Is it more fun to write villains or heroes?

36 : Do you write with a black and white sense of morality?

37 : What’s one piece of advice you would give to new writers?

38 : What’s one piece of writing advice you try–but fail–to follow?

39 : How important is positive reinforcement to you as a writer?

40 : What would you ask your favorite author if given one question?

41 : Do you find it distracting to read while you’re writing a first draft?

42 : Do critiques motivate or discourage you?

43 : Do you tend to write protagonists like yourself or unlike yourself?

44 : How do you decide what story idea to work on?

45 : Do you find it harder or easier to write when you’re stressed out?

46 : What Hogwarts house would your protagonist(s) be in?

47 : Where do you see yourself as a writer in five years?

48 : Would you ever co-write?

49 : Are you a fast and rushed writer or a slow and deliberate writer?

50 : Would you rather be remembered for your fantastic world-building or your lifelike characters?

[bruisedkneewriting]

“i didn’t raise you like this”.

you’re right you raised me to flinch, to grovel, to cry quietly, to mask pain, to swallow my words, to take rage out on myself. you raised me to cower, to respect authority without any reason, to live with your words riding in me.

you raised me wrong. i’m just reteaching myself how to be right. i’m sorry that doesn’t look like what you wanted it to. but i’m learning to love myself in the way parents were supposed to do.

[bruisedkneewriting]

I made this moodboard for the setting in my wip! Sorry for the hiatus...

[bruisedkneewriting]

How Well Do You Know Your OCs

[bruisedkneewriting]

black, orange, clear :D

Black: Would you want to live in one of the fictional worlds you’ve created? 

I mostly write contemporary, but the setting for my main wip is based on the place where our family cottage is, and I absolutely love it there! So I guess I would want to live there. I have an idea for another wip, but it’s a super dark dystopian world, so I wouldn’t want to live there haha. 

Orange: How many projects do you usually have going at once?

I try to just focus on my main wip, but it’s hard!

Clear: Do your characters control where the story is going or do you maintain control?

My characters are in control, but they really shouldn’t be. They have no idea what they are doing! 

Thank you so much for the questions!