vanessalebow

[vanessalebow]

I Finished my First Draft!

I did it! I finished the first draft for my book. I wrote 76,959 words! According to my writing program this would be 220 pages. I've been writing the draft since December 2022 and wrote on 80 days.

But this is just a draft. I need to go back and add descriptions to a lot of things. I also need to show not tell with many things. I'm aiming for 90k-100k words. When I wrote I just used, said, asked, yelled etc. for the dialogue, so now I can go back and use different words.

As I was writing there were so many times when I needed a name for a person or place and I didn't bother stopping to pick one. I just left a comment to do it later. Now I can do some of those things. There is also a lot I can add to some characters about their background and details to make it better. But at least I did something I have never done before! I wrote a whole book omg!

[vanessalebow]

Great writing session

I had a great 2-hour writing session yesterday. The time just flew by. I'm trying to just write down what happens in each scene to get a detailed outline done. Maybe each scene will only be a few pages. After I'll go back and add more and more. This is a great hobby for me!

[vanessalebow]

scrolling twitter today and then coming over here is like walking out of a burning building and then walking into the calm remains of a building that burnt down 5 years ago and has been reclaimed by nature.

[vanessalebow]

Adding Complex Morality to Whumper/Villains

Complex morality can be really difficult to conjure, because as humans we can’t help but hold bias to morals. Some of us struggle more to make a heroic figure on truly good/lawful terms. Some of us struggle with the exact opposite like me. Here are some things that easily add complexity to moral situations for sadistic, evil, and/or villainous characters.

Character is a loving family member/parent figure for their double-sided life

Character’s actions are starting to wear morally on them, but their ego is still too high to do something to make change

Another character has forced the character into this path (remember this rarely ever reforms or excuses character’s actions)

Character’s actions are a retaliation of mistreatment or oppression in the past

Despite all of their actions, they are a loving compassionate kind partner to someone else

They genuinely believe their actions are for the greater good

People around character see them as an amazing figure

Character was raised to be the way they are

Character is actively working a strong overbearing force that they cannot easily get out of (governments, militaries, organizes, spyforce)

Insecurities pushed Character

Character is being mind controlled or possesses

Some of Character’s morals are on the greater spectrums (isn’t a bigot, won’t harm children, strong advocate for equal rights)

Character helps other characters previously or for temporary moments

Character is beginning to second guess their actions

Character is on the verge of realizing how horrible they are

Certain people are let go or spared by character for unknown reasons

Character has standards

[vanessalebow]

[vanessalebow]

there is something so darkly comical about tumblr potentially outliving twitter

tumblr, which is held together with duct tape and madness, run by three raccoons in blood stained Yahoo! hats and a handful of crabs, its only discernible source of income the sale of shoelaces from an inside joke so inside no one knows the original source anymore and fake blue checkmarks... that website still lives on

truly the cockroach of social media and I love it for that

[vanessalebow]

How to write: ethnicity & skin colour

requested by: anonymous request: How exactly can I describe a characters ethnicity/skin color casually, without it sounding like a specific scene that just exists to describe the skin color? I hope this makes sense lmao… I just want to write a scene where I casually mention someone’s ethnicity or skin color

description of appearance: No matter if skin colour or hairstyle or clothes, a text is more dynamic if you don't dedicate an entire scene/paragraph to it but rather sprinkle the necessary information in here and there. However, there can be instances where it's conducive to the plot to put that entire paragraph (e.g. introducing a new important character with backstory). Otherwise, I'd say try to keep it short and put it where it serves the plot.

ways to incorporate...

... a description of appearance:

when a character makes their first entrance (describe everyone's colouring - POCs' and white characters')

the impression their complexion makes together with their clothes: "the bright yellow of their shirt complemented their dark skin"

the way their colouring interacts with lighting: "the grey weather took away the rosy hue of their fair skin"

when appearances create a contrast: "I immediately noticed them because they were the only other black person"

... ethnicity:

let the characters mention it where it makes sense

regarding the narrator you've chosen for your story, it can also be blended into an inner monologue

include parts of their culture: traditions, terms, family, etc. (this also allows to bring up their ethnicity repeatedly over the story and not only at the beginning)

show their struggles: are they affected by social struggles? then show it!

words to use to describe skin colour:

... basic colour descriptions:

brown

black

beige

white

pink

... more specific colours (try sticking to familiar/common words that can be easily visualised):

amber

bronze

copper

gold

ochre

terracotta

sepia

sienna

porcelain

tan

... prefixes or modifiers (can be easily combined with basic colours):

dark

rich

warm

deep

fair

faint

light

cool

pale

... undertones (pre-dominant colours underneath the skin - often warm or cool, sometimes also neutral and olive):

yellow

orange

coral

golden

silver

rose

pink

red

blue

... avoid food analogies as it's often received as offending, fetishising, and/or objectifying.

That's all I can provide as of now but I'm sure you guys have aspects to contribute. I'm very interested to hear your thoughts, so please feel free to add to this post whatever you like to/can share <3

And for more information, maybe also check out @writingwithcolor for more specialised posts on the topic <3

[vanessalebow]

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[vanessalebow]

“Life is about evolving. Don’t stay in a situation that’s not helping you grow mentally, spiritually, and emotionally.”

— Unknown

[vanessalebow]

[vanessalebow]

You are allowed to like your own writing. You wrote it, it's tailored to yourself, you should enjoy it. You took plain words and put them in a beautiful order to create an awesome story. Beat that imposter syndrome and be proud.

[vanessalebow]

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[vanessalebow]

Jumpy boy

(via)