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Trying NaNo yet again. This year I aim for a collection of shorts in a darker spectrum.

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Stormy Night is online

2020, October 17th

Fill for GenPromptBingo 10, Square I3: The North Wind Doth Blow

Prequel to Trouble

AO3

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Love (2) ist online

17. Dezember 2019

(ff.de)     (AO3)     (DW)

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This is your casual reminder that yes, your wip is worth writing. You’re not wasting time. Creativity is never a waste.

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Writing characters who are exposed to cold and hypothermia

Because I know many people live in countries without cold winter and I’ve read way too many otherwise amazing fics where the MC faints after an hour in 20 F° (about - 6.5 C°), all this while clad in heavy clothing, sweaters, scarfs and winter coat.

Hypothermia

While everyone reacts differently to different temperatures, there are some rules and symptoms of hypothermia. Symptoms, in order as hypothermia progresses:

Shivering, which may stop as hypothermia progresses

Slow, shallow breathing

Confusion and/or memory loss

Drowsiness or exhaustion

Slurred or mumbled speech

Loss of coordination, fumbling hands, stumbling steps

A slow, weak pulse

In severe hypothermia, a person may be unconscious without obvious signs of breathing or a pulse

Body temperatures of different stages of hypothermia:

Mild: 89-95 F° (31-35 C°)

Moderate: 82-89 F° (27.5-31 C°)

Severe: lower than 82 F° (27.5 C)

Keep in mind that some people are more sensitive to cold due to their age or physique. People with increased risk of hypothermia include:

The elderly, infants, and children without adequate heating, clothing

Underweight people

People who are outdoors for extended periods

People in cold weather whose judgment is impaired by alcohol or drugs

Treatment

Everyone with hypothermia needs immediate medical assistance, but until that arrives the character can be helped with the following actions:

Moving them to a warm, dry place if possible, or sheltering them from the elements

Removing wet clothing

Covering their whole body and head with blankets, leaving only the face clear

Providing skin-to-skin contact (fanfic material™)

Providing warm drinks if the person is conscious, but never caffeine or alcohol

Carrying out CPR if the breathing stops

If the shivering stops even though the character hasn’t returned to a warmer place, that’s actually a very bad sign and means that the person’s heat regulation systems are shutting off.

Another thing to note is that when a person faints from the cold, their body temperature is already so low that they must be warmed up immediately, otherwise they die.

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“Make it Work”

Tim Gunn

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Writing characters who are exposed to cold and hypothermia

Because I know many people live in countries without cold winter and I’ve read way too many otherwise amazing fics where the MC faints after an hour in 20 F° (about - 6.5 C°), all this while clad in heavy clothing, sweaters, scarfs and winter coat.

Hypothermia

While everyone reacts differently to different temperatures, there are some rules and symptoms of hypothermia. Symptoms, in order as hypothermia progresses:

Shivering, which may stop as hypothermia progresses

Slow, shallow breathing

Confusion and/or memory loss

Drowsiness or exhaustion

Slurred or mumbled speech

Loss of coordination, fumbling hands, stumbling steps

A slow, weak pulse

In severe hypothermia, a person may be unconscious without obvious signs of breathing or a pulse

Body temperatures of different stages of hypothermia:

Mild: 89-95 F° (31-35 C°)

Moderate: 82-89 F° (27.5-31 C°)

Severe: lower than 82 F° (27.5 C)

Keep in mind that some people are more sensitive to cold due to their age or physique. People with increased risk of hypothermia include:

The elderly, infants, and children without adequate heating, clothing

Underweight people

People who are outdoors for extended periods

People in cold weather whose judgment is impaired by alcohol or drugs

Treatment

Everyone with hypothermia needs immediate medical assistance, but until that arrives the character can be helped with the following actions:

Moving them to a warm, dry place if possible, or sheltering them from the elements

Removing wet clothing

Covering their whole body and head with blankets, leaving only the face clear

Providing skin-to-skin contact (fanfic material™)

Providing warm drinks if the person is conscious, but never caffeine or alcohol

Carrying out CPR if the breathing stops

If the shivering stops even though the character hasn’t returned to a warmer place, that’s actually a very bad sign and means that the person’s heat regulation systems are shutting off.

Another thing to note is that when a person faints from the cold, their body temperature is already so low that they must be warmed up immediately, otherwise they die.

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Read to become a better writer

When I started as an editor-in-training, one of the first things our professor made us do, was to take one of the great European literary classics (mine was Kafka’s The Trial) and look at it as if it were an unknown debutant’s manuscript that lands on our desk. Would we publish it? Which parts would we keep and which elements would we change? It’s an excercise I still like to do as a writer: read a book to see what the author did and if I agree with it.

Here are three things I learned from reading books.

1 Planting clues

This is probably the first thing I ever realised about storytelling. When I was 11, I read a book in which the main characters go off on an adventure and are saved in the end by a friend’s dad, who conveniently turns out to be a policeman with a police radio to call for back-up.

What I learned: The ending of the book would have been less forced if the author had told us that the father was a policeman when he introduced him in chapter four, not at the end. Plant your clues earlier in the story to avoid a deus ex machina.

There’s a rule of thumb that you can’t convey new information needed for the climax after 80% of your story.

2 Who is the hero anyway?

This next book was a detective story with a depressed, alcoholic, unhappily divorced protagonist. In the end, it was not the depressed detective, but an innocent bystander who found the crucial last piece of information to solve the mystery. The detective just sat there and was depressed.

What I learned: The protagonist must be the catalyst of the story, not some C-character. The protagonist must be the one who saves the day/themselves/the victim/….

3 Just talk to each other!

a A budding couple pines for each other but nothing ever happens because he thinks he’s not good enough for her and she thinks he doesn’t love her anymore. I’m all for a well-written slow burn, but there’s a difference between slow burn and just plainly frustrating your readers.

b Character A was eavesdropping, didn’t hear everything character B said but still acts on the things they did hear. The whole storyline of the book could have been avoided if they would just talk to each other.

What I learned: Confusion and wrongful assumptions can make for an interesting plotline. Just make sure that your entire story couldn’t have been cut short if two people would just talk to each other.

If you don’t make them talk, give them a watertight reason why they can’t. For example: they couldn’t talk because they never were in the same space together.

Btw: I notice that this trope often does work for comedy.

***

Okay, that’s it for today, lesson’s over. Your homework for next week: when you read a book, see if you can learn anything. I may throw in a pop quiz next class. Kidding.

Follow me for more writing advice. New topics to write advice about are also always welcome.

Tag list below, a few people I like and admire and of course, you can be too. If you like to be added to or removed from the list, let me know.

Keep reading

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5 Tips From a Graphic Designer on Creating an Impactful Book Cover

During the second month of our “Now What?” Months, we’re focusing more on publishing in all its myriad forms. Today, graphic designer Charlene Maguire shares some pro tips on how to choose a cover that really pops for your novel:

“Why is a book cover design so important?” you might ask. Well, we all judge a book by its cover. A book cover has a visual language all its own through the use of typography, imagery, color, and emotional impact.

Your book is a little package of experiences, put together for your reader to enjoy. This package needs a sign outside to tell people what is potentially inside for them… a mystery to solve? A romance to swoon over? A drama, biography, or travel adventure? A fantastic cover speaks to the fans of a genre and tells them something about what they’re going to get.

Your cover is your book’s first impression to your potential reader. In today’s crowded marketplace of limited attention spans, a person will decide if they are interested in your book in a matter of seconds.

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Hey! I’ve got a really amazing plot idea but I’m struggling to come up with sub plots that will contribute to the story and still make sense. Do you have any tips on how I can do so? Thank you so much.

Brain went blank, so here. Four types of subplots off the top of my head:

directly contribute to main plot (plot: planning a romantic evening with SO; subplot: finding the perfect bouquet of flowers)

parallel the main plot before joining it (plot: winning the war; subplot: somewhere else someone is desperately trying to get a visa; resolution: they’re the secret to winning the war)

parallel the main plot as a counterpoint or to support the theme (plot: two young people are uncertain about their futures; subplot: two older people know what the future holds and don’t want it; resolution: each pair partners up to change their futures)

provide contrasting theme (plot: good people save the world; subplot: good intentions caused severe harm and created a vengeful villain)

Subplots should always contribute to the story, of course, but they don’t always have to contribute to the main plot or theme. As long as they provide a balance and don’t become a wild sideshoot (unless you’re planning to pick that subplot up again in a sequel/series), subplots can be about a wide range of things.

Hope this helped.

+ If you benefit from my updates and replies, please consider sending a little thank you and Buy Me A Coffee!

+ HEY, Writers! other social media: Wattpad - AO3 - Pinterest - Goodreads

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51 Questions You’ve (Probably) Never Asked About Your Characters

At NaNo HQ, we’re big fans of long, detailed character questionnaires (like this one)! They’re invaluable when it comes to fleshing out our characters, exploring their secrets, and just killing time—but after hundreds of questions and dozens of quizzes, the questions all begin to look the same.

After careful research, rigorous testing, and three escaped typewriter monkeys, we’re proud to present the 51-Question NaNo Character Questionnaire 2.0, filled with questions you’ve probably never considered asking about your characters.

By the time you’ve finished this questionnaire, you’ll know more about your characters than you may know about yourself!

1. What does your character do when they think no one’s looking?

2. What’s the one thing your character would save in a fire (beyond the necessities)?

3. Who’s on speed dial?

4. Your character gets turned down for their dream job. What’s their second choice?

Keep reading

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worldbuilding: problems

there’s no place where everything runs smoothly. every country has it’s problems. that might be poverty, weak government, fake news, gun violence, or abuse of magical abilities. it could really be anything. so what’s wrong with your world?

what could go wrong:

poverty

corrupt government (a few infiltrations? biased officials? a dictator?)

discrimination/persecution of any kind (sexism, racism, religion, anything that makes someone unique)

violence (gangs, guns, magic, sexual assault)

failing economy

counterfeits (money, expensive products, anything)

drugs (fake drugs, very real and dangerous drugs)

weak government (ie. the government isn’t necessarily corrupt, but no one listens to them and they have no real power at all so everyone just runs amok)

environmental crisis

relations with other countries/regions

war

fake news (can be something smaller like what goes around on the internet today, or something as horrible as the propaganda the axis powers fed their people about the allied powers)

scarcity

terrorist groups

stereotypes (remember, even seemingly positive stereotypes can be damaging)

manipulation/using people

there’s a whole lot more, get creative! as saddening as this will be, scrolling through news articles will give you some good inspiration because our world is pretty messed up

how to choose which problems to include

what is your world like? as obvious as this probably sounds, your world’s problems are directly related to the things in your world. choose pretty much any element of your world, however small it may seem, and there can be made a problem out of it.

in a world of magic:

magic can be abused

magic can be faked (ie. in harry potter, around exam season, students sell items that “enhance your brain” or whatever when it’s really pixie poop, i’m not even kidding)

discrimination between magical and non magical people (muggleborns vs. purebloods)

people rely too much on magic and become weak (a great example of this is the Renegades series, where the non prodigies depend on the prodigies way too much)

non magic people using magical people (or magical people using other magicals, ex. grindelwald/percival graves using creedence to find the obscurial)

really, the problems for a magical world are endless - you can use regular real-life problems with a twist. the magical government lies to the public, buying out the main news source? people of pure magical lineage are somehow better than those related to non magical people? harry potter is a fantastic example of magical worldbuilding, steal stuff from jkr (but don’t make gay characters who are never actually gay)

in a world of science:

i’m a big fantasy nerd, much less sci-fi, so i don’t really have any good examples from books/movies, but here are some ideas anyway

the people who live on a different planet are starting to run out of resources and take over the earth (literally the plot of the Lunar Chronicles series)

the government is testing out new sciencey techy stuff and they accidentally make superhuman demon things (Incredibles, but they’re nice guys, not demon things, except maybe jack jack but he’s a cutie don’t hurt him)

terrorist groups steal a smart guy to make weapons for them (Iron Man)

the world is dying 

two + planets are fighting over something

technology/inventions/whatever can be abused

wow these are terrible i’m sorry i need to read more sci-fi

again, you can take regular real world problems and put a sciencey twist on them; a gang that kills people with laserbeam contact lenses, a new invention that uses a very rare element that’s important to the ecosystem and is starting to destroy the planet, the little robots we send to mars become self aware and build a colony of robots. go off sis

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How to Plot a Complex Novel in One Day

Now first, I have to say, that the plot you’re able to come up with in one day is not going to be without its flaws, but coming up with it all at once, the entire story unfolds right in front of you and makes you want to keep going with it. So, where to begin?

What is your premise and basic plot? Pick your plot. I recommend just pulling one from this list. No plots are “original” so making yours interesting and complicated will easily distract from that fact, that and interesting characters. Characters will be something for you to work on another day, because this is plotting day. You’ll want the main plot to be fairly straight forward, because a confusing main plot will doom you if you want subplots.

Decide who the characters will be. They don’t have to have names at this point. You don’t even need to know who they are other than why they have to be in the story. The more characters there are the more complicated the plot will be. If you intend to have more than one subplot, then you’ll want more characters. Multiple interconnected subplots will give the illusion that the story is very complicated and will give the reader a lot of different things to look at at all times. It also gives you the chance to develop many side characters. The plot I worked out yesterday had 13 characters, all were necessary. Decide their “roles” don’t bother with much else. This seems shallow, but this is plot. Plot is shallow.

Now, decide what drives each character. Why specifically are they in this story? You can make this up. You don’t even know these characters yet. Just so long as everyone has their own motivations, you’re in the clear.

What aren’t these characters giving away right off the bat? Give them a secret! It doesn’t have to be something that they are actively lying about or trying to hide, just find something that perhaps ties them into the plot or subplot. This is a moment to dig into subplot. This does not need to be at all connected to their drive to be present in the story.  Decide who is in love with who, what did this person do in the 70’s that’s coming back to bite them today, and what continues to haunt what-his-face to this very day. This is where you start to see the characters take shape. Don’t worry much about who they are or what they look like, just focus on what they’re doing to the story.

What is going to change these characters? Now this will take some thinking. Everyone wants at least a few of the characters to come out changed by the end of the story, so think, how will they be different as a result of the plot/subplot? It might not be plot that changes them, but if you have a lot of characters, a few changes that are worked into the bones of the plot might help you.

Now list out the major events of the novel with subplot in chronological order. This will be your timeline. Especially list the historical things that you want to exist in backstory. List everything you can think of. Think about where the story is going. At this point, you likely haven’t focused too much on the main plot, yeah, it’s there, but now really focus on the rising actions, how this main plot builds its conflict, then the climactic moment. Make sure you get all of that in there. This might take a few hours.

Decide where to start writing. This part will take a LOT of thinking. It’s hard! But now that you’ve got the timeline, pick an interesting point to begin at. Something with action. Something relevant. Preferably not at the beginning of your timeline - you want to have huge reveals later on where these important things that happened prior are exposed. This is the point where you think about what information should come out when. This will be a revision of your last list, except instead of being chronological, it exists to build tension.

Once you’ve gotten the second list done, you’ve got a plot. Does it need work? Probably. But with that said, at this point you probably have no idea who half your characters are. Save that for tomorrow, that too will be a lot of work.

Disclaimer for this post.

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This is your casual reminder that yes, your wip is worth writing. You’re not wasting time. Creativity is never a waste.

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Editing Checklist

Editing Software:

StyleWriter 4 is fantastic. It’s an add-on for Microsoft word and has a 14-day trial period. It goes through your text, picks out “glue words”, misspellings, long sentences, homonyms, passive tense, shows your reading grade level, and more.

Editminion *FREE* checks for adverbs, weak words, passive voice, cliches, and homonyms among other things.

Pro Writing Aid is another online editor. It is mostly free, but offers more features if you pay.

AutoCrit offers free analysis for under 500 words, otherwise you have to pay for more text and more editing features.

Paper Rater offers a free service for editing, but it is designed for essays.

Formatting Checklist: This follows the general guide of formatting a manuscript in Microsoft word. However, some literary agents and editors have their own requirements.

Under the paragraph option, change the special indentation to first line at .5”. Change to document to double spaced.

There should be no spaces between paragraphs.

When showing a scene break, center # on a blank line.

Font should be easy to read. Courier New and Times New Roman are preferred at size 12.

All margins should be 1”.

Start chapters on a new page and put the chapter title 1/3 down the page. Write the chapter like so: CHAPTER ONE - CHAPTER TITLE. Press return 4 - 6 times before starting the text of the chapter.

For the header, put YOUR NAME/BOOK TITLE/PAGE NUMBER in the upper right-hand corner. Start this header on the first page of the first chapter.

The cover page of your manuscript should have your name, word count, and contact information in the upper left-hand corner.

The title on the cover page should be in all caps. Your name should be underneath in all caps. If you use a pen name, write YOUR REAL NAME (WRITING AS PEN NAME).

At the end of the manuscript, start a new page and write END.

Self-Editing Checklist:

Spelling:

If you are using Microsoft word for your word processor, use the spell check. After that, go through the manuscript line by line to make sure everything is spelled right. You may have used “form” instead of “from” and skipped it because Microsoft word did not see it as misspelled.

Printing out your work or viewing it in another way (such as a pdf on an ereader) helps find these mistakes.

Beta readers can find what you missed as well.

Use editing software to check homonyms or look up a list of homonyms and find them in your document using ctrl + f. Check these words to make sure you used the right spelling.

Grammar and Style:

First use Microsoft word’s grammar checker, but be aware that it is not always right. Check grammar girl if you are unsure.

For dialogue, you can always pick up a professionally published book and look at how the dialogue tags are used, where commas are placed, and when other punctuation is used.

If you’re in school and your English teacher isn’t too busy, have them take a look at it.

Look out for prepositions. Most of the time, you can omit these words and the sentence will still make sense. Beginner writers use a lot of these in their writing and it slows the flow.

Check for adverbs. You’d be surprised at how many you use in your writing, sometimes up to five a page. Using a few in narration is okay, but only a few. Delete adverbs you find, especially those that end in “-ly”, and rewrite the sentences in necessary.

Delete gerunds and forms of “to be” if writing in past tense. Instead of “were running”, write “ran”.

Check subject-verb agreement.

Use correct dialogue tags. People don’t bark their words. They shout.

Two digit numbers should be written as words (twenty-seven) while numbers with more than two digits should be written with numbers (123).

Avoid passive verbs.

Vary sentence length.

Show with the five senses rather than telling.

Most of the time, you can delete the word “that”.

Avoid using “unique” or “significant” words too often.

Consistency:

Make sure all your font is the same size and type.

Make sure you have no plot holes. Use the comment feature in Microsoft Word to track these plots.

Make sure your time line is consistent.

The tone should fit the scene.

There should be one POV per scene. Unless you’re a brilliant writer and can pull off third person omniscient.

Verb tense should be consistent.

Keep track of the details you release of people, places, and things. The reader will remember if in one chapter you say your protagonist has blue eyes and in another you say green.

Pacing:

The whole book should flow in and out of fast paced scenes to keep your reader interested and slow scenes to give them a break.

The middle should not “sag”.

Sentences should flow smoothly.

Plot:

Keep track of all your plots and sub-plots. Readers will remember them.

There should be a beginning, middle, and end.

Is the initial problem at the beginning of the manuscript?

There should be at least one antagonist. This does no have to be a person.

Is there enough conflict?

There should be a resolution.

All scenes should have something to do with plot.

The climax should be the most exciting part.

Character:

The protagonist should change by the end of the book.

Make sure all characters who come in contact with one another have some kind of relationship, whether good or bad.

Characters must have motivation for everything.

The protagonist must want something right from the start of the conflict.

The protagonist needs to be captivating. The readers wants to root for the protagonist. This does not mean the protagonist needs to be likable all the time.

The readers likes to relate to characters. Make sure your characters are diverse enough that readers can identify with one.

Know who your protagonist is. The main character is not always the same. For example, Nick in The Great Gatsby is the main character, but Jay Gatsby is the protagonist. This is important to know while writing your query letter.

If you can delete a minor character from a scene and nothing changes, then delete that character.

Sometimes you can make two minor characters one without losing any essential parts of the story. If you can, do this.

All characters react and act.

Each character has his or her own life.

Dialogue:

Dialogue should be believable. Read it out loud.

Don’t go overboard with phonetic spelling if a character has an accent.

Dialogue should be informal and natural. It does not have to be grammatically correct.

Prose:

Avoid purple prose. I’ve never met anyone with “emerald eyes” or “hair of fire” (except for the Flame Princess).

Don’t use too many adjectives.

Avoid cliches.

Other:

Don’t info dump. Pace information through dialogue and narration.

The first sentence should spark interest, or at least the first three. If it does, the first paragraph should be the same. And the first 250 words. The goal is to get the reader past the first page.

Let your story rest. When you’re ready to edit, start at the end. Writers tend to get lazy at the end of their story whether they are writing it for the first time or revising it after revising the rest of the story.

Make sure your manuscript is within range for your genre’s word count.

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What is your OC’s preferred habitat? Are they most themself in a library? In a boxing ring? In bed?

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7 Tips for the Reluctant Editor

During the NaNoWriMo Now What? Months, we’re focused on helping you revise, edit, and publish your story. Of course, sometimes it’s difficult to make yourself do the necessary editing work on your novel draft. Today, author and Municipal Liaison Rebecca Frost shares some editing advice for the reluctant editor:

I absolutely love NaNoWriMo. I’ve been participating since 2010 and I’ll NaNoVangelize at the drop of a hat. I love the creativity, the comradery, and the craziness. My least favorite part is the editing that comes after. It’s a vital step, though, and I’ve come to terms with my process, so I’d like to share some tips in case you, too, are a Reluctant Editor.

1. Give yourself some distance. 

My personal rule is that I won’t start editing something until it’s been sitting for a month. If I write “The End” and then flip right back to page one, I’m too close to my book, and I’ve got the story arc still fresh in my mind so I can’t see what doesn’t actually work. I’ll save my novel in a couple different places, just in case, and then come back to it to give myself the best shot at coming to it fresh.

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