alexwrites2

[alexwrites2]

The cutest shit though…

[alexwrites2]

ok so there’s a game me and my friends play called “don’t get me started” and basically someone gives another person a random topic and they have to go on an angry rant about it and it’s the best thing that’s ever happened to us at parties and car rides so I highly recommend playing sometimes with your friends

[alexwrites2]

Harry Potter Poster Series - Created by Simon Fairhurst

Prints available for purchase at the artist’s Etsy Shop.

[alexwrites2]

why you should be using five-act structure

if you’re the kind of writer that plans out your novels, you’re probably at least familiar with three-act structure. you might even use it use it regularly. and maybe it works for you.

when i first discovered it, i thought it was great. i thought, finally, i had a reliable structure to use for my books; a beginning! a middle!! an end!!!

but in practice, it’s actually confusing. the first and third act are pretty straightforward. in the first act, you have some exposition, an inciting incident. then in the third act, you have the climax and the results of it. but the second act is where it falls apart. what is a midpoint? what’s supposed to happen? and now there’s act 2A and act 2B? w h a t i s h a p p e n i n g 

that’s why i was relieved when i discovered five-act structure. it’s easier, simpler, and more straightforward.

and the funny thing is, it’s not even that different.

as brought out in this wonderful video by the YouTuber Lessons From The Screenplay, five-act structure is really just a refinement of three-act structure. the first and last acts serve the same purpose, but the middle act is broken down into three distinct acts.

to visualize it, here’s a little diagram:

here’s how to use it:

Act I:

this act is all about exposition. we are introduced to the main characters, the relationships between which, and an Inciting Incident, Call to Action, or Catalyst is received, which leads us into…

Act II:

most resources on this act call it Rising Action. but i like to think of it as The Climb. tension and action are rising towards the peak of the mountain. our characters are learning, adapting to the new circumstances, and working towards their ultimate goal.

Act III:

in three-act structure, this is called the Midpoint Crisis. and generally, this is referred to as the Crisis, Climax, or Turning Point. i call it The Peak. we’ve reached the top of the mountain… and then we fall. the story turns on its head. an event happens that changes everything, and propels the story towards the end. [[be aware of SPOILERS for The Avengers and Black Panther]]: in the Avengers, this is when they are bested by Loki and his followers. the Avengers are scattered, Coulson dies. everything has been turned on its head. for Black Panther, the Crisis is even more potent. T’Challa is bested by Killmonger, who becomes king in his place, and our hero is thought to be dead. everything is turned upside down, and the tension increases.

Act IV: 

i call this The Fall. we’re tumbling down the mountain now, reacting to the consequences of the Crisis, and beginning the last push for the big finale. this is often called Falling Action, but i haven’t really understood this terminology. the tension and action of this act should be increasing, not lessening. and while it is crucial to have down moments in your story, times of reflection, building relationships, it’s important to keep the tension high in this act, because it keeps the reader’s interest focused as we approach…

Act V:

this act begins with the Climax of the story. we’ve hit the bottom of the mountain. the final battle. the moment the whole story has been leading to. some resources call this the Catastrophe or the Denouement, depending on whether the story is a tragedy or a comedy, since this five-act structure originally came about in an analysis of Victorian plays. but both names apply; Catastrophe refers to the Climax, and Denouement refers to the effects of it. now that the conflict has been resolved, the characters walk away changed. with a new piece of knowledge, a new understanding, or a changed viewpoint. again using Black Panther [SPOILERS] T’Challa comes away from the battle with Killmonger with the realization that isolating Wakanda from the world is not always the right choice. that in order for it to thrive, it must share its knowedge and resources with the world.��it’s important to remember that the Climax should answer the question raised by the Catalyst.

in fact, each act should answer a question. will the hero overcome this obstacle? the answer informs the decision they make, which takes them into the next act. each act represents the crossing of a threshold past which they can never go back. when they decide to act on the Catalyst in the first act, they pass into the second act. they can no longer go back into the first act, the familiar world. when they reach the Peak and the Crisis throws them down the other side of the mountain, they can no longer go back into Act II. the rules have changed again.

my hope is that this helps you better structure your story. for me, it’s been immensely helpful. three-act structure is non-specific and confusing, but five-act structure helpfully breaks it down into something useable and understandable. i also highly recommend the video i linked earlier, as Lessons From The Screenplay explains is much better. he also has an awesome channel in general which has been a huge help to me. even if you’re not a screenplay writer, many of the principles and points he discusses can be helpful to writers in general.

again, i hope this helped. i use this method to structure most of my books now, and i’ve been using it for a while. maybe it’s not helpful to you, which is okay. if you do use it, don’t be afraid to mix it up. look at The Last Jedi, for example. it has a fairly unconventional structure, but it’s able to tell a great story. 

it’s also important to remember that this is just a mental framework to structure your story. not every story will fit into it. not every story is right for it. but i hope you’re still able to use it in some way, and learn from it nonetheless.

[alexwrites2]

a person from 150 years ago would be terrified by modern stuff . however , a duck from 150 years ago would just be all like ,still got lakes? yes ? okay cool

[alexwrites2]

lads had a dream last night that i was at the elton john concert and halfway through crocodile rock he switched to a prince medley and real live flesh and blood prince walked out on stage, and into the stunned, hushed silence i said quietly, “i thought you were dead” and he looked straight at me through the crowds of a million people, put his mouth against the mic, and said “do i look like the kind of man who dies” absolute legend 

[alexwrites2]

Guess you need exactly THIS smile.

[alexwrites2]

Reblog if you're a fanfiction writer

[alexwrites2]

I was driving late at night with friends once and all of a sudden we saw what looked like a concrete wall in the middle of the road. My driver slammed on the breaks as we all screamed waiting to be hit only to be showered with water from the sunroof.

[alexwrites2]

I was driving late at night with friends once and all of a sudden we saw what looked like a concrete wall in the middle of the road. My driver slammed on the breaks as we all screamed waiting to be hit only to be showered with water from the sunroof.

[alexwrites2]

[alexwrites2]

[alexwrites2]

In fanfiction there is a difference between being a good writer and a popular writer. 

Just because you can write a well-structured story with dynamic and consistent writing and characters doesn’t mean you will be popular. And sometimes stories that have disorganized plots, mediocre writing, and/or OOC characters will be held up as the greatest things to ever exist. 

Just because your writing isn’t popular doesn’t mean you are a bad writer. Don’t ever compromise who you are, who your characters are, your plot, your writing style, anything for the sake of readership.

There are popular writers everywhere. But there are only so many good writers.

[alexwrites2]

so in writer’s craft our assignment is to write the worst poem we can possibly create

and we’re having a contest and i think i’m going to win

[alexwrites2]

Hey you. Yes, you.

I just wanted to take a moment to say that whether or not your fic makes it on to rec lists, or gets a lot of reblogs, and regardless of whether or not you get nominated for awards, or make it onto lists of authors people should read, you still matter. Someone, somewhere, appreciates you. They love the thing that you wrote. They squealed, and flailed, and probably messaged their friend about it at 2am in the morning. You have written sentences that have made peoples’ hearts flip-flop in their stomachs and have little moments of ‘oh I wish I’d thought of that! Headcanon!’.

You are still a writer, and a damn good one at that.

[alexwrites2]

Mirror For The Sun - Part 4: Chicago cont.

Masterlist  -  Series Masterlist  -  Part 3 - Part 5 (coming soon)

Summary: Nat tricks you into leading a road trip with Bucky, Sam and Steve. Her plot is partly to get the boys to travel for fun for once but mostly to get you and Bucky together. You and Bucky, who seemingly despise each other.

Warnings: swearing, panic attack/flashback

Word Count: 3167

Author’s Note: Yiiiikes! This is a long one. I haven’t even started the next one and I have visitors for a few days so it will be a bit before I have part 5, so I hope you enjoy this extra long one in the meantime!

After the baseball game, and a full day of driving and roller coasters before that, everyone’s more than happy to spend the night stretching out around the hotel room. While we might be enjoying a night in, Y/N insists that guy’s day must continue, if even just quietly. She made sure we stopped on the way home from the game for drinks and demanded that we pick a line-up of terrible, aggressive, mostly plotless movies while she ordered a pizza. Well several pizzas. She knows Sam can really pack it away.

Today I honestly can’t remember why she drives me so crazy all the time. Today she’s fucking perfect. Who the hell would be ok with burning in the sun all day at a baseball game and then coming back to beer, pizza, and shitty action movies with the three of us? We’re more than a handful but she’s relaxed and it seems easy to her, but I know she’s going out of her way at every turn. I can’t figure out exactly when I started thinking about her like this but it’s a problem. A big fucking problem.

Keep reading

[alexwrites2]

I would like to say, i (and many other others) appreciate that you take some part of your time to write for us. Especially when they're really great (like they always are) >.< thank you so much. Love you.

“Amarte Es Un Placer” Draco x Reader (Part 6)