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Scene Transitions

                Transitioning between scenes is something that you’ll have to do a lot. A good scene transition blends seamlessly into the next so we hardly notice it occurring—or it stands out in order to heighten an emotional impact.

                I remember teachers saying, “transitions should blend seamlessly” to me in school without ever explaining how to do that, or what it looks like. The good news is, you’ve probably read so many books and consumed so much media that you’re already subconsciously transitioning your scenes. If you’re struggling, though, here’s what to watch out for:

1. The emotion ends off and begins at the same place.

This isn’t necessarily a hard rule, but it certainly helps maintain a sort of flow to the work, and asks a lot less from your readers than putting them through an emotional rollercoaster. This counts whether it’s transitioning from the same POV or different ones.

                For example, if your character is being chased by the police and the scene cuts off without knowing what happens to them, the next scene needs to begin in this heightened sense of urgency and anxiety.

                However, if your character is being chased by police and dives unnoticed into their hideout, the next scene should begin within this sense of relief. From here, you can take it wherever you want—just maintain a consistency between chapter cuts, POVs, or other time/place skips.

2. Finish what you start

Unless you’re intentionally keeping the audience in the dark about something (which would require at least some acknowledgement that there are answers, they just aren’t being revealed), you should finish what one scene starts.

Say your previous chapter ends off with the character finally reaching the end of the line for the super scary haunted house attraction. The next should probably begin with them getting to enter the house. If it begins the next day, we’ll be so caught up in the missing time and the obvious lack of answers surrounding the haunted house it’ll take us completely out of the scene and make a notable cut.

                An example of a story that does this notable cut really well is ‘A Face Like Glass’ by Frances Hardinge, in which nearing the end, Hardinge inserts a page that playfully acknowledges the complete jump in time and space without revealing anything to the readers about why it’s there, leaving them to discover later on what occurred in that space.

                I wish I could quote it exactly but I don’t have the book with me. If anyone does, please reblog this with the page! You’ll know the one I’m talking about.

3. Keep it the same

Don’t switch to a new POV in the middle of the story when you’ve never seen it before unless intentionally making a point. Do transition your scenes however you’d like, but maintain consistency throughout the story. That way, if you ever need to make a point, you can break all the rules you’ve followed to really hammer home the impact.

                Good luck!

[arethesewritingtips]

good traits gone bad

perfectionism - never being satisfied

honesty - coming off as rude and insensitive

devotion - can turn into obsession

generosity - being taken advantage of

loyalty - can make them blind for character faults in others

being dependable - always depending on them

ambitiousness - coming off as ruthless

optimism - not being realistic

diligence - not able to bend strict rules

protectiveness - being overprotective

cautiousness - never risking anything

being determined - too focussed on one thing

persuasiveness - coming off as manipulative

tidiness - can become an obsession

being realistic - being seen as pessimistic

assertiveness - coming off as bossy

pride - not accepting help from others

innocence - being seen as naive

selflessness - not thinking about themself enough

being forgiving - not holding others accountable

curiosity - asking too much questions

persistence - being seen as annoying

being charming - can seem manipulative

modesty - not reaching for more

confidence - coming off as arrogant

wit/humor - not taking things serious

patience - being left hanging

strategic - coming off as calculated

being caring - being overbearing

tolerance - being expected to tolerate a lot

eagerness - coming off as impatient

being observant - being seen as nosy

independence - not accepting help

being considerate - forgetting about themself

fearlessness - ignoring real danger

politeness - not telling what they really think

reliability - being taken advantage of

empathy - getting overwhelmed with feeling too much for other people

[arethesewritingtips]

for a story i’m working on…

does anyone have any idea what would happen in a scenario where students publish about a murder that happened at their school that the cops haven’t really said anything about in a school paper to save their dying journalism club (but was right about it)?

like, would there be a punishment?

would it be from the school? cops? both?

the most i could think of was the paper being shut down.

because, like, yes, it was before the cops said anything, but it was correct.

if you have any ideas, please feel free to chime in, im just completely at a loss here.

[arethesewritingtips]

grumpy x sunshine/outgoing prompts

feel free to use :))!

character a waking up like “GET UP GET UP THE SUNRISE IS SO PRETTY THE BIRDS ARE CHIRPING AND THE CLOUDS ARE PINK” and character b being like “you know what else is pretty? sleep.”

^^but them still getting up to watch the sunset (and still ending up only watching the other character because they are so in love)

“i love it.” “i think i just puked.”

what it looks like once they start rubbing off on each other

“WOE IS ME!” *dramatic fall* “woe is most definitely not you, get up.”

grumpy one just does everything the sunshine one says. like they cannot for the life of them say no

“let’s dance in the rain?” “but… hypothermia…”

grumpy character going over the top for sunshine characters birthday even though they aren’t used to all of that

we’ve heard of grumpy guy and sunshine girl but what about the other way around !!!!!?’!,!;!;!

“i thought you were mean for the longest time. but you’re the sweetest person i’ve met.”

alternatively ^ that could be said about the sunshine character

one constantly has bags the size of pluto under their eyes and the other always glows… literally

“i’m glad we met.” “i’m not so opposed to you either, i guess.”

grumpy one is most often stoic but the cliche moment where we see that stoic mask drop…

[arethesewritingtips]

suffering! i will be suffering for nano this year! /hj

no but fr, im gonna work on a ya murder book im planning bc stupid adhd brain wont fixate on anything else. i have Only read ya murder books for the past year and a half. ive read fifteen. its not enough. (think one of us is lying if you dont know what a ya murder book is; i dont know the actual genres)

i know it's early to ask, but what's everyone doing for nano this year? i am trying to decide what to work on and i just love the sense of community that nano brings, it makes it so much easier and more fun to draft. if you are doing nano and you know what you're doing, please tell me, i would love to hear about it 👀👀

[arethesewritingtips]

sometimes i forget how important it is for me to write semi-consistently.

now, i don’t mean 2,000 words every day, but like even 30 words every couple of days.

when i don’t write for too long, i forget how to make things flow, and i lose that practice and my “hood writing skills.”

i’m working on a fic right now, and it’s coming along so awkwardly. part of it is probably the content, as it’s something i’ve never written before and had to do a lot of research for, but i’m finding it much harder to make it not come along weirdly.

i definitely feel like my writing quality has gone down, so i’m going to try to challenge myself to write 20-50 words (or three sentences, whichever one’s easier) at least every other day.

and this is not me telling you you have to do this either, this is just about me personally

[arethesewritingtips]

Reader: Omg I can’t wait for the next chapter!!

Me, the writer, slowly closing my blank word doc:

Edit: Credit to @luke-skywalker for the gif!

[arethesewritingtips]

DILF

discourse i’d like to forget

[arethesewritingtips]

writing east asian characters

as a half east asian person, asian representaion is important to me, and i’m sure it is to all the other asians out there. but incorrect representation is far worse than no representation at all, so here are a few guidelines and things to keep in mind when writing an asian character.  

things to keep in mind when naming:

please don’t make up names that “sound asian”. well known offender: cho chang from harry potter. hearing people mock me when i speak in my asian language by saying “ching chong chang” is bad enough, but making us asians read/hear about a character whose name is a constant reminder of that ignorance and racism really bothers me.

if the character was born in a different country, our first names aren’t always native to our language/country. we may or may not have a traditionally english name. a great example of this used correctly is ethan nakamura, from the percy jackson series.

coming up with a last name is not difficult - at all. just google “common (insert country/ethnicity) last names” and they’ll come up. use this for other ethnicities/races too!

this is really just common sense but don’t give a traditionally korean name to a japanese character, vietnamese name to a chinese character etc. (unless they are multiple ethnicities).

guidelines for physical descriptions:

please…don’t say they have slanted eyes. just don’t.

our skin isn’t yellow. we aren’t lemons. also, the asian race incorporates not just east asians but also filipinos and other much darker skinned people.

many east asians have straight, thick black hair. but again, even within the asian race we are diverse, so this isn’t always true.

of course, if your asian character is being faced with racism, you can have the racist character make fun of their eyes or skin. some asians make fun of themselves, but make sure you check w multiple asians to see if this joke is ok.

writing personalities, characteristics, quirks, etc.

east asians can have any personality, just like any black, white, or hispanic character. they can be mean, they can be nice. just make sure that if you only have one asian character, they aren’t shown as a villain. if you have multiple asians on both the “good” and “bad” sides, that’s perfectly ok.

stereotypes can definitely affect your character. be concious of them.

people’s personalities and quirks are shaped by their parents/how they were raised. an asian kid adopted by white parents is not going to act the same way or entirely fit in with other asians raised by asian parents. their cultures (or their parents cultures) will affect them.  

east asian cultures

asians can be racist to other asians. in the past, koreans and japanese do not get along, and that has really showed in the japanese side of my family. my mother is quick to stereotype koreans she sees, but she does have korean friends she gets along with. racism among asians exists, and it’s not always black and white. rasicm also exists against other races; i’ve heard of an asian daughter who wasn’t allowed by her parents to marry a black man.

asians can have friends of multiple races/ethnicities

not all asians know their respective languages. some only know a little, some are completely fluent.

east asians don’t know everything about other east asian cultures, and can still accidentally insult other cultures. each culture is very different, so do your research on each one.

universal east asian culture things: 1) no shoes in the house. 2) do well in school. 3) strict rules on cleanliness, going out, friendships, relationships, and curfew. 4) mothers always wear slippers for some reason. 5) attacking insolent children with said slippers.

religion is also varied. usually it’s either christianity or buddhism, although there are of course, exceptions. the native japanese religion is shinto.

taiwan was recently the first country to legalize gay marriage, which is good news, but that also means that many asian countries are against it or don’t fully support gayness. not all asians are like this! but it’s common for asian parents to be less understanding of this kind of stuff so keep that in mind if your asian character is going to be gay.

stereotypes and their affects

asians are smart. this one probably came around because many asian parents are very strict when it comes to their child’s education, but strictness doesn’t equal understanding a subject you just don’t get. this stereotype is usually detrimental to asians because people expect too much of them. if they do well, it’s expected and less people congratulate them. if they don’t, they’re shamed for it more.

asians are bad drivers. this one doesn’t affect asians as badly as the smart stereotype, but it’s still insulting.

asians all look alike. again, this one isn’t really that bad, just very annoying. yeah, some of us look similar, but a lot of us are very different. i was once compared to a guy who was fully vietnamese, whose skin must have been at least ten shades darker, with black hair and was on the chubby side. i’m japanese, half white, with brown hair, and definitely thinner than him. if i genuinely look like the person you’re comparing me to, it’s not a problem, but it’s definitely offensive when we’re very different types of asian. we are all different and unique, and it’s important that people respect that. 

it’s important to remember that not all of the things i said are always true - there are always exceptions. i’ve probably missed a lot of things. i also don’t pretend to know about every different kind of east asian. so if you have anything to add, feel free, and if you have any questions about how to portray an asian, ask someone of that ethnicity!

it’s okay if you didn’t realize that you belived in a stereotype or that you might have said something offensive once, as long as you learn from it and don’t do it again in the future. i hope non-east asians learned something from this post. good luck writing your asian characters! heck yea representation

side note: I’ve addressed this in other posts, but the example of cho chang as a bad name and is purely my opinion. many others may disagree, I just thought it was mildly ignorant and shouldn’t be used often. jkr in general is not a good author to model when it comes to representation of any kind. ty!

[arethesewritingtips]

[arethesewritingtips]

i hope every white person on here who made liking kpop and anime and kdramas and shit like that a part of their online identity is doing something to boost AAPI charities/mutual aid today.

[arethesewritingtips]

Reading fanfiction? 👌👌👌

Writing fanfiction? 👌👌👌

[arethesewritingtips]

Something to repeat to yourself in the shower:

My stories are not for everyone. 

My stories will bore some readers. Some readers will hate them. Some won’t understand, won’t connect the dots, won’t relate to the characters. Some won’t because they can’t, some won’t because they don’t want to, but most won’t simple because my stories just aren’t for them.

My stories aren’t for everyone.

My stories are for me.

And they’re for the readers who will love them. They’re for the reader who have already loved them. For the readers who will see what I see in them and feel the characters and the world the way I do. They’re for the readers who wanted these stories before they even knew they existed. They’re for the readers they’ll make smile, the readers they’ll stick with, and the readers they’ll save.

And just because my stories aren’t for everyone doesn’t make them worth any less to the people they are for. 

Not everyone likes butterflies. Not everyone likes spiders. But the people who love those creatures more than anything else would lose a part of themselves if they didn’t exist. 

So no, my stories are not for everyone. But that doesn’t matter. 

Because they’re for someone, and to that someone, they’re irreplaceable.

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sometimes i wonder how a writer would describe me if i were a character in a book

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petition to be able to just turn your brain upside down and shake the stories out of it

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lol one of my favorite tags in k-pop fanfic is “canon compliant”

have i used it before? once

do i still find it funny? absolutely

[arethesewritingtips]

“I need to kiss you so badly. One of those kisses where I’m pressing against you as much as possible and my hands are in your hair and moving down your back, clutching to you in any way I can, kissing you as deeply as possible and thinking you’re mine, mine mine.”

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