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To my dear artistic, writerly, and wonderful followers,

Watch this video. Save it in your favorites. Keep it where you can always watch it, where you know you can find it.

This is Neil Gaiman’s famous ‘Make Good Art’ speech, the source of countless comics and infographics. It’s inspirational, funny, and straight from the heart.

Watch it, and keep it around.

It will save your art.

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Questions you should ask yourself about your Strong Female Character. From this excellent article: http://t.co/efkvvUqsum

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The problem with writing in “race-neutral” (what is that? Gray? Beige?) terms is you get the same problem you run into when you write in gender-neutral terms. As people raised in a racist, sexist, society, we’re going to norm a lot of stories, a lot of people, as white males. There are certainly ways you can code this differently, and every reader brings their own unique set of indicators to the reading experience, but I think the vast majority of people are going to sit down and code your world in whitewash unless they get some indication that it’s otherwise or they bring something non-majority to the table.

We have a default setting we’ve been programmed with, and it’s the default setting we’ve been pumped full of since birth: stories about bands of white brothers, fathers and sons, heroic male conquerors, Columbus, rich white presidents, men of Science, great white male writers; the men who run the world are white. The important people are white. We’re reading about important people, right? Unless we’re reading some kind of hippie women’s story set in some jungle where people don’t speak plain English.

Read the rest here

Great article.

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living-down-the-rabbithole asked: Hi there! Okay so, I’m very frustrated because I have this idea for a book but I’ve never written a book, or anything along the lines of a book, in my entire life. I have all of these great ideas and so i’m getting frustrated because I can’t write them...

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Why I Sometimes Like "Mary Sue's"

Bear with me on this one. I'm dead serious.

“Mary Sue” is such a taboo phrase in the fan fiction world. On the surface, “Mary Sue” seems to describe an OC with no depth and no flaws. Yet, characters that end up having both are often characterized as “Mary Sue” for committing a fan fiction crime far worse than lack of character development. And that crime is stealing. 

I think Mary Sues have been accused of stealing any of the following:

Main Character’s importance in the story

MC’s big moment to kill the adversary

“Best friend role” to the MC

Award for saddest, most troubling childhood

Award for most sacrifices made

Clever, most brilliant solution to a problem

Most adept fighting skills

The pedestal (or soapbox) on which the OC stands

Scenes of physical pain and/or discomfort

The MC’s heart

When I read fan fiction, I have certain expectations. I want to read canon characters. If there are OCs, I want them to be secondary, or else adversaries to the cast of characters I’m familiar with. Because when I read fan fiction, I want to feel as though I’m reading a new novel or a new script of my favorite series. I want it to feel real. 

However, I feel as though writers that are letting their OCs steal the show need to be encouraged. They need to be told: “Hey, I love that you’ve made such a connection to your OCs! You should really write their story outside of fan fiction.”

Fan fiction can be a great way to jump start your creativity. And if you’re allowing your OC to steal one of those things on my list, then it could mean that you’re an original fiction writer in the making. You just need some room to grow, and some time to nurture your OCs in an environment that feels comfortable and safe for you - your fan fiction. 

Having said that, I’m going to reiterate what I said above. When I read fan fiction, I want to read canon characters. That is of course why I’m reading fan fiction and not original fiction. So if your stories are being met with resistance, and you’re being criticized for writing Mary Sue's, then stop publishing those particular stories online. Find a few trusted friends and readers to share your work with. People that understand what you’re trying to accomplish with your OC, and will judge your OC independently, and not relative to the characters in the fandom. 

You want to write an OC as the chosen one against Voldemort, instead of Harry? I’ll read that stuff all day. But only if I know that you as a writer are experimenting. That you’re trying to develop an OC, and get practice making connections with characters that are your own. Only if I know that you’re reaching to tell an original story someday. Because as writers, we should always be looking to what we can do better, and everything we write should be a road of discovery.

But guess what? If you're writing a story, any story, then you're already awesome. 

 Keep writing folks!

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If you're a writer and you see this post, stop what you're doing.

WHENEVER YOU SEE THIS POST ON YOUR DASH, STOP WHAT YOU’RE DOING AND WRITE ONE SENTENCE FOR YOUR CURRENT PROJECT.

Just one sentence. Stop blogging for one minute and write a single sentence. It could be dialogue, it could be a nice description of scenery, it could be a metaphor, I don’t care. The point is, do it. Then, when you finish, you can get back to blogging.

If this gets viral, you might just have your novel finished by next Tuesday.

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When everything is going right, stories can get boring. That’s why we have troubles along the way to spice things up. But adding plot twists isn’t quite that simple.

If you’re trying to find ways to make your story more interesting, look at the pivotal decisions and moments throughout the novel....

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Mr. Kirin is it too big of expectations if you can already imagine your book up on the big screen? Even if you only have two chapters written but you have it all mapped out in your head? { ya can post publicly :) }

Hello there, writerly friend~ ★

I have been waiting for this question for a long time. So much, actually, that I know exactly what I am going to tell you. But, before we get there… I have a bit of a story to share.

Back before I began writing full-time, I used to work at this laboratory of sorts, doing work for this big evil company. I worked a lot there, I am talking 60-hour weeks. It nearly killed my writing. I spent so much time and energy working at this place where I was undervalued and underpaid. It was… a dark time. Full of uncertainty and hopelessness.

The only saving grace was that I often got to work alone. I could put on music, or Pandora, and listen to something other than the machinery. It was during this time that I picked up my love for audiobooks.

One day I was listening to comedians Pandora, continuing my eternal search for comedians that didn’t make misogynistic jokes, and — just like that — I stumbled upon a bit by Mike Birbiglia.

I was unable to find a clip of it, but I know for a fact that it is Track 5 of Sleepwalk With Me - Live.

During this bit, Mike talks about his first experience doing stand up. Basically, he lied to get himself the job— and when he get’s on stage he is so nervous that he reads his 11 minutes of material in less than 3 minutes. He runs home. Doesn’t even take the pay. And later that night he’s telling his girlfriend about how ‘great' the gig was. He then talks about how he knew the gig had been a disaster— but he kept telling himself that he needed to be a little delusional, because the alternative was to never do stand up again and let go of his dreams.

I don’t like all of his material. I think he’s a problematic character. But that line stuck with me— it resonated with me as I continued to do that awful 10-hours a day, 1-hour commute in-and-out, get-up-at-5-AM, no-you-can’t-ask-for-a-raise, piece-of-shit job I had.

There is no sure-cure to depression. Hell, there is no cure to life stepping on you and keeping you pinned to the ground— but I can tell you how I got better.

I allowed myself to be a little delusional. Or, as I like to call it— I let myself dream. I would imagine myself doing TV interviews. I would imagine myself doing Q&A’s at conventions. I would imagine my stories as movies, TV Shows, comic books— everything.

And it helped, because I paired my hope with my courage. I kept writing, and I kept building this blog— all while telling myself "things are going to work out, I know it."

People will tell you that you 'shouldn't get your hopes up' but I disagree. They might as well be telling you to not dream. There is so much negativity and hopelessness in the world as it is — with things you have no control over — and yet people have the gall to look you in the eyes and tell you to not dream. Not to inspire yourself. Not to fuel your heart.

Sure, I get it. Dreaming alone won’t make things happen— and I know that firsthand, but dreaming helps. Hope is the fuel of change. It is the material dreams are made of. And I will say this now— because I need to say it. If you disagree with what I have said, consider this:

Despair has never achieved anything, and it never will.

To answer your question: No, there is nothing wrong with being a little delusional~ c;

Dream, writerly friend. Dream. Imagine your stories, and your art, out in the world touching the hearts of countless— but do not expect the universe to bring these to you. Pair your hope with your courage, and you will make your dreams a reality~ ♥︎

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How do you write a mentor character so that they're wise and intelligent but still humanly realistic in terms of flaws and weaknesses?

I’ve often found most character weaknesses come from the strengths the character already has. To that end, let’s look at strengths a mentor character usually has:

Wisdom. The mentor character is supposed to be wiser, if not smarter, than their student. Wisdom or intelligence comes with a number of flaws. The mentor could be arrogant in their intelligence or their wisdom could be difficult to understand. The mentor’s maturity could turn into patronization and condescension. 

Experience. Mentor characters have had time to go everywhere, do anything, and learn everything. They have experience, except now they’re older and they aren’t as sharp or flexible as they were in their golden years. The mentor could have the usual problems of an old person, and personality issues associated with those problems: self-hate because they aren’t at their best and jealousy because some people are at their best.

Pride. The mentor becomes a parent figure for their student. The mentor could take too much pride in their student and believe their student is invincible - and that’s dangerous for a number of reasons. The student might stop trusting their mentor, who puts them in dangerous situations.

Some other traits:

Short-tempered. I think it’s because most mentors tend to be older, but nearly all of them are irascible. You can make this into an anger issue or just something that causes friction between the mentor and others.

Reticent. Mentors like to keep things hidden until the plot demands it’s time for the protagonist to know. People/the student might not trust the mentor because they have so many secrets. 

Born in a different time/place. Again with the age, but mentors tend to come from places and eras different than where the protagonist comes from. The age/location gap could cause friction or the mentor could have some beliefs that translate into flaws when dealing with the protagonist.

Doubt. The student is inept at the beginning of their training. If their training progresses and they’re still inept, the mentor might feel doubt about their abilities to teach and/or their student’s ability to learn/become the Chosen One.

To shake things up, you might want to change the mentor’s past, disposition, or life. This will create more flaws and such. Here are some suggestions:

The mentor is the same or similar in age to their student (NO ROMANCE)

The mentor was never formally schooled in anything and sometimes makes things up to appear smart

The mentor has a family/other pressing responsibilities they’re juggling in addition to mentoring the hero

The mentor has multiple students

The Chosen One could be the mentor or their student, but no one knows yet - the mentor takes the student under their wing just in case the inexperienced student is The One

The mentor and the student really don’t get along and part ways a number of times

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 Dear Writers,

My characters are in my head so heavy. I’ve neglected my literature for 2 years to write more poetry. I am feeling the urge to develop my incomplete characters: their story lines, behavior patterns, you know- all that good stuff. I am struggling right now on deciding who to kill: the mother or the child. But somebody has to die, and I can’t kill my main character, but at the same time “kill your darlings” is running through my mind at this moment. But my darling is also the unborn child. I don’t care too much for the mother, though I just need help Argh! It’s damn near midnight and NOW this pops up in my mind. Help?

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Depends what kind of topics you're searching for! Just find some great writing blogs to follow and watch your dashboard fill up with advice on a variety of topics every day. 

My favorites are:

The Writers Helpers

WriteWorld

Hey Writers

FictionWritingTips

Fix Your Writing Habits

The Writing Cafe 

For All Your Writerly Needs

Just to name a few ;)

Hello friends! Can anyone recommend writing things? Such as tips, prompts, general help, etc? Anything at all would be a help. Thank you!

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You just need a thought from your character linking the present to the past. Flashbacks don't usually just happen - something triggers them. But if the flashback does happen independent from the present scene, a time stamp can also work. Just write in the date before your flashback and readers will know that it's a flashback.

Writing Question....

I’m in the middle of writing a one shot that I hadn’t planned (thanks penthesilea1623 , just what I needed :P). Anyways, a good half of the story is done in flashback and I don’t want to do italics for 2/3 the story. Any suggestions how to “fade to memory”?

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hey! so i've been outlining my book and one of my characters, who has had to provide for her sister and herself her entire life, is supposed to be kinda rude and mean. but she's not really acting that way toward another character, and i feel like she should be. she's only known the other character for maybe two weeks, and I'm worried that she's going against her personality for no real reason. thank you so much!!

Hello there, writerly friend~ ✿

I have touched on this subject in the past, but allow me to elaborate! You see, the funny thing about characters is that… well, just like you never know a person until you meet them, you never know a character until you write them.

I mean it.

Have you considered that maybe — just maybe — this character doesn’t want to be rude to this person that she just met? I know that some writers may read that and call it heresy, but really consider the question.

Do you think you know more about your characters than they do?

You see, I have written so many books by now— and I can tell you with certainty that during the revision process I spend 80% of my time fixing the first third of the book. Why? Because every time (and I do mean every time) I find that the character I wrote in the beginning is not like the person I wrote in the end. The same character in the early chapters seemed like a simplification: a summary of a person. This was because during those early pages I would spend a long time battling between my expectations of the character— and who they really were. And my job during the revision process is to go back and make sure this character is who they are supposed to be from the beginning.

One of these days I will post the original character sheets for Anabel and Justine (From Justine’s Blood). I swear they are not even the same people— and that’s good, because whoever I thought they were supposed to be is nothing compared to who they really were.

I know that we are told to ‘come up’ with stories, but I don’t think that is what actually happens. We don’t ‘come up’ with them— we find them. We stumble upon characters too. I know this may not be what you expected to hear, but this is what I really feel.

If you are afraid that this character is not who you thought they were, then good. Keep writing. If they surprised you, they will surprise the reader.

If you are afraid that now your outline is ruined, then no problem. Keep writing. Just follow this character and see where they go. Life is not scripted, so welcome the unknown and see where it takes you.

As a final note, I will leave you with my favorite piece of character advice:

If you wish your characters to behave like real people, and be as complex as real people, then you must treat them like real people.

I hope this helps! If you, or any other writerly friend has any more questions, feel free to send them my way! (◕‿◕✿)

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Overcoming the Dreaded "Writer's Block"

There are two kinds of writer’s block, I feel. There is the type where you have absolutely no idea what to write, and the type where you’re lost in the middle of a project. I’m going to focus on the second one.

No matter how much you love an idea, there will likely come a time when you lose steam with it. You may still want to write, but your energy towards what you’re writing becomes difficult to sustain. New ideas are tempting you, and you really want to throw in the towel on your current draft. You may think it wise to just go with your muse and follow your inspiration, but eventually you might reach this point again with a new idea. Instead of constantly shoving your incomplete ideas in a drawer, try this.

Free write as long as you need to answer these questions: Why do you want to quit? What is no longer appealing to you about this story? Why is this new idea enticing you more? What does it have that your current one doesn’t? What do you hate about your story? Rant, vent, and get it all out of your system. Put every single flaw on the table. 

Put the free write away and sleep on it. One night should be plenty, but judge for yourself how long you need.

Go through your free write and make a concise list of your complaints. 

Address each item on this list one by one and come up with solutions. I like to do this when I’m alone so I can talk it through (yes, I talk to myself about my stories).

Don’t be afraid to make drastic changes. Some common problems I’ve run into during this process:

A character serves no purpose, so I cut them from the story.

Setting isn’t working, so I relocate.

Antagonist doesn’t antagonize enough, so I give him a richer back story with more evil motivations

Protagonist is too perfect, so I give her some flaws

Plot is too complicated, so I simplify

Plot isn’t complicated enough, so I brainstorm 

The writing sucks, so....so what? I'm always gonna think my writing sucks, especially on a first draft. So I say screw that and keep moving forward.

Once you’ve solved these issues, you should be rejuvenated and ready to write again. If you’re not, then you need to do another free write and figure out what issues are still lingering. 

Don’t give up on an idea. Don’t shelve it if you’ve already shelved several other ideas. Take action, and take control of your writing. 

Other great approaches to overcome writer's block:

Finish the First Draft, Then Worry About Changes

6 Ways to Beat Writer's Block

4 Types of Writer's Block (And How to Overcome Them)

Motivation: The Slump

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by Susan Dennard —- This was originally posted on Let the Words Flow, but I have tweaked it slightly to share with our new world of Pub(lishing) Crawl readers. One thing writers hate doing but wil…

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Writing Dialogue - What to Leave Out

Dialogue is tricky for many reasons, but a good place to start is knowing what shouldn’t even be in dialogue to begin with. 

Filler Words

While using words like Um, Uh, Like, ect. can do a lot to show a character’s hesitance or nervousness, there are other great ways to show these emotions without those filler words. Add body language, gestures, facial expressions, or pauses to show the character’s anxiety. I’ve seen ellipses used to denote pauses in dialogue, but only do this if you’re stingy with them. 

Also, be economical. Don’t use more words than you need to. When I’m editing my own dialogue, one word I’m always deleting is “that.” If you cut it from the following sentences, they roll off the tongue much easier. 

“I didn’t know that she was there.”

“I found out that he was cheating on me.”

“He said that he’d meet us there.”

Long Explanations

Say you’ve just written this fantastic chapter where your protagonist has been through absolute hell, yet they discovered something crucial to your plot. Then, in the next chapter, your protagonist meets up with another character and needs to catch them up on everything that just happened. It is more than okay to say something like, “Sarah told Bill what happened.” Focus instead on how Bill reacts or what he says in response. Readers  don’t want to hear an explanation of something they just read, so keep that in mind when recapping events between characters.

Greetings

When I answer the telephone, I say hello. When I see someone at work, I say hey and ask how it’s going. That’s realistic dialogue. But despite its authenticity, it has no place in fiction. Have you ever noticed how people on TV never say goodbye when they’re on the phone? Or they tend to just barge into a scene and start talking? We know people usually greet each other appropriately, but we go with it because we don’t want to waste time on trivialities when we’re enjoying a story.

Character Names

Use character names in dialogue sparingly. When two characters are speaking to each other, it’s redundant to use the other’s name.  A general rule of thumb is to only use a character’s name in dialogue when you’re trying to get that character’s attention, or if there are multiple people in the scene and you need to make it clear who she’s speaking to. When in doubt, leave it out!

And some last tips!

-Watch movies or television, or listen to an audio book. Part of learning to write great dialogue is hearing it. 

-Find a dialogue heavy scene you enjoy and analyze it! Do some characters speak in only fragments? Do some rarely use contractions? How many simple sentences vs. compound/complex sentences are there? How does the author denote accents or bizarre speaking patterns? 

-Read aloud dialogue you’ve written, either by yourself or with a friend. 

-If you’re writing prose, write the scene in script format first. Don’t worry about anything except the words inside those quotation marks.

Now go put words in people’s mouths!

Other great resources:

How to Write Great Dialogue

The Power of Silence

How to Write Dialogue

Foundation of Dialogue