libra-writes

[libra-writes]

apparently I’m still pretending that introducing *yet another* wip will make me write but w/e

Synopsis:

Sabine is the spare princess, ignored and ridiculed for her lack of tact and strength. When her older sister falls gravely ill and her twin brother goes missing, everything falls on her shoulders, so she does what she does best—runs away. Eventually, she runs into Ryo, a thief with no memory of his past, and the last person to see Sasha alive. 

Sasha and his second-in-command wake up in a dungeon, prisoners of a group of vicious sorcerers, who plan to sacrifice them to the old gods and raise a group of mythical monsters from the frozen mountains.

Back in the capital, Tatianna has barely begun to recover when her fiancee arrives. Scrambling to cover evidence of her ill health and project an image of strength, she must also deal with rumors of traitors within her court and the machinations of Nanjira's ambassador.

Characters: 

Sabine: introverted, kinda has an inferiority complex, thinks she has to prove her worth to the world, very protective over her few friends, aggressive and lashes out when she’s uncomfortable, socially awkward

Ryo: super friendly, mischievous and loves to play pranks, hates authority, doesn’t know the meaning of tact, surprisingly loyal for his chosen profession, is down for literally anything, definition of chaotic good

Sasha: extroverted, really intelligent but kind of a dumbass common sense wise, makes jokes at inappropriate moments, very flirtatious (which has definitely gotten him into trouble before)

Alexei: Sasha’s second and sometimes boyfriend, kinda grumpy, hates basically everyone but Sasha, good at going unnoticed, will cut you, distrusts literally everyone

Cihan: the nephew of one of the sorcerers, very powerful, kinda bitter but also doesn’t actually want to hurt anyone, feels trapped by obligation, almost painfully shy and awkward around people he doesn’t know

Tatianna: amazing diplomat, chronically ill, can and will manipulate people, actually really nice, would rather be in the library reading than dealing with all the courtiers

Khula: Tatianna’s fiancee, daughter of the Nanjiran matriarch, accomplished warrior and rider, sarcastic but nice to those she thinks deserve it, hates politics

World:

Vara: The northernmost kingdom on the continent. Mountainous and covered by ice and snow for most of the year, most of the population lives in the five main cities. Karishka, the capital, houses the most people and the royal family. Because of the harsh conditions, Varan culture is very cooperative, but also tends to be very insular and unaccepting of outsiders.

Nanjira: A conglomeration of tribes from the southeastern mountains united under one banner. Nanjira has had a strife filled history with Vara, because the Varan crown refused to recognize Nanjira as an independent nation. This changed after the war with the Hyruns, in which the Nanjiran cavalry, archers, and scouts were integral parts. 

The Sorcerers: From a small group of villages in the southwestern portion of Vara, just over the Myras mountain range and next to the sea. During the war with the Hyruns, their villages were burned and pillaged, and the Varan crown did not send troops to protect them. Bitter and betrayed, they want to raise a race of powerful wolf-like monsters to visit destruction upon the crown.

[libra-writes]

that feeling when you desperately want to read a very specific fic, only it’s your own fic, which you haven’t finished writing yet, so you’re stuck staring at a blank word doc for hours trying to talk your brain into writing the thing when you really want to be reading the thing, right now

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When in doubt: steal lyrics from wicked to use as fic titles.

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Welcome to the first draft, where the tense is made up and the POV doesn’t matter

[libra-writes]

How to Write a Fight Scene (Rebloggable Version)

Admin Note: This post is a rebloggable copy of our page on fight scenes. The page is being phased out, so from now on all updates will be made on this post and not on the page. 

Among the typically difficult scenes writers face in their stories, the fight scene definitely ranks high on the list. Below you will find several resources with tips for writing a good fight scene.

Action with a Side of Zombies: One of our articles focused specifically on writing action scenes. Bonus:  the examples all include zombies.

ArchetypesAndAllusions: An article on the three main types of fighters and their various approaches to kickin’ ass (or not).

TheCreativePenn.com: Alan Baxter, speculative fiction author, gives some great advice on characterization, setting, martial style, and cliches. 

StoryHack.com: A PDF that takes you through writing a fight scene step by step by Randy Ingermanson, compiled by Bryce Beattie.

MarilynnByerly.com: An extremely good guide to writing fight scenes. This guide includes tips on character viewpoint, mapping the fight, and tricks for writing each type of fight. 

Shelfari.com: This site is an interview with famed fantasy author R.A. Salvatore on how to write great fight scenes.

TheBusinessOfWriting: C. Patrick Schulze gives some good, solid advice on identifying and writing your fight scene.

EzineArticles.com: Marq McAlister explains how to make a fight scene pack some serious punch. This article is good for fine-tuning.

Martin Turner: Focusing specifically on sword-fighting scenes, Martin Turner writes in great detail on every conceivable detail of this type of time-honored fight scene. 

SeriousPixie.com: Susan tells you about the three types of fight scene writers and explains how to fix the problems that arise for each type.

David Alan Lucus: This multi-part guide gives advice in exhaustive detail on how to write an awesome fight scene.

NightFoot: This Tumblr post offers some great tips for writing fight scenes.

Film Crit Hulk: A shoe-in for screenwriters, the Hulk and special guest Tom Townend talk shop on how to write a great movie action scene.

Harry Edmundson-Cornell: Harry writes a series on the fight scene geared toward writers of Superhero comics.

How To Fight Write: The knowledgeable and thorough admins of this exceptional Tumblr blog will teach you everything you ever wanted to know about fight scenes and weaponry—even if they have to beat it into you.

Scholagladiatoria: A YouTuber with lots of weapons teaches you how they were/are properly used to their greatest advantage.

These links provide advice specifically for writing battle scenes:

Gerri Blanc: eHow’s article on battle scenes is a basic step-by-step list for you. It’s a good introduction to writing battle scenes.

StormTheCastle.com: This article takes you through an in-depth guide on how to write battle scenes for fantasy stories.

Rhonda Leigh Jones: Jones lists some dos and don’ts of writing battle scenes.

Other resources:

List of Martial Arts: Looking for a fighting style? Find it here!

List of Weapons: Every type of weapon you can think of is listed here.

List of Military Tactics: From troop movements to siege warfare, this list has got you covered.

Asylum.com: A few examples of awesome battle tactics from history.

BadassOfTheWeek.com: Get some inspiration for awesome fight scenes and fighting characters from this compendium of badassitude.

Thearmedgentleman: Austin has offered to share his knowledge on weaponry with any writers who have questions. Thanks, Austin! 

Don’t see what you’re looking for here? You can find every post we’ve ever made or reblogged about fight scenes in our “fight” tag. You might also find our “action scene” tag useful. 

We hope this helps! If you have another link or a tip for how to write fight/battle scenes, hit up our ask box and let us know!

[libra-writes]

🔘 i’m in this and i don’t like it

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41 Emotions as Expressed through Body Language

Found Here x

41 Emotions as Expressed through Body Language unique  This list, while exhausting, is soooo not exhaustive; it barely scratches the surface. And each entry could easily become cliché (if it isn’t already). But, it should be enough to get you started. Want more? Start watching people (not in a creepy way), and take notes of what they seem to do when expressing different emotions. Your repertoire of expression will double in no time. PS—do not use these for actual, real-life body language reading; you will fail. These are strictly novelistic.

Awed  -Slack -jawed, raised eyebrows, staring  -Frozen, slack body language (Self? What self? There is only Zuul.)  -Take a step back and put a hand to his heart

Amused  -Smiling and throwing back her head laughing  -Slapping her thighs, stamping her feet, clapping her hands  -Shaking her head (That’s so wrong!)

Angry/Aggressive  -Sharp movements, like shaking a fist, pointing, slashing, or slamming a fist on a table  -Flushed face, patchy red blotches  -Tension in neck—chords standing out, veins throbbing—and jutting or tucked chin  -Arms akimbo, or clenching fists  -Entering someone else’s space and forcing them out  -Poofing up with a wide stance (I am big! Very big!), arms wide (Bring it!)  -Lowered eyebrows, squinting eyes  -Teeth bared, jaw clenched, snarling

Annoyed  -Pressing lips together into a thin line  -Narrowing eyes sometimes with slight head tilt (Why do you still exist?)  -Rolling eyes, often paired with a long-suffering sigh

Anxious  -Fidgeting, such as tearing grass into little pieces, playing with a ring, or chewing on a pencil  -Biting lower lip, swallowing unnecessarily  -Quickened breathing or holding breath  -Darting eyes  -Pallor, sweating, clammy palms  -Unusually high-pitched, “nervous” laughter  -Hunched shoulders  -Pacing

Attentive  -Slow head nodding with a furrowed brow  -Leaning forward, toward the speaker, and sitting up  -Taking notes  -Looking over the top of her glasses

Bored  -Resting his head on his palm, peeking out between the fingers, maybe even slipping so his head “accidentally” hits the table  -Tapping toes, twirling pencil, doodling, and otherwise fidgeting  -Staring out a window, or at anything remotely more interesting (Which is everything …)

Confident  -Arms clasped behind body  -Head lifted, chest out, standing tall  -Walking briskly and making firm, precise movements

Confused  -Tilting head with narrowed eyes  -A furrowed brow  -Shrugging

Contempt/Superiority  -Lifted chin (The better to look down the nose.)  -Pursed lips, sneering, slight frown  -Circling a shoulder, stretching her neck, turning away—anything to indicate she doesn’t see the person as a threat or worthy of her attention  -Grabbing her lapels, or tucking her thumbs in her waistcoat (See this clothing? It is much nicer than yours.)  -Dismissive hand-waving

Cynical/Sarcastic/Bitter  -Twisted lips or a half-smile  -Sneering, sometimes with shaking the head and other defensive body language  -Pressed lips with a slight frown  -Eye rolling

Defensive  -Crossed arms, legs, crossed anything, really (Well, maybe not fingers … or eyes …)  -Arms out, palms forward (Stop!)  -Placing anything (sword, shield, book, backpack) in front of her body

Disgusted  -Crinkling his nose  -Curling his lip and/or showing the tip of his tongue briefly  -Flinching back and interposing a shoulder or turning away  -Covering his nose, gagging, and squinting his eyes shut—hard—for a moment. (It assaults all the senses.)

Displeased  -A plastered-on fake smile (You suck; but I can’t tell you that. So here: a fake smile! Enjoy.)  -Pouting or frowning (I’ll cry if you don’t give me what I want—don’t test me, I will!)  -Crossed arms and other defensive/frustrated body language (I will not let that terrible idea influence me!)

Distressed  -Wide eyes and shallow, rapid breathing  -Beating the walls, or huddling into a corner  -Clasping hands over his head protectively  -Rocking himself  -Handwringing  -Running his hands through his hair

Earnest/Passionate  -Leaning forward, nodding, wide eyes with strong eye contact and raised eyebrows  -Hand on heart, or presented palms-up, or otherwise visible  -A double-handed handshake (I really want to make sure you understand me!)

Embarrassment  -Blushing  -Stammering  -Covering her face with her hands or bowing her head (I’m so embarrassed, I can’t look!)  -Difficulty maintaining eye contact, looking down and away

Excited/Anticipation  -Rubbing hands together (I can’t wait to get my hands on it!)  -Licking lips (It’s so close I can taste it!)  -A vigorous, pumping handshake (I can’t wait to get started!)  -Jumping up and down (Look at me being literal here! I am jumping for joy.)  -A wide and easy grin

Flirty  -Eye play, like winking, looking up through the lashes, over the shoulder glances, and eye catching   -Preening, like hair flipping or smooth, clothing straightening, spine straightening, etc.  -Striking a cowboy pose, with his thumbs gripping his belt tight

Frustrated  -Shaking his head (You are so wrong!)  -Massaging temples (My brain—it hurts.)  -Clasping his wrist in his opposite hand, behind his back (Bad arm! No biscuit.)  -Running his hands through his hair (All this frustration is making my hair mussy. I can feel it.)  -Grabbing onto something like armrests, or white-knuckled interdigitation (Restrain yourself!)

Happy  -Smiling and laughing  -Eyes and nose crinkling  -Swinging her arms, spinning loosely, dancing, jumping

Impatience  -Quick head nodding (Get on with it!)  -Toe/finger tapping (Hear this? These are seconds. Wasted. Listening to you.)  -Sighing, checking the clock/sundial/freckles (Time. It is moving so slowly.)

Jealous  -Tight lips, or a sour expression  -Narrow eyes locked on the perpetrator, to the point of a stare down  -Crossed arms, and additional frustrated, angry, possessive, or bitter body language

Lying  -Scratching their nose, ear, neck, miscellaneous part of face  -Sudden change in behavior or demeanor, including shifty eye contact, lots of long blinking, shrugging -Ill-timed smiles or laughter (This is how I normally smile, right? Right???)  -Additional anxiety body language  -Shaking head no while saying “yes” (I can’t believe I just lied.)  -Licking lips, covering mouth, touching mouth, etc.

Overwhelmed  -Both palms to forehead, fingers splayed (This gives me a headache.)  -Covering eyes with one hand (If I can’t see the world, it can’t see me …)  -Eyes wide and staring into space, hands gripping the table in front of her (… Woah.)

Playful/Friendly  -Winking  -Waggling eyebrows  -Tiny shoves or nudge

Pleasure  -Head tilted back, lips parted slightly, eyes wide or closed  -Slow, languorous movements, stretching (such as arching her neck or back)  -Slight flush, quickened breath and pulse

Possessive  -Handshake with arm clasp  -Putting hands on or around someone’s shoulders, neck, waist, back, or even just the wall near them  -Standing in someone’s personal space, body positioned toward that person  -Any one-sided act of intimacy, like running a knuckle down someone’s cheek  -Staring down any who get too close

Proud/Dominant  -Chin up, chest out, shoulders back  -A painfully hard handshake that not only squishes the bones, but also forces his hand on top  -Leaning back with his hands behind his head, and his feet up  -Strong, unblinking, focused eye contact

Reluctance/Resistance  -Arms crossed, sometimes with fists (Not happening.)  -Dragging feet (But I don’t wanna!)  -Pinching nose (You want me to do what now?)  -Clamping hands over ears (La la la la!)

Sad/Upset  -Droopy body (and anything held, like a sword), bowed in shoulders, wrapping arms around self  -Slow movements with hesitation  -Bottom lip jutting out and/or quivering  -Crying, sobbing, body shaking, sniffling, wet eyes

Secretive  -A tight-lipped smile (My lips are zipped.)  -Hiding her hands in her pockets (What has it got in its nasty little pocket?)  -Looking away

Scared  -Hunched shoulders, shrinking back from others (Don’t hurt me!)  -Wide eyes and lifted eyebrows (The better to see them coming.)  -Shaking, trembling, or freezing  -Rocking from side to side, sometimes holding self (It’ll all be okay, self, it’ll all be okay.)

Shame  -Slumped shoulders (Don’t look at me.)  -Trouble meeting your gaze, looking down and away  -Burying her face in her hands or bowing her head (I can’t face the world right now.)

Shocked  -Hands covering her mouth, or mouth hanging open, sometimes with a gasp (If I had words, I would be saying them.) -Freezing and staring with wide eyes and eyebrows raised (Diverting all resources toward staring.)  -Smacking a palm into his forehead (Clearly, my head isn’t working right, or I wouldn’t have seen that)

Shy  -Avoids eye contact, or has only fleeting eye contact (Eye contact means you might speak to me.)  -Keeps a fair distance from everyone, and will back away if someone steps closer (Space invaders!)  -Folded arms, head down, and other defensive body language (If I make myself small, they can’t see me.)

Smug  -Slight, close-lipped smile (occasionally one-sided) and sometimes one raised eyebrow (I know something you don’t know.)  -Chin slightly tucked, Mona Lisa smile, raised eyebrows (I know better.)  -Finger steepling (I am so smaaaht.)

Suspicious/Skeptical/Disbelief  -Narrowed eyes, sometimes with a sidelong glance or raised eyebrow (Perhaps if I look at it out of the corner of my eye, I will catch it unawares.)  -Rubbing his eyes (I can’t believe what I’m metaphorically or literally seeing!)  -Shaking his head (I—I don’t believe it.)  -Blowing out cheeks (Well , I don’t know …)

Tired  -Rubbing his eyes, eyes staring into space, raised eyebrows (Raising my eyebrows helps keep my eyes open.)  -Yawning and/or stretching (I am tired—see? Tired! Too tired to care!)  -Almost nodding off and jerking awake (Cannot. Stay. Awa—snnnnurzzzz.)  -Gritting teeth to stay awake (Cannot—yawn—dang it!)

Thoughtfulness/Thinking  -Steepling fingers (I will think better if I center myself and focus.)  -Pinching nose, sometimes with closed eyes (Focus, focus—I just need to focus.)  -Tugging on an ear (This will help me remember!)  -Stroking a real or imaginary beard (People with beards look smart.)  -Furrowed brow, narrowed eyes, sometimes tilted head and pressing lips together (I can’t see it—I will try harder!)  -Resting his chin on his hand (Thinking makes my head heavy.)

Triumphant  -Hands clenched and held above head while grimacing (She is invincible!)  -Head tilted back with a yell (She is fierce!)  -Arm pumping in the air, jumping (Woohoo!)

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I will continue to build upon this list as time goes on. For now, I hope you find something useful!

Worldbuilding Prompt of the Day Tag

Brainstorming Series Posts

Magic Systems, Part One

Magic Systems, Part Two 

New Species

New Worlds 

New Cultures 

New Civilizations

Politics and Government 

Map Making 

Belief Systems & Religion

Guilds, Factions, Groups

War & Conflict

Science & Technology

Wildlife & Ecosystems

Species/Races

Creating long-lived species

Evolution of sexual reproduction in fictional species

Writing in a world without humans

Sounds non-sapient species can produce

Developing Fantastic Races (Link)

Creating Realistic Aliens and Their Worlds (Link)

Language

Languaging

Handling “Foreign” Language Within the Narrative

Developing Ancient Languages

Google Ngrams: tool for researching period-appropriate language

Astronomy/Planetary Physics

Multiple Moons Effect on Planet

Controlling the Biomes on your World (with Science!)

Controlling the Gravity on your World (also with Science!)

Giving Your World Fantastic Skies (Link)

Why Tatooine is Plausible: Orbitary Mechanics of Binary Star Systems (Link)

What if Earth Had Two Moons?

Geology/Land

Map Making Photoshop Brush Set

How to develop a country when you don’t know where to start

Useful Geography Descriptors 

Creating a World with Realistic Terrain

Forest types (aesthetic)

Laying out Villages and Towns

Specific Settings

Differentiating between Ancient Times and Medieval Times

Tips and Ideas for Writing Post-Apocalypse

Worldbuilding when there’s no “world” present

General Worldbuilding

Words for sections within a city

Using Characters as Worldbuilding Tools

Creating Unique Cultures

Prioritizing Worldbuilding Details In the Narrative

Filling in the Details

Weaving in the Details (Link)

Creating Realistic Cultures (Link)

Being a God of Your Own World (Link)

How to Create a Fantasy World (Link)

Creating Fictional Currency 

Writing Prophecies Without Making Eyes Roll

Logistics of Mega-Cities in Fantasy

So You Have Too Much Worldbuilding Exposition…

Worldbuilding/Writing Quotes Tag

Random

My personal writing playlist

Writing Pregnancy, Labor, and Birth (Link)

Using Indexes and Guides in your Novel

Writing in Multiple Points of View

How to Edit Your Own Writing (Link)

The Ultimate Guide to Worldbuilding (Link)

Avoiding Deus Ex Machina

Helpful Generators 

Vulgar - Conlang generator

City Generator

Seventh Sanctum - expansive SpecFic generator

Deity Generator

Guild/Clan name generator

Planet name generator

Random map generator

More personalized map generator

Prophecy Generator 

Technobabble Generator

SciFi Corporation Generator

Fantasy Calendar Generator (Multiple Moons, etc)

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why must a story be coherent? is it not enough to have a himbo who can wield two broadswords at once, a chaotic bisexual twink with no sense of self-preservation, a wildly powerful sorceress who at all times looks like she walked off of either a vogue center spread or a victoria’s secret runway, and a teen refugee with more brain cells than all of the other aforementioned characters combined?

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Character Details to Hide from Your Readers

Hiding information from your readers on purpose will help you create tension in your novel. I know this doesn’t work for every novel, but if you’re writing something with elements of suspense and mystery, hiding details and revealing them later will improve your story. This also helps add dimensions to your characters and explore their motivations on a deeper level.

Here are a few things to hide about your characters to create tension:

Whether or not your protagonist is lying

Even good characters lie, especially if they feel like it will protect other people in the long run. There are ways to hint that your character is hiding the truth without actually revealing what the truth is. If your protagonist gets nervous or changes the subject when they’re asked about a specific detail, this will help show your readers that something isn’t quite right. If your character’s deception is hidden and then revealed at the right time, you’ll be able to add exciting tension and shock value to your story.

Who the real villain is

Some of the best tension is created when we’re uncertain about who the real villain is. In mystery/crime novels, for example, there’s often evidence that points to one person who ends up not really being the one we need to worry about. If you hide this information from your readers, you keep them guessing throughout the course of your novel and this will aid in creating suspense.

The truth about their past

When you hide your character’s past from your readers, you have the ability to use it as an explanation for something important later on. For example, if you character has these mysterious powers they can’t explain, you can use their parents and back story in order to reveal later on why it’s happening. Revealing past details slowly over the course of your novel helps build the mystery.

What their secondary goals are

Sometimes characters will have goals no one else knows about but them OR they will have a false goal that their using to cover up their real goal. For example, a character might say they’re rescuing another character because they want to help, but it really might be all about finding some hidden treasure along the way. There are many reasons why a character might want to hide their goals. Explore character motivations on a deeper level and you’ll be able to realistically include this type of deception in your story.

-Kris Noel 

[libra-writes]

I know every detail about my WIP so how do I get myself to write it

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how to punctuate dialogue

(a general guide, dedicated to anon)

For the purposes of this description I’m going to use the word Words to indicate whatever the character is saying and the word Attribution to refer to the dialogue tag (the bit where you write ‘she said’). Further details and actual examples behind the cut.

1. dialogue followed by speaker

“Words,” attribution.

1a. quotation that is a question or an exclamation followed by speaker

“Words?” attribution.

“Words!” attribution.

The only difference from the above is changing the comma to a question mark or exclamation point. 

2. speaker followed by dialogue

Attribution, “Words.” 

Attribution, “Words?” 

Attribution, “Words!”

3. dialogue with the speaker in the middle of the quote

“Words,” attribution, “words.”

“Words,” attribution, “words?”

“Words,” attribution, “words!”

4. dialogue without attribution (the speaker is obvious and doesn’t need to be named)

“Words.”

“Words?”

“Words!”

Keep reading

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“Wow, if I had any shame left, that would have been utterly mortifying.”

“Good thing you replaced your shame with trivia knowledge years ago.”

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A princess runs away because of an arranged marriage, befriends a gang of outlaws, falls in love with one of them, only to find out he is actually the prince she was supposed to marry, who also ran away.

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Me, while writing: I am a talentless hack

Also me, while writing: I am an unstoppable god of letters and mortals beg for the drops of ink seeping through the pages I grace with my words.

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Xe looked strange, next to xir two siblings. They were both massive and powerful, their forms so alien and wild that they could be nothing but deities. But xir, xe looked like an ordinary person, with kind eyes and a warm smile. Yet somehow it was clear xe was the most powerful of the three of them.