mischiefiswritten - Tumblr blog

[mischiefiswritten]

Key Takeaways - Neil Gaiman's MasterClass on Storytelling

I'm currently listening to Neil Gaiman's MasterClass on storytelling, and I thought I'd share some of my primary takeaways from the first few episodes.

There are a million bad lines inside of your pencil. Your job as a writer is to get them all out so that you can get to the good ones.

Your influences/inspirations as a storyteller are not just other fiction writers. Stop and think how musicians and other artists influence the stories you want to tell and how to tell them.

When you sit down to begin a new story or project, first take some time to write down everything you know about it so far. Write down all your ideas, sketch and doodle and annotate if you need to, and then look for connections. This is where a story emerges from a jumble of ideas.

What is it about? Every good story is saying something, even if it's not a deep social commentary. This is different from your concept and it will guide you as you go. Stories are about telling the truth through fiction (lies), so think about what truth you're trying to tell.

What do your characters want? This will help you establish conflict. Pick two of your characters, answer this question, and make their desires mutually exclusive. Characters will always get what they need, for good or ill, but not all of them can get what they want.

When you're stuck in your plot, you can also ask yourself what your characters want. They may just save you!

What happens next? This is the most important question, not just because you have to continually answer it to build your plot but because it's the question that makes your story matter. At the end of every chapter or at every shift in character perspective, etc., your readers should be asking this question. It's the only way to keep them turning pages. This question has to matter to you as well, because if the author doesn't care what happens next, neither will anyone else.

These were some of my favorite points or things that I felt were most foundational to young writers. I'm only partway through but I do recommend his MasterClass! It's very informational and uplifting, and he's easy to listen to. Check your local library to see if you can access it for free!

[mischiefiswritten]

Directory of Writeblrs:

Fantasy

This is a directory of genres and the original fiction writers who tell stories in those genres. We hope this will help the writing community more easily find and support each other!

(Previously, our directory was a single post, but we hit the 50 mention limit within days and the 100 link limit shortly after. So this is our new format!)

How do I join the list?

To be added, reblog this post and let us know which of the genres above you’d like to be listed under in your tags or post. If your blog is 18+ and you’d like this noted, let us know that too!

Directories of Other Genres

Action, Adventure, Comedy, Contemporary, and Crime

Historical, Horror, and Literary

Mystery and Romance

Science Fiction, Thriller, and Urban Fantasy

Look through the directory below!

(updated as of: 9/28/2023)

—Fantasy

@saintedseraph

@365runesoftheamalgamations

@anoelleart (18+ blog)

@vandijkwrites

@moondust-bard

@amaiguri

@lorenfinch (18+ blog)

@m-r-levine

@stesierra

@waltzshouldbewriting

@acertainmoshke

@dyrewrites (18+ blog)

@starbuds-and-rosedust

@theimperiumchronicles

@akiwitch

@nettleandthorne

@aquadestinyswriting

@dragonthusiast

@aether-wasteland-s

@amrago

@sarahlizziewrites (18+ blog)

@blue-kyber

@tisiphonewolfe

@mxxnlightwriting

@bikaribechic

@innocentlymacabre

@blind-the-winds

@epnona-the-wisp

@gwens-fiction

@did-i-do-this-write

@sam-glade

@mayarab

@cdlua

@n1ghtcrwler

@ceph-the-ghost-writer (18+ blog)

@magic-is-something-we-create

@e-lisard

@avaseofpeonies (18+ blog)

[mischiefiswritten]

Y'all I know I'm late to the game but I literally just discovered Notion for planning my WIP and honestly what a game changer.

[mischiefiswritten]

*does not write for WIP in 5 days*

*finally opens WIP*

*deletes two words*

*closes WIP*

[mischiefiswritten]

Don't mind me. Just trying my darnedest to end each writing session on the most fire line possible so that I get really inspired when I next sit down with my WIP.

[mischiefiswritten]

[mischiefiswritten]

"I'm tired of you disappearing for years and then waltzing back into our lives like it was nothing."

"Better than me disappearing for good."

"Is it?"

[mischiefiswritten]

𝖳𝗁𝖾 𝖦𝖺𝗋𝖽𝖾𝗇 𝗈𝖿 𝖭𝗂𝗇𝖿𝖺 𝗂𝗌 𝖺 𝗀𝖺𝗋𝖽𝖾𝗇 𝗂𝗇 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗍𝖾𝗋𝗋𝗂𝗍𝗈𝗋𝗒 𝗈𝖿 𝖢𝗂𝗌𝗍𝖾𝗋𝗇𝖺 𝖽𝗂 𝖫𝖺𝗍𝗂𝗇𝖺, 𝗂𝗇 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗉𝗋𝗈𝗏𝗂𝗇𝖼𝖾 𝗈𝖿 𝖫𝖺𝗍𝗂𝗇𝖺, 𝖼𝖾𝗇𝗍𝗋𝖺𝗅 𝖨𝗍𝖺𝗅𝗒.

𝖳𝗁𝖾 𝗉𝖺𝗋𝗄 𝗁𝖺𝗌 𝖺𝗇 𝖺𝗋𝖾𝖺 𝗈𝖿 𝟣𝟢𝟧 𝗁𝖾𝖼𝗍𝖺𝗋𝖾𝗌 (𝟤𝟨𝟢 𝖺𝖼𝗋𝖾𝗌), 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝗂𝗌 𝖺𝗇 𝖨𝗍𝖺𝗅𝗂𝖺𝗇 𝗇𝖺𝗍𝗎𝗋𝖺𝗅 𝗆𝗈𝗇𝗎𝗆𝖾𝗇𝗍. 𝖳𝗁𝖾 𝗅𝖺𝗇𝖽𝗌𝖼𝖺𝗉𝖾 𝗀𝖺𝗋𝖽𝖾𝗇 𝗐𝗂𝗍𝗁𝗂𝗇 𝗍𝗁𝖾 𝗉𝖺𝗋𝗄 𝖼𝗈𝗆𝗉𝗋𝗂𝗌𝖾𝗌 𝟪 𝗁𝖾𝖼𝗍𝖺𝗋𝖾𝗌 (𝟤𝟢 𝖺𝖼𝗋𝖾𝗌) 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝖼𝗈𝗇𝗍𝖺𝗂𝗇𝗌 𝗆𝖾𝖽𝗂𝖾𝗏𝖺𝗅 𝗋𝗎𝗂𝗇𝗌, 𝗌𝖾𝗏𝖾𝗋𝖺𝗅 𝗈𝖺𝗄𝗌, 𝖼𝗒𝗉𝗋𝖾𝗌𝗌𝖾𝗌 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝗉𝗈𝗉𝗅𝖺𝗋𝗌, 𝗀𝗋𝖺𝗌𝗌𝗒 𝗆𝖾𝖺𝖽𝗈𝗐𝗌.

(via)

[mischiefiswritten]

In highschool I wrote a story about a middle-generation of stellar travelers. Their parents were born on earth and left as children, and the middle generation will not live long enough to see their destination. They live their entire lives on the ship and I wrote about them trying to find their place in everything. They will never know blue skies and warm beaches and open fields with warm breezes. They’ll never know birdsong or crickets or frogs. They��ll never hear the rain on the roof of a dreary day. I never could find the right way to end the story. I wanted it to be a happy ending, but I didn’t know how to do it.

I realize now that it was a book about me dealing with depression before I even knew it. Looking back at how blatant the projecting was, it’s obvious now. It wasn’t then.

In the story, the middle-generation people are lost. They’re apathetic. They’re just a placeholder. The only job they have is to keep the ship running, have kids, and die. As the middle generation of people began becoming adults, suicide rates were skyrocketing. Crime and drug rates were jumping. This generation was completely apathetic because they felt that they had no use.

In the story, a small group of people in the middle-generation create the Weather Project. They turn the ship into a terrarium. They make magnificent gardens and take the DNA of animals they took with them and recreate them and they make this cold, metal spaceship that they have to live their entire lives on into a home. They take what little they have and they break it and rearrange it into something beautiful. They take this radical idea and turn the ship into a wonderful jungle of trees and birds and sunshine.

And I realize now how much it reflects my state of mind as I transitioned from a child into an adult while dealing with depression. You always hear “it gets better” and “when you’re older things will be easier” and I was so sick of waiting for it to get better. I was in the middle-generation stage. And I was sick of it. I was so sick of waiting.

When I was in highschool I didn’t know how to end the story. I didn’t know how to have a happy ending. I didn’t have the life experience then to finish the story in a meaningful way. I didn’t know how to make it better for these middle-generation characters.

But now that I’m older, I’m learning. That if you sit and wait for things to get better, it never will. You have to take your life and break it apart and rearrange it into something beautiful. You have to make the cold metal ship into the garden that you deserve. You have to make your own meaning. You have to plant your own garden.

You have to teach yourself that being happy is not a radical idea.

[mischiefiswritten]

we no longer need eternal beings who have become jaded/emotionless and detached from the world and its people. we have evolved past the need for disillusioned uncaring immortals

ancient creatures who are still truly and deeply in love with and invested in the world and its fleeting peoples are my new best friends

[mischiefiswritten]

Dear everyone who is currently working on a Thing, whatever that Thing may be,

Good luck with the Thing. You can do the Thing. You will do the Thing. You just have to do the Thing.

Best wishes,

Someone who is also doing a Thing

[mischiefiswritten]

Nothing feels better than coming back and writing a couple hundred words in flow after not being able to touch your WIP in weeks 💪

[mischiefiswritten]

Love this vibe. Let your writing be bad!

I give you permission for your writing to be “cringe.” Have fun!

[mischiefiswritten]

Hey friends! Big long story, but I moved! Our timeline for our move to a new state changed, and everything turned into a big blur lol. Lots of adulting, lots of to-do list items. Bleh.

I miss you guys and I miss the momentum I had built before the move!

Fill me in, writer pals. What've I missed? What's been new with you?

[mischiefiswritten]

You gotta write for funsies sometimes. Everything doesn’t have to be groundbreaking. Like. Who cares if it’s a little silly it is made out of love

[mischiefiswritten]

*does not write for WIP in 5 days*

*finally opens WIP*

*deletes two words*

*closes WIP*

[mischiefiswritten]

This photo, taken in a forest, looks like an eye.

odd, weird, strange and unusual