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Writing Tips

Punctuating Dialogue

✧

➸ “This is a sentence.”

➸ “This is a sentence with a dialogue tag at the end,” she said.

➸ “This,” he said, “is a sentence split by a dialogue tag.”

➸ “This is a sentence,” she said. “This is a new sentence. New sentences are capitalized.”

➸ “This is a sentence followed by an action.” He stood. “They are separate sentences because he did not speak by standing.”

➸ She said, “Use a comma to introduce dialogue. The quote is capitalized when the dialogue tag is at the beginning.”

➸ “Use a comma when a dialogue tag follows a quote,” he said.

“Unless there is a question mark?” she asked.

“Or an exclamation point!” he answered. “The dialogue tag still remains uncapitalized because it’s not truly the end of the sentence.”

➸ “Periods and commas should be inside closing quotations.”

➸ “Hey!” she shouted, “Sometimes exclamation points are inside quotations.”

However, if it’s not dialogue exclamation points can also be “outside”!

➸ “Does this apply to question marks too?” he asked.

If it’s not dialogue, can question marks be “outside”? (Yes, they can.)

➸ “This applies to dashes too. Inside quotations dashes typically express—“

“Interruption” — but there are situations dashes may be outside.

➸ “You’ll notice that exclamation marks, question marks, and dashes do not have a comma after them. Ellipses don’t have a comma after them either…” she said.

➸ “My teacher said, ‘Use single quotation marks when quoting within dialogue.’”

➸ “Use paragraph breaks to indicate a new speaker,” he said.

“The readers will know it’s someone else speaking.”

➸ “If it’s the same speaker but different paragraph, keep the closing quotation off.

“This shows it’s the same character continuing to speak.”

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Hey!! What should I do if I'm having a creative block?

Hi :)

There are a lot of different ways you can get back into writing.

How to get rid of writer’s block

Set yourself a low daily word goal

If it works well, increase the goal every week

Choose one writing prompt every day

Write either as much as you can think of in one setting

Or write down in bullet points what a good plot for it would look like

You can choose a prompt by typing in a random number on my blog

Or you can make a prompt jar and write down prompts you like on slips of paper and draw one from the jar every day

Do writing games

#Weekend Game

Writing Game: Combinations

Writing Game: Genre

Keep a writing journal with ideas and prompts and maybe fill one page everyday

And most importantly: don’t stress yourself. Stress is not really helpful if you want to do something creative. So don’t think when you try to get back into writing that you instantly have to write something really great.

Just write down what comes to your mind, it doesn’t matter if you throw it away afterwards. Everything you write is practice that will get you into a routine and that will make your writing better.

I wish you all the best!

- Jana

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Domestic! Writing Prompt

“Stop that.”

“Stop what?”

“Stop that thing you’re doing, or you’ll make me fall in love all over again.”

She huffs out an exasperated breath, picking up a towel and the surface cleaner.

“A cheesy romcom line isn’t going to get you out of spring-cleaning Sunday.” She throws the towel in her hand at his face, landing the perfect shot. When he takes the towel off his face, she’s standing right in front of his spot on the couch. Gently, she places her lips on his forehead, his nose, and finally, his lips.

“But, I love you, too.”

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hey there! this is a little rough bc i wrote this at 1:30 am lol but if this somehow ends up on anyone’s feed, feel free to use it as a story prompt for something! and if someone does end up using it, tag me! i’d love to see what anyone and everyone writes :))) 

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About Last Night

When Daylight’s smile is yellow you squint your eyes.  She looks like sunshine but you’ve never been a fan

of getting burned. She leans in to kiss your cheek but you raise a hand to stop her before she peels off your skin.

Daylight’s temperament shows through when her eyebrows furrow orange and tries to cover the red in her cheeks as she beckons you to sleep.

Her arm reaches out to hold you but you turn on your side to avoid her peeling ways.

When Daylight finally sleeps you lay awake until darkness makes its way into your bedroom.

Nighttime doesn’t bother knocking; she knows she’s welcome here as long as she slips away when Daylight’s rays peek through.

Every time she’s here something always goes wrong; but she looks at you twinkling eyes and every time 

you’re lured into her arms. Nighttime sits upon your bed leaving stardust where she goes and begs you indulge her

just this last time. “We needn’t worry about sister, dear, she’s fast asleep,  so you can talk to me.”

Your words move like comets speeding across the sky and your frustrations with Daylight

explode with the heat of a dying star. Nighttime soothes you  and lends a kiss to your cheek and the sting of starlight reminds you

the sun is also a star, and there is more than one way to get burned. You realize her treachery

too late, she slips away while Daylight’s rays stretch across the room to find you.

She finds instead stardust that did not come from the day. Her eyes burn into yours, but she knows it is too late.

Daylight’s sunny mood turns into dreadful heat, but her redness fades away until the cycle repeats.

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Ogygia

A book sits open in my lap, one I can’t stop flipping through ever since I cracked its spine. My eyes flit across a familiar scene, one flooded with seas of green, charged with purple magic.

Trapped on her island, a girl wonders if magic would have been enough to keep him from sailing away, to keep her  from losing someone else.

The space you create between us is filled with silence, not seawater, but its depth is deeper than any ocean could go.

I want to jump off this island and swim to you, fill this gap with something other than flipping pages and crashing waves  of foaming emotions.

I wonder if she felt the same way as she watched his figure disappear. Does she, too, sit and wait on the shore? Or did she give into the whirlpool, drowning in sweet release from the curse that kept her there?

I close the book as she walks towards the water, afraid that if I flip the page, we dragged to the bottom by the same fate.

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Cinnamon Rolls

Ingredients sit on the counter waiting for gentle hands to make mismatched parts into cinnamon rolls. The recipe is old, but familiar to my eyes; new to yours.

You are used to popping open a can, the dough already made, the only effort is putting it in the oven. I make my dough from scratch, something you’re unused to but lunge at the chance to try,

spoiling the ingredients in an attempt to sugarcoat my heart. To make cinnamon rolls, one  must be precise, focused on sifting, mixing, measuring, waiting.

You skip the last step, preferring to throw everything together at once.  I told you to wait, but you couldn’t hear me over the sound of unsifted flour,

too much sugar, sloshing eggs,  and no salt mixing together  into something you would have me  knead out. You watch as I work to salvage what was left, the recipe  ignored even when I shoved it in your face.

What was meant to take hours to make was thrown into the oven; too hot, too soon. I watched as dough turned into  slime, but all you cared about was how quickly we would be

eating it. You ignored everything I told you, sticking to my body  like cling wrap but sifting my words through a selective sieve. When I finally peeled away from your grasp, you hung limp in my hand

while sorrow wrinkled your appearance. You thought smothering me with care would free you from your mistakes, but your intentions were see through and I was tired of suffocating on a flimsy cover up.

I threw you away with the ruined dough, cleaning up the mess you made of my heart. I’m hanging up my apron for now, until I find someone who looks at the recipe before mixing ingredients.

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Write.

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Words to replace said, except this actually helps

I got pretty fed up with looking for words to replace said because they weren’t sorted in a way I could easily use/find them for the right time. So I did some myself.

IN RESPONSE TO Acknowledged Answered Protested

INPUT/JOIN CONVERSATION/ASK Added Implored Inquired Insisted Proposed Queried Questioned Recommended Testified

GUILTY/RELUCTANCE/SORRY Admitted Apologized Conceded Confessed Professed

FOR SOMEONE ELSE Advised Criticized Suggested

JUST CHECKING Affirmed Agreed Alleged Confirmed

LOUD Announced Chanted Crowed

LEWD/CUTE/SECRET SPY FEEL Appealed Disclosed Moaned

ANGRY FUCK OFF MATE WANNA FIGHT Argued Barked Challenged Cursed Fumed Growled Hissed Roared Swore

SMARTASS Articulated Asserted Assured Avowed Claimed Commanded Cross-examined Demanded Digressed Directed Foretold Instructed Interrupted Predicted Proclaimed Quoted Theorized

ASSHOLE Bellowed Boasted Bragged

NERVOUS TRAINWRECK Babbled Bawled Mumbled Sputtered Stammered Stuttered

SUAVE MOTHERFUCKER Bargained Divulged Disclosed Exhorted

FIRST OFF Began

LASTLY Concluded Concurred

WEAK PUSY Begged Blurted Complained Cried Faltered Fretted

HAPPY/LOL Cajoled Exclaimed Gushed Jested Joked Laughed

WEIRDLY HAPPY/EXCITED Extolled Jabbered Raved

BRUH, CHILL Cautioned Warned

ACTUALLY, YOU’RE WRONG Chided Contended Corrected Countered Debated Elaborated Objected Ranted Retorted

CHILL SAVAGE Commented Continued Observed Surmised

LISTEN BUDDY Enunciated Explained Elaborated Hinted Implied Lectured Reiterated Recited Reminded Stressed

BRUH I NEED U AND U NEED ME Confided Offered Urged

FINE Consented Decided

TOO EMO FULL OF EMOTIONS Croaked Lamented Pledged Sobbed Sympathized Wailed Whimpered

JUST SAYING Declared Decreed Mentioned Noted Pointed out Postulated Speculated Stated Told Vouched

WASN’T ME Denied Lied

EVIL SMARTASS Dictated Equivocated Ordered Reprimanded Threatened

BORED Droned Sighed

SHHHH IT’S QUIET TIME Echoed Mumbled Murmured Muttered Uttered Whispered

DRAMA QUEEN Exaggerated Panted Pleaded Prayed Preached

OH SHIT Gasped Marveled Screamed Screeched Shouted Shrieked Yelped Yelled

ANNOYED Grumbled Grunted Jeered Quipped Scolded Snapped Snarled Sneered

ANNOYING Nagged

I DON’T REALLY CARE BUT WHATEVER Guessed Ventured

I’M DRUNK OR JUST BEING WEIRDLY EXPRESSIVE FOR A POINT/SARCASM Hooted Howled Yowled

I WONDER Pondered Voiced Wondered

OH, YEAH, WHOOPS Recalled Recited Remembered

SURPRISE BITCH Revealed

IT SEEMS FAKE BUT OKAY/HA ACTUALLY FUNNY BUT I DON’T WANT TO LAUGH OUT LOUD Scoffed Snickered Snorted

BITCHY Tattled Taunted Teased

Edit: People, I’m an English and creative writing double major in college; I understand that there’s nothing wrong with simply using “said.” This was just for fun, and it comes in handy when I need to add pizzazz. 

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A great collection of “touchy feely” words!

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Cheat Sheet for Writing Emotion

Anger:

Grinding teeth

Narrowing eyes

Yelling

A burning feeling in the chest

Heavy breathing

Unjustified or justified accusations towards other characters

Jerky movements

Glaring

Violence

Stomping

Face reddening

Snapping at people

Sadness:

Lack of motivation

Messy appearance

Quiet

Slow movements

Crying

Inability to sleep

Frowning

Red eyes

Isolating oneself

Fatigue

Not concentrating

Love:

Thinking about someone

Good communication

Not forcing a friend/lover into something

Smiling randomly

Making eye contact with loved one

Nervous behaviors (fiddling hands, biting lip)

Cuddling

Flirting

Inside jokes

Holding hands

Kissing

Offering gifts

Fluttering stomach

Racing heart

Losing track of time while with loved one

Daydreaming

Denial:

Disagreement with someone

Shaking head frantically

Backing away

Putting hand on one’s chest

Rapid speaking

Rationalization or justifying something

Dismissing someone or something

Embarrassment:

Blushing

Avoiding eye contact

Grimacing

Looking down

Changing the conversation

Rubbing back of neck

Shoulders slumping

A weak voice

Tightening chest

Panicked thoughts

Running away

Getting quiet

Concentrating on something else

Happiness

Smiling

Laughing

Squealing

Bouncing on toes

Warmth in chest

Fast pulse

A sense of contentment

Relaxed posture

Quick movements

Breathlessness

Desire to help

Fear:

Face going pale

Panicked thoughts

Jerky movements

Mind racing for a solution

Running

Freezing

Fighting

Fawning (doing what people tell you to do)

Side note: flight, fight, freeze, and fawn are all reactions to adrenaline. Aka the fight or flight response

Thinking of survival

Rapid breathing

A panicked feeling

Guilt:

Feeling horrible about oneself

Lying

Grimacing

Trying to redeem themselves

Asking for forgiveness

Anxious thoughts

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My closet is quiet. That won’t last.

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To My Anxiety

Anxiety, I would like to thank you, for chaining me to my insecurities. For placing your crushing hand on my shoulder

and whispering, “Why would someone like you be able to  wear something, do something,  write something like that?”

You are the punch to the already  broken mirror with shards that cut  into my soft palms as I try to put 

myself together. I want to thank you, for always being my biggest  opponent. The person in the stands

who boos everything I do with your hyena’s grin. But thank you, also, for being my biggest challenge, the ongoing war that one day I’ll conquer.

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Calculated

calculated [kal-kyuh-ley-tid]

-adj.

1. carefully thought out or planned / like whenever you look away / my eyes glance over your figure / trying to remember every freckle / every smirk / every word you focus onto someone / that isn’t me. / It’s every strategic reference / that I know you understand / so you know I haven’t forgotten / what it was like before. / It was every spoken work / during that short time / walking on tiptoes / to keep you happy / to avoid confrontation. / Now, after much consideration, / my calculations indicated you are not / worth my time.

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an incomplete list of unsettling short stories I read in textbooks

the scarlet ibis

marigolds

the diamond necklace

the monkey’s paw

the open boat

the lady and the tiger

the minister’s black veil

an occurrence at owl creek bridge

a rose for emily

(I found that one by googling “short story corpse in the house,” first result)

the cask of amontillado

the yellow wallpaper

the most dangerous game

a good man is hard to find

some are well-known, some obscure, some I enjoy as an adult, all made me uncomfortable between the ages of 11-15

add your own weird shit, I wanna be literary and disturbed

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a side room filled with antique photos from parties over the years, because it’s the one thing a person can’t replace

You’re with your boyfriend, hanging out at his place playing some video games. Then he decides to take you into his bedroom… and then to a secret room right off his bedroom. You’re stunned as to what you find.

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Why do people listen to the advice of those wannabe ‘writers’. I mean they are not even published?