raynerfoxstuff

[raynerfoxstuff]

What to Worry About in Each Draft

Your first draft is never going to be your best one. That’s why we’re often told to be prepared to write your worst version first—but what does that really mean? Here’s a (non-strict) guide on what you should really be worrying about in each draft—and don’t move on until you feel you’ve achieved it.

Draft 1: Foundational Scenes

This draft is only about getting the basics of the scenes in the right order and onto paper. You may start exploring who your characters are on a deeper level, but all you’re really focusing on is getting them from their A to B.

Draft 2: Developing the Characters further

Start developing your characters and imbuing those foundational scenes you’ve already written with their motivations and heart. We’re not worried yet about voice or anything, just the bare bones of their arcs and making sure that the conflict they face will eventually form who they become.

Draft 3: Theme

Theme should develop through the character arcs, but I always set aside a draft to ensure that it’s coming through and the ending is working for me. I tend to leave it for a bit later because the theme isn’t always apparent from the get-go, but usually jumps out at the end of my protagonist’s arc. Before you move on, really ask yourself if the message you’re sending is one you like. If not, you may need to adjust your ending.

Draft 4: Pacing

Now that we have the scenes and the heart within them, we want to make sure that there’s nothing extra. You should have a good idea of what’s important after developing your characters and theme, and now’s a good time to cut out the excess.

Draft 5: Voice, Tone, Motifs

Voice I tend to leave pretty late in the game since dialogue is pretty easy to go through and edit altogether, and it’s helpful to know what the characters mean before I add subtext and voice quirks that make them individual and add more interest to the dialogue.

This is also a good time to do the same with your narrator’s voice—the overall tone of your piece—and make sure that you have those key things that continue to come up throughout your writing to make it feel cohesive.

Draft 6: Grammar

You should never edit for grammar/spelling until you have totally locked in your story and are happy with how it reads, because if you need to add or remove any scenes, all that work on grammar you had done will be wasted. This is always the very last thing I do before I move onto beta readers.

Draft 7-??: Feedback!

I try to send out my pieces to at least 3 people, so if there’s any discrepancies there’s a tie-breaker. Also, two could be seen as a coincidence, but three is a pattern—if all three people point out something, I usually take that as a sign that it needs work.

This isn’t usually one draft but several as you talk with your beta readers and have them take second and third looks (if they are willing!)

As well, you may get feedback from editors or agents, and will definitely get feedback and need to write subsequent drafts if you get far in the trad publishing process. Everything before Draft 7 is your baby, and you get to keep that forever, but you should know that afterwards, this baby is being raised by the village and may no longer look exactly how you thought it would. That’s okay, that’s part of it, and while you may not see it at first, it does make the work better.

Anything I missed?

[raynerfoxstuff]

Like to STAB

Reblog to STAB AGAIN

[raynerfoxstuff]

REMEMBER SKIP-IT FROM THE 90’S

[raynerfoxstuff]

[raynerfoxstuff]

if you’re white and wanna write a poc character and feel awkward about it i implore you to ignore any twitblr stuff treating it as a massive ethical burden and instead come in more with the same mindset you’d have if you wanted to write about idk firefighters but didn’t know anything about firefighters so you do... research. Like fuck off with the weird kinda creepy calls for spiritual introspection you’re not writing about god damn space aliens you’re writing about humans and if you think you need more perspective of different life experiences just read?

[raynerfoxstuff]

It is my pleasure to finally be able to share with you the project that I've been working on for the past 2 years!

For my final project for my masters degree, I decided to create a visual development artbook for an animated movie adaptation of the Leviathan trilogy by Scott Westerfeld. This 100+ page long book contains all the research that I put into this project, from sketches and concept art to final designs and illustrations, as well as explanations of my creative process.

I am aware that the timing is not ideal, but I promise that this has absolutely nothing to do with the upcoming Netflix adaptation! That adaptation wasn't announced until after I'd completed my project, and I had absolutely no idea that it was happening. This is a fully fan-made project, and has no affiliation with Scott Westerfeld whatsoever.

All that being said: I hope you enjoy! This was a very long labour of love, and I am so so happy to finally share it with you all. These books hold a very special place in my heart, and it is my sincerest hope that my work manages to do them justice.

LINK TO THE COMPLETE PDF

[raynerfoxstuff]

if you're trying to get into the head of your story's antagonist, try writing an "Am I the Asshole" reddit post from their perspective, explaining their problems and their plans for solving them. Let the voice and logic come through.

[raynerfoxstuff]

follow your dreams at a sustainable pace

[raynerfoxstuff]

5 Ways to Set Yourself Up For Success as an Aspiring Author

While these things don’t guarantee your manuscript will be picked up or that you’ll sell more books (and aren’t necessary to achieve that!) here are five things that publishing houses look for in authors to help make the book as successful as it can be, and you can start working on now.

1. Get an agent

I can’t say this is true across every publishing house, but in my small publishing house that accepts submissions from both agented and non-agented writers, we move the agented writers to the top of the manuscript pile. This is because they already have a professional in the industry who has vouched for the work.

However!! Important to note that a bad agent can tank your chances as much as a good one can raise them. I had a coworker say about a particular agent, “if I was on the fence about a manuscript and saw (the agent) was representing it, I would move it to the pass pile.” The agent was in general difficult to work with and didn’t actually listen to what her writer wanted, demanding for the house to make poor marketing decisions for the book based on her own personal opinion on what looked good. Oh, and she had also worked in publishing for Penguin Random House for over a decade, so what previous experience they have in the publishing world isn’t all you should consider when reaching out to agents. You want people with lots of experience actually—y’know—agenting.

Check out their previous clients and how many they have! Yes, small agents with only a few years of experience can still be amazing—but make sure you do your research no matter how experienced they seem and see if you can’t do a background check. (The agent mentioned above ended up firing her author! I’m sure the author has tales to tell about her).

2. Come up with marketing ideas

Your publicist is going to do so, so much work for you. Seriously, we have some really awesome publicists who are kicking ass submitting to contests and putting on events and sending authors on tour—but they’re also managing several titles at once, so authors who can pull their own weight a bit when it comes to coming up with marketing ideas for their book are highly appreciated.

If you ever have any ideas on how to reach your specific audience, write them down and try to fill them out with as many details as possible (who is involved, where will it happen, how will it happen, how much funding it requires etc.) and share them with your publicist, the marketing team will thank you for it!

3. Form relationships with the industry!

This one is huge! One thing we actually ask of authors right off the bat is if they know any industry contacts such as booksellers, media contacts, or other professionals/authors. If you can, intern/volunteer/or work for a newspaper, magazine, book store, agency, or anything similar. Having a list of people who know and like you to reach out to for writing articles or otherwise supporting your release is going to help a lot with the promotion and selling of the book! People are much more likely to help out or feature the book of someone they know, rather than a stranger, so start collecting your contacts now.

4. Grow some sort of social media following

Definitely not essential, but seen as a boon for sure if writers already have a community that are likely to support their new release. If you can point to a group of people that already like you or are interested in your work, we’re going to see that as an asset! Especially for book launches—there’s no greater publisher’s fear than a tanking book launch, and it’s so much more likely to go well if you have a community of people you know will show up.

5. Trust your publishing house

You’d be surprised how many authors drag their heels and kick and scream when it comes to the marketing decisions our team makes. While yes, a cover you aren’t necessarily thrilled about, or author bio that sounds a little too self-aggrandizing can suck a bit, know that these decisions are coming from people who have decades of experience in the industry and know how to get your book into the hands of readers. If they think a certain cover, title, subtitle, bio, photo, layout, etc. etc. would be best for your book, trust them. They’re the pros.

I’m happy to answer any other questions you have about the publishing world!

[raynerfoxstuff]

i do unironically think the best artists of our generation are posting to get 20 notes and 3 reblogs btw. that fanfic with like 45 kudos is some of the best stuff ever written. those OCs you carry around have some of the richest backstories and worldbuilding someone has ever seen. please do not think that reaching only a few people when you post means your art isn't worth celebrating.

[raynerfoxstuff]

Vocabulary List for Fight Scenes

Combat Actions

Hoist

Dart/Dash

Deflect

Shield

Sidestep

Snatch up

Stalk

Stamp/stomp

Stretch

Stride

Wagger

Oust

Leap

Lose ground

Mimick

Mirror

Negate

Overpower

Parry

Rear to full height

Resurgate

Suanter

Seize

Take cover

Throttle

Twirl

Unleash

Withdraw

Entwine

Flee

Gain ground

Grasp

Cling to

Breach

Duck

Dodge

Hits

Amputate

Bloody

Carbe

Castrate

Collision

Connect

Crush

Defenestrate

Destroy

Disfigure

Dismember

Dissever

Grind

Maul

Perforate

Rend

Riddle with holes

Saw

Smack

Splatter

Sunder

Torn Asunder

Traumatize

Whack

Writhe

Gut

Hammer

Maim

Mangle

Plow

Puncture

Melee

Assault

Attack

Barrage

Bash

Belebor

Bludgeon

Carve

Chop

Cleave

Clio

Club

Crosscut

Dice

DIg

Gore

Hack

Impale

Jab

Kick

Knock

Onsalught

Pierce

Plnt

Punch

Rive

Shove

Skewer

Slice

Smash

Stab

Strike

Sweep

Swipe

Swing

Transfix

Thrust

Visual Flair

Agony

Asphyxiate

Chock

Cough up bile

Cut to ribbons

Flop limply

Fractue

Freckled with blood

Gouts of blood

Grimane

Hemorrhage

Hiccup blood

Imprint

Indent

Resounding

Retch

Rip

rupture

Shiny with gore

Spew

Splash

Slumped in despair

Splatter

Split

Tear

Topple

Void

Vomit

Wedge

With a fell gaze

With a fiendish grin

With blank surprise

Audible Flair

Bang

Barking

Bong

Boom

Crack

Cackle

Clang

Clash

Crash

Cry

Echo

Elicit a curse

Frunt

Hiss

Howel

Hum

Moan

Muttering

Whoosh

Whistle

Whizz

With a keening cry

Thud

Thunk

Thawk

Splat

Snarl

Swoosh

Squeal

Sing

Sickening Pop

Silintly

Shriek

Shout

Snap

Thundering

Effects

Blind

Burn

Cause frostbite

Cauterize

Concussion

Combust

Daze

Dazzle

Deafen

Disintegrate

Electrocute

Freeze

Fuse flesh

Immobilze

Incinerate

Melt

Pralyse

Petrify

Purbind

Radiate

Reduced to

Shock

Sightless

Stun

Transiluminate

Death Blows

Annihilate

Behead

Decapitate

Disembowel

Eviscerate

Extirpate

Murder

Obliterate

Raze

Exterminate

[raynerfoxstuff]

The Feral Writer lol

Writers Corner

[raynerfoxstuff]

This explains my procrastination…

“Every author ought to write every book as if he were going to be beheaded the day he finished it.”

— F. Scott Fitzgerald

[raynerfoxstuff]

btw I’ve found these stretches from the WAK blog very helpful when knitting a lot:

Plus make sure to take breaks regularly - and stop if anything starts to hurt!

especially with gift knitting I know it can be tempting to push through it for a deadline, but it’s really not worth causing long term injury. (And anyone knit-worthy should be understanding of that, imho.) Stay well :)

[raynerfoxstuff]

Important NaNoWriMo reminders:

✍️ Avoiding burnout is your most important goal as a writer.

✍️ Taking care of yourself is more important than meeting arbitrary word counts and deadlines.

✍️ Every time you take care of your mental and physical health you are winning.

✍️ Your story will be there to work on as long as you are there to work on it.

✍️ Your writing community will still support and be proud of of you for taking care of yourself and knowing your limits.

✍️ Once you burn out it can take months or years to get back to writing, but if you work at a steady and manageable pace you can just keep moving forward.

[raynerfoxstuff]

Reblog if you think public libraries are important and should be maintained.

[raynerfoxstuff]

To some people you’re an NPC

To other people, you’re the special, unlockable character that they worked and worked to finally get- and when they do they’re so happy because they got the game just so they could find you.