#How to write a book

[knighted-princess]

IS THIS NORMAL???!!!!

[heavenlyraindrops]

character writing tips

if y’all don’t agree w some of the stuff on this then pls. Be respectful and scroll

ok let’s go! 😭😭

give a character likeable traits but also give them flaws

if the character is meant to be a protagonist then give them more likeable traits than flaws

if they’re an antagonist then give them more flaws than likeable traits

note that that’s not really necessary. And you CAN make ur antagonists nicer and cooler than ur protags but tbh ion think anyone would read that story 😭😭😭

UNLESS the characters change over time 😃 (+ points for character development yay!!!)

Speaking of character development…. Make there be sum. Ion care if there are fifteen plot holes in the fanfic im reading but if Y/N is STILL self destructive by the end of the 70th chapter then blud what was I even reading for (I do actually care about the plot holes but whatever that’s for another day)

p.s., character development is not always the IMPROVEMENT of a characters personality… maybe Ellie grew into a vindictive revenge seeker after the villain murdered her entire family idk who knows

give them strengths and weaknesses

are they super strong? Well maybe they’re super slow too. Are they really smart? Well maybe they’re really physically weak. Balance it out peoples

plsplsplspls don’t make them cringe “u don’t wanna see my dark side 👿👿” sis no

don’t make them hypocrites… the biggest example of this is prolly Zade Meadows when he has sum big ass organisation who saves girls from getting trafficked and rape but then LITERALLY RAPES ADELINE MULTIPLE TIMES … like dude no that’s not kewl ! 😐

“Alastor Evan Thorne” is an acceptable name but “Violet Misty Ebonia Raven Syringe Cornelia von Darke” is not and for the love of god please don’t say that this needs further explanation

this was kinda shit but some of it was useful so yah I guess have fun guys

edit: this is old as hell and ive improved as a writer, i know know a lot of this is iffy or incorrect so lay off 😭

[rrcraft-and-lore]

Yeah, alright, no. No don't this. I'll do you a few fucking better and teach you right here and now how to do this: You game? Blurb and lesson time. Got you. First up, a SPOOC. This is one technique that can be expanded (gonna give you examples too). WRITING LESSONS AHOY:

SPOOC = Situation, protagonist, objective, obstacles/opponents, climax/cost. So, when Frodo Baggins (protagonist) inherits the Ring of Power (Situation), he must set out on a quest to destroy it (objective). But, will he succeed when the forces of sauron and saruman unite and try to reclaim the one ring and use its power to destroy Middle Earth (climax - cost if failure). This specific example is taught by Jim Butcher so if you want some weight behind it.

There you go. It works.

Want to know how to do a blurb? Practice, but check it:

Who is it?

What's going on?

Why should we care?

What happens if the hero fails?

If you can, end on a snappy one liner or question. You can open on one too or a question like it.

What do shadows darting across the walls, cryptic writing, black fog, and a little girl who can see ghosts have in common? Paranormal investigator and soul without a body, Vincent Graves, has forty-four hours to find out. To make matters worse, his years of body-hopping and monster-hunting are catching up with him. He's losing his mind. An old contact has shut him out. To top it all off, something's skulking through an asylum, killing patients. Three guesses who might be next, and the first two don't count. The writing on the wall is not so clear. But one thing is: if he doesn't figure this out he's a dead man--well, deader--and a strange young girl might follow. Vincent's got his back against a wall, and that wall's crumbling. Some days it's not worth it to wake up in someone else's body.

That's Grave Measures - book two in my urban fantasy detective series.

Who is it - covered. What's going on? Why should we care (the stakes to the protagonist and more). The costs. And the above. It's not rocket science, and doesn't have to be. Here's one from book three: Don't make deals with the paranormal. They're better at it than you, and they never play fair.

Paranormal investigator and soul without a body, Vincent Graves, did just that—a deal made in desperation. Now it's coming back to bite him in the middle of a case. He has 57 hours to investigate a string of deaths involving people who've made some devilish bargains. Too bad devils don't deal in good faith. It'd be easy enough, if he didn't have to deal with things such as:

-Being hunted through the streets of Queens by a dark elf with a motorcycle fetish.

-Ending up the target of a supernatural hit.

-An old acquaintance dragging him to a paranormal ball where he could end up on the menu.

-And having one of his closest guarded secrets brought to light...

Not great for a tight clock, because if he doesn't get to the bottom of this case in time, Vincent and company might just lose their souls. Dirty deals are never done dirt cheap. And the supernatural always collect—big! Same formula. A lot of fiction uses it. You just might not realize it. You don't need a fucking AI. You need a few minutes every day of practice. You got that. You got this.

With SPOOC, you can outline a whole damn novel. You get a snappy two-liner pitch to sell with. YOu can expand it into summaries for each book to make up LOTR in this case or your series. Then you can reverse engineer and keep expanding each summary. It does it for you.

[rozmorris]

Best question ever for a writer! And how to embrace creativity in your life. Talking to Jenil Vyas

Jenil Vyas has a podcast for writers, and he recently invited me aboard for a chat about the fundamentals of creative life. We cover: How to embrace creativity and fulfil your destiny. Where ideas come from and how to be receptive. How to believe in a book idea when the shine is wearing off. Jenil is also a science fiction fan and was interested in my novel Lifeform Three, so we talked a lot…

[writers4life]

Advice For New Writers

Writing is the long game. I've been passionate about writing for around ten years and I'm still a beginner, but I have some useful tips I've picked up that ACTUALLY help you write. So in no particular order...

1. Stop thinking your writing is fragile.

You might have the best idea of your life and jump in full steam ahead, when suddenly you see someone online criticising a genre, or your friend says "sci fi isn't my thing" or you decide that no one will like your book, that it's too tropey, or something like that, so you completely ditch the idea and move on to something new. This isn't going to help you write! You can never write something that everyone likes, so focus on writing something that you want to write for whatever your reasons are. There are some people who like romance, some people like historical fiction, etc. You can't listen to everyone. If you decide you don't like something about your story, CHANGE IT. You're the author, you get to make decision, and change and edit things, and that's fine. Just keep working on it.

2. Write from life doesn't mean write your autobiography.

Most writers will have had people tell them "write what you know," or "draw from your own experiences," and this can be really annoying. When you want to write an epic high fantasy and your relative tells you to "write what you know" it's not very encouraging. But I have a different take on the advice. Rather than writing a play-by-play of your real life, or writing about something mundane that happened to you, take the metaphorical and abstract instead of the literal. If writing about your real life isn't working, instead write a fictional version of something. Example: instead of writing about the event you went to where you hung out with one person because neither of you liked it, write about a character finding friendship when another character is also struggling during a fantasy apocalypse. Change the setting to fit your novel, then take the bones of the thought, the feelings or the interactions, and put it in your story. This will help you make it more real and human, or elf if that's your jam.

3. Keep a journal.

Planning your novel with a word doc dedicated to it and specific plot points can often be stressful because of the pressure to get it right. So instead, keep a journal in which you can write about anything, including your novel or story. This way you can explore ideas and write anything related to them, and get in a creative state where you're more free to brainstorm. You can also write about your life here and use this to feed your writing, by taking bits of your life that you wrote down and translating them to your novel.

4. Break it down to small tasks.

It can be hard to beat procrastination, and sometimes the best way is to break it down into simple tasks. People tell you this all the time, like "break it down to small tasks, just write a chapter and then you'll have one more chapter," but that's not helpful when you're a grade A procrastinator like myself. I mean REALLY SMALL tasks. Just think of a sentence in your head for the next part of your novel, and write it down. Just write at least one word.

That's all folks. Happy writing!!

[dreamy-conceit]

I think we ought to read only the kind of books that wound or stab us. If the book we're reading doesn't wake us up with a blow to the head, what are we reading for? ... ... But we need books that affect us like a disaster, that grieve us deeply, like the death of someone we loved more than ourselves, like being banished into forests far from everyone, like a suicide. A book must be the axe for the frozen sea within us. That is my belief.

— Franz Kafka

[officialhikariblog]

How should I go about writing my Afro-Caribbean Main Character Within the premise of My Fantasy Post Apocalyptic Story?

Hi! I’m a non POC, teen writer for a comic that hopefully will be coming out in the next few years! It’s been just me and a few friends “editing” my story (aka me just talking about it lol). I’ve been working on it since 2017, but mostly on the characters and tweaking the overall plot so it makes sense. And with this, I found that having my character being of this culture would make the most sense story wise. Personality wise, I’ve always based her off my best friend (who is of that ethnicity) and she has always been my biggest supporter and inspiration for so many of my characters. Sadly, I had to move away and no longer have contact with her, (and quite frankly she more than likely committed suicide) I want to do this character right in honor of her.

I’ve always done my best to research and learn about the cultures I’ll be exhibiting in my stories, however I want to be able to on a more personal level and understand more about what people of this culture want to be represented in, especially since my world build for it doesn’t actually include any real world countries.

What are some unknown stereotypes I should avoid?

What are some specific parts of your culture that you personally would love to see incorporated?

how should I go about cultural apriciation as a posed to appropriation in a world build that doesn’t include any actual real world countries?

How should I go about writing specific mannerisms that a white person wouldn’t understand?

What are some things you hate to see whenever you see a black character that’s obviously written by a white guy? How should I approach the subject of race and ethnicity in a society that has already been toppled by an external force? My main idea was to have the cause of the apocalypse represent the oppressive colonization that your culture has endured, but if this is too generic I can tweak it to be more culturally specific.

In all, I just really want to be able to make something that she could be proud of and be able to not let the help she gave me go to waste!

please tell me your opinion and if this could work for you, as well as your responses to my question! Please and Thank you!

all my hugs and kisses

Peachy<3

🎀🎀🎀🎀🎀🎀🎀🎀🎀🎀🎀🎀🎀🎀🎀

[noahhawthorneauthor]

Patreon News

Welcome to Noah's Place, where I share resources for indie authors and content for readers. You can find writing resources like character and worldbuilding sheets, indie publishing talk, and how-to posts. For the readers, you can find short stories, excerpts of upcoming work, art, NSFW writing and art, and many other things. Book recommendations and the art museum are free!

I've been wanting to open a Patreon for awhile now, but I didn't feel like I was in the right space to do it. But with a few more books under my belt and a bigger community than ever, I feel that now is the perfect time. This year I plan to expand on the ways I support indie authors, and this is a step in the right direction. Also, it's a good way for readers to become involved in new projects.

Speaking of new projects, do you like choose your own adventure? That's on the roster for this year, along with the next Noah Hawthorne book, a Levena novella, and book three of the Levena series.

Explore Noah's Place here!

[nightowlmeetscrowley]

Thanks for your advice!

Do you have any recommendations on what to do when you can’t write?

I’ve been struggling to write for years, but telling stories is all I want to do. I have ideas and plots and characters all figured out! But actually getting the words onto paper? I just can’t do it. There’s a mental block or something getting in the way.

I want to write, I so badly do. I want to tell my stories! But no matter how hard I try, no matter how much I love the story, the words never work properly. I can day dream scenes up perfectly, but as soon as I’m near paper the words all vanish.

I guess what I’m actually asking is: how did you defeat the blank page?

Well, first of all, I can confidently tell you that your storytelling per se is working just fine. You just told me a perfectly cogent story right there, in writing. So that's good to know.

Now let me put your mind a little at rest by telling you something reassuring about the Writer's Brain:

It's not the sharpest knife in the block, if you take my meaning. It can be tricked. It can be fooled. It can be bamboozled into working when it doesn't want to... sometimes with embarrassing ease. (And this approach is, by and large, far preferable to sitting around over-analyzing one's interior life to figure out what went wrong with your developmental process somewhere in the dim lost past. Just hornswoggle the silly thing into working and then do the analysis later, if you can be bothered.)

Sometimes just changing something basic in the process the Writer's Brain is expecting is enough to make it lose the plot (so to speak...) and let you get on with work. And in your case I'd say, more or less immediately: Have you tried telling the story to yourself out loud, recording it, and then transcribing the recording?

Because this problem is a commonplace among storytellers. Sit them down in the pub and give them tea or a drink and start them going, and you'll get half an effortless hour of hilarious prose about What The Cat Did In The Middle Of The Night or When The Neighbors Were Fighting In The Street Again Yesterday. But show them blank paper, or an empty screen, and (now that the pressure to perform is suddenly in place) they freeze.

So try doing an end run around your writing brain. Borrow or otherwise procure a little recorder of some kind. (Or if you've got a smartphone, add a voice recording app to it.) Go get comfortable somewhere and get yourself into that daydream state, and then—making sure the recorder's on—start talking.

It doesn't have to be perfect unblemished prose. The pursuit of that comes later, after draft zero-minus-one. Just tell the story... or some of it. Or a fragment of it. Even a few paragraphs is a triumph, in a situation like this. You may, during the recording, have to talk yourself into the story stage by starting out talking about something else first. Let that happen.

Then when you're done recording, listen to it and transcribe it (typed or handwritten, as you please).

And maybe a day later, do this again. And a day or two later, once more. And so forth.

You're going to have to keep at this, because your Writer's Brain may start suspecting what you're up to, and try throwing spanners into the works. (Its favorite being "Oh, this isn't working, I may as well give up..." Pay no attention to that nagging little voice behind the curtain. Just keep doing what you're doing. Persistence is a superpower.)

The thing to keep reminding yourself, as you settle into this process, is that sooner or later the WB's resistance is going to flag, because you really do want to tell stories. It does too. What you have to teach it is that—to coin a phrase—resistance is useless. :)

Anyway: give this a try. You'll need to be doing this daily for at least a couple of months to find out whether it works or not. So let me know how it goes.

(BTW: once you've broken through the barrier, you may well find that dictation is a good routine way for you to generate your first draft. At that point—should you feel inclined to go a little higher-tech than recording and hand transcription—let me recommend Dragon Anywhere. This is a month-to-month subscription version of Dragon's flagship text to speech program—the one @petermorwood and I got Terry Pratchett to use when he started having difficulty typing. I use Anywhere a lot, on days when it's easier to write stretched out or lying down than it is sitting up. It transcribes what you say, and then you can just email it to yourself and cut-and-paste it into your writing document. Very handy.)

Hope this helps!

[selling-words]

Think you need silence, free time, or perfect routines to write a book? Think again. This is your real-life guide to writing a novel between errands, emotions, and exhaustion. #amwriting #authortips #writingwhilebusy #neurodivergentwriter #momlifeauthor #bookinprogress #writeyourstory

[theashleyraven]

How To Start Writing a Book

[jessicafavaron]

7 PRO Tips to DESTROY Writer’s Block & UNLOCK Your Creativity!

[thewriteadviceforwriters]

Other Words for "Look" + With meanings | List for writers

Many people create lists of synonyms for the word 'said,' but what about the word 'look'? Here are some synonyms that I enjoy using in my writing, along with their meanings for your reference. While all these words relate to 'look,' they each carry distinct meanings and nuances, so I thought it would be helpful to provide meanings for each one.

Gaze - To look steadily and intently, especially in admiration or thought.

Glance - A brief or hurried look.

Peek - A quick and typically secretive look.

Peer - To look with difficulty or concentration.

Scan - To look over quickly but thoroughly.

Observe - To watch carefully and attentively.

Inspect - To look at closely in order to assess condition or quality.

Stare - To look fixedly or vacantly at someone or something.

Glimpse - To see or perceive briefly or partially.

Eye - To look or stare at intently.

Peruse - To read or examine something with great care.

Scrutinize - To examine or inspect closely and thoroughly.

Behold - To see or observe a thing or person, especially a remarkable one.

Witness - To see something happen, typically a significant event.

Spot - To see, notice, or recognize someone or something.

Contemplate - To look thoughtfully for a long time at.

Sight - To suddenly or unexpectedly see something or someone.

Ogle - To stare at in a lecherous manner.

Leer - To look or gaze in an unpleasant, malicious way.

Gawk - To stare openly and stupidly.

Gape - To stare with one's mouth open wide, in amazement.

Squint - To look with eyes partially closed.

Regard - To consider or think of in a specified way.

Admire - To regard with pleasure, wonder, and approval.

Skim - To look through quickly to gain superficial knowledge.

Reconnoiter - To make a military observation of a region.

Flick - To look or move the eyes quickly.

Rake - To look through something rapidly and unsystematically.

Glare - To look angrily or fiercely.

Peep - To look quickly and secretly through an opening.

Focus - To concentrate one's visual effort on.

Discover - To find or realize something not clear before.

Spot-check - To examine something briefly or at random.

Devour - To look over with eager enthusiasm.

Examine - To inspect in detail to determine condition.

Feast one's eyes - To look at something with great enjoyment.

Catch sight of - To suddenly or unexpectedly see.

Clap eyes on - To suddenly see someone or something.

Set eyes on - To look at, especially for the first time.

Take a dekko - Colloquial for taking a look.

Leer at - To look or gaze in a suggestive manner.

Rubberneck - To stare at something in a foolish way.

Make out - To manage to see or read with difficulty.

Lay eyes on - To see or look at.

Pore over - To look at or read something intently.

Ogle at - To look at in a lecherous or predatory way.

Pry - To look or inquire into something in a determined manner.

Dart - To look quickly or furtively.

Drink in - To look at with great enjoyment or fascination.

Bask in - To look at or enjoy something for a period of time.

[rozmorris]

This is a walk in tomorrow's world.

A scammer busted. Hear me read from my new book (long time coming!)

Writing life. A little horse. All in my newsletter https://mailchi.mp/3bdb0427ad16/a-walk-in-tomorrows-world-first-reading-from-my-new-book-a-little-horse

[dmmwrites]

Do you dream of becoming a writer, but you don't know where to start? (Writing Goals 2025)

I’m giddy, y’all.And nervous. And, yes. Afraid and curious.Just like the lyrics of this song I used on my reel on Instagram. Click here to check it out. Are you on IG?!? I’m over there ALL the time so please follow me  while you’re there!I’m working on the second draft of my WIP (Work in Progress for you non writers out here🥰) and, to be honest…I’m ready for it to be over. I’m ready for this book…

[authorsharonforester]

Editing Binder + Projects In Progress

I have a blog post called “Organization of Multiple Story Projects Helps You Finish Your Writing.” Then I have the YouTube video that touches up on the blog post and goes into detail about what is specifically inside the binder. This one is called “FINISH YOUR STORY! Editing Binder And Projects In Progress - Writing Vlog.” You can find the blog post on my tumblr blog here or you can go to my website, and see my other stuff while you’re at it (and I’d appreciate it!): www.authorsharonforester.weebly.com.

VIDEO LIVE: OCT 4TH, 2024, 5PM MT!!!!

The Purpose

I start off by saying hello, along with my little poodle Zim, but then I go on to give you a 20-second recap as to why I made the YouTube channel in the first place–which is the same reason why I am making these blogs: to record my journey to motivate transition between my writing and editing process to finished products, and to remind writers that they are not alone in their struggles. Regarding the Editing Binder, the purpose for that invaluable little item is that it forces you to organize your writing/editing process, it helps you focus better on the materials you should be working on to keep you from getting sidetracked, it gives you a few materials to switch from when working, and it rewards you when you see the progression and the finale.

The Progress List

The first thing that is in my folder is my Progress List. This is where I list the amount of writing materials I want to edit. Some people want to edit projects one at a time, but others like me wish to edit multiple objects at the same time, either because we have a big imagination or we simply need a mental break from the previous project before going back to it. It is also viewed as a to-do list. I can scratch off and add writing materials as I go along. Things will be so much more organized because I can see it clearly on paper, where my focus should be. 

The Finished Novelette

“A Dreamer’s Purgatory” is a fictional young adult (YA) novelette (mini novel)I wrote about a college student struggling with her creative dream until battling her own mind gives her a new perspective about how to work towards her success. Inside the binder, I have arranged it inside screen protectors five chapters at a time. It is a finished product that has undergone two editing rounds, but I want to look over it one last time to make sure it is ready for take off. This story is special because I still have the handwritten copy I wrote when I was a little girl. I didn’t want to toss it away, because I figured it would be awesome to read out loud in a video and showcase it on the Internet, so the world (as well as myself) can see what my adolescent brain was thinking. You would be surprised by the new perspective you gain when you read things from when you were younger in your current adult age. It might make you think deeply about things. That’s what happened to me, and it was a cool feeling. Plus, I think it is a nostalgic and cute experience altogether. That’s why I am gonna be bringing up other materials I wrote in my childhood.

The Cartoon Book

I am very protective of this story so I don’t want to give a lot of details away (especially since I gave a 1-second glance of the storyboard draft of a mini story I wrote about them). Let’s just say that it’s a sci-fi adventure YA book with anthropomorphic animals. I have been editing this book for a good 10 years, I think, after writing it for 7 thanks to losing my 20s stuck studying in college. That is because I have been distracted or going through imposter syndrome, getting writer’s block, feeling bored with editing, and all the other bla-bla-blas you can think of. I am currently on chapter 21 out of 32 chapters as I type this, and the good news is I think I am making great progress in declaring this story official after this 3rd editing round. I doubt myself, though, because I have viewed online that 5 editing rounds is better. But hey, that looks different for everybody, ya gotta say, right?

The Storyboard Drafts And Episodes 1 & 2

So, still talking about the same anthropomorphic animals here. I want to make a show about them. Always have. Of course, I am not an animation wiz, so I am doing it old school with the only thing I know: (not including stop motion with pictures) the pre-process of animation–storyboarding. I took a class on it in college, so I know how it is supposed to work. If it ever got lucky enough to get picked up by a company through YouTube, the storyboard portion for the episodes would already be done and ready to go for the talented animators that have the personality and talents to take on that kind of assignment. I want to have a lot of fun pretending to be these characters and make their own separate YouTube channel to produce them for the purpose of enjoying myself and showing others the talents of my works. 

Deleted Scenes

I have a digital file on Google Docs with long pages of deleted scenes from my cartoon book. I gathered them over time while editing the book, and more are still to come. I have a whole chapter I deleted from the book inside the editing binder because I went in a different direction with the story, which resulted in it no longer requiring the chapter to be in there. Aside from that, it was also because my book was getting too long and I was worried it was going to stomp on its potential. I read online that the word counts of YA novels should be between 50k or 100k words. My brimming word count is over 150k–and there’s a lot I don’t want to delete. So I decided to continue my own way with it and not care what the standards say. And guess what? I feel alot better about writing the book.  The reason I have this deleted scene in the editing binder is because I still need to type it into the computer. Comedy Skits

I love acting. And because I love writing, I have been inspired to write comedy skits. To make you aware, these are connected to the YouTube channel Running The Galaxies. There, I am an entity that acts out a scenario of something in every video. Might be something you understand or it might be something weird, but in either case, RTG is just there to entertain and promote positive mental wellness through the YouTube channel Running The Galaxies ASMR, if you’re into that kind of thing. My brain floods back and forth between creative materials, so I have a few skits shoved inside one sheet protector in case my brain wants to go back there again. 

P.S. The Rewards

I am pretty sure you can bet what the obvious rewards are in this paragraph. You finish your freaking story! YAY!  To circle back on the intro to the Editing Binder, you get to visually see your progress as the binder changes projects, or sections of the same project. Some come in, others go out, which is a great feeling when noticed. But there is another reward I want to talk about as well. I logged into tumblr recently and looked through my activity to see what the numbers had to do with my blog posts. Guess what? The blog post the video is based on? There were people that absolutely loved it! I couldn’t tell you how exciting it was to see the notifications there. It was the most rewarding thing I’ve ever felt! Several people said that the Editing Binder was a really good idea and that it was something that was going to help them through their own writing. I couldn’t thank them enough for the comments they left behind–and for pressing the heart. I also couldn’t thank God enough to let me know that my blog is actually helping people and that I am not worthless. I am still very new to doing this, but I am determined to be myself, to share my experience, and not give up on it. As Running The Galaxies would say, the human experience is beautiful!