#writertips

[theauthorpaula]

(via Siblings in Fiction)

[theaddictionfiction]

(via Writing About Substance Abuse in Your Fiction)

[mlvanasseauthor]

writing tips

[newadultfiction]

(via Siblings in Fiction)

[paulapuddephatt]

(via How To Create Believable Friendships in Your Fiction)

[theeccentricraven]

I like this, especially the ironic villain tip.

Crafting a Villain - Some Quick Tips

1) Give them a relationship or connection to your protagonist. Voldemort is quite literally connected to Harry magically. Katniss becomes a symbol of hope, threatening the control Snow has over the Districts.

2) Let them evoke emotion in your reader. Whether it’s anger, laughter, or sadness… a villain's actions and how they affect your protagonist can warrant an emotional response from the reader. Think about all the times you may have felt anger because the villain gains the upper hand against the protagonist.

3) Make them relatable… or completely unhinged. The goal of your villain can make them relatable to your readers: are they acting out of revenge, self-hatred, sorrow, revenge, or fear? Humans can relate to all of those feelings. Or... are they just downright evil and otherworldly?

4) Their goal. What does your villain seek to obtain? Just like your protagonist, your villain should want or need something. This is why they exist in the story: to antagonize your protagonist and achieve their diabolical goal. Food for thought: Why do they have to be a 'villain' or 'evil' to obtain it? What made them that way?

4) Make them iconic. Most Disney villains are easily recognizable… whether it’s their outfit, voice, or personality. Consider giving your villain something that makes them notably unforgettable. A wardrobe, way of speaking, a quirk?

5) Think about the traits of your villain. What labels them as the villain? Selfishness, violence, insecurity, obsession, fear, ego, ignorance, entitlement? Or maybe they're just misunderstood.

6) Their backstory can make them believable. As the author, the more you understand and know about your villain's upbringing, the more convincingly evil or tactical you can write them.

Instagram: coffeebeanwriting  

[thewrittentales]

The Little Things - Written Tales MagaDiscover beauty in 'The Little Things' by Kaval Naine. Submissions are open at Written Tales. Let your words shine! 🌟📝 https://writtentales.substack.com/p/the-little-things

[retrobooks]

(via Writing Modern Historical Fiction)

[georgelthomas]

Using Foreshadowing in Fiction

Using Foreshadowing in Fiction #WritingCommunity #WriterCommunity #Write #WritingTips #Tips #WriterTips #Foreshadowing #LiteraryTechniques

Hi everyone! I hope you’re all well. Today, I’ll be exploring the art of foreshadowing – because it is an art, really isn’t it? I mean, not everyone can do it, at least not well. I know it’s something I struggle with periodically. Anyway, let’s jump in. Using Foreshadowing in Fiction What is Foreshadowing?Foreshadowing is a literary technique sometimes used in weaving compelling, intricate,…

[furiouslywriting]

Writing tips: formatting

One of the great things about indie publishing is that you can do things yourself. But please know that just because you can, doesn't mean you should! Things like editing and cover design MUST be done by professionals. But the cool thing is that formatting is fairly accessible to the average person, but you'll be swapping out spending money for spending time.

So here are some basic formatting tips:

Learn industry and genre standards

Every new paragraph except for the first in the chapter and scene must be indented

Use drop caps, lead in small caps or both for the first sentence of each chapter

Chapter should start at least a third of the way down the page. But usually about half

Page numbers typically go in the footer

In the header have your name on one page and your book title on the other (alternate the whole way through). These do not go in the front matter or on the first page of each chapter

Make sure your formatting is consistent the whole way through!

Front matter is everything before the first chapter, back matter is everything after the actual book (acknowledgments etc)

Justify text to both sides (so it's even). You can use hyphens to help with this

Check what the minimal requirements for margins are with your publisher (Ingram, kdp etc)

Use a normal, easy to read font. Times New Roman is the standard.

Use hyperlinks in your ebooks! Link directly to your other books, author socials and website. List them in your print copies

I'm using Atticus to format my debut and it's been fantastic so far.

[theauthorpaula]

(via Describing Locations in Realistic Fiction: 5 Tips)

[theaddictionfiction]

(via Writing About Substance Abuse in Your Fiction)

[mlvanasseauthor]

writing tips

[newadultfiction]

(via Creating Believable Characters)

[thatdesistreet]

It hurts that when I search for desi aesthetics, the first things that pop are hefty lehengas, complicated mehendhi, long sparkling jewelry and women in bridal costumes. Yes, these things are unique about the south-asian community and we are proud of our culture being represented. But these pictures are like an umbrella with gaping holes in it.

Every state in India has a different type of clothing attire or style that they follow. For example, saree is commonly worn by women in India but the draping style is different in each state. For men in South India, they were 'Veshti' for festivities while in the North, they were salwar suits and kurtas. But most importantly, what non-Indians should know is that we don't dress like that ALL the time.

India is modernized in a lot of ways but keeps its culture intact when it comes to traditions and festivities. Simple sarees (cotton, non-silk), salwar kameez, kurti are worn by women as casual wear but that's about it. We wear jeans, crop tops, t-shirts, button-downs, dresses and indo-western tunics. It is very very common. So please don't only associate glittery heavy attires to what indians wear. They only make up a tiny part of it.

As I repeatedly state, the Indian culture is very very diverse. Its hard to shove it under an umbrella term and leave it at that. So, if you are planning to write about Indian characters, please don't make them wear extravagant clothing and saree and salwars all the time. It's so annoying.

Besides, even though they are beautiful, all those lehengas are so heavy we can't wait to step out of it.

[purple-cat-demon]

Lmaoooo, I've been writing this Origin Story of mine and I even I don't really know the theme/moral of it....

Is that considered bad writing?

A Quick Tip: Themes and Morals

The Theme and Moral of your story go hand in hand and are often confused as the same thing. They are very similar and work together to create a compelling, cohesive story.

The theme of your novel is the central idea of your story. It’s woven throughout your entire novel, revealing itself in conflicts and your character’s actions. 

Some major themes: love, redemption, survival, coming of age, good vs. evil, revenge, war, etc.

The moral of your story is the deeper meaning of your book, often a lesson or belief that the author wants to leave the reader with. 

A story with the theme of love might have a moral (or lesson) such as beauty is in the eye of the beholder or love has no limits.

To further understand your theme/moral, ask yourself:

“What lesson do I want to leave my readers with when they finish my book?”

Then answer it in one sentence:

Theme: Love Lesson/Moral: I want to show my readers that beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Theme: War Lesson/Moral: I want my readers to understand that good can’t exist without evil.

Theme: Coming of Age Lesson/Moral: Don’t judge a book by its cover.

Supporting Themes

To really sell your theme and make it the strongest that it can be, adding in supporting themes can elevate your story.

Supporting themes are smaller ideas that branch off of and are related to the main theme. Weaving these smaller themes into your side characters can help create a very well-rounded story.

Main theme: Love Some supporting themes: Trust, comfort, obsession, self-love, envy, jealousy, friendship. Example: A protagonist is forced to marry an evil king. His concubine becomes jealous of your protagonist who is just trying to find self-love amidst this huge change. The king becomes envious when a knight is overly friendly to the protagonist, who feels as if she can trust this knight as a friend. A group of villagers are obsessed with the king and bully the protagonist. An elderly servant brings comfort to the protagonist by acting as a mother figure.

All of these side characters and subplots support the main theme of love! Everything ties in together.

Instagram: coffeebeanwriting