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[the-literary]

This is an excellent writing advice from Chuck Palahniuk. This was first seen on tumblr. Unfortunately, when I clicked on the link, it no longer existed. But, I still think it’s worth sharing. writingadvice: by Chuck Palahniuk In six seconds, you’ll hate me. But in six months, you’ll be a better writer. From this point forward—at least for the next half year—you may not use “thought” verbs. These include: Thinks, Knows, Understands, Realizes, Believes, Wants, Remembers, Imagines, Desires, and a hundred others you love to use. The list should also include: Loves and Hates. And it should include: Is and Has, but we’ll get to those later. Until some time around Christmas, you can’t write: Kenny wondered if Monica didn’t like him going out at night…” Instead, you’ll have to Un-pack that to something like: “The mornings after Kenny had stayed out, beyond the last bus, until he’d had to bum a ride or pay for a cab and got home to find Monica faking sleep, faking because she never slept that quiet, those mornings, she’d only put her own cup of coffee in the microwave. Never his.” Instead of characters knowing anything, you must now present the details that allow the reader to know them. Instead of a character wanting something, you must now describe the thing so that the reader wants it. Instead of saying: “Adam knew Gwen liked him.” You’ll have to say: “Between classes, Gwen had always leaned on his locker when he’d go to open it. She’s roll her eyes and shove off with one foot, leaving a black-heel mark on the painted metal, but she also left the smell of her perfume. The combination lock would still be warm from her butt. And the next break, Gwen would be leaned there, again.” In short, no more short-cuts. Only specific sensory detail: action, smell, taste, sound, and feeling. Typically, writers use these “thought” verbs at the beginning of a paragraph (In this form, you can call them “Thesis Statements” and I’ll rail against those, later). In a way, they state the intention of the paragraph. And what follows, illustrates them. For example: “Brenda knew she’d never make the deadline. Traffic was backed up from the bridge, past the first eight or nine exits. Her cell phone battery was dead. At home, the dogs would need to go out, or there would be a mess to clean up. Plus, she’d promised to water the plants for her neighbor…” Do you see how the opening “thesis statement” steals the thunder of what follows? Don’t do it. If nothing else, cut the opening sentence and place it after all the others. Better yet, transplant it and change it to: Brenda would never make the deadline. Thinking is abstract. Knowing and believing are intangible. Your story will always be stronger if you just show the physical actions and details of your characters and allow your reader to do the thinking and knowing. And loving and hating. Don’t tell your reader: “Lisa hated Tom.” Instead, make your case like a lawyer in court, detail by detail. Present each piece of evidence. For example: “During roll call, in the breath after the teacher said Tom’s name, in that moment before he could answer, right then, Lisa would whisper-shout ‘Butt Wipe,’ just as Tom was saying, ‘Here’.” One of the most-common mistakes that beginning writers make is leaving their characters alone. Writing, you may be alone. Reading, your audience may be alone. But your character should spend very, very little time alone. Because a solitary character starts thinking or worrying or wondering. For example: Waiting for the bus, Mark started to worry about how long the trip would take…” A better break-down might be: “The schedule said the bus would come by at noon, but Mark’s watch said it was already 11:57. You could see all the way down the road, as far as the Mall, and not see a bus. No doubt, the driver was parked at the turn-around, the far end of the line, taking a nap. The driver was kicked back, asleep, and Mark was going to be late. Or worse, the driver was drinking, and he’d pull up drunk and charge Mark seventy-five cents for death in a fiery traffic accident…” A character alone must lapse into fantasy or memory, but even then you can’t use “thought” verbs or any of their abstract relatives. Oh, and you can just forget about using the verbs forget and remember. No more transitions such as: “Wanda remembered how Nelson used to brush her hair.” Instead: “Back in their sophomore year, Nelson used to brush her hair with smooth, long strokes of his hand.” Again, Un-pack. Don’t take short-cuts. Better yet, get your character with another character, fast. Get them together and get the action started. Let their actions and words show their thoughts. You—stay out of their heads. And while you’re avoiding “thought” verbs, be very wary about using the bland verbs “is” and “have.” For example: “Ann’s eyes are blue.” “Ann has blue eyes.” Versus: “Ann coughed and waved one hand past her face, clearing the cigarette smoke from her eyes, blue eyes, before she smiled…” Instead of bland “is” and “has” statements, try burying your details of what a character has or is, in actions or gestures. At its most basic, this is showing your story instead of telling it. And forever after, once you’ve learned to Un-pack your characters, you’ll hate the lazy writer who settles for: “Jim sat beside the telephone, wondering why Amanda didn’t call.” Please. For now, hate me all you want, but don’t use thought verbs. After Christmas, go crazy, but I’d bet money you won’t. (…) For this month’s homework, pick through your writing and circle every “thought” verb. Then, find some way to eliminate it. Kill it by Un-packing it. Then, pick through some published fiction and do the same thing. Be ruthless. “Marty imagined fish, jumping in the moonlight…” “Nancy recalled the way the wine tasted…” “Larry knew he was a dead man…” Find them. After that, find a way to re-write them. Make them stronger.

Thanks Hiraku! (via wingedbeastie)

[the-literary]

Our (Non-Comprehensive) List of Fairytales

Here’s our list of fairy tales, fables, ghost stories, myths, legends, and sacred tales, classified according to land of origin. Many of the stories are available online; others can be found in folktale collections in libraries. Feel free to use these, or any of your own choice outside of this list.

MALAYSIA/SINGAPORE/INDONESIA

Sang Nila Utama and the founding of Singapore

Badang, the strongman

Lancang Kuning

Siti Zubaidah

Singapura Dilanggar Todak (The Legend of the Swordfish and Bukit Merah)

Puteri Gunung Ledang

Bawang Merah, Bawang Putih

Sangkuriang

Prince Panji

Keong Emas, the Golden Snail

Legend of the Pontianak

Legend of the Penanggalan

Sang Kancil, the Clever Mousedeer

Hang Tuah

Dang Anom

Pak Pandir, the Village Fool

Mahsuri, the Maiden of Langkawi

The Dragon of Mt Kinabalu

Dewi Sri, the Rice Goddess

Bangsat and the King of the Crocodiles

Rangda and the Barong

The Tale of Sisters’ Islands

The Tale of Kusu Island

CHINA

Pan Gu creates the world

Nü Wa creates humans and repairs the sky

Hou Yi shoots the sun, Chang’er flies to the moon

Nian and the Story of Chinese New Year

The Canonisation of the Gods

The Legend of Ne Zha

The Cowherd and the Weaver Girl

Hua Mulan

Lady Mengjiang and the Great Wall

The Eight Immortals Cross the Sea

Journey to the West (aka Monkey King)

Liang Zhu: The Butterfly Lovers

Lady White Snake

The Magic Paintbrush

The Fox Fairy (and anything from Strange Tales of Liaozhai)

The 24 Paragons of Filial Piety

The Dragon King’s Daughter

Mulian Rescues his Mother From Hell

Tales from Justice Bao (e.g. the Civet for a Crown Prince)

Ma Zu, the Sea Goddess

Tales of Ji Gong

INDIA

Tales from the Ramayana

Tales from the Mahabharata

Tales from the Life of the Buddha

Tales from the Panchatantra

Sukhu and Dukhu

Tenali Raman the Jester

Tales of Akbar and Birbal

The Mongoose and the Jackal

Tales of Suppandi

WEST ASIA

Scheherazade

Aladdin

Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves

Sinbad the Sailor

The Fisherman and the Jinni

Tales of the Mullah Nasruddin

The Tale of the Hunchback

Rostam

The Seven Wise Princesses

JAPAN

Izanami and Izanagi

Amaterasu and Uzume

Issun-Boshi, the One-Inch Boy

Momotaro the Peach Boy

Tokoyo

Urashima Taro and the Turtle

Kiyohime

Hanasaka Jiisan, the Old Man Who Made the Cherry Blossoms Bloom

The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter (aka The Moon Princess)

The Rabbit in the Moon

O-Jizo San, the Grateful Statues

The Magic Tea-Kettle

The Tale of the Gallant Jiraiya

KOREA

The Story Bag

The Mirror and the Villagers (aka The Bridegroom’s Shopping)

Janghwa and Hongryeon

Heungbu and Nolbu

Chunhyangga

The Disowned Student and the Field Rat Spirit

The Three Princesses and the Land-Below-the-Earth

PHILIPPINES

Alitaptap, the Princess who became Fireflies

Ibong Adarna

Bernardo Carpio

Juan Tamad

Lam-Ang

Maria Makiling

The Creation of the Pineapple

The Creation of the Banana Tree

The Creation of the Durian

The Creation of the Rose

THAILAND

Nang Nak Phrakhanong

Manohra, the Kinnari (Bird Maiden)

VIETNAM

Tam and Cam

The Hundred-Knot Bamboo Tree

[the-literary]

The most valuable chart…

[the-literary]

Editing and Proofreading Tips

[the-literary]

Hi, how come some links eg the graphics tutorials and FC Help don't work? x

I have no idea, no matter what I try, it won't link. But what can I help you with? :)

[the-literary]

hey so i need advice in something: i don't know if i should go through with a book idea... i want to do a reincarnation thing, with the first half of the book in todays normal world and then the second half (the secong book if you will) in a supernatural world kind of thing. i want to use the same characters, like they die in the first half and the second book cuts to a time where they are in the other world... should i do it like that? cut it to two halves? thanks in advance :)

I think so. It means you can incorporate parts of the future story into the current one to create a better flow, I think it's a fantastic idea!

[the-literary]

So, someone wanted some tips on planning/outlining their novel and instead I made this. It kind of happened.

If you’re new to my silliness let me introduce myself.

My name is M. Kirin and I write books. If you’re interested in writer resources, inspiration, and the adventures of a dork, you could do a lot worse than me :3

[the-literary]

A Body Language Masterlist

Cheat Sheets

Body Language Cheat Sheet (archetypewriting)

Body Language Cheat Sheet (writerswrite1)

Writing-Specific Guides

Using Body Language to Create Believable Characters

Character Emotion Written All Over Their Face

Ideas For Using Knowledge of Body Language in Your Writing

Elaboration: The Power Punch of “Body Language” Detail

How to Read a Person Like a Book

Body Language: An Artistic Writing Tool

Body Language Basics

41 Flavors of Body Language for Writers (very nice guide/reference)

Reveal Character Through Body Language (a good quick reference with emotions and behaviors associated with them)

Non-Writing Specific Guides

Dimensions of Body Language (very extensive with pictures)

Nonverbal Dictionary

Body Language Index (lots of tables, resources, and terms. I highly recommend checking out this link)

Body Language Wikipedia Page

Important Features of Body Language

Exercises

Creative Writing Exercises: Body Language

An Exercise in Character Differentiation 

A Conversation Through Body Language

[the-literary]

The Shapes of Stories, a Kurt Vonnegut Infographic on Narrative Structure

[the-literary]

Three Goals for Every Character

You can break down each character’s goals into three types: professional, private and personal.

‘Professional’ refers to the job that needs to be done. A monster has to be killed, a treasure has to be found, a wedding has to take place etc. This physical goal drives the main story and gives the hero something to do.

‘Private’ is something that characters want for themselves. It may not be the main focus of the story as it doesn’t necessarily affect other characters, but a character that only acts out of pure altruism and self-sacrifice is both unrealistic and a little annoying.

‘Personal’ is more about the psychological needs of the character. Whatever flaws or hang-ups the character might have (and he should definitely have some), there will have to be a resolution or understanding reached at some point in the story. This aspect is often the most rewarding and satisfying in a novel, but also risks being the most clichéd and obvious.

These three elements are often very closely linked and intertwined, but they can also be very separate.  Both approaches have their advantages and their disadvantages.

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[the-literary]

download fonts by wonderesources

Dolce Vita

Magnolia

Shipped Goods

Basic Title

Tommy Hilfiger

Fely

Enchanted Prairie Dog

Veron

[the-literary]

Seven Steps to the Perfect Story

From structure and plot to heroes and characters, your story must have everything in place if it’s to connect with the reader. Follow our guide to storytelling success.

[the-literary]

1DFF easy chapter formatting tutorial

hello, earthlings. so i can only assume every author on 1DFF knows the struggle of posting a new chapter you’re super excited about only to see the site double space each passage and eat the ending. of course, you can turn off tinyMCE, c/p your chapter into the html box and manually go in and type in the line breaks to ensure the ending stays attached but that takes forever and sometimes, you don’t know all of the codes you need to know.

i’m here to tell you: i’ve figured out an easier way! through trial and error, i’ve learnt how to cheat the system and i hope this tutorial helps you out - if anything, to just save time and prevent you from accidentally deleting your story like i have.

all you need is google docs (or w/e program you use), textedit (i believe notepad works too but i’m a mac user) and tumblr. 

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[the-literary]

Some links I have found in various Tumblr Posts that I have saved on my computer. I do not take credit for collecting all these links. Unfortunately, I did not have the mind to save/note where these various links come from. Thank you to whoever compiled these links together.

General Writing Tips, Guides and Advice

How to be Confident in Your Writing Start Your Novel Already! Why First Chapters Matter How to Outline a Novel Incorporating Flashbacks Word Building 101 Common Mistakes in Writing Tips on Getting Started What Not to Do 7 Tips to Become a Better Writer from Stephen King How to Use Reading to Become a Better Writer Why Writers Must Read How to Finish What You Start: A Five-Step Plan for Writers 31 Ways to Find Inspiration for Your Writing 10 Tips to Write Fanfiction Writing a Blurb 10 Writing Tips Perfecting Description Point of View Speed Up Your Writing Recieving Bad News Useful Writing Apps Avoiding Clichés Writing Lessons Finding Inspiration

Plot and Conflict

What is Conflict? Where’s Your Conflict? Adding Conflict to Your Scenes Guides for Using Inner Conflict That Makes Sense Plotting Your Novel Internal and External Conflict The Top Ten Plotting Problems The Elements of Plot Development Plot Help Writing a Plot Your Own Way Plot Development Develop a Plot Tension and Conflict Your Plot, Step by Step Plot vs. Exposition Plot and Conflict

Character Development

How to Describe the Body Shape of Female Characters

Character Apperance Help Words to Describe Voice Body Language Cheat Sheet Character Development Exercises 101 Character Development Questions Art of Character Development Introducing Characters Characters You Need to Reinvent Making Characters Likeable Heros and Villains Describing Clothing Understanding Body Language 100 Positive Traits Mental Illness in Writing Conflicts and Characters Indifferent, Distant Characters Bitchy Characters Describing Voice Being a Bitch Heartless Bitch Writing Nice Characters Character Questionnaire Mental Disorders Writing Characters with Mental Illness Writing Male Characters Playing Male Characters Breaking Sterotypes Characters with Glasses Rebellious Characters Writing Female Characters Writing Intriuging Male and Female Characters

Spelling, Punctuation and Grammar

Placement of Speech Tags

Grammar and Spelling Grammar Slammer! American vs. British Grammar HyperGrammar Grammar Girl Punctuating Dialogue How to Use the Semicolon Introduction to the Basic Rules of Punctuation Comma 101 All About Dialouge 11 Grammar Tips Comma Usage Correct Use of Apostrophe Proofreading Transition Words 40+ Tips to Improve your Grammar and Punctuation Better Writing: Grammar & Spelling Semicolons and Colons Underlining and Italicizing Dashes and Parentheses Hyphens Apostrophes The Ellipsis List of 1000+ Adjectives

All About Names

List of Names

100 Most Popular Names Sci-Fi Names  Sci-Fi Names Part 2 Name Berry Behind the Name Fantasy Name Generator 20,000+ Names From Around the World Victorian Era Names How to Choose a Name Naming Your Characters Give Your Character the Perfect Name Name that Character! 10 Tips to Name Your Character

Genre Based

20 Tips to Writing Love Scenes

On Love And Sex All That Sex!

Writing “Real” Men in Romance Fiction Kissing How to Write a Kissing Scene: Valentine Edition How to Write a Kiss? And Should You Write Sex? The Keys to Conflict Writing Gender-Specific Dialouge Things Smut Writers Should Know How to Write a Sex Scene 3 Secrets to Writing Sex Writing Love Scenes Why You Should Write Love Stories How to Write Horror Horror Sub-Genres Horror Plot Cliches 25 Things You Should Know About Writing Horror Plot and Character in Horror Fiction 7 Laws of Comedy 5 Secrets for Improving Comedy Writing How to Break into Comedy How to Be Funny Mystery Writing Lessons 10 Rules for Mystery Mystery Writing

Other

Word Count

Story Starters & idea Generators Fifty Quick Writing Prompts Write or Die Writing Prompt Generator Dictionary.com Thesaurus.com Oxford Dictionary Spanish Dictionary Medical Dictionary Your Dictionary A Bunch of Character Questionnaires

[the-literary]

[the-literary]

Do you know of any good website to find screencaps?

Linking you to their tumblrs, which they usually use for updates. 

Screencapped.net

Grandecaps

Blu-screens

HD-screencaps

Disneyscreencaps

Nickelodeoncaps

Lifeis-caps

Homeofthenutty

Hope this helped!

[the-literary]

Writing fantasy can be a bit overwhelming, especially since you have to create an entire world (in most sub genres) when you’re already trying to create characters and plots. Here’s a guide and some questions to get you started to inspire.

World Building:

Physical:

Geography: Make a map of your world. Start with an outline of the country, kingdom, or nation you’re making. Is it an island? Is it landlocked? Does it share borders with other countries or regions? Once you have your basic shape, you can add more borders within for states, provinces, kingdoms, and more smaller regions. Now place it somewhere on a globe. This will affect the geography and the climate of your world. Look up the ecosystems and geography of lands similar to yours.

Local Setting: Where is the general area that your story takes place? What does it look like? What does it feel like? Is there not enough sun because of all the trees? Are there mountains? Is there a tide? What does it smell like? Is the air polluted in one area more than another? How does that affect breathing, smell, and daily life? Those who lived near the Chicago Stockyards when it was open breathed bad air their entire lives. Going to a place with cleaner air was quite an odd experience for them.

Ecosystem: What animals are most common? Have your characters hunted any species to the point of extinction? Which animals have been domesticated? What plants and herbs grow there? Rural characters should have knowledge of the nature around them and the uses of certain plants and animals.

Climate: Climate depends on the geographical location and other environmental factors. This will affect your characters’ lives significantly.

Regions: Does your story take place in one country? Or many? Either way, these places are going to have small regions within whether they are called states, provinces, kingdoms, or whatever you want. Or maybe there are no regions. Your characters may just ambiguously refer to places as “the east” or “the lakes” if there is a place heavily ridden with bodies of water. A fictional island in one my stories has a place that many refer to as “the southern branch” because it is the southern most part of the island and it juts out from the rest. If you have regions, make up their borders. Are there border laws? Are people allowed to pass freely? Are criminals allowed to pass freely? Are there no set borders, but a general idea of where one region starts and another ends? Are there physical borders (such as a wall or a fence)? Do customs vary from region to region?

Astronomy: Consider how many moons your world has and constellations. Does your world notice stars? Have they given names to stars and constellations?

Villages, Towns, and Cities: When creating a city, town, or village, draw a map and consider who lives there. Draw the geography first. Is there a river that runs through it? Are there hills and forests? Or a swamp? Draw the major roads and note where there may be bridges or tunnels. Add the minor roads next and draw in buildings and homes. Your town could even follow a certain shape, like a circle that has a major building in the center. Maybe, for a smaller village, there is only one road and homes spread out on either side. Or perhaps there are no roads at all.

Population: How many people live in certain areas? Is the population high or low? Consider the average family size and life expectancy. If your characters live for a long time and have a low infant mortality rate, they may have a high population. Or maybe they live long enough to realize high population can be a problem, and thus limit the amount of children they have. The population will affect available jobs, amount of towns and cities, and the environment. Think of the diversity in the population. Are there more men than women? More children than adults? What about the percentages of race?

Foreign Lands: What are the foreign lands? Are they as advanced as the place your story takes place? More advanced? Less advanced? Do they have a bad or good history with your land? What is the relationship between these lands? How do their cultures differ? Are the borders controlled? What do these places look like? Have borders ever changed? Do mountains or rivers make up the borders?

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