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Please look after yourself and take all the time you need!!! ❤️❤️❤️

I am taking a mental health break. I don't know when I will be back but for now the ask box is closed.

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Writer's Guide to Unreliable Narrators

Unreliable narrators are narrators who intentionally or subconsciously mislead the reader with their own bias and lies. I love nothing more than a narrator who deceives me. There is something incredibly charged about not being able to rely on your guide through a story. So how can we write them?

Determine What Kind of Unreliable Narrator your Narrator is.

There are five kinds of unreliable narrator we see in fiction, each with their own way of leading the audience astray.

The Unstable: This narrator is usually an unstable character with problems with grasping reality or having trouble accepting it so they bend it to their own tastes. Example: Arthur Fleck in Joker & Amy Elliot Dunne in Gone Girl

The Exaggerator: the one who spins fanciful lies to embellish the facts of the story around them. Usually they embellish it in such a way to make themselves look good.

The Child: Though children can be a font of truth, they often have a way of muddling facts and being confused by certain aspects of the story they are not versed in. Example. Bran in A Song of Ice and Fire & Scout Finch in To Kill A Mockingbird

The Biased: The biased Narrator is usually an outsider. They enter the world with preconceptions of the world and/or characters around them. Usually they get disabused of their biases by story's end but not always. Example Damen/Damianos of Akielos in The Captive Prince Trilogy

The Liar: The Liar is simply just a liar liar pants on fire. They twist the narrative and outwardly lie about their actions and the reactions of others. The liar is self-serving, usually narcissistic. Example Cersei Lannister from A Song of Ice and Fire.

How to Write Your Unreliable Narrator

The thing you must remember is that your audience immediately trusts your narrator, they have no other choice. It is a given. However, it is your job to break that trust.

Allow the narrator to outwardly lie. Let them spout half truths or full out lies in the narrative. The audience will take what your character says as the gosphel until slapped with a conflicting account or detail. It provides a wham to the story that becomes a turning point. Perhaps the best example of this is Amy Elliott Dunne in Gone Girl (I recommend). She introduces herself as a sweet housewife who loves her husband despite her fears over his temper. However, in the section of the book she narrates she quickly flips Nick's account of the events leading up to her disappearance, turning the audience on their head so fast none of us have a chance.

Allow the character to mislead your audience with the absence of details. Your story is one big chain, omit a link and the thing is useless & subject to the questioning you want to draw out of the audience. For example, Daenerys Targaryen believes wholeheartedly that the house with the red door is in Braavos. However, she vividly remembers a lemon tree outside her window and sunsine. But lemon trees cannot grow Braavos and it is notoriously damp and cold. #lemongate

Speak to your audience through the events of the story, bypassing the narrator to get through to the audience. Sometimes the best reveal that the narrator cannot be trusted is showing the audience evidence that they are either not seeing what's happening or they are ignoring it. For example in Captive Prince, it is almost explicitly suggested that the Regent molested his nephew Laurent as a child. If one ignores Damen's narration, the signs are there to see from Laurent's reaction to his Uncle's presence and in some of Laurent's words. Damen chalks this down to Laurent being a brat and the Regent just being a villain. He has to be told despite the audience realising or at least suspecting it from the second book onward.

Play off your secondary characters. Use the characters around your narrator to disprove their account if the story and completely flip the story on its head. Usually, I trust the secondary characters when it comes to Unreliable Narrators. For example, Cersei Lannister gets her own POV in a Feast of Crows. Up until this point she has been very mercurial in her reactions in the first few books, to the point where other characters and the audience are confused about who the real Cersei is: the shrewd polictian or the wine mom with way too much faith in herself and her spawn. In truth, Cersei is incredibly paranoid about those around her and she thinks herself the cleverest player in the game. However, from others such as Tyrion, Tywin, Littlefinger and the members of the Small Council (who yes, all have a touch of misgyny to their criticisms of Cersei but really most of their points have a point since she is mad as a box of frogs) we see that Cersei tends to make enemies out of allies, assume the worst in others and make political choices to spite others or to put her faith in those who offer her little more than flattery.

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Maybe how to write an unreliable narrator? I feel like that’s something people like to experiment with but there’s very little good advice on how to go about making it believable

I want to do some writing theory posts (not fantasy guides or historical guides but how to write certain elements) but I can't think of where to start? Are there any requests?

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This sounds really cool!!!

I'm vibing on an idea of doing a new WIP once TTK10 is edited & I was wondering what if I did a week by week update sort of thing? Kind of a list of what I have doing from planning to writing to editing so you guys can see my process?

Tagging my taglist just for a boost

Taglist: @authoressasusual @you-reblogged-from @word-by-word @trapped-inadystopianovel @wanderingalonelypath @mysthicrider @thebestmollygrue @reignnyx @writinglyra @anomaly00 @thewordsinthesky-andstars @heldinhishands @serpentarii @writing-in-rain @paperandredink @writeblrfantasy @mayawritesbooks @valiant-wielder @treesandwords @nicopeppah @ink-and-stories @ezra-ezra-ezra @dragonauthor @violetcancerian @cheeseplatypusandiceskates @ravens-and-rivers @sprigofbasil

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Interest Check

Hiya folks! I'm going to be participating in @thewriteboardwalk 's ferris wheel event starting 27th. So that I don't bog all of you guys down with a week's worth of posts, please interact with this post if you want me to tag you for any of my entries!

WCTD Taglist |

@schwarzekatze1999 @aloonycynic @danger-writes @dullahanofficial @chazwrites @andiwriteunderthemoon

@authoressasusual @hell-yeah-fantasy @inky-duchess @thebestmollygrue @brimorganbooks @reignnyx @contes-de-rheio @word-by-word @writing-in-rain @ravens-and-rivers @starsfallings @mayawritesbooks @writerlywonders @serpentarii @sprigofbasil @mperialscribe @linariouswrites @carmina-solis @writting-in-blood @goosemixtapes @ryns-ramblings @bookphobe @semblanche

Gen Taglist | @serpentarii @sprigofbasil @mortallynuttyqueen @myhusbandsasemni @inky-duchess @trapped-inadystopianovel @cacowo @n1ghtcrwler @carrot-made-of-teeth @writting-in-blood @fayoftheforest @sentient-pile-of-bones @love26435 @the-sun-will-rise-here @bearunicorn154 @notesby19 @mayawritesbooks @linariouswrites

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Honestly if you’re Irish and NOT salty about Queen Victoria you’re doing it wrong

Probably a very morbid question, but do you know anything about Victorian funerals/Victorian undertakers? Specially around the 1850’s? I’m working on a story that can best be described as Irish, lesbian Frankenstein. But I completely understand if you don’t know much about this topic, because it’s very odd 😂 anyway happy holidays!!! I hope 2020 didn’t treat you *too* badly

Because old Queen Vic was a drama Queen (yes we're salty about her today), the whole emo mourning thing got fashionable. It was increasingly acceptable & popular to spend a huge amount of time mourning people, wearing as much black as humanly possible.

Victorian funerals were very proper affairs (unless you were Irish and then it was a piss up because we love nothing more than a good funeral). Victorian upper & lower classes usually held church services and then buried their kin quickly after the service before retiring for a solemn supper or a meal.

Victorian undertakes really made the profession more popular during this time. With more and more people were opting for an open coffin ceremony or sometimes even taking photos with the dead (honestly creepy af), the job got more respected than before. The only thing one really had to worry about a dead body in Victorian times were bodysnatchers.

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Hey! So I've read your post on writing good villains, and all those other posts about villains being humans and having flaws and different motives. right now, I'm currently attempting to start a new story, but I'm having a problem of actually finding motivations that are inherently good, but the antagonist/villain is taking it to an extreme, like the "they do bad things because they're scared" and stuff like that. Any tips? If so, thanks!

Villains with good intentions...

Many call this genre of antagonist the “blinded hero”, as they have heroic intentions and potentially background, but their execution does more harm than good, and their opposition is trying to mend or prevent the damage that their actions could cause. 

Writing villains who have good intentions is the easiest way to make your villain somewhat sympathetic while still demonstrating their destruction. It’s also a good way to make your villain believable, as it’s difficult to grow attached to a conflict where there’s no personal or moral dilemma being argued through the two main forces in conflict. 

It’s important that when you’re giving a villain good intentions, you’re also giving the hero a damn good reason to be fighting against them. The more benevolent the intentions of the villain, the more drastic their damage must be. Say they want to solve an economic crisis that disproportionately affects the poorer population of their society, but they do so by compromising a system everyone in that society relies on and therefore furthering the struggle of the people they’re trying to help. Sure, they may realize their mistake later on but the hero is less concerned with making them see the error of their ways, but more concerned with solving the problem and preventing the villain from worsening the adverse effects. 

Show the villain making bad decisions while they hyper-fixate on one vision, ignoring the exterior consequences of their actions in the pursuit of one solution to a multi-faceted problem. Show the reader where they’re coming from, why their actions are unjustified, and why the hero wants and needs to stop them. 

Most story villains do have good intentions, I would argue, based on their own moral code. Everyone thinks they’re the good guy, unless otherwise specified. If you’re going to write a villain who outwardly thinks they’re the good guy, write them as if they were the hero of their own story, and then point out all the little things they ignore in the interest of remaining “good” from their own perspective. 

Here’s some other resources you may find useful:

Writing Good Villains

Creating Villains

Tips on Character Consistency

Tips on Writing Cold & Distant Characters

Positive Character Development Without Romanticizing Toxic Behavior

Showing Vulnerability Without Death

How To Fit Character Development Into Your Story

Resources For Creating Characters

What Makes Children Evil?

How To Analyze A Character

Giving Characters Flaws

Gradually Revealing Character’s Past

Keeping Characters Realistic

Tips on Character Motivations

–

Masterlist | WIP Blog

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@inky-duchess I feel like you would have a field day with this

If this this is going to be her attitude towards Irish people voicing concern over our history then then I don't want the show made at all

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For all you writers, some advice

from someone who runs a bookshop and interacts with authors who are trying to market their books every. single. day.

IT IS WORSE TO BE PUBLISHED BADLY THAN NEVER PUBLISHED AT ALL.

Please understand. I know that big publishing is half about connections, and that it advantages some writers over others.

But don't fall for these predatory junk publishers or self-publishing schemes.

I've seen self publishing work for exactly one author I know, and that's because she is crazy talented but also because she's

Employed at a bookshop, where she has a writing community and booksellers invested in her success

A nationally ranked competitive slam poet, who has a built-in audience for book sales

Because if you don't have a way to widely market your books, self publishing is a bad idea.

The main advantage of being published by a press is it gives you a team of professionals to design, market, and distribute your book. If you choose to self publish, all that is completely on you.

Being a great writer doesn't mean you're a good type setter, or a good artist for a cover that will grab readers, or a good editor. So it will serve you best to pay other professionals to do those things, and between that and the actual cost of self publishing, you're going to have to sink some serious cash to get a sellable book.

Then there's the matter of distribution. Publishers have sales reps whose entire job is getting bookstore to carry your book. Unless you have a ton of resources at your disposal you're going to be fighting an uphill battle on that front.

Because of the cost of self publishing, authors can't sell their books at much discount to recoup any profit, which means bookstores in turn don't make money selling them. Between that and the fact that most self published authors don't have reliable distribution at their disposal, it is often a bad business decision for bookshops to carry self published books.

Which brings up...if you do choose to self publish, DO NOT USE CREATESPACE. They are owned by Amazon, and Amazon does not care if you sell your book, ever. Their model is designed to only sell on Amazon, where your book will get buried in a sea of horrible books. Createspace's model actually means that indie bookshops LOSE money buying their books, because we have to sell them at cost and they are nonreturnable if they don't sell.

I HATE how often I have to explain this to hopeful self published authors who reach out to us with their books. Booksellers are among the kindest, most generous people I know, but we're still running businesses, and we can't afford to carry largely cheap-looking books that we have to sell at cost.

Im not saying all this to break your hearts or discourage you. I just don't want to see you crushed the way I've seen other authors destroyed because they signed the rights to their babies away to predatory junk publishers or lost their dream to obscurity by self publishing. And once your book has been badly published, no major houses will touch you.

If you really want to publish and can't seem to break through in the big five, research small presses who publish the types of books you write. They have the things you need to make your book a success without as much gatekeeping.

I would also strongly encourage you to get intimate with your local writing and bookselling communities. Go to readings at your local store. Go to book fests and join writing workshops. This is where you'll meet people who will support you and offer you resources to make it if they are able (not to mention they're mostly just lovely humans to get to know.)

Keep writing. Research publishing and the advantages and disadvantages of large and small presses. Go after your dream. I want you all to succeed so badly.

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I have two modes which is “the religion of my fantasy WIP needs to be as closely related to Irish mythology as humanly possible” and “fuck it, it’s fantasy, I can just take the vague information available and run with it” and my life is just a constant cycle of switching back and forth between the two

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I would not be surprised if that metal has caused deaths, but I think that since it’s used to fix broken hurley sticks then there’s technically a reason to allow it in games. I think that under 12 hurley games have banned the metal as well though, for the wee ones safety like.

And yes if the English do invade again I’m running to the nearest O’Neill’s shop to grab all the hurley balls. And I’ll probably take a few Gaelic football ones too bc those are really painful as well 😂

On the topic of camogie sticks being used as weapons, Eoin Colfer (who wrote artemis fowl) wrote an Iron Man novel in which Tony Stark goes to Ireland, and someone gets killed by a whack to the head with a hurley! It's v gruesome tho, according to my brother

1) I love your username

2) Hurley and camogie sticks could probably be used to win wars and the ones with the metal bands around them (which I think have been banned from official matches by the GAA) could be classed as weapons of mass destruction. More series should be set in Ireland to better make use of them as fantasy weapons

(For anyone wondering, this is what hurley/camogie sticks look like)

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Imagine being THIS talented at writing

Villains of TTK~ Mael

"He's not one to share his toys. He will break them to pieces rather than suffer them lost or in the hands of another." John's voice is sober, distant and delicate as if he were trying swallow a blade. "Broken and cracked, they are his, until he breaks us too much and then he moves onto the next toy."

Taglist: @authoressasusual @you-reblogged-from @word-by-word @trapped-inadystopianovel @wanderingalonelypath @mysthicrider @thebestmollygrue @reignnyx @writinglyra @anomaly00 @thewordsinthesky-andstars @heldinhishands @ladywithalamp @scribonaut @dawnoftheagez @writing-in-rain @paperandredink @saxoniowrites @writeblrfantasy @mayawritesbooks @valiant-wielder @treesandwords @nicopeppah @ink-and-stories @ezra-ezra-ezra @dragonauthor @violetcancerian @cheeseplatypusandiceskates

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Derek Murphy:

This free video workshop is a 10-step series on book formatting in Microsoft Word. We’ll go through everything you need to do to format a book from scratch for print-ready PDFs you can use with print on demand publishing services like Createspace or Lightning Source. I used Word 2016 for these videos, but almost all the features are identical to earlier version of Word. […]

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just wanted to let you know

i’m really gay for grace cleves

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When I went to see Six in November of 2018, during the first tour, I had Grace Parr, which was a last minute thing, and Lexi was in a chair for everything except GD and megasix

To be honest, while I do think the tour should have had another alt to ease the burden on Grace and the other actresses a little, I feel like this sort of situation is more understandable. They were just starting out and probably didn’t have much money to play about with. But now? Six is literally on top of the west end and has enough money to run 7 productions at once. They can definitely afford another alt for every production to make sure that their actresses aren’t constantly overworked...and just always have main cast members? Injuries you can’t help but like when you KNOW someone is leaving then get some sort of replacement? Even if it’s just temporary until the full time replacement comes? It isn’t rocket science DONT WILLINGLY LET THERE BE NO PRINCIPLE???