writingandcoffeehouse

[writingandcoffeehouse]

“Life is hopelessly frayed, all loose ends.”

— My Life: A name trimmed with colored ribbons, Lyn Hejinian

[writingandcoffeehouse]

How to write a morally gray character:

Have their ideals be right but their methods be wrong

Make it seem like their dastardly methods are really the only way to achieve the goal for the “greater good.”

Have them develop from a flat antagonist to a well-rounded protagonist

How to not write a morally gray character

wah my childhood was hard

[writingandcoffeehouse]

You’re writing PTSD dreams wrong

But don’t worry, most writers are and I’m here to help because reading them is making me cRAzY.

I’m writing this because I’ve read three otherwise great romance novels back to back featuring characters dealing with PTSD (or PTSD symptoms) and each one of them made the same dream mistakes. I honestly can’t think of a fiction book I’ve read that didn’t make these mistakes, so I thought I’d compile a handy dandy list of mistakes and how to fix them. 

Lucky for you, I have PTSD and a ton of fellow veteran friends who deal with these symptoms. 

*This is based on my experience and things told to me by friends. This is not to say that the below doesn’t happen in real life, only that it’s not as common as you might think.

The issue with these dreams is twofold: on one side is the psychological accuracy of the dream and on the other side is how you’re using the dream within the narrative.

Oh an Black Sails spoilers-ish ahead. 

1) Stop writing the dream as a shot-by-shot accurate retelling of Traumatic Event.

Listen, not only do dreams seldom follow reality, but our own memories are tricky at best. I don’t remember getting beaten up because a) it was horrifying and we block stuff like that out and b) I was going in and out of consciousness. It would be pretty strange for me to dream something I don’t even fully remember. Our brains are simply not wired to do these vivid factually-accurate cinematic retellings.

My friend dreams things that did happen, but in his own words those dreams are always wrong in some noticeable or bizarre way. For instance, he’s getting chased through the streets of Iraq by a werewolf. 

2) Dreams are informed by reality, not direct reflections of it. 

It’s entirely likely my friend dreamt of a werewolf in Iraq because I got him binge watching Supernatural and the two ideas merged in his dreamstate. But see, that’s how dreams work. 

The trauma event exists as a constant in his subconscious, but he has all this other information right there in his conscious mind all day, every day. In dreams, there isn’t a clear delineation between that information.

My dreams are often dependent on whatever I’ve fallen asleep watching on television. The themes are consistent, but not the content.

In Black Sails, Captain Flint’s trauma dreams feature his dead partner and friend following him around his empty ship. You have an element of the trauma (the animated corpse of his friend) + his daily existence (his ship). The two things intersect to form these unsettling nightmares as expressions of his fears and grief. He never once relives the event itself in his dreams as shown on screen.

Speaking of…

3) Trauma dreams often revolve around feelings, not necessarily the events themselves.

The PTSD package generally includes heaps of shame, guilt, anger and fear. As someone who survived a beating when I should have had control of the situation, my dreams tend to revolve around fear that people will know I’m a fraud or being unable to act in a dangerous situation. 

Again, it’s entirely common for trauma victims to not remember large chunks (or the whole thing) of the trauma event. So why should their dreams be stunningly accurate? What we remember are feelings. Real strong feelings.

You cannot go wrong if you write your trauma dream around feelings, not a specific event.

4) If you present trauma dreams as expressions of themes, you can let go of the trauma dream as an exposition dump/way overused suspense trope.

You know you’ve read this: MC has dreams that are a shot-by-shot retelling of Traumatic Event that always cut off right before Traumatic Event, so that the Big Reveal must happen by a discovery later in the novel. 

If I were the MC in a book, the easy and common thing would be to use the “dream sequence” as an expository retelling of Traumatic Event as a way to give some backstory to why I might be surly, mistrustful, afraid to try something new, whatever, and to clumsily shoehorn in suspense where there doesn’t need to be.

The much more interesting thing might be if my dreams were inconsistent in content but consistent in theme. In one I’m on an alien planet (because I fell asleep watching the Science Channel again) and the ground opens up and I fall into a pit from which I can’t escape because I am helpless. In another a man is watching me while I sleep where I am again frozen and helpless. This would force the reader to think: what is the recurring issue in these dreams? Why is it important? What is this telling me about this character and what happened to her? 

It could be a personal preference, but I’d rather see the Traumatic Event either told in narrative flashbacks (not dreams) or verbally retold by the character in question. Let the dreams tell me something deeper about the character. It’s not that I was beat up, it’s that I feel like a failure because of it. One of these things is a shallow factual detail, the other tells you something about me as a person that I’m sharing with you, gentle reader, because talking about this stuff is healthy.

5) The Traumatic Event doesn’t have to be a big secret. 

In Black Sails, we know what happened to Captain Flint’s partner. It happened in real time in the show. That didn’t make his uber disturbing dreams less disturbing or mysterious. Fans still debate exactly what the symbolism was and what they were telling us about James Flint in those moments. We do know from the dreams that he was disturbed, obsessed, and also monumentally guilty and blaming himself for what happened. 

The mystery was perhaps more heightened by the fact that the dreams weren’t direct reflections of reality. We know who this person was, what she believed, and why she died. That Flint is imagining her screaming silently in his ear is horrifying and discordant with what we know to be factual. This adds emotional complexity to his character and the decisions he’s making while suffering these dreams. 

^^^this didn’t happen. It was a dream. A real unsettling dream.

Once you let go of the concept of the trauma dream as a literal retelling and exposition dump, you have the entire dreamscape to work in other narrative elements, like symbolism, metaphor, foreshadowing, etc. 

*1st gif source: @idontwikeit

[writingandcoffeehouse]

“It is not impermanence that makes us suffer. What makes us suffer is wanting things to be permanent when they are not.”

— Thich Nhat Hanh

[writingandcoffeehouse]

Quick Writing Tip: How to Train Yourself to Write Faster

Have you ever heard of “Parkinson’s Law”? It’s the adage that “work expands so as to fill the time available for its completion.” If you apply that to writing, it means that if you give yourself two hours to write two hundred words, it will take two hours. But if you give yourself thirty minutes, it will take thirty minutes.

Of course, there’s a limit to how fast you can write. But if you are frustrated with your slow speed, try this training exercise: time yourself.

Choose a word count goal and set a timer for 25 minutes or less.

In the beginning, be easy on yourself. Try giving yourself the goal of 100 words in 25 minutes. If that seems easy, increase the word count goal or decrease the time until you find a speed that’s doable but not completely overwhelming.

I used to be a reaaaaaaally slow writer, until I figured out that if I completely focused under a ticking clock, I could write 500 words in 25 minutes. No distractions, no time for research, no making cups of tea or answering the phone. Just straight writing. Suddenly my word count goal of 1,000 words a day seemed ridiculously easy. Whereas before I would languish for hours at the screen, drawing blanks and getting distracted, now all I had to do was two laser-focus sessions of 25 minutes each. No problem!

Your word count goals might be different, and you might find that timed writing is not for you. But if you do try it, I recommend you do a timed session that’s not very long–5, 10, 15, 20, or 25 minutes at most.

The reason you want to stay to 25 minutes or under is that anything over that you run the risk of getting tired and distracted.

If your mind is really prone to distraction, or if 25 minutes seems like a long time, start with 5 or 10 minutes.

You might be amazed how much you can get down with a concrete deadline.

A few more tips:

I like to use the Howler Timer for Mac because instead of obnoxious beeping, it makes lovely animal noises. You can download it for free.

Turn off your phone.

Turn off all social media.

Make sure you have everything you need for your session, so that when you click “start” on the timer you’re ready to go. Personally, I go to the bathroom and make sure I have anything I want to drink before I start my 25 minute session.

Let others know not to bother you. If possible, shut the door to your room. If you can’t get away from people, at least wear headphones to discourage anyone from talking to you.

If you have to stop for a good reason, pause the timer and re-start it once you’re writing again. (The idea here is to really train yourself about the difference between “on” and “off” time when it comes to your writing.)

You can spend a few minutes thinking about what you’ll write before starting, but don’t get sucked into thinking or outlining for longer than 5 minutes. The goal of this exercise is to get yourself out of your head and force you to put words on the page more quickly. Don’t postpone starting the timer because you’re scared.

If you wrote as fast as you could and stayed as focused as possible but didn’t make your word goal, it’s okay!! You are practicing, and the more you work at it the better you will get.

Also, if you try this a few times and it’s really not for you–maybe it’s too overwhelming, or stressful, or makes writing harder instead of easier for some reason–that’s totally fine, too! Don’t beat yourself up. There are lots of successful slow writers out there.

How about you all? Have you ever tried to train yourself to write faster? What were the results? Anything to add to this list?

//////////////

The Literary Architect is a writing advice blog run by me, Bucket Siler. For more writing help, check out my Free Resource Library or get The Complete Guide to Self-Editing for Fiction Writers. xoxo

[writingandcoffeehouse]

Sometimes you just have to start 13 shitty wips in order to get to a story you really wanna write.

[writingandcoffeehouse]

Y’know, NaNoWriMo isn’t actually about getting 50,000 words in 30 days

Yeah, that’s the Goal – but it’s not what it’s about

NaNoWriMo is about sitting down, starting a project, and learning to manage that project and keep going even when it gets hard

it’s about building skills and forming habits and developing discipline and learning more about yourself as a creator so you can get a sense for what writing methods do/don’t work for you

its about trying things – about making discoveries and making mistakes, and about making progress without getting mired in the minutia so you end the month with more words than you had when you started

It’s framed like a contest ‘cause goals and prizes make things fun, but you’re only really playing against yourself

50,000 words is only a target to shoot for ‘cause without a target it’s pretty hard to practice your aim

[writingandcoffeehouse]

[writingandcoffeehouse]

The book I'm writing has quite a lot a fight scenes in it, the only problem is I'm not good at writing them. I don't know how to describe it: when punches are supposed to be thrown, when they connect, when they miss, or really just anything in general. Could you give me a few tips on how to write a fight scene? Thanks.

First off, I reccommend thee to @howtofightwrite​ for all future fight questions.

Fight Scene Reference List Time!

How To Write Fight Scenes With Alan Baxter

Tea Party or Fist Fights?

Realistic Fighting Abilities in Fiction

3 Keys to Fight Scenes with Injured Characters 

How to Write a Fight Scene Readers Will Love 

Writing Techniques for Fight Scenes 

How to Write Action That Won’t Show You’ve Never Thrown a Punch

My personal advice for inexperienced action writers, do your best to breeze over the conflict when you can (”Once I’d knocked out the guards…”) or make those fight scenes short. Doesn’t matter if it’s an hour-long boxing match (ouch) make it read like twenty seconds (unless the boxing match is the most important part of the story in which case ignore me). 

Point is, most of your readers neither understand nor care how a fight scene works, but the ones that do will get annoyed quickly if you do it wrong. Watch your footwork and tread carefully.

Ko-Fi // Wattpad // Goodreads // Pinterest

[writingandcoffeehouse]

“The night is for lovers, And the moon for poets.”

— a.y.

[writingandcoffeehouse]

“I write because you exist.”

— Michael Faudet

[writingandcoffeehouse]

Throwing A Twist On Famous Writing Tropes

Hi everyone! Here are some ways to throw a few twists on popular cliches that are so beloved, they are practically unavoidable at times, whether that’s a good or bad thing.

Love Triangle

In terms of YA fiction, it is easier to name novels that have love triangles than ones without one. Here are some ways to change that up a bit.

Don’t have your character choose between them.

It is typically a girl and 2 boys. Change up the gender norm in this trope.

Let your character pick the wrong one.

Let one of them actually not be in love, but your character is in love with them while the other person actually does love your character.

If your character picks neither, have the 2 rejects become friends or maybe even date each other.

Characters With No Experience Are Better Than Experts

I understand if your fantasy character is suppose to probably have hidden powers they did not know about, but even if they are destined to be the greatest, it is unlikely that they can handle someone who has been doing what they can do for years.

Have your character lose several times.

Give the expert a reason as to why they might lose against the character with no experience.

Let your characters actually have experience before going into said situation.

Point out the motivations your character has that the expert does not.

Don’t make your character the greatest. Just because they can do it doesn’t mean they have to be the best. Or if they do, make is based on something more than just talent.

Hatred Becomes Romance

Sometimes, this is annoying. Sometimes, it’s adorable. If applying the word “hatred” loosely, and more so annoyance, Harry Potter’s Ron and Hermione make a great example, or even Peter and Katniss from The Hunger Games.

Don’t have them actually hate each other. That can be a bit unrealistic.

Keep the bickering lighthearted.

Don’t make the hatred result in racist, sexist, or homophobic acts, or anything unforgivable. Not only is it unrealistic, but it is disrespectful.

Give reason as to why they hate each other, and not just because you want them to hate each other just so they can end up together later.

Let them go back and forth between “hatred” and romance.

The Ugly Beauty Queen & Good Looking Characters

For the cliche characters that don’t see their own beauty but everyone else does...

Make your character aware of their beauty. It’s not conceited to know you look good.

Don’t let your character be attractive. Average people exist.

Don’t let appearance be the sole reason we should like your character, especially the handsome badass guy.

Give your character physical strengths that are considered “unattractive” but it’s seen as beautiful.

Don’t make someone suddenly interested in your character once they go through a “big reveal” unless you intentionally want to show them as a jerk.

[writingandcoffeehouse]

“I remember not being able to sleep, the moon crying in my mouth,”

— ‘So Many Rooms Has a House but One Roof,’ a poem by Margaret Randall

[writingandcoffeehouse]

“Sometimes, forever does not mean eternity. It means a few little moments of pure joy, and the world is forgotten for a while. Sometimes, such short forevers means more than everything.”

— Lukas W. // Such forevers (via somepiecesofmyheartandsoul)

[writingandcoffeehouse]

Hi! So I have trouble coming up with ideas for how to flesh out my characters and the plot. My characters are very 2D and I never know what should happen next. Do you have any advice for how to get the creative juices flowing?

Fleshing Out Flat Characters

If you haven’t already, take a spin through my character section. The best way to flesh out your character is to figure out the following:

their three best personality traits

their best talents/skills

their worst flaws

what others think of them

what they think of themselves

the internal flaw that holds them back and must change

how this flaw affects their daily life

what caused this flaw to exist

the big life lesson they must learn before they can change

what their life has been like so far

who their family and friends are

what their normal/daily life is like when the story starts

Once I have all of this figured out, I love to cast my characters. I have two rules for casting: 1) All of the above has to be figured out first, as well as appearance (preferably), 2) Try to avoid using actors/models you’re really familiar with. Faceclaim lists/sites are helpful.

Casting is a great way to round out your characters in your mind, because just as with reading a book when you’ve already seen the movie, your brain tends to create an amalgam of the movie actor and what you personally imagine as you read. The same happens here. Your brain has probably already created an image of this character, so the actor/model will meld with that to create a really solid version in your head. It will be much easier to imagine them talking, moving, and reacting.

Good luck! :)

[writingandcoffeehouse]

you can’t have fire with no spark—

i told you i loved you

and i wasn’t ashamed of it-

i fell at your feet and

i told you i couldn’t help

but love you.

you looked down at me

and said:

“hey man that’s pretty cool,

but there’s this girl with hair

so red it reminds me of your poetry

but without all the fuss,

kind of a shame you feel

that way because

no strings attached felt

pretty good-

sorry man, can we try

this again but without the

spark?”

~lily

[writingandcoffeehouse]

“The rain is full of ghosts tonight.”

— Edna St. Vincent Millay