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The Suffolk Tudor home of Susan Ownes and Stephen Calloway. Photo by Christopher Horwood

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I love Thailand

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How to Improve Your Dialogue

Hey all! I work as an editor, so I decided to start including more writing advice on my blog in addition to my own writing. I hope this article is helpful to some of you.

One of the biggest problems I see in beginning fiction writers’ dialogue is a lack of conflict.

(Come to think of it, one of the biggest problems I see in general is a lack of conflict, but that’s another post.)

Good dialogue, like a good story, should be rich with conflict. There are exceptions – most notably in a story’s ending or in brief, interspersed moments when you want to slow down the pace. But as a general guideline, dialogue without conflict gets boring very quickly. Here’s a classic example:

“Hi,” Lisa said. “Hey,” José said. “How are you?” “Fine. You?” “Doing all right.” Lisa handed José a turkey sandwich. “Would you like a sandwich? I made two.” “Sure, thanks.”

Okay, that’s enough. I won’t continue to torture you. Not only is there no conflict between the two characters who are speaking, but there’s no conflict anywhere to be seen.

The bad news is that if you write something like this you will bore your reader to tears.

The good news is that there are lots of ways to add conflict to dialogue. Once you know how to do it, you can make just about any scene pop with tension.

Keep reading

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October On The Backroads

Iowa, USA2017

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Tips and Tricks for Writing With ADHD

We all face different challenges as writers, so of course there are many different strategies you can try to bring your story to completion. If you’re a writer with ADHD, NaNoWriMo participant Lila Krishna has a few tips and tricks you can try to stay focused:

As a teenager, I’d begin a new novel once every few months. By 20, I had under my belt 17 different first chapters, around 8 second chapters—and little else. A decade later, I was diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder. Shocker, I know. 

While ADHD is one of the most well-documented mental health issues, a task like writing brings with it some unique challenges. Its unstructured nature is both a blessing and a curse for those of us who are neuro-atypical. 

Here are some common problems I came across in my journey as a writer with ADHD. These issues are some that are common across the writing community, but those of us with ADHD often need to go above and beyond commonly-offered answers to find long-lasting and sustainable solutions that make writing an easier, less-frustrating, and more productive hobby. 

Problem: Help! I go down internet rabbit holes a lot while writing! 

Keep reading

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Moodboard for @astrobiojournal

🌻Botany student

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Photo: Peter Murdock

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ig: maw_reads 🍁

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WRITING EXERCISE WORKSHEETS (vol. 1)

Volume 1 of many in my endless gratitude for everyone’s support!

They are Google Docs meant to be printed or copied (File > Make a Copy) and used for writing exercises. I hope you like them and please please please let me know if you use them and find them helpful! It’s what I live for.

Character Building Questions worksheet

Relationship Interview worksheet

Beta Questionnaire worksheet

(I also made them all by myself and worked really hard on them, so please don’t repost, just reblog this! Thank you!)

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thanksalatteblog

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how write characters smarter than you

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Writers As Kinds of Tea

Jasmine: Gentle, flowery prose with beautiful romantic storylines. They’re a staple of indie and traditional writing. They usually are sweet and their characters tend to be gentle and warm. They collect pretty candles and their moodboards are very neat. 

Earl Grey: This writer is in the quiet libraries. They are always enthusiastic about writing, then they get on the computer and goof off on tumblr. They do eventually write, little by little. Their characters aren’t always the strongest, but their worldbuilding is on point. 

Chai: These are the ones who are up all night writing. Their action scenes and villains are electric and their romances fiery. They’re the strongest when it’s 2 am and they’re hopped up on sugar and paranoia. They do NaNo every year and they have like 90 WIPs. 

Lemon Ginger: Smut Sneakers. Now, these writers are amazing at setting everything up and then suddenly, when you’re at the bottom of the cup… It’s lemony, spicy smut that hits you in the stomach. They’re fun and bouncy and great at comforting people. 

Darjeeling: These are the sci-fi writers who write about beautiful distant planets. They collect stationary and make moodboards instead of writing. They are down-to earth and write some of most tearjerking angst you will ever read. 

Matcha: These are the short story writers. Their stories are fluffy and warm and leave you feeling energetic. They have a gentle prose and the fluff they write pulls you in until you safe and warm. 

Orange Pekoe: They’re not very good under pressure, but they’re trying damnit. Most of their stuff is dark and terrifying and needs to have milk and sugar added to it. They like dystopias, monsters and apocalypses. 

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My mood currently.

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Fictional Kiss Prompts

So I borrowed a bunch of these fictional kisses from this post and made it up into a prompt list. Feel free to reblog of course!

breaking the kiss to say something, staying so close that you’re murmuring into each other’s mouths

moving around while kissing, stumbling over things, pushing each other back against the wall/onto the bed

kissing so desperately that their whole body curves into the other person’s 

throwing their arms around the other person, holding them close while they kiss

hands on the other person’s back, fingertips pressing under their top, drawing gentle circles against that small strip of bare skin that make them break the kiss with a gasp

lazy morning kisses before they’ve even opened their eyes, still mumbling half-incoherently, not wanting to wake up

routine kisses where the other person presents their cheek/forehead for the hello/goodbye kiss without even looking up from what they’re doing

being unable to open their eyes for a few moments afterward

one small kiss, pulling away for an instant, then devouring each other

staring at the other’s lips, trying not to kiss them, before giving in

when one stops the kiss to whisper “I’m sorry, are you sure you-” and they answer by kissing them more

a hoarse whisper “kiss me”

following the kiss with a series of kisses down the neck

starting with a kiss meant to be gentle, ending up in passion

a gentle “i love you” whispered after a soft kiss, followed immediately by a stronger kiss

when one person’s face is scrunched up, and the other one kisses their lips/nose/forehead

height difference kisses where one person has to bend do wn and the other is on their tippy toes

kisses where one person is sitting in the other’s lap

kisses meant to distract the other person from whatever they were intently doing

top of head kisses