stargazersjournal

[stargazersjournal]

some fucking resources for all ur writing fuckin needs

* body language masterlist

* a translator that doesn’t eat ass like google translate does

* a reverse dictionary for when ur brain freezes

* 550 words to say instead of fuckin said

* 638 character traits for when ur brain freezes again

* some more body language help

(hope this helps some ppl)

[stargazersjournal]

Quick editing tip: Passing time

Hey all, here’s a quick tip about showing the passage of short amounts of time in a scene. I see a lot of beats like this:

She hesitated

He paused

A few seconds later

There was a long silence

He waited for her to answer

She didn’t respond

Instead of telling us there’s a brief moment of silence or pause in your scene, try showing us by creating the feeling that time has passed through action, description, or inner monologue. Here are a few examples.

Before:

“Are you coming or not?”

He waited for her to answer, but she didn’t respond.

“Clare? Did you hear me?”

“Huh?”

After:

“Are you coming or not?”

Clare scrolled through her phone, her face illuminating with a eerie blue glow.

“Clare? Did you hear me?”

“Huh?”

Before:

Jared lingered at the suspect’s front gate. If this guy didn’t answer Jared’s questions, he was screwed.

“Hey you!” a voice shouted. “Get off my property!”

Jared hesitated. Finally, he turned to face the man. “I’m afraid I can’t do that.”

After:

Jared lingered at the suspect’s front gate. If this guy didn’t answer Jared’s questions, he was screwed.

“Hey you!” a voice shouted. “Get off my property!”

Jared patted his holster. He had a gun, but he certainly didn’t want to use it. Taking a deep breath, he turned to face the man. “I’m afraid I can’t do that.”

Not only does creating a pause instead of describing a pause allow your reader to feel the moment more vividly, it gives you a chance to explain what exactly that pause is about. People hesitate, pause, don’t respond, etc. for all kinds of reasons. Give us as much insight as you can into your weird quiet moment.

Of course, you don’t need to do this every single time. Sometimes it’s fine to say “he paused” or “the room was quiet for a moment”—it could be the best choice for that scene. But look back through your draft and see if you’ve used those “telling” descriptions more often than you needed to. If so, try to create the feeling of a pause—perhaps one that gives the reader a bit more information—using these techniques.

Hope this helps!

[stargazersjournal]

Cheat Sheets for Writing Body Language

We are always told to use body language in our writing. Sometimes, it’s easier said than written. I decided to create these cheat sheets to help you show a character’s state of mind. Obviously, a character may exhibit a number of these behaviours. For example, he may be shocked and angry, or shocked and happy. Use these combinations as needed.

by Amanda Patterson

[stargazersjournal]

a horror film not being scary isnt a bad thing. horror is supposed to HORRIFY, and conflating it with this obsession with scares has really messed with the genre imo. its why so many films are ineffective with audiences, because they leave no lasting impression due to the fact that filmmakers are focusing so muchon trying to scare you and not actually exploring things that deeply unsettle us.

[stargazersjournal]

The Unenjoyable Art of Being Let Down (by a book)

The pleasure of finding a great book is a truly fantastic feeling—it’s incredible to feel that elation that follows you throughout the story and off the final page, leaving you grinning like a besotted idiot. I had that happen recently for a novel I’ll be talking about in another post, and I spent the rest of the day puttering around with the thoughts of the story circling in my head nonstop (in a good way).

However, this means that there are other times where the opposite happens too. Times where you’re reminded that not every book is good, and you wonder what lapse of judgement allowed such a disappointment to not only be written, but to also pass through the entire publishing process. It baffles us that this story was written, sent to a publisher, approved, copy-edited, discussed, copy-edited some more, proofread, and finally assigned a cover before being sent out to print.

Before anyone points it out: yes, I am aware that sometimes it comes down to a matter of opinion and it is something I keep in mind when I come away from a book less than satisfied. As a storyteller and writer myself, I’ve learnt through both education and personal experience that it’s important to remember many factors are involved with the craft of storytelling.

One of those is the target audience—who is the story written for? If you read a book intended for children, then it’s not exactly fair to criticise it for its lack of depth and attention to real issues. Another factor is what genre/sub-genre is it a part of. Getting upset because of how many characters get hurt and/or die when you’re reading a horror novel is just pointless, especially if you’re already familiar with the tropes of the genre. You need to remember that you’re in control of the content you consume, and so it’s your responsibility to do some basic research into a genre before you enter.

With elements like those in mind, the disappointment I’m talking about comes from when it’s something you can’t prepare for without spoiling the plot. An example on my part was when I was still in high school, I read a book targeted at my age demographic and ended up carrying a great sense of irritation after finishing it. Even though someone could probably find out which book I’m referring to if they search hard enough, I won’t say which one it was, as this very much can be considered as an opinion (as well as the fact that the author is still alive and writing to this day).

What happened was that I’d plucked this novel off the shelf in my local library whilst looking for something new to delve into and I was intrigued by the blurb. What appealed to me beyond the blurb was that the protagonist was a girl and one of the key characters was autistic; I was excited at the chance to read from a different perspective beside the typical neurotypical thought process. Plus the blurb had no mention of a male love interest, which was often a huge indicator of whether or not there’d be romance in the story (I’ll discuss my “aversion” to romance in a later post).

It was much to my dismay that the further into the book I got, the more my expectations were slashed down. I discovered that the autistic character was treated terribly, being considered as a burden by the other characters for the fact that they didn’t understand the situation the exact same way as the others did. It also turned out that there was, in fact, a love interest and proved to be very much like a deus ex machina as he was here to rescue the protagonist and obviously more capable than she was. I recall the story getting progressively worse from there, with concerning themes such as issues of dubious consent between the characters.

I still think about that book to this day and it still fuels that tiny bit of residual anger. What upset me the most at the time was not the treatment of the autistic character nor the appearance of the stereotypical rescuer/love interest—it was the fact that the concept was wasted on a dubious love story. It makes me wonder how many fantastic book ideas are out there soiled by their own writers.

If anything positive came out of this, it’s that I’ve found a way to release my disappointment with these novels. While I love recommending books to my friends and peers, I equally enjoy unrecommending them too. I tell them to beware this book because it’s too tropey and cliché and to avoid that book because it has some dodgy issues like incest in it. That way, I can prevent others from being let down by the same novels I have. It’s also equally as fun to rant about how bad a book is as it is to gush about a great one.

So please, if anyone has any books they want to unrecommend, feel free to share them and why they let you down. I’ll be eagerly awaiting.

[stargazersjournal]

I firmly believe that how feminist a book is is better demonstrated by its background characters rather than its mains

[stargazersjournal]

“After learning my flight was detained 4 hours, I heard the announcement: if anyone in the vicinity of gate 4-A understands any Arabic, please come to the gate immediately. Well—one pauses these days. Gate 4-A was my own gate. I went there. An older woman in full traditional Palestinian dress, just like my grandma wore, was crumpled to the floor, wailing loudly. Help, said the flight service person. Talk to her. What is her problem? We told her the flight was going to be four hours late and she did this. I put my arm around her and spoke to her haltingly. Shu dow-a, shu-biduck habibti, stani stani schway, min fadlick, sho bit se-wee? The minute she heard any words she knew—however poorly used—she stopped crying. She thought our flight had been canceled entirely. She needed to be in El Paso for some major medical treatment the following day. I said no, no, we’re fine, you’ll get there, just late. Who is picking you up? Let’s call him and tell him. We called her son and I spoke with him in English. I told him I would stay with his mother until we got on the plane and would ride next to her—Southwest. She talked to him. Then we called her other sons just for the fun of it. Then we called my dad and he and she spoke for a while in Arabic and found out, of course, they had ten shared friends. Then I thought just for the heck of it why not call some Palestinian poets I know and let them chat with her. This all took up about 2 hours. She was laughing a lot by then. Telling about her life. Answering questions. She had pulled a sack of homemade mamool cookies—little powdered sugar crumbly mounds stuffed with dates and nuts—out of her bag—and was offering them to all the women at the gate. To my amazement, not a single woman declined one. It was like a sacrament. The traveler from Argentina, the traveler from California, the lovely woman from Laredo—we were all covered with the same powdered sugar. And smiling. There are no better cookies. And then the airline broke out the free beverages from huge coolers—non-alcoholic—and the two little girls from our flight, one African American, one Mexican American—ran around serving us all apple juice and lemonade, and they were covered with powdered sugar, too. And I noticed my new best friend—by now we were holding hands—had a potted plant poking out of her bag, some medicinal thing with green furry leaves. Such an old country traveling tradition. Always carry a plant. Always stay rooted to somewhere. And I looked around that gate of late and weary ones and thought, this is the world I want to live in. The shared world. Not a single person in this gate—once the crying of confusion stopped—has seemed apprehensive about any other person. They took the cookies. I wanted to hug all those other women, too. This can still happen anywhere. Not everything is lost.”

— Naomi Shihab Nye (b. 1952), “Wandering Around an Albuquerque Airport Terminal.”

[stargazersjournal]

more on writing muslim characters from a hijabi muslim girl

- hijabis get really excited over pretty scarves - they also like to collect pins and brooches - we get asked a lot of questions and it can be annoying or it can be amusing, just depends on our mood and personality and how the question is phrased - common questions include: - “not even water?” (referring to fasting) - hijabis hear a lot of “do you sleep in that?” (we don’t) and “where is your hair?” (in a bun or a braid, usually) - “is it mooze-slim or mozzlem?” (the answer is neither, it’s muslim, with a soft s and accent on the first syllable) - “ee-slam or iz-lamb?” (it’s iss-laam, accent on the first syllable) - “hee-job?” (heh-jahb, accent on the second syllable)

- “kor-an?” (no. quran. say it like koor-annn, accent on the second syllable) - people tend to mess up our names really badly and you just get a sigh and a resigned nod or an awkward smile, maybe a nickname instead - long hair is easy to hide, short hair is harder to wrap up - hijab isn’t just covering hair, it’s also showing as little skin as possible with the exception of face, hands, and feet, and not wearing tight/sheer clothing - that applies to men too, people just don’t like to mention it ( i wonder why) - henna/mehendi isn’t just for special occasions, you’ll see people wearing it for fun - henna/mehendi isn’t just for muslims, either, it’s not a religious thing - henna/mehendi is not just for women, men also wear it, especially on their weddings - there are big mehendi parties in the couple of nights before eid where people (usually just women and kids) gather and do each other’s mehendi, usually just hands and feet - five daily prayers - most muslim kids can stutter through a couple verses of quran in the original arabic text by the age of seven or eight, it does not matter where they live or where they’re from or what language they speak natively - muslim families tend to have multiple copies of the quran - there are no “versions” of the quran, there has only ever been one. all muslims follow the exact same book - muslims have no concept of taking God’s name in vain, we call on God at every little inconvenience - don’t use islamic phrases if you don’t know what they mean or how to use them. we use them often, inside and outside of religious settings. in islam, it is encouraged to mention God often and we say these things very casually, but we take them very seriously - Allahu Akbar means “God is Greatest” (often said when something shocks or surprises us, or if we’re scared or daunted, or when something amazing happens, whether it be good or bad; it’s like saying “oh my god”) - Subhan Allah means “Glory be to God” (i say subhan Allah at the sky, at babies, at trees, whatever strikes me as pleasant, especially if it’s in nature) - Bismillah means “in the name of God” and it’s just something you say before you start something like eating or doing your homework - In Shaa Allah means “if God wills” (example: you’ll be famous, in shaa Allah) (it’s a reminder that the future is in God’s hands, so be humble and be hopeful)

- Astaghfirullah means “i seek forgiveness from Allah” and it’s like “god forgive me” - Alhamdulillah means “all thanks and praise belong to God” and it’s just a little bit more serious than saying “thank god” (example: i passed my exams, alhamdulillah; i made it home okay, alhamdulillah) - when i say we use them casually, i really mean it - teacher forgot to assign homework? Alhamdulillah - our version of “amen” is “ameen” - muslims greet each other with “assalamu alaikum” which just means “peace be on you” and it’s like saying hi - the proper response is “walaikum assalam” which means “and on you be peace” and it’s like saying “you too”

[stargazersjournal]

The comic I started on the Chibirdversary stream yesterday!! 🎉 I had so much fun with you all, through all the sneezing and crying, knocking over my my plushes, and desperately trying to read the speeding chat while drawing! I’m honestly still so shocked and full of love from the surprise site yesterday (up for eternity at chibird.com/chibird10), and I’m so thankful for all my loved ones and friends who helped put it together and contributed pieces.

I was told that people were commenting “chiburger” and “chicken sandwich” in chat as I was drawing the 3rd slide, and I thought that was so hilarious I put it in! (≧▽≦) Thank you all so much for coming to the livestream! I have seriously the kindest, most positive community, and you all make me feel so loved! 😭❤

[stargazersjournal]

A little PSA for people who use AO3…

Gen refers to fic that is not focused on romance. If your fic is not a romance fic, please give it this tag.

Other refers to fic that is focused on romance, but is not specifically male/female, male/male, or female/female (like an OT3 (ship involving 3 people), a ship involving characters that are not male or female, etc). IT IS NOT FOR PLATONIC RELATIONSHIPS. IT IS FOR ROMANTIC ONES. please for the love of all that is holy do not tag your family-relationship-centered fics as “other” you are going to give people a HEART ATTACK.

“Character/Character” is for romantic pairs. “Character & Character” is for platonic relationships like friendship, family, etc. Please do not tag family-centered or adult-and-minor-centered platonic character relationships as character/character for the love of all that is holy

The E rating is for smut and literally nothing else (unless you have other unusual reasons to rate it E–I’ve seen people apply it to non-smut fics as a deterrent to keep minors away from it, but keep in mind it’ll make it so people who are trying to avoid smut will not find your fic). Your fic that has a lot of graphic violence but no sexual content does not need an E rating.

The M rating is for fics that would basically be rated R if they were movies, and may contain graphic violence, some sexual content, and generally more serious subject matter than you would typically show a teenager. However, if your fic is almost entirely smut, please just give it an E rating.

Also, when you post a fic, you WILL want to give it a rating, or else AO3 will assume you’re probably posting smut and will warn everybody who clicks on your fic that it may contain adult content. If you don’t want that on your fic that contains no adult content at all, please just give it the proper rating instead of not rating it at all.

this post brought to you by PLEASE LEARN HOW THE TAGGING SYSTEM ON THIS WEBSITE WORKS YOU ARE GOING TO GIVE EVERYONE A HEART ATTACK

[stargazersjournal]

Me, sitting down to write: And in this chapter, the characters figure out a solution to this big annoying problem!

Me: 

Me, paling: I…have to figure out a solution to this big annoying problem.

[stargazersjournal]

me, having deeply fallen out of the practice of writing poetry: I can’t write any more, I am now a Talentless Hack

the voice of my 11th grade journalism/12th grade creative writing teacher who rly did know everything: if you stop writing for a while the words will build up and stagnate. to clear the water, you will have to open the dam completely, and accept the fact that what initially comes out will not be palatable