stephsworldofwriting

[stephsworldofwriting]

Cafeteria Talks

Game: Aven Colony

Pairing: F!Commander X Uros Predic

Word Count: 1,230

Summary: The newly-appointed Commander is enjoying some late-night dinner onboard the Colony Ship after a particularly frustrating mission when Uros Predic shows up.

Shoveling pasta into her mouth in a rather undignified manner, the Commander took a moment to appreciate the familiar appearance of the Colony Ship's cafeteria. It was late when she’d arrived, so everyone else was asleep and the cafeteria was minimally lit and staffed, but she didn't mind. It had been many Sols since she'd seen the ship, yet it still felt like home to her.

Despite all the colonies she'd built, despite how much time and labour she'd put into them, they'd never quite felt like home to her. There was nothing she looked forward to more than when her mission ended and Commissioner Veronika selected a junior governor to take over the colony. It meant that she'd get to return to the Colony Ship for a short time, and then she was off to do more work.

"Commander!" came a familiar, accented voice, and she turned around in surprise. Sure enough, Uros Predic walked in. The head of the expedition's trading incentives, he had a Mirthquake bar in his hand and a grin on his lips. "I wasn't expecting to see you here."

"I wasn't expecting to see you either, Uros," she replied, standing up to go over and shake his hand.

"It's good to see you again - and might I congratulate you on the new title?" Uros had a cheeky grin on his lips. His smile was contagious, and the Commander couldn't help but to grin back as she returned to her seat.

"Thank you, Uros," she said. "Hyla's Crescent was difficult, I kept running out of resources. I was almost ready to throw in the towel and tell the Commissioner I couldn't handle it..."

"Well, that's not true," Uros replied, sitting down across from her and taking a bit of his candy bar. "If you couldn't handle it, nobody could."

"You all have so much faith in me," she said softly, gazing down at her spaghetti to hide the blush that was creeping across her cheeks.

"Of course we do," Uros said. "Just look at what you've already accomplished! I was certain the Sandy Gulch colony was going to fail, but you've made it thrive. Did I tell you there are thousands of colonists living there now? You must be so proud."

The Commander smiled up at him. "Really?" she asked softly. "That's amazing."

"It is," he said. "And it's all because of you. Don't be so hard on yourself, Commander. We have faith in you for a reason."

The Commander went quiet for a moment, taking a few bites of her pasta and considering his words. When they'd first approached her about the Aven Expedition, she'd been hesitant. She'd always been one to doubt herself, but Veronika had been insistent that she'd be the perfect woman for the job. She still doubted herself, but Uros was right - her accomplishments spoke for themselves. There was a good reason everyone on this ship was counting on her to set up their colonies.

"So, where are you off to next?" Uros asked, breaking the silence, and the Commander glanced back up at him. His eyes were sparkling even in the dim cafeteria lighting. She'd always been somewhat fond of him, and something about sharing this moment alone with him just felt...very right.

"It's called...Tenari Glacier?" she replied, grabbing her datapad from where it laid on the table. She hit a few buttons, and sure enough, the transcription of her last conversation with Veronika popped up. "Yeah, Tenari Glacier."

"Ah, the trading colony!" Uros said, grinning. "Enhancer ingredients grow quite well in that area. It looks like you and I are going to be working very closely for a while."

"Are we?" the Commander asked in a teasing voice, smiling as she gazed towards him. "I don't think I'll mind that at all."

"I would hope not," Uros replied. "But I am relieved to hear that you're not sick of me just yet."

"How could I get sick of you?" she asked with a laugh.

"True, true, I am a delight," he said, and again, she blushed as their eyes met. This time, though, he seemed to catch it, as a playful glint came to his eyes. "So, Commander, what has you up so late?" he asked. "Trouble sleeping?"

"I haven't even tried yet," the Commander said, shaking her head. "I only just got in, and I was starving."

"All that food in your colonies and you just had to come eat the ship's food?" teased Uros, and the Commander reached across the table to gently smack his arm.

"We have a solid enough foothold on this planet to produce more than enough food for everyone," she said. "If my one bowl of pasta and bottle of soda are so much of a hardship, just ask for some from one of the colonies. Isn't that your job?" She smiled over at him, and he chuckled.

"You got me there," he replied.

"I see that my pasta and I aren't wanted here, so I'll just be on my way," the Commander said jokingly, moving to pick up her plate. Before she could even start to stand up and pretend to walk away, though, Uros caught her by the arm.

"No!" he said. There was a brief pause, their eyes locked together for a moment before he quickly pulled back his hand. "I mean, I meant no offense, Commander, you and your pasta are more than wanted here."

The Commander set her plate back down, smiling over at him before taking another bite. Another silence fell over them, and Uros toyed with the empty wrapper of his Mirthquake bar.

"How are those?" the Commander asked, nodding towards the empty wrapper in his hand.

"They're good," he said, nodding. "I've made it my mission to, er, try all the enhancers," he added, a cheeky grin spreading across his lips.

"Why does that not surprise me?" she asked, smirking over at him. "Which one is your favourite?"

"Oh, definitely the Bliss," he replied. "Have you tried any?"

"Not yet," she replied. "I'm not sure if I will. They seem a bit sketchy to me." She twirled the last of her pasta around her fork, disappointed to see the plate empty.

"You should try the Starglow," he said. "Increases productivity, you could probably plan out ten buildings at a time on it."

"That sounds like a terrible idea," the Commander said with a laugh. "I should get going, Uros - I'm supposed to meet with Veronika tomorrow so she can brief me on the Tenari Glacier mission, and I need some sleep." She gathered up her plate and rose to her feet, turning and heading over to the dish drop. Behind her, she heard Uros also standing up.

"Take me with you?" he asked, and she stopped dead in her tracks. Her breath caught, and slowly, she turned around.

"What was that?" she asked, certain that her face was as red as anything.

"I said have a good night," Uros replied, hooking his thumbs into the belt of his uniform. The Commander eyed him curiously for a few moments, looking for his face to betray him, but it didn't. Maybe it was her ears that had betrayed her, instead. She smiled, setting her plate down and beginning to walk towards the door.

"You too, Uros," she said softly. "Have a good night..."

[stephsworldofwriting]

[stephsworldofwriting]

Heads up, I deleted our last reblog because it was lifted entirely from Chuck Wendig’s website and that’s not cool.

Happy Halloween NaNo-prep y’all, link to shit don’t repost because’s that’s just not cool.

[stephsworldofwriting]

The child of a diplomat as their country goes to go war with their host country. 

Diverse and interesting characters are key to a memorable story. Use these points as a base for your character and throw them into any plot you want.

[stephsworldofwriting]

[stephsworldofwriting]

[stephsworldofwriting]

(by Zebriana)

[stephsworldofwriting]

My rule of thumb is that there has to be a reason for giving a character a tragic backstory. Something that is going to play into the plot later on in the story. I know one thing that irks me as a reader is when a tragic backstory is only given to justify a character’s asshole behavior without any further mention.

But here’s something to get you started on tragic backstories. (X)

-Amanda

[stephsworldofwriting]

When someone says “you can’t write a book”, “that idea it’s not original”, “no one would read it”… BE THE DAMN HIPPO

[stephsworldofwriting]

Fantasy does NOT have to follow real world rules. Fantasy does NOT have to relate to some real world event, country, concept, law, or history. Fantasy does NOT have to mirror any particular time period or country, even if you’re basing your world on a real world one. There is NO SUCH THING as “historical accuracy” in fantasy as it relates to the real world.

THE ONLY THING Fantasy has to do to be believable is follow the established rules OF ITS OWN WORLD. Fantasy can literally be anything you imagine it to be.

If your fantasy world excludes people of color or those belonging to the LGBT+ community, if it’s grossly misogynistic and white cis-male centric, that’s because YOU made it that way. Stop blaming “historical accuracy” or “believability”. It’s not the genre; it’s YOU.

[stephsworldofwriting]

How to create romantic couples with chemistry

Writing couples is both enchanting and exhausting. How do you make people ship your couple? How do you make them an OTP? How do you make your couple matter to the story? Or matter at all? To answer all these questions, I’ll explain three major must-have characteristics for couples:

1. Realism

Falling in love is a slow process. It’s different from person to person. People are flawed. Relationships are flawed. People make mistakes. People fear rejection. Not everyone will find their soulmate exactly when they need most. People show love in different ways. People are not flirty all the time. Realism is important. Development is essential. When writing a couple, visualize yourself as one of the characters (or both). Imagine their love story as if it was happening to you in real life. See how different it goes? Maybe not as fast and a thousand times clumsier, but also charming and interesting.

Example of strong realism: Carl and Ellie (UP), they take a lifetime to mature their love and mutual respect. Neither are perfect. The relationship goes through bad times, but their love only grows.

Example of weak realism: Caine and Jupiter (Jupiter Ascending), they fall in love in two or three days, not enough scenes are dedicated to developing the relationship. In the end, it feels strange. 

2. Balance

Give your couple opposite but complementary features. This is basically the Yin-yang symbolism that a lot of stories shows. If one character is all love-and-peaceful, maybe the other is a furnace of anger. If one traveled the whole world, maybe the other never left their village. If one is a millionaire, maybe the other is homeless. If one is short with dark hair, maybe the other is tall with light hair. However, no matter how opposite they are, always keep the balance. One shouldn’t overshadow the other. They must shine together, but also as individuals.

Example of strong balance: Fix-it Felix Jr. and Sargent Calhoun (Wreck-It Ralph), they belong to different worlds, they would probably never meet. He is a sweet pie that always tries his best, a peacemaker. She is, on the other hand, an explosion, a warrior. They are both relevant in achieving victory. Also, both are the heroes of their own games.

Example of weak balance: Sasuke and Sakura (Naruto), he is way more powerful than her, he doesn’t respect her as a ninja, he doesn’t like working with her. He tried killing her more than once and was never sorry about that. She accepts being overshadowed. She lacks character development compared to Sasuke. There is no opposite-complementary features tying them. It’s unbalanced.

3. Synergy

Make them work together. Make them accomplish common goals. Make them a power duo. Make them laugh of the same jokes. Make it easy and natural for them to be together, talking, sharing and having a good time. Make their conversations flow. Make it easy to touch, and stare, and embrace, and kiss. Make their mind and body work together.

Example of strong synergy: Cat Noir and Ladybug/Adrien and Marinette (Miraculous Ladybug), they are the heroes of Paris. No, they are partners in saving the world. It doesn’t feel uncomfortable when they interact, fight and save each other. It feels right. It feels natural. You crave for interactions.

Example of weak synergy: Kim Tan and Eun-Sang (The Heirs), they are the type of couple that are always fighting, but sometimes indulge in a passionate kiss. However, there’s no synergy between these characters. They are never on the same page. They are never partners. The magic of their relationship never sparkles. Even their kisses are uncomfortable to watch.

Now, think of your favorite couples (even non-canon ones) and try spotting the realism, the balance and the synergy in them. If you ship it,I’m pretty sure it’s there. 

Try applying these characteristics to your next writing.

[stephsworldofwriting]

I’ve had this prompt generator I put together for a while now, so I thought I’d share the link for anyone who needs an inspiration. There are:

3 150 au ideas

900 humoristic sentence/dialogue prompts

85 other sentence prompts

180 movie/show/book AUs, 179 setting AUs, 84 profession AUs

56 relationship and 217 theme ideas

You can shuffle each category independently or just refresh the whole page . The generator works just as good on the phone. 

[stephsworldofwriting]

LET’S DO THIS

Super easy world creator!

I was looking for an easy map creator that makes beautiful maps for a while now to make a visually stunning map to go along with my book. And now, after such a long search i have finally found one that suits my needs! Because i like it so much, i thought i’d share it with you guys! Just go to inkarnate.com and start creating! I have to warn you though, it is still in beta so a lot still needs to be added, but already it looks great and is easy to use!

I mean just look how beautiful some of these maps are!

And it is so much fun too! Someone even created a game of thrones map that is simply amazing!

So check it out and start creating your visual aid for your story. I promise you, it really is super easy and you will make one in no time!

You can find the site here: inkarnate

[stephsworldofwriting]

[stephsworldofwriting]

I read a lot of writing in my line of work and while that’s amazing, I see the same flaws again and again. Below is a list of 7 common writing mistakes in fiction and how you can fix them. This list is by no means complete. In fact there’s a great list over at The Editor’s Blog that covers even more mistakes.

1. Bad dialogue

Sometimes writers can forget that they’re writing a conversation and thus not write a conversation. The dialogue can be boring, stilted and unnatural, and I’d rather listen to the territorial call of an Australian Raven than read one more word of it.

There are many things that contribute to bad dialogue, but here are the three that really get on my nerves:

Not using contractions–I’ve seen work that is modern and still doesn’t use contractions. Consider this: “You are going to be late.” Unless the speaker is trying to sound like an irritated mother and is leaving an emphatic silence between each word to sound threatening, use contractions. It sounds really drawn out and like the speaker is pointing their nose in the air. We generally don’t speak like this in real life, so neither should your characters.

Using complete sentences–Not only is it natural for your characters to chop their sentences, this can also contribute to their voice. Does your character say “I don’t know.” or “Dunno.” Would he/she say “I missed the train and had to find a lift home.” or “Missed the train. Had to find a ride.” In casual speech, we often only use the words necessary to convey our message, even if it doesn’t form a complete sentence. You shouldn’t apply this to every line of dialogue, but consider it if your dialogue sounds stale.

Using characters as a conduit for research and plot information–Sometimes writers like to show off their research (looking at you Jurassic Park), backstory, world building and plot by having their characters talk way too much. If your character says “Once this valley was home to an ancient race of elves, who looked after the land and treated it with respect. One day, the secret magic spring dried up and then the goblins came. Without their magic spring, the elves couldn’t fight back, and they were killed by the goblins. The goblins didn’t respect the land and now it’s uninhabitable.” he should probably shut up. It sounds less like a person talking than it does an audio tour. The information he’s shared could be given in a much more interesting way.

How you can fix it:

Listen to and watch the way real people talk to each other. Do they speak in full sentences with full words? Do they speak with grammatical correctness? Do they speak differently in different situations? How do hand gestures, body language and facial expressions help them communicate?

Read your dialogue out loud as if you’re practising lines for a movie. Does it sound natural? Does it flow?

Test every piece of information your characters give out. Does it all need to be said? Would your character say all of it at once? Do they need to say it all in so many words?

2. Passages of uninterrupted speech or thought

Sometimes you might want to avoid telling the reader about something and have a character tell another character instead. Sometimes you might want to avoid telling the reader how a character feels about something by having them think about it excessively instead. If this goes on for longer than a couple of paragraphs (or less), you risk allowing your reader to drift out of the scene.

The only thing anchoring your reader in the scene is your characters and what they’re doing. If the characters are talking or thinking for a long time without interacting with anyone or anything else, they might as well be floating in space, which can make the reader feel like they’re floating in space. That’s not to say that they’ve forgotten where the scene is taking place or who else is involved, just that it can feel that way if this is how the character acts.

How you can fix it:

If your characters have a lot to say, try to include the other characters as well. Have them ask questions or make comments so it feels like a scene and not a soliloquy.

If your character is around others when he/she is deep in thought, try to include the other characters in some way. If the POV character is thinking about something that the other characters can see, why not give voice to one of the other characters in between thought paragraphs?

If the character is alone when he/she is deep in thought, is there a way they can interact with their environment? Unless they’re standing in front of a wall, they should be able to see, smell, feel or hear something.

If your character is absolutely, completely lost in thought, is there a way you can bring some sort of image into it? For example, on page 216 of The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, Katniss is thinking about how to treat a burn she receives. Almost the entire page is a paragraph describing a memory; however, there is still action in this memory and, therefore, there is something for the reader to imagine.

3. Not knowing when to/not to use said

Some people will tell you to use descriptive speech tags and others will tell you there’s nothing wrong with said. Both are true, but when do you follow the former and when do you follow the latter? And when do you use no speech tags at all?

Using anything but said and using nothing but said both get exhausting and boring very fast.

How you can fix it:

Below is a rough guide to what kind of speech tag to use. Please bear in mind that it is only a guide and will not and should not apply to every situation.

Said is unobtrusive–a way of letting the reader know who’s talking without making a song and dance about it. Specific verbs (e.g. whispered, shouted, mumbled) give the reader information about how the words are being said. Adverbial tags can also give extra information about how something is being said, but more often than not they can be replaced with a stronger verb (e.g. she said loudly can be replaced with she shouted). Writers can also fall into the trap of telling where it’s better to show when using adverbial tags, which can make the writing bland. Sometimes telling is better, but with speech tags, it’s usually better to absorb the reader in the conversation. If you’ve used an adverbial tag, go back and have a look at it. Is there a better way you could get the message across?

What you need to pay attention to when determining what speech tags to use is the context of the speech. If the reader is already aware of the manner in which a character is talking, it won’t be necessary to remind them every time the character speaks. If there are only two characters in the conversation, it won’t be necessary to finish each quote with he said/she said. Going back to #2, you can also do away with speech tags entirely and use action to demonstrate how a character is feeling, while also grounding the reader in the scene.

The key to avoiding repetition and blandness is to find a balance between using the unobtrusive said, using something more specific, and mixing it up with a bit of action, which means you might not even need a tag at all.

4. Too much description/overwriting

Sometimes it’s better to tell and not show. Some details just aren’t important enough to warrant a lengthy description. If you want your reader to know that it’s raining, you can write something better than “It was raining”, but there’s no need to go overboard and write a poem about how the puddles on the asphalt looked like a great abyss.

Think of description like camera focus. The more you describe something, the more focus you put on it. If you put enough focus on something, you eliminate everything else. What’s this? A close-up. What does a close-up in a movie tell you? That object of the close-up is significant.

Be wary: when you write thirty words describing the way the moonlight is reflecting off the inky black lake, you might not be just setting the scene. You might also be giving the lake undue emphasis, and it’s probably going to irritate your reader when they realise there’s nothing significant about the lake at all, you were just showing off your imagery skills.

How you can fix it:

Keep it real. What would the character notice, what would they think about it and is it worth the attention? And try not to focus on sight. Your characters have more than one way to perceive their environment, and incorporating their other senses can help build a 3D setting for your reader rather than just painting them a picture. Give the reader enough to imagine the scene, and no more.

5. Not knowing when to/not to use adverbs

There’s a lot of writing advice out there that will tell you to cut all adverbs. The result is that many writers now think adverbs exist only to eat their children and wouldn’t dare to ever use one.

There is truth to the advice, but to say “The road to hell is paved with adverbs”? Really, Stephen King? And his dandelion analogy assumes there’s no editing process.

Adverbs aren’t evil, but there is such a thing as using them ineffectively. Which of the below are more descriptive?

She ran quickly or She sprinted

“It’s a long way down,” he said nervously or “It’s a long way down,” he said

He was shamefully prone to anxiety or He was prone to anxiety

She sprinted not only gets to the point faster, it also creates a more powerful image for the reader. “It’s a long way down,” he said gives no indication of how the speaker is speaking or feeling; however, “It’s a long way down,” he said nervously is telling, not showing. Rather than using an adverb here, the writer could describe the speaker’s body language. He was shamefully prone to anxiety tells you how the character feels about being prone to anxiety and there is no stronger word to replace “shamefully prone”.

How you can fix it:

Ask yourself:

How would the meaning of the sentence change if the adverb was removed?

Can the adverb and verb be replaced by a single verb?

Does the action really need clarification?

Does the adverb add something to the sentence that can’t be described in another way?

6. No conflict in the beginning

The first few chapters of a lot of stories I’ve read involve the main character plodding along in their daily life. This is a good thing as the reader needs to get a feel for your character before the big plot things happen, but that doesn’t mean the first few chapters should be without conflict. I don’t want to read about a character waking up, looking at themselves in the mirror, getting dressed, getting coffee, going to work, getting home, going on a date etc. for three chapters. It’s boring and I don’t care about any of it.

The confusion might be caused by common story structure theories that say the main conflict enters the story at the first plot point, or 25% into the story. But this doesn’t mean there should be zero conflict at the beginning! At the beginning of Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone Harry was told ‘no funny business’ or he’d be grounded. Not long after that, there was some vanishing glass and an escaped boa constrictor. After this happened there was a mysterious letter addressed to Harry, and he spent an entire chapter trying to get hold of it as the weirdness escalated. There’s conflict and a goal right off the bat, and the story hasn’t even really started yet. In The Hunger Games Katniss faces the Reaping. In The Hobbit Bilbo finds himself hosting a dinner party for dwarfs and being asked to go and fight a dragon.

How you can fix it:

Take a look at all the books you’ve read. Most of them (if not all) start with some sort of problem or goal. Study up on this to help you realise what makes a good beginning.

Don’t fill your first few chapters with characterisation and nothing else. Build your character in the context of a problem or goal.

Keep in mind that you find your characters more interesting than your reader does. What you like about your character might not be enough to keep the reader’s interest.

What’s going on in your character’s life? How is this going to influence what happens when the conflict or story goal takes the stage?

What would happen if you cut your beginning out of the story? Would the plot still make sense? Maybe it’s better to start the story at a later point.

7. Lack of story structure

When you write a first draft, whether you’ve planned it or not, there are going to be structural flaws. Maybe halfway through you thought of a way to solidify a character’s motivation. Maybe at the climax you thought of a way to strengthen your conflict. Maybe somewhere in the middle you had no idea where you were going with this and slugged your way through some boring scenes. It’s all good; this is how stories come together.

What should happen next is that you revise your draft with story structure in mind. There’ll be a lot of “I should add a scene here about this” and “what was I thinking when I wrote that?” and after a few goes, you’ll have a story.

Writers don’t always do this though (which, by the way, makes my job take longer and cost more). They’ll go through and fix all of the obvious problems, but what remains is a manuscript that still lacks a solid structure. It’s messy to read, it’s confusing, it’s clearly not thought out, and it feels like the writer is giving me the finger. I’ll regret paying for the book, stop reading it and leave a negative review on Goodreads. Is that worth not giving your book a good edit?

How you can fix it:

Read a lot. Make sure you have a decent grasp on different story structures. Make sure you understand the way stories progress, the way they’re paced and what keeps the reader engaged.

Re-outline. Or if you pantsed your way through the first draft, make an outline. Write a checklist for what each scene should accomplish and what each chapter should accomplish. Make a timeline of how the events progress and how the tension increases. Don’t base this on what you’ve written, base it on what you’ve figured out about your plot.

Edit ruthlessly. If a scene doesn’t measure up to your new plan, cut it. If it’s in the wrong place, move it.

[stephsworldofwriting]

As vocabulary is reduced , so are the number of feelings you can express, the number of events you can describe, the number of the things you can identify! Not only understanding is limited, but also experience. Man grows by language. Whenever he limits language he retrogresses!

Sheri S. Tepper