#because i have a short story to write for class

[alexanderwales]

I finished the rest of Save the Cat almost in a single sitting, not because it was particularly riveting, but because I had time to kill, so this pseudo-liveblog is at an end.

Chapter 6 and 7 are basically the same, collections of small tricks and tips. Neither of them are terribly helpful, and all the tricks have terrible shorthand names like "Pope in a Pool". There's very little in the way of any thematic cohesion to these bits of advice, and no grand theory of the Laws of Storytelling emerges, in spite of the laws being invoked a number of times.

The advice itself is, I think, generally good:

give the reader something to root for early on to kickstart investment

spice up exposition with something entertaining

only one kind of magic per plot

don't tell a story that requires too much setup

don't tell a story with too many moving parts

include a ticking clock

have character arcs

keep the scope limited to the characters we care about

make the hero proactive

show, don't tell

make the bad guy very bad

the plot should go faster the further in it goes

use the whole spectrum of emotion

make sure each character has a distinct voice

make sure desires are "primal"

give characters something that makes them stand out

I don't endorse this whole list, and I especially don't endorse the way that Blake Snyder talks about them or the examples that he gives. And if I endorsed the list, then I would include a lot of caveats, and some general principles of storytelling that should be followed, rather than these specific pieces of advice, which are all conditional. Like ... okay, here's an example:

Exposition is a broccoli that the audience doesn't want to eat. There are very different ways of dealing with this, but we can start with "minimize exposition" as the first "law" of storytelling, and from there, we have different strategies:

Spruce up the exposition, making it into a mini-story, delivered in an entertaining way, so that people aren't bored.

Run something alongside the exposition so that people aren't bored, like sight gags in a comedy or an action scene in a thriller.

Have the exposition delivered through implication and clues, rather than stated outright, like having a character limp rather than explaining to the audience that they were wounded in the war. This is show, don't tell, and it's harder than it seems.

But while Snyder lays out some of this advice, it's all in different sections even though it's dealing with the same fundamental problem, and I'm not sure that he really understands that. If he does understand it, then he's not making that clear for the reader.

My thesis is that to understand storytelling, you want to understand root issues and classes of solutions. I have not written a book on writing, nor do I think there's a market for that, nor do I think I'm qualified, but it's the kind of thing that I would strive to deliver. There are a lot of writing problems that are parallel to each other, and there are a lot of structural elements that are mirrors of each other, so why not try to put it all together that way?

But Snyder makes basically no attempt to put even very related problems together, it's just little bits of advice to gnaw at the most common problems, and ... maybe that's fine, but it felt lazy to me.

Chapter 8 was the final chapter, and was mostly about trying to sell screenplays. This was irrelevant to me, but kind of interesting, and also made me feel like Blake Snyder is a better marketer and salesman than a screenwriter, and also maybe just got lucky to be working at a time when scripts were getting huge bidding wars for no good reason. The efficient market hypothesis gets clowned on again, I guess.

I'll probably write up some overall thoughts, a short review: I think I am unsuited to liveblogging because I go long. But the even shorter version is that I think I picked up a few things that were interesting to think about, and while Blake Snyder is a hack, he's an entertaining writer.

[17panicattacksinatrenchcoat]

originally this was attached to the wrong post oof

i wanted to redress my first point a little cause i don't think i explained it that good lol

Two (completely seperate) stories I'm writing follow characters who are drastically different from one another. The focus character of the first project grew up rich (as nobility) but has fallen into poverty, and the focus character of the second story grew up in extreme poverty but has risen to high social and economic status. When narrating, the first character (C.) speaks elegantly and uses beautiful language even if he is describing an upsetting or distasteful subject: he might relate the color of blood to freshly decanted wine. He uses longer sentences and more complex literary devices compared to central characters in many of my other projects. C. also does not swear in the narrative, reflecting his former status and what would have been considered acceptable for a person of his class. The second character (F.) also describes things in a manner that reflects her experiences and what she is familiar with: she might describe a glass of wine as the color of blood instead of the other way around, relating the beautiful things around her to the harsher world she experienced when she was younger. F. curses and speaks in short, punchy sentences with few flowery additives. Each character speaks in a different manner because, like us, they are different people with unique experiences that shape them into who they are. This is reflected in the way they act, yes, but also in how they narrate the story.

writing realisations that helped me

(please keep in mind that I am just a hobbyist having fun- also writing advice is not one size fits all! use what works best for you!)

language will differ depending on the narrator- for each of my stories, I like to have the narrator or focus character have a distinct voice which will appear in the word choice, sentence structure and the similes/metaphors they use. I find it fun to spread hints of who they are as a character in the way they tell the story!

active verbs can help your narrative feel more present and intense

consume media you love to get inspired, and write the type of story that you love to read!

getting out of the house and seeking new experiences are also good sources of inspiration- try to take walks frequently, go to local museums/events etc

please please please please please prioritize your mental health when creating. burnout is not fun; remember to take care of yourself!

happy writing everyone!

[flyingwargle]

currently writing a sunaosa fic and it's a) 7k words over the projected word count, b) 37% angstier than i thought it'd be, and c) killing me because i'm still revising the second draft and going to need a third draft at this rate 💀 so here's a lil snippet to make up for the lack of a queue (it's pride month and i haven't had time to find pride memes sobs)

--

suna glances at his unwavering gray eyes and his patient expression. perhaps it’s because of his patient expression that allows his words to flow effortlessly. he confesses to nightmares about his father that lead to sleepless nights. he admits to guilt and anxiety that fills his stomach, which makes it difficult for him to eat. he speaks of his sister, whom he left behind. he mentions his mother, whose fire seemed to be reduced to ashes. he talks of his aunt and her support, how she found him that night he visited home, drove him back to hyogo and helped care for his injuries when all he could do was nothing.

osamu says nothing, waits until suna trails into silence. then, quietly, “do ya want a hug?”

“do i…” suna blinks, incredulous, lips pressed into a frown. “what?”

“a hug. ya don’t seem like a touchy-feely person, so i thought i’d ask.” osamu shifts toward him. “’tsumu an’ i are pretty physical, we so like to give hugs. would ya like one?”

“oh…okay, sure. i guess.”

in the same breath, osamu embraces him, his long arms enveloping his body, chest pressed against his, warm and steady. suna loses his breath, caught off-guard by his surety, his warmth. his body trembles as he lifts his arms to hug back, head buried in his shoulder. his vision starts to blur, and a spark of panic stirs, until he realizes that it’s just tears. wait. tears? god, what’s wrong with me?

“there’s nothin’ wrong with ya.” osamu’s voice comes as a low rumble. his hand rubs suna’s back in a rhythmic pattern, up and down the length of his spine. “i’d be cryin’ too, after all ya went through. but things will get better. yer doin’ all ya can, suna. yer doin’ fine.”

suna tries to speak, but all that comes out is a sob. he closes his eyes, shoulders shaking, fingers curling into the soft fabric of osamu’s shirt. he didn’t cry when his father threw the bowl at him. he didn’t cry when his father struck him the second and third time. he didn’t cry when he left home for the first time. and yet, with just a single hug, osamu managed to reduce him to tears, to hold the pieces of him as he crumbles, to act as his foundation so he could stand again.

he never wants to let go, now that he’s finally allowed himself to let someone in, to hold him when no one else would.

[zivazivc]

my brainrot about these two can be measured in liters

[iiboronii]

Me upon realizing that I can just have an AU instead of writing an entire fanfiction about an idea I had in my head once:

[calenhads]

sabiba :(((

[frecht]

feeling sick and anxious for no reason again. 2 days in a row woohoo:///////////

[cabeswaterdrowned]

I have the opposite project with my final project for my writing class than I do for the anthropology one: I like what I’m doing for it but I keep wanting to take the individual stories in directions where they’ll be longer than will actually work for me to finish the assignment on time

[bones-sprouts]

i have the opposite beef with my english teacher that most people have with their english teachers. yesterday she laughed at the concept of overanalyzing stories for anything that isn't the authors original intent and i saw red

[zombiesun]

finished my creative writing portfolio and with it the class. could collapse

[carrotcouple]

There is a beauty in dead plants Wilted brown leaves, drooping stems Ugly they might look to others But they are at a turn in the cycle of life That gives way to green stems and buds Look at your dead rose bush and know That it will bloom once more

[the-magical-place-inside-my-head]

Sirius Black core

Survive for 10 Minutes with a Werewolf.

[dragoninahumancostume]

I have no idea what the adults in my life have done to me that made me hate them so badly but I literally can't trust them. Over 18? Yeah fuck off and don't talk to me. You're a danger to me having a good day. GET OUT.

[lieutenantselnia]

@assortedvillainvault I felt like this is something you should see as well

[lexalovesbooks]

Tomorrow/Friday is the anniversary of one of the weirdest days of my life, yippee!

[artemismatchalatte]

My next session of classes started today so I read almost 80 pages of text book, got a call back for an interview, got invited to the grad school's honor society (not me almost crying) and wrote two pages of fiction.