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brandonjohnbarnard · 1 month ago

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Production history around: Broodiest Flunkey

Finally, I am getting to what I consider the ‘first’ film in my journey as an experimental filmmaker: ‘Broodiest Flunkey’.

This film is a bit rough — it was made as a university project, with a deadline and 3 minute time limit. It was also the first time I had played with many visual effects, and the first time I had shown my work to a live audience.

A lot of what I will be saying in this article will be recycled from my university essay, as my memory on a lot of the details has started to fade.

I created a timeline for this production, so I will try my best to be chronological in the retelling of the film’s creation. Some of the elements may seem tangential, though that is a lot of my practice in general.

I really like the above, because it shows that learning and developing a project (or even personal development), takes a mix of both consumption (books, media) and action (events, trial runs). It also shows how unexpectedly events morph into one another.

In addition to this timeline, I had also created a dated excel timeline of when each event happened (yes, I am thorough). While it shows how ‘Change Spaces’ and ‘Gacha’nce’ fit into the timeline, those won’t be covered here. Noteworthy is how many events overlap with one another, as opposed to being linear.

iDAT XXX

On the 18th of November 2024, I attended an event by Mike Philips, celebrating 30 years since the creation of their institution ‘iDAT’. As part of this event, they ran a ‘telematic performance’ — pretty much information is passed from one system to another, leading to a series of interesting corruptions. This, is then dressed up in a fun avant-garde coat of paint.

It would take a lot later for me to realise that this is a great use of chance as a form of creation. Collaboration, corruptions, improv, a digital exquisite corpse, etc.

MA Experience Design — Design Lab 2

In Design Lab 1, I made a short animation going over the concepts of DADA. Therefore, making video work was heavily on my mind.

The Design Lab 2 brief made me think about what I could do to help the local community. When looking at ‘don’t assume you know your audience’, ‘experiment with materials’, ’leave something beautiful behind’, and ‘make a difference’, it led me down the path of considering making a documentary where I interview people with autism to allow them to be heard and understood.

Autism Documentary

So, I started to plan a documentary about autism, taking the brief into mind. There were lots of worries about it, and I could lie and say they were mostly about GDPR, but it was more so social anxiety of needing to work with so many people!

The in-class activity about making iterative comics was really interesting to me. I wanted to take this idea but apply it to a documentary format. I wanted something similar to the longitudinal study method that ‘Seven Up!’ (1964) engaged in, but also have myself and my beliefs examined as well. This would potentially happen by having a new director for the second film, where they critically look at the first film, and this process is continued indefinitely.

[Accidentally making an exquisite corpse before knowing what that really was!]

Allister Gall Email

The module brief included: ‘collaboration with multidisciplinary partners’. As I was working with film as a medium, I decided to reach out to Allister Gall, the BA Filmmaking programme leader at the University of Plymouth on the 23rd of January 2024. I asked if he was able to send me down the right path, or potentially let me attend a filmmaking lesson.

He let me know about Imperfect Cinema, and that an event was coming up called Cinaesthesia 1. I was very lucky with the timing, as the event was only four days after I sent my email.

[It is funny, I consider this single email an extremely important pivot in my life. If I had not written this email, I likely would not be doing my current PhD, and would not be making experimental art videos. I wouldn’t have heard of Cinaesthesia, and Allister wouldn’t have become one of my PhD supervisors… This email took a minute or two to write, all it takes sometimes.]

The Reason I Jump

During my initial look into autism for the documentary, I read ‘The Reason I Jump’ (2007). The book was written by a 13-year-old mute autistic child living in Japan, and each chapter is them explaining why they do certain actions.

When reading, I realised that there were many areas in which I related to this child, especially thinking back to when I was the same age. While I did not relate to everything, I did more than I normally would with someone. With each example, I started to feel less embarrassed about some moments from my childhood. Moments that I used to fixate on, thinking ‘why did I do that?’ suddenly had an answer that didn’t make me feel as alone or weird.

This feeling of seeing yourself in a book, and this resulting in you being less critical of yourself, I decided to be the message I wanted from my film.

Cinaesthesia 1

This event was run by Patrycja Loranc in collaboration with Imperfect Cinema, and took place at Café Momus on Stonehouse. Patrycja is a PhD student focussing on psychepoetic filmmaking, and the event shared some of this energy.

(Jess Scott, Dutch Loveridge, and Patrycja Loranc at Cinaesthesia 1’s Q&A)

Imperfect Cinema is a Plymouth-based film project created by Allister Gall and Dan Paolantonio, which has the goal of encouraging local artists to create films, as well as to help facilitate events these artists can participate in.

[Side tangent — At this point (8 months since hearing about them), I have heard the two of them go over their intro so many times. It makes me think about what it means to be an academic at university — the need to tear up old ground constantly to explain who you are and what you do. It sounds kind of hellish. I’d struggle to not just make an intro video lol]

As a note for this event, and the ones I talk about later, the networking elements of these screenings are incredible. You get to ask questions directly, sample a lot of local talent, and see the effort of people coming forward. It takes bravery to put yourself out there, and most people there seem to appreciate that.

I was worried that the event would be too ‘heavy’, but it was very casual.

An element of the screening that really resonated with me was the diverse ‘quality’ and styles of work present. There were films presented that I thought ‘I could do that’, and that made me feel like less of an outsider at the event.

At this event, I learnt that a Cinaesthesia 2 and 3 were going to happen in the future, and that they had an open reel for submissions. I pivoted from ‘documentary about autism’ to ‘experimental art film that looked into my own personal experiences reading into autism’.

Getting into Cinaesthesia 2

In order to get a film accepted into Cinaesthesia there were guidelines that needed to be adhered to.

The brief was: “How can the sensory perception/subjective experience be communicated and challenged by filmmaking? How does film allow us to connect to others and the world by exchanging subjective realities?”

It also included that the film must be 3 minutes or less, and submitted by 9pm 21/03/2024.

Experimental Film Production Start

I started my pivot by looking into what made someone’s perception ’unique’, thought about there being so many variables with each person, that everyone’s perception was unique.

In addition to this, I started to consider that my own perception was likely the perception I could best put across to an audience.

I wanted to, somehow, make the audience experience a sense of uneasiness by seeing the world through someone who processes stimuli differently.

Rosemary’s Baby

On the 26th of January 2024, my wife and I watched Rosemary’s Baby (1968) for the first time. It is a great film. In it there is a scene where the main character is trying to work out an anagram by moving around scrabble pieces. I had no plans with this at all. It was just a theme dancing around in my head.

Experience Design’s Telematic Performance

For one of the Design Lab 2 session, Mike Philips wanted us to do a ‘telematic performance’. Since I had seen one prior via his iDAT XXX event, I feel that I had a step ahead of others in the class. This was due to me already knowing what it was meant to look like, and understanding that anything could be used as a step (as long as it caused transformation down the line).

As such, I pushed forward with using Scrabble pieces early on in the sequence, and planned out what the rest of the performance would be.

I would take scrabble pieces out of a bag randomly. Person 2 would make words out of these random letters. Person 3 would then do charades of Person 2’s word. Person 4, who was wearing headphones, had to guess what Person 3 was miming, Person 5, then drew this answer on a post-it note, and added it to a scene on the board.

This whole process was fun, and made me really like the idea of using Scrabble pieces to tell a story.

Scrabble Pieces

Mixing the themes of anagrams and chance, I decided to have one phrase dictate different elements of my film’s story.

I wanted the overall message of the film to be in-line with my takeaway from ‘The Reason I Jump’, so I chose the phrase ‘Be Kind to Yourself’.

Using an online anagram maker, I went through the list of 10,000 combinations, and picked phrases that I thought I could use to string together a narrative that told a story I was happy with.

I wanted to use stop-motion as the technique for these scenes, as it added an eerie feeling that the pieces had a mind of their own, especially since they were what decided the course of the story. Originally, I wanted to film the pieces, and cut out appropriate frames. This did not work due to the camera changing focus, as such I landed on taking still photos after each movement instead.

As stop-motion is a time-intensive process, there were moments where I lost track of what pieces should go where. A colour coded guide was made to make the movement and locations easier to follow.

Pre-Storyboard

Before storyboarding, I thought about elements I wanted to film and why.

I felt that if I went into storyboarding, some fun techniques may have been squeezed out of the production for the sake of narrative.

So instead, I thought about these elements first and how I could use them in the narrative.

Storyboard

Storyboarding your film is useful, however, I did not want to limit myself by structure. For example, knowing how much time was left, or being fixated on scene order. The scenes were drawn in ‘chunks’ and then moved around in order to fit the narrative.

After doing my rough outline of the story, I wanted to make sure I could include the entire narrative in the 3-minute window required by the submission guidelines. As such, I experimented with scene intervals.

‘Yolk Unfit Bedsore’, I thought it was perfect as an opening introduction for a character. ‘Bedsore’ and ‘Yolk’ can both be seen as elements attached to starting the day. Additionally, ‘Unfit’ matched the negative self-image I wanted the main character to have, so the ‘Be Kind to Yourself’ later in the film made sense. Embarrassment seems to be a common issue for some autistic people, so I felt building this into the character was important.

Using this way of thinking, I was able to pace out the Scrabble pieces in a way that completed a cohesive narrative.

With the phrase ‘Befriend — Too Sulky’, I thought I could illustrate that autistic people often want to make social-emotional connections with people, but are unsure how to do so, and the pain this can cause.

I decided on having three second intervals for the storyboard, as I felt this fit best. Any shorter would have been too jarring. Originally, I inserted the Hero’s Journey as a vague guideline for pacing. While this was useful as a rough guide, I did not adhere to it much, as I felt it got in the way of what I believed was a better narrative; perhaps because it made the pacing feel like it was made on a production line.

Once I had my storyboard fully created additional details such as sound effects present, whether it needed chromakeying, and what editing decisions I thought would be needed were added.

In retrospect, I feel that I over-relied on the storyboard. I feel the piece could have been transformed into something more artful by applying wardrobe, doing more area scouting, reframing, and creating some concept art.

Prop Creation

After drawing up the storyboard, I realised that I did not know how I was going to have the other characters in the film be acted. This caused stress as the deadline loomed closer, and I wondered how I would fill these roles.

In order to solve this issue, I decided to use cardboard painted with acrylic for the additional characters instead. I felt that having the main character be the only real-life human added a sense of surrealism, as well as the idea that the plot is ‘from their point of view’. In addition to this, people with autism often feel ‘disconnected’ from other people, and I feel this separate ‘plane of existence’ with 2D vs 3D illustrates this idea in an interesting way.

The character at 0:47 having a sudden expression change was important as it shows the main character trying to grabble with a complex emotional encounter, which is considered a struggle for some with autism.

With the characters being made out of cardboard, I had the worry that this would come across as too jarring to the viewer. To solve this, and to make the overall film feel like it had a cohesive style, I decided to make more elements out of cardboard.

Items like the phone, egg, toothbrush, etc. were made out of cardboard as well. I believed it would be funny to have these mundane elements, that would be way easier to have the real-world items, be recreated. The prop creation was the most time intensive part of the project, but I think it was worth it. When the screening of the film happened, the props were the most complimented aspect by the audience in attendance.

In the film, early on, I have a moment where I flip an egg, purposely showing the cardboard underside. This is to reveal to the audience that I am not hiding the fact that these elements are cardboard — this works as a way to let them in on the silliness.

To help with cohesion for scenes where no props were present, the backgrounds are also acrylic on cardboard. These were added by using chromakeying. The painted areas are purposely small and zoomed in, to make the fact that they have texture and are cardboard more apparent.

Book

The book in the film had two versions, one which was a ‘prop book’, and one that I bound.

The prop book was a cover and back, with painted cardboard sides to resemble paper, and three DVD cases in the middle.

Because the bound book contains pages that were filmed, including the book, this needed to be created after the prop book scenes took place.

In order to match the Scrabble description of the book being ‘finely rusted’, I followed a tutorial by Treasure Books (2023) using cinnamon to create faux rust. This, on top of the book also being obviously cardboard I believed was a fine compromise.

My Wedding

In the middle of this production, with a deadline looming over, was my wedding. I am so happy that the whole process was easy.

[Only while writing this piece had it dawned on me that my filmmaking and married life have been so overlapped.]

Filming

The film was shot on a Sony Alpha 6400 with a SELP1650 lens, and a fisheye shot was done with a 7 Artisans 7.5mm 1:2:8 ED lens. A Sony GP-VPT2BT grip was also used in many scenes to allow for filming while a light was being held.

Two ‘EMART 60 LED’ lights were used to light up the scenes, and a ‘Neewer 5’x7' Greenscreen’ was used for chromakeying.

Some elements of the storyboard needed to be adapted to make the filming process easier. Firstly, a printed breakdown was made of each scene with what happens in terms of editing, effects, sounds, and props present, etc.

For the scenes that were included within the book, a chronological edit of the storyboard was made.

There were moments when parts of the production didn’t go to plan, and as such improvisation had to happen. For example, When the book was put into shrubbery at 2:20 in the film, originally it was meant to be pulled out by string. However, during filming, the string kept snapping. As such, we made the book float behind the main character instead.

Editing

The editing process was turbulent for a few reasons. Primarily, due to Vegas Pro 18 crashing every few hours, however this is unfortunately an aspect to be expected.

The editing process was useful, because it really allowed me to consider which moments were important to the narrative, which I don’t think I would have realised if I handed the work off to another person to edit.

The original cut of ‘Broodiest Flunkey’ was 4 minutes long, and as such 25% of the footage needed to be trimmed down in order to be within the 3-minute window required for submission.

The music at the start of the film is ‘Toc de matinades’ by Rafael Caro (2016), and is Catalonian folk music which is played in the streets early in the morning to wake up people so they can get ready for celebrations. Since this was the day that the main character learnt to be kind to themselves, and that it starts with them waking up, I thought it was appropriate. Also, the tone shift from positive music to more eerie and atmospheric music I felt made the transition feel more contrasted, and as such have more impact.

The sounds of the Scrabble pieces moving was made by moving a container filled with Lego.

With this, the film was finished and rendered. I decided to keep the film internal until Cinaesthesia 2, as associating its premier with the event felt special. This process of keeping videos unavailable until an in-person premier is a practice I feel makes attending an event feel more worthwhile.

Behind the Scenes

Due to the large amount of footage available, I decided to make a behind the scenes video to both commemorate the experience, and as an excuse to remove all the footage from my PC without feeling too bad about it being harder to access.

Cinaesthesia 2

Cinaesthesia 2 took place on 23rd March 2024, and was a lot of fun. Members of my cohort attended which was greatly appreciated.

I would say that the reaction to the screening was extremely positive.

I worried that the subject of autism may have been a bit out of place, or that I would have felt ‘othered’, but then again punk environments have always embraced those that were seen as on the ‘rim’ of society.

Q&A

I was part of a Q&A after the screening, and this was my first time I would talk about my work in a public forum like this. There was something really special about this I felt, and it made me want to talk about my work with others more in the future.

Meeting cool people

It overall was a great night, which made me excited for the future. I met so many cool and talented people, who have stuck around in the peripheries of my life for several months now.

Also, Abi Ali, one of the filmmakers present, stopped me after the show to say my work was her favourite, and guess what, her work was my favourite too.

SO YEAH! This is where it all began. Or rather, where I arbitrarily decided it began. Has it even started yet? Find out next time, on Dragon Ball Z!!

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atiqaaqeel · 3 months ago

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best cooking tips ,techniques and unique and delicious recipes if i need any kind of help contact expert

#cooking tips and tricks #unique and delicious recipes #creative techniques

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unboundprompts · 18 days ago

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advice for a character who grips control like a lifeline. who wants to be in charge of every little thing because whenever they're not in control of something something bad could happen. has happened. they can't let a single variable be wild or in someone else's hands

How to Write a Controlling Character

Backstory Rooted in Trauma or Guilt

This character likely has a history that has ingrained the belief that they must be in control or face devastating consequences. Perhaps they once trusted someone else with something crucial—a promise, a responsibility, or a life-altering choice—and that trust was broken in a way that had lasting repercussions. For example, maybe they lost someone because they weren’t “careful enough,” or they experienced a betrayal when they trusted another person’s plan.

They might frequently flash back to this moment, possibly catching themselves thinking, If only I’d been the one in control, this wouldn’t have happened. This memory fuels their need to keep a tight grip on everything, especially if they’re in high-stakes situations.

Rigid Daily Routines and Habits

This character’s day is probably packed with small rituals and routines that give them a sense of security. From double-checking door locks to setting multiple alarms, they rely on routines to give themselves a sense of order. In fact, they might be nearly ritualistic about small actions—checking emails three times before sending, never leaving a task halfway finished, or meticulously arranging their workspace.

Even something as simple as making coffee can become a precise process. If someone moves one of their tools or a file from their desk, they may feel a spike of frustration or even anxiety, seeing it as a disruption to their personal “system.” They could feel that control in their daily life is the only thing keeping chaos at bay.

Intensely Observant of Details and Mistakes

They are hyperaware of mistakes or inefficiencies in others, mentally cataloging things like a coworker’s slight lateness or a friend’s disorganization. They may feel a sense of superiority (or frustration) over people who don’t “have it together” and take it upon themselves to organize or “fix” things for others.

In conversation, they might cut people off or “correct” them even over small points, often justifying this to themselves as necessary. For instance, if someone shares a plan that seems half-formed, this character could immediately dive in, pointing out potential problems or filling in details.

Controlling Relationships and Social Situations

This character struggles in relationships where they aren’t the dominant or organizing force. They might instinctively take over when making plans with friends, micromanaging even casual hangouts to make sure everything goes “right.” For example, they might pick the restaurant, plan the travel route, and check weather forecasts—assuming that if they don’t, no one else will think of these things.

When someone resists their attempts at control, they can respond defensively, often turning cold or resentful, unable to understand why anyone wouldn’t want them to manage the situation. Statements like, “Fine, but don’t blame me if this doesn’t go well,” are frequent in their interactions.

Extreme Anxiety or Panic When Control Is Taken Away

When things go beyond their reach, this character might experience panic, as if they’re suddenly powerless. For instance, if an unexpected roadblock prevents them from handling a task (like a canceled flight they needed to board, or a plan that falls apart), they might spend hours trying to regain control, calling every contact or frantically exploring alternatives.

Their reaction may feel extreme to others. Even minor setbacks—such as a colleague taking initiative on a project or a friend planning something without consulting them—can trigger a disproportionate response, like clenching their fists, pacing, or silently stewing as they feel the situation “slipping.”

Inability to Accept Help or Collaboration

Their controlling nature makes it hard for them to collaborate, as they believe their methods are the only ones that work. For them, accepting help feels like an admission of weakness or failure, so they rarely delegate or ask for assistance. If they do reluctantly accept help, they are constantly supervising or “suggesting” things, making it feel more like they’re still in charge.

In a team setting, they might take on all the major tasks, either out of distrust in others’ abilities or a feeling that no one will match their standards. Their motto could be something like, “If you want something done right, do it yourself,” even if that means working late or burning out.

Reluctance to Show Vulnerability or Need

Since vulnerability and control rarely coexist for them, they avoid showing weakness at all costs, preferring to mask stress or struggles as “just part of the job.” If they do become overwhelmed, they’re more likely to shut people out, saying, “I’ve got it handled,” even if it’s far from true.

When people push them to let go or share the load, they might lash out, accusing others of “just not understanding.” They often see their intense responsibility as a form of sacrifice, justifying their behavior with, “If I don’t handle this, who will?”

#creative writing #writeblr #ask box prompts #how to write a controlling character #how to write #writing tips #writing advice #writing resources #writing help #writing reference #writing prompts #how to #writing tools #writing techniques #writing stuff

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kt-turner · 1 year ago

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Teasing Out the Unconscious

Frida Kahlo’s diary is a window into her intimate thoughts. If you like art journals and want to peek into this artist’s journal then you should read The Diary of Frida Kahlo: An Intimate Self-Portrait 1995 Introduction by Carlos Fuentes, Essay and commentaries by Sarah M. Lowe published by Harry N. Abrams Inc. Kahlo’s diary is a way to see how she negotiates her relationship with herself. She…

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#art #art diary #art history #Art Journaling #arts #creative techniques #creativity #drawing #encouragement #Frida Kahlo #Inspiration #process

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deception-united · 8 months ago

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Online Writing Resources #2

Vocabulary:

Tip of My Tongue: I find this very helpful when I can't think of a specific word I'm looking for. Which is often.

WordHippo: As well as a thesaurus, this website also provides antonyms, definitions, rhymes, sentences that use a particular word, translations, pronunciations, and word forms.

OneLook: Find definitions, synonyms, antonyms, and related words. Allows you to search in specific categories.

YourDictionary: This website is a dictionary and thesaurus, and helps with grammar, vocabulary, and usage.

Information/Research:

Crime Reads: Covers crime and thriller movies, books, and TV shows. Great inspiration before writing a crime scene or story in this genre.

Havocscope: Black market information, including pricing, market value, and sources.

Climate Comparison: Compares the climates of two countries, or parts of the country, with each other.

Food Timeline: Centuries worth of information about food, and what people ate in different time periods.

Refseek: Information about literally anything. Provides links to other sources relevant to your search.

Perplexity AI: Uses information from the internet to answer any questions you have, summarises the key points, suggests relevant or similar searches, and links the sources used.

Planning/Worldbuilding:

One Stop for Writers: Literally everything a writer could need, all in one place: description thesaurus, character builder, story maps, scene maps, timelines, worldbuilding surveys, idea generators, templates, tutorials... all of it.

World Anvil: Provides worldbuilding templates and lets you create interactive maps, chronicles, timelines, whiteboards, family trees, charts, and interactive tables. May be a bit complicated to navigate at first, but the features are incredibly useful.

Inkarnate: This is a fantasy map maker where you can make maps for your world, regions, cities, interiors, or battles.

Miscellaneous:

750words: Helps build the habit of writing daily (about three pages). Fully private. It also tracks your progress and mindset while writing.

BetaBooks: Allows you to share your manuscript with your beta readers. You can see who is reading, how far they've read, and feedback.

Readable: Helps you to measure and improve the readability of your writing and make readers more engaged.

ZenPen: A minimalist writing page that blocks any distractions and helps improve your focus. You can make it full screen, invert the colours, and set a word count goal.

QueryTracker: Helps you find a literary agent for your book.

Lulu: Self-publish your book!

See my previous post with more:

Drop any other resources you like to use in the comments! Happy writing ❤

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novlr · 7 months ago

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coffeetank · 5 months ago

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Easy Narrative Techniques That Spice Up your Works

Narrative Technique is, in simple words, the method a writer or author chooses to tell their story. It includes literary and fictional devices that assist greatly in writing literature or fiction.

In this post, I'm going to go into useful details about narrative techniques and how to play them out while writing your project. Here they are:

1. Setting:

You must've noticed that in genres like horror/mystery/crime the story is set in or restricted to just one place. This has an important impact on the protagonists and characters of your story. Settings play a huge role especially in the genre of crime/horror because the plot is carried out within those premises.

For example, in the movie Scream, the whole story is carried out in the town of Woodsboro, which is significant to note as it adds more thrill given that the killer is on the loose and within very close proximity.

Settings are also vital in genres like fantasy/adventure where the conflict is carried out in an unusual environment as it creates a sense of fight-or-flight hence gripping you into the story.

2. Cliffhanger:

Cliffhangers are common, and rightfully so because they are essential in a fair amount of stories. A cliffhanger is when the author ends a chapter or a book in suspense, often hinting at event that is due in the later part of the book or series.

Cliffhangers can either introduce the possibility of a newer event, or will create a gap before something is resolved, which makes your reader want more in order to find a solution. This encourages your reader to stick by and through, until a satisfactory answer is given.

Cliffhangers are also more effective in the genres of crime, horror, mystery, adventure, and fantasy. In genres like romance or slice of life, cliffhangers can be used, but it needs to be ensured that it doesn't deviate from the light-hearted mood of the story.

3. Multiperspectivity:

This one can be so interesting if used right. Multiperspectivity, as the name suggests, is when there are more than 1 or 2 perspectives in the story.

This pumps up the interest factor as different characters will see things differently. When you show the story being carried out in a variety of POVs, you give your readers the chance to read the story in a new light with every character.

This can also affect the plot, as different characters will have different goals by the end of the story. Multiperspectivity can also help you resolve conflict between different characters. In addition, you can use this to introduce a hidden villain/a hidden hero.

4. Sensory Detail:

Sensory details are the visual images you create for your readers while writing descriptions. This helps in the famous ‘show, don't tell’ and sensory details will visualise the scene for your readers.

This can also be paralleled with imagery (sight, touch, sound, taste, smell).

For example, imagine a hilltop. Instead of just writing about the fact that you see trees and the sun and some animals, you could put down your senses to make the description more visual. It would go like – “As she stood on the hilltop, her eyes took in the verdant swathes before her. The soft breeze tickled her skin while she basked in the warmth of the sun. Deer galloped across the lush, green grass, calling and prancing in carefree freedom. The scent of the earth hit her nose, and it was there that she felt she was home."

5. Foreshadowing:

It's common, it's effective, it's fun. Foreshadowing is when the author is implicitly trying to hint at a forthcoming event. It creates a suspicion in the reader's mind, which keeps the interest alive.

Foreshadowing and cliffhangers can be mixed to create a lot of questions in your reader's minds, which further keeps them hooked into your work.

6. Analepsis & Prolepsis:

Fancy words for plain terms. It's nothing but flashbacks and flash-forwards.

Analepsis (flashback) is when the author breaks the chronology of the story to bring light to an important event in the past. This either has an impact on the plot or the main character.

Prolepsis (flash-forward) is when the author breaks the chronology to go into the future. This can be used to highlight an important event (or events) that are likely to happen in the future.

It's important to note that these are not the same as time skips, which are just a leap from one time to another to not lose grip of the eventfulness of the story.

7. Chekhov's gun:

Chekhov's gun keeps your writing in check. Chekhov's gun is a principle that says any and every element in a narrative should have a purpose. If it doesn't, it get's removed.

Let's say you've introduced a character. Chekhov's gun requires you to assign a purpose to that character. Unless they are contributing to the story, they are useless. If they can have any sort of impact, then you keep them. If they don't, then they get executed from the plot. The same thing applies to objects as well. If your protagonist has found a box, something better come out of it or it's getting thrown in the trash.

8. Title Drops:

We love these, let's be honest. As the name suggests, title drops are when the author writes the name of the title in a line, or adds it in a dialogue, or uses it as a description to finish the story with a cherry on top.

Example: In the 90s romcom She's All That, there's a scene during their prom preparations where two guys are rapping and one of them says, "she's all that" as lyrics. This is a title drop.

9. Antithesis:

Antithesis uses two opposite ideas and puts them together to amplify the message you're trying to send. Antithesis can be done in two cases: contrast and parallelism.

With respect to CONTRAST, antithesis uses two polar opposites to highlight a certain point. For example: "In an instant, all the colour was gone. He was left with black. He was left with white." Here, you have ‘black’ and ‘white’ being used as opposite colours to signify the lack of vibrance.

With respect to PARALLELISM, antithesis puts forth a contradiction but in parallel structure. This means that the grammatical structures of your opposite phrases/sentences are the same. For example: "He was left with black. He was left with white." These two sentences have the same grammatical structure. Infact, the only difference between these two sentences is the colour, but then it amplifies the message.

I hope this helps those reading this. If you're a beginner or even stuck with your work, try implementing some of these to help yourself!

- ashlee

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deepwaterwritingprompts · 8 months ago

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Deep Water Prompt #3284

Demons are dead clever, and useful once domesticated. To make a pet of one, allow it to possess a house first. Let it calm down over a century or so, before you let it touch your soul.

#creative writing #writing prompt #haunted houses as a domestication technique #for demons #someone write this before i do #inhuman #heaven and hell #haunted houses

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brainrotcharacters · 4 months ago

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deadclaws where wade catches Logan's attention using the laser pointer or going "pspsps" and Logan Marco Polo's Wade by yelling "FUCK me"

#(30 ft to the left we hear this) “IF YOU INSIST”#and some other such things. including but not limited to #“SHOULD I GET THE TOYS DADDY O”#“(outright squealing or some inappropriate sounds in response)”#“FUCK YES”#“I'M COMING... not like that. not yet”#logan hates using that technique but wade is so embarrassing that it's the only one he answers to #but Wade's responses are so creative and disorienting and entertaining #vibes ✨♥️💛#deadpool and wolverine #deadpool #wade wilson #wolverine #logan howlett #poolverine #deadpool 3 #deadclaws #deadpool 2024

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hayatheauthor · 1 month ago

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100 Dialogue Tags You Can Use Instead of “Said”

For the writers struggling to rid themselves of the classic ‘said’. Some are repeated in different categories since they fit multiple ones (but those are counted once so it adds up to 100 new words).

1. Neutral Tags

Straightforward and unobtrusive dialogue tags:

Added, Replied, Stated, Remarked, Responded, Observed, Acknowledged, Commented, Noted, Voiced, Expressed, Shared, Answered, Mentioned, Declared.

2. Questioning Tags

Curious, interrogative dialogue tags:

Asked, Queried, Wondered, Probed, Inquired, Requested, Pondered, Demanded, Challenged, Interjected, Investigated, Countered, Snapped, Pleaded, Insisted.

3. Emotive Tags

Emotional dialogue tags:

Exclaimed, Shouted, Sobbed, Whispered, Cried, Hissed, Gasped, Laughed, Screamed, Stammered, Wailed, Murmured, Snarled, Choked, Barked.

4. Descriptive Tags

Insightful, tonal dialogue tags:

Muttered, Mumbled, Yelled, Uttered, Roared, Bellowed, Drawled, Spoke, Shrieked, Boomed, Snapped, Groaned, Rasped, Purred, Croaked.

5. Action-Oriented Tags

Movement-based dialogue tags:

Announced, Admitted, Interrupted, Joked, Suggested, Offered, Explained, Repeated, Advised, Warned, Agreed, Confirmed, Ordered, Reassured, Stated.

6. Conflict Tags

Argumentative, defiant dialogue tags:

Argued, Snapped, Retorted, Rebuked, Disputed, Objected, Contested, Barked, Protested, Countered, Growled, Scoffed, Sneered, Challenged, Huffed.

7. Agreement Tags

Understanding, compliant dialogue tags:

Agreed, Assented, Nodded, Confirmed, Replied, Conceded, Acknowledged, Accepted, Affirmed, Yielded, Supported, Echoed, Consented, Promised, Concurred.

8. Disagreement Tags

Resistant, defiant dialogue tags:

Denied, Disagreed, Refused, Argued, Contradicted, Insisted, Protested, Objected, Rejected, Declined, Countered, Challenged, Snubbed, Dismissed, Rebuked.

9. Confused Tags

Hesitant, uncertain dialogue tags:

Stammered, Hesitated, Fumbled, Babbled, Mumbled, Faltered, Stumbled, Wondered, Pondered, Stuttered, Blurted, Doubted, Confessed, Vacillated.

10. Surprise Tags

Shock-inducing dialogue tags:

Gasped, Stunned, Exclaimed, Blurted, Wondered, Staggered, Marvelled, Breathed, Recoiled, Jumped, Yelped, Shrieked, Stammered.

Looking For More Writing Tips And Tricks?

Check out the rest of Quillology with Haya; a blog dedicated to writing and publishing tips for authors!

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fairyofshampgyu · 5 months ago

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Guys I drew beomgyu yet again !!

#I have no technique so real drawers don’t come for me idk what I’m doing I just wing it 😭😭#drawing the hair actually killed me off #I love the that the very few times I draw is just beomgyu #he truly is my muse for everything creative #he’s just too pretty #drawing him like my french girls #beomgyu !<3

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charbroiledchicken · 11 days ago

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cannibalism as a metaphor for obsessive love/limerence in literature is officially one of my favourite things ever.

you love me so much that you will never be satisfied with my closeness until we are the same being? until our hearts are so intertwined you can feel the twin pulses under your skin? that you cannot properly exhibit your love unless you give me yourself entirely, preferably on a silver platter?

perfect.

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authorsharonforester · 4 months ago

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Sticking To A Writing Routine

Welcome. Today, I will show you how hard it is to stay on track with writing and the ways to overcome it. Here at home, I will currently express that I haven't written in a long time.

The trouble with that is that I really want to, and despite that, I am not writing. I have a hard time sticking to writing a little bit every day because I am worried about how I will finish my work and the work it takes to do my writing and then edit it.

People have different reasons why they procrastinate writing. For all of us, it doesn't mean we enjoy writing. We are just afraid of failure in some way. For example, for me it is the process of editing and how much work it is going to take. My brain tells me that I will never finish the editing process because it takes so much time. I want to do things that will take very little time.

The story I am working on is about an alien that joins his people's plans on wanting to invade planet Earth, but the alien doesn't want to partake in this mission, and meanwhile on Earth, a girl and her friend are desperate to meet a live alien. This is a novel that took me three years to write when I was a little girl. I have written the entire thing on paper and now I need to type it on the computer.

It is important to keep yourself accountable for getting the work done. I am on camera because I want to show you that it is possible to come and stay on track in the writing process if you really let yourself do this. There are different ways to hold you accountable. You just gotta pick the types that work for you because everyone is different.

-Make a schedule and stick to it -Make a goal and stick to it -Make a checklist and work on it for a duration of time -Make a sign in, sign out sheet -Set a goal for the day -Get someone else to keep you accountable -Dedicate a day for your tasks

What works for every single person is different, so it is important you find what works for you, whether it is something from this list or something you come up with on your own. What works for me is this (when I am disciplined): Setting a goal and using a day to accomplish it. Let me tell you how I found this. I was roaming through YouTube one day when I found an interview with Stephen King on there. I clicked on it because the title said he was talking about how he was making books so fast. He went into the conversation to mention that he sets the goal of writing SIX PAGES a day and then having the entire day to accomplish this. He also mentions that when he is being overcome with obstacles in writing, then he will use that time to take breaks, and what he does in those breaks is either eat a meal, shop at the door for things he needs or do a chore. He uses his breaks to do something he needs to get some practice in his personal life instead of being distracted by the phone and TV, which is really important to getting anything done. It is like being at school at home. Sometimes it makes it easier to think of it as an assignment he needs to get done. All these little things work as a motivator for him while he is working. Then he will start over the next day until he reaches his day(s) off.

This was inspiring to me because everyone else always came up with ideas that didn't work for me, such as the list above. For me, working under a time limit didn't work because I didn't know what to expect to come in randomly in my life. Others are able to work under pressure… It all depends on who you are and that you pick what works for you. As long as you pick something that is realistic to you, then you are on your way.

The last thing that you need to remember is that you need to start with small goals and just write! before you set yourself up with bigger goals and worry about editing, or else you will never get anything done because you are overwhelming yourself. We will overthink everything and then end up messing up our own stories.

#creative writing #writing #writing tips #writing techniques #writing life #authors #writing routine #books #writing process #editing process #writing blog #sharon forester #author sharon forester #writeblr #writers on tumblr #writing community #writer #writerscommunity

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