#creative writing hacks

[thatsbelievable]

[ssbooks]

Your character has been kidnapped...

The chains on your wrists rattle as you move. Your butt is starting to hurt from the chair you're sitting on. A double mirror is on one side of the wall. You stare at the reflection. You're disheveled, but you're fine. The door opens, and someone in a black cloak walks into the room. His face is hidden by a mask. It is completely white and shows no facial features. He sits down across from you, his arms clasped in front of him.

“Now, let us begin.”

His voice is human-sounding, so you cross "unknown beast from beyond" off your list. He lifts a stack of papers and sets them on the desk. You can’t see what is written there.

“Who are you?” you ask.

“I am part of the story police. I’m going to ask you some questions. Answer them to the best of your ability.”

“Why? What do you want?”

“Simply what’s best for the author.”

“Author? What author?”

“It doesn’t matter. Let’s start.”

(This is a character interview. You sit down with your character in your head and talk to them. This is a good tactic to flesh out your characters. The scenario was just to give your character context. You can use it or not. Enjoy)

Part one: The basics

What is your name?

What three words best describe your personality?

How old are you now?

When were you born?

Do you have a lifelong dream or aspiration?

What is your state of mind usually?

Where do you call home now?

To what social class do you belong?

What do you tend to do that other people find strange? 

What are your quirks, strange mannerisms, annoying habits, or other defining characteristics?

Do you have any bad habits? If so, what are they and how do you plan to get rid of them?

Do you have a lifelong dream or aspiration?

Part Two: Family

How close are you to your family?

Do you have a spouse or significant other? Describe them.

Have you started your own family? Describe them if you do. If not, do you want to? Why or why not?

Who was your Father and what was he like?

Who was your Mother and what was she like?

Who are you closest to in your family?

Is there someone in your family you wish you were closer to?

What was your parent’s marriage like?

Did they remain married? If not, how did that affect you? When did they split?

Part Three: Friends and Relationships with Others

In general, how do you treat other people that you have just met?

Does your treatment of people change depending on how well you know them and if so how?

Who is the most important person in your life and why?

Who is the person you respect the most and why?

Who are your friends? Describe them.

Who would you turn to if you were in desperate need of help?

Do you trust anyone to protect you? Who and why?

If you died or went missing, who would miss you?

Who is the person you despise the most, and why?

Do you tend to argue with people or avoid conflict?

Do you tend to take on leadership roles in social situations?

Do you like interacting with large groups of people? Why or why not?

Do you care what others think of you?

What is the most important quality you look for in a friend?

What do you most value in your friends?

Part Four: Growing Up (Childhood)

Where were you born?

Where did you grow up?

How would you describe your childhood in general?

What is your earliest memory?

What is your fondest childhood memory?

What is your worst childhood memory?

As a child, what did you want to be when you grew up?

As a child, what were your favorite activities?

As a child, what kinds of personality traits did you display?

As a child, were you popular? Who were your friends, and what were they like?

Part Five: Growing Up (Teen/Young Adult)

How much schooling have you had?

Did you enjoy school?

Where did you learn most of your skills and other abilities?

While growing up, did you have any role models other than your parents? Describe them.

While growing up, how did you get along with the other members of your family?

How old were you when you went on your first date? Describe the date.

What is your favorite memory from your teen years?

What is your worst memory from your teen years?

When and with whom was your first kiss?

Describe any influences in your past that led you to do the things you do today.

Part Six: Past Influences

What do you consider the most important even of your life so far?

Who has had the most influence on you?

What do you consider your greatest achievement?

What is your greatest regret?

What is the most evil thing you have ever done?

Do you have a criminal record of any kind?

When was the time you were the most frightened?

What is the most embarrassing thing that ever happened to you?

If you could change one thing from your past, what would it be, and why?

What is your best memory?

What is your worst memory?

When and where were you the happiest?

Part Seven: Beliefs and Opinions

Are you optimistic or pessimistic?

What is your greatest fear?

Have you told any one your fear before?

Who would be the one person you’d never tell your fear?

Are you able to kill?

Under what circumstances do you find killing to be acceptable or unacceptable?

In your opinion, what is the most evil thing any human being could do?

Do you believe in the existence of soul males and/or true love?

What do you believe makes a successful life?

How honest are you about your thoughts and feelings? (Meaning do you hide your true self from others and in what way?)

Do you have any biases or prejudices?

Is there anything you absolutely refuse to do under any circumstances? Why?

Who or what, if anything, would you die for? (or go to extremes for?)

What is your best feature, in your opinion?

What do you think of drugs and alcohol? Are there any types that people should never do? Why or why not?

What is your idea of perfect happiness?

What do you regard as the lowest depth of misery?

Part Seven: Religen/politics.

What are your religious views?

what religion are you apart of?

What are your beliefs?

what will you not do as part of your religion?

What are daily/weekly practices do you do?

What holidays do you celebrate?

Why do you follow your particular religion?

Are you aware of the origins of your religion?

Do you ever disagree with the teachings?

Do you ever have a crisis of faith?

Do you trust priests or religious leaders?

Why do you think religions were created

Do you believe in an afterlife punishment/reward?

Do you know much about religious history?

Are you ever sceptical of holy fables/stories?

Do you think you can be manipulated by religion?

Do you ever dislike non-believers of your faith?

what commands from a religious leader would you not obay?

What are your political views?

What life experiences have you had that have led you to feel so passionately about this issue?

Where do your beliefs come from? Family? Church? Work?

What do you think your beliefs might be if you had been born into a different family, religion, race, gender, class, or time?

What is at the heart of this issue, for you as an individual?

Why do you care so much about this issue?

Do you see any gray areas in the issue we are discussing, or ideas you find it difficult to define?

Do you have any mixed feelings, doubts, uncertainties, or discomforts regarding this issue that you would be willing to share?

Is there any part of this issue that you are not 100% certain of or would be willing to discuss and talk about?

Do you think other definitions, meanings, experiences, or emotions are possible? How?

What underlying values or ethical beliefs have led you to your current political beliefs?

Part Eight: Likes and Dislikes

What is/are your favorite hobbies and pastimes?

What is your most treasured possession?

What is your favorite color? Why?

What is your least favorite color? Why?

What is your favorite food? Why?

What is your least favorite food? Why?

What is your favorite sound? Why?

What is your least favorite sound? Why?

What is your favorite smell/scent? Why?

What is your least favorite smell/scent? Why?

What, if anything, do you like to entertain your self with? Books or movies? Why?

What makes you mad?

What makes you furious?

What makes you laugh?

What makes you laugh out loud, hysterically?

What makes you cry?

What makes you cry, hysterically?

What shocks or offends you?

How do you deal with stress?

Are you spontaneous or do you always need to have a plan? Why?

What are your pet peeves?

Where do you go when you’re angry or depressed?

What do you do when you are sad? Why?

What do you do when you are angry? Why?

What do you do when you are happy? Why?

What do you do when you are scared? Why?

What do you do when you’re bored?

What type of music do you like? Favorite bands or musicians?

What annoys you more than anything else?

What kind of weather is your least favorite? Why?

What is the most beautiful thing you have ever seen?

What is the most awful thing you have ever seen?

What sorts of things embarrass you?

Part Nine: Self Image

Describe a normal day for you.

How do you feel when your routine is disrupted?

What is your greatest strength as a person?

What is your greatest weakness?

If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

Are you generally introverted or extroverted?

Are you generally organized or messy?

Name three things you consider yourself to be very good at.

Name three things you consider yourself to be very bad at.

What are your reasons for being an adventurer or heroic? Are your real reasons different than the ones you tell other people in public? If so, detail both reasons.

What three words best describe your personality?

What three words would others probably use to describe you?

What about you is heroic?

Are you a better lead or follower? Why?

What is your responsibility to the world? Why?

What do you like about yourself?

What don’t you like about yourself?

How do you picture yourself?

Part Ten: Occupation & Finance

What is your occupation? (If you don’t have one, where does your money come from?)

Do you like your job?

What is your boss/employer like?

What are your co-workers like?

Do you get along with your co-workers?

Which co-workers don’t you get along with and why?

What is something you had to learn that you hated?

Do you tend to save or spend your money? Why?

If you were to gain an obscenely large sum of money, what would you do with it?

Do you smoke, drink, or use drugs? If yes, why? Do you want to quit?

Do you drink on a regular basis?

Have you ever tried any kind of “mood altering” substance? Which ones? Describe the experience.

Part 11: Love

Have you ever been in love? What happened?

Have you ever had your heart broken?

Do you currently have a lover? Describe them, what you are attracted to, and what the relationship is like.

What is the perfect romantic date?

Describe your perfect partner.

Do you ever want to get married? When do you see this happening?

Do you want children? Why or why not?

What was your most recent romantic relationship like? Who was it with?

What’s the worst thing you’ve done to someone you love?

Part twelve: Morality

What one act in your past are you most ashamed of?

What one act in your past are you most proud of?

Have you ever been in a physical fight before? Over what, with who, and who won?

What do you feel most strongly about?

What do you pretend to feel strongly about, just to impress people?

What trait do you find most admirable and how often do you find it?

Is there anything you think should not be incorporated into the media or arts? (i.e., sex, violence, etc). What and why or why not?

Do you think the future is hopeful? Why or why not?

Do you think redemption is possible? Why or why not?

Is there something you think is absolutely unforgivable? What is it?

Is it okay for men to cry?

Is it okay for you to cry?

What do you think is wrong with most people, overall?

What is the worst thing you could ever do to someone you hated?

Do you have feelings that disturb you? What and why?

On what occasions do you lie?

Do you think it is okay to lie?

Part thrteen: Talents/Superpowers

Tell the story of how you became what you are or first learned of your own abilities.

What do you think now of being supernatural? Is it cool or have you been screwed?

Do you have a mentor? Describe them and how you became their student.

Do you have any magical items? Where did you get them?

Think of a major event that happened during your training/initiation. Describe the experience.

What is something you had to learn during your training that you hated? Why did you hate it?

What is something you had to learn during your training that you loved? Why did you love it?

Part fourteen: Future

What goal do you most want to accomplish in your lifetime?

Where do you see yourself in five years?

If you knew you were going to die in 24 hours, name three things you would do in the time you had left.

What is the one thing for which you would most like to be remembered after your death?

If you could, what advice would you, the hero, give to the villain? Or If you could, why would you, the villain want the hero to be at your side or part of your team?

If your house burned down, what one thing would you want to save?

What is a nightmare (during sleep) that you have often?

What is a daydream that you have often?

What is your motto?

Part fifteen: Chariter arc

If you could go back to any point in history and change something, what would it be?

What is the absolute worst thing that could happen to you at this point in the story?

What is the best thing that could happen at this point in the story?

Everybody’s hiding something—a fear, a weakness, a strength, an unpopular opinion. What are you hiding right now?

[angelsdean]

I need people to understand how S&P (standards and practices) works in television and how much influence they have over what gets to stay IN an episode of a show and how the big time network execs are the ones holding the purse strings and making final decisions on a show's content, not the writers / showrunners / creatives involved.

So many creators have shared S&P notes over the years of the wild and nonsensical things networks wanted them to omit / change / forbid. Most famously on tumblr, I've seen it so many times, is the notes from Gravity Falls. But here's a post compiling a bunch of particularly bad ones from various networks too. Do you see the things they're asking to be changed / cut ?

Now imagine, anything you want to get into your show and actually air has to get through S&P and the network execs. A lot of creators have had to resort to underhanded methods. A lot of creators have had to relegate things to subtext and innuendo and scenes that are "open to interpretation" instead of explicit in meaning. Things have had to be coded and symbolized. And they're relying on their audience to be good readers, good at media literacy, to notice and get it. This stuff isn't the ramblings of conspiracy theorists, it's the true practices creatives have had to use to be able to tell diverse stories for ages. The Hays Code is pretty well known, it exists because of censorship. It was a way to symbolize certain things and get past censors.

Queercoding, in particular, has been used for ages in both visual media and literature do signal to queer audiences that yes, this character is one of us, but no, we can't be explicit about it because TPTB won't allow it. It's a wink-wink, nudge-nudge to those in the know. It's the deliberate use of certain queer imagery / clothing / mannerisms / phrases / references to other queer media / subtle glances and lingering touches. Things that offer plausible deniability and can be explained away or go unnoticed by straight audiences to get past those network censors. But that queer viewers WILL (hopefully) pick up on.

Because, unfortunately, still to this day, a lot of antiquated network execs don't think queer narratives are profitable. They don't think they'll appeal to general audiences, because that's what matters, whatever appeals to most of the audience demographic so they can keep watching and keep making the network more money. The networks don't care about telling good stories! Most of them are old white cishet business men, not creatives. They don't care about character arcs and what will make fans happy. They don't care about storytelling. What they care about is profit and they're basing their ideas of what's profitable on what they believe is the predominate target demographic, usually white cis heterosexual audiences.

So, imagine a show that started airing in the early 2000s. Imagine a show where the two main characters are based on two characters from a famous Beat Generation novel, where one of the characters is queer! based on a real like bisexual man! The creator is aware of this, most definitely. And sure, it's 2005, there's no way they were thinking of making that explicit about Dean in the text because it just wouldn't fly back then to have a main character be queer. But! it's made subtext. And there are nods to that queerness placed in the text. Things that are open to interpretation. Things that are drenched in metaphor (looking at you 1x06 Skin "I know I'm a freak" "maybe this thing was born human but was different...hated. Until he learned to become someone else.") Things that are blink-and-you-miss-it and left to plausible deniability (things like seemingly spending an hour in the men's bathroom, or always reacting a little vulnerable and awkward when you're clocked instead of laughing it off and making a homophobic joke abt it)

And then, years later there's a ship! It's popular and at first the writers aren't really seriously thinking about it but they'll throw the fans a bone here and there. Then, some writers do get on the destiel train and start actively writing scenes for them that are suggestive. And only a fraction of what they write actually makes it into the text. So many lines left on the cutting room floor: i love past you. i forgive you i love you. i lost cas and it damn near broke me. spread cas's ashes alone. of course i wanted you to stay. if cas were here. -- etc. Everything cut was not cut by the writers! Why would a writer write something to then sabotage their own story and cut it? No, these are things that didn't make it past the network. Somewhere a note was made maybe "too gay" or "don't feed the shippers" or simply "no destiel."

So, "no destiel." That's pretty clearly the message we got from the CW for years. "No destiel. Destiel will alienate our general audience. Two of our main characters being queer? And in a relationship? No way." So what can the pro-destiel creatives involved do, if the network is saying no? What can the writers do if most of their explicit destiel (or queer dean) lines / moments are getting cut? Relegate things to subtext. Make jokes that straight people can wave off but queer people can read into. Make costuming and set design choices that the hardcore fans who are already looking will notice while the general audience and the out-of-touch network execs won't blink and eye at (I'm looking at you Jerry and your lamps and disappearing second nightstands and your gay flamingo bar!)

And then, when the audience asks, "is destiel real? is this proof of destiel?" what can the creatives do but deny? Yes, it hurts, to be told "No no I don't know what you're talking about. There's no destiel in supernatural" a la "there is no war in Ba Sing Se" but! if the network said "no destiel!" and you and your creative team have been working to keep putting destiel in the subtext of the narrative in a way that will get past censors, you can't just go "Yes, actually, all that subtext and symbolism you're picking up, yea it's because destiel is actually in the narrative."

But, there's a BIG difference between actively putting queer themes and subtext into the narrative and then saying it's not there (but it is! and the audience sees it!) versus NOT putting any queer content into the text but SAYING it is there to entice queer fans to continue watching. The latter, is textbook queerbaiting. The former? Is not. The former is the tactics so many creatives have had to use for years, decades, centuries, to get past censorship and signal to those in the know that yea, characters like you are here, they exist in this story.

Were the spn writers perfect? No, absolutely not. And I don't think every instance of queer content was a secret signal. Some stuff, depending on the writer, might've been a period-typical gay joke. These writers are flawed. But it's no secret that there were pro-destiel writers in the writing room throughout the years, and that efforts were made to make it explicitly canon (the market research!)

So no, the writers weren't ever perfect or a homogeneous entity. But they definitely were fighting an uphill battle constantly for 15 yrs against S&P and network execs with antiquated ideas of what's profitable / appealing.

Spn even called out the networks before, on the show, using a silly example of complaints abt the lighting of the show and how dark the early seasons were. Brightening the later seasons wasn't a creative choice, but a network choice. And if the networks can complain abt and change something as trivial as the lighting of a show, they definitely are having a hand in influencing the content of the show, especially queer content.

Even in s15, (seasons fifteen!!!) Misha has said he worried Castiel's confession would not air. In 2020!!! And Jensen recorded that scene on his personal phone! Why? Sure, for the memories. But also, I do not doubt for a second that part of it was for insurance, should the scene mysteriously disappear completely. We've seen the finale script. We've seen the omitted omitted omitted scenes. We all saw how they hacked the confession scene to bits. The weird cuts and close-ups. That's not the writers doing. That's likely not even the editors (willingly). That's orders from on high. All of the fuckery we saw in s15 reeks of network interference. Writers are not trying to sabotage their own stories, believe me.

Anyways, TLDR: Networks have a lot more power than many think and they get final say in what makes it to air. And for years creative teams have had to find ways to get past network censorship if they want "banned" or "unapproved" "unprofitable" "unwanted" content to make it into the show. That means relying on techniques like symbolism, subtext, and queercoding, and then shutting up about it. Denying its there, saying it's all "open to interpretation" all while they continue to put that open to interpretation content into the show. And that's not queerbaiting, as frustrating as it might be for queer audiences to be told that what they're seeing isn't there, it's still not queerbaiting. Queerbaiting is a marketing technique to draw in queer fans by baiting them with the promise of queer content and then having no queer content in said media. But if you are picking up on queer themes / subtext / symbolism / coding that is in front of your face IN the text, that's not queerbaiting. It's there, covertly, for you, because someone higher up didn't want it to be there explicitly or at all.

[ladycatastrophe7]

Soul-Feeding activities to overcome writer’s block:

Read other books/fanfiction - look for the ”I don’t want to go to sleep this is so good” feeling

Watch movies or series that make you emotionally invested, write down the emotions that you’re feeling and ideas

Keep an idea-journal

Take inspiration from your (sleeping) dreams

Go to museums, historical places - take inspiration from real life stories and from history (respectfully)

Watch other forms of art you like and get inspired through that; dance, festivals, concerts, art galleries, photo galleries, theatre, read poetry

Get active; exercise, clear your head, do something else. Exercise is scientifically proven to boost creativity

Listen to music and daydream

Play pretend like when you were a child, play out your story and allow yourself to be silly

People-watch, make characters and stories from the people you see around you at coffeeshops, parks, outside your window or at the grocery store

Make a moodboard on pinterest

Reasearch an academic subject and imbed the knowledge into the world (psychology, history, cultural history, etc)

Snowflake Method

Visit a place that reminds you of a location in your book; write down the sensations, sounds, sights, etc while being there

Have a conversation with a stranger, see if there’s inspiration there

Link to Blog: https://www.society-of-heartsiders.com/

[bibliophilesince2003]

Strong Female Characters

Too many times I pick up a new book to read, but I am immediately met with the female protagonist whose personality is "toughness" and/or "meanness." The equivalent is making a "bad boy" character and calling it a personality. Male or female author, anyone could fall victim to this trap.

Skills and tropes are not personality.

Sure, it's easy to mold a character to snap at everyone in an arrogant manner at every dialogue opportunity and call it a day, but the character remains shallow. Especially for your main character, you should have multiple "words" to describe them. This will bring ease to your writing, too.

For example, for one character of mine... I've put down 18 personality traits in her character chart, and I could likely put down more if given enough time.

When I'm met with a "tough" female protagonist, I'm always expecting more details. What sort of people or what kind of environment makes her stiffen, and - this is as equally as important - what sort of people or what kind of environment makes her relaxed? Being "tough" is more about mood than personality, because surroundings could easily change it.

Is she driven or shy? Is she humorous or serious? Is she observant or a free spirit? Is she clumsy or graceful? Is she friendly or cautious?

Notice how I said "or" and separated the two extremes. You cannot have clumsy and graceful... you must pick one side of the spectrum. A person will naturally lean one way or the other.

Some people make the mistake of choosing the other "extreme" to create weaknesses. "She's driven, but she's shy." Being shy is not a weakness... some people are naturally this way, and there are benefits to being shy.

Find weaknesses within the "extreme" you've chosen.

For example, if one is driven... the weakness is impulsiveness. She may get in trouble, or trouble will find her. Being over-zealous is fine... in doses. Let your character make those mistakes to better represent their personality.

If you're struggling, observe the people in your life. Personality will shine through how a person acts, treats others, talks, etc.

Here's what I do... write down multiple personality traits, decide how extroverted/introverted he/she is, and settle on a single word that wraps up his/her whole character, or most of it, to help refer to something simple during the writing process.

And no, that "single word" better not be a skill or trope.

I want complicated female protagonists again, ones that are more than just mood swings or their environment.

[thejournallo]

Life hack: Write

Writing can literally be your saver when it comes to everything. 

I had a bad day, and I have no one to vent it to; Write it.  I hate this person, and I don't really like how they act; Write it. I feel loved and confident; Write it.  want to be a better version of yourself; Write it.

We are literally people capable of endless imaginations; writing about our feelings, thoughts, and projects makes it real, makes it true, and helps us visualize and get into detail. 

We have to write everything down to be able to actually process it most of the time.  When we feel bad or good, our body and mind need to process it in many different ways, and most of the time, writing is a great way to let go and feel it at the same time.

[llamawrites]

Writing Hack

If you are you bad at writing descriptions, use a reference photo. It helps me visualize more if I have a picture of the setting or thing.

Also, If it works for an artist, then it works for a writer

[veryrealauthorthings]

[bookshelf-in-progress]

My most annoying writing habits:

Thinking that every new idea needs a new story to feature it, instead of folding several ideas into one more detailed story

Wanting to write a story with more detailed characters and worldbuilding than usual, and trying to build a new story that lets me do that, instead of, you know, fleshing out the characters and world for story ideas I already have.

[thatsbelievable]

[pennavnprojects]

Shout out to Matt Briney on Unsplash! Thanks for taking and posting this picture. It's great inspiration for my character Joan Watson from my fanfiction-in-progress! For those of you who don't know, Unsplash is a free resource where you can find stock photos! I use it a lot - especially when looking for collage material or writing. It's a great place to get some atmospheric inspiration.

Check out this image, and others on Unsplash, here: Photo by Matt Briney on Unsplash

[bigcats-birds-and-books]

NaNo 2024: Victory!!

Hello, world, here's my tidied desk in the aftermath of FINISHING ANOTHER BOOK!!! It took me EXACTLY four (4) pens this year (I was literally writing my wrap-up stats in the back of the notebook when the in on the last one started to go!), on 82 pages across two (2) notebooks, and preliminary* word count is 71,541!! (*subject to change once typed--I count by hand and tweak as I type haha.)

Also featuring: the NaNo Earrings, Volumes 2 and 3 of the Bitch Journal (where I whine about writerly things and also Reflect On My Process--I learned very much this year and got a lot of dopamine from it!!), the tiny watch that kept me company in my tertiary writing space, the earplugs that made working at home Tolerable (mostly), and some of the frantic scribbles on scrap paper (I got a LOT of mileage out of a dead receipt that Panera misprinted for me lol).

Now, onward to TYPING!! I would love for this not to take most of December, so I'll probably have more Unhinged Goals About That (I don't know why I am the way that I am), but! The hard part is done!!

[ladycatastrophe7]

Writing Hack: Stupid Hack to improve your descriptions

Go to pinterest, find a picture that you think has a strong ambience/emotion to it.

Practice describing the picture, focus on the ambience rather than on the details

Go to Canva

Go to ”Magic Media”

Paste your description in the media that creates pictures based on words

See if you managed to describe the ambience well by examining the ai pictures Canva can generate from it

If not, do it again, and again

This also works in the editing process to see if your descriptions are working

[bibliophilesince2003]

Virtuous Characters

I'm here with another post about what I want to see in literature, or what I find severely lacking, and that is virtuous characters, specifically virtuous main characters.

Uplifting a morally grey character for doing evil is considered attractive because "morally grey" is defined as neither good or bad. In other words... why attack morally grey characters if they have no concept of good or evil?

A morally grey character may have motivation, and they might not. An author can write up this sort of character without ever having to explain why the character is committing something wrong, because "wrong" and "right" is not clearly defined. That's just how they are, apparently.

Perhaps people avoid defining good and evil because it can be developed into something cliche. We've all seen the movies that clearly portray an evil character as evil because they wish to "take over the world" or sit alone in a dark room, brooding. We've all seen the movies that clearly portray a good character as a young, misunderstood person who simply loves everybody and wants everyone to get along.

Good and evil should be clearly defined. There is no such thing as "morally grey" characters in reality. Morals do not change, and most human beings abide by them. It is the one thing that provides structure and closure, and it is the border between good and evil.

So how are authors to define good and evil without being cliche or predictable?

A convincing evil character will have suffered through life, perhaps. They have motivation, and ambition that takes them too far. They have lost their morality, or a part of it. However, redemption is always possible, and no one is too far gone. Include those moments of vulnerability.

If you need inspiration, think of history. I will use the example of Adolf Hitler. Most people would consider him a very evil person, but why? He was manipulative and gained support. He introduced concentration camps and ignored moral boundaries, perfectly content with inflicting harm on innocent people.

Most importantly, a convincing good character is not "good" because they never make mistakes, or always do the right thing. A good character is refreshing because it represents young people who are, in fact, innocent and/or naïve. They see a brighter hope that we should all strive to see when times are tough. No, a good character doesn't always win. Break them, and introduce reality.

But do not break them completely.

We need wholesome moments, and we should see through the eyes of wholesome characters. What kind of resolve do they have that is so strong, you can feel the confidence radiating off of them as you read?

If you need inspiration, again, think of history. What sort of people stood up against those who committed great evil? Think of people in your life, even, that struggle but hold fast to the truth, which should always be guarded. Think of people who would give up their own life to save others.

Those are the sort of people that should be the focal point of a story, no matter how many mistakes they've made.

I'm sure many people would disagree with me, but there is real damage in books that glorify evil behavior. Evil should be present in all if not most stories, but excusing evil is something that should never be celebrated. What we consume truly affects lives, and any story should be critically evaluated.

[sincerely-sofie]

Hey! Just wanted to say thanks for making a story so well written I feel like I get second-hand depression every time I read the last two chapters. :)

I think I had more of a thing I was trying to do when I thought I should make an ask, so uh... any advice for a very average artist/writer who struggles with finding motivation for writing?

As payment, I offer you this picture of a dog.

Thanks so much for your kind words! I'm real insecure about my writing and it's clarity, so to hear that it's emotionally powerful means a lot to me, hehe :>

Ooooh man. Do I EVER have advice for artist/writer combo creators who struggle to find motivation for writing. C’mere buddy. Lean in reeeaaal close. Your fellow average artist/writer is gonna tell you a secret. Come on. Even closer. You ready? Okay.

The world has conned you into thinking motivation is necessary to write, or even do anything in general. It's a scam. Motivation is nice, but it's just the icing on the cake. You need a cake in the first place to even enjoy it.

(If you're interested, I’ve written about making your own motivation in the past. Intrinsically created motivation is a lot healthier of a sort of motivation to seek out than extrinsically located motivation, which is the motivation I’m mostly referring to in this post. I figure I’d link to it in case you’re having trouble getting enough oomph to want to even consider writing in the first place, as the rest of this post assumes you’re fairly comfortable with the writing process, but have trouble getting it done.)

Before I wrote The Present is a Gift, I had never truly finished a writing project— I had co-written the script for a video game that never got made and wrote the first short story in an anthology I started and never concluded. Other than that, I had nothing but a massive field of stories that I'd endlessly flit back and forth between, adding to each project I landed on for a time, but never lingering long enough to actually see anything to completion. I loved all of my projects and wanted to do them justice by finishing them, but I never was able to do anything close to that. There were multiple reasons for my struggle to do substantial work on my projects— but the greatest reason was by far my refusal to use anything but motivation as a reason to work on projects. I’d wait for myself to feel motivated to write anything. And I would only be motivated so frequently.

I attribute my newfound ability to break from my pattern of abandoning and rescuing projects over and over to one thing— I set up a writing routine.

I chose a time that worked best for me every weekday to pour myself a massive mug of my favorite edible battery acid (tropical punch Tampico, for anyone curious) sit down at my computer, put on my headphones, turn on one of those multi-hour-long pomodoro timer youtube videos that have pretty music in the background, and write. This was also in combination with an attempt to win at NaNoWriMo, a writing challenge where you try to write 50k words in November, which gave me a daily word count target to try and reach or exceed. NaNoWriMo’s deadline was also helpful— and so was a promise I made to myself to not work on projects other than TPiaG before it was completed— but the real reason I actually managed to write TPiaG was because every weekday I’d do my writing routine.

I was not motivated whatsoever at the start. I was anxious, intimidated, and very reluctant to write. But I committed to writing TPiaG to completion, no matter how I felt about it, because a lot of people wanted to read the story, and I didn’t want to let them down. Not the healthiest driving thought process, I will readily say, but it got me to sit in my chair at first. As time went on and I shook off the rust and reluctance, I wouldn’t feel as anxious about writing. I didn’t feel intimidated. I would wake up and think to myself “OH BOY, IT’S WRITING TIME!” and leap out of bed to start my routine. Motivation only came after I had already been writing every weekday for about three weeks. And the motivation stayed for as long as I kept up with my writing routine.

Don’t get me wrong— motivation is important. But waiting until you’re motivated to do something is a very unsteady way to go about life, and in my experience when that thought process is applied to writing, it means you’ll never finish anything and never be satisfied with your work. There’s a quote that I love that says “the motivation comes after you show up.” And it’s absolutely true.

Motivation loves momentum. You can set bait for it by writing consistently for a while, whereupon it will make its way into your brain and make itself at home for as long as you keep up the momentum you’ve gotten. If you just wait for motivation to stumble into you, you might get lucky, but only that— lucky. You won’t have gained any skills in cultivating your own motivation, and when that lucky motivation fizzles out, you’ll be left waiting for the possibility of another brief flash of motivation to take its place before you’re ready to write again.

[blackrosesandwhump]

Rose's Writing Tips #3: Word Lists

Another hack I use to get the words flowing is word lists.

It sounds simple, and it is, but it works, and I always end up writing something, even if it's short.

Here are the two steps:

Make a list of words off the top of your head. One trick I like to use is to start with a word and change one letter for each subsequent word. Example: hollow/follow/fallow/wallow/willow/pillow, etc.

Pick at least three words and write as much as you like (but at least a sentence) about each of them. You can also combine words into a prompt.

I just did this yesterday and ended up writing much more than I expected, which led to three new drafts of flash fiction that I intend to polish up.

Happy writing!