#draft four and final for any lingering typos just to be done now

[endwersed]

draft number three of the last chapter for YDSM done! up to 14.5k now 🥵

[thewritershelpers]

Improving Your Writing when English Isn’t Your First Language (mega-ask)

As you can see above, we've gotten more than one question about writing, improving your writing, and even publishing in English when it's not your native language. First off: that's awesome. To anyone writing or even consuming in a language that's not your first, kudos to you.

You can google any variation of this question and get different articles with a ton of the same advice, and some with conflicting advice. Not only have I compiled the most commonly repeated information, but I've also reached out to people on our Discord server and others for their personal experiences.

I'll start off by listing concise versions of the advice and then expound on them further on in the article. Remember that we are not experts on your writing and that everyone learns in different ways and at different paces. These are in no particular order.

-be patient

-practice

-get feedback from native sources

-don't undermine yourself to your audience

-Grammarly

-research

-don't get discouraged

Be patient

That's first because, well, duh. Patience is so important for both yourself and your writing. Writing is hard enough of a passion without the added difficulty of doing it in a language that doesn't come naturally. In the world of literature, writing/publishing in your non-native language isn't just a matter of translating words. It requires translating of ideas, concepts, and even cultural norms, which is why just slapping it into Google translate won't work.

Part of the reason for the advice of having patience, too, is that writing in your native language needs to take time. It doesn't really matter how fast you can whip out 20 pages of a first draft--it'll still be a simple first draft. Writing is a craft that requires not just love and passion but time. So what if you need a little bit of extra time--or a lot of extra time--because you're accomplishing a feat most don't even think about attempting?

Next is to practice.

That goes hand in hand with what I said about being patient. Again, writing in and of itself is all about practice and doing it daily (not that I'm an expert on getting that done, but you know). But when it comes to practice another language, there are different ways you can do that. You can reach out to native speakers (for English, there are going to be so many people willing to help, even just in our community! you just need to ask) and practice having conversations or ask them to look over your work. Practice by turning on your favorite movie or TV show in English with subtitles in your native language. Watch videos on YouTube, find a Spotify playlist/podcast, in your target language. There's also plenty of people who have done what you're trying to do who have shared their experiences and what helped them on those same platforms.

Get feedback from native speakers

This is a bit of an expansion on what I mentioned in the previous paragraph. In my experience, and from what others have shared, writing in a non-native language can be pretty clinical. Writing with figurative language or in metaphors won't be as easy or come as naturally as it does in your own language. Things like idioms and even pop cultures reference aren't always going to translate even if you have the exact words. That's where native speakers come into play. If they're willing to look over your work, whether as a friend or in an editorial position, they can give you advice about whether the wording in one spot sounds clunky or if a phrase doesn't make sense or if there're synonyms for what you already used to help convey your message even stronger.

Don't undermine yourself

This is something that I personally am saying. It's not mentioned on any of the linked sites, and no one I talked to said it. But as someone who is a native English speaker (and even has a degree in it) I think this is super important. This point goes towards native English speakers/writers, too. Don't undersell yourself and undermine your work to the audience before they have even picked it up. Disclaimers are different, and it all comes down to the words you use and how you use them. Let your readers know, whether it's people on AO3 or a literary agent, that English isn't your first language. Let them know concisely that they may find some basic errors--but stop there. Don't grovel. You have nothing to apologize for, especially once you've given that warning (those is it really a warning? what's so dangerous or scary about a few mistakes?). You're writing is not going to be any less of an accomplishment for a few grammatical errors, or mistranslated phrases, or even typos. I've seen so many mistakes in published works that it's kind of ridiculous. But if you put something out there for someone to read and in the same breath say "I don't know that this is worth reading" I'm going to need extra convincing to pick it up. *kicks soapbox away*

Grammarly

*NOT sponsored*

Grammarly is a wonderful tool that you can use, for FREE. It not only (with the free version) helps correct spelling and grammar, but can also help point out the tone you're writing with. For example, right now, Grammarly is telling me that this writing sounds mostly informative--which it's meant to be--and a little appreciative and friendly. When sending emails I've had it tell me that it sounds formal (which I was going for), and I've also had it not say anything because the text was a different kind of writing (like when I'm proof-reading something being posting it on AO3...). I honestly don't know what else it helps with once you've paid because I've been happily using the free version for about 3 years now.

Research

Don't be afraid to pick up a book, or head to the library, or pull up Google. Research is paramount to writing anyway, let alone once you're doing it in another language. Your research options are limitless and can include your mutuals on social media as well as those dictionaries that translate from one language into another. Research can also include (in my humble opinion) binge-watching/reading your favorite things...in English. In four years of university, one of the most frequently said things was to improve your writing 1) write every day and 2) read every day. You're never going to learn from worrying or overthinking, and you're also never going to learn from just doing DuoLingo (that's more conversational than literary anyway).

Something a member of Discord specifically said in relation to research was to look at morphology, at the roots of words (and root words). Morphology is, in linguistics, looking at how words are formed. For example, let's look at "biology". There are parts to this word that each has a different meaning, that formed together created a new/elevated meaning. "ology" means the study of something, and bio means life. So biology is, simply, the study of life. Once you've got those basics of things like "ology" under your belt it'll become easier to not just translate words but the concepts (if this works with your learning style).

Last but not least, don't get discouraged.

Writers of all kinds get discouraged when writing in their native language. Even those of us who speak English as our first language make mistakes worth discouragement (you will never know how many typos were corrected by Grammarly as I wrote this all out the first time). English is not an easy language. It's not the hardest, but it's far from easy (learning another language isn't easy regardless of what languages are involved). This is a post from someone who is a non-native English speaker but you would never know unless they told us.

While researching for this, I found some articles/blog posts that said mostly the same thing, and are where I got some of the information

This one is from a native English speaker giving advice

This one is for writing for non-native English readers, but still has good advice

And finally this one is a blog post (I think) from someone who is a non-native English speaker!

In specific response to some of the asks:

English, like any other language, changes. It's a very dynamic language, actually, and from region to region, there will not only be different accents but different frames of reference. 1950 isn't so far back in time for the English to be drastically different from what is spoken today, but I'm in the USA and you're asking about Oxford. English in England has very different nuances, even more so than you would get between California and Texas and New York. This is a link to the Oxford English Dictionary list of words that became more common in the 50s. However, this is a generalized list, not specific to any English-speaking country let alone region or city. If you're wanting to look at how to convey the accent of people from/in Oxford, there are videos on YouTube of people speaking in different accents so that you can have an idea, a comparison, at least in your own mind. With the 50s it's going to be more just thinking really of what words and lifestyles and things weren't around yet; cell phones didn't exist yet. Here's another link to some stock images of Oxford in the 50s. Remember, this time was very close to WWII so there'll be lingering effects of that, especially in England.

About fight scenes and curses, there's a ton of resources on that. If you just search "fight" on our page, you'll get a ton of posts answering that question. Also, here's a link to a superb and excellent source on writing fight scenes. When it comes to curses...just watch Rage Quit on YouTube, or spend a while on TikTok. If you want to dive right in just Google "English curses" and there'll be YouTube videos, entries on Urban Dictionary, you name it.

When it comes to publishing, once you've gotten your manuscript is a perfect time to have a native-speaking friend look it over. Whether editing is their thing or not, they'll be able to help with the things that are really obvious. I don't have any experience publishing in a different language, though, so there might be other resources along the different stages to help you. Some general publishing advice I've gotten: when wanting to publish fiction, literature, start small. Start with short stories in literary journals, online and in print. You really can't make much headway with large publishing houses without a literary agent and it'll be easier to attract one if you have evidence that you can write, and write well enough people want to read it. When it comes to poetry, just start submitting. Get familiar with the process, and educate yourself on things like simultaneous submissions and a good rejection. Publishing is an ever-changing game that isn't cut and dry in any language or country. We can't tell you what's best, but my advice is to go with your gut and try your best. Don't be afraid to try again, too.

Everyone overthinks their writing. Or at least, everyone I know who writes does. Honestly, in my opinion, if you're not overthinking at least a little bit, you're not worried enough. You will never be able to fully know whether you've explained or described enough. A good chunk of the experience is up to the readers, so you have to leave them some wiggle room for imagination. But that doesn't mean you have to cheapen your story or short-change your characters. You mention specifically that you're POC, which I'm gonna guess also means that your characters will be POC. It's never too much to specify the race/ethnicity of your characters, even in a fantasy work. How you go about writing those descriptions might need to change but it's kind of like chocolate chips, in my mind: you decide those things with your soul.

So, there you have it. A ridiculously long way to say: you're awesome, you do you, practice, love yourself and your writing, and don't be afraid to put yourself out there (in any way).

(images read:

Anonymous said: Im writing a book based in Oxford in 1950s. how was the language different from now. I am not from an English speaking country at all. Never been outside my country either. And Im going to write a book based in England in English

Anonymous said: Hi there, I’m a writer for almost 3 years now but since English isn’t my first language I get discouraged easily if things I write come off strange to myself. Do you maybe have any advice for me, on how to motivate myself and not comparing myself with native English speakers? Thank you in advance!

Anonymous said: Hello! I starting to work on this shortfic but it’s been really hard. It’s like I’m trying to building a house alone and with my bare hands. Even though I’m already used to write in mother tongue. Any advice for non-english speaker trying to write their first story in English?

Yaelburstine said: Hi. Do you have any tips about how to write a good fight scene and curses that people speak English get cus’ it’s not my first language

gyger said: I am not a native english speaker, but most of the books I read are in english and I generally prefer writing in english as well. However, I am worried about making mistakes that I can’t recognize myself. I have no idea how good my english is to a native english speaker, plus some things are easier to write in my native tongue (such as dialogue). I’m also worried about publishing, since that definitely would be easier in my country than abroad. How do I decide what language to choose?

Anonymous said: As a POC writer and English as their second language, I overthink all the writing I do. I feel like I don’t describe my ideas thoroughly or my character descriptions are vague or not good enough. I’m currently working on a YA novel but I plan on writing a YA fantasy novel but I feel like my lack of vocabulary and grammar structure makes me give up on finishing my book. Is this normal for native English speaking authors or is this considered a language barrier thing? Thanks! Love your blog!

Thank you for your questions, and for your patience as we do our best to answer them.

-S

[tlbodine]

How to Love Revision

A lot of you lovely folks are doing Nanowrimo right now. 

Which means that, in a few weeks, you will have a steaming pile of pages. A rough draft. A word-baby, if you will. And you might, at some point, want to turn that messy jumble into a real book, perhaps something to send to a publisher or publish yourself or just share with people. 

I see a lot of writing advice about finishing first drafts -- and a whole lot of it is in the vein of “Just write it! Fix it in post! Finished is better than perfect!” which is great advice for pushing through, but does tend to leave future-you -- the editor you-- with problems. 

Lucky for you, I happen to love editing (really! it’s my favorite part!) so I am here to give you some advice on how to turn those pages into a proper story without ripping all of your hair out or screaming into the void (but if you need to scream, it’s OK, I won’t judge you.) 

First Off: Credit Where It’s Due 

My current revision process draws heavily from Holly Lisle’s One-Pass Revision technique: https://hollylisle.com/one-pass-manuscript-revision-from-first-draft-to-last-in-one-cycle/

Her writing guides are golden, and I heartily recommend reading them all, starting with that one up there. 

I don’t do one-pass revisions, but her ethos really helped me. Before I found her advice, I would get caught in the endless revise/rewrite cycle. I was going through 9+ drafts of every story and it kept morphing into something new and sprouting new problems, hydra-style, every time I tried to redo it. So nothing was ever finished, nothing was ever satisfying, and I hated it. 

So I found a better way! And it freed me! I’ve written six books since then, four of them published (one Wattpad-exclusive) and I learned to look forward to the second draft. 

So how does this magic work? Let me show you! 

Step One: Put the Damn Thing Away 

Editing requires intellectual and emotional distance. So finish your story, and set it aside for a while. Stop thinking about it. Actively put it out of your mind. Work on something else for a while. Read a book. Catch up on all the TV you missed. Whatever. The point is -- you don’t want to come back to revise your story until you can look at it with fresh eyes. 

How long this will take depends on you, of course. It’s a very personal thing. It could be weeks. It could be months. For me, a good guideline is to wait until I can no longer quote whole passages from memory. 

Now then. Let’s do some triage. 

Before you can start editing, you need to know your goals. If you’re a planner, this might be easy because you have an outline you can compare against. If you’re a discovery writer like me, well, this is the time to figure out what exactly it is that you discovered. Grab a notebook (or a notepad file, if you’re a digital native) and follow this process: 

Write a one-sentence elevator pitch that roughly encapsulates the concept of the story. It doesn’t have to be pretty -- you’re not showing this to anyone but yourself -- but it does have to be honest. My one-sentence pitch for River of Souls was “Self-aware zombies struggle for equal rights, but the medication they rely on to retain their humanity doesn’t work as advertised.” My pitch for The Hound was “Lesbian thrift shop owners invite the devil into their home after buying a cursed taxidermied dog.” 

Write down your theme(s). In the draft, themes might take the form of questions. In this draft, you’ll want some answers. What do you want the reader to feel when they’re done? What is the message you’re trying to tell? When I wrote Nezumi’s Children, I knew it was a story about religion -- “What should we put our faith into?” In the end, I decided the answer was, “We should put our faith in each other.” That dictated the ending. (I also wanted to be careful not to inadvertently support abandoning your pets -- so I couldn’t let the rats be happily feral at the end. A happy ending for them meant being owned and cared for). 

Write a 250-word synopsis of the story. Again, it doesn’t have to be pretty. It just has to introduce the characters, the world, and the general shape of the story arc -- the inciting incident, the escalating stakes, and how the character changed at the end. 

You may find that you struggle with this part, and that is totally find (and honestly to be expected). You may discover, for example, that your character doesn’t actually change, or that there isn’t a core conflict. That’s okay! That’s what you’re here to fix! I have absolutely, definitely written a book and then discovered 80,000 words later that it didn’t have a plot. It’s OK though, because you’ll fix that problem in the next step. 

If you do indeed have a plot and escalating stakes and characters who go through developmental arcs, you’re ahead of the game. Now you’ve got the skeleton of an elevator pitch and the makings of a query letter (or a jacket blurb). 

Next: Map Out Everything 

When I was in elementary school, I had to start writing my first essays. I was supposed to make an outline, then write the paper to follow the outline. I wasn’t very good at doing it that way, so instead I would write the paper, then hastily draw up the outline to match what I said. Oops. Nothing has changed, honestly. 

With your trusty notebook (or blank text document), compile the following: 

Write out a list of scenes. Just a couple words describing the events of what happens. Now - are all of those scenes necessary? Are any redundant? Do you need to add foreshadowing or establish something earlier in the story to make sense of it? Are the scenes in the wrong order? Does every scene do some work to advance the plot, deepen the character, flesh out the world? Does the ending resonate with the theme? Re-write the scene list in the correct order, with scenes added or removed as necessary to tell the proper story. Now your scene list is a handy dandy roadmap/outline for your revision! 

List out all of the characters in the story. Write down their role in the story. Does every major character have a goal? Do motivations make sense? Does each one change in some way during the story? Are all of your walk-on roles necessary? Are there characters who don’t really do much, and could you combine them?

Fixing plot holes on your scene list is a lot easier than fixing them in the manuscript itself. Keep tweaking your scenes until the story feels like it works. Make sure there’s a logical flow between events -- cause and effect, escalating stakes. Consult structure guides like the Hero’s Journey or the Three-Act Structure if you need some help with your plot. 

Here’s a part that’s really important so it’s going in all caps: THE SCENE LIST IS FINAL. Make all the adjustments you need to the plot while you do the scene list, but do not -- DO NOT -- deviate from the story once you move on to the next step. You don’t stop modifying your scene list until you’re happy with the story, and once you’re happy, THAT is the story you’re writing. Get new ideas for things that can happen? Great, save ‘em for the next book. 

Now Roll Your Sleeves Up And Get Dirty 

Some people like to print their manuscript off and do edits in pen, but I don’t have reliable printer access most of the time and hate wasting paper. So instead, I pull up the rough draft and adjust it so it takes up one half of my monitor. Then I pull up a fresh, empty file and put that on the other half of the screen. 

Now, using my scene list as a guide, I pull up the rough draft and rewrite it, scene by scene. Yes, that means re-typing every word. You’ll find that when you do this, you’ll fix a lot of language mistakes without even realizing it. I’m an under-writer, so my drafts usually double in length during this process because I spend more time lingering on sensory details, adding scenes, teasing out character dynamics, etc. etc. etc. Just let yourself go, get immersed into the scene. If you forget what you were doing, just refer back to your outline and original draft to get back on track. 

I find this process works best if you can do it quickly. Try not to let the story get cold. Ideally, work on this every single day, or even set aside a long weekend to just hammer it all out. 

Finally: Make a Second Pass 

Now that you’ve got a second draft under your belt, it’s time to celebrate! Set the book aside. If you have beta readers or an editor, now is the time to send this to them. Hang out for a bit. Figure out who you’re querying, if you’re doing that. Find a kick-ass cover, if you’re self-publishing. Build yourself a Lego mansion. Whatever. Just sit on your draft for a little bit. 

Now that a couple weeks have passed, it’s time to make a final pass. Gather all of the feedback you’ve gotten from beta readers and editors and decide what advice you should take and what you can ignore. Here’s a guideline: If someone says something and you think, “oh, yeah! that’s exactly it!” then you take the suggestion. If they say something and you think “uh, well, no, that’s not really the story I was trying to write....” or something similar, you can ignore the feedback. Good feedback will always feel true in the “duh, why didn’t I think of that” way. 

Open up your new draft and, starting at page one, just read the damn thing. Make adjustments to the writing as necessary: 

Correct any misspellings and typos you come across. 

Eliminate weak words and phrases and replace them with stronger ones. 

Add some variation to sentence structure if you notice that it’s become repetitive. 

Eliminate redundancy. Fix your metaphors. Fix your symbolism. Keep your poetic language on-theme. In The Hound, I replaced a ton of random metaphors with dog imagery. It’s subtle, but it lends thematic cohesion. 

Some people use things like Grammarly or Hemmingway App to help with this. I’ve never used them, so I can’t speak to their effectiveness. But if you find that they help, awesome! Use them! 

Here’s a really important point: This step can ONLY come AFTER the rewriting stage. There is no point at all in tweaking sentences and fixing up the language in a story that has no plot. Fix your structural issues FIRST, and be sure they are AIR TIGHT, before you start dicking around with the words. Ok? Ok. (Someone go back in time 15 years and tell this to young me please) 

And now...you are done! 

Spend some time tweaking your elevator pitch and query letter at this point, if necessary. But no matter what, you do not go back into this document and change ANYTHING unless an editor tells you to. The book is DONE. Maybe give it a final proofread before you self-publish it (but honestly, you’re better off hiring someone to do it at that point, you’re going to be too zorched to notice the typos you missed) but otherwise don’t touch it. Don’t think about it. Write the next book. 

And that’s it! That’s my mostly painless revision process! 

Obviously every person is different, your mileage may vary, etc. But I hope this serves as a helpful jumping off point. I am more than happy to answer any questions or provide clarification on things -- just drop me a line :) 

[fallxnprxnce]

#54 xD

54. Any writing advice you want to share?

Oh my, yes. =) Here’s a meta comin’ at you! XD

So... I’ve been writing since I was in my senior year of high school (The Mummy came out in 1999 and that was my first fan fiction story hahaha). I wrote my first “book” in early college, inspired by the anime series Fushigi Yuugi, even though omg it was total crap haha. I mean, it was called Story. (rolls eyes) But even though I’ve been writing for 18 years, I would still consider myself to be a growing and learning writer and I admit that I have so much left to learn. My writing is a far cry from perfect (or even just, you know... not sucky XD), but I have learned several things over the years that either took me a long time to realize or that I actually resisted for the longest time because I thought I had to listen to everyone else telling me “the rules of writing.”

Guess what? There are no rules. Okay well, I mean... use good grammar and sentence structure and spell things correctly, yes, heh, but as far as the process, every writer is different. Lots of writers will taut their method and process as the one that works, but that’s just because it worked for them. But some methods will definitely not work for each type of writer, and if you try to mold yourself into what another writer has told you is the formula for success, you may actually be hurting your chances of growing as a writer.

So here are four tips that you can absolutely take or leave, because this is what worked for me. Some of these tips may be more universally helpful to all types of writers, but others may be specific to the type of writer I am. I will offer them anyway, in the hopes that they might help you out a bit with your writing journey.

Find out what type of writer you are and read authors with similar writing processes. The biggest thing to decide is if you are a pantser (plot as you go) or an architect (outline everything in advance). Some writers can be an even combination of both, but most will fall into one category or another. I am a panster. =) I outline only if I absolutely have to and I hate doing it. I prefer to just... see where my characters take me. First of all, learning which type of plotting you prefer to do can really help move the process along. If you’re an architect, get out those note cards or open that word doc and start making outlines and timelines and all of that. if you’re a panster, start learning what questions to ask yourself as you go along to draw out of yourself all the detail and important information in every scene. If you’re a panster and you’re trying to force yourself to outline because someone told you that you need to have your whole story worked out ahead of time, that’s going to not only be very tedious for you and suck all the love out of writing for you, but you will be going against your natural ability as a writer to gravitate toward a different process. Once you figure out what type of writer you are, accept it and play to your strengths when crafting a novel, short story, fan fiction story, etc. Then do some research on published authors to read some books by ones that share your process. This will expose you to the types of stories, characters, plots, and worlds that writers using your process can achieve. That is not to say that you are limited to what you see in other people’s books, but especially for writers that are just starting out, reading stories that have been crafted in a similar manner to the ones you want to write will help you learn how to do it on your own.

Push through writer’s block and keep writing no matter what! I know this sounds like one of those self-help tips as a writer that everyone throws out there. That’s why I didn’t believe it and resisted it for so many years, haha. I thought no, this is stupid, why am I going to continue to write after I feel my writing is crap? Shouldn’t I fix it first? Why am I going to leave a big blank space for this scene I can’t write right now and just keep going? Why am I going to call this character X because I can’t think of a name and just continue on like there’s no problem? Because it works. Seriously. Fight to keep writing through anything that is holding you back. I didn’t believe it worked until I gave myself 5 weeks to write a novel once (a movie was coming out and I didn’t want to be influenced by it too much after I saw it) and I had to finish it on time. That was the first time I was like welp, gotta keep going, don’t have time to think about all this stuff that’s bothering me. And the weirdest and best thing happened... I was able to get over my issues so much faster. Because there wasn’t this big dark cloud of “great, my writing sucks, it will always suck, I’ll never get better, I should just stop.” Instead, I forgave myself for whatever I was having trouble with, skipped it, and moved on. Or I continued to write using simple words and no description just to bang out the bare bones of a scene, intending to fill it in later. And you know what? I could fill it in later. Because I didn’t feel bad about myself or my writing and I had already moved on to write some things I was proud of. Fixing things later just... happened, heh. It was seriously like magic. I was amazed. Since that experience I always push through whatever I can as soon as I feel it’s blocking me. The more I learned to forgive myself and move past things that caused insecurity and frustration, the less emotional a thing it became and the more it became like a second nature habit. You can always go back and fix your writing, but if you allow road blocks to stop you now, you’ll have nothing to fix later on. ;)

Re-read your writing often, especially if you do not feel like writing new material. You’ve heard the whole, “You have to write every single day!” rule of being a writer? Yeah. So have I. And yeah, if you want to be a writer in any capacity, you can’t write once a month, heh. But every day? Eh... that’s flexible, especially if you really just aren’t feeling the creative juices flowing on a given day. You’ve also heard the, “Don’t edit until you finish the first draft!” rule? I found that that’s largely bullplop. There are some real advantages to re-reading your WIP, so long as you don’t do it so often that that’s all you’re doing, heh. If you don’t feel like writing, open up your file or notebook and re-read what you wrote. This will do a number of things: 1) it will keep you very familiar with what you’ve already written, so you will remember details a lot better, and if you need to go back to look something up, you’ll remember where it is a lot easier, 2) it will keep you immersed in the world and characters even though you’re not writing new material today, 3) it can stir up new inspiration for the WIP if you’re in a creative slump, 4) you may catch consistency errors you wouldn’t catch if you didn’t stay in touch with old writing, such as people’s eye color changing or a name spelling changing, etc., and finally 5) you will fix typos and small quick errors as you go, so when you finish your first draft, you’ll have a lot less technical work to do and can focus on the content of your piece. This is especially useful if you’re like me and your default length and genre of choice is epic fantasy. Epic fantasy novels are looooooong. If you’re writing an 800-page book, by the time you get to page 746, you will absolutely not remember what was on page 23 unless you re-read on a regular basis. 

Outline all your thoughts for the direction of any WIP you are leaving for a time. I just got done saying I’m a panster and I don’t outline. Well, even pansters need to outline in certain cases and this is one of them. I hate.... to outline... so much. But if I have lost the muse for a WIP and feel I need to take a hiatus from it, I will outline as much as I had lingering in my head as far as ideas for plot direction, things I wanted to see from certain characters, major events that need to happen, things like that. Even if I’m just literally putting Chapter ##: someone is born, someone dies, this guy travels here, this girl should complete this by the time this happens, heh. It can be that simple and informal because they’re notes to yourself. Nobody’s gonna see them unless you want them to, heh. You may use all or none of these notes when you return to the project, but I found that nothing kills a project for me like two things: 1) the feeling that I have to finish it in one single attempt, and 2) the feeling that if I leave I probably am essentially saying this WIP is dead and I will never return to it. What jotting down as much as you can think of does for you is it takes a snapshot of your mind while you were immersed in the work. If you think “Oh, I’ll remember everything,” NO YOU WON'T, haha. You will lose details and depending upon how long you’re stepping away from the work, you may lose major events too. Write them all down before you step away. I have an epic novel that I got discouraged about for a personal reason. I wrote 95% of it and literally only had a few more chapters to write and then I was done. It’s over 600 pages long. But I just couldn’t finish it at the time. But I wrote down notes by chapter of everything that I wanted to have happen. It’s been years... and now I’m thinking I may return to the project. I opened up the file, and there are all my thoughts on where I wanted to go with the story (most of which I had forgotten completely). It encouraged me that I could remember where I was and could pick up where I left off, and reading the notes even got me excited again about the story. Trust me, it’s a good practice to do, especially for a panster writer. We pansters fly by the seat of our.... well, pants. XD And we function best and live for the process of being swept away by our stories and letting our characters reveal the story to us. If you lose that feeling and you stop riding that wave... you can lose momentum, inspiration, motivation, etc. Writing down that snapshot of your brain will help you return to that time in your mind when you were totally immersed in your work and lovin’ it. ;)

I hope this has helped, somewhat, and really as always feel free to come to me for writing advice. Like I said, my writing is far from perfect, but I do have a decent number of years of experience on my side. I can tell you pros and cons about most writing tips and methods because I’ve tried them all, haha. I always love helping other writers so feel free to pick my brain about this hobby we love! =D

[featherfang]

Of Bones and Broken Arrows - Fenris

So this is part one of a short story told in four parts from different prospectives. A Dragon Age Inquisition after story about how after Solac leaves his lover after saving her life, The Inquisition is disbanded and She goes to Kirkwall to heal. This is a first draft so please excuse any typos as this was not Betaed! May change in the future. Enjoy~

...

Fenris had known Varric would be returning with company, the dwarf had sent a letter ahead to Aveline and the guardsmen had told the rest of his friends, the Tevinter elf counted among them. Still, when he first saw her, he was hit with an unexpected amount of emotional pain.

Pain because she had the same red hair as his sister, the sister that had sold him out and when left him with nothing but unanswered questions. The same hair color that he himself might have very well have had when he had been Leto.

Pain because the elf stand next to his friend didn’t look like someone who had saved the world from Andrasta knows what. She looked tired and hollowed out inside, amber eyes dulled to the point of looking more yellow than gold. The ghost of a smile had lingered on her lips as she met his friends, her shoulders relaxing ever so slightly when Merrill greeted her in the way of their people and then pulled her into a hug. He had nearly forgotten she was Dalish, as the hero held no tattoos upon her face.  

Pain, because as Fenris looked at her, at the missing half of her arm and the way she seemed to simply be dragging herself through hell, she looked just as Hawk had after her mother had died. Broken and tired and wanting nothing more than to stare off into space for the rest of her life, yet unable to due to the nature of her life.

It was because of that pain that the white hair elf had interjected when they started discussing where the Inquisitor would be staying. The Hanged Man? Merrill's home? His feet had moved him forward without even thinking about it.

“She can stay at the Amell Manor with me,” he stated, surprising everyone except the dwarf. “It’s what Serenity would want if she were here.”

They didn’t argue with him, knew he was right. The inquisitor had looked at him - Aursa, her name was Ausra - and given him a watered-down smile that nearly made him flinch. She was one of the last people who had seen the women he loved, who was now somewhere far off at a Gray Warden base doing hell knew what. He would have been gone, after her if she hadn’t asked him in a letter to stay where he was, to trust her.

So he stayed and now shared a too large home with another hero who’d given too much to the world and been given nothing back. Who wrapped her one hand around a jaw bone necklace around her neck every time she spoke, which wasn’t often. He found out from Varric only a few days after she’d arrived why when they’d been as the bar, his eyes carefully surveying Ausra from across the way as she nursed a drink.

She hadn’t just been broken, she’d been ripped to shreds. Solas, the man she’d loved had lied to her from the beginning, then turned his back on her, disappearing without a word. That when he’d finally shown back up it had been because he had a mission to fix what he’d done because he wasn’t just Solas, he was The Dread Wolf, a Dalish God, but not really a god at all. After everything they had been through together the male elf’s only gift to her had been to save her life by taking her arm off and then leaving her one final time. Choosing some impossible, world ending duty over the person he’d claimed to love

It made what Fenris had done to Hawke seem vastly feeble in comparison.

Now the Inquisition was gone, disbanded by its leader because how could she lead now? Fenris had seen the bow and the carving tools she kept on a table in her room, both things that required two hands.  

The jawbone she wore wasn’t even the one Solas wore. According to Varric she’d found the Wolf bone on their way here and turned it into a replica. She hadn’t given a reason and no one had questioned her on it.

The days wore on, and Fenris realized that the two residents of the house were both waiting for their lovers to return. It was one of the only things they really had in common, but he doubted after everything he’d learn that the end result would be the same.

Ausra had a lot of nightmares. He’d heard her scream from his room and then after awhile the footsteps of her wandering down to the main floor. At first, he left her alone, but after the weeks turned into a month, he approached her with two glasses and a bottle wine. She had laughed - laughed - for the first time since he’d met her and gladly accepted the company. He didn’t ask what the dreams were about, not until the month had turned into two and their glasses of wine by the burning fire had turned into one of the few times were they really talked. When he spoke of his life and she regaled adventures that seemed like myths. When he finally did ask she given him a long sad look and then had thrown back the last of her wine before answering.

“He visits me in my sleep sometimes,” she’d explained evenly. “He never speaks, just watches me, and when I try to touch him, he vanishes like smoke in the wind, every time.”

It was a form of cruelty Fenris hadn’t thought possible, and after that, he understood Ausra just a bit better.

Two more weeks passed and the bottles were starting to stack up at the house, her tab doing much the same at the Hanged Man. He had thought with time she would get better, that he might see what type of woman it took to walk out of the fade and save the world from a tear in the sky. But she wasn’t getting better, she was sinking farther and farther into the same hole Serenity had once been in.  

So during another glass of wine by the fire, Fenris finally snapped and spoke up. He nearly snarled at her to not let him win. That she was worth more than this Solas had ever even known. She’d stared at him, a frown etched into her features, making the scars that ran across her face somehow more visible. Her counter, hadn’t been what he had expected.

“It’s not that easy.”

He knew that.

Hell he’d been there, probably would still be that if not for Hawke.

He didn’t tell her that though, instead, he told her something else. Something more familiar to her.

“Did Serenity ever tell you about the time she refused to use her magic?”

The look on the redhead’s face clearly stated Hawke hadn’t. Fenris wasn’t surprised, it wasn’t exactly anything he liked to talk about either. Yet, for some reason, he felt he needed to this time.

So he told her.

Told her about what happened the Hawke’s mother and how it had taken its toll on the women he loved. She’d stopped using magic completely, convinced much like he had been at the time that nothing good could come of it. She went from being a battle mage to being a fighter, her staff always turned so that the blade part was at the ready. She started drinking more, sleeping less, got rings under her eyes like Anders but she wasn’t possessed by a demon. She started getting reckless during battles. Refused healing magic and threw out all of her lyrium potions. Everyone tried to talk sense into her, everyone but him. Fenris hadn’t felt he could, not when his own thoughts on magic were much the same, not when she’d just throw it back in his face. He’d done enough to her, he couldn’t help her.

“What changed?” Ausra asked when he paused and for the first time since he’d met her, he saw a flicker of life in those amber eyes. He smirked and poured more wine for the both of them.

“She touched my markings,” he stated, holding up a bear hand, the lyrium on it in plain sight.  “She got drunk and lost her balance, so I caught her and her hand brushed over my markings and it felt...wrong.”

“I don’t understand.” Of course, she wouldn’t. How could she?

“When we… when she was using her magic constantly, it always seemed to linger on her skin and when she’d touch me,” he remembered that first night they slept together, her hand all over him, tracing his markings. She’d asked if it had hurt and he’s smirked. Quite the opposite. “It always made my markings… hum, in a way. It was the first time I’d ever felt magic and it hadn’t hurt. When I didn’t feel it...I realized maybe I was looking at Magic the wrong way.” He explained. He didn’t like it still, not really, but suddenly it hadn’t been a black and white topic to him, it’d split into shades of gray. He’d realized it depended more on who was using the magic than the magic itself. “Hawke had never depended on her magic like most mages, but she still needed it, and I knew I was probably the only one who could make her see it.” Because even though at the time they’d both still been hurting from what he’d done, he’d known he still loved her and that she cared about him. She hadn’t moved on or shown any interest with anyone else, no matter how hard Anders tried.

“What did you do?” Ausra asked, tilting her head, her short hair - nearly at short as his own - shifting a bit, the braid in the front brushing against her cheek.

“I… well, we ended up alone at one point and I took drastic steps. Cut my wrist open right in front of her.” He watched her mouth drop open in a gawking expression and he laughed slightly. “Serenity has always been as good a healer as Anders was, as I’m sure you know after fighting with her, I figured it was the only way to push the subject and remind her of what she told me the first time we met.”

“And what was that, if you don’t mind me asking?”

Fenris smiled, looking into the fire.

“That no matter how dark something can appear, there is always a light within it.” It had worked, in the end, Serenity had cried and shouted at him, but she’d given in, healed him and then cried in his arms till there was nothing left to cry about. It was the first time he had held her in two years.

Fenris hadn’t been sure his story had help Ausra, not until a day later when she’d come down for breakfast and looked him straight in the eyes and he’d seen what he had thought he would the first time he’d met.

“I want you to teach me how to use a sword,” she’d stated and it had been the ex-slave’s turn to gawk. Her brows had furrowed, hard lines over her eyes. “If I can't shoot my bow I want to know how to fight another way. I can throw blades but I need a close combat weapon. Will you help me?”

He thought about pointing out that a bow hadn’t been a close combat weapon either, or that her style of fighting - that of a rogue - was vastly different from his own. He thought about telling her to ask one of the others because he used two handed swords and she couldn’t given the lack of one.

He didn’t.

Instead, he’d smirked and leaned back in his chair. “It won't be easy,” he warned her and watched in astonishment as she smiled. Really smiled for the first time he’d known her. He realized this was the women who had saved the world. Her hand lingered on the bone necklace, but the redhead held his gaze.

“I can handle it.”

After that, the nights by the fire were sated with tea, not wine.