xachynwrites

[xachynwrites]

How I push through writing when I don't feel like writing.

Here are some of the techniques that I use to help me write more often or more consistantly when my laziness/depression/anxiety starts to take over.

I watch TV. I don't do it with the purpose of zoning out though. I watch something popular and well-liked such as the LOR or Harry Potter to get new ideas on how I can develop my story and apply their in-depth world-building ideas to help develop mine. Without plagarizing of course!!!!

Zoning out and daydreaming. As I have mentionned before, daydreaming is a huge part of my story outlining and world-building process. I'll stand in the shower, or take a walk and think about how my charcaters would act/react/behave in situations, mundane or not. Doing this gives me a better sense of my characters, and sometimes gives me ideas for scenes I use later on.

Work on writing related projects. These work well at keeping me distracted while still being productive on my writing goals. Example, I have one story I am working now, I made a new language (alphabet and numbers included) to include as a cool and fun component for the book. So, at times when I don't wan't to write, I continue creating the dictionary (very fun, 8/10 would recommend). Also, for the same book, my characters don't work off the Georigian calendar and 24 hour clock, so I've been working at creating a new calendar (harder than it seems, 2.5/10 dont recommend). These are side projects that help my story, without having to write.

Reading. You saw this one coming, I know. Reading is great, especially when you're editing, your writing style will unconsciously change to be more similar the author you were just reading. Also, most importantly, I'll be reading and think, "this story is really good, but you know what story I like even better? Mine." then change to writing.

This one is my biggest life saver!! I learnt about a year ago that sometimes I'll get bored of writing a story, and have difficulty keeping on track. That's why I finished my first book in 2016 and just started editing the first draft last week. The solution for me was to work on multiple projects at once, because it was much harder to be bored of multiple stories. I stick to 2, but will sometimes add a third. This is easy for me, because I have a list of over a dozen series I want to write. Don't abandon one project for another, use them as a distraction/ motivation for each other, so you're always furthering at least one project. I've never heard someone say, "oh no, i accidentally worked on this other writing project for three months instead of the other writing project I was doing. Dammit." No, we're just happy we have written something. Be sure to have well outlined story lines before starting, don't just start writing randomly or you'll reach a point where you don't know where to go from there.

Author/ writer projects. Maybe this is building a following, or community to share your projects and engage with. Tumblr, Insta, Reddit, whatever it is. My hope this year is to start up my website to offer publishing services (editing, graphic design, short writing courses) and build a following as a writer. (See what I did there? Never a bad time to self-promote ;) ) Having your own projects like this will help you in the future when you're going to try to publish and sell your books!

Talk with friends and a writing community. Never underestimate the passion that will burn inside you when talking about your story, or when others are talking about theirs. Surrounding yourself with a positive writing community can be the best thing for you as a writer.

Write or read (your story) every day. I'm not going to be one of those people that say you need to write 1000 words a day, that's a lot. But maybe try for 100? That could maybe only take 5 minutes, and at the end of the year that's still over 36 thousand words of a novel. Or just read your story, and I've always found it helped me get in the creative mood.

Make a playlist of songs that remind you of your characters, your story, or just puts you in the mood to write. Then play it ONLY when you're having trouble writing. Playing it while writing will not help, you'll get annoyed with the songs.

Just really can't do it today? That's okay, take a break. You deserve it. There's always tomorrow.

Does anyone else have ways they push themselves to keep writing? Let us know in the comments!

Happy Writing!

[xachynwrites]

How to Write Characters With Romantic Chemistry

Writing great chemistry can be challenging. If you’re not super inspired, sometimes the connection between your characters feels like it’s missing something.

Here are a few steps you can consider when you want to write some steamy romantic chemistry and can’t figure out what’s blocking your creativity.

1. Give the Love a Name

Tropes have a bad reputation, but they can be excellent tools when you’re planning or daydreaming about a story. Giving the romance a name also assigns a purpose, which takes care of half the hard plotting work.

You can always read about love tropes to get inspired and think about which might apply to the characters or plot points you have in mind, like:

Friends to lovers

Enemies to lovers

First love

The love triangle

Stuck together

Forbidden love

Multiple chance love

Fake lovers turned soulmates

There are tooooons of other tropes in the link above, but you get the idea. Name the love you’re writing about and it will feel more concrete in your brain.

2. Develop Your Characters

You should always spend time developing your characters individually, but it’s easy to skip this part. You might jump into writing the story because you have a scene idea. Then the romance feels flat.

The good news is you can always go back and make your characters more real. Give them each their own Word or Google doc and use character templates or questions to develop them. 

You should remember to do this for every character involved in the relationship as well. Sometimes love happens between two people who live nearby and other times it happens by:

Being in a throuple

Being in a polyamorous relationship

Being the only one in love (the other person never finds out or doesn’t feel it back, ever)

There are so many other ways to experience love too. Don’t leave out anyone involved in the developing relationship or writing your story will feel like driving a car with only three inflated tires.

3. Give the Conversations Stakes

Whenever your characters get to talk, what’s at risk? This doesn’t have to always be something life changing or scary. Sometimes it might be one character risking how the other perceives them by revealing an interest or new fact about themselves.

What’s developing in each conversation? What’s being said through their body language? Are they learning if they share the same sense of humor or value the same foundational beliefs? Real-life conversations don’t always have a point, but they do in romantic stories. 

4. Remember Body Language

Body language begins long before things get sexy between your characers (if they ever do). It’s their fingertips touching under the table, the missed glance at the bus stop, the casual shoulder bump while walking down the street.

It’s flushed cheeks, a jealous heart skipping a beat, being tongue tied because one character can’t admit their feelings yet.

If a scene or conversation feels lacking, analyze what your characters are saying through their body language. It could be the thing your scene is missing.

5. Add a Few Flaws

No love story is perfect, but that doesn’t mean your characters have to experience earth shattering pain either.

Make one laugh so hard that they snort and feel embarrassed so the other can say how much they love that person’s laugh. Make miscommunication happen so they can make up or take a break. 

People grow through their flaws and mistakes. Relationships get stronger or weaker when they learn things that are different about them or that they don’t like about each other. 

6. Create Intellectual Moments

When you’re getting to know someone, you bond over the things you’re both interested in. That’s also a key part of falling in love. Have your characters fall in intellectual love by sharing those activities, talking about their favorite subjects, or raving over their passions. They could even teach each other through this moment, which could make them fall harder in love.

7. Put Them in Public Moments

You learn a lot about someone when they’re around friends, acquaintances, and strangers. The chemistry between your characters may fall flat if they’re only ever around each other.

Write scenes so they’re around more people and get to learn who they are in public. They’ll learn crucial factors like the other person’s ambition, shyness, humor, confidence, and if they’re a social butterfly or wallflower.

Will those moments make your characters be proud to stand next to each other or will it reveal something that makes them second guess everything?

8. Use Your Senses

And of course, you can never forget to use sensory details when describing the physical reaction of chemistry. Whether they’re sharing a glance or jumping into bed, the reader feels the intensity of the moment through their five senses—taste, touch, sight, sound, and smell. 

Characters also don’t have to have all five senses to be the protagonist or love interest in a romantic story. The number isn’t important—it’s how you use the ways your character interacts with the world. 

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Anyone can write great romantic chemistry by structuring their love story with essential elements like these. Read more romance books or short stories too! You’ll learn as you read and write future relationships more effortlessly.

[xachynwrites]

I am PANICKING!!! I think I’ve lost interest in my book but I feel obliged to continue it because I’ve already written 6 chapters and worked a year on it... wHAT DO I DO???

Lost Interest in WIP and Panicking

#1 - Don't Panic... I know that's easier said than done, but truly, this is normal. Take a few deep breaths and keep reading.

#2 - Repeat: This is Normal... Part of being a writer is getting used to the ebb and flow of, well, everything. Inspiration, motivation, confidence, interest, how you feel about your WIP, how you feel about your writing--it all fluctuates. One day you may love your WIP, the next day you may hate it. Three days later you may love it again. One week you may have a million ideas buzzing around in your head, the next week you might struggle to come up with a single idea. Just know you'll always hit a better spot again.

#3 - Troubleshooting Helps... Sometimes you just need to wait for the feeling to pass or for your interest/motivation to return. Other times you need to dive in and figure out what the problem is. Are you distracted by other ideas? Did something shake your confidence in this story? Are you stuck because you don't know where the story is going? My posts Have Plot, Can’t Write and Feeling Unmotivated with WIP address some of the more common ones.

#4 - Try Re-Kindling Your Motivation... Sometimes you just need to be reminded why you were excited to write this story in the first place. Other times you just need to see your story or character from a new angle to rekindle your interest. Writing exercises are great for this. Have a look at the following posts for help:

Getting Excited About Your Story Again Guide: How to Rekindle Your Motivation to Write Getting Unstuck: Motivation Beyond Mood Boards & Playlists

#5 - Take a Break and Fill Your Creative Well... If all else fails, it could be that you just need to take a break from this story or writing all together. It happens sometimes, especially when you have other things going on in your life that are zapping your energy, mood, or interest. One thing you can do during this time are activities to "fill your creative well." Story ideas come from all around us, so making sure to engage with places that are rich in ideas can sometimes get our interest in writing back on track. Read my post Guide: Filling Your Creative Well for help.

If you try everything here and nothing works, it's okay to set the story aside for a while or permanently and start on something else. What's important is this: there is no such thing as wasted time or effort when it comes to writing. Even if you decide to abandon that story, all of the time and effort you put into it made you a better writer. If the only thing that story did was help sharpen your writing skills, it was worth every second you spent on it. ♥

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[xachynwrites]

personal reflections on reading and writing

just needed to sort through my thoughts and get this off my chest and I can't keep spamming twt all the time. Also, this is way too personal to put on blast to so many people.

I've had a lot of difficulty with reading stuff in the last few years. I've always thought it was an issue thanks to my BSc, where the sheer amount of academic texts to waddle through destroyed my ability to consume fiction work. On Goodreads, my Non-Fiction to Fiction ratio has remained at something like 3:1. I also don't read a lot.

But at some point 3 years ago when I got back into fandom I was somehow... somewhat.... able to read fics... again.

But also, not really.

The main point is that over the last year, despite my surprising and extremely unusual output rate re fics (as of early Nov 2021 I have published 24 full-length fics on AO3 or 95, 800 words. This is non-inclusive of twt-only vignettes that are less than 1.5k) I have probably read far, far less than that. Which is weird, because reading is, at least for me, easier than writing.

A while back, I got a comment that said something like they didn't usually resort to reading other people's fics and I think something about the boldness of that claim forced me to self-reflect. Because even though I (probably?) didn't feel that way it still kind of resonated with me, because I haven't been able to read other people's fics either. And I've spent absolute ages beating myself up over that because I do feel like I should read my fellow writer-friends' stuff (cause isn't that like, the point of fandom and fic-writing?), and I worried that there was a part of me that didn't because of some... deep snobbishness. That I don't doesn't make me feel like a douche, it's a reminder that I am in fact a douche.

But in the last week, I've managed to easily breeze through more than a dozen narumitsu fics before bed, and because of that, I think I finally understand this weird hang-up.

And, I THINK, it's because, if I read a fic that is feasibly within the boundaries of what I might write, my brain is completely incapable of taking a back seat and just enjoying it. Instead, every time I try to read a fic for a ship that I have written for/am writing for, I can't help but break down every other sentence, redline every interaction and just overly fixate on how the fic was written -- as opposed to just reading the fucking thing.

It's not out of some sense of superiority, I don't think? I hope not? And like, I think that to some extent, all writers do this? Because the best way to improve our own writing is to read and analyse how other people write.

But holy shit, there is that, and then there is whatever my brain is trying to do. And I think I know myself well enough to recognise that it comes from a really twisted place of competitiveness - that I have this really fucked up compulsion to be a better writer than my peers, and then have that taken to its absolute worst extreme.

Which is so fucking ridiculous, because

1. Writing is not a zero-sum game and the perception of wanting to pit my work against my friends' in and of itself reeks of that very sense of superiority.

2. I thought I was mature enough to have evolved beyond this kind of pettiness.

3. I also know damn well that I am NOT a better writer than my friends in any aspect. I know this. I KNOW THIS.

So, if anything, I am just giving myself a lot of grief for absolutely no reason.

It's also extremely laughable because the reason why I gave up on the goal of writing to eventually be published was because I wanted to pursue writing as a FUN hobby. That kind of toxic attitude is not fun.

So, wow. Big revelation to me, news flash, I suck not just as a person but also as a friend.

[xachynwrites]

Story Structures for your Next WIP

hello, hello. this post will be mostly for my notes. this is something I need in to be reminded of for my business, but it can also be very useful and beneficial for you guys as well.

everything in life has structure and storytelling is no different, so let’s dive right in :)

First off let’s just review what a story structure is :

a story is the backbone of the story, the skeleton if you will. It hold the entire story together.

the structure in which you choose your story will effectively determine how you create drama and depending on the structure you choose it should help you align your story and sequence it with the conflict, climax, and resolution.

1. Freytag's Pyramid

this first story structure i will be talking about was named after 19th century German novelist and playwright.

it is a five point structure that is based off classical Greek tragedies such as Sophocles, Aeschylus and Euripedes.

Freytag's Pyramid structure consists of:

Introduction: the status quo has been established and an inciting incident occurs.

Rise or rising action: the protagonist will search and try to achieve their goal, heightening the stakes,

Climax: the protagonist can no longer go back, the point of no return if you will.

Return or fall: after the climax of the story, tension builds and the story inevitably heads towards...

Catastrophe: the main character has reached their lowest point and their greatest fears have come into fruition.

this structure is used less and less nowadays in modern storytelling mainly due to readers lack of appetite for tragic narratives.

2. The Hero's Journey

the hero's journey is a very well known and popular form of storytelling.

it is very popular in modern stories such as Star Wars, and movies in the MCU.

although the hero's journey was inspired by Joseph Campbell's concept, a Disney executive Christopher Vogler has created a simplified version:

The Ordinary World: The hero's everyday routine and life is established.

The Call of Adventure: the inciting incident.

Refusal of the Call: the hero / protagonist is hesitant or reluctant to take on the challenges.

Meeting the Mentor: the hero meets someone who will help them and prepare them for the dangers ahead.

Crossing the First Threshold: first steps out of the comfort zone are taken.

Tests, Allie, Enemies: new challenges occur, and maybe new friends or enemies.

Approach to the Inmost Cave: hero approaches goal.

The Ordeal: the hero faces their biggest challenge.

Reward (Seizing the Sword): the hero manages to get ahold of what they were after.

The Road Back: they realize that their goal was not the final hurdle, but may have actually caused a bigger problem than before.

Resurrection: a final challenge, testing them on everything they've learned.

Return with the Elixir: after succeeding they return to their old life.

the hero's journey can be applied to any genre of fiction.

3. Three Act Structure:

this structure splits the story into the 'beginning, middle and end' but with in-depth components for each act.

Act 1: Setup:

exposition: the status quo or the ordinary life is established.

inciting incident: an event sets the whole story into motion.

plot point one: the main character decided to take on the challenge head on and she crosses the threshold and the story is now progressing forward.

Act 2: Confrontation:

rising action: the stakes are clearer and the hero has started to become familiar with the new world and begins to encounter enemies, allies and tests.

midpoint: an event that derails the protagonists mission.

plot point two: the hero is tested and fails, and begins to doubt themselves.

Act 3: Resolution:

pre-climax: the hero must chose between acting or failing.

climax: they fights against the antagonist or danger one last time, but will they succeed?

Denouement: loose ends are tied up and the reader discovers the consequences of the climax, and return to ordinary life.

4. Dan Harmon's Story Circle

it surprised me to know the creator of Rick and Morty had their own variation of Campbell's hero's journey.

the benefit of Harmon's approach is that is focuses on the main character's arc.

it makes sense that he has such a successful structure, after all the show has multiple seasons, five or six seasons? i don't know not a fan of the show.

the character is in their comfort zone: also known as the status quo or ordinary life.

they want something: this is a longing and it can be brought forth by an inciting incident.

the character enters and unfamiliar situation: they must take action and do something new to pursue what they want.

adapt to it: of course there are challenges, there is struggle and begin to succeed.

they get what they want: often a false victory.

a heavy price is paid: a realization of what they wanted isn't what they needed.

back to the good old ways: they return to their familiar situation yet with a new truth.

having changed: was it for the better or worse?

i might actually make a operate post going more in depth about dan harmon's story circle.

5. Fichtean Curve:

the fichtean curve places the main character in a series of obstacles in order to achieve their goal.

this structure encourages writers to write a story packed with tension and mini-crises to keep the reader engaged.

The Rising Action

the story must start with an inciting indecent.

then a series of crisis arise.

there are often four crises.

2. The Climax:

3. Falling Action

this type of story telling structure goes very well with flash-back structured story as well as in theatre.

6. Save the Cat Beat Sheet:

this is another variation of a three act structure created by screenwriter Blake Snyder, and is praised widely by champion storytellers.

Structure for Save the Cat is as follows: (the numbers in the brackets are for the number of pages required, assuming you're writing a 110 page screenplay)

Opening Image [1]: The first shot of the film. If you’re starting a novel, this would be an opening paragraph or scene that sucks readers into the world of your story.

Set-up [1-10]. Establishing the ‘ordinary world’ of your protagonist. What does he want? What is he missing out on?

Theme Stated [5]. During the setup, hint at what your story is really about — the truth that your protagonist will discover by the end.

Catalyst [12]. The inciting incident!

Debate [12-25]. The hero refuses the call to adventure. He tries to avoid the conflict before they are forced into action.

Break into Two [25]. The protagonist makes an active choice and the journey begins in earnest.

B Story [30]. A subplot kicks in. Often romantic in nature, the protagonist’s subplot should serve to highlight the theme.

The Promise of the Premise [30-55]. Often called the ‘fun and games’ stage, this is usually a highly entertaining section where the writer delivers the goods. If you promised an exciting detective story, we’d see the detective in action. If you promised a goofy story of people falling in love, let’s go on some charmingly awkward dates.

Midpoint [55]. A plot twist occurs that ups the stakes and makes the hero’s goal harder to achieve — or makes them focus on a new, more important goal.

Bad Guys Close In [55-75]. The tension ratchets up. The hero’s obstacles become greater, his plan falls apart, and he is on the back foot.

All is Lost [75]. The hero hits rock bottom. He loses everything he’s gained so far, and things are looking bleak. The hero is overpowered by the villain; a mentor dies; our lovebirds have an argument and break up.

Dark Night of the Soul [75-85-ish]. Having just lost everything, the hero shambles around the city in a minor-key musical montage before discovering some “new information” that reveals exactly what he needs to do if he wants to take another crack at success. (This new information is often delivered through the B-Story)

Break into Three [85]. Armed with this new information, our protagonist decides to try once more!

Finale [85-110]. The hero confronts the antagonist or whatever the source of the primary conflict is. The truth that eluded him at the start of the story (established in step three and accentuated by the B Story) is now clear, allowing him to resolve their story.

Final Image [110]. A final moment or scene that crystallizes how the character has changed. It’s a reflection, in some way, of the opening image.

(all information regarding the save the cat beat sheet was copy and pasted directly from reedsy!)

7. Seven Point Story Structure:

this structure encourages writers to start with the at the end, with the resolution, and work their way back to the starting point.

this structure is about dramatic changes from beginning to end

The Hook. Draw readers in by explaining the protagonist’s current situation. Their state of being at the beginning of the novel should be in direct contrast to what it will be at the end of the novel.

Plot Point 1. Whether it’s a person, an idea, an inciting incident, or something else — there should be a "Call to Adventure" of sorts that sets the narrative and character development in motion.

Pinch Point 1. Things can’t be all sunshine and roses for your protagonist. Something should go wrong here that applies pressure to the main character, forcing them to step up and solve the problem.

Midpoint. A “Turning Point” wherein the main character changes from a passive force to an active force in the story. Whatever the narrative’s main conflict is, the protagonist decides to start meeting it head-on.

Pinch Point 2. The second pinch point involves another blow to the protagonist — things go even more awry than they did during the first pinch point. This might involve the passing of a mentor, the failure of a plan, the reveal of a traitor, etc.

Plot Point 2. After the calamity of Pinch Point 2, the protagonist learns that they’ve actually had the key to solving the conflict the whole time.

Resolution. The story’s primary conflict is resolved — and the character goes through the final bit of development necessary to transform them from who they were at the start of the novel.

(all information regarding the seven point story structure was copy and pasted directly from reedsy!)

i decided to fit all of them in one post instead of making it a two part post.

i hope you all enjoy this post and feel free to comment or reblog which structure you use the most, or if you have your own you prefer to use! please share with me!

if you find this useful feel free to reblog on instagram and tag me at perpetualstories

Follow my tumblr and instagram for more writing and grammar tips and more!

[xachynwrites]

Hi! How should I plan out my longer stories or character arcs? Planning is the hardest thing ever for me. Any tips are appreciated!!

Yeah, planning IS hard. But it can also be so much fun! There are different ways to go here.

You could research story structures (like the Three Act Story Structure or the 8 Step Story Circle, whatever works for you). They show you certain points you can use to anchor your plot to. Once you figure out what your Inciting Incident or your Midpoint Turn is (etc.) the inbetween will fall into place easier.

You can also figure out what kind of beats your genre usually uses and/or what you especially like. The reader of a detective novel usually expects there to be something like a murder, several investigation points, red herrings etc. Knowing what beats are essential to your genre can help you to figure out where you want your story to go.

Those methods also correspond to the character arc. Is the protagonist reactive before the Midpoint Turn, they should be proactive after it, to show how the plot changes them. It’s important to show how your character starts in point A and ends up in a different point B, according to the story. Usually your character will hit rock bottom with the biggest Twist, and will have to pick themselves up again to rise to the occasion.

Check out some of these videos, I find them very helpful:

Hope this helped a bit! Have fun planning!

[xachynwrites]

Small physical things that give your characters personality

How they smile

What their “tell” is for lying

Posture

Volume of speech, if they’re verbal

Nervous tics

How much eye contact do they make

In a group conversation, how close do they stand to others? Are they off to the side just listening and occasionally speaking or are they right next to people?

When standing, what do they do with their hands? Talk with their hands, cross their arms, put hands in pockets, prop up against the wall, etc

The sound of their footsteps

Nonverbal greetings: do they wave, nod, hug, glare, punch, high five, something else?

How do they get others’ attention? Raise hand, clear throat, etc

[xachynwrites]

Writing advice from my uni teachers:

If your dialog feels flat, rewrite the scene pretending the characters cannot at any cost say exactly what they mean. No one says “I’m mad” but they can say it in 100 other ways.

Wrote a chapter but you dislike it? Rewrite it again from memory. That way you’re only remembering the main parts and can fill in extra details. My teacher who was a playwright literally writes every single script twice because of this.

Don’t overuse metaphors, or they lose their potency. Limit yourself.

Before you write your novel, write a page of anything from your characters POV so you can get their voice right. Do this for every main character introduced.

[xachynwrites]

Hi again. Thanks for answering my previous question! I have another one- I’m thinking of doing Nanowrimo again this year. I tried in the past as a “pantser” but it didn’t really work, so I’m trying to prep a little before November so that I can be ready by the 1st day. What sort of stuff about my story I should know/have ready to start writing on day 1? (I looked at your nanowrimo tag and saw knowing the general story/where it’s going/ending but do I need to plan by chapters? Or have worldbuilding all figured out? Etc)

NaNoWriMo: Necessities for Planners

If you’re doing NaNoWriMo this year, you still have a couple days to do some prep work so you’ll be ready to go on November 1st. Here are some things you might find helpful as you begin writing your novel:

1) In-Depth Plot Summary - If you’re a planner, plantser, or think you might be, a beginning to end summary of all the important events in your story is the bare minimum you should have when you start writing on November 1st. 

Basic Story Structure

Guide: Filling in the Story Between Known Events

How to Move a Story Forward

2) Basic Character Sheets - Some character sheets go too far into details that aren’t important to the story, but it can be helpful to have the bare essentials fleshed out and organized.

Character Design Sheet: The Necessary Stuff

Fleshing Out Characters

Guide: Casting Your Characters

3) Scene List - In my opinion, this is one of the most important things you can have if you’re a planner and you need help staying on track. This is essentially a list of every scene in your story, from beginning to end. Sit down with your in-depth summary and figure out what your first scene is. Then figure out the second scene. Then figure out the third scene.... and so on. It doesn’t have to be perfect. You may have scenes where you write something like “she meets Greg somehow” or “some kind of party?” You may even have question marks in a few spots. That’s fine. The key is to know what most of the scenes are, and this isn’t written in stone. You may find better scenes occurring as you write, or you may delete scenes or move them around.

Scene Lists

4) Basic Setting Details - With your summary and scene list in hand, you should have a pretty good idea of the needs of your story as far as the setting goes. What parts of your story’s world are important to the story? Look at each scene and consider where it takes place. What do you need to know about the setting before you write? You might just need some keywords like “run down high school gymnasium” or you might do a floor plan, map, or look for real world places to serve as inspiration.

Five Things to Help You Describe Fictional Locations

Figuring Out Your World’s Geography

Setting Your Story in an Unfamiliar Place

5) Basic World Building Details - Again, looking at the scenes in your story, consider what’s important for you to know. Don’t worry about the kinds of animals and plants in the forest bordering your character’s village unless those details are important to the story.

World Building post master list

Here are some of my other NaNoWriMo posts:

NaNoWriMo: Picking an Idea Staying Pumped Until NaNoWriMo Can I Write Fan-Fiction for NaNoWriMo? NaNoWriMo: Planning versus “Pantsing”

Best of luck with your NaNoWriMo Story!

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Have a question? My inbox is always open, but make sure to check my FAQ and post master lists first to see if I’ve already answered a similar question. :)

[xachynwrites]

Describing and associating color

First of all, it’s important to understand the associations people already have to colors, so here’s a quick general guide:

Yellow- Happiness, bright, sunny

Orange- Warmth, fire, jumpy

Red- Soulfull, energetic, boldness

Purple- Noble, rich, calming

Blue- Deep, mysterious, darkness / moderness, brightness, flying

Green- Nature, untouched, uncivilized / kindness, energy, daytime

Brown- Terrestrial, grounded, natural

Black- Nighttime, dark, peaceful/scary

White- Innocence, cleanness, pure

Now for the comparison of colors to things that are not a color but typically have a certain shade of one. That’s not only helping the reader to better imagine the exact color you mean, but also to subtly pushing their emotional state in a certain direction. If you e.g. compare someone’s haircolor to something pleasant, the reader will subconsciously like the character better. Contrary to that, when you compare something with unpleasant things, it makes the reader’s mind associate that thing described being unpleasant even though you didn’t specifically said it was. Here’s an exaggerated example:

“The walls were as green as those small plants you can buy at Ikea.”

vs.

“The walls were as green as that invisible algae that touches your leg when you’re swimming in a lake.”

If you read the first sentence in a room’s description, it would make you subconsciously think of it as cute and bright because you associate it to cute and bright things like small Ikea plants. However, the second comparison rather gives you an uneasy and oppressive mindset about the room described.

Many colors have overused comparisons, like green and emeralds or blue and the sky. If you want to use those, it’s of course okay and simple, but also consider using things not many authors use to compare colors to, because it gives you something special the reader will remember. It’s your choice if you want to make those comparisons funny, relatable, weirdly specific or just fancy and special. Here are a few examples of things to compare colors to for some of those categories that can e.g. use by writing “Their hair was [color] in a way that reminded me of [comparison].”

Keep reading

[xachynwrites]

How the hell do you guys plot stuff??? I wanna do some writing again, like do you have a specific plot diagram or do you write out a giant blurb and work from there?? I’m genuinely curious!

(I had a “mutual” irl kinda do an unwanted critique with a my first writing piece for the first time in, which took a blow to my confidence and it’s still me take an even long time to get back into writing)

[xachynwrites]

How To Name Your Chinese Characters: 

1) LAST NAMES: 

I’ve pasted the Top 100 common last names in alphabetical order, and bolded the ones that appear in CQL:   

B: 白 Bai C: 蔡 Cai ; 曹 Cao ;  常 Chang ; 曾 Ceng ;  陈 Chen ;  程 Cheng ;  崔 Cui ; D: 戴 Dai ; 邓 Deng ; 丁 Ding ; 董 Dong ; 杜 Du ; F: 范 Fan ; 方 Fang ; 冯 Feng ; 付 Fu ; G: 高 Gao ;  葛 Ge  ; 龚 Gong ; 顾 Gu ; 郭 Guo ; H: 韩 Han ; 何 He ; 贺 He 洪 Hong ; 侯 Hou ; 黄 Hua ; 胡 Hu ; J: 贾 Jia ; 蒋 Jiang ; 姜 Jiang ; 江 Jiang ; 金 Jin ; K: 康 Kang ; L:  赖 Lai ; 李 Li ;  黎 Li ; 廖 Liao ; 梁 Liang ; 林 Lin ; 刘 Liu ; 陆 Lu ; 卢 Lu ; 路 Lu ; 吕 Lü ; 罗 Luo ; M: 马 Ma ; 麦 Mai ; 毛 Mao ; 孟 Meng ; N:  倪 Ni  ;  牛 Niu ; P: 潘 Pan ; 彭 Peng ; Q: 钱 Qian ; 秦 Qin ; 邱 Qiu ; R:任 Ren ; S: 邵 Shao ; 沈 Sheng ; 史 Shi ; 石 Shi ; 施 Shi ; 宋 Song ; 苏 Su ; 孙 Sun ; T: 陶 Tao ; 谭 Tan ; 唐 Tang ; 田 Tian ; W: 万 Wan ; 王 Wang ;  汪 Wang ; 魏 Wei ; 吴 Wu ; X: 邢 Xing ; 夏 Xia ;  蕭 Xiao ; 谢 Xie ; 徐 Xu ; 许 Xu ; 薛 Xue ; Y: 阎 Yan ; 严 Yan ; 杨 Yang ; 姚 Yao ; 叶 Ye ;  余 Yu ; 于 Yu ; 袁 Yuan ; Z: 张 Zhang ;  赵 Zhao ; 郑 Zheng ; 钟 Zhong ; 周 Zhou ;  朱 Zhu ;  庄 Zhuang ;  邹 Zou ;

Above are all single character last names, but there are some double character Chinese last names, seen below (list not exhaustive): 

独孤 Du’Gu ;  公孙 Gong’Sun ; 南宫 Nan’Gong    欧阳 Ou’Yang ;  司马 Si’Ma ; 上官 Shang’Guan ; 宇文 Yu’Wen ; 长孙 Zhang’Sun ; 诸葛 Zhu’GE ; 

2) GIVEN NAMES/COURTESY NAMES

《Elements》: 

Light*： 光 (guāng) - light，  亮 liàng - bright / shine， 明 (míng) - bright， 曦 (xī) - early dawn， 昀 (yún) - daylight， 昭 (zhāo) - light, clear，照 (zhào) - to shine upon，

Fire: 焰 (yàn) - flames， 烟 (yān) - smoke，炎 (yán) - heat/burn， 烨 (yè) - dazzling light，  

Water: also see “weather” OR “bodies of water” under nature; note the words below while are related to water have meanings that mean some kind of virtue: 清 (qīng) - clarity / purity， 澄 (chéng) - clarity/quiet， 澈 (chè) - clear/penetrating， 涟 (lián) - ripple， 漪 (yī) - ripple， 泓 (hóng) - vast water， 湛 (zhàn) - clear/crystal， 露 (lù) - dew， 泠 (líng) - cool, cold, 涛 (tāo) - big wave，泽 (zé)，浩 hào - grand/vast (water)，涵 (han) - deep submergence / tolerance / educated

Weather: 雨 (yǔ) - rain， 霖 (lín) - downpouring rain， 冰 (bīng) - ice， 雪 (xuě) - snow，  霜 (shuāng) - frost 

Wind: 风 (fēng) - wind

* some “Light” words overlap in meaning with words that mean “sun/day”

《Nature》:

Season: 春 (chūn) - spring， 夏 (xià) - summer， 秋 (qíu) - aumtum， 冬 (dōng) - winter

Time of Day: 朝 (zhāo) - early morning / toward， 晨 (chén) - morning / dawn， 晓 (xiǎo) - morning， 旭 (xù) - dawn/rising sun，昼 (zhòu) - day，皖 (wǎn) - late evening，夜 (yè) - night 

Star/Sky/Space: 云 (yún) - cloud，天 (tiān) - sky/ heaven，霞 (xiá) - afterglow of a rising or setting sun，月 (yuè) - moon，日 (ri) - day / sun，阳 (yáng) - sun，宇 (yǔ) - space，星 (xīng) - star

Birds: 燕 (yàn) - sparrow， 雁 (yàn) - loon， 莺 (yīng) - oriole， 鸢 (yuān) - kite bird (family Accipitridae)，羽 (yǔ) - feather

Creatures: 龙 (lóng) - dragon/imperial

Plants/Flowers:* 兰 (lán) - orchids，  竹 (zhú) - bamboo， 筠 (yún) - tough exterior of bamboos， 萱 (xuān) - day-lily， 松 (sōng) - pine， 叶 (yè) - leaf， 枫 (fēng) - maple， 柏 bó/bǎi - cedar/cypress， 梅 (méi) - plum， 丹 (dān) - peony

Mountains: 山 (shān)， 峰 (fēng) - summit， 峥 (zhēng)，

Bodies of water: 江 (jiāng) - large river/straits， 河 (hé) - river， 湖 (hú) - lake， 海 (hǎi) - sea， 溪 (xī) - stream， 池 (chí) - pond， 潭 (tán) - larger pond， 洋 (yáng) - ocean

* I didn’t include a lot of flower names because it’s very easy to name a character with flowers that heavily implies she’s a prostitute. 

《Virtues》: 

Astuteness: 睿 ruì - astute / foresight， 智 (zhi)， 慧 (hui)， 哲 (zhé) - wise/philosophy, 

Educated:  博 (bó) - extensively educated， 墨 (mo) - ink， 诗 (shi) - poetry / literature， 文 (wén) - language / gentle / literary， 学 (xue) - study， 彦 (yàn) - accomplished / knowledgeable, 知 (zhi) - to know， 斌 (bīn) - refined， 赋 (fù) - to be endowed with knowledge

Loyalty: 忠 (zhōng) - loyal， 真 (zhēn) - true 

Bravery: 勇 (yǒng) - brave， 杰 (jié) - outstanding, hero

Determination/Perseverance: 毅 (yì) - resolute / brave， 恒 (héng) - everlasting， 衡 (héng) - across, to judge/evaluate，成 (chéng) - to succeed， 志 (zhì) - aspiration / the will

Goodness/Kindness: 嘉 (jiā) - excellent / auspicious，磊 (lěi) - rock / open & honest， 正 (zhèng) - straight / upright / principle，

Elegance: 雅 (yǎ) - elegant， 庄 (zhuāng) - respectful/formal/solemn， 彬 (bīn) - refined / polite， 

Handsome: 俊 jùn - handsome/talented 

Peace: 宁 (níng) - quietness/to pacify, 安 （ān) - peace, safety

Grandness/Excellence：宏 (hóng) - grand，豪 (háo) - grand, heroic，昊 (hào) - limitless / the vast sky，华 (huá) - magnificent， 赫 (hè) - red/famous/great， 隆 (lóng) - magnificent， 伟 (wěi) - greatness / large，轩 (xuān) - pavilion with a view/high，卓 (zhuó) - outstanding

Female Descriptor/Virtues/Beauty: 婉 (wǎn)，惠 (huì)， 妮 (nī)， 娇 (jiāo)， 娥 (é)， 婵 (chán) (I didn’t include specific translations for these because they’re all adjectives for women meaning beauty or virtue) 

《Descriptors》:

Adverbs: 如 (rú) - as，若 (ruò) - as, alike，宛 (wǎn) - like / as though，

Verbs: 飞 (fēi) - to fly，  顾 （gù) - to think/consider， 怀 (huái) - to miss, to possess， 落(luò) - to fall, to leave behind，梦 (mèng) - to dream， 思 (sī) - to consider / to miss (someone)，忆 (yì) - memory， 希 (xī) - yearn / admire

Colours: 红 (hóng) - red， 赤 (chì) - crimson， 黄 (huàng) - yellow， 碧 (bì) - green，青(qīng) - azure，蓝 (lán) - blue， 紫 (zǐ) - violet ，玄 (xuán) - black， 白 (baí) - white

Number：一 (yī), 二 (er) - two, 三 (san) - three,  四 (si) - four,  五 (wu) - five, 六 (liu) - six, 七(qi) - seven, 八 (ba) - eight,  九 (jiu) - nine, 十 (shi) - ten

Direction: 东 (dōng) - east， 西 (xi) - west， 南 (nan) - south， 北 (bei) - north，

Other: 子 (zǐ) - child, 然 (rán) - correct / thusly

《Jade》: *there are SO MANY words that generally mean some kind of jade, bc when ppl put jade in their children’s name they don’t literally mean the rock, it’s used to symbolize purity, goodness, kindness, beauty, virtue etc*  琛 (chen), 瑶 (yao),  玥 (yue),  琪 (qi),  琳 (lin)

《Spirituality》

凡 (fan) - mortality 

色 (se) - colour, beauty. In buddhism, “se” symbolizes everything secular

了 (liao) - finished, done, letting go 

尘 (chen) - dust, I’m not… versed in buddhism enough to explain “chen”, it’s similar to “se”

悟 (wu) - knowing? Cognition? To understand a higher meaning

无 (wu) - nothing, the void, also part of like “letting go” 

戒 (jie) - to “quit”, but not in a bad way. In buddhism, monks are supposed to “quit” their earthly desires.

极 (ji) - greatness, also related to the state of nirvana (? I think?) 

[xachynwrites]

Here’s a handy little tip for writing descriptive scenes.

If you’re like me, then you really want to feel like you’re there in the environment, and want your readers to feel that way too. But if you’re also like me then you’ll find that finding the right words and prose can be like finding… well… something in a haystack.

But I’ve found a method that at least helps me go in the right direction.

Think of a place very familiar to you. Your house is usually good. Visualise it, you know this place like the back of your hand.

Now think of the place in your story you’re trying to describe - and how it compares to the place you know so well. If it is an apartment, how would you describe it next to yours? If it is a castle, what’s the first major difference that comes to mind between that and your modern house? If it’s a landscape, is it different or similar to the landscape around your house? If so, again, what’s the first thing that comes to mind?

This is the technique I used when describing a forest I plopped one of my characters in to, and she had absolutely never been in a place like it before. So naturally she couldn’t stop thinking about how everything about it was so absolutely different to back home, detail after strange, unfamiliar detail. I compared the forest in the story to the forests around my home.

I would not recommend making a big long list and prattling it off in the middle of a scene, but at least make notes outside of the transcript as a sort of reference, then try to pick the features that are the most outstanding and go from there. Also make note of your own thought process, in what order you noticed things, and try to ask yourself why you thought in that particular way.

[xachynwrites]

The 3 Act Structure  Made Simple

So you’ve probably heard this thrown around a lot in the writing community, and maybe you’re a Save The Cat! structure enthusiast already, but if not this is a brief introduction to the 3 act structure. Please note that I use ‘hero’ and ‘bad guys’ as terms for guys, gals and non-binary pals. 

Act 1

This is where we set the scene. The first 15-20% of your book should be an introduction to the character and their life as it is. These first few chapters should show your character’s attributes and flaws while settling up the book’s theme. This is also the home for any fundamental world building that you want to use later. Act 1 ends either at the catalyst or the moment the hero decides to act on the catalyst. This is the moment of ‘For our hero, life was perfectly normal—if a little rough—UNTIL!’

Act 2

Remember that life we just introduced? Well it’s about to get seriously upended. That’s act 2. This is where our character gets thrown into something new, something that’s going to change them even though they don’t know it yet. They might expect this to fix their life, but it’s not a real fix. It’s a bandage on the bullet hole caused by their flaws—the real thing they need to fix. This usually coincides with our hero meeting someone new, someone who will guide them through this change. This act is where the tensions begin to rise, the stakes are revealed, the bad guys (both physical and metaphorical) are getting closer, but don’t forget to throw in some light hearted scenes, some excitement and some comedic relief. This is about 50% of your novel and it all ends when your character flaws catch up to them and they make a mistake that leads to their worst fear coming true. This is where you break your character. 

Act 3

Do allow your character some time to mope and process whatever atrocities you’ve thrown at them. It’s the least you can do after ruining their lives. Once that’s over we can get right into act 3. Act three is the finale. The stakes have never been higher, the danger had never been more pressing, and after some serious soul searching, your character is ready for the final stand. This is where your character stops running from their flaws and learns to change. Whether they win or lose, they are not the person they were at the start. 

Act three ends with the end of the book. A final image of the world that will help the reader say goodbye to the characters they have grown to love or perhaps an evil cliffhanger that will ensure they read the next book. 

And there you have it! A short introduction to the three acts of Save The Cat!

[Please credit @isabellestonebooks if reposting to instagram] 

[xachynwrites]

Cute Prompts/Scenarios/Ideas For Your Fanfics

some are mine, some aren't and i won't take credit for the ones that aren't, but please enjoy this prompt list! i hope you can use it!!

Person A catches a bus home everyday, but today, they're so exhausted that they fall asleep, suddely they feel a light tap on their shoulder and open their eyes to see a cute guy/gal/person smiling at them. "Sorry to wake you, bit this is your stop, i hope you slept well"

Person A usually hates sports, but their friends forced them to come along to a match and there's this really cute guy/gal/person there and now they don't want to leave

Person A hates sporting events, but they devide to go to support their longtime crush (Person B) and now they're addicted to attending the events

Person A was carrying a pile of books, but someone (Person B) bumped into them, causing them and the other person to drop all of their books. They help eachother pick their books up, but only after Person A get to class did they realise that they had mixed one of their books with Person B's. A week later, they enter their dorm room to find their lost book laying on the floor, with a small post-it note on it. "Call me, you're cute" with a phone number messily scribbled underneath it, signed -Person B

Person A met Person B through mutual friends, at first they weren't too bothered with them, but after meeting B twice, A was absolutely infatuated

Person A loves to draw and one day, Person B walks up to them, asking if they could watch A draw, A hesitantly agrees and for the rest of the day they can't get B's curious smile out of their head

Person A has been enemies with this idiot from their class for years (Person B), but when they're stuck in detention with B, for arguing, they suddenly realise, oh damn, B is kinda cute

Person A keeps finding little love poems taped to their locker, for months they try to find out who is writing them, but with no results. but one day, they catch B in the act and damn, they wish they had found out sooner

A and B both share a mutual love for sports and B is so cute when they ramble on about how much they love it, A is just completely enamoured

A and B met at a party, completely sober, and they hit it off super quickly, but everyone else is drunk, so after getting eveyone home safely, they exchange numbers, promising to meet up next time they're both invited to a party

Person A is struggling with their homework, but instead of just helping them with it, Person B explains ot perfectly and offers to do all the work for them, in exchange for a date

Person A is walking their dog, when the dog suddenly bolts towards another dog walker (Person B) and runs through B's legs, effectively pulling A ontop of B

Person A just walked onto class, soaked from the rain outside and shivering from the cold, harsh winds, they walk over to their seat, next to Person B and Person B feels so sorry for A, so they give A their hoodie and coat to warm them up. and now the teacher and all of their classmates secretly ship them

Person A is super competitive, so they challenge B to a super tricky game, claiming that they're the master of it, only to loose to B ten minutes later.

bonus: A mopes around for the rest of the day, so B buys them their favourite takeaway food/cooks their favourite food to cheer them up and say sorry

update 1:

Person A gets lost in a big city, they ask a random, yet cute, person for directions, the person writes them down and scribbles something on the back. As A walks away, they take a small peek at what it is, it's a string of digits neatly written on the back. "Call me again if you ever need directions ;)"

Or "Your directions seemed to be off, but it was a good job, because they led you straight to my heart, call me sometime? -B xx"

First uploaded: 17th June 2020 (will probably be updated, so feel free to check back soon <3)

Update 1: 18th June 2020

[xachynwrites]

What's your advice on writing when you have a setting, characters and a premise but... no plot? Do you just start writing and hope lightning hits or do you wait for inspiration first so you don't write yourself in circles?

You could do that. (Sometimes it works. Often it doesn’t.) Or you could take your characters and your setting and your premise and then ask yourself questions like:

So what sorts of thing would happen if I had those characters in that setting given this premise?

What do each of the characters in this story want? And what’s stopping them getting that?

If that premise was really happening what would it mean for the characters? How would they react? Which characters are going to get in the other characters’ way?

What is the single coolest thing that could happen then?

What would I love to write about in all this? What are the scenes that I’m excited to write about?

Is there something I could do in this kind of story that nobody has ever done in this kind of story before?

Why should we care?

How can I make people care?

What is going to make me keep turning the pages as a writer?

And then what happens....?

And before you know it, you’re plotting.

[xachynwrites]

Do you have any tips on how to plan and outline a large multi-chaptered story?

Yes!

This is what I do:

First just write down your idea. Just the sentence that describes the main plot.

Second, what needs to happen? Usually on your first sentence you’ve already introduced a problem. For example, if your main charatcer enters the plot on false pretenses then that has to be revealed. If red riding hood enters the woods, she has to meet the wolf. That sort of thing.

Next, list out what you can on so, but statements. “Grandmother is sick SO red riding hood brings her goodies BUT the woods is infested with wolves SO she sticks to the path BUT...” and so on. You’ll find that’s an easy way to build up some plot ideas.

Next is characters. What arc do you want them to have? Write down how your character starts, how they end, and three points in between that get them there. How does this change the plot? Here’s how to do that.

Fifth is organizing your plot as much as you can. I use this method but it really depends on you.

Next... just write as much as you can. Set a word minimum for every day. Don’t think about editing. Don’t think about plot holes. First draft is just writing it down.