You Don’t Need To Write To Be Successful, And You Don’t Need To Write For Other People. It’s Ok

Writing Tip!

An easy way to tell if you’re showing instead of telling is how much you’re using is/was. My English professor explained this to me a few semesters ago, and while he just wanted varied sentence structure in my papers, it also works very well for creative writing. 

This isn’t to say that is and was are bad verbs, but rather that they are very basic and do not express anything beyond the fact that something exists. Sometimes, that’s all you need to know in a sentence, but often, the writer can make the story or the characters more engaging by explaining who someone is, what something is, where something is, when something is, why something is, or how something or someone is more powerfully by using one of a few tactics.

The first method is to use strong verbs. “Strong verbs” is a term that gets thrown around a lot, but a strong verb is simply a verb that explains what action is happening as clearly as possibly. For instance, when one “jumps” off the diving board, the reader doesn’t know how the person jumped, but the reader will be able to more clearly see the action if you write “she dove” or “he cannonballed” or “she belly-flopped.” Be aware of who is reading your writing and who the narrator is. In general, if your target demographic probably doesn’t know the word or if your narrator wouldn’t know the word, use a simpler, less precise verb and use adverbs to make it specific.

Another way is to show why the narrator was saying “it is/she was/there is” in the first place. Think of the is/was statement as the disease. You want your reader to guess the disease, so you start describing symptoms. For instance, “She is mourning her husband.” vs. “She stared at the empty seat at the table, unfazed by her mother’s repeated attempts to get her attention.” This way is more rambly than just swapping boring verbs for strong verbs, but it is a good way to show the narrator’s experience in life, the narrator’s biases, the narrator’s emotional state, etc. 

One other way is to make the object of the sentence the subject instead. This just means that whatever “is/was” is now what the sentence is about. This is a simple fix in cases when the object is doing something in the sentence. Instead of “There was a ball rolling past her feet.” write “A ball rolled past her feet.”

Let me illustrate:

How you can use varied word choice to show who is being talked about:

Bland: Jason’s dad was standing in front of Jason. 

Engaging: His dad loomed over him.

By using a stronger verb, the more hostile loomed, the reader gets a better idea of who Jason’s dad is and how Jason feels about him.

How you can use varied word choice to show who is talking:

Bland: Macy was sitting at the edge of her seat.

Engaging: Macy balanced very carefully at the very edge of the seat so her feet could touch the floor, because Macy was a very big girl now.

The POV character is a young girl at an age where she wants to be perceived as older than the height of chair legs and the lack of height of her own legs will let her be. She also refers unironically to herself as a big girl in her own thoughts, something grownups generally do not do. By expanding on the reason for the action instead of the action itself and with careful word choice, you can set the tone of the character and of the story.

How you can use varied word choice to show what something is:

Bland: That is a tree branch blowing against the window.

Still bland but better: A tree branch blew against the window.

Engaging: The branch smacked against the window. 

This is an example of taking the object (the thing in the sentence that the verb is happening to) in this case “branch” and make it the subject. In the still bland but better version of the sentence, the fact that the tree branch is blowing against the window is obvious, but that doesn’t tell us anything about how the narrator feels about what the tree branch is doing. That tells us what, but it does not tell us what the character feels about this thing. Smacked is a more violent, sudden, startling verb that communicates suddenness, surprise, and unease.

How you can use varied word choice to show where something is:

Bland: The phone was on the far side of the nightstand. 

Engaging: She flopped an arm blindly across the nightstand, but her fingers hit empty air just shy of the faint glow of her phone.

The engaging version of this sentence tells you more about the character’s mental state, fatigued, while also communicating where the phone is. Also, using a more descriptive word like flopped gives the reader a clearer mental image of what is physically happening in the scene.

How you can use varied word choice to show when something is set:

Bland: It was the early two thousands.

Engaging: Jana looked around the room and saw many a teenage male heinie, but not a belt among them.

Noting fashion trends, like sagging pants or hoop skirts, can reinforce the time period that you’re writing in and how the narrator fits or does not fit into that time period.

How you can use varied word choice to show when (what time) something is:

Bland: It was seven P.M. on a summer night.

Engaging: He watched the sun dip below the far reaches of the ocean as he wiped the sweat from his brow.

The engaging version of this sentence uses a few details to show about what time and when in the year this sentence takes place: it is sunset, so the exact time isn’t stated, but the rough time is implied; the ocean does exist at times of the year when humans aren’t on it as much (and here I though the entire state of Hawaii disappeared between September and April) but most readers will associate the beach with summer; and if the reader didn’t get the clue about the traditionally seasonal location, it is hot enough to make the main character sweat. 

How you can use varied word choice to show why the narrator believes something:

Bland: Kai is a good friend.

Engaging: Kai held her hair away from her face as she threw up into the toilet bowl for the fourth time that night.

Anyone can say anything about anyone else, but the best way to get a reader to like a character, an idea, or a thing is to show them why they should like that thing. Instead of making bland moral claims like “Love is stronger than hate.” tell me how the Samaritan stopped to save the Jew, or how the enemies put aside their differences to protect what they care about. Instead of saying “He was scared of his dad.” show me the beer cans and the slurred speech, show me the belt falling and the voice yelling. Show the reader why.

How you can use varied word choice to show how something is:

Bland: The woman was looking at him.

Engaging: The woman ogled him.

Strong verbs again! Use strong verbs that are emotionally charged when you’re talking about emotionally charged situations! Being ogled is an uncomfortable sensation for the person being ogled, and it also shows disrespect on the part of the person ogling. 

Keep in mind that these are guidelines! Sometimes is is the best word for the job, and don’t stress if you have a lot of is/was in your stories. Just because they’re bland doesn’t mean that sometimes you need bland verbs to communicate what you want to communicate. Still, you don’t want vagueness to be your crutch, either. Practice showing instead of telling when showing is more important, but have fun with it! Besides, you can always edit whatever you hate or are unsure of now sometime later. 

Don’t sweat! Go write awesome papers and stories!

Blue’s Feathers and Wings Compendium: Atypical Wing Shapes

Part 1 [Standard ]| Part 2 [Atypical] | Feather Markings | Tail Feathers

A compendium of different feather marking types that can be used for inspiration in writing and art; especially if you want to be explicitly clear on the markings and don’t want to just have “striped” or “spotted”.

Disclaimer: I am aware that some of these markings have different names when coming from different birds, and that some of these markings are more artistic than realistic, but this for the fun and benefit of others, not for science.

For all you worldbuilders out there, I don't know if you know, but r/worldbuilding on Reddit made this Google Doc with a ton of resources they gathered. Thought that might help some of you.

The “What-If” Writing Method

Sometimes when I’m writing, brain just....stops. No more ideas. No more words. Nothing. Sometimes, the solution to this problem is to simply take a break from writing and let your brain relax. Other times, though, you really are just at a block for ideas. This happened to me significantly more often than I would like, but thankfully, I’ve developed a solution that works well for me, and it’s uncreativly titled the “what-if” method.

Get a piece of paper and pen. Or a Google doc, or whatever works best for you.

Start brainstorming questions about your story, or possible “what-if” scenarios. (Ex: What if my character got framed for a crime they didn’t commit?)

Write down every single idea that comes to your head. Even if it doesn’t really work for your story. Even ones that deviate from your existing plot. Even the stupid ones. Especially the stupidest ones.

Cross out the ideas you don’t like, circle the ones that you do like.

Start coming up with answers for the questions you circled, or expand in the by coming up with more questions. (Ex: They would have to prove they didn’t commit the crime to regain their freedom. How do they prove it?)

Repeat until you have a full idea that you can work on/write with.

That’s it. That’s the whole strategy. I’ve used this a million times, and it’s gotten me out of a million cases of writers block, so hopefully it can work well for you too! Happy writing!

How to Write Flashbacks More Effectively

Many of our favorite books include a flashback or two. They put the main story on pause and reveal things readers need to know, but how do authors decide when to use them?

These are a few tips I have about writing flashbacks effectively so you can feel confident about weaving them into your stories.

1. Create a Clear Trigger

When you walk into a kitchen and smell cookies baking in the oven, the smell might trigger a memory. Maybe it’s a happy memory of baking with your family or exchanging cookies with your friends during a holiday party.

You wouldn’t think about that memory in that exact moment without the sensory trigger. Flashbacks work the same way.

Give your character a specific trigger so it’s obvious they’re having a flashback. You shouldn’t only rely on making the flashback italicised or set off by page breaks. It will feel more expertly integrated if there’s a cause-and-effect relationship with the scene.

The trigger can also serve a purpose. Maybe your protagonist hears a car honking and has a flashback to their recent car accident. It could let the reader in on how the accident happened or what it was like. The sound being a trigger also shows readers that your protagonist hasn’t dealt with the emotional ramifications of that traumatic experience, so it’s still fresh and affecting how they live their life.

Remember, there should be a clear point of return when the flashback ends. It may not always be a second trigger, like your protagonist’s best friend calling their name. It could also be a sensory moment or experience within the flashback that makes the protagonist essentially wake up due to discomfort or becoming aware that it’s a memory.

2. Make It Plot Essential

Flashbacks are plot essential, meaning that they have to either do something for the reader or your protagonist (maybe both at the same time). 

In the above example, reliving the car accident informs the reader about what the protagonist experienced before the story started. 

A flashback about an ex-partner treated the protagonist in a previous relationship could motivate the protagonist to make a choice in their current relationship that they wouldn’t have otherwise. The choice propels the story in a new direction.

3. Get to the Point

It’s important to keep flashbacks brief. Readers are investing their time and energy into the story you’re telling, not the story that happened leading up to your plotline.

Extended flashbacks can also confuse readers. They may not understand when the flashback has ended, especially if the relived experience happened to your protagonist recently.

A few paragraphs to a page or two will likely be more than enough to get your flashback’s point across. If it runs longer, make a mental note to return to that particular scene when you’re in your editing phase.

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Flashbacks can be effective storytelling tools, but use these tips to avoid relying on them too much or in the wrong ways. If one doesn’t feel right even after you’ve worked through your initial edits, you can always take it out and work the information in by writing another present-day scene or conversation.

An aye-write guide to Showing vs. Telling

I’ll bet that if you’ve ever taken an English class or a creative writing class, you’ll have come across the phrase “Show, don’t tell.”  It’s pretty much a creative writing staple! Anton Chekov once said “ Don’t tell me the moon is shining. Show me the glint of light on broken glass.” In other words, showing should help you to create mental pictures in a reader’s head.

Showing helps readers bond with the characters, helps them experience the emotions and action more vividly, and helps immerse them in the world you have created. So “show, not tell” is definitely not bad advice - in certain circumstances. But it has its place. More on that later. 

So How do I Show? 

Dialogue

Thoughts/Feelings

Actions

Visual Details

So instead, of telling me “He was angry”, show me how his face face flushes red, how his throat tightens, how he slams his fist, how he raises his voice, how his jaw clenches, how he feels hot and prickly, how his breathing gets rapid, how his thoughts turn to static, etc.

Instead of telling me “The cafeteria was in chaos”, you could show me  someone covered in food and slowly turning crimson, children rampaging under the feet of helpless adults, frenzied shouting, etc. 

Handy Hint! Try to avoid phrases like “I heard”, “I felt”, “I smelled”, etc. These are still “telling words” (also known as filters) and may weaken your prose, as your readers could be taken out of the experience and you may lose their attention.

Is Showing Always The Right Thing to Do? 

No! Absolutely not! Showing is not always right and telling is not always wrong! It’s important to develop the skill and instinct to know when to use showing and when to use telling, as both can be appropriate in certain occasions. 

So, “Show, don’t tell” becomes “Show versus tell”. 

What is Showing and Telling? 

Showing is “The grass caressed his feet and a smile softened his eyes. A hot puff of air brushed past his wrinkled cheek as the sky paled yellow, then crimson, and within a breath, electric indigo”

Telling is “The old man stood in the grass and relaxed as the sun went down.”

Both of these excerpts are perfectly acceptable to use in your writing! But both do different things, although their meanings are pretty much the same. The first example is immersive, sweeping, visual, engaging. The second example is much more pared back and functional. But both have their places in prose! 

Telling is functional. Think about when you tell people things. You tell your children dinner is ready. The news reporter tells you there’s a drop in crime rates. Your best friend tells you she’ll be late because her car broke down on the way to yours. These are brief and mundane moments in everyday life. 

So, do these deserve multiple paragraphs with sensory detail and action/feeling/thought for every little thing? Do you need to spend an entire paragraph agonising over a minor detail when there’s a sword dangling (physically or metaphorically) over your MC’s head? No. And I’ll explain why. 

When To Use Telling

As before, telling is functional. It’s brief. It’s efficient. It gives a gist of a situation without getting bogged down in detail.

Showing is slow, rich, expansive, and most certainly not efficient! 

Here’s an example of some telling: 

“Years passed, and I thought of Emily less and less. I confined her to some dark dusty corner of my brain. I had to elbow my memories of her to the side. I was too busy with other things. Finishing school, then university a year later. Life was full and enjoyable. But then, one dark cold September night…”

You can’t show this example, unless you wanted to waste page after page of your MC waking up, going through everyday life, to get to the point your actual story started. If you do that, you will likely kill off any interest a reader would have in your novel and likely, your book itself.

Summing Up 

Showing: 

Should be used for anything dramatic

Uses thoughts, feelings, dialogue, action, and visual detail 

Will likely be used more than telling

Telling: 

Can be used for 

Delivering factual information

Glossing over unnecessary details 

Connecting scenes

Showing the passage of time 

Adding backstory (not all at once!) 

Character Development : A Collection of Resources

Patreon || Ko-Fi || Masterlist || Work In Progress

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Resources

Resources For Creating Characters

Resources For Describing Characters

Resources For Writing The Mafia

Resources For Writing Royalty

Commentary on Social Issues In Writing

General Tips

Guide to Character Development

How To Fit Character Development Into Your Story

Tips on Character Consistency

Designing A Character From Scratch

Making characters for your world

Characters First, Story Second Method

Understanding Your Character

Tips on Character Motivations

31 Days of Character Development : May 2018 Writing Challenge

How To Analyze A Character

Alternative Method of Character Creation

Connecting To Your Own Characters

Interview As Your Characters

Flipping Character Traits On Their Head 

Character Driven vs. Plot Driven Stories

Traits

Tips On Writing About Mental Illness

Giving Your Protagonists Negative Traits

Giving Characters Distinct Voices in Dialogue

Giving Characters Flaws

Making Characters More Unique

Keeping Characters Realistic

Archetypes

Writing Good Villains

Creating Villains

Guide to Writing The Hero

Positive Character Development Without Romanticizing Toxic Behavior

Tips on Writing Cold & Distant Characters

Balancing Multiple Main Characters

Creating Diverse Otherworld Characters

Foreshadowing The Villain

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Masterlist | WIP Blog

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Character's life stories

So like any writing advice, this isn't a universal rule by any means, but I have found that when making characters for my longer form fiction, it's really important to understand their life story, even if it never directly shows up in the writing itself - even if the readers are never given enough clues to put it together.

Here's why.

At least when I was first learning how to create a character, I would pick out a mental picture of what they looked like, slapped a few goals, dreams, and morals on them, figured out two formative events and set them loose in the wild. And they were flat. Uniformly.

(Reasons why, other benefits to understanding your character's life stories, and a simple way to develop them all below the cut)

There were several reasons for my character's general wimpyness:

I didn't really know who they were, except for their surface level persona, which meant I had a really hard time understanding what made them choose the things they did.

If I don't know what their life was like, most of their choices are going to stem from like three events - that means there's not a lot of subconscious factors to work with, meaning they're going to be predictable in a bad way.

Whenever I did try to add some depth, there was nothing behind it, so that depth was lost to inconsistencies that weren't glaringly obvious but were enough that it felt unrealistic.

Beyond that, by fleshing out your character's backstories more fully, you'll also end up with insights into:

Worldbuilding - you don't necessarily need to flesh it out in full detail, but for characters to exist, they need somewhere to be, and that can help you understand parts of your world that aren't necessarily the main focus - it adds flavor, which will come through in your writing.

Timing - kinda like how if you have a map of the building your characters are in, it's easier to keep track of it and you don't have weird hallways that lead to nowhere or a room that's simultaneously in three different places. If you understand what was going on generally throughout your character's life, you can better tie their age to what happened and understand the effect the event might have had, or track when people could have met, or all sorts of things that, again, will help them seem more real.

Arcs - character creation is less about starting off with a character, and it's more about crafting an arc. If you just plop a flawed character into the book, it may work, but often the seeds for that arc will appear much earlier, and they may have even started on part of their arc (especially if they're a side character) - understanding what progress they've made or lost can keep them dynamic.

Relationships - if the characters have already met each other, it's useful to know what perceptions they had, what relationships they've built (or set fires to), and what headspace they were in while doing that compared to now.

So that's great and all, but how to... do all that?

1) What's the groundwork?

How old is your character now? This is important because you have that many years of life story. You don't have to figure out every year, but there is a difference between working with a 40something and a teenager.

What global events would have affected everyone (if any), and when did those happen? These will help with scaffolding, since you're going to want to address them.

What point are you trying to work toward? If your character has developed certain mannerisms, views on the world, etc, you may want to figure out sources for them.

2) Set up your timelines.

I find it's best to work with your main cast all at the same time on a common timeline. That way I can see how threads might interact with each other, and make sure that I'm not messing up the years or anything. It also means that when I set up global events, they all line up so I won't have issues with chronology.

Sticky notes and an open workspace are excellent for this. (set up each character going from left to right, and then across the top, set out the years). You can also do it pretty effectively with a spreadsheet, but I find working with things physically to be a nice change of pace.

3) Drop in all of your major life-changing events

You have your timelines set up. If you already know something happened to change any of your character's lives, drop them in. These are probably the most important bits, and you want to make sure they're accounted for.

Birth date (at least to the year)

Major changes in living arrangements

Moments that you already know rocked their world

Etc

A benefit to this is that you'll also see what time periods you have more worked out for which characters compared to others.

Also make sure that you drop in times when characters first meet. Since these are places where timelines converge, you want them to be consistant. If there are important exchanges or interactions after that, those go in too.

If they are not already accounted for, also put in their reaction to any global events you've set out. This is important because it's going to be some kind of common ground for all of your characters later (whether or not you use it), and it will be useful for comparing where everyone was at during a certain point in time.

4) Put in the other important stuff

In the beginning of this process, you figured out what kind of characters you were working toward having at the start of the book. Figure out what events would probably need to happen to make that work, and drop them into the timeline, if they're not already there.

5) Fill in the holes

So at this point, you've got all your important stuff in, but it's highly likely there are still pretty large gaps. My rule of thumb is that you want to have a general understanding of what they were doing at least once of every three years of their life. This will help flesh out their upbringing, or what they were doing in places that are less story-specific

These are the kinds of thins that aren't going to affect the story directly, but are going to influence what they reference, as well as give you a deeper insight into their psyche and experiences. It'll also help make sure that your understanding of who they are isn't bunched up at one point in their life but is more comprehensive.

u know what, even if my writing isnt the BEST, i still made it all on my own. like there was a blank word doc and i filled it up with my own words, my own story. i took what was in my head and i made it a real thing. idk i feel like that alone is something to be proud of.

Do you have any tips for doing nanowrimo for the first time? Or any tips in general?

I do actually. Kind of a lot of tips. But when I have a lot of things to say about something that people would need to take action on, I like to do bullet points to organize the information so it’s easier to digest.

So.

Bullet point time.

Start now. No I don’t mean starting the story. That’s the challenge, to write all the new words in November. I mean, start THINKING about your story. Start planning. Start brainstorming. Start character development. Start backstory. Start researching. Start your writing habit. Because writing at that level take training. You have to get INTO it. It’s far too hard to start writing a novel cold if you’re not used to writing.

Make An Outline. Okay. This is a choice. Not everyone likes outlines. In nanowrimo, we say there are two types; Planners who outline their novel and Pantsers who write by the seat of their pants. This can also be called “intuitive writers.” I think there’s a third, a combo of the two. Plantsers. I like that word because not only is it a combo of pantser and planner, it also has the word “plant” in it. So you plant your garden in a plan and then let it grow however it wants, intuitively. That’s me. Anyway. If you don’t want to plan an outline because you’re a pantser, take notes on your story. Do character interviews, research back story, get excited about tropes you want to use, write short stories about the characters, take notes and make lists about ideas you have.

Start a vision board for your story. I use pinterest. Here is an example of my vision board for one of my nano novels that has already been through three drafts, so...years. I’m REALLY into pinterest do no be intimidated. I’ve been doing it a long time. Keep track of characters, settings, ideas, research, advice. It gets a different version of my brain working on my story. 

Sign up at the nanowrimo site. Choose a title, a genre, a location. Plan to attend events if you can. Okay, quarantine, but maybe digital events, i don’t know what they’re doing yet I haven’t checked. Go to the forums and engage in conversations about writing. Ask questions. Answer some. Buy some merch. Read the advice. Get involved in the community. Don’t let the community take over your writing time, but before nanowrimo? Perfect time to get involved.

Make room in your life for writing: Writing is a commitment. You have to show up to the page. You have to sit down and write. And it more or less has to be everyday, unless you’re planning on bingeing on only certain days... which is possible but harder. Plan out regular times where you will write. Carve out a schedule. It can be the whole weekend or it can be fifteen minutes here and there throughout the day. I am proof that you can write a novel in stolen fifteen minute increments. It takes TIME to write. Oh hey, while we’re on the subject, find out how long it takes you to write. How much can you write in 15 minutes? 30 minutes? an hour? How many of those time chunks will you need to get the words down. Don’t assume you write faster than you do. 

Set up your writing space. A room, a corner, a laptop on your bed, a cafe, a library, a journal. Whatever it is. Make sure you have what you need and it is reasonably organized so that you can not worry about it. ALSO, get snacks and drinks set up so you can feed your body while you write.

Tell people in your life that you will be doing this. I know that may be hard, but telling people that you are committed to this project means you are being held accountable for your goal. It’s not just a wish. The more real you make it, the more likely you’ll reach it. You want them to know that you’ll be taking time to do this. But also, support helps. If you have no one irl to support you, find groups on line, if you don’t know where to look. go look at the forums on nanowrimo.org. You can find forums for age range, life stage, interests, genre, whatever.

It turns out these are all suggestions for how to get nanowrimo going BEFORE nanowrimo. I do believe that this is important. You need to work out your writing muscles before november. This is one of the things that can help you succeed. But I have other hints for how to get it done done while you’re doing it. I’m afraid for simplicity’s sake, that needs to be another post. 

If you want to do nanowrimo... which I do suggest even if it turns out not to work for you, it helps to start earlier. Like running a marathon, you need to train to be able to go the distance. There are lots of thing to do that can get you there. These are only some of them.

Oh okay. I have one more thing. I’ve been keeping writing boards over on pinterest. I have boards both to brainstorm my novels and for writing advice. 

nanowrimo pinterest board story ideas pinterest board character ideas SFF ideas Villain ideas The Writer’s Life

Feel free to plunder and pillage my writing boards. Repin whatever you want. That’s what it’s there for as well as my own inspiration.

All my writing boards start with “to write” or most of them do. There is “the writing life” and “kids and writing.” I have a lot of boards and a lot of pins. 

also check out my writing board @rosy-writes i think at some point I’ll return this blog to a writing blog, but maybe i’ll keep rosywrites for my writing advice or something.