some useless writing tips, as we carreen into NaNoWriMo
november is a shitty month to do a writing challenge unless you are a college student or a white man with a wife. ponder that one for a fuckin second
that said, ten minutes writing, five minutes resting a la Nanowrimo works pretty good for getting a bunch of words out to edit later.
if you need to look something up [[double bracket it]] in the text and keep on with your life
[[double brackets]] in general are great for putting shit into that you know will need to be dealt with later or notes about the story itself, which is a writing tip I first learned from Piers Antony and which I suppose justifies his entire shitty oeuvre. I shouldn’t talk, I read a lot of them. I read a lot of Robert Heinlein too, and the takeaway I think I’m going for is “squeeze what you can out of shitty white male writers and ignore them for the rest of your life”
highlight shit you know has to be dealt with later and keep writing so there’s a later to deal with it
a joke is much funnier if you let the reader do half the work.
never apologize, never explain – well, explain a little. but over explaining never works. trust your readers. in my experience they’re much smarter than you are.
if you say things in a straightforward way without explaining that unlike in real life, a hoodorwooflersten is entirely unlike, but not quite, like a horse that acts like a dog, and allow the reader to figure out through context that a hoodorwooflersten barks but you can ride it, things go much much smoother.
don’t be ashamed of your old stuff, no matter how shitty. practice makes perfect, and someone probably enjoyed it. respect your past self and them.
read a shitton, and think about what you read
done is better than perfect. done is better than perfect. done is better than perfect.
writing, like drawing and painting, is an artistic skill made possible by technical training. the mechanics of writing can be learned. maybe you can’t be taught the spark. but you can learn to be ready for it
you gotta write a lot of shitty stuff to one or two good stuff. I’m sorry. It’s dumb. I wish it didn’t work like that.
There is One True Writing Method, and that is the one that works for you.
If it doesn’t feel good don’t do it
not like, bunnies and sparkles good, artistic good. there’s a difference. you can be moaning and bitching but it’s still good. I don’t know how to describe it. you have to chase the high.
it works pretty good to have a goal of writing so many words (anywhere from 1 – 1000 is a pretty good ballpark) or time spent wrting per day but if you don’t make it it’s terribly counterproductive to beat yourself up about it
unless you are paying the bills by writing, it’s okay to take a break from writing. Go hike. play a video game. if it doesn’t give you joy (sometimes a hard angry joy, to be sure) stop doing it. rest.
honestly literally anything can get ur character marked down as a mary sue. just go down the list on ye olde litmus test. they’re confident?? they’re a sue. modest?? also a sue. pretty?? sue again. NOT pretty?? still a sue. friendly?? sue. unfriendly?? sue!! have a tragic backstory?? SUE!! have a perfectly normal backstory where they were loved and cared for?? OH GOD YOU MONSTER, WHEN WILL YOU STOP MAKING SUCH SUES.
i would say the only way to not make a “sue” is to just not give them any traits at all but guess what!! blank-slate characters with little personality are ALSO sues!! it’s a meaningless term!! do whatever you want!!
There’s a seriously delightful conversation in one of the LARP fb groups about adventuring over 40. Many of us aren’t 20 anymore, and it seems silly to have our characters not be our own age (or close to it). But they’re still starting characters (as it’s a new campaign), which implies they chose this path recently.
That thread is mostly joking around, but I kind of love the idea of hearing The Call when you’re not a teenager, and starting your in-game adventuring life later as some kind of mid-life crisis, religious epiphany, empty nest reaction, etc.
Which got me to some ficlets, and here’s the result.
—
“Well, your mother always wanted to be an adventurer – she was a hell of an archer when we were your age – but we got pregnant, and your grandmother needed some help, so we put that life off for a while. But now that you’re off at university, it seems like a good time to pick up the bow again, and go fight evil.“
—
“There was just something missing, y’know? I mean, I liked being a toymaker, but one day I realized – I really wanted to put on some plate mail, and go fight demons. So here I am, livin’ the dream.“
—
“Sometimes, relationships don’t work out. She got the business, I get to start the life of adventure I’ve always wanted. Did you know I minored in alchemy? It’s good to get back into it again.”
—
“Your Aunt Maribel and I had always talked about doing this, when we were girls, but it just never seemed like the right time. But now that Uncle Haro has passed…Mari just wants to get out there and do it. I can’t let her go alone, can I? Someone has to watch her flank on the line, and remind her to keep her shield up.“
—
“What can I say? Sometimes you fall in love with a mage. When you do, you grab your hammer and you go where he goes. Someone has to keep cute Dukes from flirting with him. Back off, gentry! He’s all mine.”
“Kevin, you’re being ridiculous. I’m not going to fall in love with some Duke.”
“Whatever. I’m not taking any chances. It took me this long to find you, and I’m not letting you go without me.”
—
“I’m your Dad. If you’re going to go and fight evil, I’m going with you, ‘cause I support your choices.”
—
“Er…Mom’s heading off to check out some evil gate she heard about. Someone needs to go with her, ok? I squired for her last time, but I just can’t right now. It’s your turn. Make sure she does her exercises, ok? Her back is going to be horrid if she doesn’t.“
“Fine. I’ll handle the evil gate with Mom. But the next time she heads into the swamps to fight some lizard thing, you’re doing it. I freaking hate swamps.”
—
“His husband left him for an elf. He’s got some anger issues that he’s working through, ok? Better that he work through it on some bad guys.”
—
“What was that?” “Undead again.” “Oh, for the love of..look. They’re a freaking plague, and it’s getting worse. If we don’t want to keep dealing with this, we’re just going to have to go to the source.” “But….the carrots…!” “Hang the damned carrots. I’ll hire that nice boy down the street to take care of our field while we’re gone. Clean yourself up and grab your holy symbol. We’re not putting up with this for one more week.”
—
“Well, I always wanted to see the world. I got a small inheritance recently, and thought, why the heck not? No time like the present, right?”
—
“If that Sorcerer thinks he can just waltz in here and take over this town, he’s got another think coming!” “Doris, calm down. We’ll write to the King, and…” “I WILL NOT CALM DOWN. Sally, I swear, you drive me nuts sometimes.” “I’m just saying – there’s diplomatic solutions to this.” “The hell with diplomatic solutions! I WILL END HIM. ” “Fiiiiiine. Do it your way. End him with fire.” “Thank you!” *smooches* “Love you. Back when I’m back. He has NO IDEA who is coming for him.”
—
“What can I say? Adventuring pays the bills. I have a family to support, and turnip farming doesn’t make money like it used to.”
—
“Hey Phineas – for guys’ night, I have a thought. Rather than just going down to the pub like we usually do…I found a gate. No idea where it leads. Let’s go check it out. Could be fun, right?” “A gate?” “Yeah!” “This is a terrible idea. I’m in.”
—
“Um….well, this is awkward. You know that Goddess who spoke to me last spring?” “Oh yeah! Your whole conversion thing. Nice to see you found faith. It’s been good for you, I think.” “Well, she has something she wants me to take care of.” “What, like…a message delivered or something?” “Noooooooo?” “Seriously? You’re a florist. What does she want you to do?” “Well, now when I sing, things blow up. That’s good, right?” “This can’t end well.”
—
“We left for THREE WEEKS, and Barbarians razed our village. I swear, do I have to do everything myself? I JUST RE-DID THE ROOF, YOU JERKS.”
—
“He doesn’t think our family is good enough for him? I’ll show him who is good enough for him! My little girl is going to live in a castle, even if I have to conquer it myself!” “I’m sure he didn’t mean it that way.” “We’ll see what he has to say when I walk into Summertide with a demon’s head on a spike! Who’s good enough now, you two-bit merchant?!?”
—
“Your Aunt recently found out that Throgg the Destroyer is that brat she couldn’t stand at the Academy. She’s not taking it well, so we’re going to be off on a trip for a while…”
—
“So….funny story. You know that favor I owe the Countess? From like 20 years ago? She finally called it in. She remembered that I’m really good with Ancient Runes, and apparently there’s something she needs checked out.”
—
“I thought you said this adventuring thing was just a hobby, Brianna. Something we did on the weekends.” “Well, but…y’know…I really like it. I think I could be good at it. I’m getting better with the spear, you know?” “I don’t even know you anymore!” “Can’t you just be supportive?” “Well, but where does it end? First hobgoblins, now orcs…what’s next?” “I heard about this cursed tomb…” “Absolutely not. I draw the line at tombs. NO TOMBS.”
—
“I told you not to date that vampire. Didn’t I tell you? I told you!” “Let me live, Sergio.” “Let me unlive, you mean.” “Ok, that’s just rude.”
—
“Oh, sure – one good healing spell, and you think you can conquer the world.” “I can! I have the knees of a teenager again!”
—
“Grandpa, you’re embarrassing me.” “What, I can’t visit my grandson while he’s adventuring?” “Well, I love having you here, and everyone knows you’re a good healer, but…” “I’ll be fine. I like it here. I think I’ll stay.”
—
“C’mon, let’s do it. We’ve always wanted to.” “But…we don’t know what we’re doing.” “We do! We’ve each read The Book, what….15 times? I know you basically have it committed to memory.” “I don’t think ‘To Catch a Rogue Lord’ was really meant as an instruction manual.” “C’mon…how hard can it be? You’ve seen the adventurers who come through here.” “Excellent point. I’ll get my herbs.”
—
“Honey? There’s a kid at the door. He says you’re the Chosen One.” “Arrrrgh. We talked about this! Come back later!” “He says the stars are aligned?” “Not doing it! Tell him to go away.” “Oh, and the seal broke. The seal broke, Stephen. It sounds important.” “But…” “I’ll pack you a lunch.”
“Call Sharon. She and her stupid birthmark are coming with me.” “I thought you said that translation of the prophecy was incorrect? Something about a miss-translation of verb.” “…well, at least if we fail, I won’t have to listen to Karl talking at Guild Meetings about how he was right.”
these are perfect and everything is perfect and nothing hurts
what show have you watched where you are like “oh yeah season 7 definitely was the best one”
the thing is– there are shows when they get past season 6 or 7, does get better because somewhere there the writing crews tighten up again and its like the show changed its game and the show gets new viewers starting off from that season onwards.
tl;dr quality fanfiction later seasons are the best
Season 1 is finding your groove.
Season 2 is trying to replicate your S1 successes.
By S3, you’ve figured out the optimal recipe, and and you can really start paying off things you’ve set up in the first two seasons. This is why in 5-year runs, season 3 is often held up as a highlight.
But then you get a giant writer turnover. The loyal audience has spent more time with and has a better feel for these characters than the new writers do, unless you have fans of the show coming in as the new writers, as Leverage did. It’s essentially another sophomore season, and S4-S5 an entire sophomore phase for longer-running shows, as the new writers find their bearings. Worse, the showrunners have probably spent the initial character arcs that originally inspired them in S3, so they start messing with the format and the relationships to see what creatively shakes out. This is why so many S4s take that “main cast starts to drift apart” season arc route that can make sense narratively, but fans really hate.
So by S6, you either have worked out the kinks yet again, or you have another writer turnover, but the show has been going long enough that the probability of your third phase of writers being fans of the show and knowing what they want out of it is much higher. Hence their tendency to go back to the roots of what made S1-S3 work. That, and the showrunner has generally worked out the worst of their “Ooh, let’s see what happens if we TEAR THE ENSEMBLE CAST APART WITH ANGST” impulses out of their systems, and pace things at one break-up at a time, along with a build-up somewhere else, instead of a simultaneous cascade of destruction. Because hey, it’s season 4, according to 5-act structure we’re due for a spiral season that’s obviously a great idea! 8D
See also this post. Using the previous timeline, most shows complete their initial community-building arc by end of season 3. (“We’ve graduated high school!”) In order to continue without just feeling like masturbatory epiloguing, they have to evolve the show into something else, create a new trajectory for each character their relationships, and the overall plot. Again, many shows make the mistake of going from a community-building arc to a community death-and-rebirth arc, which is powerful but still requires a death section that fans will all hate. So that third phase of S6+ is, as the article puts it, after having restabilized the cast from a team to a family, exploring what that family means, which is always going to be more enjoyable to watch on a paced viewing basis than said breaking the team up to make them a family instead.
That, or S6 is the start of a complete reset of 5-act structure, so we’re back on mostly positive build-ups through the next round turning points.
This would actually explain how uneven the season 4 of Person of Interest. Season 4A was fantastic and then with the loss of Shaw, and probably behind the scenes, Nolan focusing on his new shows and ventures there’s less of a guiding hand to the writing? I imagine POI had two showrunners for a reason.
you ever catch yourself writing yet another version of That One Scene you’ve put into a half dozen or more stories so far and one part of your brain starts roasting your utterly predictable personal writing tropes while the other half of your brain just shrugs and goes
Music to write, roleplay, or study to! These playlists are works in progress and are continuously growing and improving. Titled after like-themed action movie and game music, the playlists each have their own personality, and encourage different moods or activity levels. Most music is from soundtracks. The calmest playlists, Temple Ruins and Party Camp, are useful for getting into the mood. This music is less distracting. Once your pace is set, or if you want to get in the mood for an action scene, Underworld or Boss Fight are the playlists for you. Tavern Nights is what it sounds like, full of highs and lows but can be distracting. Field Music is right in the middle, with lots of color.
All playlists are available to follow on Spotify, and can also be accessed via the web player with a free Spotify account. Just click on the [listen] for the link. Please do not hesitate to suggest music/changes to me, either here or on Spotify.
Updated: 3/19/17 – New playlist “Into Battle” features a highly dynamic range between “Field Music” and “Boss Fight” and moods for rallying the troops and preparing for war. In addition, the older playlists have been added to.
Curator Note: Thank you all so much for all the reblogs. This post now has 40k notes, and the older playlists on Spotify each have between 500 and 2.7k followers. I continually get notifications about activity on this post and am so amazed and happy that people find it so useful!
Title: Temple Ruins Mood: tense, eerie, dark and scary Volume: quiet, few musical swells Action: creeping through a dark ruin and avoiding spiders Instruments: minimal orchestral Lyrics: few (non-English)
Title: Party Camp Mood: calm, mysterious, romantic Volume: soft, somewhat dynamic Action: resting after a long day of travel Instruments: minimal orchestral
Title: Field Music Mood: cheerful, adventurous, vigilant Volume: low to medium, dynamic Action: adventuring with your companions Instruments: orchestral Lyrics: few (non-English)
Title: Tavern Nights Mood: cheerful as well as sombre Volume: medium to high, dynamic Action: eating and drinking with the locals Instruments: mainly guitar and fiddle, some harp Lyrics: yes (including English)
Title: Underworld Mood: terra incognita, on the hunt, betrayal Volume: mid-low with many dynamic moments Action: venturing into the land of demons and the undead Instruments: orchestral Lyrics: yes (non-English)
Title: Into Battle Mood: nervous, inspired, bloodthirsty Volume: wide range with many dynamic moments Action: preparing for battle, rallying the troops, charging the enemy Instruments: orchestral Lyrics: yes (mainly non-English)
i'll apple your turnover 