Katherine Frances's Blog, page 372
May 2, 2015
April 25, 2015
awritersnook:
Write about a bride or groom with a secret that...
Write about a bride or groom with a secret that is eating him or her alive. What is this mystery? Is you character a witch who’s lied about his/her appearance all this time? Is he/she of a different sexual or gender orientation? Does this person reveal what it is before or after the “big day”? Or never at all? Does your character even go through with the wedding?
"Dig your teeth into me.
Come on, I dare you.
Take a bite.
Open me up:
raw and candyfloss pink
on..."
Dig your teeth into me.
Come on, I dare you.
Take a bite.
Open me up:
raw and candyfloss pink
on the inside.
Make it hurt.
I figure, you’re going to
hurt me one way or another.
Might as well be with your mouth.
”- IT’S A CIRCUS AND WE ALL PAID TO BE HERE,by Ashe Vernon (via latenightcornerstore)
I let go of her hand.
In one sentence is the spark of a story. Ignite.
Mission: Write a story, a description, a poem, a metaphor, a commentary, or a memory about this sentence. Write something about this sentence.
Be sure to tag writeworld in your block!
Easy Ways to Pick up the Sagging Middle of Your Novel
A lot of writers have trouble writing the middle of the
novel. Either they don’t know how to structure it properly or they’ve just lost
motivation (I’ve written endless posts on motivation, so try searching for
them). I think we’ve all read books that have just lost all momentum in the
middle, so here are a few ways to stop
that from happening to your novel:Try to lead to
something important – The middle is a great time for a really exciting
moment or the climax. There can be more than one, so don’t think you’re going
to waste any momentum you have.Throw in a twist – Blow
your readers minds! Is there a moment you’ve been waiting to reveal to your
audience? Do it in the middle of your novel and then deal with the aftermath.Divide it into
another three acts – Try to break down the middle of your novel into
smaller pieces. Think of it as a beginning, middle, and end. Create a structure
to follow.Introduce some new
blood – Focus on a new character. Introduce a new character. There should
be a reason for them, so don’t go completely wild, but get excited about your
new addition. Weave it into the plot.Do something drastic –
Do something unexpected to your hero. Throw a wrench in their plans. There
should be ups and downs in your novel, so fit some in here.Build an intense
action sequence – Sometimes an intense scene breaks writers out of their
doldrums. If it fits in your story, try it. Pump up the adrenaline.Plan, plan, plan – For
me, planning is the best way to figure out where my novel is going. Take a
moment to think about what’s happening in your story and find a way to organize
it.Focus on tension – Build
tension and put your readers on the edge of their seat. If there’s something
exciting happening in your third act, now’s the time to build it up.Think about the
ending – If you’re unsure about the middle of your novel, take a look at
the other parts. How are you going to get to your ending? Focus on that
journey.Make it less
complicated – Sometimes middles are hard to write because they’re too
complicated. Cut subplots that you can’t follow or just muddle up your story.Obviously, trying all of these will make an absolute mess of
your story, so pick and choose what might work for you. These are just suggestions and they won’t work
for everyone’s story. Think of them as ideas to get your creative juices
flowing.And remember, the most important ideas to pursue are those
that help drive the story forward or help reveal information about your
characters!-Kris Noel
Trope of the Week: Mid-Battle Conversation
Around your characters are millions of people, all of them battling with pikes and swords, maybe even laser-guns, and covered in armor to
delay their deaths. The din of war swallows the battlefield, filled with
shrieks of rage and cries of death. In a small pocket, somehow
protected from all of this, your characters have the chance to take a
breather, stand, and survey the madness around them. They share a talk
that lasts one minute, two, five – and then they dive back into battle,
having never been in any real danger while they stood talking.Why this can be bad: While discussing a whole host of cliched moments in the final Hobbit
movie, Screen Junkies brought up this one, which really stood out to
me. It’s something I’ve always vaguely noticed, but it took that video
for me to realize that, yes, this is a crappy trope. Characters will
spend several, long minutes discussing something in the midst of battle.
Usually they’re in some kind of situation where they only need to
barely pay attention to what’s happening around them, parrying the rare
wayward blow that may come towards them, and they have plenty of breath
left to stand around and discuss something important with their friends
(or the Big Bad). While this can be effective to some extent, when used
in excess, this trope challenges the reader’s belief. If the characters
can kill so proficiently while distractedly battling, then why aren’t
they exceptionally better when they’re focused? Why is there a thick
wall of fighting around them, but they’re somehow the only people with a
fifteen-foot radius of clear space around them? How are they not, at
the very least, a little out of breath? The biggest issue with this
trope is that sometimes it’s just not even a bit believable.How you can fix it: Notice how earlier I said that it was unbelievable when used in excess?
That’s the key phrase. While I still don’t buy that characters would be
able to get away even briefly from battle while in the middle
of a battle, it’s much easier to accept very short conversations than
longer ones. If they hold a conversation that is only a few seconds
long, an exchange of the only the most crucial information, not only
does that seem more believable, but it makes the situation seem much
more dire. But what if your characters have a lot to say? Use the
battlefield to your advantage. If there’s some cover they can hide
behind, let them use that to have a slightly longer, more relaxed
conversation. You can even have them fall back behind their own lines
and take shelter, allowing them a security they wouldn’t have been able
to get on the other side. By doing this, you won’t inhibit the sense of
danger that comes along with battle, and you also won’t make your
characters look like they’re superhuman for being able to hold a casual
conversation while parrying blows and murdering soldiers.Bottom Line: Think logically about this trope, and use it sparingly to avoid your characters appearing superhuman.
"She was like an acoustic guitar. When she spoke, her chords harmonized with the strings in my heart...."
- goodvibezkyng (via wnq-writers)
