Chris Baty's Blog, page 23

World-building Tip: Consider the Culture

Every year, we’re lucky to have great sponsors for our nonprofit events. Campfire Technology, a 2022 Camp NaNoWriMo sponsor, creates writing software to help storytellers write better stories faster. Get 30% off lifetime purchases with Campfire’s coupon for Camp NaNoWriMo writers! In this post, writer Adam Bassett shares a helpful tip for creating the world of your story:

The most important part of writing is, obviously, the writing. However, it can be difficult to put words on the page if you’re not prepared before tackling that hefty 50,000 word goal you’re setting for yourself. There are a few things you can do to make life easier while writing—but first I’d like to tell you a bit about one of my favorite paintings. I promise, it will make sense.

The Arnolfini Portrait

Jan van Eyck was ahead of his time. It’s hard to fully express how incredible and impactful his oil paintings were. His Arnolfini Portrait (1434), sometimes called the Arnolfini Wedding, has been a bit of an enigma for art historians. There’s very little information about the people pictured here, so it’s unclear what their relationship was. Some guess that they are shown here greeting a spectator, while others believe it might be a wedding ceremony (hence the alternate title). Some believe the woman here might be pregnant, but we know that it was quite normal for women to be holding bulky gowns like this during the 15th century—so it’s hard to be sure.

Beds, mirrors, even the oranges in this room were really expensive at the time, and if you had any you were likely to want to show it off. These objects also hold a lot of other meanings. The red sheets on the bed represent fertility, and the mirror is adorned with scenes from the Passion of Christ.

Despite the mysteries here, we can discern a few things about the Arnolfini Portrait: it is littered with symbols of wealth, status, religion, and love. It is a product of 15th century economics and fashion, with just enough mystery on its canvas to keep us talking about it.

Preparing Your Characters and World-building

I think we can apply a lot of what Jan van Eyck did with this piece to our writing. I tend to see a lot of people talking about world-building in respect to the magic or physical setting, and about characters regarding how they operate in the plot. All of that is absolutely important, but I would argue we’re forgetting all too often to consider the culture.

The Arnolfini Portrait is so interesting in large part because it depicts things whose meanings are embedded in 15th century Europe, many of which have multiple interpretations. If you can take some of this time before NaNoWriMo begins to look into your settings culture(s) and where your main cast fits into that culture—or how they are ostracized from it—you can imbue everything around them with meaning when it comes time to finally write. Their sword might not just be a deadly weapon, but what if it’s also an heirloom to show off, or if they have to hide it because swords are taboo? Perhaps they have an interesting way to style their cloak, or you could have a one-off remark about oranges as your main character travels through a market. All these small details can be planned if you take the time to better understand the cultures present. It helps your setting feel lived-in, your characters more real.

So how do you apply these details? Well, the easiest place to do that is in Campfire’s Manuscript Module, where you can check your character, plot, and world-building notes without ever having to leave your text editor. It’s free to try, and easy to access on any browser or via our desktop application! Check out Campfire for free at www.campfirewriting.com and start preparing for NaNo. Good luck!

Adam Bassett is a UX/UI designer, writer, game designer, and freelance illustrator based in Tennessee. You can find more discussions on writing and worldbuilding at Campfire’s YouTube channel Around the Campfire, or read his interviews with folks like Ed Greenwood and Lillie Lainoff on Campfire Learn. If you’re looking to organize your writing notes better, try out Campfire Write for free!

Inspiring Hope in Youth Through Stories: An Interview with Author Rose Brock

Every author hopes to inspire and impact their audiences. Author, editor and NaNoWriMo Board Member, Rose Brock, shares about her new anthology, Hope Wins, which strives to inspire hope in kids through inspiring stories.

Reports of youth depression, anxiety, and general struggles with mental health are devastating. Dr. Rose Brock, Ph.D, an educator, author, editor, and literary organizer, set out to put together a collection of stories about hope in order to uplift and inspire the youth.

This collection, Hope Wins, pulls “personal stories and essays, award-winning and bestselling artists from Matt de la Peña and Veera Hiranandani to Max Brallier and R.L. Stine write about how hope always wins, even in the darkest of times.” Read this inspiring interview about the book, and the motivations behind its creation.

Q: Tell us about the background of the book. Why did you put together Hope Wins? Why does the world need this book?

A: For the two decades I worked as an 8th grade ELA teacher and a middle school librarian, there were so many times I wanted to find a way to help my students feel connected to others and less alone because life can be really hard and isolating at times. Because it’s what worked for me, I tried to do that through books. I don’t necessarily believe a novel will solve all the world’s ills, but I do know that through the sharing of stories, we have the ability to help readers see others and to be seen in return; I can’t think of a better way to capture and share the human condition.

Fiction often does for us organically, and it’s where I’m regularly drawn as a reader, but from those twenty years working in public schools, I also learned the power of sharing non-fiction with young people. In addition to the many celebrated novels in both my classroom library and school library, sometimes my students were looking for inspiring stories that were true. In the earlier years of my career, I often turned to books like Chicken Soup for the Soul to encourage them. While I’m still not sure just how “real” those books were, they were important and inspirational to many. What I learned from those collections was that books that are filled with real life experiences and shared lessons have an opportunity to profound difference to a young person.

Since the publication of my YA hope focused first anthology, Hope Nation, teachers and librarians have generously told me how much they personally loved that first collection, but how they wished there was one for the younger students with whom they work. Between these requests and knowing the difficulties faced by young people these past two+ years due to the pandemic (and let’s face it—just life), this seemed to be the right time to collect more hopeful stories by authors young people admire.

Hope Wins is technically a collection of inspiring stories for young readers, but I would argue it’s a book for all readers who need a shot of hope, regardless of age. It’s my hope it will do just that—make a profound difference to any reader that needs a shot of hope. My Hope Wins (and Hope Nation) anthologies are also what I call “Projects for Good” because besides sharing personal stories from beloved MG and YA writers, they benefit organizations and charities that I believe matter. As an educator, Hope Wins is the book I wish had existed over the years to give to the young people in my life that were struggling to say, “You can do this. You are strong. You can capable. You are enough. You can hang your heart on hope”. 

Q: Can you tell us about your background and what role hope has played in what you do—as a librarian, the founder of a book festival, and a NaNoWriMo board member?

A: I’ve been an educator for all of my professional life. As I mentioned, I was a classroom teacher and school librarian for two decades. After finishing my Ph.D., I transitioned to academia. In all of these places, sharing stories have always been the foundation for my personal hope, and I believe they can work magic in and build hope in others. I believe the quest for hope is both active and at times, an act of resistance—choosing where you focus your efforts and being intentional with what you do. Whether it is teaching, my service to NTTBF (the North Texas Teen Book Festival), or NaNoWriMo, I’m always guided by the knowledge that passion and service lead me to hope.

Q: We’re just now seeing devastating reports about how much kids have suffered and are suffering mentally. Depression, self-harm and suicide are rising at alarming rates among American adolescents, spanning racial and ethnic groups, urban and rural areas and the socioeconomic divide. Does hope play a different role for a middle-grade child than it might an adult? Is hope a scarce resource these days?

A: Even those the world often feels overwhelming, I don’t think it’s hopeless. I think the reason I’m so passionate about promoting literacy with and for young people is because I absolutely know stories can change lives (they certainly changed mine). In all my years of working with kids, I repeatedly saw it happen first-hand. No matter a child’s background or even the obstacles they face, books have the power to help readers escape, grow, think, care, connect, and see more for themselves than their current circumstances. It may seem cliched, but I genuinely believe books have the ability to nurture and grow hope in young people (really in all of us), and I also think all people (especially young people) can become better, kinder people by engaging with stories—they feed our humanity and help us feel hopeful so I’m not really use if it plays a different role; I just know it’s vital to us all.

Q: How did you go about choosing the contributors?

A: If I’d had my way, there would have been at least twice as many authors in this collection, but the reality of such a collection requires a limited number so I started by really thinking about who are the authors I knew kids genuinely love (as is the nature of such projects, a few got away due to their other deadlines). It was also essential to me that the collection was inclusive because I needed any kid reading the collection to be able to find someone that reminded them of themselves.  From there, I invited folks to participate, and I worked with each of my contributors (or Team Hope as I call them) individually to help them decide what they wanted to focus on in their story. In some cases, the participating authors had a keen sense of what personal experiences they wanted to hone in on; in others, I worked more closely by asking questions that made them really open their memory chests and search for moments that might be ripe for hope harvesting. 

Q: What are some of the sources of hope in the book that you found particularly powerful?

A: I genuinely love all of the contributions to the collection, but one of the things I genuinely am happiest with is that in regard to “topics”, the contributions are quite varied, yet they still feel familiar (that’s where the hope comes in). Newbery Honor winner Christina Soontornvat’s piece “Everything I Need to Know I Learned in a Thai Restaurant” shares the many hopeful lessons she learned from working from a very young age in her family’s restaurant in rural Texas. It’s so heartfelt and even humorous. Speaking of funny, Max Brallier, author of the middle grade bestselling The Last Kids on Earth series shares his touching and hilarious antics of being a new kid at school and trying to fly under the radar until the day his father (an author of a series of unusual cookbooks) arrived to pick him up in an actual Oscar Meyer Hot Dog car (which makes invisibility pretty much impossible). Beyond these two selections, the other contributions inspire me in so many ways. Some of the other selections share universal experiences of how to work through feeling like an outcast, how to survive loss, how to choose your how you want to be known, even how to find your life’s inspiration, and more. While each story is unique, they all are earnest, touching, and true.

Q: What’s your favorite reader response? 

A: I don’t that I have one favorite yet but here are some that touched my heart.

“If ever there was a ‘right book at the right time’ …  this collection of stories around the theme of hope is it… .”

         - Blogger ProseandKahn

“An absolute gift to middle grade readers… . I love this anthology because it inspires hope in the face of struggles that are relatable to this age group - insecurity, bullies, feeling different, rejection, loss - while legitimizing how hard this time of life can be.

        ~Instragramer WeReadLikeThat

“The success of this collection lies in its breadth and depth of understanding, as the personalities and writing styles of the included authors envelop the reader. With contributors ranging from Tom Angleberger and Gordon Korman to Veera Hiranandani and Matt de la Peña, the collection’s chapters comprise a diversity of backgrounds and styles while bringing home the reality that though hard times and circumstances challenge everyone, hope can be nurtured in all hearts. Bibliotherapy in small doses.”

        ~Beth Rosania for Booklist

Rose Brock, Ph.D. is a veteran educator and specialist in literature for young people who spent twenty years as a public school educator working as a language arts teacher and a school librarian. She now works as an associate professor in the Department of Library Science and Technology at Sam Houston State University. As a classroom teacher, Rose was selected by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum as a Mandel fellow, and as a school librarian, she was awarded the Siddie Joe Johnson Award for Outstanding Service to Youth by the Texas Library Association. She is the author of the textbook, Young Adult Literature in Action: A Librarian’s Guide, and editor of the young adult anthology, Hope Nation: Young Adult Authors Share Personal Moments of Inspiration. 

Rose is also the co-founder of the ALA award-winning North Texas Teen Book Festival. In addition to her work on NTTBF, Rose has been a tireless advocate for using audiobooks as tools for literacy and is co-founder of the national literacy initiative Guys Listen, a part of the Guys Read literacy national program. Rose’s publications Hope Wins: A Collection of Inspiring Stories for Young Readers and Sound Advice: An Audiobook Selection Handbook for Library Collections is currently available. For more information, please visit https://www.drrosebrock.com/.

Inspiring Hope in Youth Through Stories: An Interview with Author of Hope Wins, Rose Brooks

Every author hopes to inspire and impact their audiences. Author, editor and NaNoWriMo Board Member, Rose Brooks, shares about her new anthology, Hope Wins, which strives to inspire hope in kids through inspiring stories.

Reports of youth depression, anxiety, and general struggles with mental health are devastating. Dr. Rose Brooks, Ph.D, an educator, author, editor, and literary organizer, set out to put together a collection of stories about hope in order to uplift and inspire the youth.

This collection, Hope Wins, pulls “personal stories and essays, award-winning and bestselling artists from Matt de la Peña and Veera Hiranandani to Max Brallier and R.L. Stine write about how hope always wins, even in the darkest of times.” Read this inspiring interview about the book, and the motivations behind its creation.

Q: Tell us about the background of the book. Why did you put together Hope Wins? Why does the world need this book?

A: For the two decades I worked as an 8th grade ELA teacher and a middle school librarian, there were so many times I wanted to find a way to help my students feel connected to others and less alone because life can be really hard and isolating at times. Because it’s what worked for me, I tried to do that through books. I don’t necessarily believe a novel will solve all the world’s ills, but I do know that through the sharing of stories, we have the ability to help readers see others and to be seen in return; I can’t think of a better way to capture and share the human condition.

Fiction often does for us organically, and it’s where I’m regularly drawn as a reader, but from those twenty years working in public schools, I also learned the power of sharing non-fiction with young people. In addition to the many celebrated novels in both my classroom library and school library, sometimes my students were looking for inspiring stories that were true. In the earlier years of my career, I often turned to books like Chicken Soup for the Soul to encourage them. While I’m still not sure just how “real” those books were, they were important and inspirational to many. What I learned from those collections was that books that are filled with real life experiences and shared lessons have an opportunity to profound difference to a young person.

Since the publication of my YA hope focused first anthology, Hope Nation, teachers and librarians have generously told me how much they personally loved that first collection, but how they wished there was one for the younger students with whom they work. Between these requests and knowing the difficulties faced by young people these past two+ years due to the pandemic (and let’s face it—just life), this seemed to be the right time to collect more hopeful stories by authors young people admire.

Hope Wins is technically a collection of inspiring stories for young readers, but I would argue it’s a book for all readers who need a shot of hope, regardless of age. It’s my hope it will do just that—make a profound difference to any reader that needs a shot of hope. My Hope Wins (and Hope Nation) anthologies are also what I call “Projects for Good” because besides sharing personal stories from beloved MG and YA writers, they benefit organizations and charities that I believe matter. As an educator, Hope Wins is the book I wish had existed over the years to give to the young people in my life that were struggling to say, “You can do this. You are strong. You can capable. You are enough. You can hang your heart on hope”. 

Q: Can you tell us about your background and what role hope has played in what you do—as a librarian, the founder of a book festival, and a NaNoWriMo board member?

A: I’ve been an educator for all of my professional life. As I mentioned, I was a classroom teacher and school librarian for two decades. After finishing my Ph.D., I transitioned to academia. In all of these places, sharing stories have always been the foundation for my personal hope, and I believe they can work magic in and build hope in others. I believe the quest for hope is both active and at times, an act of resistance—choosing where you focus your efforts and being intentional with what you do. Whether it is teaching, my service to NTTBF (the North Texas Teen Book Festival), or NaNoWriMo, I’m always guided by the knowledge that passion and service lead me to hope.

Q: We’re just now seeing devastating reports about how much kids have suffered and are suffering mentally. Depression, self-harm and suicide are rising at alarming rates among American adolescents, spanning racial and ethnic groups, urban and rural areas and the socioeconomic divide. Does hope play a different role for a middle-grade child than it might an adult? Is hope a scarce resource these days?

A: Even those the world often feels overwhelming, I don’t think it’s hopeless. I think the reason I’m so passionate about promoting literacy with and for young people is because I absolutely know stories can change lives (they certainly changed mine). In all my years of working with kids, I repeatedly saw it happen first-hand. No matter a child’s background or even the obstacles they face, books have the power to help readers escape, grow, think, care, connect, and see more for themselves than their current circumstances. It may seem cliched, but I genuinely believe books have the ability to nurture and grow hope in young people (really in all of us), and I also think all people (especially young people) can become better, kinder people by engaging with stories—they feed our humanity and help us feel hopeful so I’m not really use if it plays a different role; I just know it’s vital to us all.

Q: How did you go about choosing the contributors?

A: If I’d had my way, there would have been at least twice as many authors in this collection, but the reality of such a collection requires a limited number so I started by really thinking about who are the authors I knew kids genuinely love (as is the nature of such projects, a few got away due to their other deadlines). It was also essential to me that the collection was inclusive because I needed any kid reading the collection to be able to find someone that reminded them of themselves.  From there, I invited folks to participate, and I worked with each of my contributors (or Team Hope as I call them) individually to help them decide what they wanted to focus on in their story. In some cases, the participating authors had a keen sense of what personal experiences they wanted to hone in on; in others, I worked more closely by asking questions that made them really open their memory chests and search for moments that might be ripe for hope harvesting. 

Q: What are some of the sources of hope in the book that you found particularly powerful?

A: I genuinely love all of the contributions to the collection, but one of the things I genuinely am happiest with is that in regard to “topics”, the contributions are quite varied, yet they still feel familiar (that’s where the hope comes in). Newbery Honor winner Christina Soontornvat’s piece “Everything I Need to Know I Learned in a Thai Restaurant” shares the many hopeful lessons she learned from working from a very young age in her family’s restaurant in rural Texas. It’s so heartfelt and even humorous. Speaking of funny, Max Brallier, author of the middle grade bestselling The Last Kids on Earth series shares his touching and hilarious antics of being a new kid at school and trying to fly under the radar until the day his father (an author of a series of unusual cookbooks) arrived to pick him up in an actual Oscar Meyer Hot Dog car (which makes invisibility pretty much impossible). Beyond these two selections, the other contributions inspire me in so many ways. Some of the other selections share universal experiences of how to work through feeling like an outcast, how to survive loss, how to choose your how you want to be known, even how to find your life’s inspiration, and more. While each story is unique, they all are earnest, touching, and true.

Q: What’s your favorite reader response? 

A: I don’t that I have one favorite yet but here are some that touched my heart.

“If ever there was a ‘right book at the right time’ …  this collection of stories around the theme of hope is it… .”

         - Blogger ProseandKahn

“An absolute gift to middle grade readers… . I love this anthology because it inspires hope in the face of struggles that are relatable to this age group - insecurity, bullies, feeling different, rejection, loss - while legitimizing how hard this time of life can be.

        ~Instragramer WeReadLikeThat

“The success of this collection lies in its breadth and depth of understanding, as the personalities and writing styles of the included authors envelop the reader. With contributors ranging from Tom Angleberger and Gordon Korman to Veera Hiranandani and Matt de la Peña, the collection’s chapters comprise a diversity of backgrounds and styles while bringing home the reality that though hard times and circumstances challenge everyone, hope can be nurtured in all hearts. Bibliotherapy in small doses.”

        ~Beth Rosania for Booklist

Rose Brock, Ph.D. is a veteran educator and specialist in literature for young people who spent twenty years as a public school educator working as a language arts teacher and a school librarian. She now works as an associate professor in the Department of Library Science and Technology at Sam Houston State University. As a classroom teacher, Rose was selected by the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum as a Mandel fellow, and as a school librarian, she was awarded the Siddie Joe Johnson Award for Outstanding Service to Youth by the Texas Library Association. She is the author of the textbook, Young Adult Literature in Action: A Librarian’s Guide, and editor of the young adult anthology, Hope Nation: Young Adult Authors Share Personal Moments of Inspiration. 

Rose is also the co-founder of the ALA award-winning North Texas Teen Book Festival. In addition to her work on NTTBF, Rose has been a tireless advocate for using audiobooks as tools for literacy and is co-founder of the national literacy initiative Guys Listen, a part of the Guys Read literacy national program. Rose’s publications Hope Wins: A Collection of Inspiring Stories for Young Readers and Sound Advice: An Audiobook Selection Handbook for Library Collections is currently available. For more information, please visit https://www.drrosebrock.com/.

How to Write Comedy Into a Scene

Writing comedy is arguably one of the hardest things to master when it comes to writing. Thankfully, Rosalind Sterling is here to give you a comprehensive guide on how to write comedy into a scene!

As much as we love laughter, trying to implement it in our writing can sometimes be more difficult than other aspects of the writing process.  So here I’m going to explain the different forms of comedy and how you can properly incorporate them into your writing so you have your reader rolling on the floor.  Hopefully from laughter and not from injury, but I digress.

Types of humor:

The amount of subgenres for humor is almost endless which is why I’ll focus on the most popular kinds, and the ones I personally write the most so I can give a more experienced perspective on it.

Slapstick comedy- often focuses on exaggerated movements and facial expressions.  Most commonly seen in looney toons and the three stooges.

Dark comedy- is a form of humor that takes morbid topics and represents them in a somewhat light-hearted fashion to make us laugh

Parody- a piece of media that makes fun of something else.

Spoof- a lighter version of parodies, and one I often use.  It also makes fun of things to make people laugh but more calmly and subtly.  Like a story being self-aware of the tropes it uses.

Situational comedy- A type of comedy that draws from the components of a situation and the dynamics of the cast members to create a humorous scene.  Like a scene consisting of a ridiculous circumstance that is resolved in a humorous manner.  

Now that you have an idea of the different types of comedy out there, how do you make a scene funny?  Here are some prime examples and forms your comedy can take.

Make it like a cartoon

Slapstick is something you might find difficult to do in the form of a novel, but often I will put my characters in a situation so over the top that it’s hard to envision as anything other than an animated comedy sketch.  I might describe the character falling down the stairs in a way so ridiculous that it’s clear it’s comedy’s sake and not to give them a thousand injuries. (Or both, shhh)

I specifically use one description of one of the comedic creatures in my novel in this way.  I usually describe these creatures as making a “squeaky toy sound” when they fall or creating different sound effects depending on what they’re doing.  This may sound very odd out of context, but the key to making it work is setting the universe in a way that lets the readers know that they’re in for a wild ride, and anything can happen which makes this more believable.

Expect the unexpected:

This ties into the first tip.  If you have a world where anything could happen.  Take advantage of that and surprise the readers.  This doesn’t mean your story can’t have rules or limitations, but if your universe allows over-the-top fictional elements, my best advice is to run with it.

For example, it’s noted from the beginning that my story’s universe has a lot of rules that don’t follow our logic.  One of these abnormal elements is that animals and other creatures have a large amount of self-awareness.  The animals may not talk but can often understand a lot more than what they could in real life.  Allowing me to write a wacky comedy about a hedgehog who often drinks lemonade while bathing in the sun, a cat who will give you a dirty look at the smallest of insults, or a dog who can understand sarcasm and slap you upside the head.

Dark comedy- wait no turn the lights back on

Nah I’m not talking about comedy that takes place in the dark, but that wouldn’t be a bad idea.  Just imagine taking a bunch of people who don’t get along and putting them in a dark room to fend for themselves.  That’ll lead to some humorous disaster.  But that’s not what I’m referring to.  I’m talking about humor that delves into an often forbidden zone.  Now by no means get the terms dark humor and offensive humor mixed up.  There are plenty of ways to use dark comedy in a way that doesn’t anger anyone.  For example, you don’t have to say something mean about someone or a group of people to create dark comedy.  You could instead make fun of a rather concerning situation like burglary, and make it humorous by adding your own twist.  Your main character may have been robbed last night, but be thankful the expensive perfume the guy stole was actually a bottle of mace.  No wonder they heard him screaming on his way out…

Don’t be shy, make fun of it :)

Okay, so there’s a brand of clothing you really hate.  Or a music band you really love.  Whether you love or hate your joke’s next victim, the possibilities of things you could make fun of are endless.  It doesn’t necessarily have to be an insult though.  Something I often parody/spoof in my books is the tropes I use.  I find it funny when the characters become aware that they’re in a Hallmark-style romance scene or crying out their feelings no less dramatic than a 90’s soap opera.  You could be as friendly or as brutal with this one, so go wild.  I will warn that depending on what you are parodying might be copyrighted.  Like a movie or song.  So I would be careful with those.  Though the law does allow parodies as long as they stray far from their original content, there’s nothing funny about a lawsuit…Okay, maybe it’s a little funny depending on the context.  But if that’s your concern, you could stick to making fun of tropes, objects, situations, or anything that doesn’t tread the waters of copyright infringement.

Actions speak louder than words

Another form of comedy is situational comedy.  The situation doesn’t necessarily have to be over the top or chaotic, but feel free to make it such if you feel it fits.  But situational comedy is what it’s named after.  A comedy that relies solely on the character’s dynamic and scene components to result in a fit of laughter.  I remember reading one of the Tales from the Gas station books  (the specific book escapes me so forgive my goldfish memory)  The main character was in a hospital and didn’t want the doctor to find a piece of paper that I believe was a suspicious diary entry.  He panicked when the doctor came in and tried eating the paper after finding no place to hide it.  When the doctor spoke to him, he had no choice but to slowly spit out the paper and let it fall to his lap as he and the doctor gave each other an equally concerned look, leaving an awkward silence that made me laugh harder than I expected to.  I do recommend that series if you want more examples of wacky cartoonish humor, but these situations don’t have to be wacky to be funny.  Depending on how it’s written, it could fit even in the most average and realistic of comedies.

Other ways to add comedy

But what if your universe isn’t wacky?  Or you like your humor as clean and lighthearted as my dog’s training history.  Okay, maybe that was a bad example.  But what if your universe is quite realistic to our own?  And the story is geared to a younger audience or people you generally wouldn’t want risky humor going to?  If that’s the case, I would go with something a bit lighter.  For example, maybe some establishments or organizations have funny names and/or acronyms.  Maybe the characters can briefly mention something humorous that happened to them during a completely normal conversation.   One minute they’re talking about ice cream, next they’re discussing how they once had a food fight at the local ice cream parlor that resulted in three broken windows, a twenty jail sentence, and a strange fear of mint chocolate chip.  How it escalated that quickly is up to you to decide.  Chaos and out-of-context sentences can and will be your best friend in some cases.  Or maybe your descriptions can be written funnily.  (I find this works best if you use unique but ill-fitting comparisons.)  Or your cast occasionally breaks the fourth wall and insults your choice of fictional tropes. And lastly, you can never go wrong with one-liners.  But I’ll explain how this could go wrong and how you can prevent that.

Keep it in character

I know I know.  You have an absolutely stomach twistingly hilarious one-liner or situation you’re ready to unleash to the world to unveil its unholy power of timeless humor.  But before you release the beast, think about if it’s really needed.  Is this something your character would normally say or do?  If not, your one-liner is no longer funny and is instead confusing.  If little Jimmy here is so shy and sweet, why did he just rip the most atrocious, earth-shattering deranged, insult to poor and undeserving aunt Gretchen?  Okay, maybe that would be funny.  Something about children doing the most unexpected and aggressive things makes me laugh.  But it’s still out of character.  Even if I did laugh, it would make me question what brought on such a sudden and useless addition to the conversation.

Timing and length

*Grabs your shoulders and stares into your soul*  Now, listen to me closely.  Timing and length are everything.  Quite literally.  You could concoct the most backflip-inducing joke, but put it in the wrong place and you’ll get a less than favorable reaction.

And the length of the joke is just as important.  This is important because if you ramble about your punch line, or cut it off too soon, you could soil the humor behind it.  I remember reading a fanfiction a while ago that made a really great joke that made me laugh, but they ended up rambling about their punchline and dissecting the reason why it was funny to the point that it made me close the link and stop reading.  Please don’t do this.  Your readers aren’t stupid.  At least I hope not.

Most of the time if you make a joke, your readers will get it, so don’t over-explain it.  I’ve fallen victim to this and have gone back to old drafts of mine only to wonder why I was defining a joke as if it wasn’t obvious enough.

These are just a few of the things that help me write humor.  Every writer is different and has their own process.  If these don’t work for you I suggest looking around and trying new techniques until you find what does.  In the meantime. Happy writing and good luck!

Rosalind Sterling is a crime/comedy author, freelance writer, and artist who takes great joy in dabbling outside the box to find new and creative ways to tell stories.  They are in the process of publishing the first book in their crime/comedy/sci-fi trilogy “Villain Vs. Villain” in the summer of 2023, and can primarily be found on their Instagram @blues_story_corner as well as their website:  https://www.authorrosalindbsterling.com/

Photo by Gabrielle Henderson on Unsplash

How to World-build Without Knowing Everything

Worldbuilding can be one of the most daunting tasks that a writer can embark on, but fear not! Siera Schubach, an awarding-winning author, is here to save the day and give you a great guide to building your fantasy world without knowing every detail.

Have you ever wanted to write a fantasy story but felt overwhelmed by the concept of worldbuilding?

As a fantasy writer myself, I’m going to tell you a little secret: Worldbuilding isn’t as complicated as it is made out to be. 

Here are a few steps you can take to build a strong, layered, and interesting fantasy world without any prep. 

The Plot is the Point

Do you know every single language on Earth? Do you know the customs and cultures of every person on the planet? I expect the answer is “no” (unless you’re an all knowing oracle in which case, I have some questions). We don’t know every detail of the world we live in now, and you don’t need to know all the details of the world you are creating either. 

There are over seven different species (that I know of) in my fantasy world, but the only ones I know much about are those that factor heavily into the story. You don’t need to know the vast history of a character who is only mentioned in passing.

Listen to Your Characters

When I started my fantasy novel I had no idea where the story was going or any of the details of the world I walked into. Everything I learned about my new world was through my characters. 

When a new character comes into your story, whether you knew they were coming or they showed up unannounced, there are a few questions you can ask yourself:

What does their appearance reveal about their background? Do they speak the same language as your main character?What does their body language show about their culture? Is there any tension with other characters?

You don’t have to share everything you learn with the reader (remember, focus on what enhances the plot). But knowing these details can help you develop your own understanding of your fantasy world. 

You Don’t Have To Be a Linguist

Not every human on Earth speaks the same language. The same should be true of your fantasy world. But this doesn’t mean you need to become J.R.R. Tolkien.

A great way to show language diversity without creating a whole new language is by describing what the language sounds like, not necessarily what is being said. 

“He spoke to her in a tongue she did not understand. It was rough and guttural, as though he were pulling the words from the depth of his throat.”“Her words were soft and lilted. Janine did not understand their meaning, but felt comforted nonetheless.” 

Think of this as a play on the old “show don’t tell” rule. You can show how your language sounds and interacts in your fantasy world without telling any of the words. 

Skip the Exposition

When we meet new people, we don’t spill our entire life story. We share it little by little over time. This should be true for your characters. When introducing a new being or species, don’t overload the reader with details all at once. Let them discover the culture of this character as they get to know them. This can look something like:

Everyone sits down for a meal but character A doesn’t eat anything because they are vegetarian. It’s a hot day and everyone takes off their outer layers except for character B because they cannot show the skin of their arms.Don’t Box Yourself In

If you spend ages on worldbuilding you run the risk of stifling your creativity and bending your story to fit into the box you created. Whether you are a pantser or a planner, creating a new fantasy world can be daunting. But it should also be fun.

Once you get over the fear of creating a new world beneath your fingertips, you will come to realize that you already have all the tools you need to start building.

Siera Schubach is an award-winning writer, storyteller, and random fact collector. She is currently in the depths of editing her latest fantasy novel, and working on a nonfiction book that will be published by Bloomsbury in 2024. 

Photo by Cederic Vandenberghe on Unsplash   

How to Worldbuild Without Knowing Everything

Worldbuilding can be one of the most daunting tasks that a writer can embark on, but fear not! Siera Schubach, an awarding-winning author, is here to save the day and give you a great guide to building your fantasy world without knowing every detail.

Have you ever wanted to write a fantasy story but felt overwhelmed by the concept of worldbuilding?

As a fantasy writer myself, I’m going to tell you a little secret: Worldbuilding isn’t as complicated as it is made out to be. 

Here are a few steps you can take to build a strong, layered, and interesting fantasy world without any prep. 

The Plot is the Point

Do you know every single language on Earth? Do you know the customs and cultures of every person on the planet? I expect the answer is “no” (unless you’re an all knowing oracle in which case, I have some questions). We don’t know every detail of the world we live in now, and you don’t need to know all the details of the world you are creating either. 

There are over seven different species (that I know of) in my fantasy world, but the only ones I know much about are those that factor heavily into the story. You don’t need to know the vast history of a character who is only mentioned in passing.

Listen to Your Characters

When I started my fantasy novel I had no idea where the story was going or any of the details of the world I walked into. Everything I learned about my new world was through my characters. 

When a new character comes into your story, whether you knew they were coming or they showed up unannounced, there are a few questions you can ask yourself:

What does their appearance reveal about their background? Do they speak the same language as your main character?What does their body language show about their culture? Is there any tension with other characters?

You don’t have to share everything you learn with the reader (remember, focus on what enhances the plot). But knowing these details can help you develop your own understanding of your fantasy world. 

You Don’t Have To Be a Linguist

Not every human on Earth speaks the same language. The same should be true of your fantasy world. But this doesn’t mean you need to become J.R.R. Tolkien.

A great way to show language diversity without creating a whole new language is by describing what the language sounds like, not necessarily what is being said. 

“He spoke to her in a tongue she did not understand. It was rough and guttural, as though he were pulling the words from the depth of his throat.”“Her words were soft and lilted. Janine did not understand their meaning, but felt comforted nonetheless.” 

Think of this as a play on the old “show don’t tell” rule. You can show how your language sounds and interacts in your fantasy world without telling any of the words. 

Skip the Exposition

When we meet new people, we don’t spill our entire life story. We share it little by little over time. This should be true for your characters. When introducing a new being or species, don’t overload the reader with details all at once. Let them discover the culture of this character as they get to know them. This can look something like:

Everyone sits down for a meal but character A doesn’t eat anything because they are vegetarian. It’s a hot day and everyone takes off their outer layers except for character B because they cannot show the skin of their arms.Don’t Box Yourself In

If you spend ages on worldbuilding you run the risk of stifling your creativity and bending your story to fit into the box you created. Whether you are a pantser or a planner, creating a new fantasy world can be daunting. But it should also be fun.

Once you get over the fear of creating a new world beneath your fingertips, you will come to realize that you already have all the tools you need to start building.

Siera Schubach is an award-winning writer, storyteller, and random fact collector. She is currently in the depths of editing her latest fantasy novel, and working on a nonfiction book that will be published by Bloomsbury in 2024. 

Photo by Cederic Vandenberghe on Unsplash   

How To Write A Healthy Relationship

Writing healthy love is hard! Finding a balance between engaging conflict and fulfilling romance is not an easy task, but it is worthwhile. NaNoWriMo Programs Fellow, Riya Cyriac, offers insight, advice, and examples on how to write healthy relationships.

Throughout my time as a reader and a writer, I’ve encountered an abundance of romances that range from swoon worthy to absolutely disastrous. This is not discounting either end of the spectrum: they have their place. However, there seems to be a noticeable lack of representation for healthy, fulfilling relationships in literature. This is particularly evident in Young Adult literature, where the portrayal of healthy relationships is particularly essential. If you are interested in writing a healthy relationship and filling that void, here are some observations, suggestions, and tips to do that

Obsession and Anger are not Expressions of Healthy Love

As a young adult, I often read books that romanticized obsession and anger. If the love interest punched someone who shows interest in their partner, that is not an indication of passion or love. On the contrary, it should be a glaring red flag. If a character relentlessly pursues their love interest despite resistance, it is not love. It is an obsession, and a clear sign that the character views the other as their property. It’s tempting to use these actions as expressions of passion because it is easy and bold. 

And sure, you definitely can! But avoid romanticizing them and claiming that they are normal in a healthy relationship. If you do, you run the risk of letting your readers glorify and pursue an unideal version of love (especially if you write for younger readers). If you do use these, acknowledge the toxicity and danger.

I say this because I once was one of those impressionable readers who viewed love as obsessive, passionate, and possessive. This caused me to develop an unhealthy ideal of what a secure relationship should look like. Now, I’m in a healthy relationship, but it took a lot of self-insight and reflection to override those influences.

Security, Trust, and Communication are Expressions of Healthy Love

Healthy relationships are founded on security, trust, and communication. Your character’s healthy relationships should also represent these key values. First is security. Attachment theory shows that dependency is normal in healthy relationships. After all, you are giving your heart to someone. Therefore, there should be an inherent trust laying at the foundation. Your characters don’t have to flip over a table if the other partner got lunch with a work colleague. Sure, they can be jealous, but there are healthy ways to express jealousy. 

If you’re aiming to write a healthy relationship, consider this solution to the problem. Communicate why character B grabbing lunch with a colleague made character A feel a certain way. Maybe it’s because they’re insecure? If that’s the case, the character B can reassure them. If it’s because the other person has made suspicious advances before, then character B can respect character A’s feelings and create distance with the colleague. Obviously, characters are flawed. They aren’t programmed to communicate well, and relationships put characters in a very vulnerable position. Thus, it’s necessary to show both lows and highs in a healthy relationships

Healthy relationships Have Lows and Highs

Healthy relationships take time and effort to form. Couples in real life rarely adjust quickly to opening up their heart, so why should your characters. A healthy relationship is bound to have arguments, disagreements, worries, and insecurities…particularly in early stages. Maybe your characters disagree about where to eat dinner. Maybe they feel like they aren’t getting enough affection and attention from their partner. There are many different relationship conflicts to explore. Here is a list of a couple common ones. It’s perfectly okay to include conflict in the story of a healthy relationship. After all, it mimics real life! It’s also okay for characters to resort to unhealthy methods of responding to conflict as long as you, the author, emphasize that it’s not healthy. 

How do you do this? You don’t have to outright break the 4th wall and say, “by the way, this isn’t healthy.” You can have the character shocked by the behavior. You can have a friend or loved one tell the character that the habit isn’t okay. Sometimes, this revelation won’t occur until later. But as a rule of thumb, if something feels wrong, it is likely to be wrong. Trust your gut.

Lows make the drama, but highs make the swoon worthy moments that compensate for those lows. Typically, healthy relationships should have a magic ratio of 5:1; 5 good moments for every bad one. These moments can be buying flowers, getting dinner, reconciling a conflict, or even something as small as receiving a kiss on the forehead. These moments don’t have to be big scenes in your novel, but it should be clear to the reader that the relationship still has its shine.

Healthy Relationships Are…Boring?

Maybe the reason healthy relationships aren’t as featured in novels is because they can be a little boring in the context of the book. Relationship highs and lows keep a reader on their seat, which is why many writers are drawn by the lure of a toxic relationship. It keeps things moving! 

This can also explain why many healthy relationships are reserved for auxiliary characters. But I argue that a well-written healthy relationship can be just as exciting and balancing.

For one, the relationship you’re writing about doesn’t always have to be healthy. The characters can start off having a toxic dynamic. Through effort and time, they can unlearn their habits and end the story while being in a fulfilling relationship. This is just as impactful as showing healthy behaviors throughout, and arguably, more influential and inspirational to readers and the plot. 

A healthy relationship can balance out a heavy plot. If your story has a heavy plot with intense worldbuilding and fight scenes, consider balancing it out with a healthy and stable relationship. It can bring light to dark moments and cause the reader to ship your characters endlessly. 

Not Every Relationship Needs to be Healthy

Not every relationship in your story needs to be healthy. Some stories will be about abuse. Some stories will be about learning to love. Every story will require a different relationship dynamic, so don’t feel bad if you’re not writing a healthy relationship. However, good relationships should be striving towards being healthy, while bad relationships should be acknowledged as bad. Too many times have I read books where unhealthy relationship habits were normalized and romanticized. As writers, it’s our responsibility to be accurate to our readers, especially if we write for young readers.

Riya Cyriac is the 2022 Programs Fellow at NaNoWriMo. She is also the Executive Director of The Young Writers Initiative. She attends the University of Texas at Austin, and is currently working on a fantasy novel. She writes more advice on her blog. 

How to Make Your Writing Space Perfect for You

Haven’t done your spring cleaning yet! No worries, May is a great time to start reorganizing your writing space, and maybe, it’s even time to make a change. Read this amazing article about making your writing space work for you by Bernadette Benda!

A good writing space is essential. You’ll probably spend a lot of time there, and if you’re not spending a lot of time there, you’re spending deeply focused time. It needs to be special, inspirational, and fit all your writing needs. 

Here are four steps to help you get there. 

Step 1: Dream

Go on Pinterest. Instagram. Scroll through all the deliriously wonderful writing spaces. Go wild and collect all the impossible dream rooms. Then, pinpoint the elements of those dream rooms that you like the most and see what can be incorporated into your own. Maybe you can’t turn your bedroom into a loft in NYC, but maybe you can add more plants and posters. Maybe you can’t paint your living room yellow, but maybe you can incorporate yellow accessories.  

Dream big, then break it down into the practical. 

Step 2: Location

My preferred space is a quiet, closed door situation because in all ways but literally, I am in fact a hermit. That being said, the best space is always the space that you have. Whether that’s a bedroom, office, living room, kitchen table, or heck, your car. If you can, plop yourself down in front of a window. Nothing is more inspirational than looking up and seeing the sky. 

Seating is also really important. Pick something soft so you’re comfortable sitting for a while, and something good for your back and shoulders so you don’t get upper crossed syndrome (a fancy way of saying tight upper back). 

Step 3: Set up

Keep your writing space clear, or crowd it with things that inspire you. 

I personally like to have a mix of a clean desk with some inspiration and encouragement scattered around (like my favorite “Failure is not an option” poster). This is a good place to look back at those dream room ideas and see what elements you can bring in. Whether you like a lot of pictures on the walls, lots of plants, or nothing at all, go for it. 

Step 4: Everything within reach 

Make sure you have everything you need right there, so you can eliminate any chances of standing up. (Standing up can be really helpful when stumped on something, but if you’re really into your writing, the last thing you want to do is disturb the moment.)  

Besides your actual writing equipment, snacks and beverages are the next most important things. Caffeinated beverages are the classic standby, but don’t forget about water. You need water. Drink water. Fill up a gigantic water bottle and sit it down next to you. And don’t forget any notebooks, sticky notes, or reference books that you’ll be needing.  

Last but not least, don’t ever be afraid to invest in your writing space. It’s worth it. Your writing is worth it. Your writing space is your office building, your bat cave, your hidden fortress. Investing in your writing space is a promise that a lot of incredible stuff is going to happen there. 

So go make it amazing. 

Bernadette Benda is a writer, professional dancer, and small business owner living in her hometown of Cleveland, Ohio. She is most often found surrounded by notebooks and snacks, while listening to an obsessive amount of Hans Zimmer. Find more about her writing journey on her blog https://bernadettebendawriter.com/ 

Photo by Slava Keyzman on Unsplash  

How to Make our Writing Space Perfect for You

Haven’t done your spring cleaning yet! No worries, May is a great time to start reorganizing your writing space, and maybe, it’s even time to make a change. Read this amazing article about making your writing space work for you by Bernadette Benda!

A good writing space is essential. You’ll probably spend a lot of time there, and if you’re not spending a lot of time there, you’re spending deeply focused time. It needs to be special, inspirational, and fit all your writing needs. 

Here are four steps to help you get there. 

Step 1: Dream

Go on Pinterest. Instagram. Scroll through all the deliriously wonderful writing spaces. Go wild and collect all the impossible dream rooms. Then, pinpoint the elements of those dream rooms that you like the most and see what can be incorporated into your own. Maybe you can’t turn your bedroom into a loft in NYC, but maybe you can add more plants and posters. Maybe you can’t paint your living room yellow, but maybe you can incorporate yellow accessories.  

Dream big, then break it down into the practical. 

Step 2: Location

My preferred space is a quiet, closed door situation because in all ways but literally, I am in fact a hermit. That being said, the best space is always the space that you have. Whether that’s a bedroom, office, living room, kitchen table, or heck, your car. If you can, plop yourself down in front of a window. Nothing is more inspirational than looking up and seeing the sky. 

Seating is also really important. Pick something soft so you’re comfortable sitting for a while, and something good for your back and shoulders so you don’t get upper crossed syndrome (a fancy way of saying tight upper back). 

Step 3: Set up

Keep your writing space clear, or crowd it with things that inspire you. 

I personally like to have a mix of a clean desk with some inspiration and encouragement scattered around (like my favorite “Failure is not an option” poster). This is a good place to look back at those dream room ideas and see what elements you can bring in. Whether you like a lot of pictures on the walls, lots of plants, or nothing at all, go for it. 

Step 4: Everything within reach 

Make sure you have everything you need right there, so you can eliminate any chances of standing up. (Standing up can be really helpful when stumped on something, but if you’re really into your writing, the last thing you want to do is disturb the moment.)  

Besides your actual writing equipment, snacks and beverages are the next most important things. Caffeinated beverages are the classic standby, but don’t forget about water. You need water. Drink water. Fill up a gigantic water bottle and sit it down next to you. And don’t forget any notebooks, sticky notes, or reference books that you’ll be needing.  

Last but not least, don’t ever be afraid to invest in your writing space. It’s worth it. Your writing is worth it. Your writing space is your office building, your bat cave, your hidden fortress. Investing in your writing space is a promise that a lot of incredible stuff is going to happen there. 

So go make it amazing. 

Bernadette Benda is a writer, professional dancer, and small business owner living in her hometown of Cleveland, Ohio. She is most often found surrounded by notebooks and snacks, while listening to an obsessive amount of Hans Zimmer. Find more about her writing journey on her blog https://bernadettebendawriter.com/ 

Photo by Slava Keyzman on Unsplash  

This Teacher Appreciation Week, we want to take the opportunity...

This Teacher Appreciation Week, we want to take the opportunity to thank all our YWP Educators for your epic creative efforts. We see you out there, guiding wiggly fourth graders through writing workshops, helping middle schoolers develop ideas they’re excited to share, and giving personalized feedback to high schoolers. The world can feel like a scary and uncertain place, but it’s a brighter, kinder, and more creative one with you in it.Please enjoy this poster-sized symbol of our appreciation! Share it on social media or print it out and hang it in your classrooms. Basically, we’re proud of you, and we want the world to know!

Download these PDF’s below to show how much your students love to write!: Color, Black & White