Writer Advice - Tumblr Posts
things to think about for characters
do they have allergies?
what foods will they not touch?
what kinds of music do they like?
how are they around new people?
do they speak in an accent?
have they tried learning a new language?
how many languages do they know?
what is a song that will always make them cry?
how do they cry? heaving? silently? sobbing?
how do they dress? for practicality or fashion?
what is the first thing they notice about a stranger?
what is their humour like?
do they have scars? what caused them?
do they wear jewelry?
are they a frivolous spender or a miser?
do they prefer luxury or practicality?
who would they quote?
what could make them change their mind?
who is the first person they'd call?
how are they around animals? do they have pets?
what is their favourite childhood food?
what is something they've never told anyone?
childhood friends?
what are habits they've picked up from other people?
what are their guilty pleasures?
what is something they're staunchly against?
do they speak a certain way? do they use contractions? popular turns of phrase?
can they fall in love? what does it look like? does it differ between people -- friends vs family?
what would they rather die than do?
what is their biggest mistake? one that they look out to never do again.
Writing a Creepy Setting: Tips and Examples
Creating a creepy setting is an essential element of horror and suspense writing. It sets the tone for the story, establishes a mood, and can make the reader feel like they are part of the experience. A good setting can be as much a character in the story as any of the people involved, adding to the tension and keeping the reader engaged.
Whether you're writing a novel, a short story, or a screenplay, crafting a creepy setting can be a challenging but rewarding experience. Unsure how to write a creepy setting? Here are some tips and examples to help you create a setting that will send shivers down your readers' spines.
Use Descriptive Language
To create a creepy setting, it’s important to use vivid and descriptive language to engage your reader's senses. The more senses you can activate, the more immersive the setting becomes. Use descriptive language to evoke strong emotions in your reader, whether it's fear, disgust, or unease.
For example, instead of simply describing a room as "dark," you could use phrases like "light-starved" or "shrouded in shadows." Instead of a "creaking door," you could use "a tortured groan that reverberated through the empty hall." The more specific and visceral your language, the more your reader will feel like they're in the story.
Just be careful not to go overboard with your descriptions. Too much description can slow down the pacing of your story and distract from the overall mood you're trying to create. Use just enough description to set the tone and let the reader's imagination fill in the rest.
Create An Unsettling Environment
In addition to descriptive language, utilizing sound and lighting can also help create a creepy setting. Sound can be used to create tension and unease, while lighting can play a crucial role in setting the tone and mood.
For example, you can use flickering lights to create an unsettling effect. The sudden and irregular changes in lighting can make your readers feel like something is amiss, or that danger is lurking just around the corner. Similarly, you can use deep shadows to create a sense of foreboding, or bright lights to create a sense of unease or discomfort.
When it comes to sound, you can use a variety of techniques to create a creepy atmosphere. For instance, you can use dissonant or jarring sounds to create a sense of chaos or confusion. Alternatively, you can use eerie, quiet sounds to create a sense of tension and anticipation.
Some examples of unsettling sounds you can use include creaking doors, footsteps, distant screams or laughter, whispers, or even the sound of breathing. You can also play around with the volume and timing of these sounds to create a sense of unease or suspense.
Overall, by using sound and lighting to create a creepy setting, you can immerse your readers in the world of your story and make them feel like they are part of the action. This can help to heighten the tension and suspense, and keep your readers engaged and invested in your story.
Use Appropriate Settings
Using weather can be an effective way to create a creepy and unsettling atmosphere in your setting. For example, a sudden storm or a dense fog can obscure visibility and make characters feel isolated and vulnerable. Conversely, an oppressive heatwave can create a sense of claustrophobia and discomfort.
Consider how you can use weather to enhance the mood of your scene. Use vivid descriptions to bring the weather to life and make it feel like a character in its own right. You could also use weather to foreshadow events or create a sense of foreboding. For example, a sudden drop in temperature or an unnatural silence in the midst of a storm can signal that something unsettling is about to happen.
Don't be afraid to get creative with your use of weather. Experiment with different weather patterns and their effects on your characters and setting. With the right combination of descriptive language and atmospheric detail, you can use weather to immerse your readers in a creepy and unsettling world.
Set the Scene
When it comes to creating a creepy setting, it's important to set the scene properly. This means creating a vivid picture in the reader's mind of where the story takes place. The setting should be described in a way that immediately evokes a sense of unease or foreboding, and it should be clear that something is not quite right.
To do this effectively, you need to pay attention to the details. Describe the lighting, the sounds, the smells, and the textures of the environment in great detail. Think about the layout of the space and how it affects the characters and the story. Is it cramped and claustrophobic, or vast and empty?
For example, consider the opening scene of Stephen King's "The Shining." He sets the scene by describing the hotel as "huge, great, titanic, yet full of queer old-fashioned charm." He goes on to describe the long, empty hallways and the way the light filters through the dusty windows, creating strange patterns on the walls. By the end of the first page, the reader is already feeling a sense of unease and foreboding, even though nothing has really happened yet.
Use the Five Senses
To create a truly immersive and creepy setting, it's important to engage all of your reader's senses. By utilizing sensory language, you can transport your readers directly into the scene and make them feel like they're experiencing it firsthand.
Here are some ways to incorporate the five senses into your writing:
Sight: Use vivid descriptions to paint a picture in your reader's mind. For example, "The moon cast an eerie glow on the deserted streets, casting long shadows behind the empty buildings."
Sound: Describe the sounds that your characters hear, whether it's the creaking of old floorboards or the distant howl of a wolf. This can help create an atmosphere of tension and unease.
Touch: Consider how different textures and sensations might affect your characters. Is the air damp and clammy? Are the walls cold and rough to the touch?
Smell: The sense of smell is closely linked to memory and emotion, so it can be a powerful tool for creating an immersive setting. For example, the smell of rotting wood or musty books might evoke a sense of decay and neglect.
Taste: While taste may not always be relevant in a creepy setting, it can be used sparingly to create a visceral reaction in the reader. For example, the taste of blood in the character's mouth might indicate a traumatic event or dangerous situation.
By incorporating sensory language into your writing, you can create a fully realized and terrifying setting that will keep your readers on the edge of their seats.
Play with Expectations
One effective way to create a creepy setting is to play with the reader's expectations. This can be done in a number of ways, such as subverting a common horror trope or creating a false sense of security before pulling the rug out from under the reader.
For example, if you're writing a horror story that takes place in a haunted house, you could play with the idea of the ghost being a malevolent force. Instead, the ghost could be a sympathetic character that is only seeking peace or justice. This subversion of expectations can create a sense of unease in the reader, as they are unsure of what to expect next.
Another way to play with expectations is to create a false sense of security. For instance, you could introduce a seemingly harmless character that the reader becomes attached to, only to reveal later that they are actually the villain. This can be a powerful tool in creating tension and building suspense.
Remember, playing with expectations doesn't always have to mean subverting them completely. Sometimes, it can be as simple as delaying the expected jump scare or twist, drawing out the tension and making the eventual payoff all the more satisfying.
I hope this blog on writing a creepy setting will help you in your writing journey. Be sure to comment any tips of your own to help your fellow authors prosper, and follow my blog for new blog updates every Monday and Thursday.
Looking For More Writing Tips And Tricks?
Are you an author looking for writing tips and tricks to better your manuscript? Or do you want to learn about how to get a literary agent, get published and properly market your book? Consider checking out the rest of Haya’s book blog where I post writing and marketing tools for authors every Monday and Thursday
write for yourself. put your fantasies on paper. no one knows what you are writing. no one knows what's in your head. no one is going to write it for you. if you don't write down your ideas they will disappear. if you are too scared to write your thoughts then don't write, try something different. if writing is the only way, get to writing. no one else's opinion matters. no one else's opinion will ever matter
how do you stick to writing projects??? how do i stay dedicated to it and not abandon it or just forget it? like i want to finish a project for once in my life but how ....
100% agree
Educational Trauma: Outlines & Story Planning
Many new/young writers are stalled by outlines, character sheets, and preliminary world building because they think they HAVE to do those things before they can start writing. It is absolutely not like that. Unlike the confusing assignments you had in school, these things are meant to be resources that help you.
Are you the type of writer that thinks, "Outlining kills my ideas. If I don’t get this story on paper fast it will disappear!"
Then get to writing! Write until you don't know what comes next, and then make a brief outline of what SHOULD happen next. Like reaching a stream and creating stepping stones to cross it, an outline is there to help whenever you need it. A pre-made outline can keep you on track and out of plot holes, but an as-you-go outline can also help you track your creative miles.
Writing is different for every brain, and as a creative writer you should do what comes naturally. If planning makes you a happy camper, plan away. If running headlong into a story is the thing for you, by all means do so!
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+ If you enjoy my blog and appreciate my advice, consider visiting my ko-fi and Buy Me A Coffee! 🤗
+ Find me on AO3 / Wattpad for my fanfiction, and Pinterest / Unsplash for visual writing inspiration and character face claims.
Not every writer wants to post their work online, however there are positives to doing so. If you seek feedback and advice from readers and writers, you might consider posting a draft or two. Even a few chapters or a poem can be uploaded online to get a little audience feedback.
Here are writing sites I’ve explored along with brief reviews of my experience in using them:
Fictionpress & Fanfiction.net Neither site allows you to remove reviews, delete your account, or budges an inch about harassment reports. This attracts many trolls, spammers, and critics who feel you’re entitled to their extremely negative opinions of your work. I don’t want young or amateur writers going through that, and the rest of us don’t deserve harassment either. There are wonderful readers and writers on both sites, but overall it’s an unsafe environment I can no longer recommend (further info).
A decent alternative to FF.net is Fictionpad. It’s a smaller site with fewer fandoms, but it’s easier to use and the admins were nice when I last tried it.
Archive Of Our Own (AO3) | Fanfiction only** | No covers — Invite only, but getting in isn’t hard. High viewership, well organized, and ad-free. Some written feedback, especially if you ask for some, but the “kudos” button is open to the public so anyone can leave their mark of approval. You can also set individual stories to “users only” along with other useful privacy options.
Crossover friendly, so you can finally post that multi-fandom fic and tag each property for search. Ships, subject material, and trigger warnings are also taggable for search (or to weed out in the case of tws). Lets you group individual stories into a series, and has various features for sharing/gifting your work with others. Overall the best place for fanfiction, hands down. — Adult Material Allowed
Major Demographics: Female, All ages.
Popular Genres: smut, epic dramas, fluff/angst, whump
Wattpad | Original & fan fiction | Covers Req. — Wattpad has been steadily improving its features and policies in the five years I’ve been using it. Here, some writers receive tons of feedback and appreciation, but most receive very little. A few authors have gotten published thanks to this site, others have followers in the hundreds of thousands, and still others become site administrators to support the bustling community.
They’ve recently rebranded, and have also introduced a feature to earn writers money. It is currently in beta and being tested with select authors only.
Unlike other sites, this one has very clear international groups and a high ethnic diversity among its writers. There’s an emphasis on supporting foreign authors and their stories in any language. Contests are set up by the site, but also smaller niche ones can be run by individual users.
It’s very fun to use and if the site chooses to feature one of your works you can get a lot of traffic. For the most part however, you have to practice marketing yourself, and/or develop a group of writer friends and read/promote each other’s work. — Adult Material allowed, but along strict guidelines (lots of kids use this site!).
Major Demographics: Female, Teens.
Popular Genres: romance, young adult, supernatural, celeb fic, fantasy
Royal Road | Original & fan fiction | Covers Opt. — This was suggested in the replies, so I did some research. Haven’t used it myself, looks nice, but here are the main points interested writers should know:
Site does not claim ownership of your work, copyright stays with you.
Popular stories receive much feedback and viewership in the millions.
You cannot remove reviews on your own stories, and you must submit a ticket to remove your story or delete your account.
From their FAQ: “All new submissions are manually checked for appropriate tagging and plagiarism, so expect it to take 12-24 hrs for a submission to be approved.” Also, stories with low-quality spelling and grammar will be removed by moderators.
Keeping a steady update schedule of “polished” drafts seems to be mandatory, and reviewers sound entitled.
One-shots seem to be out of the question, this is a site for novels.
Premium and free options exist for both readers and writers.
Site is affilated with Amazon, has been running for six years, and is based in Israel.
Fantasy, supernatural, epic dramas.
Adult Material Allowed
Smashbook, Livejournal, Inkspired, and Booknet are sites I am aware of, but have too little knowledge of to review. Likewise Wordpress, Blogger, or right here on Tumblr you can regularly post stories or novels and receive feedback. However, for those sites you do have to figure out a blogging system for yourself.
While researching good sites for this post, I found this user’s comments insightful. She suggested Writer’s Digest and Absolute Write as good places to seek professional feedback on your work. They don’t appear to be sites where you post work, but rather they provide tips and resources to help improve your work.
There are dozens of other places online where you can post your original fiction, non-fiction, and fan fiction. Things to keep in mind when site shopping:
READ THEIR SUBMISSION POLICIES & GUIDELINES FIRST
Search for reviews of the site by individuals who’ve actually used the site and are not affilated with the site.
See what the site’s policy is on deleting works & accounts. You don’t want to get your name and work trapped on a site with a bad reputation.
If “popular” stories have very little feedback on them, this means the majority of stories on that site get none.
If most users haven’t updated in months/years, this means the site is practically dead and may soon shut down. RED FLAG: the site does not date anything.
If the “feedback” on users’ pages and stories are “Like my work!” or “Read for read?” and other self-promotional messages, don’t sign up.
If a site looks cool to you but you’re still unsure, make an account with a junk email and post something you don’t care too much about just to test the waters. Good/bad doesn’t matter much right now, what’s important is figuring out how traffic works and what readers there are interested in.
Sites to AVOID due to spam, scams, and shifty behavior:
Inkitt—spam/shifty; claims it’s the #1 site for online publishing, but this is misleading. Their idea of getting users is to send copy/paste “invitations” to pre-existing online accounts (often dead accounts), and lie about how good one’s writing is even though they’ve never read it. Signing up with them also gets you endless emails about their pathetic contests.
Dreame/Ficfun—spam/scam; similar deceptive invitation tactic, except they are relentless (they’ve “invited” me five six TEN times on two different sites). Their gimmick is to offer you pennies for 5yr rights to your work (and their site is trashy with very little reader feedback). Both are owned by their Singaporean parent company Stary PTE Ltd. (who personally sent me my 5th “invite”).
+ If you have a question, please review my Ask Policy before sending in your ask. Thank you!
+ If you benefit from my updates and replies, please consider sending a little thank you and Buy Me A Coffee!
+ HEY, Writers! other social media: Wattpad - AO3 - Pinterest - Goodreads
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*Based on what I see as receiving the most traffic and feedback on each site. These are not accurate statistics, merely observations.
** “Is AO3 really just for fanfic?” (tl;dr—YES)
Reasons to keep writing:
it brings you joy
somebody has to take care of the characters
you have a lesson to teach
it gets you through everyday life
there’s people excited for the next chapter
to provide hope for yourself and others
if you don’t tell the story, no one else will
it’s a way of expressing yourself / what you go through
to make yourself and others feel less alone
people adore your writing
your characters would miss you if you left
nobody can take your place / write your stories for you
to leave something behind to be remembered by
to release your emotions
to inspire other people
imo the best way to interpret those “real people don’t do x” writing advice posts is “most people don’t do x, so if a character does x, it should be a distinguishing trait.” human behavior is infinitely varied; for any x, there are real people who do x. we can’t make absolute statements. we can, however, make probabilistic ones.
for example, most people don’t address each other by name in the middle of a casual conversation. if all your characters do that, your dialogue will sound stilted and unnatural. but if just one character does that, then it tells us something about that character.
Writer Block First Aid Kit
We’ve all been there. Some people have it all the time. Some say it doesn’t exist. I class writer’s block as anything from lack of motivation to not being able to solve a plot problem. Whatever it is, here’s a list of activities to try and get those creative rivers running.
Move. Pick up your laptop and go to a different room. They say a change is as good as a rest and this can be true with writing. Move to the kitchen. Write outside. Go to a coffee shop. Sit in the cupboard under the stairs and block out the world. Just change up the scenery.
Swap Medium. If words just aren’t doing it for you make aesthetics, mood boards, draw maps or characters. Victoria Aveyard once said she designed book covers and let the plot stew in the back of her mind.
Write Something Else. Working on other projects can give you inspiration for what you’re working on now. Find some prompts. Write irrelevant short stories or character studies. Write about your characters as kids or at defining points in their lives.
Plot. Hands off the keyboard, open up one of those many unused notebooks I know you have and start scribbling vague, half formed ideas. Allow yourself to write things you might discard later. Allow yourself to try and work through an idea you like but don’t understand yet. Try and work out the next 10 steps. 10 things you want to cover. 10 scenes. 10 days. Whatever it is, just write it down.
20 Minutes Rule. I’ve said this before and I’ll say it again. Sit your butt down in that chair and write for 20 minutes. I don’t care if it’s trash. I don’t care if you’re going to delete it all later. I don’t care if it’s nonsense. Do it. 20 minutes of writing nonsense is still more productive than 20 minutes staring at that wall. After 20 minutes if you still don’t want to write, leave it, but you just might find yourself inspired.
Finally, Take Time Off. If none of this is working, it’s likely a sign of burn out. Take some time for yourself and just do nothing. “Write every single day,” yeah sure if you wont to be a machine who pumps out words instead of art. Sometimes you need to recharge before you move forward and that doesn’t just mean getting a good nights sleep. Look after yourself and be kind. This isn’t a race against the clock, you have your whole life to publish a book.
[If reposting to instagram please credit my insta account @isabellstonebooks]
Remember, the phrase "write what you know" is confusing. A lot of people bang their heads on walls because they haven't had the opportunity to experience the world.
Instead "write what you feel, know what you write."
You feel upset or angry? Chanel it into a tale of dystopian rebellion and do research on different uprisings throughout history.
Joyful and inspired? Imagine an invention in the 18th century that some mad scientist makes to save his family and look into the science that could potentially make it realistic.
Take what you feel as the basis and then build on that.
Just a reminder -
DON'T EDIT WHILE WRITING
Fastest way to never finish what you're working on. Get it all out on a page and then edit it.
If you're not sure how to do that, make all the text the same color as your page so it blends in. You won't be able to see it as you write, therefore you won't be editing as you write.
I got halfway through my WIP yesterday and yet it feels like I got nothing done because it took me all day. Wild.
As someone who LOVES outlining, I reached a point in my WIP where the thing I outlined just didn't make sense anymore, so I wrote what I thought did and then went back to the outline.
Outlines are a guideline, but don't be afraid of the doors they open.
The number of 'starts to' and 'just' I deleted from finished works could fill up a solid three pages right now.
I need better vocabulary.
Spent 24 hours not writing to cleanse the brain and take a break.
I hated it.
There’s a fic I want to write so badly but have no idea how to write the feelings I want the fic to convey. Does that make sense? Any advice out there?