@tumblinbean made and submitted this fantastic ‘Said’ chart! Both images are the same chart broken down into categories; one coloured, the second plain.
the worst thing about writing is that you aren’t just a writer. you have to be a thousand things. a poet, a flirt, a weapons expert, a bleeding heart, a scholar, a legendary cook, a theorist, an engineer, a reckless teenage girl, a dying god. you have to be able to write monologues and speeches and heartfelt confessions, and you have to make them believable. writing is putting yourself into someone else’s shoes.
writing is really hard (◕︿◕✿)
But you know what? The BEST PART about writing is that you aren’t just a writer. You get to be a thousand things: a poet, a flirt, a weapons expert, a bleeding heart, a scholar, a legendary cook, a theorist, an engineer, a reckless teenage girl, a dying god.
It’s like acting, only you can do it in your pajamas on your couch and you don’t have to look a certain way.
If it doesn’t at least stir your heart, how could you expect it to impact your readers? Write with emotion, with feeling, and it will translate into your finished work.
I made these as a way to compile all the geographical vocabulary that I thought was useful and interesting for writers. Some descriptors share categories, and some are simplified, but for the most part everything is in its proper place. Not all the words are as useable as others, and some might take tricky wording to pull off, but I hope these prove useful to all you writers out there!
I get many young writers begging for writing tips. Put these five basics into play, and your story will grow in maturity right before your eyes.
Destroy the Was Where logical, replace “to be” verbs with action verbs. Use the “Find” feature to seek out is, was, are, were, and other “to be” conjugated verbs. (”Whole words only” option if you’ve got it.) See if that was can be more exciting. Example: a) The sun was hot. / The sun blazed. b) His eyes were bright. / His eyes gleamed. c) There are many examples. / Examples abound.
There, Here, It If your sentence begins with one of these three, watch out! My bet is they are followed by a “to be” verb. Seek these out as well, while you’re at it. Oh, you’ll find them all over the place, definitely. Sometimes they’re needed. Sometimes … no. Seeking those three “grammar expletives“ (if we want to get technical) will make your writing cleaner and mature. Example: a) There are some writers who struggle. / Some writers struggle. b) Here is something to consider. / Consider this. c) It takes time to write. / Writing takes time.
Adverbs = EVIL!Adjectives = …Maybe Evil For a moment, forget what your middle school English teacher said about filling your writing with adverbs and adjectives. Adverbs are band-aids for poor verb choice. Adjectives can be strong or weak. Don’t hide weakness with flowery descriptives. Don’t feel everything must be described. Really, it doesn’t. a)Adverbs are plain evil. “She spoke loudly” can be “She shouted.” You don’tneed to say “She shouted loudly.” I’ve never seen someone shout any other way. Better yet: “She bellowed, she roared, she howled.” Oooh, look at that! If you use good verbs to start, no embellishments are needed. b)Adjectives are trickier. Sometimes we really do need those descriptions. However, only go into detail on items that are important to your story. Maybe a door is blue, but if we’re never going to see that door again and it’s not blue for a damn good reason, we honestly don’t need to know its color. c)Very and Really are often added to this rule. Common advice is to eliminate “very” or “really” from writing and replace whatever it’s supporting with something better. Mark Twain said to replace “very” with “damn” so the editor cuts it out for you, but you’re smart; you can do that job yourself.
Watch Out for Commonly Confused Words Youknow the ones. You’re/your, accept/except, advice/advise, hoard/horde, lay/lie, it’s/its, past/passed, fast/quick, less/fewer. There are lists. You probably know which ones cause trouble. I sure do! When you know that word is coming up, just take a moment to make sure you got it write … I mean right.
JUST SAY IT! Most of this falls under the same umbrella: be concise! Precision writing beats florid mega-sentences-from-hell. Break the habit those middle school English teachers introduced into your writing. There are moments when lengthy paragraphs filled with description might be important, but if you can say something with fewer words, do so. Less is more.
If you’ve written a query letter (or two, or three), then this has probably happened to you: You’ve put the final touches on your query and you think it’s done—but you still feel something’s not quite right. Since you can’t put your finger on what’s wrong, you send your query letters to literary agentsanyway.
For those who are fans of my stories on Literotica and Hentai Foundry, I had a pretty productive summer. 12 chapters of content totaling 48,000 words of smut.
Whitewash High Chapters 23-26
Whitewash High Rising Sun Chapters 11-12
Harem Heroines Chapters 13-14
Minotox, Lord of Breeding Chapters 1-4
I’ve got more on the way, but a reminder to current and future fans, the more comments and fan mail I get about specific series, the more I’d be apt to focus on writing them. Do not let your voice go unheard.
Also, on my Patreon, all future female characters in my Minotox series are chosen by polls, so if you want to vote in future polls, it only costs $1 a month.
not picking my mess up sooner/ not eating my breakfast/ my heart skipping a beat for you/ not listening to what my heart had to say/ working all day/ just to keep my mind from thinking about you/ breaking your heart/ still wishing to lean in your arms/ for you’re the only person/ who wouldn’t let me down/ loving you/ denying it/ your love for me/ mistaking it for nothing/ come home/ i need you.
- unaiza n, the list never ends. put it to an end, will you?
