screnwriter:

screnwriter:

you deserve to feel proud of yourself and your writing. never forget that

i talk about this all the time but, your value truly does not lay in the amount of interactions you get

7 Different Types of Short Story

following one of my previous posts on tips for writing short stories, here are some different types of short story! This is in no way a complete list: there are many forms a short story can take, and these are just a few // @writingzawn on instagram

source:https://www.masterclass.com/articles/how-to-write-a-great-short-story-writing-tips-and-exercises-for-story-ideas

1. Anecdote

These are brief accounts of an interesting and often funny event, with the purpose of supporting a core moral lesson.

2. Drabble

These short stories are about 100 words long, with the purpose of testing an author’s skill in getting a point across in so few words. It challenges you to be concise and precise.

3. Feghoot

A quick funny story ending in a pun.

4. Fables and parables

Both these types of short stories communicate a moral lesson. However, fables always feature anthropomorphic creatures, usually animals, to get the point across, whereas parables do not. Aesop’s Fables are a good example.

5. Flash fiction or micro-fiction

These stories are shorter than 1,000 words. A famous example would be this story by Ernest Hemingway: ‘For sale: baby’s shoes, never worn’.

6. Sketch

This refers to a piece of writing without a plot. The function of a sketch is to illuminate a certain character, setting, or location.

7. Vignette

These are short scenes that often form part of a larger body of writing. They’re used to capture a single moment or detail of a story, such as a character, idea or object.

Let’s Talk About Plot Points

here are seven plot points you should know about and explanations of what plot points are and why they’re useful // @writingzawn on instagram

source:https://blog.reedsy.com/plot-point/

What is a plot point?

A plot point is ‘an incident that directly impacts what happens next in a story’. Essentially it’s an event that moves the story forwards in a fresh direction, preventing it from simply drifting. There’s a difference between a point in the plot and a plot point: a point in the plot can be a significant event but if it doesn’t move the story forwards it’s not technically a plot point. A plot point must:

1. Move the story in a different direction

2. Affect character development

3. Close a door behind a character and force them forwards

What’s the difference between a plot point and plot?

The plot is a chain of connected events that add together to make the narrative: it’s a continuous storyline comprised of multiple events. Plot points are the big, exciting moments that move the story in new directions and keep it building: when you think back on a story, these are likely the moments you’ll remember the best.

Why are they important?

Plot points make the story feel purposeful and identifying them helps you to see how stories work. At heart, stories are not complicated. The good ones are a series of: this happened, so this happened, but then this happened, therefore this happened. The bad ones are simply: this happened and then this happened and then this happened with nothing organically joining the events together.

What’s the seven-point story structure?

This is a common story structure comprised of seven plot points. I’m going to be explaining the plot points that make it up below.

Hook

If you want to keep the reader reading, the beginning of your story must push the story into motion and illustrate how your story is different from all the others out there. The Hook is a premise that hooks your reader’s interest long enough to keep them reading until the first important reveal.

First Plot Point

The Hook sets the stage for this point. The First Plot Point, often referred to as the Inciting Incident or the Catalyst, is the first big event. It forces the protagonist into conflict, throwing them out of their status quo and setting the story out in a fresh direction. This usually occurs around the ¼ to 1/3 mark in the story and signals the end of the beginning.

First Pinch Point

The middle of the story consists of the protagonist reacting to the consequences of the Big Event. These are Pinch Points that put the character under pressure and force them towards making a choice. Initially the character chooses not to act and moves forwards more passively than they will do later on in the story.

Midpoint

This is a crucial turning point in the story, near the middle of the story, that forces the protagonist to 'stop reacting and start acting’. Perhaps it’s an event that makes them aware of the fact that they must take matters into their own hands.

Final Pinch Point

For the second half of the middle of the story the protagonist becomes more active. They experiment with agency and take different approaches to overcoming the conflict. The Final Pinch Point illustrates the (often still small) ways the protagonist deals with the conflict. Here they are learning to have agency and act for themselves. In a dystopian story where the primary conflict is an oppressive government, this might comprise of the protagonist experimenting with small acts of rebellion.

Final Plot Point

Going into the beginning of the end, there’s a Final Plot Point. Here we see the character at their lowest, having taken a major misstep after their newfound agency. This drives them directly into the Climax and the Resolution. Perhaps they are forced to make a major decision after something terrible goes wrong.

Resolution

Stories usually finish on a Climax, a Realisation and a Resolution. These are a series of events that bring the character full circle, often revolving around a choice the character is presented with. Their decision should illustrate in what way the character has changed since the beginning, or that they haven’t. This point should bring the story to a satisfying conclusion - it doesn’t need to be a happy ending, but it should feel organic. Looking back, readers should feel that everything that came before led inevitably and organically to one place.

To conclude: each plot point should move seamlessly into the next and create an ending that feels like a surprise but also, when looking back, the only possible outcome.

ideologyofone:

YOU WOULD LIKE THAT TWEET HUH, DANA?

That’s relatable

Adverbs and prologues and italics and all that jazz are not the devil themselves, but the devil is still in the details and it’s important to remember these things absolutely can be overused or done poorly but can also be made fresh or done well, much like nearly every aspect of writing. It’s not a black and white situation despite what every writing advice site and everyone adamantly against every writing advice site would lead you to believe.

writeouswriter:

I have 99 problems and an unfinished WIP is every single one

Nicotine

You are my second father,

A father who I could relate with

A father who shared the same weakness

The one that I share my despondency with.

You are my second father,

The one who enlightens.

A father who I used to watch

Whenever he lights up a cigarette.

You are my second father,

The one that I used to be closed with.

The one that taught me ways to cope

The one that taught me not to smoke.

But now that I’m older,

You had started building walls.

Our conversations had reached to its end,

As you started flaming your nicotine.

I don’t have much to say now

But just like you, you know that I’m here too.

You might not be able to hear me right now

But please don’t leave me too.

alphafemalecarla:

When I write three sentences on my WIP:

aye-write:

Me, loving clever twists:

Me, realising you actually have to be clever to write clever twists:

That weird feeling when you put a lot more time and care into creating a perfect password for your character to be used in that one scene than you do with your own passwords.
(And then you think, “Hey, why don’t I use this as one my own passwords? No one’s ever gonna crack it :D ).