asparklerwhowrites:

Signs you need to rewrite your WIP

#1. You hate working on it

You’re constantly forcing yourself to write it, and you excessively check your wordcount tracker to make sure you’ve hit your daily goal. Its a chore for you to work on it, and you feel guilty thinking about it abandoning it after working on it for so long.

#2. Something feels…off

Whether it’s the characters, the setting, or the plot, there’s something that doesn’t seem quite right, and it keeps bothering you. You want to change it, but changing it means you have to start from scratch, and you don’t want to.

#3. You keep making plot holes

Some amount of plot holes are normal—but the narrative in your story makes no sense. You keep coming up with half-developed ideas and writing them in without knowing the entire context, just to make your wip more interesting.

#4. You feel disappointed in your writing

Your writing quality seems to have degraded, even though you know you can write much better. Its upsetting and demotivating because you don’t put in as much effort or care as much about writing your wip, and you question whether or not you’re actually good at writing at all.

#5. You have many ideas, but you’re afraid to implement them

You have ideas to change your wip completely, but once again you feel too afraid to do it. You don’t know if you’ll be able to stick with the wip for long enough, so you keep procrastinating on it.

asparklerwhowrites:

The basics of swordfighting for writers

#1. Types of swords

• Cavalry swords, two-handed swords, and cutlasses - these swords are used commonly for hacking and slashing - so they are swung in arcs or from side to side, not thrust forward.
• Rapiers and small swords are one-handed weapons that are thin and light, but often quite long. They are used for thrusting and slicing, but as you can imagine they aren’t much use in actual battle, but commonly used for sparring.
• The third type is a mixture of the two - but less commonly found.

#2. Terminology

• Fainting/Feinting - A false attack intended to create an opening for the real attack.
• Parrying - When a swordsman uses his blade to deflect his opponent’s blade when he is being attacked.
• Advance - A short forward movement
• Fuller - A groove down the side of the sword to release suction when stabbed into a person’s body.
• Hilt - The base of the sword near your hands that isn’t the blade
• Pivot - Turning 180 degrees while keeping a foot planted
• False edge - the “back” of the sword that isn’t sharp and what you don’t usually fight with.

#3. Common myths

A secret move that leads to victory - There is rarely such a “secret” move. Like chess, swordfighting is won through strategy and careful thinking, as well as physical prowess, not sEcRetT mOveS.

The Dramatic PauseTM - Nope, doesn’t happen in real life. No one actually glares at each other in the middle of a swordfighting match when their priority should be, yknow, surviving.

#4. The Learning Curve of swordfighting

Unlike an ordinary learning curve where you slowly get better at something, in swordfighting, an untrained novice is much better than someone practising for a few months. This is because their actions are almost always wild and unpredictable. When a student receives training, their skill will actually decline over the next few months, because they will be trying to fight by the rules and are naturally not good at it. It takes at least two years to become a good swordsperson.

#5. The actual swordfighting itself

• Footwork - Forward and back, in a line, in a semi-circle, a pivot. The basic goal of footwork is to give you a balanced center from which you can lunge, advance, retreat, attack, and parry. It also helps maintain the appropriate distance from your opponent and percieve.
• Timing - How fast/slow is your opponent? How fast is your reaction time?
• Every fighter has a different style. Some may naturally be inclined to use a certain move over and over, and have weakpoints in say, their reaction time. It is important that your character has a proper swordfighting style.
• Predictability - How good are your characters/opponents at anticipating and learn each others fighting style? That determines the outcome of the fight!

Sources I used: https://kingdompen.org/writing-realistic-sword-fights///https://mythicscribes.com/miscellaneous/swordplay-for-fantasy-writers///https://lisashea.com/lisabase/writing/medieval/swords/glossary.html

Needed this!

navigation -rules-masterlist

there are tons of different types of governments - mostly, as a pattern in fantasy, the government is either in the form of a monarchy or extremely corrupted. so i’ll be sharing some cool methods to write this, again, its just the way I want, do your own research if you want more in-depth info. (also, not a historian, these are things ive studied in history class!)

#1. Totalitarian states

These governments are extremely right-wing (conservative) usually, and impose strict censorship laws and usually have a very active secret police and intelligence systems made up of informants, militants and spies. A lot of the time, they also tend to brainwash their people into believing them using propaganda and silencing dissenters. They often use terror tactics like making the entire population distrust each other, as no-one is sure who is working for the government. Its using systemic terror and the fear of not knowing who to trust that creates very efficient (and terrifying) government systems. 

#1a. Revolutions & Freedom of Speech

The reason why a totalitarian states rules in the first place is often because of having a great amount of military power, which subdues the people and is an efficient way to take away rights without having a massive protest or revolution. The only effective way for a totalitarian government to be taken down is if the head of state or an important general is murdered, throwing the lower governmental ranks into chaos. That usually culminates in a breakdown of the economy and politics and the chance for a new government to take power.

#2. Monarchies

A monarchy is a form of government where there is Monarch at the head of it. There are a bunch of different ways it can be organized, but usually there is a council of ministers in charge of different things (i.e Defense, Health, Education, etc) that meets and consults with the monarch, who is in charge of all the ultimate decisions. They monarch also deals with important foreign relations - meeting with monarchs or heads of other governments would be their job with advisory from the Foreign minister. Monarchies are more old-school, and also have no democratic election system.

#2a. Puppet rulers

A lot of monarchs in history - and in fiction, have been puppets controlled by a much more powerful person behind them. Whether this be because they’re old and powerless, or are blackmailed into it, they have no actual autonomy and are overridden by the person controlling them. Puppet rulers are especially useful as plot twists in fantasies, because the person who was built up to be the “big bad enemy” was actually being controlled by AN EVEN WORSE ENEMY⁉️

#3. Some questions to ask yourself about your governmental system

• Is it corrupted? To what extent?
• What factions exist within it? (eg: conservatives, liberals, etc)
• What do the people support/think?
• If there was an emergency crisis at the same time as a war was being fought, would the government prioritise its people or its soldiers/territory?
• Who was the previous government? How did the current government succeed it?

Not all of these require long answers, even a couple of lines to understand how the government did xyz would be enough context! hope this helped <3

#1. drama

literally just throw in character drama and youre good

okay since i need to actually give advice uh *scratches head* OKAY so there are two types of character drama - annoying ones, and angsty ones. so make sure yours isnt annoying. dont unnecessarily throw in drama, but maybe a secret comes to light, or a problem thats been building up for ages comes to light.

annoying drama would basically be the whole novel series of twilight

#2. heist heist HEIST-

especially if you’re writing fantasy, heists are so much fun to read. it doesnt have to be the ENTIRE plot of your novel, but a short heist would up the stakes and improve your pacing, so its definitely a lot of fun to write and plan out, especially with all the twists and turns of what goes wrong and right.

#3. its time for that plot twist

youve got that (1) plot twist idea in your head for 103490430 years and its time to finally use it. throw your characters into turmoil with a sudden betrayal, death, ambush, whatever it is. it will 100% give you more ideas for how to continue your story but also slap your readers in the face. its never too early to use a good plot twist.

#4. reveal a backstory

if its a slow chapter and nothing’s happened, then have a character reveal their backstory, or include a flashback. that way, you continue adding to the plot and character while “nothing happens” per se. the backstory must be linked to further events that happen in the story, so even antagonists from the character’s past can show up again.

writing a very dark prologue (and keeping it interesting)

#1. HOOKHOOKHOOKHOOK–

Okay but seriously - you NEED a good hook. Introduce a concept or idea that reels your reader in. It should be unique, dark, and most importantly; it should introduce an idea that doesn’t seem cliched and overdone, but rather shocks and makes your reader take in a breath.

#2. Don’t hesitate to make it dark

Start with the most gruesome beginning you want. Some potential starting ideas:

• Someone getting murdered
• Hearing a detailed report of a murder
• Investigating a murder scene
• Any kind of dark setting - a basement, graveyard, preferably at night to make it scarier

#3. Don’t over-explain

Leave some things mysterious on purpose! It’s a prologue - don’t info-dump, and leave it confusing. It adds to the mystery and hooks the reader. But don’t use TOO many foreign terms, implicitly explain some, and leave the rest for later. It has to be a balance between info-dumping and confusing.

#4. Keep it short

You don’t HAVE too - but a trend I’ve noticed is that shorter prologues hit harder. Therefore, keep it short - not more than 1000 words - once again, this is a loose suggestion, because the purpose of prologues is to hook, not to intro your story.

#5. Remember to plot it + remember that is sets the tone for your entire story

Prologues tend to set the tone for your story. If you have a dark prologue, it’s gonna be assumed you have a dark story. Ensure that the tone of your prologue fits the tone of your story! Just because its a prologue doesn’t mean you don’t plot it out - you HAVE to know what happens in your prologue because its quite literally the make or break point of your WIP, whether people are gonna continue reading or not.

themes to base your wip around

• grey morality v/s goodness/badness (cliche but still amazing)
• ignorance v/s knowing too much
• love and its power and downfalls (not necessarily romantic love)
• greed and its addiction
• power and who gets it
• grief/loss/moving on
• regret
• vengeance/hatred
• coming to peace with something
• realising the reality of something
• coming to terms with something
• finally facing their problems
• giving into evil
• faith (not necessarily religious)
• finding home after long a journey
• retellings of old stories
• embracing the unexpected
• kindness and trust

how to write meaningful character development

one of the things i personally struggle with the most is mapping my character’s personality over the different plot points that occur. essentially, character development. It’s difficult to keep track of, so here’s a really handy method of keeping track and making sure your character is developing realistically.

#1. Know the beginning and the end of your character’s development

What aspect of their personality is developing? How is it going to significantly change by the end of the story? How does it affect other character’s and their view of the character? For example, a selfish character learning to become selfless is a slow process, and by the end of the story they learn to be a little less self-centred, which obviously improves the way they are treated in society.

#2. Choose a theme or a certain trait that ties in with the character’s backstory

if a certain character is selfish because of they were spoilt as a child, that’s…pretty shallow. Maybe their parents were never at home, so they had to throw tantrums and essentially “be selfish and bratty” to get their attention. Having a character’s development be deeply rooted in their backstory helps flesh them out and make their development much more realistic.

#3. Don’t rush it

I would rather have a slow, realistic development rather than a rushed one that just splays their personality all over the place and at the end of it, you don’t even know who the character is in the first place. Keep it slow, and show gradual development from 1 to 2, not 1 to 10 in a single throw. Fiction mirrors real life, and just like we take time to become better people, so should your characters.

#4. Show how their personality changes CLEARLY with each major plot point

this is a direct jab at the fruits basket anime and how they butchered yuki’s development in season 2 but whatever

Don’t keep things vague. Sure, have implicit meanings, but have a character comment on how your target character is changing, and becoming a better/worse person, but clearly show the consequences of their new behaviour and remember to take notes during your planning to ensure you know how your character changes over the course of the story!

of course these are just my opinions, you’re absolutely entitled to your own!

1. 100-year-old villain gets with 18-year-old MC 
2. M I S C O M M U N I C A T I O N (unless done really well)
3. annoying tsunderes. 
4. love triangles (again, unless done really well) 
5. sibling rivalry where the “weaker” sibling ends up defeating the “stronger” sibling. (yeah no its not relatable at all)
6. books marketed as found family but actually have no found family
7. trauma used as a plot device
8. a character with trauma suddenly having it “healed” after falling in love 
9. the power of friendship where the dying mc suddenly gets the power to fight the villain after remembering “what they are fighting for”
10. unsatisfying endings 
11. any form of deus ex machina (unless done INCREDIBLY well)
12. where the “whole scenario was a dream”
13. everyone surviving in the end with no lasting effects of everything they went through (for fantasy/scifi/adventure)
14. love interest betraying the MC without a real reason or purpose
15. the secret heir (UNLESS they know they are the heir already and are keeping it a secret/trying to live a normal life for xyz reasons)
16. the lucky novice (bro. no one is that good at swordfighting on their first attempt)
17. the overly european medieval setting
18. the friends coming to the rescue with no establishment of it before
19. all the adults are useless
20. forced romances with no chemistry
21. best friends falling apart over pining for the same guy

Developing your character’s mindset with a legit psychology theory

You have your characters, you’ve filled out your character sheets, but somehow - they don’t feel real. There’s *something* missing. So, using a really popular psychology theory from a book whose name I forgot - which basically says the brain is divided into 3 sections - The Parent, The Adult, and The Child.

#1. The Parent

The Parent part of your character’s mind is quite literally the voice of their parents or those who raised them - it is the firm set of ideals, thinking and innate personality - that is quite literally driven into their core. The Parent usually doesn’t change, it’s a constant reminder of who your character is, and what dictates a part of their actions.A character whose been raised vegetarian has their vegetarianism ingrained in their Parent so it’s unlikely they will ever compromise on that ideal. Likewise,an “evil” character’s Parent would probably say that murder is a-okay because that’s what they’ve been raised to believe.

#2. The Adult

The Adult is the part of your character that’s changing, growing and actively making decisions by taking in the world around them. It’s the part of their mind that’s unsure, something that makes decisions based not only on the Parent’s ideals, but also the world around them, the people and the current situation. In essence, it’s the way in which your character reacts, and the manner in which they will change over the course of the story. The Adult also determines how much of the Parent and how much of The Child controls their everyday life.

#3. The Child

The Child is the part of your brain that is emotion. It’s the part that’s immature, irrational, and still deeply affected by their past and trauma (if any) The Child shows their past, and the depth of their compassion, empathy, and love for others.

The ratio of how much of the Parent/Adult/Child your character is depends on them - a kinder, soft character probably has more Child than Parent, and vice versa! Also, please don’t quote me on this psychology theory - I only know it in brief

Angsty prompts for when your OTP is fighting

1. If you hate me, then leave. Leave like you’ve always left before.“
2. "Does making me angry give you a high?”
3. “You say you don’t want to live a life with regrets. I guess this is the feather in your cap, huh?”
4. “Don’t you care about me? About us?”
5. “Do you know how hard it is to love you when all I can think about is how horribleyou are?”
6. “I’m tired. Tired of you. So tired that you’re nothing but an obligation for me.”
7. “Tell me. Do you still love me?”
8. “You. It had to be you. It’s always you. It’s always your fault, [insert name]”
9. “Please. Please, just leave. I can’t stand to look at you right now.”
10. “You were supposed to be my safe haven. But all you’ve done is bring me pain. Isn’t that perfect?”
11. “We were supposed to get through this together. But you only care about yourself.”
12. “If you hate me so much, kill me already. It’s not like I have anything to live for.”
13. “That’s right. Keep smiling with them. Leave me in the dust, like you always have.”
14. “Leave me alone. That’s what you’re best at, anyway.”
15. “Kiss me, kill me, whatever. Make up your mind. Do you love me, or do you hate me?”

The basics of swordfighting for writers

#1. Types of swords

• Cavalry swords, two-handed swords, and cutlasses - these swords are used commonly for hacking and slashing - so they are swung in arcs or from side to side, not thrust forward.
• Rapiers and small swords are one-handed weapons that are thin and light, but often quite long. They are used for thrusting and slicing, but as you can imagine they aren’t much use in actual battle, but commonly used for sparring.
• The third type is a mixture of the two - but less commonly found.

#2. Terminology

• Fainting/Feinting - A false attack intended to create an opening for the real attack.
• Parrying - When a swordsman uses his blade to deflect his opponent’s blade when he is being attacked.
• Advance - A short forward movement
• Fuller - A groove down the side of the sword to release suction when stabbed into a person’s body.
• Hilt - The base of the sword near your hands that isn’t the blade
• Pivot - Turning 180 degrees while keeping a foot planted
• False edge - the “back” of the sword that isn’t sharp and what you don’t usually fight with.

#3. Common myths

A secret move that leads to victory - There is rarely such a “secret” move. Like chess, swordfighting is won through strategy and careful thinking, as well as physical prowess, not sEcRetT mOveS.

The Dramatic PauseTM - Nope, doesn’t happen in real life. No one actually glares at each other in the middle of a swordfighting match when their priority should be, yknow, surviving.

#4. The Learning Curve of swordfighting

Unlike an ordinary learning curve where you slowly get better at something, in swordfighting, an untrained novice is much better than someone practising for a few months. This is because their actions are almost always wild and unpredictable. When a student receives training, their skill will actually decline over the next few months, because they will be trying to fight by the rules and are naturally not good at it. It takes at least two years to become a good swordsperson.

#5. The actual swordfighting itself

• Footwork - Forward and back, in a line, in a semi-circle, a pivot. The basic goal of footwork is to give you a balanced center from which you can lunge, advance, retreat, attack, and parry. It also helps maintain the appropriate distance from your opponent and percieve.
• Timing - How fast/slow is your opponent? How fast is your reaction time?
• Every fighter has a different style. Some may naturally be inclined to use a certain move over and over, and have weakpoints in say, their reaction time. It is important that your character has a proper swordfighting style.
• Predictability - How good are your characters/opponents at anticipating and learn each others fighting style? That determines the outcome of the fight!

Sources I used: https://kingdompen.org/writing-realistic-sword-fights///https://mythicscribes.com/miscellaneous/swordplay-for-fantasy-writers///https://lisashea.com/lisabase/writing/medieval/swords/glossary.html

fluffy found family prompts!

1. “We’re out of doritos so time to go to the supermarket at 1am”
2. Going on long drives at 1am, speakers blasting music, sunroof down, wind in their hair.
3. Going to the beach - playing in the sand, doing water sports, having a huge picnic right on the beach, watching the sunset together.
4. Going skydiving, and having the time of their lives, helping the one member scared of diving, and going for ice cream as a “celebration” afterwards
5. The older members of their group attending a high school dance as “chaperones” for the younger ones, making them die of embarrassment.
6. The chaotic night before taking a huge road trip
7. One of the members getting injured, so the others spend time with them and try to make them feel better >///<
8. One half of the group trying to set-up the people they ship HEHE
9. Going hiking and camping together!
10. Going on a shopping trip together <3
11. Going to an arcade and becoming so competitive they almost break the machine
12. Deciding to spend a night in and watch a movie and take a night off, but then they get called in to combat some danger before the movie even begins
13. The character who can drive going on errands, and picking up the characters one by one from different places (eg: ballet class, baseball practice, etc.) and having a blast together
14. Having one character be extremely restless and at unease during a fun activity, and they breakdown in the middle of it, feeling extremely terrible about *insert incident/memory* and the others comforting them
15. Planning a surprise party for the cleverest character, so they have to be SUPER sneaky
16. Going to a library and spending the time picking up books, leaning against each other in hidden nooks, and just reading and playing around.
17. Going to a thrift store just before Halloween to get costumes
18. Having final exams, and all of them helping each other out, during, before and after the exams!
19. One of the characters going on their first date, and all the others helping them get ready and giving them “advice”