5 Tips For Writing Best Friends

Literature is the most agreeable way of ignoring life.

Fernando Pessoa (via quotemadness)

Literature must be a wonder, the most intriguing and hidden secret that nobody can unfold, but the writer

Madonna - Material Girl (Official Video) [HD].... Bueno el personaje principal se mueve entre dos personalidades que reflejan sus características, porque se mueve entre dos culturas: la americana y la mexicana, por el carácter latino del personaje.

Entonces fisicamente el personaje principal se mira como Maddona con toda su belleza y su personalidad atractiva, y en su mexicanidad tiene indicios de “La Dona”.

Entonces estos seres que algún día caen en las peripecias de la vida juntos, tendrán que sortear esas personalidades.

Donde quedara finalmente el corazón de la mujer?... Esa es la pregunta!

Se ira por lo material o si misma? en cuyo caso termina sola porque se las juega sola aprovechando su belleza; o bien, con alguien mas, que no le satisface, pero le cumple la expectativa financiera. Jugada clásica ya conocida.

O se ira por la concepción de gremio, de familia, de juntos, por lo cual baja sus expectativas y sus egos para crear fortuna entre dos, consensada, hablada y donde los dos ganan con sus propios acuerdos. 

Es una jugada clásica con una mirada clásica? 

O una jugada sensacional, fuera de serie, con tambien una jugada fuera de serie?

 Porque tambien el personaje principal masculino, tiene sus cartas debajo de la mano, y solo espera ver cual es la jugada de su contraparte a la que quiere y adora, pero no deja ver su secreto, que esta relacionado en mucho con las aspiraciones de la contraparte femenina.

Por el otro lado, el personaje masculino viene de una cultura del esfuerzo, y sembrar una familia basada en el poder del dinero por belleza, no le suena algo interesante. En todo lo que aqui sucede existe algo que la protagonista no podía decir: Ella lo quería y lo quería empujar para adelante, y esa era su manera de querer, empujando a ser lo mejor de si mismo. 

Entonces el personaje masculino no canta mal las rancheras. El no se deja apabullar y tiene sus autoestimas en el lugar correcto. 

Como podría contener a una muchacha con un ego y una autoestima muy alta, y hacerlos funcionar juntos dentro de una relación de amor y respeto?

 Se habia ella pasado las lineas, cuando su propósito era empujar al hombre que quería?

Esas son las interrogantes de la historia

Writing Tips

Scene Checklist

Does your scene include everything it should?

「 note: this is for the editing stage; remember, first draft is for the writer & editing is for the reader; get it down before worrying about these things unless it is just for practice 」

✧

ACTIONS

↦ are the actions necessary?

↦ are the verbs as descriptive as possible?

↦ do the actions match the character? why did the character take those actions?

↦ are the actions clear?

DIALOGUE

↦ what is the purpose for each statement?

↦ does each statement move the story forward?

↦ are the dialogue tags as descriptive as possible?

↦ does the dialogue match the character? why did the character say those things?

EMOTIONS

↦ are each character’s emotions clearly stated or implied?

↦ are the character’s emotions justifiable?

↦ how does the character’s emotions affect their actions?

LANGUAGE

↦ are you showing or telling?

↦ does the scene have clarity & coherence?

↦ does the scene have the desired tone, mood, & voice?

PURPOSE

↦ is this scene necessary? (if removed, would the story still make sense?)

↦ are there stakes at risk in this scene? is there tension?

↦ has something changed from the beginning to the end of the scene?

↦ possible purposes: advance the plot? reveal character goal? increase tension? develop character? reveal conflict? react to conflict? explain backstory? foreshadow? build world? reinforce theme, tone, or mood?

SETTING

↦ will your reader clearly know the setting throughout the scene?

↦ room? house? city? state? country? planet? galaxy?

↦ time of day? season of year? weather?

↦ chronologically within story?

STRUCTURE

↦ is there a distinct beginning, middle, and end?

↦ is the chronological order of events clear?

↦ does the scene smoothly transition from one to another?

✧

DWIGHT SWAIN’S SCENE VS SEQUEL

↦ Swain believed scenes should repeat these sequences in order to keep the interest of the reader piqued

↦ Swain says “a scene is a unit of conflict lived through by character and reader” & “a sequel is a unit of transition that links two scenes”

↦ scene: goal, conflict, disaster

⟿ goal: character’s decision to do something for a purpose

⟿ conflict: something opposing the character’s ability to achieve goal

⟿ disaster: a disruption or turning point to keep the readers hooked

↦ sequel: reaction, dilemma, decision

⟿ reaction: character’s emotional/analytical reaction to the disaster

⟿ dilemma: what should the character do now

⟿ decision: what does the character do now

↦ does your scene have one of these three-part patterns?

DWIGHT SWAIN’S MRU

↦ MRU: motivation-reaction units

↦ these are for alternating sentences or paragraphs

↦ motivation: objective thing your character externally senses (what happens?)

↦ reaction: subjective response your character internally has (how does your character react? feeling, reflex, action, dialogue?)

↦ this is very difficult to follow, especially without practice, but it is a way to guarantee your reader’s interest & attention

World Building

Creating Land

❂

⥇ agriculture

⟿ what is grown in abundance? how common is farmland? where is the farmland?

⥇ architecture

⟿ what kind of buildings? how tall/spacious? what are they made of? how well made? how well planned?

⥇ animals

⟿ what wild animals are lurking in the area? hunting? any animals affecting the livestock or agriculture?

⥇ biomes

⟿ desert? tundra? grassland? forest? savanna?

⥇ bodies of water

⟿ seas? lake? ponds? rivers? fresh water/salt water? fishing? keep in mind, settlements are often built near bodies of water

⥇ climate

⟿ dry? rainy? temperate? tropical? polar? how have people adjusted to this climate?

⥇ elevation

⟿ altitude? how does the altitude affect lifestyle?

⥇ geology

⟿ rocky? types of rocks?

⥇ landforms

⟿ mountains? valleys? plateaus? plains? hills? glaciers? peninsulas? volcanos? canyons?

⥇ latitude / longitude

⟿ location on planet? how does it affect other elements of land?

⥇ livestock

⟿ common domesticated animals? common animal usages?

⥇ minerals

⟿ any valuable minerals / metals? are they mined regularly? how are they used?

⥇ natural disasters

⟿ earthquake? tornado? volcano? duststorm? flood? hurricane? tsunami? how often do these occur? protocols?

⥇ population

⟿ how many people? how dense is the population? how does the population affect surrounding nature?

⥇ resources

⟿ what is abundant? scarce? how are they used? how available are they?

⥇ sacred land

⟿ religiously important land? historical importance? widely accepted as sacred? how is it honored?

⥇ soil

⟿ good or bad for vegetation? rocky?

⥇ tectonic activity

⟿ earthquake frequency? volcano frequency? trenches?

⥇ topography

⟿ how common are maps? how accurate? how long have they been around? who makes them?

⥇ vegetation

⟿ what is abundant? scarce? what grows easily? with difficulty? what is commonly foraged? who forages? plant types? tree types?

ReThink Review: Fresh Off the Boat (eps. 1-4) - Thanks, Asian America Needed That

Fictional Notes and Letters

                Notes, journal entries, lost letters, a book tucked into the back corner of the store—written hints and exposition can show up in storytelling across many forms. Given how useful and easy as it is to divulge information through perfectly scattered journal entries or a conveniently timed newspaper article this form of sharing information is a common trope across storytelling. Because of this, it can feel cheap or unearned.

                So here’s how to use written hints without making your readers feel cheated:

Don’t overuse it

Unfortunately this is the long and the short of it. The more information you have through written mediums, the less realistic or earned it will feel. If you can, keep this trope down to once or twice in a piece. If you can convey that information another way, choose that instead.

2. Create purpose behind its creation

Not only does the writing have to have the relevant information you need to convey, but it has to have a purpose for existence. Remember that people write notes to remember something, something they’d be likely to forget. If you can’t think of a reason someone would need to remember (or would believe they might forget) a piece of information, don’t convey it on a note. Journals are made to review someone’s day or emotions, it’s unlikely someone would journal about the government’s secrets (and even more so, scatter the pages around in an order for the protagonists to find to pace out said information—I’m sorry, I’m throwing just a little bit of shade at the indie horror community ;))

                If it’s not news worthy, it shouldn’t be in the news, etc. and so on. Think about why your written material was created, and by who, and how it ended up where it did.

3. Place it behind a barrier

This is a bit of a sneaky trick, but hiding your written hint behind an ‘effort wall’ is going to make it feel so much more earned to gain. Maybe the journal they’re looking for is within a locked desk, and the characters have to break in to get it. The sticky note with the password is in the suit pocket of the antagonist (they just happened to leave at the dry cleaner that morning). The binder of secrets is behind three security guards and a locked door.

                Any effort your protagonists have to make to gain the information is so much better than just happening to find it, and could trick readers into believing the information was more difficult to gain than it was.

4. Don’t make it too convenient

Lastly, make sure the characters don’t just learn what they were looking for, but a little bit less, and a little something else. If they need to know exactly who was at the party in 2005, maybe they don’t find a list of names, but rather a photo album of people they then have to do a bit more work to identify. The written hint should be that—a hint, a start of a greater solution. If it’s the end, a lot more effort should have come before.

                Good luck!

Cómo presentaríamos este canto en un programa musical?...

La naturaleza humana está siempre envuelta en el amor. Su existencia o su carencia, su llenura o su vacío, su normalidad o complejidad, su egoísmo o apertura, su querer ser o no ser dependiendo del sentimiento que os llene, y cómo el ser humano expresará este sentimiento en líricas que revelan contenidos de amor o ilusiones... Ana Gabriel... Simplemente Amigos.

You Inspire Me: To Writing Groups Who Become True Friends

Writing isn’t as solitary a pursuit as many think. Inspiration comes in many forms, but most often, it comes in the shape of people. All month long, we’re asking writers to write a Not-So-Secret-Admirer’s Note to the people who’ve inspired them to take up the pen. Today, participant Suzanne Shaw celebrates her writing group:

Dear Colleen, Kay, Niki, Teresa, and Traci,

Yes, my wild, inspired sisters—you are the reason I am able to write, not just reclusively as writers must, but also as part of a small but vibrant writing community. Aren’t I lucky to have this opportunity to write out loud about what a difference you have made in my life! 

How could we have imagined when we first met at Hedgebrook, a retreat for women writers in Washington state, that we would still be in almost daily contact over a year later? We were together in a historical fiction master class for only a week, learning from the phenomenal Deborah Harkness and reveling in Whidbey Island’s magic. Although Hedgebrook and its dedicated staff remain close to my heart, you are the gift that keeps on giving. Even now that we are scattered from the West Coast of the US to Germany, thanks to technology we are there for each other almost every day, and sometimes even in the middle of the night.

What we have in common connects us — our obsession with historical fiction, alternating fascination and frustration with the writing process, and a passion for red wine with salt and pepper potato chips. I have seen most of you at least once in the intervening year and I cherish those times, too. Only with true friends can you meet and take up the conversation again without missing a beat. And what conversations! Encouragement, sympathy, understanding, humor — each of you has these things in abundance and shares them unquestioningly.

Thanks for always being there, convincing me I can succeed, and cheering me over all the hurdles. Maybe I could do it alone, but I’m glad I don’t have to try.

Love,

Suzanne

Keep reading