Tips For Starting And Stopping Chapters, Plus FAQs

Las Realidades

Decía Octavio Paz en su libro “El Laberinto de la Soledad”, que niños y adultos pueden trascender su soledad, es decir, pueden traspasar esa soledad, pero aquellos que buscan su identificación y sus pretendidas formas de ser, entre ese laberinto de la soledad respecto a su ser, se definen más por lo que HACEN, que por lo que DICEN SER en esas pretendidas formas de su ser, y sus definiciones de cómo se ven. Entonces la verdadera definición del ser humano, no está en las categorías, ni en los estigmas ni en los espejos, sino en las realidades de un concepto, de una idea, y su expresión en un mundo físico, lo cual siempre me congratulo hacer, porque soy mas por lo que hago, que por lo que digo de mis pretendidas formas de ser, y así les quito las definiciones a los otros de mi ser.

Fairy tales are contested terrain — places where we battle out truth and power.

Book review: ‘Once Upon a Time: A Short History of Fairy Tale’ by Marina Warner - Books - The Boston Globe (via oupacademic)

Elimina el sexo de la relación, y verás que hay personas que no tienen nada más que ofrecer.

Worldbuilding Questions: Other* Cultures - a handy list for writers with little time

(*not the main characters')

After my extensive [list of questions for towns and cities] for your main setting, there will also be many countries, regions and cultures mentioned in your project, that aren't central to the plot, that you don't have time to delve into detail about, but that still should feel 'real'.

For this use (or, really, in general, if you don't have much time to worldbuild before you start your first draft), I prepared a list with 10 very rough, basic questions to make your world feel alive:

What is their most important export good or economy?

What was the most important event in their recent history, and how long ago did it happen?

What do people from that place wear and how do they style? Are they distinguishable in a crowd?

What is their language, and is it understandable for your narrator? Do they have an accent?

What are they famous for? (People from there, their humor, their food, their skills at something...)?

Are or were they at war / at the brink of war with other people; esp. with those at the center of your story?

What is their most important difference to your "main" / narrator's culture? (Religion, society, economy...?)

Are representatives of that culture seen often in your setting?

What is something outsiders say about them?

What do they say about themselves?

I recommend thinking about these for your side character's home cultures, as well as for your setting's most important regions and neighboring countries. Five or so might even be enough, just as a handy ressource to make your setting feel alive and real.

U.S. cities with the happiest workers More: http://nbcnews.to/1vsaFSM

LoveSucks: remeber?

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

El Crucigrama

SEGUNDA ESCENA

La niña, mira como su mama lee todos las preguntas, y cuando mira hacia el otro lado, mira otra hoja suelta con otro crucigrama que dice:

Dia, después de ayer?

Código personal que se usa para abrir archivos?

Qué hay adentro de la envoltura (wrapping paper) de un regalo que el novio regaló, y lo puso en el trunk del carro, en INGLES y todo en minúsculas, una sola palabra y cinco letras?

Después la mama sigue leyendo, las otras instrucciones que están en la hoja.

Como se le llama al conjunto de lineas de conductas que se ponen en una escuela o en las casas por los padres para evitar conflictos?

100 dividido entre 2 = 

Qué se hace para quitar el polvo de los objetos?

Cómo se le llama a la persona que participa en una sociedad junto a otra persona?

Cuál es la autoridad máxima y el tipo de autoridad que le otorga el Estado a un diplomático para ejecutar negocios en su nombre?

El tipo de autoridad que se establece sólo en una region específica es: regional, estatal, o nacional? 

Cual es el señalamiento que se pone a una obra de remodelacion en las calles?

Los museos tienen fechas de apertura? Cuándo?

Las audiencias están en canales distintos, y las represas están listos para abrir la compuerta, que llevarán al río de su inauguración.

Look for Letter to the protagonist, and follow the instructions.

Las casas, tienen los aromas y los aires, de los dos que la construyen?