Latest Posts by blogmarkostuff - Page 4

What Is an Inciting Incident? Learn How to Write a Great One

Inciting incidents hook readers. They take stories in an entirely new direction or get the plot moving faster.

It’s the moment when Lucy discovers Narnia in the wardrobe or Gandalf introduces the thirteen dwarves to Bilbo.

Every great story has a fascinating inciting incident. Here are a few tips to come up with your own.

What Is an Inciting Incident?

An inciting incident is an event that causes chaos or change in the protagonist’s life. It kickstarts the story’s plot by compelling the protagonist forward. This can happen in the first chapter of a novel or the first few pages of a short story.

There are also three types of inciting incidents:

Coincidental: an event that’s unexpected or accidental. (Someone finds gold in their backyard or crashes their car into another vehicle and finds out their best friend was the other driver.)

Causal: an action or event the protagonist chooses to do. (Your protagonist files for divorce or gives in to their lifelong urge to start a restaurant.)

Off-page: an event that happens before the story starts or outside of the protagonist’s experience. (A country drops a bomb on the protagonist’s hometown while they’re at work one day or the protagonist’s best friend goes missing ten years before your story starts.)

Tips for Writing Inciting Plot Points

Now that you know the two types of inciting incidents, use these tips to create plot-activating moments that make your audience buckle in for a long night of reading.

1. Make the Protagonist’s World Flip

A great inciting incident causes a significant imbalance in your protagonist’s life. They should start making decisions or changes they wouldn’t have before as they respond to the incident. 

Consider the almost-car-crash in Twilight. Sure, you could argue that moving to Forks is the inciting incident for Bella. It’s definitely the first incident that gets the plot going, but the story only shifts into vampire mode when Edward saves her from getting hit in the school’s parking lot. She notices his insane strength and speed, so she starts questioning who he is.

The inhuman features that intrigue Bella also hook the reader. You keep reading to find out how she discovers he’s a vampire and when/how the big reveal happens.

Her discovery that vampires exist also changes how she interacts with and understands her world. It radically alters her life path, well before she gets to know his family or the other supernatural beings in Forks.

2. Keep the Magnitude a Mystery

Sometimes major life moments happen and we don’t realize how significant they are. You could bump into a person at the grocery store, only to recognize them at a farmer’s market a week later and start a conversation. That person might be your future romantic partner who changes your life, but you don’t realize that while you’re standing between shelves of pasta and spaghetti sauce.

Don’t be afraid of leaving your inciting incident a mystery to your protagonist. Moments of excitement or terror can be great for starting your plot, but sometimes a hint of mystery intrigues readers too.

3. Align the Incident With Your Theme

You might know what your character is going to experience on their journey to the plot resolution but have no idea what your inciting incident should be.

If you can’t think of something, consider your theme. What event or circumstance would start your protagonist on a learning journey that exemplifies your theme?

Let’s imagine a scenario where you’re writing a coming-of-age story. Ultimately, you want your protagonist to recognize they have no control over their lives and find security in the community they build around themselves.

To make that initial loss of control happen, you could pick an inciting incident like someone breaking into their home. During the robbery, the criminal accidentally sets the house on fire. Your protagonist’s family loses everything and has to start over.

This event would align with your protagonist’s inner conflict. Focusing on inner conflict can be another perspective if you’re unsure what your theme is.

Let’s say your protagonist wants to go to college to provide for their family, but they get kicked off of their soccer team for cheating on a test. A soccer scholarship is the only way they could to college, but that chance disappears forever. They have to make a series of choices after that to find a new way to pay for college, which is the rest of your plot.

-----

Inciting incidents are important, so try thinking about yours apart from your stories. When they carry thematic weight or flip your protagonist’s world upside down, you’ll know you’ve created an incident that will hook your readers.

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.

Writing Tips

Maintaining Motivation to Write

❀

➼ if you’re bored writing a part & want to move on to another scene… imagine how bored your readers must be

➝ keep it interesting and meaningful ; write every scene like it will be your favorite

➼ if you’re stuck on a scene — skip it

➝ use placeholders and come back to it when motivation strikes

➝ personally, I do something like: {ENTER: battle scene} and then I’ll list details, lines, or dialogue I want to include so I don’t lose my ideas

➼ if you’re stuck on where to go with a scene — delete the last line and reroute

➝ keep your last line saved somewhere or in brackets — never actually delete anything, but this can help broaden your perspective and encourage creativity

➼ if you’re stuck on a character name — use placeholders

➝ I love to research my names intensely; I’ll spend way too long researching that I’ll forget what I wanted to start writing ; plus once I get attached to a name I am reluctant to change it, even if I think of a better one

➝ so I’ll temporarily replace the name with something like: [A] or [Villain] or [King]

➼ if you don’t have motivation to write an entire excerpt, write a sentence for each of the five senses in the scene

➝ touch, sight, hearing, taste, smell

➝ having these details can help immerse yourself back into the scene when you’re ready to write it

Writing Tips

Story Endings

✦

Importance of the Ending

↣ readers invested their time into your publication ; make it worth it!

↣ the conclusion turns readers into fans

↣ endings should be memorable & satisfying ; this will make the readers want to indulge in more of your work

✦

Choosing Your Ending

↣ know your genre ; different genres can get away with different endings

↣ a thriller novel ending unexpectedly or ambiguously would be more satisfying to readers than a romance novel ending that way ; and vise vera, a romance novel ending emotionally and with happily ever after would be more satisfying than a thriller ending that way

↣ make it unpredictable but fair ; readers should feel like they could have seen it coming

↣ find a happy medium between what your readers want and what is unexpected

↣ be careful with unresolved or ambiguous endings ; regardless of the ending, the readers need to feel satisfied or they won’t come back

↣ be careful with expanded endings ; most editors frown upon relying on epilogues to reach a satisfying resolution

↣ have your ending in mind from the beginning ; this isn’t always plausible, but it’s very helpful — you’ll end up having hints to the resolution you may not even realize, & readers want that

✦

Types of Endings

⤷ ambiguous

→ an ending open to interpretation ; allows readers to come to their own conclusions

⤷ dialogue

→ ending with a quote from one of the characters

⤷ emotional

→ leaving the readers feeling some intense emotion ; negative, positive, or bittersweet

⤷ expanded

→ expands past the events of the narrative to resolve aspects that may not be explained in the main chapters ; usually takes form of an epilogue with a time skip

⤷ happily ever after

→ type of resolved ending where everything works out in the end

⤷ humorous

→ ends with a joke or in an ironic way

⤷ lesson learned

→ ends with clear, profound character development

⤷ reflection

→ ends with characters looking back on their choices, achievements, and experiences

⤷ resolved

→ leaves reader with no questions or loose ends ; all aspects have been clearly & satisfyingly resolved

⤷ tied

→ brings the story full-circle so it ends where it began

⤷ unexpected

→ a twist the readers did not see coming but also makes sense

⤷ unresolved

→ leaves readers with unanswered questions ; usually to lead into the next book

Saw this on Twitter. What 3 potions would you drink?

I would take brown, white, and yellow!

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?

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?

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

Saw this on Twitter. What 3 potions would you drink?

I would take brown, white, and yellow!

Writing Tips

Story Endings

✦

Importance of the Ending

↣ readers invested their time into your publication ; make it worth it!

↣ the conclusion turns readers into fans

↣ endings should be memorable & satisfying ; this will make the readers want to indulge in more of your work

✦

Choosing Your Ending

↣ know your genre ; different genres can get away with different endings

↣ a thriller novel ending unexpectedly or ambiguously would be more satisfying to readers than a romance novel ending that way ; and vise vera, a romance novel ending emotionally and with happily ever after would be more satisfying than a thriller ending that way

↣ make it unpredictable but fair ; readers should feel like they could have seen it coming

↣ find a happy medium between what your readers want and what is unexpected

↣ be careful with unresolved or ambiguous endings ; regardless of the ending, the readers need to feel satisfied or they won’t come back

↣ be careful with expanded endings ; most editors frown upon relying on epilogues to reach a satisfying resolution

↣ have your ending in mind from the beginning ; this isn’t always plausible, but it’s very helpful — you’ll end up having hints to the resolution you may not even realize, & readers want that

✦

Types of Endings

⤷ ambiguous

→ an ending open to interpretation ; allows readers to come to their own conclusions

⤷ dialogue

→ ending with a quote from one of the characters

⤷ emotional

→ leaving the readers feeling some intense emotion ; negative, positive, or bittersweet

⤷ expanded

→ expands past the events of the narrative to resolve aspects that may not be explained in the main chapters ; usually takes form of an epilogue with a time skip

⤷ happily ever after

→ type of resolved ending where everything works out in the end

⤷ humorous

→ ends with a joke or in an ironic way

⤷ lesson learned

→ ends with clear, profound character development

⤷ reflection

→ ends with characters looking back on their choices, achievements, and experiences

⤷ resolved

→ leaves reader with no questions or loose ends ; all aspects have been clearly & satisfyingly resolved

⤷ tied

→ brings the story full-circle so it ends where it began

⤷ unexpected

→ a twist the readers did not see coming but also makes sense

⤷ unresolved

→ leaves readers with unanswered questions ; usually to lead into the next book

Writing Tips

Maintaining Motivation to Write

❀

➼ if you’re bored writing a part & want to move on to another scene… imagine how bored your readers must be

➝ keep it interesting and meaningful ; write every scene like it will be your favorite

➼ if you’re stuck on a scene — skip it

➝ use placeholders and come back to it when motivation strikes

➝ personally, I do something like: {ENTER: battle scene} and then I’ll list details, lines, or dialogue I want to include so I don’t lose my ideas

➼ if you’re stuck on where to go with a scene — delete the last line and reroute

➝ keep your last line saved somewhere or in brackets — never actually delete anything, but this can help broaden your perspective and encourage creativity

➼ if you’re stuck on a character name — use placeholders

➝ I love to research my names intensely; I’ll spend way too long researching that I’ll forget what I wanted to start writing ; plus once I get attached to a name I am reluctant to change it, even if I think of a better one

➝ so I’ll temporarily replace the name with something like: [A] or [Villain] or [King]

➼ if you don’t have motivation to write an entire excerpt, write a sentence for each of the five senses in the scene

➝ touch, sight, hearing, taste, smell

➝ having these details can help immerse yourself back into the scene when you’re ready to write it

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.

How to Make Your Writing Space Perfect for You

Haven’t done your spring cleaning yet! No worries, May is a great time to start reorganizing your writing space, and maybe, it’s even time to make a change. Read this amazing article about making your writing space work for you by Bernadette Benda!

A good writing space is essential. You’ll probably spend a lot of time there, and if you’re not spending a lot of time there, you’re spending deeply focused time. It needs to be special, inspirational, and fit all your writing needs. 

Here are four steps to help you get there. 

Step 1: Dream

Go on Pinterest. Instagram. Scroll through all the deliriously wonderful writing spaces. Go wild and collect all the impossible dream rooms. Then, pinpoint the elements of those dream rooms that you like the most and see what can be incorporated into your own. Maybe you can’t turn your bedroom into a loft in NYC, but maybe you can add more plants and posters. Maybe you can’t paint your living room yellow, but maybe you can incorporate yellow accessories.  

Dream big, then break it down into the practical. 

Keep reading

How To Write A Healthy Relationship

Writing healthy love is hard! Finding a balance between engaging conflict and fulfilling romance is not an easy task, but it is worthwhile. NaNoWriMo Programs Fellow, Riya Cyriac, offers insight, advice, and examples on how to write healthy relationships.

Throughout my time as a reader and a writer, I’ve encountered an abundance of romances that range from swoon worthy to absolutely disastrous. This is not discounting either end of the spectrum: they have their place. However, there seems to be a noticeable lack of representation for healthy, fulfilling relationships in literature. This is particularly evident in Young Adult literature, where the portrayal of healthy relationships is particularly essential. If you are interested in writing a healthy relationship and filling that void, here are some observations, suggestions, and tips to do that

Obsession and Anger are not Expressions of Healthy Love

As a young adult, I often read books that romanticized obsession and anger. If the love interest punched someone who shows interest in their partner, that is not an indication of passion or love. On the contrary, it should be a glaring red flag. If a character relentlessly pursues their love interest despite resistance, it is not love. It is an obsession, and a clear sign that the character views the other as their property. It’s tempting to use these actions as expressions of passion because it is easy and bold. 

Keep reading

Jueves 04 de Noviembre de 2021 𝓑𝓾𝓮𝓷𝓸𝓼 𝓭𝓲́𝓪𝓼 𝓫𝓮𝓵𝓵𝓪𝓼 𝓶𝓾𝓳𝓮𝓻𝓮𝓼! 🌞 Devocional: “La buena semilla”

🔸Si confesares con tu boca que Jesús es el Señor, y creyeres en tu corazón que Dios le levantó de los muertos, serás salvo. Romanos 10:9

📌No tenían conocimiento de Dios Lectura propuesta: 1 Samuel 2: 12-17

💖 La historia de los dos hijos del sacerdote Elí nos llama la atención. Ofni y Finees fueron criados en una familia que servía a Dios, pero no heredaron la piedad de su padre. Al contrario, se atrevieron a usar su posición de sacerdotes para su propio beneficio. La razón principal de su mala conducta era que no conocían a Dios: “Los hijos de Elí eran hombres impíos, y no tenían conocimiento del Señor” (1 Samuel 2:12).

💖 Por supuesto, sabían que Dios existía, conocían el ritual del servicio religioso, las fechas y las estaciones de las ofrendas especiales y de las fiestas anuales. Incluso conocían las leyes concernientes a cada tipo de ofrenda; no obstante, hacían las cosas para su propio beneficio. ¡Pero conocer los rituales no significa conocer a Dios! Podían repetir oraciones aprendidas de memoria, pero no habían tenido un encuentro personal con Dios.

💖 El verdadero conocimiento de Dios es el resultado de la fe en él. Dios se da a conocer al que lo busca. Todas las personas que lo deseen pueden encontrarlo hoy y ser liberados de sus pecados, si creen en su Hijo Jesús y en el valor de su obra. Este encuentro, que nos establece en una relación viva con Dios, es fundamental.

💖 Los hijos de Elí nunca tuvieron este encuentro inicial con Dios. ¡Su ejemplo es una advertencia muy seria! ¡Los ritos religiosos no nos salvan! Al contrario, pueden volvernos insensibles al estado de nuestro propio corazón y hacernos menospreciar a Dios. Lo que importa no son solo nuestros actos, sino nuestro corazón, pues Dios desea “la verdad en lo íntimo” (Salmo 51:6).

Labuenasemilla.net ¡Bendiciones para todas!

Con amor 𝓣𝓪𝓷𝓲𝓪 𝓜 𝓞𝓵𝓼𝓼𝓸𝓷 🙏📖🕯💐🙋🏻‍♀‍ . #Dios #mujeres #cristianos #dmujercristiana #dmujercristianadevocional #devocional #labuenasemilla #flores🌸#flores🌺#mujerdefe #mujervirtuosa #mujerpiadosa #mujercristiana #mujerdedios (en Paraguay, Paraguay) https://www.instagram.com/p/CV13A29rliM/?utm_medium=tumblr

Writing Fanfiction: Tips for Avoiding Common Pitfalls

Fanfiction is an often under-rated genre. Tons of authors have honed their writing skills with fanfiction, not to mention the millions of writers and readers who love exploring familiar stories and characters! Today, NaNoWriMo participant Ville V. Kokko has a few tips for making fanfiction writing shine:

Fanfiction is a popular form of writing and one of the recognized genres for novels on NaNoWriMo. Yet, it’s also stereotyped as an inferior—some might call it silly—form of writing. While denigrating any genre as a whole is never a good idea, there are some common patterns in fanfiction that may contribute to this stereotype.

Of course, one of the popular stereotypes is that fanfiction is full of “Mary Sues”: overpowered, supposedly awesome self-insertion wish-fulfillment characters. I’ll skip that familiar topic and dive a little deeper into what’s behind it and what other fanfiction tropes can appear for similar reasons.

1. Give your characters some depth.

Fanfiction is almost by definition created by people who were touched by the original work enough to want to build something more out of its foundation. This can be a great fount for good story ideas: what if, what next, what about this character’s unexplored story, etc.

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