My to-read list is larger than my lifespan

how to make that application your bitch

One time, Katherine said if I do one thing well, it’s write an application. It might have been prompted, but fuck it, I’m taking it. I figured I’d share.

I’ll be using my application for Griffin Lancaster and my application for Lena Deland to try and help? idk how I’m meant to write these things. lbr there is a reason i make graphics and nothing else

I’m not sure if you want a warning or some shit like that, but here. This is hardly a fool proof method. It is also not the only way to write applications. It is simply how I function, And while it may work for some people, it’ll hardly work for all. I have been both accepted and denied in my “less than a year” on tumblr, so take this with a grain of salt?

001. FUCK EVERYONE AND BELIEVE THAT CHARACTER IS YOURS

Now this here, is a two part step. First, have a sense of confidence going into an audition. I don’t give a fuck about how you feel before, or after, but while writing, fuck everything, and believe you are getting this character. For all purposes, this character is now yours. Have you ever imagined yourself winning a game/race/your entire life? Well apply that here. Own that shit, part of it will come off in your writing.

The second part, while much the same, is write as if this character is already yours. Treat a para sample as if it was just a self-para. Move past what it says in the bio, and get into just exactly how you’d play this character. Self-paras are easier to write, and they are also a shitload less stressful. They also give insight into a character that is often missed in sample paras. Think past the bio rehash, and personality dump. When writing self-para, you already assume the reader knows this character, right? Do the same here. There is no need for the same exact points that show up in the bio to be seen in your sample. Take those, and build upon them. You have this character in your mind, throw them in a situation, and have at it. This is your time to show how you’ve taken this character’s bio and transformed it. You don’t need to explain their character to an admin, you have to explain your’s.

When I sat down to write Lena, I made no attempt to bring more than the major aspects of her bio into my sample. And I know that sort of sounds odd, but I promise, it is true. From the bio, I knew Lena was a warrior, she knows pain and she is bound by duty. But it’s from my own thoughts that I know how she’d react to a given situation. These things do come up, but it is to emphasize her reactions. To give them justification.

BONUS: The perks of treating this like a self-para means that you shouldn’t be afraid to be inspired by writing prompts if you get seriously stuck.

002. DON’T BE A STRANGER?

If you have the ability/time/whatever to delve into your character, do it. Make playlists, graphics, poems. Whatever the fuck you have the time and the desire to do, do it. Before I even began writing my Griffin app, I had an entire playlist made. It was something that connected me to him just a little bit more, and it was a place to set my thoughts down, even before I started writing.

Get english class all up on this shit, and brainstorm. You don’t ever have to show people that shit, so why the fuck not?

The other half of number two is, if you can, research. Some characters will have connections in the role play, other’s might have histories you aren’t personally familiar with. It might even be that the plot of the role play needs to be explored just that little bit further. Becoming familiar with these thing will help you get into your character. They will also help an admin see the sort of dedication you can put in this character.

Both Lena and Griffin have/had (idk man what tense this needs to be. go away) connections in their respective role plays. And both Valley and Birdcage require some background information. Getting familiar with these relationships and plots was invaluable to me while writing.

003. TAKE YOUR TIME

If you have the time, fucking use it, man. Reread, change everything, rearrange. Fucking go at it. It took me three or four days to submit my Griffin application, and this isn’t exactly something new.

And pulling out all the camp stops, have some fucking fun. At some point you’ve got to stop stressing over the tiny details. Just sit down, take a few deep breathes (or whatever the fuck you do to chill. yoga maybe? fuck if i know) and just write.

Did you know that .9999=1? Do your best and let the fucking details go.

004. ONE THING AT A TIME. OR FUCK IT, JUST ONE THING AT ALL

Don’t feel the need to cover eVERYTHING. Your character will probably have multiple aspects that could prove a interesting sample. Shit, Lena had like 12. And by that I mean four, but you know what I mean. Start with one aspect, their past or a family relationship, and see how far you go. That way if you get stuck you can add, with something that directly relates, or start again.

lbr never be afraid to have multiple para sample attempts

005. Useful Links

Ye Olde Auditions (and How to Be Good At Them)

Kgillsrpc Tips on Writing A Good Audition 

How To Write A Successful Audition

by Chuck Palahniuk 

8 Words You Should Avoid When Writing

As always, Orwell’s final rule applies: “Break any of these rules before saying anything barbarous.” There are instances where each of these words fills a valuable role. However, especially among inexperienced writers, these words are frequently molested and almost always gum up the works.

1. “Suddenly”

“Sudden” means quickly and without warning, but using the word “suddenly” both slows down the action and warns your reader. Do you know what’s more effective for creating the sense of the sudden? Just saying what happens.

I pay attention to every motion, every movement, my eyes locked on them. Suddenly, The gun goes off.

When using “suddenly,” you communicate through the narrator that the action seemed sudden. By jumping directly into the action, you allow the reader to experience that suddenness first hand. “Suddenly” also suffers from being nondescript, failing to communicate the nature of the action itself; providing no sensory experience or concrete fact to hold on to. Just … suddenly.

Feel free to employ “suddenly” in situations where the suddenness is not apparent in the action itself. For example, in “Suddenly, I don’t hate you anymore,” the “suddenly” substantially changes the way we think about the shift in emotional calibration.

2. “Then”

by Melinda Copp   

The English language, like mathematics, has rules that make your message clear and understandable. In today’s era of e-mail and text communications, some may feel the rules of communication are largely unimportant as long as one gets the message across. But we know from verbal communication that how one says something is often as important, maybe even more important, than the actual words being said.

When you want to ensure your written communications are professional and clear, knowing the following three self-editing tricks can enhance your prose.

1. Check Your Commas

One piece of punctuation that frequently trips up even the best writers is the comma. While the comma has many different rules and uses, one of the most helpful is this: don’t use a comma if two sentences divided by a period will do. Make a statement. End the sentence. Following this rule will help you avoid run-on sentences and keep your writing simple and easy to read.

2. Simplify Your Sentence Construction

Grammar rules are difficult to understand, even for English students. But knowing what a strong sentence looks like, and then not straying far from that construction, can be helpful.

Every sentence has nouns and verbs. For example, consider three parts of the sentence, “The boy runs to the store.” The most important part is the verb, or action word, “runs.” The other two parts are both nouns. “Boy” is the subject, the thing doing the action, while “store” is the object, the thing being acted upon. In effect, this structure amounts to noun, verb, noun, or “a something does something to something.”

An easy way to figure out if a sentence is strong and active is to make sure the answers to the following three questions are clear in the way your sentence is constructed:

• What is being done?  • Who or what is doing it?  • Who or what is it being done to?

Now consider this sentence: “It is the boy who ran to the store.” It has the same three parts from the first example. “Boy” is the subject. “Ran” is the verb. And “store” is the object. However, it has extras words that weaken the sentence’s meaning: “who,” “it,” and “is.” And adding these words broke away from the “a something does something to something” model, weakening the overall effect.

3. Activate Your Verbs

Another important rule is use the imperative verb form rather than the form with the suffix “-ing.” The imperative form is a verb’s un-conjugated form. For instance, “to deliver” is the imperative root of “delivers,” “delivered,” “will deliver,” and “delivering.” In many cases, “-ing” verbs are a sign of a weak or awkward sentence.

Now consider the sentence: “The boy runs to the store delivering apples.” While the sentence is not incorrect, the imperative form can be used with a stronger clarifying effect: “The boy runs to the store to deliver apples.”

Self-Editing Your Writing

I was sitting on the computer last night trying to be productive and actually write something. My first sentence included the character listening to a voice through an intercom and my first thought was, “What kind of voice is it?” 

appealing (adj): an appealing look/voice shows that you want help, approval, or agreement

breathy (adj): with loud breathing noises

brittle (adj): if you speak in a brittle voice, you sound as if you are about to cry

croaky (adj): if someone’s voice sounds croaky, they speak in a low, rough voice that sounds as if they have a sore throat

dead (adj): if someone’s eyes or voice are dead, they feel or show no emotion

disembodied (adj): a disembodied voice comes from someone who you cannot see

flat (adj): spoken in a voice that does not go up and down; this word is often used for describing the speech of people from a particular region

fruity (adj): a fruity voice or laugh is deep and strong in a pleasant way

grating (adj): a grating voice, laugh, or sound is unpleasant and annoying

gravelly (adj): a gravelly voice sounds low and rough

gruff (adj): this voice has a rough, low sound

guttural (adj): a guttural sound is deep and made at the back of your throat

high-pitched (adj): true to its name, a high-pitched voice or sound is very high

hoarse (adj): someone who is hoarse, or has a hoarse voice, speaks in a low, rough voice, usually because their throat is sore

honeyed (adj): honeyed words or a honeyed voice sound very nice, but you cannot trust the person who is speaking

husky (adj): a husky voice is deep and sounds hoarse (as if you have a sore throat), often in an attractive way

low (adj): a low voice is quiet and difficult to hear; also used for describing a deep voice that has a long wavelength

matter-of-fact (adj): usually used if the person speaking knows what they are talking about (or absolutely think they know what they are talking about)

modulated (adj): a modulated voice is controlled and pleasant to listen to

monotonous (adj): this kind of voice is boring and unpleasant due to the fact that it does not change in loudness or become higher/lower

nasal (adj): someone with a nasal voice sounds as if they are speaking through their nose

orotund (adj): an orotund voice is loud and clear

penetrating (adj): a penetrating voice is so high or loud that it makes you slightly uncomfortable

plummy (adj): a plummy voice or way of speaking is considered to be typical of an English person of a high social class; this word shows that you dislike people who speak like this

quietly (adj): in a soft, quiet voice

raucous (adj): a raucous voice or noise is loud and sounds rough

ringing (adj): a ringing voice is very loud and clear

rough (adj): a rough voice is not soft and is unpleasant to listen to

shrill (adj): a shrill voice is very loud, high, and unpleasant

silvery (adj): this voice is clear, light, and pleasant

singsong (adj): if you speak in a singsong voice, your voice rises and falls in a musical way

small (adj): a small voice is quiet

smoky (adj): a smoky voice is sexually attractive in a slightly mysterious way

softly spoken (adj): someone who is softly spoken has a quiet, gentle voice

soft-spoken (adj): speaking or said in a quiet, gentle voice

sotto voce (adj, adv): in a very quiet voice

stentorian (adj): a stentorian voice sounds very loud and severe

strangled (adj): a strangled sound is one that someone stops before they finish making it

strident (adj): this voice is loud and unpleasant

taut (adj): used about something such as a voice that shows someone is nervous or angry

thick (adj): if your voice is thick with an emotion, it sounds less clear than usual because of the emotion

thickly (adv): with a low voice that comes mostly from your throat

thin (adj): a thin voice or sound is high and unpleasant to listen to

throaty (adj): a throaty sound is low and seems to come from deep in your throat

tight (adj): shows that you are nervous or annoyed

toneless (adj): does not express any emotion

tremulous (adj): if your voice is tremulous, it is not steady; for example, because you are afraid or excited

wheezy (adj): a wheezy noise sounds as if it is made by someone who has difficulty breathing

wobbly (adj): if your voice is wobbly, it goes up and down, usually because you are frightened, not confident, or are going to cry

booming (adj): very loud and attention-getting

quavering (adv): if your voice quavers, it is not steady because you are feeling nervous or afraid

a voice like a foghorn: very loud voice

in an undertone: using a quiet voice so that someone cannot hear you

FAVORITE FACE CLAIMS:

Freida Pinto, Manish Dayal, Nathalie Emmanuele 

Suraj Sharma, Zawe Ashton, Jesse Williams

IMAGINATION (a Luna Lovegood fanmix) + [listen here] [download here]*

she’s the person from whom we all laugh but the one we should be. a mixture of dreams and determination, be true to who you are and joy.

i. white elephant - ladytron / ii. a violent yet flammable world - au revoir simone / iii. come back home - two door cinema club / iv. walking on a dream - empire of the sun / v. run run - those dancing days / vi. ghost - bombay bicycle club / vii. it’s time - imagine dragons / viii. imagination - miami horror / ix. unique tree - the narcoleptic dancers / x. called out in the dark - snow patrol

(click read more too see detalis)