Shibzi

Hello, dear. I get asked this often and 4/5 times it’s about New York City, so you’re getting a resource list so I can just direct people to your ask from now on!

Writing Real-Life Locations

How To Write About A Real Location If You Haven’t Been There

7 Tips for Writing About Places You’ve Never Been

How to Write Creative Nonfiction: Writing about Place

How To Write About Place In Creative Nonfiction 

Misplaced: why do novelists disguise real locations?

Basics of Describing Settings

How to Describe the Setting in a Story

Discover The Basic Elements of Setting In a Story

How to Write Descriptions and Create a Sense of Place 

How to practice location descriptions

Fictional vs. Real Settings: Which Are Best?

Writing About New York [City]

my list of NYC writing links & tips

Humans of New York (for local character/lifestyle examples)

Google, bro. everyone and their grandma has written about NYC.

Have fun researching! Consider taking a trip, if you can!…I’ll be jealous…

+ If you benefit from my updates and replies, please consider sending a little thank you and Buy Me A Coffee!

They’re like if bears had knives protruding from their closed mouths and Didn’t Know When To Quit. Their survival instincts when they’re wounded aren’t “run away and minimize injury” it’s “take the thing that hurt you down with you” They also make sounds like someone crossed a pig with an alligator.

Their head and neck alone can be like the size of an entire human torso.

Also forever laffin’ at people who think pigs are tiny, ‘cause we designed those things can get in the neighbourhood of a thousand pounds in ideal circumstances. 

It’s like when people assume Tuna must be small because they’ve only ever experienced them in hockey puck form.

Very carefully, I would imagine.

WIld boar babies are rather cute, like living humbugs…

…but the adults and their ferocity have been associated with warriors for thousands of years, from Mycenaean Greece (a helmet made from sections of boar tusk)…

…through Celtic Europe (reconstructed carnyx war-horns and standards)…

…Ancient Rome (the crest of Legion 20 “Valeria Victrix”). A couple more legions also used a boar as their crest - I wonder did they squabble over which was the “right” one the way a couple of Swiss cantons had a little war over whose bear was best…?

…then Anglo-Saxon and pre-Viking helmet crests…

…right up to the late Middle Ages (here the white boar badge of Richard Duke of Gloucester, later Richard III of England)…

…and the blue boar badge of the Earl of Oxford, more usually represented by the De Vere arms, quarterly gules and or, in the first a molet argent.

After Richard was defeated at Bosworth in 1485, there was a run on blue paint as inn-signs were changed to reflect new loyalties since Oxford was on the winning side…

And pigs will definitely eat people.

It gets mentioned in the movie “Snatch”, the book/movie “Hannibal” and the webcomic “Lackadaisy Cats”, among numerous other fictional sources, and IRL it’s suspected to be the reason why numerous missing persons have stayed missing.

More here (another comment to this same OP) and here (slightly different).

Here’s some boar-hunting armour for dogs, ancient…

…and modern…

…and the modern one looks very like a simple style of ancient…

Fastforward a few months to when I’m back home and hearing about the boar problem a family friend is having. I recommend electric fences, since that obviously works for Swedes. The guy tells me that won’t work for him since it’s a herd of boars, so the boars will just charge the fence enmasse, sacrifice the first few, trample over them and enter orchard to feast.

BONUS:

Formatting your Manuscript

If you’re planning on one day turning your manuscript in to literary agents and publishing houses, you need to make sure it’s formatted correctly. In many cases, your manuscript will be skipped over if it isn’t done to industry standard, so here’s the basics that you’ll need if you don’t want to be ignored. Before I get started, please know that this is aimed specifically at fiction manuscripts. If you’re writing non-fiction or a memoir, the expectations will be different, so it would be wise to Google what you need.

The Basics

Make sure your font is 12 point Times New Roman, Courier New, or Arial. These are the only three fonts you are allowed to pick from.

Your spacing should be 1 inch on all sides of the text. This is the default on most word processors, but double check your settings just to be sure.

Your text should be double spaced.

All of your indentations must be a half inch. Do not press indent. Instead, drag over the top arrow on the ruler to have every new paragraph automatically indent.

The Title Page

The top left-hand corner of your title page will have all your personal information. They want to see your name, address, phone number, e-mail address, the novel’s genre, and word count.

Your novel’s title is allowed to be between 20-24 point font if you want. Bold is also an option, but not necessary.

The title will appear halfway down the title page.

“A novel by [your name]” will be about three quarters of the way down the page.

The Next Pages

If you have a dedication, it will be on its own page.

If you have some sort of verse or quote, those will also need their own pages.

Do not include a page for acknowledgements.

The Chapters

Chapter titles will be 12 point font. No bolding or italics.

Chapters will start from one quarter to halfway down the page.

An easy way to format chapter headings is to press enter five or six times

Make sure you always start your chapters the same way every time.

When you start a new chapter, make sure you use a page break to bump the new chapter onto a new page. This will keep it in place so that it will never budge, no matter how much you cut out or add to the previous chapter.

Page Numbers

Page numbers will start with 1 on Chapter 1 of your manuscript. Page numbers will not appear on the title page or dedication page.

Page 1 will be labeled in the footer of Chapter 1. It should be centered.

Page 2 will be in the header of the next page.

From page 2 onward, your headers will be labeled like this:

If you insert a section break after the title and dedication pages, it will make it easier to insert the page numbers.

For the most part, this is the most important of what you’ll need to know for formatting your manuscript. I used this video as reference, so I’m trusting everything it says is true because it was made by an author who has several novels published, and because it was uploaded this year, it should be up to date.

But more importantly, if you’re going to be sending a piece to a publisher, you must read the publisher’s specific requirements which most have listed on their websites. Some publishers will request different fonts, line spacings, or font sizes, for various reasons, some will want you to list the length of the story by page count, or by word count.

I noticed in the tags someone was under the impression that you should just copy and paste your story into the body of the email–some publishers do want that, but it is much less common than publishers that want stories sent as an attachment. Again. Read the specific instructions given by the publishers. There is no one-size-fits-all.

By looking up and following the specific instructions given by the publishers, you show that you are someone who pays attention to detail, who is able to work cooperatively and follow instruction when necessary, and most importantly, that you respect the time and work that the publishers are trying to do. I’ve been on the other end of the slush pile, and when you’re faced with 500 stories, it becomes very easy to toss out the ones that don’t care what they’re sending out because they clearly can’t be bothered to do the most basic formatting.

I also want to correct a misconception by the late wrote-miss-ibis a couple of reblogs above here: the slush pile is good. It isn’t somewhere that stories get put. The slush pile is the pile from which all stories come. When you send a story (unless it has been specifically requested by an editor) that story goes directly into the slush pile, and the editors then go through the slush pile to find the things they want to keep.

Instead I will be reading and thinking about Ted Bundy’s victims. I wonder where their movies are. I wonder why their names aren’t raised.

I wonder why we don’t hear about Lynda Ann Healy, a 21 year old psychology major about to graduate that semester. Lynda worked with handicapped children and got up early every day to report on the skiing conditions for local radio.

I wonder why we don’t hear about Debra Kent, a 17 year old aspiring social worker who was known for always having change to feed parking meters for strangers.

I wonder why we don’t hear about Susan Curtis. Susan was only 15 years old and was riding her bike to church that day. She was a star on her high school track team.

In a world filled with kind, beautiful people, I wonder why we all know Ted Bundy’s name. I wonder if that isn’t giving him and people like him exactly what he wanted. And frankly I’m sick of hearing people talk about him.

I’d like to talk about 12 year olds Lynette Culver and Kimberly Leach, neither of whom turned 13 because Ted Bundy stole their innocence and their lives from them. Kimberly had just been elected first runner up “Valentine Queen” by her peers and never got to wear that pretty new dress. Do you think her parents still have that dress, hanging in the back of a closet? I bet they do. I bet her dad sits with it in his darkest moments. You ever thought about him when you hear the name Ted Bundy?

Let’s talk about 19 year old Susan Rancourt, who had a 4.0 GPA. 17 year old Laura Aime. 18 year old Georgeann Hawkins. 23 year old Janice Ott. 26 year old Nancy Wilcox. 23 year old Caryn Campbell. 17 year old Melissa Smith. 19 year old Donna Manson, who was an excellent flute player and by all accounts a bit of a goth. 20 year old Kathy Parks. 22 year old Brenda Ball. 20 year old Lisa Levy. 21 year old Margaret Bowman. 25 year old Denise Oliverson, who had just gotten into a spat with her new husband and had gone for a walk to clear her mind. Denise weighed 105 pounds. She was bound, gagged, raped, mutilated and thrown from a fast moving car. Have you ever considered what HIS life has been like since that day? How many hours of his life do you think have been spent on the floor, clutching the ring he had given her, apologizing into thin air?

These stories are real. These people are REAL.

I get that Ted Bundy was handsome and his eyes were very blue but please. Please stop glamorizing him like this. He ended and ruined lives. Nothing about him is cool or worthy of emulation. Ted Bundy raped, tortured, mutilated and strangled over 30 females, including 12 year old girls. None of his victims weighed more than 115 pounds.

Ted Bundy was a pathetic man.

Emulate Lynda. Emulate Debra. Raise their names and their voices to those around you. Honor them. They were very real people with promising lives and futures stretched ahead of them, stolen.

Please don’t elevate or whitewash this kind of rampant violence against women. I assure you the world is harsh enough for us without a new generation thinking Ted Bundy is a cool, fascinating guy.

Thanks.

Find out if you have a guardian angel.

Look for signs. White feathers, flashes of light, or symbols in the clouds. 

If you find a white feather, do not keep it or you will scare her. 

Do not play hard to get. Play easy to catch. Jump off a building 

Your guardian angel usually disappears immediately after saving you. 

Never wear perfume.

Gradually make your activities more dangerous. She loves danger. Start off slow. Keep her coming back for more.

After a few times, she will linger around a little longer to rebuke you. Catch her off-guard. Ask her out. 

There is also a possibility she is very annoyed and filed the necessary paperwork to be assigned to someone else. Carefully assess if you still have a guardian angel before doing anything dangerous.

If she wants to go on a date with you, go do something dangerous. She will most likely tell you she will not be protecting you to test your courage. Do not worry. She will always protect you. I suggest you go cloud jumping.

Ask her out on a second date.

Avoid danger for some time. Let her wonder.

Smell your pillow. If it smells heavenly, she was definitely there last night.

As time goes by, and you have avoided danger for long enough, she will start appearing for things that are not dangerous at all. ‘Food poisoning’ or 'the road is slippery’ are often used excuses. In such cases, ask her out for dinner, or let her ride shotgun.

Ask if you may hold her hand. Feel how your heart grows warmer almost instantly.

Tell her about yourself. Ask her questions. Have fun.

Lean in for a kiss. When you close your eyes and touch her lips, a million stars will fall inside your head. You can now make a wish. She knows this. Wish to see her again. She will smile and give you another kiss. 

Note: this guide applies to all guardian angels - Bob

More guides

Surviving a snowstorm

Always walk barefoot. Take off your shoes. The beach wants to read your soul.

If you come across a starfish, tell him about your deepest desire. He will point you in the right direction.

A dog might run up to you when you are all alone on the beach. Let him walk with you for a while. 

Sand is the combination of sea and land. In ancient times, the sea gods and land gods used to meet here. Sometimes they still do.

Mermaids are real. You might not see them but they see you.

If you see baby sea turtles hatch, keep your distance and keep an eye out for predators. Help them make it to the sea. You will receive a favor. 

If something is calling you from far out at sea, ignore it. Keep walking.

The waves wash away bad feelings. Place both hands over your heart and put the feeling inside your hands. Carefully place it on the sand, close enough to the sea so the waves can reach it. The waves will grow stronger for a few minutes. Thank the waves.

Pick up a shell and hold it close to your ear. Shell spirits love telling stories. Especially about Charles, a fisherman who has been living on his rowboat for over 70 years and has not set foot on land ever since. They love him.

An island might appear out of nowhere and slowly grow closer. You are not imagining it.

Heed the seagulls’ warning. 

Pick up some seaweed and bring it back home. It is a key ingredient in many potions. 

I am currently rowing toward the island but the waves are growing more and more violent. Something does not want me near. - Bob

More guides

How to date your guardian angel

break up your paragraphs. big paragraphs are scary, your readers will get scared

fuuuuck epithets. “the other man got up” “the taller woman sat down” “the blonde walked away” nahhh. call them by their names or rework the sentence. you can do so much better than this (exception: if the reader doesn’t know the character(s) you’re referring to yet, it’s a-okay to refer to them by an identifying trait)

blunette is not a thing

new speaker, new paragraph. please.

“said” is such a great word. use it. make sweet love to it. but don’t kill it

use “said” more than you use synonyms for it. that way the use of synonyms gets more exciting. getting a sudden description of how a character is saying something (screaming, mumbling, sighing) is more interesting that way.

if your summary says “I suck at summaries” or “story better than summary” you’re turning off the reader, my dude. your summary is supposed to be your hook. you gotta own it, just like you’re gonna own the story they’re about to read

follow long sentences w short ones and short ones w long ones. same goes for paragraphs

your writing is always better than you think it is. you just think it’s bad because the story’s always gonna be predicable to the one who’s writing it