yapping central

Hi Hyba! Always a pleasure to have you in my inbox! I've been fairly inactive over the last few months, mostly been trawling through my 'to read' list and taking some time for my own mental health, but I've been finding strategies that help me improve my writing- recently I've taken up writing short snippets with a focus on one particular aspect, i.e. dialogue or action, with the aim of just building everything up over repetition and (hopefully) growth.

One book in particular has scholarly articles in English, French, and Arabic, and it’s posing a bit of a challenge (because it’s not that all of the articles are translated into French, Arabic, and English - nope, it just presents articles on the same topic but written in different languages originally). I breezed through the English section of course, and I’ve been doing pretty well with the French section, despite reading a bit slower and my brain having to re-calibrate for the language, but I’m thinking that the Arabic articles might be my biggest challenge!

This was senior year of college.  Most of us had already been accepted into grad school of some sort. We felt powerful, we felt talented, and most of all, we felt artistic.

It was the advanced fiction workshop, and we did an entire round of workshops with everyone’s best stories, their most advanced work, their most polished pieces. It was very technical and, most of all, very artistic.

IE: They were boring pieces of pretentious crap.

Now the teacher was either a genius OR was tired of our shit, and decided to give us a challenge.  Flash fiction, he said. Write something as quickly as possible.  Make it stupid.  Make it not mean a thing, just be a quick little blast of words. 

And, of course, we all got stupid.  Little one and two pages of prose without the barriers that it must be good. Little flashes of characters, little bits of scenarios.

And they were electric.  All of them. So interesting, so vivid, not held back by the need to write important things or artistic things. 

One sticks in my mind even today.  The guys original piece was a thinky, thoughtful piece relating the breaking up of threesomes to volcanoes and uncontrolled eruptions that was just annoying to read. But his flash fiction was this three page bit about a homeless man who stole a truck full of coca cola and had to bribe people to drink the soda so he could return the cans to recycling so he could afford one night with the prostitute he loved.

It was funny, it was heartfelt, and it was so, so, so well written.

And just that one little bit of advice, the write something short and stupid, changed a ton of people’s writing styles for the better.

Hi Hyba! Always a pleasure to have you in my inbox! I've been fairly inactive over the last few months, mostly been trawling through my 'to read' list and taking some time for my own mental health, but I've been finding strategies that help me improve my writing- recently I've taken up writing short snippets with a focus on one particular aspect, i.e. dialogue or action, with the aim of just building everything up over repetition and (hopefully) growth.

One book in particular has scholarly articles in English, French, and Arabic, and it’s posing a bit of a challenge (because it’s not that all of the articles are translated into French, Arabic, and English - nope, it just presents articles on the same topic but written in different languages originally). I breezed through the English section of course, and I’ve been doing pretty well with the French section, despite reading a bit slower and my brain having to re-calibrate for the language, but I’m thinking that the Arabic articles might be my biggest challenge!

W I P   I N T R O  NEON VAPE: A Vaporwave Odyssey by @hyba​

Genre: Science Fiction Audience: Teens and Adults

Blurb: When down-on-her-luck concept artist Ramona Marx is hired by virtual reality giant VeAre to help design the breakout game for its new virtual reality operating system, she jumps at the opportunity. What begins as the experience of a lifetime transforms into a nightmare when Ramona is asked to test out Neon Vape, the game she has been designing. VeAre’s operating system mysteriously malfunctions, and Ramona finds herself a prisoner in the game.

The Transgender Propaganda Society

About

Genre: New Adult, LGBT+, Romance, Coming Of Age, Semi Political Word Goal: 50,000 Summary: At twenty years old, Mason’s life changes as he begins a newer journey: transitioning. Starting testosterone on his 20th birthday was the greatest gift he could ever receive – the next best gift was his guitar his grandfather gifted him when he was nine years old. He had always been interested in music – it always surrounded him one way or another.

Now, his life begins different transitions as he and his friends work together as a simple garage band with dreams of making it big with a trans man at the forefront – they call themselves The Transgender Propaganda Society.

As they continue to work towards their hopeful fame, Mason realizes there is a bigger transition in his life other than hormones – and his name happens to be Felix.

Characters

Mason - 20, he is an upbeat young man who only ever looks towards the future. He admires old punk bands, and has a fairly close relationship with his dad who is still trying to get used to all the changes that are happening with his son. He’s been playing guitar since he was nine, and enjoys singing. There is not a genre of music he doesn’t want to try.

Felix - 21, Felix is a nostalgic young man. He has a slight penchant for hanging onto the past – whether good things or bad things. He’s been best friends with Mason since kindergarten and started playing the drums around eleven years old. He has an older sister whom he has a tense relationship with. He really loves astronomy. The Honorary Cis.

Chloe - 21, she is a charming woman who had started playing piano at a very young age, and quit for awhile in middle school due to bullying, but she recently started back up. She’s in Felix’s classes in university, and ended up joining their friendgroup. Usually found in libraries or napping. She no longer talks to her family.

Part 2! Let’s go!

TAG: @cometworks , @coloursintheblur

FADE IN:

Fear, the feeling had spread throughout the temple. The Warriors and The Hero looking on what had been unleashed. Shocked and worried, The MYSTERIOUS MAN had stretched finally free from his imprisonment in vaporous form. Trapped within the statues of each Fate.

MYSTERIOUS MAN

I am finally free…

His voice was deep and sophisticated, as he said his first words. His eyes had a bright red tint.

VIOLET stepped forward, with her magic of ice. She created a sword and held a stance. JUSTIN steps forward as well, moving the tail of his coat. He draws his laser revolver, aiming it toward the MYSTERIOUS MAN.

So… I kept this a secret for over a while now… I didn’t tell anyone because wanted it to be a surprise and… I did sneaky beaky lying… but it was all to make this fun little thing. 

@cometworks Surprise! I hope you like it!

DISCLAIMER: THIS IS NOT CANON! I REPEAT NOT CANON! THIS IS A FUN COLLAB WRITING AMONG FRIENDS!

FADE IN:

EXT. ABRICOT

Three years have passed since The Battle Of Abricot. There was no new threat, no new Black Beast. All was at peace with the world, in this universe.

INT. ABRICOT LIBRARY

Gathered around the Story Time Area, were children surrounding a woman. Holding a book in her hands. The woman was EDITH reading a story to them.

EDITH (V.O)

And there came a day, unlike any other, where the kingdom’s unlikely heroes came together and united against The Shadow Goddess. The Ice Warrior, The Dark Angel and their leader, The Savior. Her fellow warriors stood back to back against the Shadow Goddess and her army of malevolence. There stood the fourth warrior, The Hero, not of this world. A man who walked in eternity and left stardust in his wake.

My body is a war zone

I am chaos

I am the living, the dead

The destruction and the peace

The soldiers that fought

The people who died

I am everything about a war

Yet you walk past me

Like I'm a field of flowers

You ignore the grenades and the gunshots

The tone in writing is one of the most important characteristics of a piece of writing. Books, poetry, songs, articles, any writing whatsoever; the tone is everything. That being said, there are a lot of ways in which writers can either mess it up or completely forget to set the tone. Below is a guide to setting the tone to come across exactly how you want it to.

Some Things To Note

Tone is the character or attitude of a text that invokes emotion in the reader

There are two things you want to ask yourself when reading a text and studying the tone:

How does the text make you feel?

and

How is the text designed to make you feel?

Things That Create Tone

There are several different elements in writing that create the tone. Here are a few:

Body Language

How your characters act, interact, and speak all play a large role in how your readers perceive your story. If your characters are speaking cryptically, fidgeting, and the tensions are high, your readers will feel the suspense.

Volume (Dialogue Tags)

How loud people say things is a big indicator of how they mean for it to come across to whomever they’re talking to. It’s the same this with dialogue. While it’s important not to overdo it with the dialogue tags, you must also use them to your advantage. It’s kind of when you’re writing a script and you sometimes feel the need to add a note for the actor to say something a certain way in order for them to portray what you envision. Use specific dialogue tags sparingly, but use them well.

Context

The context of the situation is everything. If your reader doesn’t know what’s going on and your main character is super relaxed all of a sudden when they thought they were in the middle of a very stressful situation, it’s going to give them very weird vibes. Knowing where the character is, how they feel, and having some idea of what’s about to go down is imperative to creating the right tone.

WORD CHOICE

Word choice is the main way you can set the tone in your story. You must be clear, intentional, natural, and consistent with the way you choose how you phrase things in your story. We all have certain associations with specific words and using those associations will bode well for you.

Clear Word Choice…

Be clear before anything else when setting the tone. Portray what you need to in order to create the scene itself and put the reader in the story. Then change what words you’re using in order to make the reader feel a certain way. However, never sacrifice clarity in exchange for the use of a fancy word. If your read doesn’t know what you’re saying, what good does it do anyway?

Intentional Word Choice…

Be intentional when you’re deciding where to switch out words and where you decide to really hit the reader with a huge wave of tone. Don’t just fling words anywhere there’s a gap in the hopes that it will accomplish the same thing as intentionally injecting words where it will pierce the reader’s soul. See what I mean?

Natural Word Choice

While it’s important to choose words that fit the tone, they must flow naturally with the dialogue and descriptions. Don’t just slap your reader in the face with “OMG Becky did you hear what that brat Jessica said about you and your bae? She’s such a vacuous shrew!” because that’s not exactly natural is it? 

I have a whole post called Improving Flow In Writing that expands on this quite a bit.

Consistent Word Choice…

Be consistent in your word choice. Don’t use the same words over and over again, but don’t go from calling dogs to “canis lupus familiaris”. Well.. unless it’s absolutely necessary.

Examples Of Tones

Some of you might be a little fuzzy on what I mean by tone in the first place, so here are a few examples of tone:

Comedic

Suspenseful

Enticing

Desperate

Terrifying

Happy

Dramatic

Romantic

Etc.. You get the picture.

Day 4 of @alexprompts advent calendar prompts using this photo from @wildler! have some Maya and Layla AU fluff (because they deserve it).

—

Maya jerked awake from her nap, blinking at the rugged wooden walls of her cabin. Something had clattered onto the floor in the next room. “Layla?” she called. “You ok?”

“Yeah,” came the reply, “just dropped the baubles again.”

“Again?”

“You were passed out, you didn’t even blink.” She came into the room, a cardboard box in her arms. “Are you going to help me hang them up?”

“Why?” Layla just looked at her, one eyebrow raised. Maya rolled her eyes and pulled herself out of her very comfy armchair. “Ok then, where do you wanna start?”

“Usual, you go for the top, me for the bottom?”

“Don’t we start with the tinsel?”

“Just testing you.” Layla grinned and dived into the box, pulling out a knotted length of bright purple tinsel. She threw it at Maya who caught it just in time. “Undo that, will you?”

“What, so you can find some more knots to throw at me?” Maya asked teasingly, already working it out. “Nah, i’ll get it done. Probably should’ve put them away better last year.”

“Yup.” They worked in comfortable silence for a few minutes then Layla smiled in satisfaction. “Got it.” Maya put down her knot to help her drape the silver around the tree that was set in place in the corner, lit perfectly by the roaring fireplace. The windows were iced over, looking out onto an equally icy landscape.

“No-one out there,” Maya said, as they finished hanging them up, “just us.”

“Technically, there’s another cabin a few kilometres west but, that doesn’t really count.”

“You’re right, it doesn’t.” She crept up behind Layla and pulled her into a hug, grinning and nuzzling her neck when she giggled. “Love you,” she whispered in her ear.

“You too.” Layla twisted herself around so that she could return the hug, her head fitting perfectly into the hollow beneath Maya’s collarbone. “Thanks for coming,” she murmured, “it means a lot.”

“We do this every year. Wouldn’t miss it for the world.”

“Yeah but with work and everything that’s happened this year… I’m just glad you made it.”

“So am I.” For a second, dark memories hovered but she pushed them away with an extra kiss on Layla’s cheek. “Want some hot chocolate?”

“You’re just trying to get away from the tinsel,” she retorted.

“Is it working?”

“Yes. Don’t forget the marshmallows!”

Maya laughed and headed to the small kitchen at the back of the cabin, the soft rugs they’d picked out last Christmas gentle beneath her feet. She rummaged through the cupboards and grinned. She pulled out a bright blue mug with clouds around the rim and placed it on the countertop. A matching green one lined with trees around its base went beside it. She set the kettle to boiling and leant against the silver marbled countertops, snuggling deeper into her hoodie as she waited.

Layla was humming to herself when Maya brought them out.

“Hey, where are the marshmallows?” Layla asked. Maya waggled her eyebrows, grinning broadly and reached into her hood. She pulled out an entire packet and tossed it onto the table.

“That enough?”

“Perfect.” Layla happily ripped the packet open and tipped in 5, stopping only when it threatened to spill over. She touched the surface, hissing briefly at the heat. She noticed the mugs. “Hey, you got our mugs? I thought you hadn’t packed them!”

“I’d left them here last year apparently.”

Layla looked at her and nodded sceptically. “Sure you did.”

“Would I lie to you?”

“Probably. But, I’ll let it pass this time since I love this mug.”

“I love mine too.”

“Just like I love you,” they chorused and Layla laughed. “You remember it,” she said.

“How could I not?” Maya took a sip, enjoying the comforting sweetness. “It’s ours.”

“Damn right it is.”

Layla joined her on the couch, kicking off her slippers so she could snuggle up next to her. She cupped her hands around her mug and took a sip of her own. Maya used her free hand to wrap the checkered blanket from the back of the couch around them, making sure it settled over Layla’s shoulders as well as hers.

And the fire burned.

—

Burying Deceit Taglist: @wethepotterheads0214 @inkpot-dreamer @isanyonetoknow @thedorkomen @coloursintheblur @serendipitous-fangirl @wildler (you get to be tagged twice! lucky you) @ofinkblotsandscript