C. R. Loner

While I'm reading, I've observed different ways that authors craft their world histories and here are some tips I'd like to share that I think will help.

Tips:

Relevance

Is it actually relevant to the plot or is it just added padding to the world. Think of the purpose behind your historical event. Is it going to add to the plot, explain something pertinent to the plot or is it just a random fact. While worldbuilding is important, I think authors sometimes focus so much of their time to it, they don't write their draft. Also think about how relevant a historical event would be to the current timeline. Would an event that happened 1,000 yrs ago truly effect your characters, if so have a reason to back it up.

2. Layers

Our history is layered so yours should be too. Events effect and build on top of each other. Craft the history in a way that makes events feel inevitable. Think of it as a domino effect. Some events can seem irrelevant to each other but have threads that connect them. Of course, sudden things spring out of nowhere sometimes. Diseases and different natural disasters, but try to make every detail layer with each other.

3. Scale

What is the scale of the event? If it is like the World Wars then the scale should be great and vast. If it's a small land dispute between neighbors, the scale and affect shouldn't be as great.

4. What Kind

What event is this? Is it a natural disaster that exposes government injustice, and how does that effect the people, the landscape, do problems get unearthed by this? Is it an outbreak of disease and what are the ramifications of that? How was the response, poor or good? With each event you add think about how it effects the main plot, minor plots, or whatever is going on in your story.

5. Memory

How is this event remembered by those around them. Is it honored, traumatic, and who is affected by this event. How an event is remembered shows a lot about a group of people, person, and a government. Some events are hidden while others are celebrated.

Culture is actually tied very closely to the landscape which can bring about different challenges for different people. Thinking about how the place the people tend to live in can help add more details to your worldbuilding. It’s helped me with my own.

Tips:

1. Geography

I think holidays are often underutilized in writing. I especially think that holidays can brighten the world. Here are some types I've thought of.

Different Ideas for Holidays

Region Specific Holidays

They only happen in a certain region and are tied to the region of that place. Perhaps a supernatural event only happens in this region that happens once a year. Hence the holiday celebrating it. This can be a traditional contest that happens or fair that happens in the area. It is just determined on the region that a person is in.

2. Group Specific Holidays

A cultural holiday that is only celebrated by a certain group of people. Perhaps it is tied to their religion, their history, or their cultural traditions. This can be as broad as a whole country, to a small community of people, or a diasporic group.

3. Remembrance Days

Holidays that simply focus on the memory of something. A war's end, a historical figure, a natural disaster, or an anniversary of something poignant that happened. They just focus on the memory of something or someone. How the people celebrate it is determined on whether it is celebratory, honoring, or mourning.

4. Religious Holidays

They have a religious meaning behind them and are meant to focus on the worship of whatever being it is. It can be a god that is no longer worshipped and is long forgotten, or the dominant deity of the culture. How the religion is celebrated can be determined by the deity and what its nature is.

5. Natural Events

Character Introductions can be hard, but some methods that I like and that I try to use come from how I've seen other writers and shows do it.

Introduction Tips

Alternate Perspectives

Using a different character to introduce the character and gives their personality (especially if it is a multiple POV story) more chance to be fleshed out prior to their chapter or scene. Sometimes the character doesn't even need to be seen to be introduced. If they are well known what rumors surround them? If there a hero, how are they remembered and revered? Other people's perceptions can skew what the main character thinks so when they meet them you can vary it.

2. Character Defining Actions

Put them into a scene that makes their actions memorable and well defining to the story. If it is an authority figure, maybe they settle a dispute with no question. Craft the scene to show their personality in the best way possible to the story and their perceived role.

3. Memorable Appearance

Make their appearance unique in the way that it defines who they are as well. Have their clothes tell a story alongside with the character. This goes for their physical appearance as well. Go for the defining features, the striking ones that tell you more about what the character might be like. I always have fun doing the opposite as well. For example, I have a character that is handsome, soft featured, and beautiful when in reality, he's cruel and evil. Using appearance to set up a false perception can help craft the character into a memorable one later on.

4. Dialogue

Depending on how they were raised, people will speak differently so it will say something about them as well. It will show the reader subtly their education level, their class, their origin, and some of their quirks.

5. Character's Intention

Think of the purpose of the character. Are they are supporting character, a villain, love interest, or something else? Think of the intention of the character and what they want from their perspective if they are an important character. This will help the introduction feel purposeful, maybe even inevitable.

I always find that religions in Fantasy worlds always feel extremely fake. I've been struggling with writing them myself. I think what helps is to observe how people in real life practice religion.

Tips:

Vary the Piety

Not Everyone is going to believe the same. Some are going to attend temple, church, or whatever you call it more than others. Some will stay at home. Some won't at all. Some will be so tied to the religion they are clergy members of it. Think about how the religion would show up in small ways too. Do some people wear tokens or symbols to feel closer to their religion. What sayings do they have? How strongly does your character associate themselves with the religion and how strongly does it shape their world view.

2. Scriptures and Teachings

What is taught in the religion. How are people taught to live. Religion is sort of a connection of what philosophy and science can't quite answer. Think about how that religion teaches people how to live, what things are unknown and the religion answers in that world. This also means that people will have different interpretations and will have different understandings. This can help characterize the cast too.

3. Aesthetic

This one is more fun, but I think visually thinking about what the common aesthetic of the religion is makes it feel more lived in. What symbols and what imagery is evoked by the religion. What rituals are practiced.

4. Holidays

Come up with holidays that people have within the religion. There are probably special days and holidays associated with the religion. Vary it by region too if you have multiple countries. They'll have different traditions.

5. Taboos

Taboos are often associated with religion. Think of what would be considered a sin in that religion (I was raised Christian). Why would it be considered that. Think not just because of what religious reason that would be, but what the societally logical reason behind it would be.

Been reading a lot of manga lately. Finished a couple and I began noticing this issue writing wise. So here’s some tips.

Six tips for Plotting Fights

1. Build Anticipation

A good way to build anticipation is by introducing the opponent either through talk or simply having them talk prior to fighting. This doesn’t have to be them directly talking and character A saying: “let’s fight.” Give the opponent a proper introduction or at least some sort of entrance into the story. Think about what the stakes of this fight are? What is the point of it to? The fight won’t be memorable if there is no stakes or a point to it. Think about what could be preventing them from fighting or what is going to allow them to start fighting.

2. Challenge Your Protagonist

Actually challenge your protagonist. I personally find it very irritating to have a protagonist that I never worry about or there are zero stakes to it. Maybe character a is fighting in character b’s stead and if they lose character b will lose something important. Make the challenges be terrain, their own morals, injuries, or weather.

3. Create Limitations

Creating restrictions and limitations to what the characters can do can be very interesting. Think of what landscape they are fighting in. If it’s a city, think of what limitations that would have. What physical limitations does the character have? If they’re a long range fighter are they disadvantaged up close. Handicapping your protagonist will make them have to think far more strategically than others. Through that

4. Not Everyone Can be the Strongest

I’m a person who enjoys a very powerful villain, but I read a lot of stories where everyone seemed to be the most powerful awesome person. Don’t be afraid to make your hero lose. They need to lose to make the battle where they win mean more to the reader. Even if they do win a fight, make it a struggle and also think about why they need to win. If they always win it can get boring.

5. Space Fights Out

For the love of god, I read too many mangas and books where it felt like it was fight right after fight right after another fight. It just became too much. Fights need to be spaced out not only for narrative reasons but spacing out fights can make you think about which ones are really important. It can help make them more poignant. Also will make the fights more memorable.

6. What is the point?

Think about what the point of the fight is in the story. Is it to establish the villain? Is it to show how much the hero has grown. Think about the Why for the fight both plot wise but also narratively? Each scene functions to tell your story, but it should serve a purpose.

*My Opinion*

I feel like I’m going insane but Booktok has pushed me. I’m so sick of some of the names characters are given.

Please I beg authors to research cultures and to at least world-build extensively to make the names make sense. I’m always thrown off when I’m reading a story where it has Celtic vibes and then their are so many random Greek names in the story.

I genuinely love this trope only because I do like romance and I feel like it does create some kind of tension, but sometimes I think it should have some variation.

Ways to Vary this Trope:

1. Too Many People for One Bed

The number of characters deeply outweighs the size of the bed. Not only do I find this funny but it makes me think of what characters would sleep on the floor or what characters would end up kicking other people onto the floor.

2. The couple and the third wheel

It sounds exactly as it is. The couple has a third wheel whom they share the bed with. It’s awkward and the third person won’t go to another room because there is no other room.

3. The bed sucks

The bed just sucks. It’s uncomfortable for a number of reasons and the people who have to share the room would rather sleep on the floor.

Understanding the Trope

Now with this trope I think in dissecting it, we can see that authors use this trope as a way to force characters who have something unspoken between their relationship to somewhat address it. It’s also used to help characterize them individually. Who takes the floor? If there is a couch who takes that? Do they both take the bed? What do the characters do in this situation? I think additionally it shows how the characters treat each other in a microcosm. It gives the reader more to ship with or it gives them comedic relief.

I fear when sometimes I write or I’m reading. Everyone can sound the same. I tend to get stressed over this so here are some tips that helped me. I’m focusing on the dialogue itself, so I also attached some articles that include more than what I mention below.

Dialogue Tips

1. Remember their personality 🎭

Are they straightforward when they speak or very nonchalant, aloof, flirty. The way they speak should be determined by their personality.

I think Villains can be as crazy as they want but people usually don’t write them well. Often times I have to ignore how palpably terrible the villain is written to continue reading. Especially when the villain is meant to be a pure evil villain.

I find that authors believe that making their villain do heinous acts is enough to make them scary, but they forget to make them interesting. Iconic villains are remembered because they are interesting not because of what great horror they caused. So here’s tips from someone who writes and reads on how to make villains interesting and memorable.

Tips

When I’m writing, I have words that I use so much but I have to go through and remove. My own advice for this is here ⬇️

1. Recognizing them:

If you see a phrase or word you use firstly in your first draft go ahead and write them. Your goal is to finish writing your draft but after read through your work and look for where you repeat words or phrases far too closely to each other. When I can’t think of what to write to move on I use the phrase “she breathed…” or “he breathed out or in…” you get the gist. I recognized that and now I can move forward.

2. Are they necessary?

Search them up and genuinely think it they’re necessary to the paragraph or story. Each sentence and word should be telling something new. If it isn’t necessary then remove it and if it is, then think of how you can rephrase it.

3. The words: look, feel, thought, and saw

Make sure the phrase if they point to a sensory description you don’t break the immersion unless you find it necessary. See the difference here:

1. She saw birds flutter past her.

2. Birds fluttered past her.

Not only does the second sentence work better for description, it doesn’t break you out of the immersion because it’s just describing the action better. It’s not telling it’s showing. If you have crutch words like this try telling the sentence without the word involved.

4. Find a Reader

Finding someone who will be completely honest with you can be difficult but they’ll help you find what words you use too much and they’ll help you identify other problems so find someone to be your editing crutch as well.

P. S.

When I read, I personally favor relationships that have pre-existing history to them and background. I love the drama so here are some times on writing established relationships (platonic, enemies, rivals, and romantic):

6 Tips on Writing Pre-Existing Relationships:

1. Background

You should know how these characters met and how they interacted. Based on how they interacted and how their relationship has developed you need to know that. Not necessarily the reader but you should know as the writer.