fox 🦊

i already included water names in my last one, so i’ll try not to have any repeats ;)

relating to fire

aarti - hindi, marathi

azar - persian

fajra - esperanto

hurik - armenian

keahi - hawaiian

nina - indigenous american, quechua, aymara

ugné - lithuanian

fiammetta - italian

flaka - albanian

shula - arabic

Şule - turkish

ash, ashley - english

azar - persian

cande, candela, candelaria, candelas - spanish

chanda - hindi

dian - indonesian

eleni - greek

eliina - finnish

ember - english

gabija - lithuanian, baltic mythology

helen (and all versions of it) - english, swedish, norwegian, danish, estonian, green mythology

hestia - greek mythology

hurik - armenian

ignacia - spanish

iskra - bulgarian, macedonian, croatian, serbian

jela - serbian, croatian, slovak

pele - polynesian mythology

seraphina - english, german

vesta - roman mythology

relating to air

aella - greek mythology

alizée - french

amihan - filipino, tagalog

anemone - english

anila - hindi

aria - english

aura - english, italian, spanish, finnish

azzurra - italian

era - albanian

esen - turkish

eter - georgian

haizea - basque

haneul - korean

ilma - finnish

keanu - hawaiian

nephele - greek mythology

nephthys - greek mythology

ninlil - sumerian mythology

samira - hindi, marathi, telugu

sora - japanese

tuuli, tuula - finnish, estonian

zephyrine - french

relating to water

aeron - welsh

alcyone - greek mythology

alda - icelandic

asherah - semitic mythology

aysel - turkish

belinay - turkish

bo - chinese

brook - english

cansu - turkish

darya - persian

dima - arabic

eira - welsh

ema - japanese

euri - basque

iseul - korean

itzel - indigenous american, mayan

izumi - japanese

jiang - chinese

juturna - roman mythology

kai, kailani, kaimana - hawaiian

kasumi - japanese

laine - estonian

leilo - estonian

mair - welsh

maraja - esperanto

meera - hindi, marathi, malayalam, tamil, kannada

nausicaa - greek mythology

noelani - hawaiian

padma, padmavati, padmini - hinduism, hindi, tamil, kannada, telugu

rasa - lithuanian, latvian

salacia - roman mythology

sevan - armenian

tasi - chamorro

tethys - greek mythology

uiara - indigenous american, tupi

vesa - albanian

zhaleh - persian

relating to earth

almas - arabic

avani - marathi, gujarati

beril - turkish

bhumi - hinduism

demeter - greek mythology

ereshkigal - sumerian mythology

eun-ji - korean

gaia - greek mythology, italian

harlow - english

ila - hindi

itziar - basque, spanish

jade - english, french

keone - hawaiian

ki - sumerian mythology

kun - chinese

lan - chinese, vietnamese

montse, montserrat - catalan

simple story structure!! (eight questions you should know the answer to)

a simple, basic story structure to plan your novel plot. don’t look at how short it is and dismiss it for something lengthier! you will have a hard time planning your story out in depth if you don’t have a good idea of what its basic elements are.

ONE: who is your hero, and what predicament are they in at the start of your story? aka act 1 set up

TWO: what happens to make them need to take action? aka inciting incident

THREE: what changes things as your character starts to take action? aka what drives the story to act 2

FOUR: how are things different for your character now? aka act 2

FIVE: what happens to swing the story in a new direction? aka act 2 midpoint

SIX: how are things getting worse for your character now? during the second half of act 2, the conflict should escalate and stakes should raise

SEVEN: what happens to force your character to make a final push to win? aka the act 3 plot point, setting up for resolution

EIGHT: what happens at the end of the story? where the final conflict happens and the story is resolved

take off your pants!! (“take off your pants!: outline your books for faster, better writing” by libbie hawker)

this outline starts with a character — specifically their biggest flaw — and leads to five points that will make up the core of your story. it’s best for plots and subplots that focus on overcoming the flaw!

this outline doesn’t just have to be used for coming of age novels. it is just as important in your dystopian, fantasy, or thriller novels that the main character learns something or has changed by the end.

STEP ONE: think about your character

your main character — what is their name, and what are their important features?

what are your character’s flaws? what about their FATAL flaw? ex: hubris, overconfidence, stubbornness, etc.

STEP TWO: think about the end of the story

the story (whether the main plot, a subplot, or a facet of the main plot) is the journey lead to overcome the flaw. now that you know the character’s flaw, you know what lesson they need to learn.

the end of the story = the flaw mastered, the lesson learned.

STEP THREE: think about the external goal

the external goal is the plot, the outer motivation to push the character to the end of the story where the goal is mastered. if you remember my post on quests, you know that a quest has two reasons to be there: the external factor (shrek saving fiona for his swamp), and the real reason (the lesson learned)

the external goal should provide a chance for the character to recognize their flaw and begin to change. how does your plot tie into their character development?

STEP FOUR: think about the antagonist

thinking about the external goal should reveal who the antagonist is. the antagonist should want to achieve the same goal or a goal that impedes with the protagonist’s goal. the antagonist should be the biggest obstacle to the character.

STEP FIVE: think about the ally/allies

the character(s) that is capable of forcing the protagonist down the correct path. where your protagonist most likely will resist changing and confronting their flaw, the ally will help force them to do so anyway.

STEP SIX: think about the theme

so what’s the point of your book? if you are struggling to boil it down to one sentence, you might want to think about it a little longer. this is what keeps the story feeling coherent. what are you trying to tell us?

STEP SEVEN: think about the plot

each main plot element should somehow relate to the core of the book, aka the character’s development in overcoming their flaw

OPENING SCENE - set the stage. address the flaw or the theme

INCITING EVENT - what forces the character out of their everyday life and into the story?

REALIZING EXTERNAL GOAL - what makes the character begin seeking their goal?

DISPLAY OF FLAW - if the character’s flaw hasn’t been made blatantly clear, now is the time. make it known to the reader.

DRIVE FOR GOAL - what is your character’s first attempt to reach their goal?

ANTAGONIST REVEAL - how do you first show your antagonist’s opposition to your character?

FIRST THWART - what happens to your character that keeps them from reaching their goal?

REVISIT FLAW - show the character’s flaw again, even if they themselves aren’t aware of it yet.

ANTAGONIST ATTACKS - what does the antagonist do that makes things worse?

SECOND THWART - where your character fails most likely due to the attack

CHANGED GOAL - the character finds a new goal or focuses on the external goal in a different way

ALLY ATTACKS - what does the ally do to force the character to see the flaw?

AWAKENING - the character knows what they must do to reach the external goal. how will you show that the character has also awakened to their flaw? how will you show them changing?

BATTLE - the final showdown with the antagonist!

DEATH - the character’s flaw dies here. how will you show that the character truly is different now?

OUTCOME - show whether the character won or lost the external goal, reveal the theme of the story.

bc why not. ** = my favorites

also! not all of these will directly translate to the words (moon, sun, etc) but may be instead correlated with them.

names relating to the moon

aiday - kazakh

alcmene - greek mythology

belinay** - turkish

bulan - indonesian

chandra - hindi, marathi, telugu, tamil, kannada, nepali, bengali

feray - turkish

hala** - arabic

jacira** - indigenous american, tupi

lusine - armenian

mahin - polynesian

menodora - ancient greek

natsuki - japanese

purnima - hindi, marathi, bengali, tamil, kannada

sanda - burmese

sasithorn - thai

selene - greek mythology

tsukiko - japanese

names relating to the sun

arevik - armenian

eloise - english

haru, haruko - japanese

khurshid - persian, urdu, persian mythology

marisol - spanish

mehr, mehrnaz** - persian, persian mythology

mzia - georgian

nou - hmong

savitri** - hinduism, hindi, marathi

siqiniq - indigenous american, inuit

sóley** - icelandic

sunčica - croatian, serbian

sunniva - norwegian

tonalli - indigenous american, nahuatl

yang - chinese

yōko - japanese

names relating to water

anat - semitic mythology

arethusa** - greek mythology

aysu** - turkish

iara** - indigenous american, tupi

karen - japanese (im shocked)

lian - chinese

liên - vietnamese

maya, maayan - hebrew

neith - egyptian mythology

nerida** - indigenous australian (i love how it sounds like nereid)

rayyan - arabic

shui - chinese

talia - english (australian)

vaitiare - tahitian

names relating to flowers

abeba - eastern african, amharic

anfisa** - russian

anh - vietnamese

anthea - greek mythology

ayaka** - japanese

azahar - spanish

blodwen - welsh

calanthe - english

cvetka - slovene

diantha - dutch, english

endzela - georgian

euanthe - greek mythology, ancient greek

eun-yeong - korean

fiore - italian

flora - english, italian, spanish, portuguese, german, dutch, french, roman mythology

golnar - persian

guiying - chinese

gulmira** - kyrgyz, kazakh

hanae - japanese

hua - chinese

ianthe - greek mythology

kalei - hawaiian

kasumi - japanese

lei, leilani, leimomi - hawaiian

malai** - thai

millaray** - indigenous american, mapuche

nitzan - hebrew

palesa - southern african, sotho

pushpa - hindi, marathi, kannada, tamil, telugu, nepali

zahrah - arabic

names relating to night, stars

anisha - hindi

asra** - arabic

aster, astra - english

astraea - greek mythology

citlali - indigenous american, nahuatl

csilla** - hungarian

danica - serbian, croatia, slovene, slovak, macedonian, english

estrella - spanish

hōkūlani - hawaiian

hoshi, hoshiko - japanese

izar** - basque

maristela** - portuguese

miyako - japanese

nisha** - hindi, marathi, kannada, malayalam, tamil, telugu, gujarati, bengali, nepali

nyx - greek mythology

seren - welsh

sitara - urdu

tara - hindi, nepali

pomare - tahitian

names relating to trees

alani - english

bai - chinese

elowen - croatian

hadas - hebrew

iva** - bulgarian, serbian, croatian, macedonian

jela - serbian, croatian, slovak

kalina - bulgarian, macedonian, polish

kiri** - maori

liepa - lithuanian

lina - arabic

melia - greek mythology

pomona - roman mythology

sawda - arabic

i’m not gonna spend forever on dialogue tags because i feel like we all likely have a general understanding on them, but

a dialogue tag is a group of words that precede, succeeds, or interrupt dialogue to indicate who is speaking. it’s important to correlate them with what is being said (“‘i love you,’ she snarled” doesn’t make as much sense as “‘i love you,’ she sighed,” does it? unless you’re taking enemies to lovers to the extreme ofc)

they should be used sparingly!! why? because they’re interruptions. they remind the reader that this story is narrated and therefore just that — a story. it becomes less immersive and real every time the reader is reminded of this.

when they’re used, try to be specific (so don’t just use “said” over and over again), but don’t rely on dialogue tags to express all the emotion. if they’re the only source of emotion, writing can feel chunky and very tell rather than show. no dialogue tag > expressive dialogue tag sometimes. also, “said” isn’t that bad! if the rest of your writing, from the narration to the dialogue itself, is expressing emotions properly, then the tag can be simple as “said.”

fox, what’s an action beat?

if most of what you’ve learned about writing is from school, chances are, you haven’t heard of this before. it’s okay, though, because i would be VERY surprised if you’ve never used them before either.

action beats serve many purposes, but their fundamental purpose is to break up dialogue. they’re short sentences that precede, succeeded, or interrupt dialogue just like dialogue tags. however, without being redundant and obvious (ex: “he said” “she said” “he cried” “she cried”), they actually can add information and depth while at the same time reminding/informing the reader who is speaking.

action beats tell of a character’s emotions, actions, thoughts, intentions while speaking. they also make sure the reader won’t get bored, because there is nothing worse than just pages after pages of straight dialogue.

so one function is to break voice. and interruption in the midst of a lot of speech, whether it is one-sided or multi-sided. it adds rhythm so that the writing isn’t just a bunch of dialogue and some dialogue tags.

“Did you find the book?” Frida asks hopefully.

“No,” he mutters. After a moment of thick silence, he goes on. “It wasn’t there. I found all his other books, even the ones he never finished writing, but...”

“Oh. Well, I’m sure it’ll be at the next library.”

“You said that last time.”

“And I’ll say it next time.”

“So you don’t think we’ll find it next time either?”

She looks away and closes her eyes, knowing that Kevin’s frustrated and trying to get the same reaction out of her. One of them had to hold hope. “We’ll find it. Now sit down. Janet brought lunch while you were gone.”

another function is to convey emotion and indicate mood without using extraneous adverbs and dialogue tags that ultimately don’t add anything or progress the story.

“Can you stop?! Can you stop it with all the hopeful monologues and stupid, stupid empowering little speeches?!” Kevin throws his fork down on the table with a loud profanity. “Just... let me be upset for a moment!”

action beats can also solve what we like to call white room syndrome or talking heads syndrome. it places the conversation into a setting so that we can imagine what’s around them rather than two floating heads in a blank room.

Frida looks out the window of her room. “I hope you’re here to apologize.” She watches his reflection in the dark glass. He’s standing by her door, looking as pitiful as her meager attempt to decorate the walls.

action beats often say what the character won’t. they indicate when the character is lying by showing rather than telling.

“I promise I won’t.” Kevin crosses his fingers behind his back, giving her a sincere smile. “I won’t go looking for the book again until we figure out what to do about Mark.”

and, lastly, the most obvious function, dialogue beats tell us who is talking without using tags!

“You lied to me!”

“What did you expect?”

“I expected you to keep your promises!” Frida wipes away her tears with a furious scowl. “I expected you not to betray me. All of us!”

understanding where your villain(s) fall into these basic categories is one of the first steps towards developing them into a multi-dimensional character that you truly understand.

the evil villain!!

the stereotypical villain, the one that usually comes right to mind

they are cruel, selfish, and don’t care who they hurt to reach their goals. if you really, really want your reader to hate your villain, this is probably the route to go

they are usually hypocritical, and the best (or worst) part is, they are always the hero of their own stories. they will find a way to justify all their actions, and in their opinions, they aren’t doing anything wrong. very end justifies the means, except their “end” isn’t usually very cool either lol

they lack compassion and take full pleasure in their sadistic nature. they may have god complexes and believe they are always right, and because they’re both cruel and hypocritical, they are especially hated by readers.

the insane villain!!

to preface this, not everyone that has mental disorders is evil. this is a harmful stereotype that should be avoided at all costs.

the insane villain is a villain not because they are “psychotic” or “out of their mind,” but because something about them takes away their ability to recognize the difference between right and wrong. they, unlike evil villains, do not believe their actions are justified, nor do they think their actions are cruel.

very hard to sway emotionally because despite not (usually) having sensible reasons for their actions, they are steadfast. because they cannot be swayed, they make for fierce opponents

the reader most likely won’t hate this villain if they understand it’s almost uncontrollable. they might pity them for not being able to understand otherwise.

the envious villain!!

this villain may be hated passionately by those attached to the hero/victim, but they also hold room to be pitied and understood, because we have ALL been this villain before to varying degrees

they are driven by jealousy, ego, and insecurity, vices that plague everyday people. they treat others badly out of spite, and to them, the situation is personal. to them, the other is the villain just like with most other instances.

many times, this villain seems to have it all, but the reader finds out through time that the front they put forth is a disguise for their true struggles. think of the popular girl that bullied the protagonist and is fighting for prom queen. we all hate her, until at the end we learn why she is so cruel.

this villain is seen as the most human, but they shouldn’t be underestimated. it’s our most human faults that drive us to do the worst things.

the ethical villain!!

the ethical villain, just like the evil villain, believes that the end justifies the means, except this time, their version of the end is genuinely good.

the ethical villain isn’t a bad guy. they are someone that wants so desperately to do something good that now, they’ll go to any measures to achieve it. blinded by self-righteousness and their own moral code, they don’t realize that the destruction they cause may not be worth their end goal.

for the most part, this villain’s values line up with society’s — until they don’t. it’s when or where they don’t match that the villain becomes the villain. ethical villains are morally grey characters. they invoke great response from readers who become frustrated by being unable to formulate rigid opinions on them, and they add a lot of depth to your character(s).

to give your characters / base your characters off of. lmk if any of the information is incorrect :)

ALEJANDRA CARDONA (colombian) ^^

ARLENIS SOSA (afro-dominicana)^^^

HIANDRA MARTINEZ (dominican)

ALEXIS JAE (puerto rican)

HERIZEN GUARDIOLA (cuban-jamaican)

ITZAN ESCAMILLA (spanish)

ANGEL BISMARK CURIEL (afro-latino)

ERIN MOMMSEN (dominican)

NOAH LUIS BROWN (1/2 cuban, 1/2 swiss)

(“what? every trip? so when i go down to the supermarket to pick up some eggs, that’s a quest too?”)

say we have a kid named fox (that’s me) that has to get the mail from the front lawn. easy enough, right? but fox faces some serious trials and tribulations along the way. first, they trip over the uneven front step and nearly bash their head in on a rock. and then they walk through a spiderweb, which is never really fun. and then right as they’re about to get to the mail, there’s a snake in their way! oh, no! whatever might happen now? the worst part is, snakes are fox’s worst fear. but it’s okay — fox prevails by throwing that very rock that they nearly split their skull on to distract the snake. they quickly grab their mail and make a run for it safely back into the house.

that was a quest.

when we think of quests, we think of something like shrek. an ogre who saves the pretty princess from the (not-so) evil dragon in order to save his swamp.

but there are only five things you need to have a quest. 1) the quester (shrek/fox), 2) the place to go (the castle/the front lawn), 3) reason to be there (save the princess/get the mail), 4) trials and tribulations (dragon/snake), and 5) the real reason.

the real reason is why we bother reading books, watching movies, and consuming stories. the real reason is the moral of the story, the theme — like love, or learning how to overcome a fear.

every single trip is a quest, but it isn’t the dangerous dragon (or very sharp rock), the damsel in distress (or mail, soggy from the rain), or the prize that matters so much as what the protagonist learns by the end of their “quest.”