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World building in writing is always tough from the get-go, and that’s okay! Usually after writing for so long, we tend to lose sight of answers that are hidden in plain sight. Here are some questions to wring some writing inspiration out of that noggin of yours!

1. Sentimentality

Places can be chock full of feelings or even cause you to notice a lack of feelings within you. Ask yourself:

What are some places you know of that stir up feelings within you?

Are these feelings good or bad?

What feelings do you want your story’s main location(s) to evoke in the reader?

What are some common things most people like or hate about certain locations?

For example, most people tend to try to avoid dark and isolated places at night.

Writing Challenge!: Try making a combination of 2-3 of your favorite parts of your favorite locations.

2. Good and Bad

There are parts of every city that are naturally labeled as the “good” or “bad” side of town. Ask yourself:

What sides of your society’s location are considered “good” and why? Which sides are bad?

What parts of these good or bad sides of your society’s location(s) make them good or bad?

i.e. how much crime takes place in the bad areas? Are the good areas made up of upper middle class citizens/housing/security?

3. Historical/Cultural Events

Every society has overarching cultures and subcultures within them due to historical and cultural events that happened. For the U.S., some of the biggest events that affected us were 9/11 and World Wars I and II.

What tragic events affected your society?

What changes were brought about after the events occurred?

What good events affected your society?

What kinds of cultures do you have in your society?

Is it diverse? Or is there only one culture that can be found?

How big is your society?

4. Citizens and the Government

Lastly, you must think about the kinds of citizens your society has and what government has been put into place. Ask yourself:

What kind of government do you have in place, if there is any?

i.e. monarchy, aristocracy, democracy, etc.

How is your citizen’s relationship with their government like?

Do they like their government? Do they hate it?

Are there rebellions? Protests?

Writing has its ups and downs. One minute you’re plopping yourself in a chair, loudly proclaiming, “Today I will write *insert number of words* for my story! ಠ▃ಠ” And the next thing you know, you have ten tabs open (with none of them relating to what you’re writing about) while falling into the wormhole that is the Internet. ಥ⌣ಥ

Writers use the internet to create their masterpieces nowadays, so here’s a couple tips on how to write without falling into the rabbit hole! °˖✧◝(⁰▿⁰)◜✧˖°

1. Download a website blocking app

There are apps you can download (safely) that allow you to block certain websites. So, I for example, would block websites that I frequently go to like Etsy, Amazon, and Pinterest. Here are some free apps I looked into that had more pros than cons:

Cold Turkey 

SelfControl

Freedom (Freedom has a free trial, but I’ve heard a lot of good things about it and you’d only have to pay $2.50 per month!)

Some programs allow you to set a timer for how long you’d like those websites to be blocked! o(^▽^)o (But be careful with the sites you block, cause some apps don’t allow you to access them until the time runs out!) Others (like DarkRoom) only allow you to write text with a black or faded background.

2. DND

If you find that your phone is more of a distraction to you rather than your laptop, mute your notifications and turn your phone on silent. (Note: Alert people closest to you that you’ll be unavailable during this time.) It’s gonna take a bit of time to adjust, but once you get into the groove, you’ll accomplish more than you think!

3. Location, Location, Location!

Location can also make the difference when writing! Some people focus better in places like coffee shops, while others need quiet spaces like libraries. Neither one is better than the other, but whatever makes you feel comfortable and gets you in the zone is perfect!

Ever had an amazing idea hit you out of nowhere, only to have it leave just as fast? To break the cycle, follow one of these simple steps!

1. Keep a notebook or notepad near you at ALL times.

If you’re like me, you probably have ideas hit you right when you’re about to do something important like eat or sleep. If you carry a small notepad with you, you can easily scribble down whatever is on your mind :D

This will allow you to focus on other important tasks without having that idea nagging you at the back of your head.

2. Make a Google Doc

This has the same premise as the notes, but this is more for people who prefer to type things down, since writing things is kinda slow and takes up more time ^~^

3. Save Pictures

If you’re more into visuals, save multiple pictures of the general concept of your idea to spur your memory. 

Note: Since this is only recommended towards remembering a general concept, this is a less reliable way of remembering ideas. If you use this for remembering extremely detailed ideas, it’s not guaranteed that you’ll remember the whole idea. I recommend that you at least include a key word as a caption on the actual photo.

4. Utilize voice memos!

Sometimes, it’s hard to word things properly in writing, so download a voice memo app (if you don’t have one already) and say what’s on your mind! You can always go back to the recording and transfer it in writing or in a drawing later.

Making characters well rounded is probably the hardest things a writer needs to do ಡ_ಡ . You can have the best plot in the world, but if your characters and their dynamics don’t immerse you in the story, you’ll lose your readers in the first half of your book. (However, keep in mind that not all your characters have to be liked. Readers love to have a complex, humanized villain/antagonist to root for/against.)

So, what traits make your readers care about your characters? How will your characters’ choices in the story keep your readers hooked? But most importantly, how will your readers grow with the characters from the world you’ve created? 

Relatability

A character’s relatability is everything. When someone finds qualities/actions that they or someone they love have/do in a character, they’ll relate to and care about the character more. Keep in mind, this can extend to villains or antagonists. Ask yourself:

Who are your favorite characters? (from books, tv shows, or movies)

What are some relatable things your favorite characters do that you love? 

How can you sprinkle these qualities throughout your story in a gradual way?

      2. Humanity

Humanity in this context means the quality or state of being human. Too many times people try making the protagonist appear like the embodiment of good and the antagonist appear like the embodiment of evil. The truth is, doing that would make things seem black and white when real life is more like a variety of greys.

Your hero doesn’t need to be a total saint and your villain doesn’t need to embody the soul of Satan to drive a point home.

Make your hero act like a jerk sometimes and make your villain have a smidgen of kindness for something they hold near and dear to them. It’ll give your reader something to love and hate in the both of them and make them a little more scarier. 

      3. Backstories

The whole point of a backstory is to give the reader more context as to why and how the character acts the way they do. It can also help in showing how your character has changed from the beginning versus the end of the story.

When giving more insight into your character’s backstory, be sure to pace yourself. Give your reader bits and pieces along the way. 

They should feel natural and not a big info dump that’ll overwhelm your reader. Keep it short and simple.

No matter whose backstory it is, make sure that it affects your character’s present, for better or for worse.

      4. Choices (And their consequences)

We all have original characters that we have a soft spot for, but regardless of that, things shouldn’t always work out for them. 

If they make a bad choice, let the consequences of their choice hit them later on in the story.

Show us how they deal with the consequences of their actions. Do they show responsibility? Or do they avoid dealing with them altogether?

Do they change any aspect of themselves or grow from having dealt with (or avoiding) their mistakes?

      5. Overcoming Hardships

Bradford Merill once said, “Hardships, poverty, and want are the best incentives, and the best foundation for the success of man.” Apply this to your characters.

Give your characters believable goals, dreams, and aspirations. 

What is keeping your character from achieving those dreams or goals? Who is helping or supporting your character?

Would your character (good or bad) sacrifice anything or anyone to get to where they want to be?

Writing in any perspective is hard. I mean, sure, we’ve all learned how to write in 1st, 2nd and 3rd person in school. But as with many subjects, we all have our niches. So today, I’m going to teach you how to write in your weakest area!

1. First, think about which perspective you write in best. Which perspective do you write the worst in?

2. Next, write a sentence in the perspective you write best.

Personally, I’m bad at 3rd person but I’m great in writing in 1st person. Here’s my sentence example in 1st person:

“I don’t know.” I said, still feeling a little confused.

3. Now, rewrite your sentence in the perspective you write best in!

“I don’t know,” Adrian said, still scratching his head.

Notice how I changed the last bit of the sentence to suit the 3rd person perspective. It’s okay to directly state how your main character is feeling when using first person, but in 3rd person, it’s better to show rather than tell.

Remember, there’s different ways of achieving a good storytelling flow when using different perspectives. That means you might have to rearrange certain words or even change the entire sentence structure! Just be sure to adapt your first sentence to fit the perspective that you want, otherwise this strategy won’t work for you. 

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Having a story idea where you could picture its beginning, middle, end, and characters as clear as day is a rare blessing sent by the gods™ to writers of all kinds.

But it sucks when you can’t figure out what qualities you want your character to have, or even what roles you want them to play in your story! >:(

Here are some ways to get you through this trying ordeal:

Search up character prompts or character banks on Pinterest!

The prompts vary from people to fictional species. The most helpful part about these prompts is that they only include a few specific, but very interesting characteristics for the species/characters. This gives you a foundation to work around to add more qualities to your character!

Here’s some examples down below!

I know I recommend Pinterest for a lot of stuff, but I guarantee you, Pinterest is a writer’s best friend when it comes to inspo. 

Another thing you can do is think of your story like a giant puzzle. It needs to be easy enough to be pieced together by your reader, but hard enough to keep some crucial details out of their mind’s grasp until later on in the story. 

Every character you make, regardless of whether their role is big or small, is a crucial piece to solving the puzzle. Ask yourself these questions:

What species is my character? (This includes physical traits and mental traits)

What is their moral high ground? (SUPER IMPORTANT, affects their choices)

What would having a character play a certain role allow them to reveal in your story?

Would your character be better off having Role A or Role B?

Does this character make the plot go forward or would it be better off to save them for another WIP?

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As a writer, world building is hard enough as it is on your own.

Sometimes you need some help to get the ball rolling, which is exactly what World Anvil.com does! Here are some perks World Anvil can provide you :)

You can make a free account!

Your work is backed up on multiple servers and you can export your world if you want to.

You can monetize your world building to support yourself between book releases and your patrons can have access to exclusive content

If you’d like, you can even let fans contribute ideas to your world by letting them be editors

But most importantly, it makes you think about the specifics of your characters and aspects of the world you’re creating! For example, 

When you make a new character, it asks what were the circumstances of their birth/death, what species they are, and what are the kinds of relationships they have with other characters! 

The website even allows you to keep track of maps, alternate timelines, and major historical events that have happened! (Which is pretty nifty~)

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Creativity can be crazy and inconsistent.

There’ll be days where creativity is spewing like a fountain and others where it’s dry as a desert. And while there’s no cure for that, the best way to go about it is to roll with it as best as you can.

Here are some ways to oil the creativity gears in your brain!

Make a Pinterest Mood Board for your story/characters! Pinterest has tons of writing/dialogue prompts that usually helps get the inspiration and motivation going.

If that doesn’t work, step back from your work for a while. Give yourself 2 weeks off without doing any writing.

If you get any ideas at all, just type them down in your notes or write them down and then forget about it. If you find that you’re still not able to write after 2 weeks, take another week off.

If you find that none of this is working, then you have a cog somewhere in one of your chapters. (This can vary from a clunky sentence structure to a problem with your plot- i.e. continuity errors.)

 I usually find that sentence in the middle of a scene that’s dragging on for too long. But once that cog is out of the picture, your creativity should be restored!

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When we’re young, we’re often told not to start a sentence with the word “And.” Hell, even Mirriam-Webster says to never begin a sentence with the words And, So, But, and Because! 

But to be honest, it’s totally fine to start a sentence with all those words. (See what I did there?) Sometimes certain sentences sound better with those words at the beginning.Take this writing prompt from tomiadeyemi.com as an example.

Her chances were slim, but she couldn’t let that stop her. It was escape or death. And she wasn’t ready to die.

Now take out the “and” from the last sentence, and what do you have? A sentence that doesn’t have as much impact as it could’ve. 

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Ah, the Plantsers. The middle child of the Writing Family.

The best thing to do as a Plantser is to be as well rounded as you can be with how you structure your outline for your story and how many plot twists you improvise/work into it.

For your outline, you don’t have to be super specific or use a template. Use whatever format feels best and natural for you. (Just be sure to put enough details for you to get the gist of what you want for your story and its characters!)

As for the plot twists, be sure to not have too many. It’s okay for some parts of your story to be predictable. After all, if every part of your story had a plot twist, it’d be far too unpredictable and crazy for your readers to keep up with.

@just_my_typ3 on Instagram

Pantsers are hands down the best at improvising.

Having a hard time giving your character a reason to continue their journey?

Easy! Kill off someone close to em.

Does your character not have a reason for going to a weirdly specific place you want them to go to?

Not a problem! Just give that baby a friend who frequents that weirdly specific place and BADA BING BADABOOM! You just wrote yourself out of a writing rut!

The problem with this is, since there is very little to no structure/outline, your story could end up have lots of plot holes, which leads to tons of editing.

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Plotters are the best at envisioning their stories.

Being a plotter often means you have a mix of both your major and minor events planned out to a T. At a surface glance, this could be taken as a blessing by peeps in the writing community.

However, because the Plotter has such a vivid picture painted in their mind, if their vision of their story has changed or if they’re stuck on something in their writing, they feel the need to redo the entire outline. (This could happen countless times.)

The best thing for a Plotter is to go with the flow! Sometimes your story needs to take that different/unplanned twist or turn to be more cohesive while also being suspenseful enough to hook your readers in.

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For those who don’t know, plotters are people who, when writing, plan out their book before they write it. They’re detail oriented and prefer already knowing what they’re going to write about and how they’re going to go about it.

Pantsers are people who fly by the seat of their pants, so to speak. This means they do little to no planning and prefer to jump right into it when it comes to writing. 

A plantser would be (you guessed it!) a mix of the plotter and the pantser.

Most people tend to be a mix of both but will lean toward one side of the spectrum more than the other.