#fsasks

While neopronouns overall are nothing new - considering the development of language overall and the evidence of people using/proposing pronouns that appear very similar to the neopronouns used today - I found very little evidence pointing to people using pronouns such as fae/faer etc.

Pronouns I've found historical evidence for that are similar to the ones in your question are:

Thon/Thons:

Date of Origin - 1858

'Thon' is a pronoun created in the absence of a gender-neutral third-person singular. It is predominantly thought to be a blending of 'that one', and was coined by the composer Charles Converse in 1858 (who, fun fact, composed church songs). The pronoun was recognised, being added to the dictionary between the years of 1934-1961, however it was removed due to lack of use.

Sources: Merriam Webster

e/es, ey/eir, em/ems, etc:

Date of Origin - 1890/1991

These all fall under Spivark-pronouns, which are a proposed set of gender-neutral pronouns coined by mathematician Micheal Spivark. The first recorded use of these pronouns was by James Rogers in 1890, in response to the pre-mentioned proposition of 'thon'. These are intended to be derived from the common pronouns 'he' and 'them'.

Sources: Infogalactic Page

In terms of noun-self pronouns (pronouns which include a noun, such as 'bee' or 'cloud' in your question), these are very new concepts to the English language. I could not find a recorded or referenced usage of them pre-2010s. It appears that the majority of the usage of noun-self pronouns appears on websites such as tumblr, which is cited as the origin of this form of pronoun.

Bonus Sources:

2019 Gender Propositions from Oxford English Dictionary

(Btw, no need for this to be concise or anything. You just seem to really enjoy this subject so I wanted to give you an easy way to ramble. I love seeing people talk about the things they love!)

Where art thou, 'thou'?

All (bad) jokes aside, the linguistic timeline of 'thou'—or, more accurately, thou/thee/thy in the modern form of identifying pronouns—is one of my favorites I've ever looked into. I find it so fascinating. Thanks for the ask!

To best understand this, I think it'll be fun to make a timeline. So, here we go:

Old English

We're just getting started.

When modern speakers hear 'thou', we mainly associate it with religious texts or Shakespeare, which is understandable—the usage of 'thou' dates far back.

'Thou' was a singular pronoun, derived from Proto-Germanic, appearing as 'þu' (thu) in Old English (which, for the record, was over a thousand years ago—long before Shakespeare—and used between the years 450-1150). The fact that it was a singular pronoun is the important bit. Today, we see 'you' as being numerically ambiguous; we could be referring to a singular person, or many people, but in older forms of English the pronoun to refer to a singular person was for 'thou', leaving 'you' as a plural.

Middle English

Here come the French.

Then, as French continued to influence English, turning it to the much more readable Middle English (the language of Chaucer, for context), 'thou' was gradually pushed to the sidelines as the plural 'ye' and 'you' expanded to be used as a singular, too.

French's influence made the English 'you' the equivalent of the French 'vous': it is now formal—what you would use to address someone of high or equal social standing. In turn, 'thou' declined (in a process attributed to semantic derogation) to an informal pronoun used to address someone you were intimate with or, most notably, someone beneath you in the social rankings.

Early Modern English

Here's where things start to get bumpy.

In the mid-1600s, in comes George Fox who, in my words, would be described as a filthy prescriptivist. He was the founder of the Quakers, and a large part of early Quaker rhetoric was to avoid class distinction—something I could certainly get behind. Quaker speech, therefore, consciously avoided 'you', opting to use the more neutral thee/thou for everyone regardless of social standing. This extended to them sometimes getting into trouble for refusing to call judges 'your honour', and so forth. Thee/thou became associated with Quaker speech, and not many people liked the Quakers. However, this isn't the biggest impact on the usage—far from it, in fact.

The biggest reason, I believe, that 'thou' lost its popularity is because of developments in society—most notably travel and the industrial revolution, as well as the growing merchant class in the 17th century, which was when this pronoun really hit a decline. People stopped using 'thou' as often because it became harder to judge the class of whom you were speaking with. Social mobility disrupted the otherwise clear and stagnant order of British society. It would be a terrible insult to call someone above you 'thou' on accident, and so you would default to 'you'.

In fact, in Early and Late Modern English, 'thou' became an insult. Perhaps in one of the more surprising turns from something that was once a simple pronoun, to 'thou' someone (morphed into a verb) would insult them. As more people used the pronoun as a method of insulting others, it was favoured even less.

Rolling back to George Fox, a famous line of his goes as follows: "We were often beset and abused, and sometimes in danger of our lives for using these words to some proud men, who would say, 'What! You ill-bred clown, do you thou me?'"

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Sorry I took forever to get around to this lol

Part 1

Part 2

A Part 3 to the dialogue series... who would've thunk?

How To Write (Strange) Character Dialogue

This will be a mixture of recommendations and creative writing ideas, considering that this is very specific yet so potentially open-ended.

There are two main things I'd advise to consider when writing unconventional dialogue from sources that usually cannot speak/have other speaking conventions:

1 - Logistics

One of the keys to figuring out how to go about constructing dialogue for something inanimate or otherwise incomprehensible is to think about the logistics of how they became able to speak or communicate in the first place—the details of how this came about, and why?

For example, is this object haunted? Was it suddenly given consciousness at some other point, and for what reason? Is there a logical or functional reason as to why a weapon would need to talk, or is that just a side-effect to some magical process that enchants them with another unrelated ability?

Thinking about how this object, alien, robot, or animal came to be able to speak/comprehend whatever language your world works on can help you build the frameworks on how their speech is learnt and constructed.

AI, as an example, may be built without capacity for emotion or tone, and so may have flat questions and a distinct lack of emotive language. AI might not backchannel (the act of affirming someone as they speak through things like "Mhm!", "I see," or "Wow!"). In addition to this, the AI, at least in a learning stage, may be working on some wonky grammar and a very limited vocabulary.

In all cases where the subject is new to speech or the language, consider what words or concepts they would be familiar with and those they would not. You could do something interesting with this; perhaps an AI or object given sentience happens to know about something they logically hadn't been exposed to, leading to a conspiracy of the extent of their knowledge, free-will, and source of their consciousness.

Moreover, as I will likely touch on again, newfound consciousness learning language may be referenced to how children learn language. When children are young, they go through what's called the 'Telegraphic Stage' where they are slowly figuring out the more elaborate grammar rules as well as how to use pronouns, prepositions, and auxiliary verbs. Perhaps this could be taken into account if there is an object, alien, or animal that is new to human language or consciousness.

There is, alternatively, concepts such as pre-programming or telepathy to teach robots or aliens language. Though these may not factor in things like slang, and may still come with downsides depending on the logistics of how that is done and what it's limitations are. Alternatively, you can have the aliens speak their own variation of the language of your world, or to learn the language flawlessly but make errors due to it having a different structure to their own.

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2 - Perspective

Perspective is a massive part of forming dialogue for any character and in any situation. It is about thinking of how that character is feeling in that moment, what would influence that, and how they would express it through their words and accompanying actions. When writing dialogue for more unconventional character forms, this applies even more.

The language we use is heavily influenced by our needs and our surroundings. Babies often learn nouns relating to food and their caregivers, and what is in their home e.g, a dog or certain toys. Survival and exposure are what you need to think about. What kinds of language would your unconventional character need to learn to survive, and what were they exposed to?

Example 1 works on survival. We have an alien species that has crashed down to earth, and one of them managed to flee into the woods. They are found by a human hunter, using telepathy to learn basic grammar and fragments of the human language. This alien species feeds on relations and connection instead of food; affectionate, personal, expressive, and emotional words and language would be a priority to learn for the sake of survival.

Example 2 works on exposure. A hero travels to an abandoned mansion to retrieve an old helmet that was hung up there for centuries with the belief that the item belonged to an old warrior of the past. That old warrior was killed wearing the helmet, his spirit being imprisoned in it. He does not remember a thing, but his consciousness possessed the helmet, leading to the haunted item to be hung up in the grand hall of a rich mansion for over a hundred years. It can communicate telepathically and perfectly well, but due to the type of language the spirit was exposed to over the years, the dialogue is quite formal, traditional, and elaborate.

I feel that it is also worth noting that, with animal and alien species, they may communicate with alternate, non-linguistic features. Perhaps through physical or near-magical means.

Creating dialogue is figuring out what your character is thinking and seeing from their perspective. Keep that in mind—their feelings, experiences, desires, and personality—and their dialogue should come as naturally as any other form of character.

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I'll lay them out here, and perhaps I'll make longer posts on specific ones if prompted. Thanks for the ask! :D

Favourite Tropes

I'll try not to get weirdly specific. Disclaimer that these are probably not listed on trope sites because I don't often listen to those lol.

Discovery of Magic: honestly, theres nothing better to me than seeing a character suddenly discover a whole new layer to reality and consequentially freaking out, not knowing what to do with the magic or themselves.

Enemies to Lovers: you get it. I made a whole post analysing this one. Also, love/hate relationships. In both romance and friendship.

Forbidden Love: will I ever stop writing this? No. The idea that those two characters were not supposed to get together, but do so and blossom anyway, is just so nice to me. 10/10.

Conspiracy Theories: mentioned this in a previous post. There's something about stories where the conspiracy theorists (in that world) are right, or where the crew uncover a big conspiracy, that just makes me :D

Magic School: I'm sorry. It trapped me too. I just really like it. Kids doing dumb stuff, but with powers? Sign me up. Bonus points if it's magic but in school, and the school isn't for magic nor knowing of it. Like, if someone finds an ancient magic artifact in the janitors closet.

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Favorite Character Archetypes

I'm not a follower of archetypes, but I know a few I really like.

Everyman/Everywoman: a regular person being followed through some twisted disaster, giving us a glimpse of what the average life is like in that world. I really love this one, and it gives a breath of fresh air to all the 'chosen one' stories you get, at least in my opinion.

Anti-Hero: a protagonist who lacks morality and other behaviours or traits that a hero normally would. As if we're following a bad guy, but the actual bad guys are worse. Gosh, I adore this trope. Really sets a story apart, and counteracts the problem I see every day of a protagonist being too flawless.

Non-Confirmist: someone who will smash down the rules and all widely-accepted beliefs of 'normal'. Absolutely iconic every time, and works as an antagonist, protagonist, or a friend of the protagonist. A surprisingly flexible archetype.

The Bureaucrat: didn't know what to call this, but Google had an answer. A character who is a total suck-up to the rules and laws, placing them over their own sense of morality. Nothing more to say other than an enemies to lovers with this character and the non-conformist.

Hi! Thank you so much for the ask. Since I've been doing research on mainly pre-1800s styles so far, I don't have as much information as I'd like on this in terms of real citations. Though I do promise to update this post with more information through reblogs as time goes on (to fulfill the 'deep' part of the 'deep-dive')!

This will mainly be about my observations on this new attitude to writing I am seeing on tiktok, and through other people I've interacted with. It will be focusing on ideas, 'rules', and premises that I'm seeing occur, with my qualifications to write this being that I've been a proof reader, mainly for younger or newbie writers, for a few years now, study literature and linguistics, and generally find it a lot of fun to look at trends in writing and grammar over time.

Attitudes to Writing (as a whole)

Among the younger generations, I'm seeing the concept of a 'writer' being associated, in some subcultures, as being kind of cringe. And I think that's sad, honestly. I see a lot less readers about, too. Perhaps that's why.

I think that cringe culture has definitely done its damage in dissuading young writers and new writers alike. The demonisation of fanfiction and the mockery of anyone who's just trying things out is something I see everywhere. Personally, I see things such as fanfiction and the popularity of fanfiction among young people as great in terms of fostering new writers and encouraging the growth of new talent. Shaming people for experimentation, when it comes to art, will never be helpful. And yes, writing is an art!

Mocking artistic experimentation, however, seems to be something tiktok is very good at. Whether it be a 13 year old writing their first fanfiction or piece of poetry, or a seasoned professional with three degrees and a bestseller, the writing produced will not be perfect. Because writing is an art, and perfect doesn't exist.

This, actually, leads me into my next point.

Attitudes to Writing (in terms of learning)

This section will mainly be me talking from my experience of those who I have proof read for. Though I won't be naming any names (obviously).

As per my last point, I'm seeing a growing sense of a writing perfection, specifically in the younger writing community. In tandem to that, a sort of narcissism in terms of viewing whatever you've written as perfect, and not being open to the fact that it's genuinely impossible.

I've seen people get angry and defensive over corrections or recommendations for improvements, even if they've asked for them, and people request that I don't point out certain mistakes. Then whats the point? I hear you ask. The answer is likely either a certain shame in not being perfect, or a genuine view that whatever they've written must be flawless.

I understand being nervous. I understand confidence, and encourage it. But if someone refuses to acknowledge that writing is subjective, and that if you ask for criticism you will inevitably receive it, that someone is inevitably incompatible with writing. They will not improve, and that will stagnate them drastically. Those who have asked me honestly for criticism and have been glad to receive it were the ones whom I gave the least recommendations and corrections.

I note this here because it's something I'm seeing a lot among the younger people I'm proofreading for (below twenty). I feel like this goes hand in hand with the mockery of experimentation and imperfection I'm seeing on all sides of the art world online. Either that, or my before-mentioned observation that the average person doesn't seem to read that much; maybe people just think they're the best because they haven't read much else? Who knows. This is all speculation.

I'll also note the education system (in my experience) and it's approach to fiction writing. In my case, I found that it encouraged people to cater to mark schemes rather than quality; I can often see if someone is in high school doing creative writing, since there's often empty adverbs everywhere and a useless metaphor every second sentence. Not that there's anything wrong with adverbs or metaphors though— I'll get to that later.

Moreover, I sometimes see the idea that creativity can be taught. Personally, I disagree with that. Creativity, in my view, can't be taught—execution is what is taught. And that brings me onto my final point

Attitudes to Writing (execution)

Writing, again, is an art. There is very few ways you can write 'wrong'. To me, if it conveys what you want it to convey and is engaging, you've done well.

What I'm seeing, specifically through some tiktoks and some advice being thrown around online, is the rise of this nouveau-prescriptivism. As is with a decent amount of terms in this blog, don't Google that because I pulled it out of my ass.

Prescriptivism is real, however, and has been for hundreds of years. It refers to the idea that rules of how language should be written and spoken should be prescribed and adhered to; this idea has often been the basis for disagreements concerning AAVE, slang, and neopronouns (but that's for other asks or posts, if you want).

What I'd call this 'nouveau-prescriptivism' is the rise in unnecessary corrections and nonsense recommendations: make all your sentences short, never use adverbs, only use 'said', or never use 'said', and keep things simple at all costs. Oh, and don't forget the 'never start a sentence with a conjunction'—I've broken that rule quite a few times in this post alone. And I do it out of spite.

Beyond seeing these ideas and recommendations in advice etc online, I've also seen it through the recommendations of grammar bots and editor programs. For example, one I found being recommended on tiktok today: Hemingway.

Hemingway is an editor programme that seems to check for all the things I've seen bashed to all hell in some writing circles online. Adverbs, passive voice, complex sentences, you name it. It looks for those, marks your sentences if they are 'hard to read' or 'very hard to read', and rates your work according to readability so you can improve it.

But these sentences they flag up as hard to read are only hard to read to people who likely wouldn't get far in a book anyway. These sentences aren't incorrect, and they mostly don't need improvement. Moreover, the quality of your writing is NOT determined by how easy it is to read. If it was, those baby books with the pictures in would be top literature. All the time on some areas of the online writing world (particularly among the 'aspiring' writers), I see this view that complexity and high levels of detail are bad. I highly disagree. Sure, overdescribing can be an issue, but it has it's place. Adverbs and the passive voice also have their places in writing, and no AI or programme can determine where.

Here is an extract of my own writing put into Hemingway. I don't claim myself to be a great writer, but I like to see myself as average.

Sentences in yellow are labelled hard to read. In red, very hard to read. And the words in blue are those pesky adverbs. You can share your own opinions on readability.

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Now, here are some extracts from extremely influential novels put into Hemingway:

The Handmaid's Tale, by Margaret Atwood

Brave New World, by Aldous Huxley

The Bloody Chamber, by Angela Carter

We, by Yevgeny Zamyatin

If these novels were so terrible, they wouldn't have had such a literary impact on the world. Complexity is not bad. As with everything in writing, its use is dependent on how it is utilised. Know the rules well and you'll know how to break them—I would say, if this was a rule to begin with.

I think the promotion of programmes such as these show what I'm seeing as a rise in this view that writing has to be simple and uber-understandable in order to be good. Sure, good writing is understandable, otherwise nobody would understand it enough to see it as good. But cutting out descriptions and complexity will just hinder the creative output of the writer. The less rules, the better. That's what I think.

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Though, all of this is just my opinion. And I'd love to hear any friendly additions or views on the matter. I will also note that this post is NOT a commentary on the writing community as a whole. It's on specific subcultures I'm seeing brewing among the younger writers, particularly on tiktok.

Manipulative and Decietful Characters: The Basics

Manipulative and deceitful characters are so fun to write, and can definitely elevate your story to the next level. The plot twists, the angst, the betrayal...and the potentially endless slew of ways they can be entirely messed up.

There's no right way of writing, but there are definitely things you should consider doing or avoiding when it comes to certain character and story tropes. So, let's discuss.

Pros!

To start, I'll lay down a key piece of advice I'll be referencing for the rest of the post. 

Remember your reader.

Sounds a little stupid and all too simple, right? Well, let's think about it in context as I go through the main tips I think make the best manipulative characters.

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1) Trust

In order for your character to manipulate the other characters in your story, they need to gain their trust. Without it, their deceit will be obvious to the characters, and their inevitable betrayal will mean nothing (at least emotionally) or seem entirely avoidable.

To create trust, you can have them act as a source of information for the protagonist or other characters. If they prove to be a reliable source of information, they must be a reliable person, it could be assumed. They could even be in a mentor role, or be a simple guide to a naive character that doesn't know any better. This way, it could be easy for the manipulator to change from giving reliable advice to making the character(s) do things that, ultimately, are for the benefit of the manipulator, or some evil plan that's been cooked up since day one. Your character could overshare, too, in order to create the impression that they are open and would never keep a secret from the protagonist or other characters.

Or, you could have the manipulative character be the presumed naive one. Perhaps they go to the protagonist for help and act as if they know nothing, the other characters not noticing the ruse until it's all too late.

What's important is that your manipulative character is trusted at some point in your story. I say 'some point' purely because of how creative you can be with it. They could even be a reformed villain who only pretended to reform, or went back to their old ways. Perhaps the protagonists are the ones in the wrong, and the manipulative character is manipulating them for the good of the world.

Though, connecting to what I said before, remembering your reader is vital to using this concept of trust to its highest potential. If you really want to make it so your reader follows along with the story and experiences of your protagonist, ensure that your reader has just as much trust in the manipulator as your characters do. Have the manipulator's story unfold through the reader's eyes.

Unless, of course, your manipulator is your protagonist…

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2) Give Signs

Twists that come out of absolutely nowhere might seem amazing, but they can often read as lazy and unsatisfying.

Lay down puzzle pieces for your readers, and your characters, to find. How, when and how often you do so entirely depends on when or if you want your readers or protagonist to discover the truth. 

Maybe the manipulator can slip up, or give a character a task to do that obviously isn't a good idea and was pre-established to result in a curse. Maybe they can tell the protagonist a lie that the protagonist begins to question as the story unfolds. It could be that you subtly hint that the manipulative character doesn't like the other, giving snide remarks, a rude nickname. You could even hint through describing the appearance or actions of the other character poorly or insultingly whilst the point of view follows the manipulator, showing that the manipulator sees the character in quite a disgusting and pathetic tone despite not actually saying it.

Keeping in mind the reader once again, it'll give your audience a mystery to invest themselves in. Even if they don't see the reveal coming, it'll promote them to reread your story and appreciate it in much more depth than ever before. Besides, real manipulation never comes overnight. People don't change that fast, and nobody's tracks are entirely clear. Your manipulative character is bound to slip up eventually, regardless of how smart, powerful, or ultimately dangerous they are. It's important for you, just as you would with any other character, to identify their faults and weak spots.

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3) Manipulative Tactics

It's important to keep in mind how a real manipulator acts, regardless of the context and abilities present in your story.

A manipulator may try to isolate someone from familiar places or people. For example, they could convince them to leave their family or friends, either by cutting them off or moving away. This way, the character is easier to manipulate as they will have a much smaller circle of people to tell them otherwise. Their influx of information will be limited. They will also not be familiar with their surroundings, and would effectively be in the lion's den - a dangerous place to be where they have no knowledge nor control of their environment, yet the manipulator does.

A manipulator will try their best to establish a high level of trust as fast as they can. Keep in mind point 1 and 2. Does the protagonist find this suspicious? Perhaps another character does, but how is that character treated? This could again link to isolation; the manipulative character isolates the protagonist because they begin to see others, who are realising their deceit, as a threat. Maybe they manipulate the protagonist into believing that those who realised the trickery and suspicious behaviour are the real villains. Maybe that manipulation extends to the reader, too.

A manipulator will make fun of people. They'll guilt people. The blame will never truly be on them, if they can get their own way. They'll know how to play their cards right. A really good manipulator that's entertaining to read will be smart, dubious, and ready to take risks to get what they want, even if it means playing down their intelligence and true power to assume the role of a victim.

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4) The Aftermath

If you choose to show the aftermath of the final twist - the reveal that shows the true colours of your manipulator - try to think it through. That sounds obvious, I know, but it's good to consider what could be explored.

How does your protagonist feel (or those directly manipulated)? Do they feel stupid, if they saw the signs yet held onto their trust? Or do they feel unsurprised, knowing that they were being used at the end of it all yet not having the will, energy nor heart to turn on the manipulator? Do they feel surprised, shocked and overcome with grief as they never saw a speck of a clue coming their way? 

How does your manipulator feel? There's usually two main options: the guilty and the unfeeling. The guilty feel, well, guilty. Do they regret what they did? If so, why? Do they not? That's entirely fine. Not all villains need to be sympathetic.

Don't be afraid to explore the stories and feelings of other characters, too, that could have been cut out or shunned in the process of the story. Reunions, apologies, heartfelt love confessions and horrified slandering. Let the whole cast collapse, if you see fit.

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Pitfalls.

Now, here's what I heavily advise not to do. I'll keep this section short, considering I've already covered quite a bit.

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1) Cardboard Characters

Your manipulative character is still a character, at the end of the day. For the love of the Lord, don't let the big twist in your whole, grand story be a flat cardboard cutout of a person. Just because they're evil and manipulative doesn't mean they can't have feelings nor experience their own take on events and situations. Give them a personality, interests and depth, just as you would anyone else. But, of course, with the mandatory touch of evil.

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2) Blatant

What's the point in lying if you're comically bad at it? It's mistakes like these that come from not getting your reader or your characters to be convinced that your manipulative character isn't all bad. If you know they're a bad guy from the start, that's not a manipulative character. That's just your average villain.

Besides, if your character does or says things that are really obviously pointing to them being a bad person, it definitely takes some stretching to make sure your other characters don't see it. Oftentimes, poor writing like this leads to the protagonist or other characters being dumbed down more than they should be, which is a bad experience for everyone involved. Especially for the reader.

Not to say that your characters all need to be Einstein. Your manipulative character should just be convincingly smart, enough so that the characters being deceived is entirely plausible. Because, for an idiot to be the smartest person in the room, everyone else has to become the mental equivalent of warm ice.

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3) No Reason

Linking into past points. Give a reason.

It doesn't have to be blatantly said, just at least insinuated. Your character is deceiving people...why? Why are they doing that? What is their motive, their backstory? What is their ultimate goal?

This ideally should match their actions in terms of extremity. You have a character that manipulated someone into cursing themselves and their bloodline for a thousand years? Why? Because they annoyed that character one time in a parking lot last week? Give a solid reason. Please. I'm begging you.

Also, why is the character they manipulate actually manipulated by them? If someone is vulnerable or in a vulnerable position (e.g. in urgent need of help, shelter or guidance), they're more likely to be manipulated. Of course, the manipulator could just be really convincing.

But, if you're going the last route, actually make the character convincing. Get a beta reader. Seriously. They save lives.

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thoughts, tips on show don't tell?

Ayy first ask-

You sound apprehensive. Me too.

So,

'Show, don't tell.'

It's a common piece of advice when creating any form of narrative but, how and when to apply it entirely depends on context.

To begin, it's good to understand what 'show, don't tell' means. Overall, it's advising to allude to the reader as to what's happening, and to give hints and a general picture without outright stating what's happening.

A simple example would be:

'Sam was angry.'

Turning to:

'Sam scowled and gritted his teeth.'

Although not outright stating that Sam was angry, the reader can interpret that he is, indeed, angry.

Why should you use 'show, don't tell?'

This advice works in multiple circumstances and can really upgrade your writing and narrative. It usually gives more elaborate detail on things, aids in foreshadowing, and allows the reader to both involve themselves more into the story as well as develop a more detailed, descriptive vision of what you are presenting.

Let's walk through how to do this, with a more elaborate example.

'He saw a group of people dancing. They looked starved and poor. Moricheal felt depressed at the sight.'

We have a lot of framework to build on, here. To effectively apply 'show, don't tell' to this at a more detailed level, we have to think about context.

1: Where is this group?

2: What are their relation to the narrator/character of focus, or why do they feel that way about them?

3: What are the group doing other than dancing/what are the details of the scene?

4: Where are they?

5: How does the character know the more intricate details described (that they are starving and poor)?

Here is the same example after having 'show, don't tell' applied on all five of these levels:

'Moricheal turned the corner on the street, the shopfronts bustling with people and the air thick with heat and dust. By an alley, he heard music. There was a woman, dressed in a red and dirty-white dress which appeared to be falling apart at the seams, shaking her hips, her arms in the air as she moved to the rhythm of the chants. Moricheal stopped to observe the sight. Their thin, bruised hands beat the drums, and smiles were plastered on their fleshless, sunken-in faces. Despite the unfiltered joy emitted from the group, it was the very feeling that made Moricheal turn his head. No amount of song would hide the ribs that poked out harshly from the woman's torso.'

Though it's probably not the best example of this application, I hope it can give you some framework as to what I mean by the benefits of abiding by this advice. It prompts you to elaborate more, aids in building character, setting and general feel (based on application) and gives the reader a much more insightful view into the world or scene you are presenting them with.

However, there are some cases where 'show, don't tell' might be best to avoid. For example, when it is an important or specific detail that the readers MUST know for the sake of the narrative, or to give effect (blunt delivery can help a lot with many scenes and situations in writing, such as dramatic moments or times when a character realises or is told something suddenly).

How you apply this advice and when you choose to use it is entirely between you and your narrative. Do what you think sounds the best, and remember that it's always good to get someone to read through your stuff to pick out things that you may not have realised weren't as obvious as they were intended to be.

Apologies for this post being REALLY delayed. I plan to be more active over the summer, I promise.

As a part of @sugaritebiscuit's ask, let's discuss world building. Of course, this is again a very broad topic, so I'll split this post up again with questions to pose and answer.

My inbox and dms are always open for these requests. Interaction really helps so please reblog :D I try to go as in-depth as possible with what is requested of me. Hopefully this blog ends up being helpful to at least someone lol.

So, on with the discussion:

- What does world building mean?

- What should I consider when world building?

- What should I consider when constructing an entirely original world?

- How do I effectively show the world I've created?

What does world building mean?

World building is the creation of a fictional world. It is a society, often entirely constructed by the author, with its own history, traditions, structures and economies.

World building, however, can also be referring to the process of presenting this fictional society to the audience. The story and characters (and visuals, if the narrative is told through a show or a comic) should convey the workings of this world and inform the audience on the setting which the story takes place in.

We have to remember, before we consider anything else, the never-ending differentiation between fictional worlds and how - depending on circumstance and story - each writer can and should approach world building differently. Moreover, we must also recognise that world building exists in almost every genre of fiction, just in differing levels of importance and detail.

What should I consider when world building?

There are a lot of considerations, just like any decision in crafting your story. Though, as with all creative writing posts on this blog, I'd advise you to think of this as less of a tutorial and more like a vague guide. This is trying to push you to think deeply and critically about what you are writing or reading, not telling you what to do.

Something that you should consider is how much thought and focus you will need to put into your world building and setting.

There are a lot of factors that can influence how much planning and focus you will have to dedicate to world building. Here's a list that, although not all-encompassing, can hopefully cover the majority of circumstances:

A Conventional Setting:

This would be, in my words, a setting that resembles our world, preferably in the relative present. In this case, world building may not be something that would have to be highly considered, if at all. 

The only outliers to this would be an abnormal setting within the wider world, an example being the school in Classroom Of The Elite. In that case, you would have to consider how you will be presenting that subsetting to the characters and the audience, and in relation to the wider setting.

An Pre-Established Setting:

Though sounding similar to the first consideration, this is entirely different. This is when the world or wider setting can be safely assumed to already be known to the reader, which applies to the majority of fanfictions and some types of sequels and spin-offs.

With fanfictions, you have a bit of a choice, which is entirely dependent on your story. Do you want to explore the world of the source material in your story deeply, or a specific part of their culture, ideology or functioning? Or do you want to focus more on the characters or plot line you've created, with the overall setting of the source material in the background of your story? Perhaps you want to change the setting entirely, to which I'll direct you to the points before and after this section. All options are absolutely fine and can be executed amazingly but, depending on the source material, the potential changes you've made and your story, consider how much you need to take world building into account.

In terms of sequels and spin-offs, this is where you may need to be careful. If you want to keep elaborating on your world, great! But make sure you aren't adding things on blindly. I see it all the time, unfortunately, where concepts, characters and powers are added to the story that makes you think, why wasn't this mentioned before? Make sure that whatever you decide to add on to your story's world, whether that be a new character, a new concept, tradition, practice, etc, that it is either hinted at beforehand or has a reasonable excuse as to why it's just popped up now rather than in a previous book or season.

It's important to remember that you don't have to pre-establish everything in your world or story, but instead ensure that every feature makes logical sense. It sounds simple and like a no-brainer, but even the best shows and books out there are teeming with things that just don't add up.

An Entirely Original Setting:

This is a setting that the writer has constructed entirely from nothing. Perhaps a few influences here and there, but no source material and is not based in our present world. This is potentially the hardest yet most intriguing type of world building, but it can be so easy to mess up! So, I think it warrants its own section.

What should I consider when constructing an entirely original world?

Nobody expects you - or anyone - to be able to answer every question about your world. What food do they eat? What's the weather like? Though attention to detail like that can be amazing and can make your readers truly feel like your world is alive and real, it's always best to lay down the basics and build from there, rather than diving into it without the right gear.

1) Is there a core concept or idea that your world revolves around?

Some of the best stories I've ever read or watched in terms of those that are set in worlds nearly nothing like ours have clearly answered this question. Is there a core concept or idea that is present in almost all features of their world and how they act? This can be anything from technology, perhaps a specific type of device, a religion, an ideology that is interconnected with their practices, society and actions. 

For example, in the famous novel The Handmaid's Tale, we are presented with a setting that seems very distant from ours, which revolves entirely around the religion of Christianity and the idea of fertility and birth being the centre of their ideology. This is incredibly ingrained in the setting, the character's story, and almost everything we see in the novel, even down to the language the characters use. Having a concept that is deeply ingrained in your world, acting as the base of your world building, can create a truly wonderful and trapping reader experience when done well.

Preferably, this approach should also have a deeper reason: why do these people/this society believe this idea, and why do they value it so much? This could prompt a wider understanding of the history of the world, beyond just telling the reader upfront. Just by experiencing the world and how it functions in the present, the reader could achieve a glimpse into its past.

2) How does power work in this society?

By power, I don't just mean magic systems (though I'd LOVE to do a post on magic systems one day, if I'm requested to), I mean hierarchy, status, and how each is achieved.

Is your world a monarchy? How does this impact the world you've created, and how does it influence the story? Of course, every consideration I present should be taken with a grain of salt, as everything is dependent on your story and the perspective it is being told from. If your story is told from the perspective of a scholar or a peasant that has and will have nothing to do with the monarchy, then the monarchy wouldn't be as touched upon as if you were writing from the perspective of the princess...or the scholar trying to court her.

Overall, how a society is ruled or governed over can be more influential than you think. I mean, look at Britain. We talk about the Queen an awful lot. Make of that what you will.

How does one, in your world, earn respect? And, when I say earn, it has massive, invisible quotation marks around it. Is it by birth? If so, why? Is it by achievement or merit and, if so, what does one have to do to move up in the world? Say, you have a species or society that values education. An educated or elderly person would be the most respected. If you're in a society that values power, then it'll be the young and fit that'll have the most respect, or perhaps those born with greater magical ability. 

This is important to take into account if this sounds like something that would influence your characters. How much power (politically, magically or physically) does your character have? Where do they lie in the hierarchy, if there is one? How does this influence how they are treated, their relationships with others, or how the story plays out?

Remember that, in a society where there is a hierarchy (which, let's be honest, is more often than not), what influences people's position can be absolutely anything, and usually ties into what people in the society value most.

Occupation can influence social standing. In a society that highly values entertainment, it'll be the singers and actors, the tech creators and entertainers. In a religious setting, the priests, the clergy and potentially anyone seen as being connected to a deity would be those who are high on the social ladder.

What about birth status? Are they royal, or from a well-esteemed or wealthy family? What about their race or gender, even species?

What about something more out-there? Trust me when I say that you can do anything. Eye colour, IQ, specific markings on their body, how they perform at a specific task? All of it can be used to create a hierarchy, and signify someone's social standing. 

3)What about their morals, rules and laws?

I'll reiterate now that all of the considerations I state are very interconnected, and in no way are meant to stand alone.

In relation to the hierarchy, the workings of your world, what the society you've created revolves around, you may also have to think about the rules.

Are certain things legal or illegal, things that would be normal or taboo to us, and why? Say, if you've made a world where it is legal to assault someone of a certain rank, or if it's illegal to hunt or capture fairies, think about the reason why. It can be as obvious as a simple explanation of why it's morally wrong in the context of basic common sense, or as complicated as it being wrong as it personally distastes the all-powerful leader, disrespects their deity, or simply goes against their strict traditions.

Moreover, take into account social law as well as legal law. These terms which I'm using for the sake of simplicity, refer to the difference between something people are generally disgusted by or are against, and something that is legally punishable.

Something that people may find disgusting (such as, cheating on a partner or spouse) may not be illegal, but things that some people - in certain cases - might find acceptable (such as stealing necessities or having an abortion), can be illegal. This can be present in your worldbuilding and the society you create. Social norms can be powerful and may influence characters at differing levels. Laws may influence characters, too, but are much more telling of the hierarchy, government and overall system than the morality of the characters.

As with everything, always consider why. Why do they do that? Why is this the way things are? Everything you do with your story - every change you make and every character you add - has their place. No character is worth nothing in the storyline, and everything you add to your world will inevitably have an influence. Think carefully of what you include in your world and in your story, and what effects this would have on the wider picture.

How do I effectively show the world I've created?

This is a tricky question, purely because of the endless possibilities that come with writing, and how there is not and never will be one correct way to write.

When writing, I always take into consideration the advice of 'Show, Don't Tell' which I've made a post on before. Though that post details how to employ that advice on a much smaller scale, it's important to remember that little things add up. 

Here's where the details come in, and here's where I tell you the best advice there is to give:

Have fun!

Build your world from the inside out. Have fun thinking about things that, though you may find pointless or too small to include, will elevate your writing to the next level. So what if it's never going to be relevant to the plot: what food they eat, how they do their hair, what kind of birds are in the area and how their houses look? Include them anyway!

It's the little things that make the world seem alive. It's the attention to detail that can captivate the reader, and make the society constructed by your own hands feel like it's right in front of them. Don't let your character stand by a cardboard cut-out, let them step into a world as rich as the mind that created it, that is decorated with every little thing that showed just how much you loved to make what you've presented to your audience. 

Take as much time to write as you need. Make draft after draft, hundreds for all I care. If your writing makes you happy, it'll make thousands even happier.