#rowanteaches

Do you just desperately want your brain to rot about your characters? Do you want to feel inspired lyrically toward growing plot points? Do you need to input auditory stimulation while you write? Don't you just want to go apeshit about your wip?

But every time you make a playlist for your project, it's got 10 songs you eventually get sick of and the vibes are all over the place? Or is it too aesthetic to improve your process and flow? Do you have a hard time considering even what genre of music would fit the tropes and themes you are playing with in your current work?

Well, do I have some tips for you, motherfucker.

Make sure you set aside some time to do this because it's going to take all day.

with rowan

gather round children, I want to tell you about symbolism.

The wall isn't always blue, but when it is, what does it mean to you?

I often see young writers (and even some of us veterans) using symbolism in the most banal ways, simply because they believe they have to. The world said 'we think this thing means such and such' and the writer feels confined within that analysis.

But to be blunt, what if we weren't so anal about it?

What if we, the author, got to decide what exactly a certain motif, a certain quirk, a specific flower, a sound, a sensation, meant more than what it does and it meant exactly what we wanted it to?

We do this through research, as all good things are done. Recently when setting up a scene in my current work, I explored the symbology of flowers for my original plan, and I inserted flora that I was familiar with and felt right. Then I realized I live in Michigan and my characters are standing in a field in Georgia. Oh boy, what a mess. So it was that we must find out what exactly blooms in Georgia, in this particular month (being that of early August). I looked for a long while at various photos and descriptions, percipitation charts and spreadsheets about bloom patterns, and when it was that I found several flowers that aesthetically pleased me, I created a bouquet in my mind. I wanted this scene to encompass the characters in the somber beauty around them. But where to begin figuring out what these flowers mean?

We look first into the meanings that other people lend to these things. We ask the florist 'what does it say when I hand someone a frond of grey goldenrod? Is it different from early goldenrod?' and the answer may surprise you with its affirmative yes. We may consult the spiritualists, 'in what context of ritual do you place this flower on the altar of worship?' and we can consider the metaphor of their response in our own character's interactions. We look to the biologist and we say 'how does this flower exist within our world? What are its strengths--- its weaknesses?' and we ask our characters the same thing.

We then look into ourselves. Can this information we have collected be arranged and placed and fed to the reader in a way that describes what I want to portray? Will I remember to continue to weave those threads, that lasting impression, throughout the text? Does it speak to me with the same rich voice that a symbol should?

Bringing all of this together, before I choose the symbols I was going to use in finality, I reflected on my text. Did the appearance of this blossom fit the color language I have used so far? Will it remind the reader of earlier moments, of foreshadowing I have previously set down, of events that have brought our paths into this moment? Will it be jarring, in the revelation of what deeper meaning I have placed upon it? Will that shock be what I desire?

Often I think we don't ask enough questions, or perhaps, we are not guided to which questions should be asked in order to inspire us. Anything placed within a scene can be a symbol. Make it memorable, make it unique. The walls are blue because she is sad, and we see that throughout the entire body of the text, and never do we forget that those walls are closing in, they are weeping, they are longing, they are cold, they are solitude. The breadth of the text remembers that. And perhaps, in your own way, blue can be happiness, it can be light, it can be like the air, or the calm ocean, or the perwinkle opening its petals to dawn. If only you decide.

Always remember, write because it hurts if you don't.

I have a few cardinal tips for description, and I will share them with you here.

First, try--- just not. Literally, just don't do it. I have asked lots of readers and most skim descriptions unless the author is obviously putting alot of effort into what they need to show. Even in fantasy enviornments, minimal description in later chapters will allow your reader to fill in an image with their mind's eye. Not every reader wants to be bombarded with visuals, some want to create it themselves. Placement of objects and doorways, interactable items within a scene, simple settings, all can be used effectively to give your reader what you need without bashing them in the head with it.

If you have to--- keep it contained. A good rule of thumb is to maintain the bread and butter of descriptive text to the beginning of a piece, or new scene. However, readers will often just miss the descriptive bits at the beginning of a chapter in order to get to the juicy action. So try to put easy limits on yourself for these things; for me, its a maximum of 8 sentences. If these sentences are all together, I will make sure to focus on character actions and expressions in the scene, to not bore or double down with needless text. But my preferred method is to disperse those 8 sentences throughout the chapter, as the character sees or interacts with new information. Sometimes it can be a nice break in the midst of a tense or anxious interaction for your character to ground themselves by viewing the world around them, and this can be a niche moment to add description as well.

A step in the right direction--- be active. Use the things in your scene. Recently, instead of describing a room, I had a character pace around it in a fit of frustration wherein his thoughts overwhelmed his perception, but still he interacted with the furniture and layout of the room by avoiding bumping into those objects and it made the scene more dynamic without being pandering, as I had only briefly mentioned a few of the objects before. Paint the scene slowly, let your brushstrokes guide the reader as they are your partner in this dance.

Always remember--- use it wisely. If you must describe the wallpaper, make it as chaotic as the turmoil in your character's mind, or shaded with a color that lends to the deeper emotional moativations of a character within that space. Focus on things of need or importance, and consider what feelings are evocative, what thoughts might come along with such things. Often when you enter a room in real life, you simply register it without thinking, so focus on the things that stand out, or are mundane in a meaningful way, perhaps something with far deeper importance or symbolism later on. And assume your reader is as wise as you are, they will remember, so do not buckle down on unneeded motifs-- once we know the wallpaper is red, we don't need to be reminded, it makes the reader feel spoken down to and encourages speed-reading.

I usually do not keep the reader much in mind when I write, but description is for them alone, as I can see the scene clearly in my mind but I must project it into theirs. It doesn't have to be perfect, like a room of artists painting the same model, we can each have our interpretation. I always keep in mind then what is most important for the reader to see through my eyes, and the character as well, and it is often more fun to leave things unnoticed that do not have significance at the time for a greater reveal, or to mention things in off-handed ways that grow more and more present as they gain interest.

Description can be your friend. If the characters are your voice, the scene is your instrument. Do not create such a crescendo that it is a clangor, instead consider what sounds would compliment the melody in creation, and use only those.

You got this.

Criticism is often something we all abhor, but in our artwork of writing, we need to understand how to recieve information about editting and how to give it, because we will not succeed without it.

There is no world in which writing is not a collaborative effort-- unless you never share it, in which case, this post is not for you. Keep on doing what you're doing you funky fresh individual. But for the rest of us with a praise kink, this is an ineffeible truth.

So how do we give *constructive* criticism in writing?

We remain focused on improvement.

Never give criticism to harm, never with malicious intent, never to degrade or belittle. Never. Do. This. If you did not like a work but it has skillful merit, it uses grammar properly, it has structure and themeology, it is OKAY to simply accept 'I did not like this' and move on. But if you have something useful to say, something productive for the writer, something genuinely meant in kindness and to improve, it is important to always keep in mind the 'when this, then that' method.

For example; "When [X character] confessed to his lover, it was the cutest thing I've ever seen, but then [Y character] had very little reaction, and it took me out of the scenes where their greater romance was developed. I would suggest when [Y character] is confronted with this information, perhaps we should include some more emotional beats and actions, like describing their expressions or what they think, to make sure the reader stays engaged. Thank you for posting this, I'm enjoying it!" In this bit of criticism, we have kept a constructive approach in mind. We have addressed that 'when this' happened, it made us feel good, but when we found something we thought needed improvement, 'then that' was discussed. We engaged with the artist in a way that did not degrade them but also did not demand that they take our advice, by framing our suggestions in a way that remembers inherent storytelling aspects, like emotions and actions, and we gave positive but not specific suggestions on how to improve those actions, without injecting our own bias into the artist's work.

This is the meat of constructive criticism. We do not want to put each other down. We do not want to taint another's art with our own voice. We want to focus on improvement and respect someone's vulnerability in sharing their work.

Another example; "I noticed that in this scene, I got really lost when [X & Y] were talking because you used a lot of pronouns and not very many proper nouns. In Chapter 3, you had a scene with [X, Y, Z & Q] and it was really engaging for me, I didn't mind the use of proper nouns because I was able to easily keep track of who was talking when. I think it would help both of us follow along better when the characters' names are used more. Really great work, I'm loving the banter between the two." In this example, we point out an error in the execution of the work, a literary thing such as forgotten proper nouns that pull the reader from the scene. In order to encourage the writer, we made sure to include an example of when they did well to remind them how they did well and encouraged them to improve this scene in the same manner as the previously well executed one. We remembered to let them know that we did enjoy the scene, we just got a little lost, and we collaborated with them on how it would help us, the reader, and them, the writer, follow along better. This same kind of concrit can be used for any literary skill mistake, or instead you could simply say "Would you like some help editting your work?" and collaborate with the artist even further. Grammar errors, spelling mistakes, structure issues, use of words and nouns, you can help with those things without placing any blame or anxiety on the writer, and many would love to have several hands edit their work before they do their final drafting. It is important to remember always that our engagement with an artist is a sensitive subject, and we will not gain more art from this person (content, if you will) if we continuosly demand, degrade, disgrace and disregard the feelings of the creators. Respect has to be given and recieved like a gift, and the gift in our metaphor is writing.

Things that you should not comment on; characters you just didn't like--- you can just not like something, the artist doesn't have to change it for you to enjoy, move on. Plot directions or twists that just weren't your flavor--- not every piece has to fit into your ideal of a trope. Only speak on these things when the plot is completely contrived or needs re-structuring to really hit the point it's trying to make. If you just didn't like where the story went, well, it's not for you. It doesn't mean its bad. Understand how to have a discerning eye for the difference between execution and expression. Stylistic choices that just don't hit with you, like purposefully lowercased words, the changing or reformatting of words into new ones, different dialogue types and tags--- these are things the author did on purpose. You do not tell a painter you did not like the use of orange in their sunflower painting, you just move on. That was a choice, not a mistake or a lesson that needs to be learned, and not everyone has to use words the way you do. Focus on being helpful, not being biased. Art is subjective and exists both in the eyes of the artist and the viewer, it is not supposed to be monotypical. To give criticism, one must also be able to recieve it.

It can be hard for someone to comment on our work with something that suggests we made a mis-step. We must always consider what it is that we have to glean from this new information when it strikes us anxious, instead of becoming mired in our own ego. If a reader has something to say about the improvement of your work, it is not a law, they will not abandon you if you do not heed them, and if they do, another one will most likely enjoy the place you decided to remain. Criticism is a very 'take it or leave it or do something with it'. You can hear the reader out when they say that the interactions between characters fell flat for them, but if it was your intention to display the character as apathetic, uninterested, uninvested, distracted or depressed, maybe then the reader just did not pick up what you were putting down. You could change your work because of this, or you could leave it the same and the next reader, or the many silent readers aside, will most likely feel differently. When someone has a suggestion on the changing of grammar, consider--- is it hard to read? I should probably change this, I'm *glad* they pointed it out. We sometimes write with blinders on, it is not an insult for someone to turn our head and make us look in another direction. It is not an insult for someone to suggest we need improvement, especially when they give examples as to how to help. It is not an insult to share our work and accept that not everyone will like it, and that we can take their advice both with grace and with self-respect. Listen to your readers, listen to your heart, and collaborate with the two.

aka my favorite theory to write with

I don't see this one talked about often, and I don't even know if its a real theory for literature or just something my mentor shared with us, but I am going to introduce you to it now if you have not considered it before.

Many books begin with two characters meeting for the first time. Often plot points, especially in romance, include meeting each other's extended social groups, friends and relatives, all of whom do not know the other party to any extent so they are forming opinons of each other for the first time.

But there are lots of pieces of media that work *because* the characters all know one another from the start, in a variety of ways. Consider the primarily comedic How I Met Your Mother or Friends. Often when a new character is introduced, the conflict or rising action of their introduction is pointing out their connection to another character where in the introducer did not know that the introducee knew an adjacent member of the party. This is a very direct way to use Small World Theory and is the most common.

But my mentor taught us a more subtle way, and it is my absolute favorite--- the indirect method. Consider this; in the place you live, you are only ever 3 people away from someone you know, whether its a friend or your doctor or a worker at the gas station you frequent. When you travel to a place you don't live (within your country/state of origin), you are generally still only about 7-10 people away from someone you know, potentially even less. Often these connections are not something we think about or even know about one another; a mutual friend who is important to one party but simple an acquaintance to the other can still make for compelling conflict if one is wronged by the other and the middle person has to consider which relationship is more important to them-- or they find out that this conflict exists, and it changes their perspective on one party.

The connection can be even more subtle than that. You can reveal a lie by indicating that one party seems familiar or alluring to another party, and then later explain to the reader that the liar seemed familiar because the pov character caught them in the lie BEFORE they knew who they were, witness-of-the-crime style, but this can be used for anything not just real crime. See, we observe other people's lives every day and barely notice, until something sticks out to us when we gain information we didn't have before. Perhaps the liar suggests they had a good relationship with an ex lover, but the MC witnessed the liar and their ex in an altercation outside a restraunt weeks before, only now realizing these two situations are connected.

Even further than that, you can give your characters a mutual motivation or development. Have one be taught by an influential teacher who later moves after the character has graduated and is again an influential figure for another character, giving them an intertwined sense of morality, or perhaps an inverse form because they were influenced by this character at different points in their lives. More options; you could make two characters familiar with one another in a way that the other characters don't immediately understand, to the point where it becomes almost bothersome, and they have to confront their nagging interest with a conversation, only to find out these characters they thought were just friends are actually blood relatives or co-workers, or even dating without anyone realizing.

These are all ways we can realistically create connections through individual characters in subtle ways, which is the meat of our theory, but what is the meal? What is the big picture? Make them all connected.

If Character A is connected to Character B then Character B must be connected to Character C who is connected to Character D and Character D connects back around to Character A. That is the 3-person adjancy we see in our real world. For maximum effect, rather than making these connections unique between each individual pair, instead have them all connected in different ways to a fifth Character E. If Character E is the ex lover of Character A, but also the co-worker of Character B, the acquaintance of Character C and the current lover of Character D, then you have motivational connections between all of these people around the same topic. If the conflict is that Character D and Character A are at odds, then Character B might be on the side of Character D due to their bond with their coworker, or they could be on Character A's side because they can't stand their co-worker. Character C might be annoyed that they're dragged into a situation about someone they barely know, or they could be a drama-hound who loves to eat up the details of other people's lives. Character B could be a gossip, Character D could be in an unwittingly abusive relationship, Character A could be an empowered victim, Character C could be an unbiased observer. All dancing around the same central point; how did Character E affect us?

Small World Theory explores the intimate connections that we have with other humans, even when we don't realize it. It helps us craft backstories for our characters that take place moment by moment, instead of years or decades at a time of doing the same thing. It begs the question; who do they know that's off screen and how would knowing that person affect the story? How can we make characters have rich, intriguing and complex lives without showing the reader every moment, every acquaintance, and without beating them in the head with exposition? Through connection. You don't even have to fully explain any of these connections, but knowing they're there can really change how you view your plot, your character's motivations and their personalities.

Always remember, write because it hurts if you don't.