#writing tutorials

Hey hey, if you're new to Ellipsus, here's a quick tutorial to show you around a bit.

Can't afford Microsoft Office?? No problem, just download LibreOffice or OpenOffice, both in which are not-for-profit + open source, and you're good to go.

Need a dictionary to use when you're offline and have no internet or just need to know what something means + synonyms/antonyms?? No problem, just download WordWeb and you're good to go.

Need to create some fictitious deities for your fictitious race?? No problem, just go to Chaotic Shiny Productions, press CTRL + F, and type in Pantheon Generator Portable. Once downloaded, you're good to go.

Need to know how many words you need to write a day to reach your monthly goal of _____ number of words?? No problem, just go to Chaotic Shiny Productions, press CTRL + F, and type in NaNoWriMo Calendar. Once downloaded, you're good to go.

Want something that's better than Notepad because it auto-backups every-so-often and has a countdown word counter?? No problem, just download yEdit2 and you're good to go.

Need a program that allows you to do a scene-by-scene play for your works?? No problem, just download yWriter7 and you're good to go.

Want to be able to use ProWritingAid Pro without needing to purchase it?? No problem, just head to The ProWritingAid Team Trial Signup, get a Temporary Email (almost any of them will suffice), and create a new account every seven (7) days which will lead to an infinite number of #7DayTrails. You'll also need to download ProWritingAid and you're good to go.

this was created back when i was roleplaying on twitter , and i figured since there were a lot of people new to roleplaying , it would be nice to give advice <3

Introduction | Part 1: What is this Relationship? | Part 2: Creating Motivation and Appreciation for Readers | Part 3: A Day in the Life of… | Part 4: Creating Motivation and Appreciation for Writers: Perspectives | Part 5: Creating Motivation and Appreciation for Writers: Implementation | Part 6: How to Write the Best Feedback |  Part 7: Where Does This Leave Us?

Previously, I provided some perspective on why writers require feedback and a sense of appreciation. I believe fostering empathy for the writing process is vital in this relationship between readers and writers online, so understanding why it’s important is the first step. In this chapter, I would like to discuss the implementation of how to show your favorite writers appreciation and provide them motivation so they may continue to update the work that you so enjoy. I will mostly be focusing on feedback in the form of comments or reviews, but will mention a few other alternatives.

First, I’d like to provide a quick breakdown of why leaving feedback should matter to you:

1. It’s polite. It’s common courtesy. If someone took time out of their day to provide you with content you enjoy free of charge, then you should take a few minutes to show your gratitude. For more information on why, refer to Chapter 5: Motivation and Appreciation for Writers: Perspectives.

2. If anything, it can only help the writer — as such, this directly benefits you, the reader. Feedback is essential to the writing process. If writers do not receive feedback, they may not feel any incentive to continue writing or, at least, continue posting their work online.

3. This is your currency, your contribution to the online community. One-sided relationships are not healthy or productive. To maximize benefits for both parties, writers and readers, readers must also partake. For more information about currency, please refer to Chapter 2: What Is This Relationship?

With that said, let’s continue with things you can do for writers.

1. Leave feedback. This can come in the form of comments or reviews, notes, or even Facebook chats. The medium doesn’t matter so much, though I have heard from some writers that they prefer their feedback to all be in one place, not only for their reference, but also so that others may see it.

Nevertheless, feedback should be personal, specific, and thoughtful.

When constructing a comment, the content of what you write is important. This is your opportunity to show how much you appreciate and admire a writer’s work. You’ve probably heard of the age-old adage “quality over quantity,” and it applies here. Receiving a comment that says “Great! I love this!” or “I like this! Excited for next update!” is nice, but these comments don’t really tell the writer anything. For all they know, these comments could be copied and pasted from one source to the next — there isn’t any evidence in generic comments that readers have even read your work.

Think about something that you love, a hobby perhaps.

Let’s say you’re an artist, and two viewers leave comments on your work:

a) Pretty! Love seeing your work!

b) Oh, wow! Your art is breathtaking. I really love the vibrant colors you use to paint the background. Your characters always have the most expressive eyes — they’re like a portal to the soul. You clearly put a lot of love and effort into this, and it shows.

Which one would more likely motivate you to paint again? See what I mean?

Or, let’s assume that you’re a dancer. You have a performance, and two friends say:

a) That was great!

b) Your performance was amazing. I thought you were absolutely stunning in that dress, and your music selection is spot-on — it really matches your personality. I’d love the opportunity to see your next performance!

Which one would more likely give you warm fuzzies?

All options above took me less than a minute to type, which is far less time than a writer would spend on creating content for you. I encourage you to put yourself in the writer’s shoes when providing feedback. If all you provide are generic comments, do you think writers feel special at all?

How often should you leave feedback? Well, that depends. If the writer updates often, as in multiple times a week, perhaps a comment every other or every few chapters would suffice — I’m sure you are busy, to0, after all, and while I very much appreciate and enjoy reading all comments (they are always so nice to open my email to!), I don’t expect them every update. Then again, if you tend to leave shorter comments that take you no more than two or three minutes to compose, could it really hurt to brighten a writer’s day? If the writer updates less often, once per month, perhaps, then I think it’s good practice to leave a comment each time.

Consider this: I have a fuel tank for my inspiration when it comes to writing. I can run on a near-empty tank, but it’s difficult for me to do, and I struggle with creating content. It’s far easier for me to write and put out quality work when my inspiration tank is full. Every piece of feedback I receive fills it with a certain amount of inspiration.

A quick “Hey, this is really great! Every time you update, I get so giddy!” perhaps adds one measurement of inspiration.

A more detailed “Wow, I liked how you wrote [character name] in that scene — it was spot on! I feel like his personality is so hard to get right, but you really nailed that thought process. His interaction with [character name] really proves that he’s a lot softer than most people think he is!” perhaps adds three to four measurements of inspiration.

Then, a thoughtful “You know, I’m always so impressed with your depiction of [character name]. The cogs in his mind are always turning, and he’s so introspective. I felt that you captured his strategic disposition well here, and I’m eager to see how he’s going to use this newfound information to approach [character name]. I would think that he’d be a little more soft-spoken, though I’m also eager to see him kind of angry and protective. Looking forward to your next update! Your writing is always a treat to read!” could add ten measurements of inspiration.

Ultimately, readers should provide feedback as often as they’d like, knowing that each comment contributes to that inspirational fuel tank for their writers in varying degrees. If you want high quality, muse-filled updates, this feedback is absolutely essential to contributing to that process. This is why writers ask for feedback and are overjoyed to receive it — it is a precious resource that can only come from their dear readers.

One struggle I often hear from readers is that while they appreciate and enjoy my work, they don’t know what to say. But fear not! In the next chapter, I will go into detail on how to write these personal, specific, and thoughtful comments.

2. Leave likes, kudos, loves, whatever the medium of approval is. I would argue this is bare minimum, equivalent to a “Thank you. I like this.” If you received any amount of enjoyment from someone’s hard-wrought work, you owe them this. It is literally a click of the button and will take a fraction of a second.

I’ve seen notes from readers who say that they will never leave a kudo on AO3 content unless the work is finished. This thought process is asinine. I would compare this to you volunteering to help paint a friend’s house over a few days. You offer your labor free of charge, from the kindness of your heart, and your friend refuses to say thank you, buy you lunch, give you refreshments during the week. “I’ll only show you gratitude when you’re finished,” your friend says. This is toxic relationship. DO NOT do this. Give your writers the appreciation they deserve while they are hard at work, not just when they’ve finished. Do not be so emotionally deprived that you refuse to perform a simple task that can only make writers feel good about themselves and their work.

3. Bookmark, subscribe, and follow on social media. While this isn’t direct feedback, per se, each of these adds to a metric and can grant your favorite writer a following.

I normally wouldn’t say that bookmarks show appreciation because they’re more for the reader’s benefit that the writer’s, but I will say that I’ve seen some comments written on bookmarks on my works on AO3 that have really made me smile. Subscribing, again, is more for the benefit of the reader. However, adding to that number does denote a certain level of popularity for that piece of writing. Following your favorite writers on social media is much the same.

4. Fanart. If you are creatively minded, then perhaps you’d like to express your appreciation through artistic means. This goes without saying, but sending a writer a piece of art inspired by their work is flattering. 10/10 will give warm fuzzies. For me, I always welcome fanart and am thrilled to receive it.

5. Word of mouth and referrals. Market your writer’s content for them. You can tell your friends about it or recommend it via social media. It’s always wonderful to hear when new readers find and enjoy your work, and it’s the ultimate compliment, knowing that another reader referred them. If a writer has a Tumblr or Twitter, follow them and reblog or retweet their updates. I think this is a phenomenal way to show that you appreciate them and the hard work they put into their writing.

Of course, these are just a few ways for readers to express appreciation and motivate their favorite writers. If you have any other suggestions or practices, please feel free to leave a comment!

Next up is a tutorial on how to write quality comments. Stay tuned!

WHAT ARE QUIRKS AND WHY DO THEY MATTER?                                                      

According to the Cambridge Dictionary we define a quirk, as we are using it in this purpose, as follows:

Now I'm not talking about the stalkerish, rapey, abusive scummy lot.

They suck and need to be written a little less in my opinion. (Unless you do it right but apparently everyone likes to write about them and I HATE it.)

Anyway.

A good scummy character is something I dont see very often and I catch myself wonding why because I usually quite enjoy their characters and it's a proverbial goldmine when it comes to character development and humanization.

Let me first explain what I mean by a "good scummy character"

Characters that have wrecked their lives/done deplorable things/betrayed people they loved/retired vigilantes/thieves/spies

I could go on and on honestly. Any backstory will do.

I'm talking about bar flies. The ones that sit in the back of bars and are the people you get shady information when you need it. People usually stay clear of them but it so happens that your MC grows an odd relationship with said scummy bar fly and now they are friends. The bar fly may have very horrible morals but he would NEVER betray his strange friend for reasons only known to him.

Or a scummy character that works in the underground. They somehow get affiliated with your MC who somehow chatches their attention and they spend alot of their time keeping the MC (whom they've kinda adopted) from the dark side of their world.

Or an old addict who just can't seem to get their life together and are prone to being a total jerk but when it comes to the orphans of the city they would pick up their sword again to protect them. Why? Maybe because they were forced to kill orphans in the war or whatever.

Stop making all scummy characters just that. Trash. Even bad people arent just black and white and how dare you for assuming that every character that has led a dishonorable or "bad" life can't try and find redemption in some small way.

They CAN still be scummy but not to the people they look out for. NEVER TO THEM. Because at the end of the day there will always be someone to love.

You can make them more then just a broken soul.

People make mistakes. No one is just indifferent towards the horrible things they've done. Make your scummy characters real. Human.

Soooo if you're like me and have a LOT of characters (I have 23 and counting for one WIP, for example), and need them to all be pretty different from one another, I thought I'd share some of the things that I do to help develop their personalities/develop them in general!

•Draw them in different AU's/settings

If you like to draw, then draw them! But don't just draw them as they appear in your work. Draw them in different settings and AU's! Do you like a show/movie/book/anime? Who would your characters be if they were in that universe? What would they look like? The more complex the better. For example, say you like The Lion King. Who would your characters be in that setting? Would they be in Scar's role? Mufasa's? The possibilities are endless! This helps you fit your characters different situations, and helps you know if your character is fitting in a situation that might not be what you want, or vice versa!

•Draw them in a variety of clothes

Is your work set in a fantasy world? What would a Modern AU for them look like? What does their night clothing look like? Swim wear? Formal wear? Are they the type to wear bomber jackets and snapbacks, or would they wear dresses and skirts? You can do this vice versa too! If your character is from New York, what would they look like in Lord of the Rings?

•Make playlists for them

No joke. A major thing that's helped me define and develop my characters is music! What I do personally is find songs that "fit" the character, be it just by vibe, or the lyrics fit their story, or maybe it sounds like something they'd like! I compile them all into a playlist for each character.

Another thing I do is use song lyrics to develop backstories and relationships between characters! If the lyrics just really fit a character, they may become part of that characters story (for example, if the lyrics describe an event, something similar could take place for the character).

•Write them in different settings

Again, no joke! It makes a WORLD of difference to write drabbles about your characters, even if it won't go into the final product! It's about you knowing how that character would react to a certain situation. And knowing how they'd react to different situations helps you shape their personalities. For example, a sweet character might react to a murder with revenge, but why would they do so?

I don’t usually do writing tutorials, but I’ve been seeing a lot of people in need of tips for writing conflict, so I thought I’d write up this little reminder (even for myself at times). 

!REMEMBER! Conflict is not linear.