tumblin' talent

Haven’t done one of these in a while 

kill someone

ask this question: “What could go wrong?” and write exactly how it goes wrong

switch the POV from your current character to another - a minor character, the antagonist, anyone

stop writing whatever scene you’re struggling with and skip to the next one you want to write

write the ending

write a sex scene

use a scene prompt

use sentence starters

5 Fantasy Research Tips & Resources

Building a fantasy world is frankly one of the best parts of writing, if you ask me. You get to pull together all this eccentric stuff like Cornish mythology and breakfast tea and pirates and talking dogs and viola, somehow it meshes into this new exciting world. And the crazy thing is you get to do all this cool research, and then you can blow it out the window and dance to your own jazz! It’s your world, baby, so let’s build something.

But first, we’re going to have to…

1. Steal Stuff The most successful fantasy worlds are based on the real world, or real world myths. Tolkien’s Middle Earth was inspired by Norse sagas and Anglo-Saxon culture and Narnia was very influenced by Greek mythology. Garth Nix’s fantasy series Abhorsen drew heavily on trench warfare in WWI. So when you set out to create a new world, have a look at things already exist, and see what you can steal.

Medieval England has been plundered neigh to death, so maybe have a think about other times, places, or legends. Or maybe try to take on Medieval England from a different angle. Add some shazam to that soup!

One recommendation I’d give you: Try your hardest to base your fantasy story on something that isn’t someone else’s fantasy books. I’m not going to name names, but you can really tell when someone has just ripped off of Lord of the Rings. (Hint: It is called dragon but one of the letters is changed. You’ll never guess!)

Some fun places to look for inspiration: SurLaLune Fairytales, Planet Earth (that really long documentary your grandma likes), and ye local library.

2. Name Stuff I find it really hard to brainstorm when I don’t have any names in place. So it’s time to name ALL the things! (Okay, not all of them, but all the really important stuff. Like countries.) I have been and always will be a fan of Behind the Name (and its cousin, Behind the Surname), where you can spend literal hours trolling through names. With fantasy, you might or might not want to change a letter or two, but for the uncreative or uninspired this is a good jumping point.

Keep in mind the sound of the names you choose. You may not be up for all-out language creation (see below), but you should try to think about what your character/country names sound like. For instance, it might be a little hard to believe that characters named Alfarsi, Freud, Victor, and Dayo are all from a country called Leesong (unless Leesong is a super diverse country full of immigrants, in which case that’s totally cool).

If real names are getting you down, you might want to take yourself to my two BFFs: Oxford English Dictionary Online or Online Etymology Dictionary. The OED is a blessed place of glory and beauty, but it is also not free (unless you’re still using your college login information long after you graduated I mean haha what). Ety is free, but not as thorough. (However, it is arguably easier to browse if you’re just mindlessly trolling for words.)

Last but not least, this is a good article on Writer’s Digest about what to do/not do when you’re making names.

3. Make Maps I’m going to cheat on this and just give you guys the link to a master post that’s far more thorough than I have space to be: The Whole Map on Tumblr.

In case you don’t want to read that for some reason: Maps are important. You need maps to know where specifically your characters are moving and how far stuff is. If you hate the very thought of making a map, con one of your friends into doing it for you. (Hey, it worked for me!)

If you don’t need a full-scale country map, make a map of your characters’ environment. If it’s a boarding school, make floor plans (you can even use this handy floor plan builder). If it’s a ship, make ship plans. Do the thing! It will help with choreography, trust me.

4. Make Style-Guides Take thineself to Pinterest and make a style guide (or take up thine glue stick and turn on thine printer). Then gather costume images from around the web, pick colors if you’d like (characters color favorites and/or country/flag colors), and paste them together (or post them on a Pinterest board) to create your characters’ unique wardrobes. Believe or not, the clothes your characters wear, and the material those clothes are made out of, says a lot about both the character and the world.

Other (non-Pinterest) places to look: Costumer’s Guide to Movie Costumes, National Costumes of the World (25 of them, anyway), and Costume Institute at the Met.

5. Make Traditions In some ways, this goes back to #1: Steal stuff. Look at our real-world traditions and give some thought to how you can adapt them to your fantasy setting. What sort of music does your culture listen to? How do they dance? When does the new year start, and how do they celebrate it? Do they have a religion, and how is it observed?

Holidays and traditions should highlight what the cultures of your world value, and they can also be fun opportunities for showing off your characters and their beliefs.

MY WRITING MASTERPOST

I just have a lot of writing tips and masterposts and just stuff in my likes and I decided to put them all into this. All rights goes to the people who made them.

Cool Other Masterposts:

Writing Specific Characters

Writing References

Writing Masterpost

Character Guides

Writing Help for Writers

Ultimate Writing Resource List

Lots of RP Guides

Online Writing Resources

List of Websites to Help You Focus

Resources for Writing Bio’s

Helpful Links for Writing Help

General Writing Resources

Resources for Biography Writing

Mental Ilnesses/Disorders Guides

8 Words You Should Avoid While Writing

The Ultimate Writing Masterpost

General:

The Official Ten-Step Guide to Becoming the Next Gatsby

The Periodic Table of Storytelling

Joss Whedon’s Top 10 Writing Tips

Getting Out of Your Comfort Zone

34 Writing Tips that will make you a Better Writer

50 Free resources that will improve your writing skills

5 ways to get out of the comfort zone and become a stronger writer

10 ways to avoid Writing Insecurity

The Writer’s Guide to Overcoming Insecurity

The Difference Between Good Writers and Bad Writers

You’re Not Hemingway - Developing Your Own Style

7 Ways to use Brain Science to Hook Readers and Reel them In

8 Short Story Tips from Kurt Vonnegut

How to Show, Not Tell

5 Essential Story Ingredients

How to Write Fiction that grabs your readers from page one

Why research is important in writing

Make Your Reader Root for Your Main Character

Writing Ergonomics (Staying Comfortable Whilst Writing)

The Importance of Body Language

Fashion Terminology

All About Kissing

Genre Help: Romance

187 Mental Illnesses

Types of Mental Illness

Eye Color List

Spectral Groupings

Do you have trouble creating your titles?

On being a co-writer || Additional tips on effective co-writing 

The length of a chapter

How to deal with too many story ideas

On writing two stories simultaneously || a similar ask

When a story stops working

Copyright

Reading critically for writers

The question of outlining

Avoiding publishing scams

Finding story ideas

Tips on building a platform [guest blog]

How much does writing “in genre” matter?

What a “real writer” is

Pennames and aliases

A series of thoughts on series titles

The self-pub miniseries: the why

The self-pub miniseries: the what

Rewriting fanfiction into original fiction

Formatting long quotes and songs 

Characters:

10 days of Character Building

Name Generators

Name Playground

Universal Mary Sue Litmus Test

Seven Common Character Types

Handling a Cast of Thousands Part 1 - Getting To Know Your Characters

Web Resources for Developing Characters

Building Fictional Characters

Fiction Writer’s Character Chart

Body Language Cheat

Body Language Reference Cheat

Tips for Writers: Body Language

Types of Crying

Body Language: Mirroring

Character Building Workshop

Tips for Characterization

Character Chart for Fiction Writers

Villains are people too but…

How to Write a Character Bible

Character Development Exercises

All Your Characters Talk the Same - And They’re Not A Hivemind!

Medieval Names Archive

Sympathy Without Saintliness

Family Echo (Family Tree Maker)

Behind The Name

100 Character Development Questions for Writers

Aether’s Character Development Worksheet

The 12 Common Archetypes

Six Types of Courageous Characters

Kazza’s List of Character Secrets - Part 1, Part 2

Creating Believable Characters With Personality

Angry

Bad Asses

Bitches (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7)

Childishness

Emotional Detachment

Flirtatious

The Girl Next Door

Introverts (2)

Mean Persons (2)

Psychopaths

Party Girls

Rich (2) 

Rebels

Sarcasm

Serial Killers (2)

Shyness (2, 3)

Sluts

Villains (2)

Witt

Body Language Cheat Sheet

Creating Fictional Characters Series

Three Ways to Avoid Lazy Character Description

7 Rules for Picking Names for Fictional Characters

Character Development Questionnaire

How to Create Fictional Characters

Character Name Resources

Character Development Template

Character Development Through Hobbies

Character Flaws List

10 Questions for Creating Believable Characters

Ari’s Archetype Series

How to Craft Compelling Characters

List of 200 Character Traits

Writing Characters of the Opposite Sex

Making Your Characters Likable

Do you really know your characters?

Character Development: Virtues

Character Development: Vices

Character Morality Alignment

List of Negative Personality Traits

List of Positive Personality Traits

List of Emotions - Positive

List of Emotions - Negative

Loon’s Character Development Series - Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4

Phobia List A-L (Part 1), M-Z (Part 2)

30 Day In Depth Character Development Meme

Words for Emotions based on Severity

Eight Bad Characters

High Level Description of the Sixteen Personality Types

How Not to Write Female Characters

Writing Female Characters

How to write empowering female characters

Why I write strong female characters

Red Flags for Female Characters Written by Men

Writing strong female characters

The Female Character Flowchart

Eight Heroine Archetypes

Eight Hero Archetypes

Help on picking character names

A tip about realistic characters

Strategies to create believable characters

Additional tips on writing PoC characters

Advice on writing genders

Creating unstable characters

Ambiguous Antagonists

A tidbit on psychological trauma [trigger warnings]

On writing accents

What makes characters stick with me

Sweetening up character description

Making an introverted character stand out

Conveying too much or too little character “inner reflection”

Revealing a character’s asexual orientation

Revealing a character’s gender & orientation

A habit of killing characters

When characters aren’t standing out

Breaking hearts with character deaths

Quick tips on expressing character 

Character development versus pacing 

A mini guide to character voice

A Description Resource

55 Words to Describe Someones Voice

Describing Skin Colors

Describing a Person: Adding Details

Emotions Vocabulary

90 Words For ‘Looks’

Be More Descriptive

Describe a Character’s Look Well

100 Words for Facial Expressions

To Show and Not To Tell

Words to Describe Facial Expressions

Describing Clothes

List of Actions

Tone, Feelings and Emotions

Writing A Vampire

Writing Pansexual Characters

Writing Characters on the Police Force

Writing Drunk Characters

Writing A Manipulative Character

Writing A Friends With Benefits Relationship

Writing A Natural Born Leader

Writing A Flirtatious Character

Writing A Nice Character

Fiction Writing Exercises for Creating Villains

Five Traits to Contribute to an Epic Villain

Writing Villains that Rock

Writing British Characters

How To Write A Character With A Baby

On Assassin Characters

Disorders in general (2, 3, 4, 5) 

Attention Deficit Disorder

Antisocial Personality Disorder

Anxiety (2, 3, 4, 5) 

Avoidant Personality Disorder

Alice In Wonderland Syndrome

Bipolar Disorder (2, 3)

Cotard Delusions

Depression (2, 3, 4, 5, 6)   

Eeating Disorders (2, 3)

Facitious Disorders

Histrionic Personality Disorder

Multiple Personality Disorder (2)

Narcissistic Personality Disorder

Night Terrors

Kleptomania (2)

A Pyromaniac

Posttraumatic Stress Disorder

Psychopaths

Obsessive Compulsive Disorder (2) (3)

Sex Addiction (2)

Schizophrenia (2)

Sociopaths (2)

Aspergers Syndrome

Apathy 

Autism

Someone Blind (2)

Cancer (2, 3)

Disability

Dyslexia

Muteness (2, 3)

Stutter

Actors

Ballet Dancer (2)

Christianity

Foreigners

Gamblers

Hinduism

Hitmen

Satanism

Smokers

Stoners

Taoism

Journalists

Vegetarians

Alcohol Influence (2, 3, 4, 5)

Cocaine Influence

Ecstasy Influence (2)

Heroin Use

LSD Influence

Marijuana Influence (2, 3)

Opiate Use

Tips on Writing Dialogue:

It’s Not What They Say…

Top 8 Tips for Writing Dialogue

Speaking of Dialogue

The Great Said Debate

He Said, She Said, Who Said What?

How to Write Dialogue Unique to Your Characters

Writing Dialogue: Go for Realistic, Not Real-Life

Tips on Writing Point of View:

Establishing The Right Point of View

How to Start Writing in the Third Person

The I Problem

Style & Craft of Writing:

The literary “weak verb”

Do you have word tics?

Victoria’s Vitamins: vague descriptive words

Victoria’s Vitamins: mood

Breaking writing habits

Varying sentences

Describing colors

Sweetening up character description

Purple prose

Grammar is a tricksy thing

“Smartening” the language of your narrative

Building suspense and making readers sweat

A couple tips about description in fast-paced scenes

Content:

The story of exposition

10 ways to hit your reader in the gut

Make your reader root for your main character

Make your reader hold their breath

What’s the big deal about intros?

A tip about description

The word count of your manuscript

Things that make me keep reading

Choosing ideas and endings

When to describe setting

Battling cliches

Is your story YA, NA, or adult?

When a plot isn’t strong enough to make a whole story

Flashbacks with multiple POVs

Bulking up your word count

Avoiding cliches

Conquer that opening line || response || discussion

Tips on revealing setting awesomely kind of

Deciding between different ideas for the same story 

Revision:

You’ve finished your manuscript! Now what?

Revision sucks but doesn’t have to suck

Where to find beta readers/critique partners

Tips on taking critique

Tips on giving critique

What to do with bad writing advice

Additional insight on bad writing advice

Five quick steps to get into revising that manuscript

When to say you’re done revising

Beginning the awesome journey of revision

Friends are not always the best readers 

Plot, Structure, & Outline:

Writing A Novel Using the Snowflake Method

Effectively Outlining Your Novel

Conflict and Character Within Story Structure

Outlining Your Plot

Ideas, Plots and Using the Premise Sheets

How To Write A Novel

Creating Conflict and Sustaining Suspense

Plunge Right In…Into Your Story, That Is

Tips for Creating a Compelling Plot

36 (plus one) Dramatic Situations

The Evil Overlord Devises A Plot: Excerpt from Stupid Plot Tricks

Conflict Test

What is Conflict?

Monomyth

The Hero’s Journey: Summary of Steps

Outline Your Novel in Thirty Minutes

Plotting Without Fears

Novel Outlining 101

Writing The Perfect Scene

One-Page Plotting

The Great Swampy Middle

How Can You Know What Belongs In Your Book?

Create A Plot Outline in 8 Easy Steps

How to Organize and Develop Ideas for Your Novel

Create Structure in your novel using index cards

Choosing the best outline method for you

Hatch’s Plot Bank

Setting & Making Your Own World

Magical Word Builder’s Guide

I Love The End Of The World

World Building 101

The Art of Description: Eight Tips to Help Bring Your Settings to Life

Creating the Perfect Setting - Part 1

Creating a Believable World

Setting

Character and Setting Interactions

Maps Workshop - Developing the Fictional World Through Mapping

World Builders Project

How To Create Fantasy Worlds

Creating Fantasy and Science Fiction Worlds

Helpful Tools & Software:

Tip Of My Tongue - Find the word you’re looking for

Write or Die - Stay motivated

Stay Focused - Tool for Chrome, lock yourself out of distracting websites

My Writing Nook - Online Text Editor, Free

Bubbl.us - Online Mind Map Application, Free

Family Echo - Online Family Tree Maker, Free

Freemind - Mind Map Application; Free; Windows, Mac, Linux, Portable

Xmind - Mind Map Application; Free; Windows, Mac, Linux, Portable

Liquid Story Binder - Novel Organization and Writing Application; free trial, $45.95; Windows, Portable

Scrivener - Novel Organization and Writing Application; free trial, $39.95; Mac

SuperNotecard - Novel Organization and Writing Application; free trial, $29; Windows, Mac, Linux, portable

yWriter - Novel Organization and Writing Application; free; Windows, Linux, portable

JDarkRoom - Minimalist Text Editing Application; free; Windows, Mac, Linux, portable

AutoRealm - Map Creation Application; free; Windows, Linux with Wine

Grammer & Revision:

How To Rewrite

Editing Recipe

Cliche Finder

Revising Your Novel: Read What You’ve Written

Writing 101: Revising A Novel

20 Common Grammar Mistakes That (Almost) Everyone Makes

Synonyms for the Most Commonly Used Words of the English Language

Grammar Urban Legends

Words Instead of Walk (2)

Commonly Confused Adjectives

A Guide on Punctuation

Common Writing Mistakes

25 Synoms for ‘Expession’

How to: Avoid Misusing Variations of Words

Words to Keep Inside Your Pocket

The 13 Trickiest Grammar Hang-Ups

Other Ways to Say..

Proofreading

300+ Sophiscated and Underused Words

List of Misused Words

Words for Sex

100 Beautiful and Ugly Words

Words to Use More Often

Alternatives for ‘Smile’ or ‘Laugh’

Three Self Editing Tips

Words to Use Instead of ‘Walk’, ‘Said’, ‘Happy’ and ‘Sad’

Synonyms for Common Words

Alternatives for ‘Smile’

Transitional Words

The Many Faces and Meanings of ‘Said’

Synonyms for ‘Wrote’

A Case Of She Said, She Said

Creativity Boosters:

*Creative Writing Prompts

*Ink Provoking

*Story Starter

*Story Spinner

*Story Kitchen

*Language is a Virus

*The Dabbling Mum

Quick Story Idea Generator

Solve Your Problems By Simply Saying Them Out Loud

Busting Your Writing Rut

Creative Acceleration: 11 Tips To Engineer A Productive Flow

Writing Inspiration, Or Sex on a Bicycle

The Seven Major Beginner Mistakes

Complete Your First Book with these 9 Simple Writing Habits

Free Association, Active Imagination, Twilight Imaging

Random Book Title Generator

Finishing Your Novel

Story Starters & Idea Generators

Words to Use More Often

How to: Cure Writer’s Block

Some Tips on Writer’s Block

Got Writer’s Block?

6 Ways to Beat Writer’s Block

Tips for Dealing With Writer’s Block

Improvement:

Improve Your Writing Habits Now

5 Ways to Add Sparkle to Your Writing

Getting Over Roleplaying Insecurities

Improve Your Paras

Why the Right Word Choices Result in Better Writing

4 Ways To Have Confidence in Your Writing

Writing Better Than You Normally Do

How’s My Driving?

Motivation:

Backhanding procrastination

On habits and taking care of yourself || Response

More troubles with writing motivation

The inner critic and ways to fight it

The writing life is hard on us

For troubles with starting your story

Writing to be published

“You’re a writer, will you write this for me?”

Writing a story that’s doomed to suck

Writing stamina builds slowly

When depression goes and writing goes with it

Additional inner critic strategies

Tips on conquering NaNoWriMo (or any project, really)

You will change as a writer

Ways to keep writing while in school

13 quick tips when you’re starting your novel

First draft blues

Getting in your own way 

Writing an Application:

How to: Make That Application Your Bitch

How to: Make Your App Better

How to: Submit a Flawless Audition

10 Tips for Applying

Para Sample Ideas

5 Tips on Writing an IC Para Sample

Writing an IC Sample Without Escaping From the Bio

How to: Create a Worthy IC Para Sample

How to: Write an Impressive Para Sample

How to: Lengthen Short Para’s

Prompts:

Drabble Stuff

Prompts List

Writing Prompts

Drabble Prompts

How to Get Into Character

Writing Challenges/Prompts

A Study in Writing Prompts for RPs

Para Prompts & Ideas

Writing Prompts for Journal Entries