Writing Sideblog

Google BetaBooks. Do it now. It’s the best damn thing EVER.

You just upload your manuscript, write out some questions for your beta readers to answer in each chapter, and invite readers to check out your book!

It’s SO easy!

You can even track your readers! It tells you when they last read, and what chapter they read!

Your beta readers can even highlight and react to the text!!!

There’s also this thing where you can search the website for available readers best suited for YOUR book!

completely double spaced version on google docs here – this post is more blocky for the sake of people’s dashboards, but still long so people will be less likely to glaze over it. my apologies if that makes it hard to read

things to look for and avoid in an autistic character

• symptoms only manifesting as “nonverbal and rocking” • super smart / living calculator • super dumb / doesn’t understand anything • all the symptoms you can come up with for them are “awkward” and “has special interest(s)” (please do more research) • trains, technology, and/or math as special interests • acting like a child • getting treated like a baby • unreasonably cruel and uncaring about others’ reactions to them being cruel • if they’re comparable to sheldon from the big bang theory, start over • animal comparisons • a lack of feelings • please no stories about what it’s like to be autistic told by allistics

the right way to write an autistic person

• lots of symptoms, including secondary ones not included on a general diagnosis requirement list (here’s a list i rather like that was made by an autistic person – their blog is also a good resource) • having a good amount of general knowledge and actually talking about it (i cannot believe that i have to say this) • talking about things outside of special interests (again…. come on……….) (special interests are usually the default things our brains go to when theres no stimulation or we want to entertain ourselves – it isn’t literally all we think or talk about ever. if a conversation has no connections to a special interest, reconsider having your autistic character bring it up in a context that is not an introduction.) • explicitly expressed to be capable of attraction and romantic feelings – if your character is an adult, add sexual feelings to this point • capable of general functioning, just with a disability that makes it more difficult – not a walking disability (….sigh) • a wide amount of feelings and emotional turmoil (but perhaps only being able to express it in limited ways) • we’re people • just people whose brains are wired differently

things to avoid in research for an autistic character

• autism moms / autism blogs and websites not run by autistic people • any affiliation with autism $peaks means you should walk away and never look back • a scientist trying to create explanations for what autistic people do without actually asking / not mentioning asking autistic people • anything about a cure for autism • a person that “worked with autistic kids” phrased in the same way as “worked with animals” • talking about autistic people as if they are mysteries, are like animals, or are otherwise othered weirdos instead of people

things to look for in research for an autistic character

• actual autistic people talking about their experiences and symptoms • just stick to that and you’re good but it’s hard to find sometimes ngl. just look for the above red flags

things i would personally like to see in an autistic character

• less easy to swallow sadness and more destructive anger. i would love to see a canonically autistic character who was frustrated easily by small things and had trouble communicating why • not a story about being autistic, a story that happens to have a character or characters who are autistic – it isn’t pointed out or questioned, they’re right at home with the rest of the cast and not othered (a la symmetra from overwatch) • intensive sensory issues / small sounds making large reactions • clear communications about not liking x sensory thing (for example being touched) • poor motor skills / clumsiness and not being laughed at for it • walking funny (body bent downwards, walking very fast, walking slowly, big strides, shuffling, stiffness, etc)  – no one treats it as if it’s funny or something totally strange • a big personality that has a presence so they can’t be cast aside (but feel free to have quiet characters too) – if this was along with being nonverbal they would probably leap to being one of my favorite characters ever • a fear of asking for clarification on sarcasm or jokes because of past experiences and an arc about the character becoming more comfortable asking questions

>> if any fellow autistic people want to add something, feel free <<

– Not everyone should love the hero.

– The more antagonists you have the more conflicts you create.

– Real life should happen to the characters, even if they are saving the world they have jobs and responsibilities.

– Give the character interests and friends outside of work.

– Multiple point of views aren’t a bad thing if you know how to juggle them.

– It all needs to come together at the end.

– Not every antagonist needs to be vanquished at the end.

– – Give us more than one character to love– (from Diantha)

— Make each and every character count — (from Diantha)

How to Avoid Glorifying White Characters

Who drives the action?

Are scenes where the white character is involved comparably more action-driven?

Are they constantly acting on others while others react to their statements and decisions?

Do they push the majority of the story events forward?

It’s good to have active characters in general, but the white main character should not create all of the plot momentum.  If non-white characters are metaphorically being pushed out of the way to make room for the white character’s big scenes, you probably have a glorified white character problem.

Who Resolves The Problems?

Is your white character the handyman for everyone’s issues? What do PoC accomplish among themselves without a white character fixing for them?

Your white characters are allowed to support and protect others. Just ask yourself if they have to intervene in the circumstance at hand and just how much they play hero throughout the plot. If it’s more than a couple times, consider writing out a list of 1-2 alternative scenes where it doesn’t play out that way. What if PoC saved themselves or each other? Replace a white-as-hero-centric scene with one of those.

Create ugly, high-stakes flaws

Consider the white character’s major flaws, and how they play out in the plot.

Are they “cute” flaws? Can their imperfections be spun into a positive, such as shyness or perfectionism? If their flaw could answer the “what are your weaknesses” question in an interview, it’s not ugly enough. Ugly flaws are complex. Complex flaws do not place characters into situations where readers are lead to feel sorry for them. Create people, not angels.

Say your white character’s flaw is caring about others more than he should. While this can certainly cause problems, one cannot think too negatively of the character who simply loved too much for his own good!

If you’re stumped by your flawless hero– consider the neutral traits of the character and where they can go wrong. For example: your protective white lover could have a problem reining in his jealousy, which might also stem from insecurity, lack of trust, or being too controlling.

Not only should white characters have real flaws, but there should be real consequences to their slip-ups. Having a white character who makes fewer and less impactful mistakes than everyone else is a cause of concern.

Protective White Man to Black Woman Plot

I’m not opposed to the white man being a hero for his Black woman lover. I think we need more stories where Black women are not forced to hold the world alone but can step back to be protected by others, whether that’s in romantic love or friendship. Simply remember that your Black woman is still a character. She should act and create plot momentum. That may not play out in her protecting him physically or emotionally, but in other areas that matter. Recognize where her strengths lie, and start from there.

If you could replace her character with a doll with a button that spits out a couple of phrases, you’ve made a passive character who is likely being overshadowed by the white man character.

Solutions

Most readers appreciate a character who is not a perfect, dust-free replica of a human.

Evaluate your story for the pitfalls mentioned above, and remedy accordingly. I suggest you lay out your story events and make out some lists:

Look at your white character’s personalities, and contrast them to the major Characters of Color. List out each characters’ major moments of glory and failure. If the scales aren’t balanced, consider adding and reducing where it fits.

Examine the characters’ major flaws and mistakes. Assure white characters and PoC stand on somewhat equal playing ground.

Consider the conflict throughout the plot and who plays the bigger part in resolving them.

If the scales aren’t balanced:

Add – POC-centered action scenes. It’s alright if the white characters step out of the action for a while. Sometimes it’s okay for them to react for a change vs. stirring up all of the action.

Reduce – White character-centered action scenes. Replace them with moments where the PoC plays the more active roles or with scenes where they both help solve the problems. Note that not every problem should require the assist of a white person, but working together can be a wonderful thing too, especially in the case of loved ones.

- thinking “Oh, there’s a little smudge. I’ll just clean it quickly”, then taking the glasses off and wondering how the hell you could see with what looks like three layers of dirt on them

- giving your loved one a little kiss but in the wrong angle so their nose touches your glasses

-if you have long eyelashes, having to push your glasses down your nose so they dont constantly rub each other, then having to push them up cuz you cant see

-WHY WONT YOU STAY ON MY FACE?!?!?!

-forgetting where you put them then having to either ask for help or judge your entire surroundings

-dont like contacts? like cosplaying? guess what! you’re blind now!

-trading glasses with other glasses wearers to see how blind your friends are

-when there’s a smudge that just. Won’t. Go. Away.

-“hey do you have lens cleaner?”

-your old glasses become your back up pair in case your current ones break

- they dont need glasses. Their arms are just TOO short. Stretch those arms AND put on a light. Use your phone’s flashlight if you need to. You are not old. The letters are just too small.

-some accept there fate. Glasses on, off, on, off.

- yes they are on the top of your head

- cords are for losers

- multifocale glasses come in crappy expensive ones and riduculously expensive slightly better ones

-when going down the stairs, chin on your chest, or you WILL fall (and break your hip)

Others

When you are fasting (ramadan) your eyesight can change, when adding or loosing weight also, when pregnant also, in growspurt also.

Titanium glasses break less but when they do they are hard to repair.

If you got a really flat nose, good luck with wearing glasses

If you got a large nose, good luck finding a pair that fits.

If your eyes are close to eachother. Every glasses you wear look dumb. Try the kids section

Also they get anime eyes

In my three years as an editor and two as a writing center tutor, I have learned that commas are the most commonly misunderstand punctuation.

Even worse, commas in fiction can be subjective. I’m going to cover some bases with how to use commas that aren’t as obvious.

Use commas for independent clauses. Independent clauses are sentences that can stand on their own.

Amelia couldn’t stand looking at Oliver, but she also couldn’t stand that she had been betrayed by someone who loved her since they met. Remove the ‘but,’ and both sentences can stand on their own. However, when a sentence is short with two independent clauses, a comma isn’t necessary: I like apples and he likes bananas.

Use a comma to set off introductory elements. The introductory element is often a dependent clause, meaning it depends on an independent clause to function as a full sentence.

Racing away from Theosodore, Amelia threw herself against the door and began slamming her fists against the flimsy wood.

Use commas between independent clauses and dependent clauses.

Amelia was still shaken, although she hadn’t lost her life. If you add the second phrase in front of the independent clause, it becomes an introductory element—hence, add that comma.

Use commas to set off parenthetical elements. The parenthetical element is a sentence that can be removed without changing the meaning.

Amelia’s brother, who is eight years old, can see the shadows, too. Remove the parenthetical element, and the meaning doesn’t change.

Use a comma to prevent misunderstanding.

Amelia ran to the door, running faster than a hoard of skittering spiders. Without that comma, people would think the door was running.

Outside, the blue sky contrasted with the storm in Amelia’s heart. Remove the comma, and the sentence becomes nonsense. 

Use a comma to separate coordinate adjectives.

The tall, terrifying shadow stood over Amelia, glaring deep into her eyes. Here’s a simple trick: put and between tall and terrifying. Read it out loud. If it makes sense, then put a comma there.

Now here are some sentences where comma usage can be subjective in fiction. These commas are stylistic choice.

“So she went to the store.” Without a comma, this reads as a simple statement, changing the tone entirely. It seems as if the speaker is annoyed.

“So, she went to the store.” This reads as more of an explanation than a simple statement.

Amelia couldn’t stop the shadows because she was too busy protecting her brother. A comma doesn’t really seem necessary, however…

Amelia hated staring into Oliver sad gray eyes filled with unending voids, because she could see so much of herself in them. I put a comma there, as the sentence before ‘because’ is longer than previous example I gave. But, really, using a comma before ‘because’ is actually pretty subjective, depending on how you want your readers to read it. It also helps to break up a longer sentence. 

Another interesting comma usage that can change the meaning of a sentence entirely. “Stop slapping, Nathaniel.” Without that comma, Nathaniel is the one being slapped.

There are a bunch of other rules for commas, but I wanted to point out the most commonly misused rules. (Don’t overuse commas.) Here is a link for more instances of comma usage: http://grammar.ccc.commnet.edu/grammar/commas.htm

if you’re anything like me, working on a computer is a dangerous thing. i’ll get distracted by everything - that one email i should respond to, all the pictures of my dog, tumblr, and so on. I recently discovered an amazing resource to stop that.

it’s called writer’s block, and is free to download! 

when you open it, it shows this screen, where you can choose either a time limit or word goal

then when you start, it opens a document that fills the entire screen like this

and you cannot quit the app or open anything else until your word/time quota is filled. i just wrote half of my english speech that i’ve been putting off all morning, and it took only 20 minutes!

If we’re being honest, one character is always the most fun to develop when you’re writing a new story. It must be the main character, right? The person you’re going to follow throughout the story, the one that means the most to you?

Nope. It’s the villain.

Villains are just FUN. You get to creep into the darkest corners of your writer brain and conjure up the most unashamedly detestable human being you possibly can. 

This is how we look when we begin creating a villain. 

But sometimes, it can be difficult to to make sure they’re fully believable humans. So here are the nine elements that have helped me out when developing these terrible people … 

1) Hero’s Shadow:

The relationship between the main character and the villain is the most important one in the story, because it is the source of all conflict. Without the villain causing trouble, the main character wouldn’t have the chance to be a hero. Without that trouble, the main character’s weaknesses wouldn’t be pressured, which means they couldn’t change. The villain is a condensed and magnified embodiment of the inner weakness that the hero is battling. They’re the SHADOW of hero, the example of what will happen if the main character goes down the wrong path. Both are facing the same problem in different ways. For example Darth Vader and Luke.  

2) Conflict Strategy:  

In the pursuit of stopping the hero from achieving their goal, the villain is going to attack them on 1) a personal relationship level 2) a societal level and 3) an inner level. They’re going to attack the people around them, they’re going to cause consequences for the community surrounding them, they’re going to get into their head and plague them. Because the hallmark of a villain is that they’re the person who’s perfectly suited to attack the hero’s greatest weakness. Villains should have a distinct set of tactics to destroy the main character, on at least two levels. 

3) Flaws: 

This one’s expected. Of course a villain has flaws, it’s in the job description. But flaws do not equate to ‘He kicks turtles every morning before breakfast’ or ‘His favorite hobby is butterfly stomping’ or, more within the realm of possibility, “He wants to kill the hero”. These are evil actions, NOT flaws. A lot of villains, particularly in movies, will be given horrible things to do without any explanation for WHY they do them. And it’s pretty easy to give them reasons: just give them human weaknesses! That’s it. Whether the actions they take are as small as theft or as big as blowing up a planet, these actions stem from recognizable HUMAN FLAWS. So like a main character, a villain needs mental and moral flaws.  

Yup, even Maleficent has human flaws. And she’s a dragon part of the time. 

4) Counter Goal: 

All characters exist because they want something. And what do villains want? To get whatever the main character wants (for very different reasons), to stop them from reaching their goal, or another goal that directly conflicts with the hero’s goal. As long as that big tangible thing they want locks hero and villain in battle, you’re good. Think 101 Dalmatians: Cruella and the good guys are fighting over the puppies.  

5) Surface Motivations:  

Why is it that villains always have a team of followers? Because villains never outright state their true motivations. They always have a cover story, and that cover will paint them as righteous. Villains want to look like the good guy. So their real Hidden Motivations are defended by twisting perceptions of Good & Evil, by portraying evil acts in a positive light, by indulging their followers selfish emotions and desire to feel like “one of the good guys. “ 

Take Gothel for example: she’s a loving mother who wants to protect her daughter from all the world’s darkness. (Sure you do, Flynn stabber.)  

Surface Motivations never stand up to logical scrutiny and a functioning moral compass, but giving your bad guy a compelling argument against your good side always makes things more interesting, which brings us to …

6) Counter Statement:

The main character needs to learn some kind of truth that will enable them to fix their lives, overcome their weaknesses, banish their ghosts. It’s whatever statement about “how to live a better life” you want to prove with your story. Your villain has other ideas. They don’t agree with that statement, have other beliefs about living life well, and represent an argument against it. For example, Voldemort: “there is no good and evil, there is only power, and those too weak to seek it.“ 

Although your argument isn’t very convincing, Voldy. I mean, you’re living in the back of some guy’s head.

7) Characterization: 

This is everything on the surface of the villain. The way they speak, the way they look, the way they act, their role in life, their status and power. This is the facade they project for the world to see, a calculated effort to control how they are perceived. This is closely connected to that surface want, because that surface is what they wish people to believe about them. Over time, the reader and the other characters are going to be able to see through this mask and see what it conceals. My favorite Disney example of this is Mother Gothel: on the surface she’s this bubbly mom who loves Rapunzel and wants to protect her from the harshness of the world. 

You can think of this as the text … 

8) Hidden Motivation: 

And this is the subtext. That surface motivation they want the world to believe is a mask concealing their true motivation, which is always rooted in their flaws,  selfishness, and skewed beliefs. 

9) Ghosts, Justification, Self-Obsession: 

These three are closely related, so they get counted together. Like main characters, villains have GHOSTS: events from their backstories that knocked their worldviews out of alignment, that marked the beginning of their weaknesses, that haunt them still. Because these happened, the originally benign person allowed themselves to turn into someone who could occupy the job of “villain” in a story. Usually, these events are genuine misfortunes and are worthy of sympathy, just like the ghosts of a main character. Think of Voldemort growing up in an orphanage talking to snakes.

BUT! When it comes to ghosts, the major difference between a hero and a villain is HOW THEY DEAL with these unpleasant past events. Both have suffered, but react to suffering in very different ways. A villain will be consumed by these events, obsessed with the real (or imagined) persecution or disadvantage they’ve endured, convinced that all personal responsibility is nullified by their status of injured party. Past tragedies become a talisman that grants immunity from decency. 

This scene from A Series of Unfortunate Events sums it up.  An adult makes an excuse for a terrible person by saying he had a terrible childhood. And Klaus replies: 

Yes, maybe they’ve both lived through tragedy. But THE KIDS aren’t hurting others because of it. 

Because villains, who are constantly victimizing heroes, are completely convinced that THEY are the true victims here. No matter what they do, no matter what they are, they blame everything on that ghost, whether it was another person, society, or circumstances. And later they blame the hero, who they see as the REAL villain. For example, Frollo from The Hunchback of Notre Dame:  

“It’s not my fault, I’m not to blame”

So! WHY are villains like this?

SELF-OBSESSION! Yup, villains spend an unhealthy amount of time thinking about themselves and their plights and their plots. Think of any villain and it’s not hard to see the inherent narcissism behind everything they do. Like willingness to take action is the nonnegotiable trait of a main character, self-obsession is the trait that all villains seem to share. 

So! Developing villains in this way has worked out for me so far. If it looks like it might be helpful for you, give it a try.

And in the spirit of creating someone to torment our main characters and ruin their lives, here’s one more maniacal laugh for the road:

Sexual jealousy

Constant aggression

Rigid hierarchy

Must win sports

Homophobia And Sexism Is Normal™

Eat people

Cool new werewolf instincts:

There is no five second rule

Corvids are friends

Hang out as a pack

Karaoke

Separation anxiety

Unconditional love and loyalty

Being able to sleep in almost any situation or position

Irresistible urge to chase squirrels and rabbits

Hating the vacuum cleaner

Wanting to do everything with friends

Loudly and repeatedly announcing to housemates that someone is at the door

Long, shouted conversations to other werewolves across the neighborhood (bonus points at 2am)

Taking advantage of any and all free food

Werewolf-vampire solidarity

Fighting any animal that trespasses into the backyard

Boundless energy

Too much energy

Eating out of the trash if it smells tasty

Being bad at sports because you don’t want to let anyone else take the ball from you. Then destroying the ball in front of everyone because you want to make a point

Trying to fight things 10x your size like a fucking idiot

Being unable to hold a grudge for more than a few hours

Trying to make people feel bad for you over mundane things that aren’t actually that bad. And somehow succeeding.

Snoring

Needing to try a bit of your friends’ food, even if you’ve tried it 5645674 times before and have never once liked it

Getting way too friendly with random strangers

Being in a love-hate relationship with water

Digging. For no reason.

Thinking you’re a badass despite being a hyperactive ball of emotions and hedonism

I had a minute, so I figured I’d throw something together that DID suit my needs!

(Note: This chart regards a character’s intent rather than the outcome of their actions—and for sake of clarity, here are the definitions I’m working with:

Good: concerned with the well-being the collective, often at expense of the self

Evil: concerned with the well-being of the self, often at the expense of the collective

Kind: concerned with the emotional responses of others

Cruel: unconcerned with the emotional responses of others)

I like conceptualizing things this way, cause sometimes Bad People behave with ‘good’ or ‘kind’ intentions, and sometimes Good People do things that seem ‘evil’ or ‘cruel’

Evil is a social term used to refer to things that the society has been told/decided are distasteful. Hence the historical declarations that non-heterosexuality, non-submissive women, people who don’t follow the dominant religion, etc.

A better term to use when talking about actually harmful practices is “malevolent.”

The problem with the use of social terms such as “evil” is that in rpgs things such as necromancy tend to be called evil, regardless of whether it actually does any harm. Further, the prioritization of the self over the outer has been demonized by society’s historical interest in exploiting the individual.

If I tell my boss “I’m sorry, I don’t care if someone else has to pull overtime, I need a break for my own health,” that’s prioritizing the self over the other, and the boss has a vested interest in portraying this as bad when the tall problem is the boss’ practices.

A better solution to the classic alignment chart is to explicitly recognize that “Good” means putting others above yourself, “Evil” means putting yourself before others, “Law” means conformity to a single view, and “Chaos” means individual views.

Or, how my WIP evolved from the nightmare that was draft two to the almost novel-like draft three.

My method for editing first drafts usually takes about two steps. 

Read it over.

Scrap it and rewrite the whole thing. 

Well, it’s a bit more complicated than that. I know, I know. It sounds really, really harsh. But with a first draft, you aren’t really editing it, you’re rewriting it. Because first drafts? They suck. Especially if you’re just starting out. 

Finishing a first draft can feel so good. You just wrote a shit-ton of words, and now you’re done! That’s how I felt when I finished my first draft (or, rather, second draft in this case, but that’s only because my first draft was a half-finished pile of trash that I won’t be counting for the purposes of this post). 

I mean, it’s how I wanted to feel. I was proud of the 50,000-odd words that I’d written, but I knew that it was full of structural problems, pacing issues, and even characterization. (Plus my main villain sucked. Like, really sucked.) 

So, without further ado, here are the slightly less simplified steps to rewriting that first draft: 

1. Get out a notebook, read over your manuscript, and take notes. 

Take notes on every scene. Ask yourself, is this scene necessary? Is it well-written?

Take notes on any ideas you have for improving the story. Would it be better if the love interest was also secretly a spy? Great! Now you have an interesting subplot. Write it down. 

Don’t get caught up in the little things. Does it say a character has blue eyes on one page and claim they’re green on the next? Are there a lot of grammar mistakes? Who cares. Is one of your characters consistently acting out-of-character? That’s a problem you should take note of. 

2. Find what’s wrong with it. 

There’s probably something wrong with your first draft. There’s probably a lot of things wrong. Are the characters flat/inconsistent? Is it rushed? Is the plot nonexistent/all over the place? Recognizing the problems is the first step to fixing them. 

3. Re-Outline

Even if you don’t outline, after reading over your first draft, you should probably make one. Even if the plot of your first draft was perfect, you should still write down the progression of events and how they fit together.

This will help during rewriting, and also to work out any issues you have in the plot. 

For me, this included brainstorms, timelines, and character arcs. 

4. Take the salvageable scenes from the first draft and put them in a document labeled “Draft 1 Highlights.” 

You’ll be very tempted to take the scenes you like and copy-paste them directly into the new draft. DO NOT DO THIS. Just don’t. Chances are, by the time you get to them, the story will be shifted. You’ll also limit the freedom of taking the plot in a better direction if you feel obligated to include pre-written scenes. 

Make sure to hold onto the first draft. I’ve used the first draft as reference several times during the re-writing process, especially toward the end, where the first and second drafts overlap a bit more. Even so, even if the scenes are similar, never copy-paste. Open the first draft in a second window and look at it as you rewrite. Your second draft will be better for it. 

5. Start writing. 

You’re not going to get anywhere if you don’t start writing. When it came to my manuscript, I wrote about three or four first chapters before I found one that worked (and ended up using one of the earlier beginnings as a flashback later on.) And if you want, you can go out of order! It’s up to you, and everything depends on the level of revisions your WIP needs. 

What it’s Like to be Abrosexual

What it’s Like to be Agender

What it’s Like to be Aroflux

What it’s Like to be Aromantic

What it’s Like to be Asexual

What it’s Like to be Bigender

What it’s Like to be Biromantic

What it’s Like to be Bisexual

What it’s Like to be Demigirl

What it’s Like to be Demiromantic

What it’s Like to be Demisexual

What it’s Like to be Gay

What it’s Like to be Genderfluid

What it’s Like to be Genderflux

What it’s Like to be Genderqueer

What it’s Like to be Gendervoid

What it’s Like to be Lesbian

What it’s Like to be Lithromantic

What it’s Like to be Maverique

What it’s Like to be Nebularomantic

What it’s Like to be Neutrois

What it’s Like to be Nonbinary

What it’s Like to be Panromantic

What it’s Like to be Pansexual

What it’s Like to be Polysexual

What it’s Like to be Queer

What it’s Like to be Quoigender

What it’s LIke to be Quoiromantic