In Which I Tell Myself To (1) Survive by Nullibicity, literature
Literature
In Which I Tell Myself To (1) Survive
2. Do not choke yourself with
the name of a murderer
around your neck.
Instead, let it in.
Give it the chance to testify,
because more than likely:
it will understand.
It will tell you we all must
kill something which we love.
But do not let it give you its name:
you, white rabbit girl, grow
too attached (
When I was nine and my brother was seven, our dad and his girlfriend took us to the fairground. I had only met dad’s girlfriend a few times before. Her name was Ursula, and I wished she did look like Ursula the sea witch. Really, she looked as though she had stepped right out of a magazine.
When Ursula saw us, her red lips stretched really wide to show her perfect white teeth, but her eyes didn’t smile. My brother didn’t seem to notice. He chatted away to both of them about his favourite rides, but I didn't want to look up at her face after that. When my dad went to get change from a machine, I sat next to Ursula on the ben
4 Tips for Creating Universe Filler Characters by DesdemonaDeBlake, literature
Literature
4 Tips for Creating Universe Filler Characters
4 Tips for Creating Universe Filler Characters
Anybody Can Write a Novel 2.0
Chapter 5 “Characters” – Section 5 “Filler”
(Previous Tutorial) (Next Tutorial)
“Respect your characters, even the minor ones. In art, as in life, everyone is the hero of their own particular story; it is worth thinking about what your minor characters' stories are, even though they may intersect only slightly with your protagonist's.”
-Sarah Waters
Every character that your audience encounters adds a spice to your story and your world. There is no such thing as a character that exists in a vacuum which
poem for the girl who told me life was meaningless by MisfitableGrae, literature
Literature
poem for the girl who told me life was meaningless
every winter, it freezes so unforgivingly
that i can never believe that next spring
there will be flowers bursting from the soil.
but i know you don’t care
about that. you want footprints in
stone, but all your shores are filled only with
sand and i understand why you said what you said but
i know a man who drove trucks in Vietnam
and now drives a bus full of children to school
every morning. don’t tell me that doesn’t mean
anything, not when i’ve seen the way his hands
grip the steering wheel, knuckles white tight.
not when he carries pictures of his grandkids in his
wallet, like dog tags around his neck.
we have
6 Ways to Add Mystery to your Story by DesdemonaDeBlake, literature
Literature
6 Ways to Add Mystery to your Story
6 Ways to Add Genuine Mystery to your Story – With Reference Material for the Rules of Mystery
One of the most common and most annoying things that I come across, when editing manuscripts, is when there is a vague mention of the protagonist's back-story or mission. I ask the writer why they don't clarify, and they tell me that they wanted to leave a mystery for the audience. This is not mystery, that is leaving the audience in the dark. Today, I want to talk about the difference between this cheap ploy, and creating genuine mystery in your story. But before we begin, let me share the first rule of creating mystery:
The first rule of m
3 Tips on Writing a Novel that aren't Complete BS by DesdemonaDeBlake, literature
Literature
3 Tips on Writing a Novel that aren't Complete BS
3 Tips on Writing a Novel that aren't Complete Bullshit
Today, I spent a good many hours scouring the internet for tips on improving my writing. You know, useful and practical suggestions for someone who has actually written a bit and wants hints on some of the finer points of writing—you know, as opposed to just wanting to learn how to get publishers interested in the latest Hunger Games or Twilight knock-off. Well, other than the two masters of storytelling—Stan Lee and Stephen King—I found nothing. I thought to myself, “Blake, even you could offer better writing advice than this!” And so I have. Here are thre
9 Traits that Readers Want in Your Story's Hero by DesdemonaDeBlake, literature
Literature
9 Traits that Readers Want in Your Story's Hero
PLEASE NOTE THAT WHILE THIS PAGE WILL REMAIN ACTIVE FOR PURPOSES OF EDUCATION AND RECORDS, IT IS OUTDATED. CLICK HERE TO ACCESS THE NEWEST VERSION.
9 Traits that Readers Want in Your Story's Hero
Today, I will conclude the trio of character types that I started with Villains and Antiheroes, by discussing what readers want from your story's Hero. Please note that I am speaking specifically about a heroic protagonist, not just any protagonist for any sort of story. Also remember that it could be the case that a story is about the protagonist BECOMING the hero. In this case, the story should be about learning or gaining these traits as they ma
9 Steps for Adding Genuine Depth to Your Story by DesdemonaDeBlake, literature
Literature
9 Steps for Adding Genuine Depth to Your Story
9 Steps for Adding Genuine Depth to Your Story
(Or Ridding Your Story of Pseudo-depth)
When writing a story, one of the most important aspects to the writer will be the themes. In other words, the message you want to tell the world through your characters, plot, and struggles. However, even stories with a good message often fail on a number of levels, or else try to be deep but come off sounding ridiculous. Today, I'm going to talk about how to create genuine depth in the themes, characters, and dialogue of your story, without turning it into a sermon.
Step 1: Focus on the story and perfect it, long before you worry about the themes.
Th
five things they don't teach you in highschool by Khaimin, literature
Literature
five things they don't teach you in highschool
1.
it's okay to fall in love.
i mean, they tell you you're never going
to marry your high school sweetheart and i'm not going
to tell you it's a lie
because it's not. you guys will probably
break up and it's gonna hurt like hell
but you'll be okay. remember, you are not the only one
who has felt loneliness like a knife,
the only one to know the pain of lungs collapsing
because they were your air,
and you will never be the only one who whispered
"i love you" two lives too soon.
you will not be the last one to have tucked
hair behind their ear and leaned in for a kiss
or the last one to wake up reaching for a hand that's no longer there.
b