Constantly educate yourself. If you want to become a better writer invest in yourself. Read to get your creativity flowing and practise putting that on paper!
What do you read? And why do you like to read?
Happy Monday!
Read, Read, Read
writing help
Writing an Unreliable Narrator
An unreliable narrator is a protagonist who can’t be trusted to tell the events accurately. By having this narrator be insane, evil, delusional ect. hooks the reader to find their own truth.
Writing an unreliable narrator allows the author to play with withholding the truth and when to reveal it, keeping the reader on their toes.
If you would like to write your next story with an unreliable narrator in mind follow these tips:
Withhold information. Readers are used to having more information than the characters. So play with the idea of withholding information, and what information you would withhold.
Hint at the qualities early on. More often than not your narrator will be unreliable from the start. Unless it is a straight they suddenly developed. However, in order to make a fluent story your narrator should be unreliable from the start.
Characters interpretation. You don’t need a ton of other characters’ perspectives. However, you should use them to reflect the inconsistencies in your story.
Even if you don’t want your narrator to be completely unreliable you can experiment with vulnerability. Even Harry Potter a gives the reader misinformation in Prisoner of Azkaban when he thinks the escaped prisoner who killed his parents is actually a lie. A slight flaw can make the narrator seem more believable.
Happy Writing!
How To Create the Best Book Title
You want your title to last the testament of time. It sounds easier said than done though, right? If you are struggling to find the perfect title for your book, you’ve come to the right place!
Some elements you want to keep in mind when choosing your title are…
- Easy to pronounce
- Attention grabbing
- Gives insight on what the book is about
- Keep it short
With that being said, you may find yourself asking what are some useful ways to generate a book title? I’m so glad you asked…here are some ways!
- Book title generator.
Probably one of the most common is to use a generator. There are many to choose from with a simple google search, but you may want to consider a genre specific generator.
- Ask your readers.
These are people who love your books so much they decided to follow you and/or join a reading community. So use that to your advantage! They will be thrilled to have input in your next potential book.
If you are stuck between 2-3 titles make a facebook or instagram poll and see which one ends up on top!
- Search keywords.
Control F key words in your novel and see which words are used the most. Depending on what you use the most or what embodies the novel most can be in the title.
After you chose your book title use google to make sure it isn’t already popular and to see what else comes up with those specific keywords. While titles cannot be copyrighted it will be more difficult to sell a book when there’s already a popular book out there with the same title.
Happy Writing!
A Guide to Writing Romantic Comedy…
Let’s get our romance on! In the spirit of the coming love holiday let us take a step into the world of romantic comedies. A genre designed to give anyone butterflies, has a very straight forward plot. Boy meets girl, boy loses girl, boy tries to get girl back. We have seen it over and over and yet I always find myself being drawn towards these novels. Now, we are not here to take an in depth look at my personal library but instead how you can get started on creating your own rom com!
In terms of the structure a typical rom com goes as follows:
Introductions: The reader meets the characters individually, before they meet each other.
The meet cute: This is when the two characters meet and sparks fly! The “meet cute” is memorable for the characters. For example, in Romeo and Juliet when they meet for the first time and lock eyes followed by a kiss all within 5 minutes of meeting each other!
Falling in love: This is when the lovey-dovey love sequence happens in movies. Where clip after clip you see them simply being in the act of love with one another. Now, in terms of a novel we have a little more time to grow the chemistry between the characters. So, let their relationship grow!
Conflict: Of course there has to be a turning point. The hurdle the couple must go through where an argument or an act threatens their relationship. For example, one of the characters can’t let go of a past relationship.
Breakup: More often than not the characters breakup or are separated briefly. But this gives them time to realize what they are missing!
Happy ending: The conflict is resolved, and love is back!
Now that the basic structure of the novel is out of the way…how do you make it entertaining for the reader. Because as I said, most of the time the structure is the same, it’s how you build the story that makes it worth reading.
Here are some more tips…
Make it relatable. Why does the reader find love? Are they lonely or went through a bad breakup recently? Give them a reason to find love.
The sidekick! There’s almost always the friend who gives bad advice or lightens the mood. But the character needs someone to depend on when the conflict arises.
Give them romance. This might be a given but the reader knows they picked up a romance so give them a romance! Create memorable scenes to make a compelling story. It’s okay to be over the top romantic too!
Stay true to your character. Don’t lose sight of your character just because they are in love. It’s okay for them to grow individually..but still together.
I hope this helps you on your journey of writing a romantic comedy!
Happy Writing!
Spark Creativity!
Creativity: the use of imagination or original ideas.
Take risks, think in a way that’s outside the box! I wanted to look into how someone can spark more creativity in their life, and came across a very interesting article. 10 Psychological Tricks That Will Boost Your Creativity. In this article they discuss how you have to seek out things that inspire you, rather than waiting for something inspirational to happen.
I personally loved all of the tips mentioned, and will be sure to try and introduce them into my own life. Creativity is endless! We just have to find the right recipes for ourselves to keep our creativity flowing!
What To Do With Unfinished Work
With this blog we encourage writers to write, and keep writing. That is how you get better and find your inner most thoughts and ideas. But what happens when you write and write and don’t finish? What do you do with the work?
Well…we have some tips for you on how you can use your unfinished work to your advantage!
- Combine them.
As a writer, many of your pieces may have the same tone, setting, or even characters. Go through your old works and see what pieces can fit together. I never said this was going to be an easy task…but it could be a fun one!
- Learn from them.
While this task might be the easiest, and the most obvious it can still be a challenge. Ask yourself why you never finished a certain piece. Then keep asking yourself questions. See if there is any similarity to your answers with your pieces, then devise a solution.
- Finish them.
Pick up from where you left off. Sometimes all an unfinished piece needs is time! Clear your head and try to keep the momentum going! There is no better way to grow as a writer than to finish your work, leaving no rock unturned!
I challenge you to try these tasks. And in the future, before you are about to throw in the towel, ask yourself why you are stopping. And NEVER delete your work! It is unique to you and can help you grow. It was part of your adventure and can become your beginning if you work at it.
Happy Writing!
Jokes On You; The Trickster
Lucky day for you! Today we are going to dive into trickery and deception to write my favorite fluid character archetype: the trickster.
Now, this can be on of the protagonist’s friends or one of the antagonist’s henchmen. Or, plot twist, they don’t have any firm association with either and bounce around from faction to faction. Most tricksters are written into a narrative simply for the fun of it. Typically, an experiment for a writer, which is why you’re here…no?
One thing you’ll need to draft out for your mighty jokester to be effective is: their goal. Or goals, if you’re feeling crazy. This character is going to have the most obscure goal, no one is going to know it other than your reader (maybe). No one in their immediate life should know what they’re after. It’s for them…and them alone.
Let’s talk about what the essentials are to writing the ideal trickster. They have tropes, as any character archetype does!
- Obfuscating Stupidity/Insanity
Here’s the thing about the tricky one: they are trying to manipulate someone in order to achieve their goal. In order to do so, they are going to make it seem as though they are incapable of doing anything. By doing so, they will be able to act more freely and move towards what they are aiming for. Appearing dumb and out of their minds to their “allies” is probably the smartest way to manipulate them into thinking they won’t have to worry about them as much as they may other, more useful allies.
- Being a Pro at Analyzation
This particular character needs to know who their working with. What I mean is, they need to be able to analyze their ‘victim’ efficiently and know how to take advantage of them. The best way to take down the ‘enemy’ is by taking note of their weaknesses. Once they have access to that, they will be able to relentlessly use it against their target. They don’t have any care in the world about the person’s feelings…they care about getting what they want!
- A Master of Disguise
What happens If your character is in the game of deception for a long time? Those people around them start to see right through them. Being a master of disguise goes beyond physical appearance. Will the trickster be able to deceive their way into a group of individuals? Can they be able to both look and act the part? Being able to hide themselves is important. Staying hidden can make for a very fun and interesting reveal once the trickster meets their goal!
- Lie is a Lie
Being obscure is fun and all, and practically the whole point of this character. However, you want your reader to know something is fishy with this character. It can be a bit confusing if the trickster comes out from left field with an “A-ha!” moment. You want those subtle hints in actions and dialogue so your reader can look back and say, ”Oh, it was right in front of me this whole time!” Or take note of something being strange about this particular character. Keep this in mind: a lie is a lie. Let your reader catch this character in a lie, or doing a shady act…but use their charisma and cunning tongue to hide the truth. Your reader will be impressed.
These are the basics behind the tricksters. Some prime examples from literature are Tom Sawyer, Skeeter (from The Help), Matilda, The Cheshire Cat (from Alice in Wonderland), Tyrion Lannister (from the Game of Thrones series.) The list goes on!
Do you have any trickster in mind that has done a great job with manipulating those around them? Let us know!
Let’s Write A Friends to Lovers Romance!
Here you will find some tips, advice, and thoughts to hopefully help you in writing your next friends to lovers romance!
Don’t forget the roots! It’s a friends to lovers romance after all, so try and make the friendship a big part of the story. The friendship is the upclimb, where the conflict and tension builds, so don’t ignore the friendship aspect. Find a way to establish a friendship that is unique. Avoid ‘love at first sight’ and try to create a different kind of connection. Do they have a routine they follow when they are together? Did it start off as playful banter or jokes turned compassion?
Awkward is okay. Let’s face it, how can anyone go from being friends to lovers without there being a little awkwardness in between. But, it is up to you to choose the kind of awkward. Whether it be cute, sexy ,or comedic depends on how you built the characters.
Make the reader care. Off the bat the reader doesn’t want to already think everything will work out between the two characters. Hint at the beginning the connection between the characters, but don’t give them a full on romance from the start. Trust your reader to pick up on the little things, and let there be some doubt- a risk involved where the two characters might not be able to work it out.
These are just a few tips and some helpful advice to get the ball rolling on your friends to lovers romance. Please share any additional tips you may have. And check out some of our authors’ very own friends to lovers novels to give you some inspiration!
Happy Writing!
Know Your Characters!
I was recently watching Best Wishes, Warmest Regards: A Schitts Creek Farewell on Netflix, and I strongly recommend it to any fans out there, but they made a lot of really great points in terms of character development.
No one knows better than authors and writers how important a good backstory is. And for a show like Schitts Creek, from the first episode until the last, you are still learning new things about the characters and I think that is what made it so addicting and real. In the documentary they discuss how they worked on the backstory for weeks before they started filming because they didn’t want to move on until they knew exactly who these characters really were.
As writers and authors I encourage you to do that with your work. List out your characters attributes and their individual backstories to fully understand who they are, perhaps before you even start writing. As readers we want to consume an emotional investment on the characters, and in order to do that we need more than x, y, and z! We need to fill in the cracks!
Think about it as if you were casting your own show for your book. How would the character portray themselves in a room, what would they wear, and how would they talk? All of these things play such an important role in a reader’s mind.
And as always have fun in creating them! They are a piece of your own imagination afterall!
Happy Writing!
Feels So Bad To Do Good; THE ANTI-VILLAIN
Last time we spoke at great length, I was ranting and raving about anti-heroes and what it takes to write one. I thought it was time we take on the opposite of the anti-hero: the anti-villain.
There’s a big difference between these two archetypes. The anti-hero is the character who is striving for goodness but does a few bad things along the way. No matter what, the reader is still rooting for this person to get their life together and get to their goal! However, the anti-villain is the character who has a goal in mind, favorable characteristics, or has a sappy backstory that makes you feel sorry for them…but they still are not-so-good and we kind of don’t want them to get in the way of our hero getting what they want/deserve. They aren’t entirely evil as some would think villains are or can be.
What does it take to craft the ideal anti-villain? Let’s chat about it!
- CONNECT THEM TO YOUR HERO
Voldemort killed Harry’s parents and left him with a scar; boom – connection. Black Jack Randall is Claire’s husband’s ancestor and has a fascination for Jamie; boom – connection. Scar is a part of the family (although, outcast) on Pride Rock; boom – connection.
Having a connection to the hero assists in the hero’s character development. Whether that ends up being a good thing or a bad thing is up to you. Plus, backstory is imperative to any character’s existence. We must know where they came from in order to understand who they are today. - NARROW DOWN WHICH ONE THEY ARE
There is a list of types of bad guys all over; but what makes this particular not-so-bad guy bad?
First, we have the well-intentioned extremist. This is the one who has a goal in mind, it’s a good one, but they can’t seem to get to that goal without going to the extreme. And we mean in a bad, bad way. The most common thought in the AV’s head is: “this is for the greater good.” Which, I guess it could be, but did they really have to go ahead and try to kill a crazy amount of people to get there? No. A great example of this (that isn’t Thanos) in literature is Melisandre in A Song of Ice and Fire. She firmly believes that Stannis Baratheon is Azor Ahai reborn, and would kill as many needed to get him the throne. Even Stannis can be considered an extremist of sorts.
Then there’s the noble baddie. This one sounds like it’s not going to be as terrible,right? Well, lo and behold, this one is. There’s a reason behind their attempt at evilness and a particular code they would rather not break. What usually happens is – this individual is trying to be the bad guy; says they are going to do these terrible things…but when it comes down to actually doing anything, they have a harder time following through. An example of this one is Crowley from Good Omens. What do you get when a demon is on a mission to spread sin for a very long time? Well, he ends up being fond of his target and doesn’t want them to die by Apocalypse.
My personal favorite is the villain in name only. This one is exactly what it sounds like: a person who is simply opposing the hero. They aren’t evil, they simply challenge the hero and are their opposite. If the tables were turned, we would probably view that character as the hero and vice versa on their counterpart. A classic example of this would be in the original stories of Sherlock Holmes. Anytime Sherlock discovers the perpetrator is simply a victim of circumstance, and explain themselves to Mr. Holmes…they usually are let go without consequence. It was simply a story to tell about a bad guy who wasn’t all that bad.
Last but not least, we have the woobie villain. I didn’t know where the name came from, so I had to look into it a bit. First, a “woobie” is a name for the type of character who make you feel extremely sorry for them. I know exactly who you’re thinking of when it comes to an example of this, and no, I will not say her name. (Carrie.) But what do you do when you have a character who is terribly torn down and can’t take it anymore? They become the antagonist. While the name I will not mention (Carrie) is an example of this, I want to highlight another classic “I feel terribly sorry for her” villainess…Elphaba. If you don’t know her story, then you don’t have a heart. But seriously, go read the book or watch the play. It’ll make you mad to watch the 1939 Wizard of Oz.
If I had to pick my ideal anti-villain archetype, it would have to be the woobie. Backstory is vital to this villain, granted it is for all characters, but something about building a really strong connection with the villain and understanding where they are coming from when they turn evil…that’s the good stuff. Like the monster from Frankenstein or…Carrie, I guess.
Do you have any well-crafted anti-villains? Or do you have a favorite in mind? We would love to hear about it!