Tutorial Writing Tips - from someone who has worked in the publishing industry

Chapter one (part 1)
    • Chapter one (part 1): Overused Plots and Clichés in General

    As I said in my introduction, I have read over 600 stories that were submitted to a publishing company I was once a part of. When you add those as well as books from published authors that I've read, you can imagine I have gained an understanding of what I see over and over.

    I should start by talking about how our rating system worked. We didn’t have time to read through an entire book if we didn’t think it’d make it. On one occasion, I rejected a story after reading the first page and a half. It seems brutal, but I’ll explain the reason one may be rejected in a snap in a later post.

    There were a few things a story could have that would give it bad marks. Getting these marks didn’t mean it’d necessarily be rejected, but it shot down the odds like a tumbling boulder on a mountainside.


    1. Prologue that could not be absorbed into a different section of the story.

    Prologues are a tough subject. Publishing companies do not like them. I don’t even like them. You need to be some writer to get away with a prologue. Such as, Brandon Sanderson.

    What reason do we have to dislike them? That has a lot to do with the fact that I can’t remember a single prologue that was at all good or needed in those 600 books. Whether the prologue was something from the past or a jump in the future, it just seemed like a waste of space.

    There was one occasion where a prologue I read wasn’t bad, but the author didn’t realize the opportunity he’d have if he had decided to slip subtle hints of the past in the present of his story. It’d add a sense of thrill, mystery and excitement. After reading the prologue, the rest of the story was dull and underwhelming. We asked him if he’d be willing to forgo the prologue and leave those hints. Sprinkle it throughout his story instead. (We sometimes gave writers a second chance after revision.) He refused. He wasn’t published through us. (After researching, it seems it still isn’t published, but I’m unsure.)

    By far the worst prologue I have ever read was from this female author. It began with a girl main character hearing a knock on her front door during the night. She opened it and beyond the entrance was a beast that attacked her. And then, it jumped into chapter one. The first issue, she had that underwhelming feel as the last guy. The second issue? It was nighttime during the first chapter. The MC was writing at her desk, got ready for bed and then it hopped to her being attacked. The prologue she wrote showed the future of the FIRST chapter.

    There are a few more problems that we run into with prologues. Overall though, ask yourself if it is a must. Would it be better if the story told the prologue? Would it be better to show it through emotions of other characters? Etc..



    2. Info dumps. In the corners, in the crannies, at the beginning, anywhere.

    If there is one thing we disliked more than prologues, it was info dumps. Mostly because majority of prologues were only info dumps.

    What is an info dump?

    Just like it sounds. You dump a load of information to your readers. Almost any reader will close a book out of sheer boredom when it comes to info dumps. That doesn’t mean you can’t have a paragraph of information, but you shouldn’t have an entire page.

    Everything I mention always has exceptions. I am a symbolic writer. When I take the time to describe something or an event, it is likely because there is a message in it that needs to be deciphered. Edgar Allan Poe often does this as well. There is a difference between purpose and wanting to shove information at a reader.

    Well, how do you defeat the dreaded info dumps? You need to divulge information to your reader somehow. You must tell them about a certain war. They gotta know about the sub-character's past, right? RIGHT?

    WRONG, sort of… This falls into the category of, "show don’t tell". If there are two characters that have a rocky past, don’t tell the reader that information. Show the discomfort they have around each other. Show them buttheads. Show them scheming to bring the other down until the past surfaces.

    There are far superior ways to teach the reader information from your book without it becoming monotonous and mundane.



    3. The mirror scene.

    You want to describe how a character looks like? Well, why not have them look at themselves in the mirror and describe their appearance to the reader? Don't do that. Frankly, we hate almost every appearance description. We don't want a jotted down list of all their outward appearances and emotions.

    Eyes - Green
    Hair - Chestnut brown
    Smile - enchanting
    Height - 5'5
    Skin - Fair
    Clothes - Pink skirt with a loose white top
    Personality - Cute with a side of boring

    Characters aren't grocery lists. It is rare to take considerable note of someone you just met. (Character sheets are NOT the same thing. This is for writing in general.) The best way to describe a character is by using interactions of nature and man/woman to mold them.

    Examples:

    The hem of her white dress danced with the wind as she stared out into the open sea.

    He couldn't help but grace the back of his hand against her fair skin. Her breathing was harsh and scratchy. Even her brown hair appeared to dull in color.

    (Or a more body build description.)
    When the man heard the news, a buzz flared between his ears as his brow furrowed. He clenched his teeth and poured into a sprint. Each footfall was quick, direct and his strides were long.

    From those descriptions we know a character is wearing a white dress, another is sick with brown hair and the last man is athletic with a possible anger problem.



    4. The Star Wars, Lord of the Rings, anime syndrome.

    I'll be explaining this more in the cliches during part 2. But I'll touch up on it now. We don't want knock off Star Wars, LotR or anime. However, we do welcome twists on such things. I could spend an entire chapter on anime, and I likely will. I am a fan of anime, I've loved the stuff since I was nine, but I am as well an animator who would never animate anime for specific reasons.

    So, let's focus on Star Wars and LotR. Should I even try to count how many stories were just rip offs of the originals? No, I shouldn't. That would be impossible. There were far too many and it became ridiculous. We forced an immediate rejection when one author decided to even name their world, Middle Terra. Like I said, when I open up with part 2, I'll better explain how you can knock the syndrome out of the ballpark while still keeping all your favorite attributes of either one.

    For now, consider how much your story may resemble the two.


    That's it for part 1.

    LazyDaze LazyDaze (I will tag you for part 2 as well.)
     
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    • Chapter List
    • AEONmeteorite

    AEONmeteorite

    Architect of Worlds
    Helper


    Chapter List
    Either use the index or go to the correct page a chapter is on and use Word Find (Command F for mac and Control F for windows) and search for chapter.​

    Chapter 1 (Part 1): Overused Plots and Clichés in General.....[On page 1]
    Chapter 1 (Part 2): Overused Plots and Clichés in General.....[On page 2]
    Chapter 2 (Part 1): The Dreaded Writer's Block........................[On page 2]
    Chapter 2 (Part 2): The Dreaded Writer's Block........................[On page 2]
    Chapter 3: How to Enhance your Writing..................................[On page 2]
    Chapter 4: Outlining your Story..................................................[On page 3]
    Chapter 5: 1st, 2nd and 3rd Person...........................................[On page 3]
    Chapter 6: Characters..................................................................[On page 3]
    Chapter 7: Attracting Agents & Publishers................................[On page 4]
    Chapter 8 (Part 1): Character Development..............................[On page 4]
    Chapter 8 (Part 2): Character Development..............................[On page 4]
    Chapter 9: Competition Within Writing......................................[On Page 4]
    Chapter 10: Man vs (coming soon)
    Chapter 11: Symbolism (coming soon)
    ∆∆∆​

    Hey there!

    My name is AEON. Yes, with all the capitals, because, well, why not? I believe roleplaying is a lot of things: It's a form of escape, writing practice, character building, world building, even a way to make new friends with complete strangers. Roleplaying is also an adventure! If you're writing with a partner, you have no control over half of the story. In a group, you have even less chance to puppeteer the situation. It add a sense of thrill. Basically writing improv.

    I have decided that I'm going to start an advice thread for writing. Now, don't get me wrong, even I don't write the best while roleplaying. This is where I relax. As if I'm reading a book that I can take part in, I just want to have a good time. I'm still going to try to make exquisite posts, but I won't put in as much work as I do for a book. That being said, yes, I am a published author! No, I can't give away my author name. Why? There are a lot of identity issues that come along with divulging that.

    Before publishing, I actually worked in a publishing company. I was one of the drones who sifted through the slush of books that came in. I read over 600 stories sent in from future writers. And, out of all those stories, I only accepted a single book. In this way, you can imagine how much more lax I am here than in the industry. Nonetheless, going through all those stories tainted the way I view storytelling. I'm picky. I look for the best. I refuse to read a story that I feel like I've already read. The same goes for roleplays. I will avoid ones that seems too cliche-ish. (Unless I love the specific cliche.)

    I presume that many of us are writers one way or another. Some want to publish, others want to flesh out their original characters and there are those who just want a bit of fun in their life. I've met quite a few who are trying to hone their writing skills. This is a magnificent place to help train your hand at telling stories. For those who want to learn more about the publishing industry or writing in general, I am here! I will post advice at least once a week and answer any questions you have!

    Thank you for joining me!

    ∆∆∆

    ​
     
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    • Chapter one (part 2)
    • Chapter 1 (Part 2): Overused Plots and Clichés in General

    When I was taking my animation courses, the first chapter in our textbook talked about plots. The first words that were written were, “Every story has been told.” Sure enough, I scoffed. That couldn’t be true. Stories were infinite.

    And then, the book broke it down into a long list, but I’ll only put down a few:

    Prince saves princess.
    Superhero takes down super villain.
    High School students fall in love.
    Bullied by those who become their closest friends.


    This list had about a hundred different plots on it. It began to make sense to me. Every story has been told. Especially if you break it down further:

    Man vs Man
    Man vs Self
    Man vs Technology
    Man vs Nature
    Technology vs Technology

    When you bring it back to the bare minimum, sure enough, every story has been told. It is how you tell it that will make all the difference. How you create and build up your characters. How outcomes are developed. You can tell Cinderella a million times and still come out with an original gem.

    Why do I say all of this to you? That’s because I’m about to destroy many books some of you could be writing. Just because your book may be related to one of the items on this list, doesn’t mean it is going to be inherently bad, but it could be rejected due to the premise being overdone.

    This list won’t even be all of the storylines and clichés I saw the most. They will be the ones off the top of my head. Thus, you should take heed to these ones, as they, in particular, rubbed all of us readers the wrong way because we grew sick of them.

    Ahem!

    Demon falls in love with angel.
    Fallen angels in general.
    Vampires (if they are the central focus.)
    Werewolves (if they are the central focus.)
    Dystopian
    Utopians
    Apocalyptic
    Factions or separation among people such as Divergent and Hunger Games. (Technically Percy Jackson and Harry Potter as well.)
    The Chosen One
    Brought to another world (Isekai).
    Prophecies that are the reason for progression in the story.
    Zombies.
    Plagues.
    Death of parents prior to the story beginning.
    Boss girl who needs no help from no man until she needs saving for “romantic tension”.
    Dragons. (Yeah. Guess what? We’re bored of them.)
    Magical Girls (This just doesn’t play well in a story format unless an animation has already been produced.)
    Time travel.
    7 deadly sins.
    Lord of the Rings based.
    Star Wars based.
    Naruto based.
    The main character that can never be defeated.
    Villain who wants to take over the world. (Muah-hahhah!)
    Embarrassing birthmark (you know everyone thinks it looks cool.)
    Girls named Liz, Lizzie, Kate and Katie. (I don’t know why we ran into these specific four names over and over.)
    Special charm necklace/bracelet given to main character is the key to everything.
    An adventuring party finding each other at a tavern or adventuring guild.
    Defeating the mother ship, alpha, head, King, etc, will defeat them all. (Beehive mindset.)
    Harems.
    High school students who have secret powers.
    Elves – similar to LotR specifically.
    Characters waking up at the beginning of the book.
    “I know I’m meant for so much more.”
    Protagonist who saves a world. (Seems like a strange one? Well, we don’t hate this one, but we would pick something over it. Think of the second Ant-man. The heroes are doing what they’re doing for their own reasons, not for the world. Even the villain has no intention of destroying the world. It’s unique.)
    Shifters.
    And...the cliché I hate by far the most out of everything I’ve ever read:
    WOLVES AS PETS (we stopped counting how many books had wolves as pets at 200. There is a good reason as to why one of my coworkers was nicknamed, Wolf.)

    I think I’ll stop there. All in all, I hope this list will help you dissect your own books and see what things you can twist around. Are you writing a book you feel like you’ve read before? Don’t quit. Make it different. Unlike anything the world has ever seen. Just remember, you need to portray your unique twist at the beginning. If a story appeared too unoriginal, we didn’t go in that deep.


    LazyDaze LazyDaze
     
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    • Chapter two (part 1)
    • Chapter 2 (Part 1): The Dreaded Writer’s Block

    I’ve been asked this question a lot. What do you do to fish yourself out of writer’s block? This is something that needs to be addressed, especially if you are in a crunch time with a publishing company. I have found that everyone experiences writer’s block in different ways. For me, it is the same feeling I receive when I haven’t been able draw for an extended amount of time. (More than a day.) I define it as someone taking a knife to my chest and slowly twisting it whenever the urge erupts inside me. I feel broken, shattered and all around, awkward.

    Yet, no matter how much it hurts, for some strange reason, your writing is at a standstill. This will be a two-part chapter to help you trek out of your miserable state. For this first part, I am going to touch on something that many workshops and authors never talk about.

    Health.

    I’m an animator, artist, writer, web designer, songwriter and so many more things that involve me sitting. Sitting is unhealthy as is, especially if you’re sitting for majority of the day. I do not believe many writers realize just how destructive this is on, not just their bodies, but as well as their minds.

    I’m not a doctor. I have no authority over those fields. I do however do have an uncle with three PhDs that all involve the human body (specifically knowledge about what I am talking about.) Everything I relay from him will be put in simple and ignorant terms. Luckily, I have experienced this myself on many occasions, so I at least have garnered an understanding of that.

    As we all know, the brain shoots off chemicals and hormones. It helps feed our emotions and functions in our body. I’m going to tell you right now, sitting alone, in a room of some sort, staring at a screen, trying to scratch at your imagination everyday will impair your writing. You’ll get antsy. Back could start hurting. No position feels comfortable and your focus isn’t there.

    Get up, get active and get outside. Adding exercise into your imagination diet will help focus your brain and remove the ravaging clouds getting in the way of your creativity. This doesn’t mean doing something you don’t enjoy. Choose what works for you. A walk, ultimate Frisbee, kick a ball around, score some hoops, take a bike ride, go hike a scenic trail, paddle board. Don’t do something that you find exhaustingly boring.

    I choose to run three to six miles every morning. I’ve been running since I was in elementary school. What’s more is that I am terrible at sports. Not because I’m inactive, but because I’ll just stop playing the game and start imagining on a whim. Due to this, I’ve been hit in the face countless times by balls and plowed into by bodies. There was one time kept running, not paying any attention, fiddling in my own mind, and rammed my head into a classmate’s arm and broke it. I don’t do sports. But, I don’t need to worry about any balls or humans when it comes to running. Besides the occasional car.

    If I’m feeling extra creative bound, I’ll wait for the night to come around and sprint, prance and skip across a nearby field. Which, in some ways, is embarrassing to say, as I do so during the dark hour to prevent people from watching.

    When I was in the industry, we had the option to be paid to workout every other day. There was a small gym there, along with showers, as they would be needed. I wasn’t around when they had created their gym. But, from what they told me, they had decided to put it in after a large amount of health issues rose from their employees: Diabetes, heart issues, joint pain and even hair loss. They investigated the situation and the decision was made to put in a gym. Not only did it seem the health of some of their employees got better, their workloads were sifted through much faster with more efficacy. Everyone appeared happier. It’s like the workplace changed in a snap. (No, not you Thanos.)

    Being active also shoots out positive chemicals and hormones in your brain. Such as dopamine, which helps with mood, sleep, memory, concentration and all around can make a human happy.

    As well, try to get plenty of sleep. We all know this is important. I am an insomniac, such a terrible one that I baffled my doctors, but even I manage to get at least seven hours in.

    ∆∆∆​

    Next up is nutrition. A lot of our health derives from the things we eat. I have many writer friends who I see either eat junk food and way too much of it, or, they eat hardly anything at all. I can’t say I’m perfect. I actually hate eating, I think it is nasty unless I really love the food or I’m entertained by something else to distract myself. Both directions are unhealthy.

    Do some of you remember taking end of year tests at school? I’d have some classes that would give out different kinds of treats and call it, “brain food”. That isn’t all too farfetched. Taking in your nutrients helps your brain function, eyes sting less and prevents muscle flare-ups. All things that could set back your writing if they’re not taken care of.

    It is important to eat your veggies and fruits. Find a good way to take in iron that suits your needs. You should even have some carbs in you. Drink plenty of water. I hate water and I still force myself to down the tasteless stuff. It isn’t a bad idea to go to your family doctor and check up with blood tests. This doesn’t mean that you need to buy loads of supplements once you receive the results, but it can give you a clear idea where you’re lacking.

    Altogether, your health is a huge factor on your mental energy and creativity. People have asked how I am so tired when all I did was write. There have been studies that show the body wears out when the mind is being used for extended amounts of time. Feed your brain, relieve your energy and be active. Be healthy.

    Part 2 will go into the tools you can use to break Writer’s block.

    Tartaglia Tartaglia
     
    • Chapter 2 (part 2)
    • Chapter 2 (Part 2): The Dreaded Writer’s Block

    Last chapter we talked about how your health can greatly benefit your writing adventures. I get it though, no one likes to be told they need to be active and eat better. There are tools and exercises you can use to help crawl out of your writer’s block and we will be burrowing into those topics in this part 2.


    1. Pure dialogue between two random characters.
    This is a great exercise I use on a regular basis. It’s as simple as it sounds. Grab two of your characters, any of them. It doesn’t matter if it does not match your story. Think of a topic or situation you can put them in and begin writing dialogue only. (Add speaking tags so you don’t become confused on who is speaking.) Not only will you flesh out your characters, but you’ll also stretch your creative muscles.

    The situations you put them in could be endless. They could debate if mer-icorns are real, if honey tastes good, a past endeavor one of them went through, anything. Always save these pure dialogue moments, you never know if a part of one of them may actually be a good insert in your story.

    Remember, any characters can do. You could even pair a baby with the villain where one character is only speaking to him self. Who knows?


    2. Observe
    Humans are a fickle thing. They always bend and change like waves passing through seaweed. Go out to a park, mall or take some time during lunch in a cafeteria and study the people around you. Watch their movements, expressions, how they eat, talk.

    You can take this a step further and attempt to imagine them as something other than human. One girl maybe a fairy, a man could be an elf, a nymph is in the corner sipping on a carton of apple juice, she must think it’s nectar.

    Use the people around you to whip up weird characters.


    3. Break the norm.
    No, I’m not talking about breaking the social norm that we learn in psychology. I’m talking about shifting the world around you, similar to what I talked about above. This is something I have no problems doing, because I am always doing this.

    Whether you are on a drive, hiking, walking a city; take the objects and nature around you and alter it in your mind. Lampposts are fairies flying with lanterns. Mountains are wise men with vegetation as beard. Clouds are dragons trying to pretend they are a natural phenomenon. Make the world around you imaginative and it should translate into your writing.

    Like I said, I’m always doing this. There isn’t a moment I am not imagining. I explain to my family that there is always a night sky with planets orbiting above me, every second of the day, I don’t let a moment go to waste.


    4. Listen to conversations.
    This was an exercise we did regularly in my creative writing classes back when I was a teenager. We were encouraged to walk the halls and write any sentence that stands out to us. Cute love confessions, deaths in someone’s family, friends reuniting after break, I heard it all. And, often times, they made out to be fantastic lines for future books.

    The golden line I stumbled upon was, “I’m so happy, I could stick pickles up my nose!” I don’t know what she was ecstatic about. I haven’t a single idea on why she’d find such an activity enjoyable. But, you could imagine how much my teacher was taken aback when I read that out loud from my short story to the entire class.


    5. Draw.
    Please, for those who know/remember that I am an artist before a writer, don’t think I expect you to make something extravagant. (But if you can, awesome!) Doodle out characters or objects in your book. Wands, amulets, etc, or perhaps you want to draw landscape from your story.

    It doesn’t need to be good, just enough that you know what is going on. And, in the long run, they’d be perfect to handoff to your future illustrator. No matter how good a drawing is, anything that can help us better decipher your mind, the better the art comes out.

    So, take out a pencil, a scrape piece of paper and have some fun.


    6. Read.
    Not only does reading help your grammar, punctuation and overall story development, it can also invoke creativity. This isn’t to say that you should copy for the stories you are reading. Surrounding yourself with imagination will likely pull yours out. This works as well if you watch T.V., go to a movie, a play, etc.


    7. Be a child, go play again.
    There was a quote circulating that said, “At some point in your childhood, you and your friends went out to play together for the last time, and nobody knew it.”

    I don’t know about you, but reading that is heart wrenching. It happened to just about every single one of us. I remember, on one occasion, two of my old friends came to visit me. We were in high school at the time. It was snowing and we all wanted to go out into the white blanket that covered our world. So, we did. We got on the topic of playing and decided right there that we would play again. We conjured up characters and a situation. It led us army crawling through the snow as we looked for an elusive beast.

    I got to play again. I remember smiling so much that day that my cheeks ached the next morning. I thought I’d be embarrassed or that it’d feel strange. And then I realized, it was just improv.

    Improv and acting are adult versions of ‘play’, and they are gold when it comes to writer’s block. Whether you’re alone or with another writer friend, act out your scenes. Stand up and do it. Try to match how your character’s shoulders would move. Do they bounce around like Hiccup’s from How to Train Your Dragon? Do they stay still, as if they are a soldier awaiting war? Do they move their hands when they speak? Have a limp? A lisp?

    Act all of it out, even if you only feel comfortable doing so in the shower. It’ll break away from the mindless typing you’ve pushed yourself to do.


    8. Talk to someone else about your story.
    Of course, make sure it is someone you trust. Someone who enjoys listening. I have this immaculate husband who can’t stand reading, but he loves audiobooks. So, when I tell him about my own stories, he is enthralled and devours every word. He helps me take a part scenes I’m unsure of, or points out bits I never realized and helps me have those, ah-ha, moments.


    9. Nature is creation.
    You can never go wrong getting away from humans, cities, cars and all the hustle and bustle. Nature is the epitome of creation. Surround yourself in it. The fragrance, the sound of bugs, the way the light cascades along a river, the dancing of leaves in the wind, animals scurrying about, the feel of rough bark on your skin, everything.


    10. Leave.
    If nothing else, leave your story be. Go start a new one. Most authors have 2-5 different projects they are working on and if you’re stuck on one jump to another. But, never stop writing. The moment you give yourself a break, everything becomes far tougher in the future.


    11. You guessed it, role play, specifically on RPNation.
    Roleplaying is similar to acting. It is improv for through our fingertips and the keyboard. It isn’t uncommon for me to use characters from my books to figure out how they’d react in certain situations. I recently put a character in a role play with someone, and she has changed in dramatic ways and I love how she is coming out. I wouldn’t have thought about how she’d be like if it hadn’t been for the role play.

    It is also helpful that everyone you role play with on here are strangers (usually). You could be on opposite sides of the world. Who knows, maybe someone is secretly from mars. It is a place to gather with people who have similar interests as you and that, in of it self, can keep you writing when you’re stuck in your own story.


    I do hope that one of these tools will help guide you in the future and that you never quit writing.







    Tartaglia Tartaglia
     
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    • Chapter three
    • Chapter 3: How to Enhance your Writing

    There are simple steps you can take that will help you make leaps and bounds in your writing. They’re easy and take a snap to alter. I plan to make a chapter in the future that will hit more of professional standard writing.

    1. Avoid –ly Adverbs
    Curiously. Franticly. Ecstatically. Happily. Gladly. Sadly. Angrily. Etc-ly.

    Avoiding –ly words causes your writing to push towards other means of describing things. Of course, there is always room for exceptions. Sometimes –ly words are a must, but so long as you are intentionally trying to skip out on them, most will disappear. (See there, intentionally.)


    2 .Never use 'really' or 'very' in narration and limit it in dialogue.
    These two words aren’t great. They are non-descriptive words that describe more of something. They loosen the hold on emotions you have with your readers. Thus, more people will lose interest and close your book.


    3 .Sum up the two above: SHOW DON’T TELL
    Here is why you don’t want to use really, very or many –ly adverbs.

    Which sentences sound better to you:
    “Well, you never know when I might win,” he said and smiled creepily.

    Or

    “Well, you never know when I might win,” he said as the corners of his mouth crept upwards into a sly smile.



    You see how descriptive that is and how much more you can imagine it. How about these two:
    Everything tumbled onto her like a bag of bricks as she heard of her mother’s death. “It really hurts,” she muttered and clung onto the fabric of her shirt near her chest. Her heart felt painful and the rhythm was very much off.

    Or

    Everything tumbled onto her like a bag of bricks as she heard of her mother’s death. “This hurts,” she muttered and clung onto the fabric of her shirt near her chest. Her heart ached. The rhythm didn’t sit well with her.

    In this instance, fewer words equal powerful emotions. Removing unneeded fluff adds this pang of understanding. This is especially true when she refers it as, “this hurts.” The reader is unsure if it is her heart or the situation, either way, both would be true. This layers on that extra painful feel.

    Spend even more time describing the situation. Let’s think of things someone would do after learning her beloved mother has passed away:

    Shaking.
    Bottom lip trembling.
    Rocking back and forth.
    Rapid, shaking and/or sharp breathing.
    Emotional ticks, such as tapping their foot over and over.
    Irrational outbursts.
    Pacing.
    Denial.
    Tightened jaw, clenched fists, furrowed brows, wrinkled nose. People can become aggressive during these situations.

    There are so many emotions that pour out of someone, show them to your readers.



    4. Take advantage of formatting.
    When I put a period here. And here. There. All around the room, you see punctuation. You see formatting. Clever placement. Making you read in a certain way. My way. How I want you to read.

    Let’s slow it down, take a moment and relax a bit. Let your eyes rest as your breathing descends into gradual sighs. We will play a song that will help you rest, filled with melodies and extended sentences to help slow the pace.

    Do you see what I did there? Formatting how you write will push emotions into your readers. Quick, short sentences make a reader feel on edge, awkward and ready to pounce at the next word. While long sentences that consist of shallow punctuation, such as commas, adds a sense of comfort. They’re not as grinding to read. It is best to put long sentences in times of relaxing, dwelling or overall normality at the moment.

    Generally, you want to mix the two up. Having too much of one or the other can be chore for the reader. And, in real life situations, we flip between the two on a regular basis. On occasion though, when you want that umph during a certain part of your writing, lean far to one side or the other.


    5. Wordfind rocks, use it.
    You’re writing your story. You’re about, let’s say, 50,000 words in and as you write, you stumble upon a word you swear you’ve used recently. Well, the best thing you can do is search for that word and see if you have. Only to find out that it is said at least once on every single page. Oops.

    Everyone has a few words they overuse. Of course, there are words you will use often. Such as: the, of, it, a, that, etc. The words you need to worry about are the large guys. I have a list that I keep of words that I use too frequently. Every time I finish a story, I’ll do a word search for these guys and sift the ones I find unnecessary out or replace it with something more descriptive than it was before. Here are a few I use way too much:

    Curious
    Reflect
    Relinquish
    Echo
    Step
    Sprint
    Terror

    They’re all great words, but they shouldn’t be peeking around every corner I turn. Wordfind is also great at helping you find your really’s and very’s. To this day, I don’t have a single really or very in my series, unless a character, which I believe would say it, does.


    Those are my five tips on enhancing our writing in a snap!



    Tartaglia Tartaglia
     
    • Chapter four
    • Chapter 4: Outlining your Story

    This has always been an awkward topic to talk about. Writers all have their own unique ways of creating their story. It is fair to say that you should do what is comfortable for you. Yet, I’ve had countless people come to me saying that they either, outline too much or too little.

    Outlining too much can cause you to never stop outlining. Becoming too worried about the world, characters, creatures, plot and setting may lead to issues. There comes a point where your book should start writing itself. You shouldn’t need to plan every single detail before you put your pencil to paper.

    On the other hand, outlining too little makes it so you end up with large plot holes. You risk forgetting about certain things at the beginning of the book. Injuries, location of characters, magic systems, I once forgot I had a character die. He just started walking around again like nothing happened. At least you can edit all of this, while you can’t edit something that doesn’t exist yet.

    I have one story that I am working on. It has taken me two years to get a bit beyond 100 pages. I am a fast writer, so that’s strange for me. This is because I am only writing when a new idea pops in my head. I haven’t planned anything in advance. It actually has been fun! I wouldn’t recommend doing this often. It is nice to have a story that I am not trying to whip out. It’s relaxing and I cherish the moments ideas come to mind. I’m already setting aside notes of what I plan to edit and remove. A ton of editing will be needed once it is finished.

    So, what do you do if you’re outlining too much or too little? Perhaps you just want to try a new way of organizing your story. I have created a four-step process that works wonders. It isn’t perfect. Think of it as a recipe. You can add and take away as you see fit.



    1. The Beginning
    Plan your first page. We’ve heard it time and time again. This is your hook. This is what will reel in publishers, agents and readers. You have a limited amount of time and space before a publisher/agent will dismiss your book and move on to the next one.

    Even though I am telling you to plan your beginning now, know that you will probably rewrite it more times than you expect. I rewrote my beginning thirty-seven times for my first official book. There came a point where I could reread it over and over and never got sick of it. That’s when I realized I had done something right. Each reiteration was the same exact scene, just written better every time.

    Plan it now. Edit later.


    2. The Climax
    A novel will/should have multiple ups and downs. Most will be minor and eventually will lead up to the giant boom! This is the climax. This is the umph. This is the part that you readers will be filled with tons of emotions and possibly throw your book across the room. It is the turning point of your book and you need to decide what that will be. A death, proposal, the villains won a battle, the earth cracked in half, little people from inside the hollow parts of ceramics have decided they’re sick of going into kilns and destroy an entire town, who knows!

    As you’re writing up to your climax, your idea may change, but it is likely that it’ll stick in the same realm that you had planned.


    3. The End of Endings
    No, this is not the chapter of the book. No, this isn’t the outcome. This is the final paragraph/sentence of your book. Will it be a cliffhanger, tie everything together or utter a moral message, etc.? There are so many ideas you can conjure for your end of endings.

    Why should you plan this? It isn’t that important in the story. The end still occurs whether or not it is there. What is the point?

    Planning this isn’t for the reader. It’s for you, the writer. Whenever I imagine my end of endings, I am excited and can’t wait to get there. This encourages me to continue pursuing my story. Trekking letters and vocabulary, cutting down the writing blocks, climbing the political dialogue, it all becomes easier when a writer realizes the kind of fulfillment they’ll embrace when they reach that golden sentence/paragraph. As with all things on this list, it can change. And, you may not find it until you reach the climax. Either way, plan this before you finish your book.


    4. Gatekeepers
    You should have at least three characters prepared and fleshed out well enough for you to write. These three characters could be a dog, teenager, baby, villain and grandma, etc., anything the reader can view interacting with other character. There is an exception to this rule, and that’s if you plan to write a story that breaks the norm in writing. There are a few books and movies that focus only on a single character. These tend to be symbolic stories as they teach lessons.

    I call characters, Gatekeepers. I imagine each character standing in front of a gate. Everything behind the gate are all the moments that they are involved and contribute to the story. When you stumble upon a block in your book, there is likely a Gatekeeper waiting for you to find them. They help open the story, as they’re needed.

    While Gatekeepers help progress the story by opening their room, it is also a good way to explore their contribution to the story and see if their gate is worth keeping open. Sometimes it’s best to close the gate and transfer the Gatekeeper to another book that will fill up their room far more than the other did.



    Other notes:

    Let’s talk about the average chart you see in your English/writing classes, Freytag’s Pyramid. It starts with the exposition, grows into the rising action, hits the climax and the rest of the chart consists of the falling action, ending off with the resolution. (Or denouement, as seen on the chart below.)

    599909​


    This comes with a good question. Why didn’t I tell you to plan the rising and falling action? The simple way to answer that question is that it isn’t much needed. But, I’ll delve into the reason further.

    The rising action should lead to the climax. Whatever happens will inevitably make it to the turning point. I purposely tell people to work their way up to the climax with out planning, because I expect them to write too much. It is much better to have too much between these two points than too little. It is easy to remove, adding on comes with difficulties and if it takes too long to get to the climax, cut, and reuse for later books.

    What about after the climax? This, as a matter-of-factly, is the smoothest and most manageable part to write. Everything after the climax should be caused by the climax. Turning points don’t just happen and that’s it. They take root in every single thing the characters do from that point on. The climax is often not in the middle, but three quarters in. I expect the falling action to be shorter than the rising action. This will change depending on the story, but most writers don’t struggle with this part.

    Altogether, as I mentioned in the beginning, this is like a recipe. You can add and take away to fit your flavor profile. It all depends on what you need. I have had many writer friends use my ingredients with splendid outcomes. I welcome you to try the same.

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    • Chapter five
    • Chapter 5: 1st, 2nd and 3rd Person

    For the most part, I believe many of the writers on RPNation understand the difference between the three main persons. (There are subcategories when you include tenses. I plan to have a large chapter on tenses in the future, so I will not touch on those.)

    The question that should be considered: What should you use when you are writing a book? It may not seem like a big deal. When you weigh the options, you’ll see how choosing the proper person can make all the difference.

    Let’s break them down:
    1st person: I/we perspective.
    2nd person: You perspective.
    3rd person: she/he/they/it perspective.

    First and third person are the two we view most. Second person is usually dedicated toward speeches, essays and other things like those, as well as this chapter. I’ve referred to ‘you’ in the second paragraph of this post. There are books that use second person, and I wouldn’t suggest doing it unless you have an artistic, imaginative idea that cradles this perspective well. Otherwise, avoid it.

    From polls and studies that my ol’company decided to do, we learned that there is a staggering amount of readers who will not read first person. That, in some ways, is something to consider when you write your story. As many of you know, I do not believe in writing for the readers before yourself. If writing in third person doesn’t sit well with you, don’t force yourself to do it. You’re digging a grave for your book if you already can’t stand writing it.


    1st person:
    You don’t need to write an exact moment in your life to use the I/we perspective. People claim that you must have experienced it yourself to use this point of view, and that is the lousiest advice you could receive.

    That being said, you should hunker down and study why you feel like it should be in the first person. What is making you lean that way? It may not be you in the story, yet you can’t help but use the first person.

    From my own experience, first person tends to show up when you reflect yourself off the character. They either have many qualities you have or they’re your polar opposite. In other words: they are you or what you could/want to be. A good example of what I mean for this is How to Train Your Dragon 3 (spoilers ahead):

    I know a lot of people don’t like the 3rd Dragons, but it is my favorite and not just because I’m aiming at working for DreamWorks. Grimmel, the villain in the movie, is by far the most terrifying villain in the franchise. Hiccup willingly went after the previous villain, Drago, to change his mind. Yet he ran when he met Grimmel. Hiccup was so terrified that he abandoned entire island.

    This is because Grimmel is the perfect reflection of Hiccup. Not only are both scrawny and lanky, thus, both being ‘hiccups’ in their villages, but also they experienced the same thing. They stumbled upon a night fury they could kill. One did, the other didn’t. One learned hate for dragons and wished to walk over humans. The other learned to love humans by finding him self in dragons. The two are inventive. Making contraptions that the world has never scene. They’re clever, cunning and precise. Hiccup panicked when he saw himself in Grimmel. When you think about it, they could have made Grimmel the main character and a near replica of the story could have been made, except with a hostile character instead. I imagine that once Grimmel realized just who and what Hiccup was, his fear reflected Hiccup’s.


    Ask yourself the question: Are you writing yourself? Do you see yourself in the main character? I mean, each of your characters will have a little you in them, that’s what makes them special. But is this main character ambient of who you are, or, what you could be?

    Well, then, it is likely that it is better to write it in the first person. You’ll harmonize with your characters better and your readers will feel that.

    Sometimes, first person adds a better sense of mystery and excitement in action. As they aren’t aware of everything that is happening, any fear the main character is feeling, the reader will grab vibes off as well.

    Let’s say a sub-character is attacked, and they’re forced to the bottom of a pit along with a villain. The main character has no idea what may have become of them. All they can do is pray that their friend is alright. The reader will gain that same hope. So, if you want suspense, first person may be the way to go.



    3rd person:
    There are a lot of positive reasons why the basic third person is the way to go. (I say basic due to its subcategories.) In third person, the reader isn’t stuck in a single person’s mind. In first person, the reader can only know as much as the main character does. A writer can either choose specific characters’ minds to dive into or go into all the minds, while valuing one, the main character.

    I like to explain third person as a bird’s eye point of view. Here is an example:

    Let’s say a whole bunch of pirates in your story are fighting. There are in a few different groups on the deck tackling different things. From a first person’s point of view, like I said, we can only know what the main character does. So if they’re in a group, they won’t know what is happening in the other groups unless they glance that direction or hear something. In third person, the reader is above all the action. They can hop between the groups and know exactly what is occurring.

    I wouldn’t suggest going overboard with this though. A writer should stick with one place at a time, and create a new chapter when they plan to switch places. If the reader is observing everything on deck, they shouldn’t be aware what is happening in the bilge of the ship until a new chapter begins. Then, it should stay in the bilge. Don’t make your reader jump all around the world, put breaks in places. But, if characters are adjacent to each other, there is no need to stick to just a single perspective unless you want to be selective.


    Third person is gold for character development. Due to the fact that we can know what each and every single character is thinking, we are able to witness growth better. Let’s think of Avatar the Last Airbender:

    Zuko, the banished prince, a man who must search for the Avatar in order to earn his honor once more and return to his kingdom. If we had watched this immaculate series through just Aang’s perspective only, I don’t think we could have quite grasped what changes Zuko made in order to become the respectable prince we all love today. We had a chance to watch Zuko and his Uncle Iroh’s ups and downs. When Zuko fell deep into his own selfishness and fished himself from his own abyss.


    Third person gives us the same opportunity.

    At the end of the day, just like with first person, you must consider something. Is this your story, or are you writing someone else’s story? Is this character you? Do you reflect yourself off them? No matter what you do, as I said, all characters will have ties to you, but is this truly your story?

    If not, then push it toward third person. Saying, I, I, I, for a character you could never find any remote comparison with yourself will not synchronize well.


    Overall:
    You will surprise yourself when you think about which person benefits your story. Just a few months ago, I was reading over one of my main books. It’s been finished for the past nine years, but I couldn’t get myself to publish it. I hated it. I loved the story, idea and characters. Yet, I still could stand the thing. And then, it occurred to me; it shouldn’t be in the first person.

    I had handwritten the original copy in Jr. High. Maybe, at that time, this main character was me. The more I read about her, the more I realized that she wasn’t. Bits and pieces, yes, but not me. Since then, I’ve been rewriting the entire thing in the third person. It needs to be altered everywhere, as now I can go between perspectives and it has become far better than it was before.

    I won’t lie though, it wasn’t easy removing all the first person perspective. I felt like I was digging into my chest and ripping pieces of my soul out and giving it away to someone else. After rewriting two pages, I had to stop, put aside my laptop and just bawl to myself. Since Jr. High, I thought this female main character was everything I was. It was as if I had been weaving my words with lies. My husband had to come over and comfort me as I caressed my past self and said goodbye. It hurt. Now the story is being told how it should be. It was something that needed to happen.




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    Last edited:
    • Chapter six
    • Chapter 6: Characters

    There are a few things that will make your story and a huge one would be your characters. If people dislike the characters they’re reading about, the book will be shut, it’ll be sat down, it will collect dust. Given, you will have some characters people can’t stand. Perhaps you want them to be hated, maybe you don’t, either way, so long as they find enough value in a single character, you’re golden.

    Is there a right or wrong way to create a character? Yet, another yes or no moment. There are certain aspects you should be aware of while creating a character. Things one should consider avoiding or enhancing. Rules to follow. Steps you should take to mold and create a stunning individual. However, almost every rule and guideline set for writing begs to be broken. There is nothing more fluid in a story than a character. They are styled after: break to create.


    Break to Create

    The best animators are those who create memorable characters. It takes a lot of practice to achieve a master level of character design. Let’s put it into practice:

    Let’s say someone has a parent who isn’t the biggest fan of video games, but their son plays games on a regular basis. If he is playing Halo, the likelihood of said parent to pass by and say, “Oh, look, Master Chief,” is near impossible unless they watch their son regularly.

    That same parent could walk through a store and see Pikachu and declare it to be a Pikachu without knowing a single bit of gameplay. This could be the same for Sonic, Kirby, Sora, Zelda/Link (many non-gamers don’t know who’s who,) Mario, etc. Of course, they will recognize some more than others, but it is far easier for these characters to stay ingrained in this parent’s (non-gamer’s) memory.


    This is largely due to the stylized look of the character. And, if the parent (non-gamer) has watched or seen the character before, it probably also has something to do with the personality of the character as well. It doesn’t mean Master Chief is a bad character, nor is his animation below the recognized characters above. Nonetheless, a (semi) normal human is far less likely to stay rooted in the minds of those who see them. Even Cayde-6 would be tough for onlookers to recognize until they witness him along with his voice acting. (And who doesn’t love our beloved Cayde-6).

    Altogether, character designs that are unique gain more attraction. But, some of these designs are strange and obscure, such as, Sonic. His eye(s) is like one giant goggle. It doesn’t make any anatomical sense. His head is huge, shoulders small, etc. As animators, we are taught to learn the human body. Redraw proportions over and over and then, break it. Break the laws of the human body. That is what becomes recognized. But, breaking won’t work until we know the proportions of a normal human body.

    It whittles down to character design in stories. You need to know the rules, the laws and the expectations before you break it. First learn how to make an all around good character. Someone that people feel neutral about and then destroy the character.


    Rule 1 - Backstory

    As one was expect, you should give your character a backstory. Here on, RPNation, we are all about backstories. We eat them up. It adds depth, background, reason and a foundation. Even if you only have threads of their past, be sure to continue sewing until it is filled to the brim with information.

    The funny part is that you shouldn’t mention the entire background for each of your characters. Yes, you need to dissect every bit of it yourself, but that’s just it, the backstories are first and foremost for you, the writer. You may never mention a character’s backstory once throughout the entirety of your series, but because you know it, you are able to decide how a character would/should react in certain situations.



    Rule 2 – Necessity

    Do you need this character? Are they worth your time and energy to compile and create? Are their ripples covering enough of your story to make their existence necessary?

    My first large novel was an absolute wreck and, one of the biggest issues was the sheer volume of characters. I had fifty…fifty characters in a single book. Some only showed up for a few pages before being whisked away into the floods of letters. I had to buckle down and scratch out characters that didn’t need to be around. For the minor characters, the ones that only lasted a few pages or a chapter, they were easy. I had no ties to them. I didn’t care if they go.

    So, how do you get rid of the big guys? The characters that have nothing wrong with them, but you want to cut down more. I had four main villains in the story. The head and three “dogs” that followed. (I usually call the smaller villains dogs.) I had designed each of these dogs in a special ways. I took considerable time imagining their personalities, powers and abilities. All of them could be loved as villains. (Love to hate that is.) It seemed like too many. Each had distant personalities that it was almost circus-like when they were together. I needed to cut down and this was the best place to do it. Choosing one was the challenge.

    Just because you cut out a character doesn’t mean they’re gone forever. Save your precious creations for future projects. Remove them, yes, get rid of the unneeded extras, but never forget them. That thought made it far more painless to remove one.


    Rule 3 – Think of the World and Where they Stand

    This should be common sense. If your book is set in the 1400’s, your character should dress, speak, act and attend events as one would in the 1400’s. If your character is set in a sci-fi world, then one would assume they’d know how to work a mobile phone.

    You should consider their age, wealth, career, mental health and education. If your character has been a soldier for fifteen years, it is unlikely that they’d be scared of blood unless they are dealing with PTSD. While creating characters, I always suggest to list these five things and write them down. Such as:

    Age: 17
    Wealth: Middle Class (Average)
    Career: Cobbler
    Mental Health: Too happy for his own good
    Education: Third grade level

    Summary: John is a 17-year-old man who earns enough money to live on by repairing shoes. So far, he hasn’t had anything major happen to him and he views his life as a great one. While he doesn’t have much credible knowledge, he knows enough to get by.

    I encourage writers to add to this list. Relationships, family, physical health etc. Keep the answers short and sweet. (It may seem like a grocery list, but remember, this is to help you more than anything. You wouldn't write it like a list in the book.)



    Rule 4 – Antagonist, Protagonist, Neutral?

    We see many role plays have writers choose what their character falls beneath. Lawful good, true neutral, chaotic evil, etc. I do not find the need to splice them into their perfect category, especially at the beginning of the book. A writer should figure out where their priorities are at the beginning, (evil, good, neutral), and then let the story take the reins for the rest of it.



    Rule 5 – Humans Have Dimensions

    The final rule: do not create a one or two-dimensional character. At this time, I would like to remind everyone that I love anime. I watch it every day. That, however, does not retract the fact that anime deals with this issue all the time. Remember how I mentioned that a character’s personality and appearance isn’t a grocery list. Same goes for this. It shouldn’t be:

    She’s the kind one.
    He’s the angry one.
    He’s the smart one.
    She’s the hyper one.
    He’s the charming one.


    Nor should it go:

    She’s kind, but will protect her friends no matter the cost.
    He’s angry, but secretly misunderstood.
    He’s smart and loves delinquent women.
    She’s hyper, but it is to cover up her severe depression.
    He’s charming and will go help homeless people whenever he gets the chance.

    While the second one, or known as two-dimensional, is better than one-dimensional, it still lacks humanity. Humans are more than just one or two things. We have a plethora of emotions, reasons, goals and attitudes. We are far more beautiful and complex than a list. Shoving characters into these grocery lists obliterates the immaculate construction of humanity.

    Vision said it best:

    “Humans are odd. They think order and chaos are somehow opposites and, try to control what won’t be. But there is grace in their failings. I think you missed that… Yes, but a thing isn’t beautiful because it lasts. It’s a privilege to be among them… Well, I was born yesterday.”

    Seriously, look up this scene and delve into it. Two robots in a forest talking about humanity. We, are, breathtaking. We are sick and twisted, yet can find charm in the simplest of things. We will destroy lands and people, but we can’t hurt a butterfly due to its mere beauty. We are human. And, our characters shouldn’t be taken so lightly. Our characters deserve that privilege. Give it to them. Make them as complicated as you. We are not if’s, but’s and and’s, we’re so many words, so many things, we are a concoction of the world. Let’s not belittle our characters with just one or two dimensions.

    At this time, I’d like to remind you that once a writer perfects the art of creating a character, they should break it. A character could be one-dimensional because of such and such an issue, while all the other characters are normal. You could have a character that lives in a sci-fi world not know a single thing about technology. You’re welcome to break the norms. Do so sparingly, though. Make it special to certain characters. And, most of all, have fun!



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    • Chapter seven
    • Chapter 7: Attracting Agents and Publishers

    The adventure, the journey, the trek of lassoing in an agent or publisher is surely a strenuous one. I know just how hard it is to get your foot through that door and my main advice is… kick that door in, shove your way into a company and declare, “You’ve got to publish this book, stat!” while you throw your book on the desk of the CEO and use their own pen to sign their agreement to publish your book for them.

    Sounds a bit crazy, right? Well, this may be a tad of a joke, but I’m not kidding when I say this is basically one of the steps you will need to take to get yourself there. Publishing companies and agents read so many books. They’re constantly wading through them. Somehow your book needs to outshine them all. We are a storytelling people. What will make you one of the best out of the entire world. This advice isn’t even something that should be broken unlike most of the rules I hand out. No, I’m not even going to call these steps, I’m going to call these: You Musts.

    ∆ I should add though, these You Musts are for those who are planning to publish traditionally. As well, you should always read the submission page in case they have anything different, specific or if they break the norm first.


    You Must: finish and edit your book as far as you can
    I have witnessed a hefty number of new writers turn in a story after just the first draft. First drafts, I’ll just say it, are garbage. No one ever expects you to create a masterpiece without error on your first try, no matter how seasoned of a writer you are. Even DreamWorks stopped animation for Dragons 3 and put it off for two years to round it out better.

    Here’s a quote from a man I tried to give advice to. This is word for word, as I have a picture of his comment saved:
    “…my book is just that good. I do not need editors or beta readers. It’s prime and ready to be sent off to the big publishers…”

    Don’t be that guy.

    Agents and publishers do not want to spend forever editing your book. I’ve learned that there is misinformation about how publishers have these editors that will take care of your book, and, even possibly, change every bit of it without your consent. This couldn’t be furthest from the truth. When I was in the industry, we were told to keep reading until you couldn’t take it anymore. If your story is riddled with punctuation errors, grammar issues, plot holes and overall bad storytelling, we won’t continue and say, “This is a great idea! Just needs some makeup.” We would toss it. It was out. Done.

    On occasion we would say, “This has potential. Let’s send feedback to the writer, have them rework it and let them send it again.” This means, even if editing still needed to be done, we didn’t want to do it. Our imagination is not the writer’s imagination. There are many alterations that we can’t handle because it is ours.

    This isn’t to say that we didn’t edit books. We did edit every book we chose. It was minimal, quick and/or was debated if it should be changed with the author’s advice.


    How much editing do you need? When is it good enough?
    These are just about as impossible to answer as you’d imagine them to be. All grammar, punctuation and typos should be sifted out. That is a given. The story itself should be edited too. Sometimes your editors may do this for you, other times you’ll have to hire an alpha reader. Altogether, make sure you have a good amount of advice on your story and whether or not all of it makes sense. Take an alpha reader’s word for it. Don’t ever correct alpha reader. They are meant to represent someone new reading your book, if they don’t understand it, it isn’t good to go.

    I will edit my books on my own five to fifteen times before I send it to an editor. When I get it back, I edit it again, send it to a different editor and so on and so forth. I keep doing this till I am comfortable and satisfied. There is no exact number.


    You Must: make your query a soundbite
    This advice is mainly directed toward an agent, but it also works for turning work into a publishing company. An agent never reads your entire book unless you’ve made it far in their consideration. I’ve met agents that literally have a stack of printed out queries and they’ll go through the first page of each one, put them in a ‘maybe’ or ‘no’ pile and proceed from there. Your interview starts there, so to speak. First and foremost, your query needs to have enough umph to be categorized in the ‘maybe’ pile. Agents do not usually accept reviewing the same book twice, even if you’ve changed it. This could be your only chance.

    Let’s say your story has made it into that ‘maybe’ pile. This pile is by no means small, don’t get your hopes up quite yet, because if your story isn’t like a soundbite, you’ve no chance.

    You know when you get a song stuck in your head, but it is only a specific part that replays over and over? All you want to do is hear it again and relish that piece of music. You, as a writer, must forge something of the same significance. Even as all these papers in the ‘maybe’ pile stand, the agent shouldn’t be able to get the idea of your book out of their head. Queries that can’t be expelled from the mind are bound to go into the yes pile unless it isn’t their style of book to publish. Hopefully the agent will send it to their agent friend if they like the idea enough.


    What should I put in a query letter? What is require in one?
    All agents will have different rules and guidelines. Make sure you view them carefully and make what they are searching for. Usually it is a one paged letter, but that could be different per agent. My biggest word of advice is to not say, “I have three other books in the series finished.” They actually don’t want to know that, they’d much rather read, “I have three books that I’ve begun to plan, the second book is halfway written,” (or something along those lines.) Even if you do have those books written, don’t mention it.

    My second biggest word of advice, yes there are two of them – don’t get sappy. Don’t explain how this is your dream. Don’t go into great lengths as to why you want to be an author. If they’re interested in your book, they’ll ask themselves. You will get a chance to talk about yourself in your letter, it shouldn’t be at all overbearing with emotions.

    Want more information on how to format a query letter, go here: How to Write a Darn Good Query Letter | NY Book Editors


    You Must: take advantage of every single publishing company/agent
    Rub your hands together, get a humped back and cackle a bit. This is how you will get your book to one of your dream publishing companies (or agents). Hopefully you have more than one in mind. Here are the stages for your diabolical plan:

    Stage 1:
    Send your edited, ready to go, story out to small publishers. (Not vanity presses.) These publishers are either startups, don’t have much funding – thus they stay small, and/or prefer to keep the business small. Do NOT send it to every single one. Maybe three to five at a time. If you get a yes right out the door, then you’ve already done something right with your story. But, don’t be discouraged if they say no, it’s bound to happen.

    Many publishing companies, especially the smaller ones, will give you tidbits of feedback. This is determined on how long they read your book, if they only make it through the first chapter, you won’t receive feedback. Take that feedback, play with your book while keeping the information in mind and send it to another (3-5) small agencies. If they also say no, rinse and repeat. If you aren’t getting any feedback, that is strange. You may need to go back to the drawing board, dissect your book and rewrite and edit. It probably isn’t ready to go.

    Once you begin receiving yeses from these small companies, refuse them all.


    Stage 2:
    So, you’ve received a few yeses now. Great! It’s time to do the exact same thing for medium-sized companies. Only turn a book into one to two medium companies at a time. Don’t use up all your resources right off the bat. Medium companies could also be larger, but you’d prefer not to publish with them. Use their feedback, take into consideration every detail until those yeses come flowing.


    Stage 3:
    I assume you know that you should say no to those medium companies, because you’re at all your dream companies. Only ever submit to one company at a time. Any feedback you receive, even if you get a no, is basically nectar from the gods and should be consumed to the finest details based on what would match your story. This is pushing you into the company you want to go to. Keep doing this until you get your first yes and accept!


    There is a misconception that you need to send your story to all of these amazing publishing companies right away. Sit back. Take your time. Start up on the next book or other books as you wait between each letter. It may take years, but you are, quite frankly, guaranteed a way in if you do it this way. You are taking advantage of the system and you are also learning new things as you do that you can implement in future books.

    The reason these are all musts is because they work. This isn’t up for artistic interpretation as writing is. This is how I’ve succeeded; how other authors succeeded and is often taught within the industry.

    ∆∆∆ My question to you: Are all the colors readable for you?

    There may be a part 2 if I receive enough questions.



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    • Chapter eight (part 1)
    • Chapter 8 (Part 1): Character Development

    Guys, I’ve written a lot of books in my life. Some on my own, some with partners/teams and some for contests. About four years ago, I wrote a book with eight other authors (which from this point on I’ll call: Group Book). While I haven’t pulled away from the project, I took a step back and let two of the more novice writers work on piecing all the different written bits together. They smoothed out some edges, rounded corners and truly made the story transitions far better than before. When they finished, it was my turn to edit Group Book.

    It isn’t great. Not at all. I’d personally dissect the entire book and rework every bit of it. I read Group Book in three days and I dreaded everyday jumping into it. As many of you know, I read a slosh of books while working in the industry. We rejected some books after a single chapter of reading, on rare occasions, even a single page. It’s been a while since I’ve read such an unfinished book. My habit of stopping way before the end nearly kicked in, but I wrote some of this book and I was acting as an editor, not a judge.

    Well, because of the sludge I recently pushed myself through, I’ve come to realize some things that need to be taught. These lessons would have been great for my past self. Some of my writing was not up to par four years ago. I’ve grown quite a bit in my writing, which is something we always want to see. Improvement is key. My next few chapters will be based on the experiences I had reading this book though, so, be prepared!

    I don’t want to offend anyone, I’m going to say it though, Suicide Squad, the movie, it isn’t great. I dislike almost every single bit of it. There are always two things that stand out to me whenever I watch it, and one of them is the sheer lack of character development. (I’ll bring up the other in a later chapter.) This is also an issue we had in the book we wrote together. There is this awkward roundup of characters in both and then, one way or another, they’re “family” by the end… yet, there is hardly anything that shows growth in relationships.

    I found myself often asking in the comments of my Group Book, “How? When? What relationship? They’ve only talked, like, twice. Etc.” These are questions that should never be pondered by the reader (unless it is on purpose and for reason). If you have this close relationship part way into a book and your readers are confused on how it leads to there, you, as a writer, need to rework something.

    Some other questions/comments that came to mind while reading Group Book were, “When would she have time to gain these talents with a sword? The first and last time we saw her with a gun, she could hardly put a bullet in it, yet you’re telling me that she can make her own gun. His reasonings for leaving are shallow, whatever was the point to this (specific decision)? Etc.”

    Sorry guys, this is a long intro to this chapter, but let's jump into what can be done to avoid lack of character development.


    Preplan relationships
    While I believe over planning prior to writing a book will often cause a tough journey for a writer, there does come a point where more is needed. This is especially so as more characters enter your story. Besides comics and roleplays, I do not find it a good idea to create a character sheet until you’ve written a character in your book for a little while. Get a feel for your character and once you do, make that sheet. You likely won’t share this sheet with anyone, so put it any secret details you wish. It’s for you, no one else.

    Pencil in their relationships with everyone and where you want their relationships head to. Are they first super close and gradually fall away from one another? Do they butt heads and draw closer toward the end? Is there always a strain on their relationship, but it is clear they care about each other? Is there no change in their tie together? Indicating where you want characters to move toward will help encourage your mind to shove moments in your story that present that path they are heading from without coming from left field.

    You don’t need to plan perfectly, but at the very least, give yourself a vague idea.


    Continuation from above - write what has happened
    Anytime a relationship develops in your story, return to your character sheet and write a summary of what happened and why it matters. Having all of these at the ready not only helps a slew of characters stay organized, but it also gives you quick access to see if their relationship is growing naturally like you planned.


    Consider if a relationship of any kind should happen
    If it has occurred to you that your plan isn’t following through and adding moments where they can gain closer relations feels awkward to write in, considering changing your plan. Nothing is ever concrete when it comes to art. If your story decides that it wants something else, let it happen. Don’t force something to happen between two or more characters if, no matter what you do, your goal won’t get accomplished.

    All this advice works for friendships, family, mentors and apprentices, etc, it isn’t solely for romance. That being said, just recently I realized I was forcing two characters together in one of my stories that were not meant to be together. There was nothing special, the moments felt and were strained and it was uncomfortable to read. Rather than pulling out their relationship, I pulled out the male entirely and brought forth a new character. I as well decided to take some more time developing their relationship and turned the romance focus to another pair instead.


    Avoid Hallmarking your book
    Relationships don’t usually grow from miscommunication and overreaction of a situation that wasn’t properly talked about. It doesn’t usually grow from misreading a text or a conversation that was stumbled upon. While relationships do grow from sitting, talking and understanding, getting to that point is strenuous and doesn’t always happen like what they show in a Hallmark movie. If every moment there is growth in a relationship is because of an issue, the story may have an issue. There should be a healthy mix of times of laughter, anger, adventure, protection, experience, conversation, patience, observation, fear, survival and curiosity, etc. There are so many different kinds of moments that could pull two or more people together that aren't solely based on drama. What’s more, using these situations shows character development beside the growth in relationships. We get to have a chance and look into the mind of different characters in unique situations. Hallmarking your book prevents and traps the characters into a place of stunted growth.


    Use symbolisms to display transitions within a character
    Probably one of the most overused and obvious forms of symbolism to show a change in character is the act of cutting one’s hair incredibly short. In America, it tends to emulate that they are no longer shy, they are no longer bound by who they are as a person and they want to break free from the shackles they made for themselves. In Japan, it often is shown when a romance didn’t work out for one reason or another. A break up, they like someone else, etc. Far back in history, rulers cut their hair and sent it to another kingdom to instigate war. The longer the hair, the more terrifying it was. If long hair was sent your way, you’ve made a peaceful ruler angry enough to declare war.

    There are many other ways to display this change than cutting hair. Wardrobe, scars, bags beneath the eyes, weapons, calluses, muscle or fat build up, the way they hold their stature, even a human can be an accessory to show change.

    I asked in the intro how a character in our Group Book had managed to become so talented with a sword (mind you, a sword that would have been way too heavy for her as well). While she has a wardrobe change, it is forced upon by another character, even so far as cutting her hair to appear as a man. That change was invoked by someone else and didn’t speak at all true to where she was at. It’d been interesting to see her new boyish clothes become more ragged, if she decidedly kept her hair short even after time passed, if she cut and tied her new pants to make them shorter and give her more freedom while training with a sword. I want to see scars, I want to watch what was once a prim and proper character stop caring about dirt on her face. It can be subtly written in the book, a single line here and there could do, but it’d speak volumes to the readers as they come to understand that her character is shifting and altering.


    Show new and old tendencies
    I have a tough time not moving. I always need to be moving one part of my body. That could be swaying my foot back and forth, clicking my nails together, rubbing the tops of my hands, tapping a table, etc. I always want to be doing or thinking something. Everyone close to me has noticed these tendencies of mine. If I was a character in a book, the reader should be just as aware of my ticks as anyone else in the book.

    What is especially interesting is when a story begins showing tendencies that weren’t there before. It reflects a character’s mind and how they may be dealing with it. You could even expunge a tick to show that something was finally sated and a character has calmed their storms. Ticks and tendencies could be someone who pulls out their gun too often to clean it or always has their hand on it to be ready for anything. Someone who keeps their arms behind their back, giving them an open and welcoming presence for anyone involved in their life. Someone that always is twisting some of their locks of hair between their fingers or fiddling with something in general, giving off a nervous appearance. Someone who just never sits down, they’re always pacing, walking, running, standing, rocking on their heels. Someone who rolls their shoulders often as their back hurts from being straight all the time due to always making sure they appear strong and unmoving.

    Finding these tendencies are better located when you give yourself the chance to act out as that character. When you have a moment to be alone, act and improv. Pretend to be your character in a certain situation and make note of what your body does. Roleplaying also helps put some puzzle pieces together. Since someone else is playing a completely different character and forcing reactions out of your own, you have to start thinking of why your character would do what they do per situation.


    If you have a pivotal moment make sure it stays that way
    All too frequently I watch a character change, but it doesn’t stick. Something huge happens in their life. Someone dies, house burns down, they win an award, defeat their rival, finally can talk to their brother, just about anything that either destroys something in their life or helps them progress forward. Relationships, outward appearance, tendencies, all of it changes, but then part way in, it is as though they’ve returned to the character they once were. We took two steps forward and twelve steps back and now all that character growth (or their fall) needs to restart.

    I guess “spoilers ahead”
    This is one of the issues I had with The Crimes of Grindelwald. In the first movie, there were two pairs of possible romantic relationships, a child who was nearly persuaded to pursue help for the issue he had - only to be “killed”, and a friendship formed. In the second movie, everything had to restart. Both romantic relationships had crumbled, the friendship doesn’t feel as close anymore due to the restart from the first movie, and the kid, the one they’d supposedly killed (but we all saw that some of him got away), that had to be redone too. Unfortunately, the main character wasn’t the one who did it this time, no, it was the character that used and abused him in the first movie. Somehow this kid went to him. I felt like I had watched the exact same thing, with far less reason for a man whose speciality in magical beasts to be involved. It all felt like one strange stepping stone for a third movie. They entirely severed a relationship and we hardly watched any real love between the two (Queenie and Jacob), thus making it less impactful, nor did we see what led them to that point. It was half-baked and they made us restart our investment.


    There are times where you can take twelve steps back. There could easily be another pivotal moment that disrupts the last one. However, if done too soon, then its impact will mean nothing. You need to marinate your character in a spot for a while before the flavor is good when most of it is cooked out of them. You want your readers to possibly yell, “No!” and perhaps favor in throwing their book before picking it up again. You want a reaction. If it is nothing more than a shrug of the shoulders, then both pivotal moments didn’t dig as deep as they could have.


    That’s going to do it for part one. There are so many ways to help your characters become iconic that I couldn’t fit it in a single chapter.



    LazyDaze LazyDaze Idea Idea The The Vergaan Vergaan AllGoodNamesRGone AllGoodNamesRGone Baconhands Baconhands NekoQueen49 NekoQueen49 Darkmaster006 Darkmaster006 Redfork2000 Redfork2000 Sacrosanctis Sacrosanctis ashwynne ashwynne Melpomene Melpomene

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    • Chapter eight (part 2)
    • Chapter 8 (Part 2): Character Development

    This is a continuation of Character Development (Part 1). There isn’t much to introduce or say here as this truly just continues the advice I was giving prior. But for the sake of consistency, I’ll share a story about myself that could be shown as a character development example.

    Ahem!!! This is going to be embarrassing.

    When I was probably thirteen (maybe a bit younger), my sister and I used to head to nearby Wal-marts (yes, plural) every Saturday morning to search for a specific nail polish. It was the lime green kind, it was ALWAYS sold out. It seemed to be the rage at the time and my sister wanted to get her hands on one. And, though it doesn’t have anything to do with this chapter, that day we DID manage to find it.

    After celebrating our successful morning after literal months of searching, we drove out of that parking lot and it was busy. The lot wasn’t well designed, so it often bottlenecked. We were five cars or so away from getting out, and we spotted a man with a cardboard sign at the corner. We are a very giving family, we try to serve where we can, however, I have crippling anxiety. My sister fished out a single gold dollar and handed it to me. She instructed me to roll down my window (lever and all, so all I could think of was how awkward it was to quickly spin this lever in circle after circle to grab his attention. Once again, anxiety inducing). I was adamant. I refused. Heck no. I would not be the one to roll down my window and holler at the guy to come and grab some coin from me. I couldn’t do it.

    My sister and I debated back and forth as we tried to think of a solution. My idea was… let’s not do this today, not here. As we got closer, my sister ushered me to just roll down my window and, with a reluctant groan, I did so. She took the coin from my hands and leaned over me as she waved her hand as far as she could outside my window. The man came on up and she said, “I’m sorry it isn’t much. It’s all I have on hand.”

    He took up the coin, lifted it up to show off its grand magnitude of being money and said in return, “It’s the thought that counts.” He offered thanks and ran back to his station.

    My sister elbowed me, asking me if it was so bad and looked over her shoulder. A soft gasp escaped her lips as she noticed the man had a daughter with him. For a mere moment she thought that maybe she should drop by our house to grab more change, but then flicked her head right to the front and got out of the parking lot as fast as she could.

    She had read the sign, neither of us had noticed at first… it said: PUPPIES FOR SALE

    What followed after was hysterical amounts of laughter, embarrassment and cheeks so red you’d think we’d run a marathon. It’s been a long time since then. I’ve grown quite a bit, while my anxiety isn’t something that just disappeared overnight (and still isn’t gone), I’ve boggled down what induces it. I’m still terrified of people, but I’ve found traction, I know where to step and not slip. I was able to work a job for three years that included talking to massive amounts of people. I made it. I often look back at this silly moment. Something about it was the turning point in my mind. Shame on the road is written off, people either have a funny story to tell or they’ll forget. So long as I remember that, I can live without suffocating myself. I developed, changed and progressed. I wrote about pivotal moments in the last part, and it should go without saying that they can be as small as this, along with some others, that show progression in a character.


    Don’t keep your characters glued
    Probably one of my biggest pet peeves is when a character stays where they stand and they never move. I don’t expect every single character to take huge strides from where they began, but they need to at least move an inch, especially when they are loud about dealing with an issue. If there is a character always griping about something, even when they’re in the right, but there is no advancement, then it can become aggravating for the readers.

    A good example of this, and, mind you, I love Steven Universe. It is an animation and story treat. However, I struggled to see progression with Amethyst. I knew where she was coming from, that she felt like an error, a black smudge that couldn’t be properly erased and her friends were just dealing with her presence. The first time I watched how she felt, it tore me to pieces. As I do believe many people are in a similar situation between friends and family. Yet, every time a bit of it was mended, it seemed as though it wasn’t. This is similar to the two steps forward, twelve steps back, yet it wasn’t that they were falling back, it seemed more like she'd forgotten previous conversation and understandings, it wasn't that it was reversed, it was like it never happened. She stayed still in the situation, as the issue occurred more than once and it wasn’t until I was sick of it that it was over. Many emotional, physical and mental struggles branch out into different worries, that in of itself is fine. That still shows progression as they’ve moved on to something else that may come from the same tree, but it is an entirely new situation they need to conquer.


    Let your characters sway
    Well, now it is going to sound like I am taking back everything I’ve said before, and that’s sort of the point. Pivotal moments and glued characters, they are similar, and swaying is the opposite of those. Swaying a character isn’t you purposely taking twelve steps back, no, it is making your character take a step back to get a better look at the picture. Here’s another good example:

    Zuko, from Avatar the Last Airbender. What a character. Probably one of the best character arcs ever created. Here’s a villain who is slowly softened from other characters, but especially so from his uncle and when you think all is well, he betrays the person who has been raising and nurturing him. In the end, he ends up with internal turmoil, even losing his bending as he needs to relocate himself. He took a step back, not in the right direction, but it made him get a better look at what he could be and it destroyed him that he wasn’t there and that he could have already burned those bridges. Thank goodness, he didn’t.

    If you look at Zuko’s sister, Azula, many would assume that she is a glued character. She has a goal, she’s stuck to it, 'glued', won’t move and nothing will get in her way. But, toward the end, it seemed she also took a step back and she plummeted. She did burn those bridges, pushed everyone out, she consumed herself in what could be and froze after seeing her future. Her sway, her turmoil managed to crack her.


    Let’s break these three down to simpler details.

    Pivotal moments:     They’re needed, don’t erase them, don’t reverse it. Keep them, you created a change and it shouldn’t be altered for the sake of drama.

    Glued characters: Don’t endorse change and take it back, don’t act like it didn’t happen. Let changes occur, even if it is small. If there is a root to how they act, go down different branches, don’t stick to one. A rooted character is a boring character, figure out what steps need to be taken to push them out of their safezone. Knock down a tree or two.

    Swaying: Take a step back, get a good look at who they are and let whatever happens happen. This could be falling back into old ways, stepping right back where they were or progressing. This is, technically, a pivotal moment, but it could retract what previously happened, it could glue them, it could advance them. Swaying helps break rules (rules are meant to be broken after all), because at the very least, the reader sees the reason they are or aren’t doing something.


    Use other characters to spot changes
    Don’t do this too often. Continually reading, he saw, she saw, I saw, they saw, will pull readers out of your story. Other people tend to spot changes in others more than the person who changed themself. We are often blind by our growth. Just recently my friend and I redrew three old artworks we had created. Two of the ones I chose were from ten years ago, I know that my skill has significantly gotten better. Putting the old version next to the new though, wow, that threw my for a loop. It was amazing how much I had grown. I also recreated an art piece I’d done in high school and I’ve also done a piece with just a year between the old and new. I didn’t know, nor would I have seen, how much growth I had conquered over just a year if I hadn’t done this. The people who did spot the difference prior to the redraw were family members and close friends. They had watched me develop my art with every new piece I finished, when, in my head, I was just having fun.

    Just last night - from whenever this is posted of course, I had a long talk with my mother and my soon to be sister in law. My, what I’ll call sister, brought up a great point. She mentioned that she’d do something and wonder when or how she’d learned to do it, and remembered something back when she was young that helped her figure out where it stemmed from. Oftentimes her learning experiences came from her own mother, but some came with trial and tribulation. All of that growth came unnoticed until she was an adult and realized that she was here now. She is about to be married to my brother. It dawned on her that she’d changed so much and would have never imagined that she’d be where she was at now. In the time that she started dating my brother to this point, I’ve even seen growth from her. It’s breathtaking. We can watch everyone around us grow up, get better, get worse, make good and poor decisions and never notice ourselves.

    As a continuation though, what helps too is when a character notices that THEY have changed.
    You’re three-quarters into the book, lots of events have occurred, people have been hurt, people are married, battles have been fought, emotions conquered, and a character reflects on all of it and realizes themself. They’ve watched the world move forward and it is here they analyze whether or not they’ve followed suit or have stood still. This could both be a shattering or encouraging moment and shows both their change thus far and how they could change in that time of self study. Right here could be their pivotal moment, right here could be where they fall, right here could simply be where they feel good with themselves and continue the story. It is a fantastic place, use it sparingly.


    Don’t forgo the now
    You remember that book I talked about in part one, the Group Book, well, well, well, guys, whew, goodness, where do I begin. I read a scene in it that I just hated. Every bit of it picked and pulled at pieces of my mind and led me to closing my laptop and walking away from it for a day. Maybe a bit of over exaggeration. I’m allowed to exaggerate here.

    The Group Book started with a prologue, which prologues are already fairly iffy to put into your story. In this prologue we learned that two persons, a man and a woman, were once in love, but now the woman feared him because he killed fourteen men and is on a run from the government. There is a huge conversation between them and by the time he learned that she feared him, she’d already fallen head over heels for another guy. We know that. Come later in the book, when this killer is out to seek revenge, he leaves behind a gift she’d given him to show that it was indeed him that took something from her. And, I never knew it was possible for there to be a ‘fade to flashback’ scene in a book, but that is exactly what happened. She looked off into the distance, grabbed the object and we were shoved into a flashback.

    Because we decided to make the readers learn about the object this way, we passed up on the opportunity for two characters to gain character development as she was now married to a man who stood beside her and asked her what was wrong. She didn’t answer, like I’ve said twice, instead it cut to a flashback. It was such a good time for her to tell the story, to see her reaction to her memories of her previous lover, if she was embarrassed, shamed, worried, fearful, repulsed or still in love. We also didn’t get to see her husband’s reaction or if he wondered why she’d never told him the story before. We were shown what happened in the past, we already knew they’d separated and we already know what the agenda had been to gain her attention. Yet, we forwent two people in the present for something that doesn’t matter anymore.

    Sometimes it is much better to have a character to talk about their life so we can watch them and the people around - (body language, fluxes in the voice, reactions, etc). Don’t be fooled into thinking flashbacks are the best way to go, do not forgo the present/future.


    Merge characters
    If you have two characters who are both making itty bitty steps towards developing their development, then consider merging them together. Not only will you likely create a one of a kind character, but you’ll also find that the development will take turns you’d ever expect. If a writer is surprised by how their characters are changing, they’ve done something right.

    There is also the issue that you may have too many characters and you are separating people and roles too thin. You’ll risk the matter of grocery list characters and fall into one or two dimensional people. Merging roles adds that extra dimension, lessens your load on keeping track of every single character and could become one of your new favorites. Pushing together two weaknesses makes creative ideas to beat around it, putting together two strengths could become an asset for the story, you never know. Give it a try.


    That’ll do it for character development. There is so much to touch on this topic that I could possibly create a third part, but I think I’ll leave it up to any questions that are sent my way instead. If I get enough, I’ll compile my answers into another chapter.



    LazyDaze LazyDaze Idea Idea The The Vergaan Vergaan AllGoodNamesRGone AllGoodNamesRGone Baconhands Baconhands NekoQueen49 NekoQueen49 Darkmaster006 Darkmaster006 Redfork2000 Redfork2000 Sacrosanctis Sacrosanctis ashwynne ashwynne Melpomene Melpomene

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    • Chapter nine
    • Chapter 9: Competition Within Writing

    I am a part of a lot of writing groups on Facebook. I’m definitely more of the type who just scanvages it with a caveman expression and I hardly ever put in my two cents like I should. There was a question that stood out to me though, one that I had an itching to answer, especially when I saw the comments. The question was:

    “At what point do you view another author as competition?”

    I learned real quick that my answer to this question wasn’t what everyone else answered. Much of the answers were filled with both a sense of too humble and pride. There wasn’t a single person who said that they ever viewed someone as competition. People spoke highly of themselves, imagination and/or book. That competition was a waste of time. Some, not many, even said that they often pretend other authors aren’t there - like they don’t exist.

    This threw me for a loop as my perspective disagreed with every single one of them. There were bits and pieces where I agreed, but I felt like everyone was missing something valuable. Due to this, I find it important to share this with all of you. I’m going to flip this advice from a writer to an artist’s perspective. I now draw a lot more than I write and the advice is the same, no matter if it is art or running in a race.

    I've been taught and mentored by Disney leads, professors and other remarkable artists. I've received quite a bit of advice over these past 7 years that I've been really digging in and honing my skill. And one thing is for certain, every single one of these stunning artists have said the same thing:

    View everyone as a competition, but not how you think. You should be constantly aiming to be better than the artists you admire. Not out of vindictive purposes, rather, out of the grandest form of respect. And, while you 'compete' you shouldn't push yourself down either. Don't envy and wish you could draw like they can. Look at their art and use it as the momentum to thrust yourself further within your talents and skills. A proper art community will respect one another, give advice, teach and will be willing to learn. It's a constant competition, however, when we raise our boat, we raise other boats as well.

    I believe the same for writing, music, inventors, etc. I view everyone as a competition, especially those who I respect and look up to. I have no plans to smother, beat or ruin their career with my own. In fact, helping them will help me too. I find it naive to view others with little to no competition. To me, from my perspective and opinion, it could stunt your growth. If your only deciding factor on becoming a better artist (of any form) is simply because you want to be, and you do not value any other artists work as better than your own and worth surpassing, you will not advance quickly.

    I think back to my childhood. All of my friends drew and I was always twelve steps behind them. Drawing just didn't click for me, but I wanted to do it. I felt the urge and had this drive and need to keep drawing. Even though I was sorely disappointed seeing all the amazing artists around me, I kept going. I wanted to 'beat' them. In my efforts, I continued to get better and progress. The older I became, the more it snowballed as I gained a better understanding on how to learn. (And yes, there is a skill in knowing how to learn.) It wasn't until about a year and a half after graduation that I began to spot that my art was gradually surpassing my friends, who most had since stopped creating art regularly. Now, out of all my friends, I'm the only one who creates art as a full time career. I busted my wrist, killed my eyes and I got there. And, my respect for them hasn't ended. Their art is definitely nothing like mine now as we all branched different directions. But because of my motivation to learn and acquire different pieces of knowledge, I'M the one they come to for advice. I'm teaching them programs, ways to work digitally, new ways to look at a 3D object, etc. It switched, I’m no longer grasping toward them for help. And for all I know, it could switch again. That’s what it means to compete, admire, respect and build one another.

    If you want to make leaps and bounds within the talents you want to attain, and in this case, as a writer, then start competing. Find your favorite authors and writers. Figure out why you love them. What makes you wish you could write like them? Why does their style intrigue you? How do their characters feel real? When you’ve practiced, received a better grasp and reached a point you’ve been aiming for, figure out everything you believe would make it better, inevitably, making you better. This is something often seen within the art community as well. We practice each others’ styles, not to copy, but out of respect and when we find the bits we like, we alter and add it to our own style.

    You must also remember that life is one giant reference. We’re constantly pulling memories of things we like from our mind and using it within our talents. Never be ashamed to use your ‘competition’ as reference, you’re probably already doing it without realizing it. With all things considered, artists are technically always using nature as competition. We go out into it, find a tree we want to reference, but then we want to make it better. Make it ours. Change the colors, make it more angular, more twisty. We like the tree, we want to compete with nature and draw it different. The same can be said with artists, writers, even a runner.

    This has all basically come full circle by this point. Overall though, don’t be afraid to compete. Do so with respect. You’ll be left in awe with how fast you will grow.




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    Last edited:
    • A Great Experience To Read
    • I feel this is something very important for anyone who wishes to improve in their writing, drawing or anything else they're passionate about. I remember that I started to write a bit more back in 2013, and my first attempts of storywriting were... unpolished, to say the least. Around 2015 I joined a site where users would create characters, write stories and share them. As soon as I arrived I began working on my own stories and characters, but I also looked at some of the work the others were doing. Some people had been on the site for years already, and had made much better stories, and had gained a lot of respect and popularity within the site's community. I admired their work and wanted my characters and stories to be great like theirs.

    There were also other users that wrote stories drastically different from my own, and had their own style. Many of them read my stories and gave me writing advice on how to improve. And while not all of the criticism and feedback on my work was provided in a constructuive manner, I learned to use the feedback I had gotten to improve my own storywriting. I tried different things, tried different styles and got out of my comfort zone. Through the constant communication, exchanges and interactions with the other users in that site, I slowly grew as a writer, and I came to a point where I was at a position where other users would look at my work and ask me for advice as well. But I doubt any of that would've happened if I hadn't payed attention to the other writers, tried to improve my own writing skill so I could be as good as them, and possibly better, listened to what they had to say and incorporate everything I learned from them.

    Nowadays I still have a lot to learn, and I'm still on the process of improving my skills, but I can recognize that I've grown a lot as a writer throughout the years, and a lot of it was due to the way I interacted with the other writers I met, how I strived to improve, and had this sort of friendly and respectful competition. It's not about pride, it's not about proving you're better than anyone else, it's about learning from each other and improving. No one has all the answers, and there's always someone to learn from everyone else. I remember a phrase I once heard that goes: "Whenever you start feeling superior to someone, remind yourself that this person is better than you at something." Instead of going by the extreme of feeling superior to someone else, or go the opposite way making yourself feel terrible because you think you'll never be as good as someone else, I think the best way we can see it is from a point of mutual respect and admiration.

    I met writers that had drastically different styles from my own. And while I've never changed my entire style to imitate someone else's style, I've learned to incorporate bits of information and lessons I learn from other writers and try to implement them in my own way. One writer taught me about making intense scenes, helping the reader feel the raw emotion, to let the characters be vulnerable. Another writer taught me how to writer better comedic scenes and humor. Another writer helped me improve in the grammar department, with things as simple as using the correct tenses throughout the story, and proper formatting. Another taught me how to make characters feel human and three dimensional, more than simple caricatures with cartoony and one-note personalities. I've been incorporating the lessons I learned from each friend I made along the way, and implementing them into my own style, and I think that's really helped me to become a better writer.

    The journey has just begun though, and I know there's still tons I can learn to improve even further. The way I see it, the main reason we form a community or a group is to share our work with each other, learn from each other and improve. It's really hard to improve your own writing if you don't have anything to compare it to. It's by seeing other people's work and learning from what makes their work great that we can improve our own skills and become better at what we do. Competition from a point of respect and admiration really is one of the best ways to accelerate the pace at which you improve, and I consider myself fortunate to live in an era where connecting with other people who enjoy writing as much as I do is easier than ever!

    Thanks for this new chapter, it's really something I think is very important to understand in order to become a better writer, a better artist, and better at just about anything. It applies beyond just art, and into all different areas as well. I'm also a very passionate chess player, and I've been striving to improve in chess as well, but the moment I started improving the most was when I got in contact with other chess players, and we started interacting, exchanging ideas and learning from each other. And having someone better than you at an area you're passionate about gives you a clear goal to strive for. You want to improve, you want to be as good as they are, or perhaps even better. If you remember that the competition is from a point of mutual respect and admiration, then it'll be beneficial for everyone involved.
     
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