TheBoson

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5 Tips on How Roleplaying Right Improves Writing

Aug 26, 2015

1. Take action that someone can react to. I'm really amazed at how prevalent this is, and all I can think of is that people are afraid to be bold, especially if they are new to RP and don't want to step on people's toes. Back in the day, I used to roleplay on a Lion King forum (ahem), and the few close friends I gathered called this kind of crap "butterfly roleplay", as in: a lion comes into the thread and chases butterflies. Another lion comes in and chases it, too. They get to be friends by bonding over a butterfly. Everyone is happy forever and ever. Look, text roleplay is a training ground for learning how to write and write well. Conflic

5 Tips

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Literature

Plot Outline Conventions

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Literature

Minor Character Sheet-OC Meme

The Minor Character Sheet: a writing aid for all fiction creators, from fantasy authors to comic writers. A helpful guideline tool for anyone who wants to create well-rounded, plot hole-free casts :) This is the minor character sheet, full of things that might be useful to know about minor cast members. There is another, much longer sheet for main characters. These are all geared toward protagonists, but can be applied to villains too. Text in [brackets] is just for clarification of how to answer the preceding question. Also, since I hate writing "him or her" and I will not write "they" when the subject is singular, I am assuming masculinit

Sheets

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Literature

Tips In Effective Characters

Notes on creating effective characters Motivation: When considering a character, always ask yourself ‘why’? Question your character’s motive for everything they do, think, or say. Delve into the psychology of your character. Don’t just make them ‘insane’ for no reason, or ‘just always happy,’ or anything that can‘t have backup. Every thing has a reason, and this should be relatively obvious to your readers, unless you mean to keep it a secret; but a good, solid character has depth. One creates depth through a deep understanding of their character’s past, psychology, and motives. Stick to wha

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5 Tips on How Roleplaying Right Improves Writing by Droemar, journal

5 Tips on How Roleplaying Right Improves Writing

Aug 26, 2015

5 Things That Will Make You a Better Writer by Droemar, journal

5 Things That Will Make You a Better Writer

Aug 13, 2015

EDIT: If you like this journal entry, check out The Sarcastic Guide to Writing ebook http://www.amazon.com/The-Sarcastic-Guide-Writing-ebook/dp/B005TOCC1C for exclusive content on world-building, character, and dialogue! 1. Work on something else. I know, I know. You've been working on that story of yours for twelve whole years, and it's your baby. Sure, it may have been inspired by that Dungeons and Dragons session you had when you were thirteen, but you're going to make your fortune with it! It's the next Harry Potter! When my pals and I have gone to writing conferences, we've made note of an interesting phenomenon: when someone has writte

16 Examples of how NOT to Pitch a Logline by Droemar, journal

16 Examples of how NOT to Pitch a Logline

Sep 11, 2015

I joined a Twitter dealie where you pitch to agents over Twitter, and I swear I learned more in one day about pitching than I have reading any number of how-to-write books. A logline is a one sentence pitch of your story. It can be used on Twitter, but it's also used in person as an elevator pitch. It's the distilled essence of stakes, story, and character. Some people find it frustrating and intimidating, but I find it easier to do a logline than a query. I got a few bites from agents, so I was quite pleased. I gained a lot of sympathy for them around 3 in the afternoon, though. Every pitch starts looking the same, and the really, really

16 Examples of how TO Pitch a Logline by Droemar, journal

16 Examples of how TO Pitch a Logline

Sep 16, 2015

I promised I would post some good pitches from #PitchMad. Seeing what gets grabbed by agents is a good way to know what makes for a decent pitch. (Bad ones are just funnier in the absolute opposite way.) These pitches were either starred (requested by agents), or retweeted by myself and my friend because we liked them. And I will say, with the utmost smugness, that out of 45,000 tweets tagged #PitchMad, I got 7 agent requests and 1 publisher request, while my friend got 7 agent requests. Not bad out of 45,000 tweets! 1. Years ago, they called this beach town Murderville. 5th-yr senior Jackson, looking into a friend's death, is about to lea

5 Pieces of Critique You Should Always Disregard by Droemar, journal

5 Pieces of Critique You Should Always Disregard

Apr 14, 2013

1. "I have a problem with your premise." This is the red flag to end all red flags. I don't care how flimsy the premise is. Every idea has the potential to be a good story. Execution is something else entirely, but if somebody doesn't like your idea: don't listen to them. What they're basically saying is "I am not an Ideal Reader, therefore not your target audience, therefore I am not the right person to critiquing your work." I hate, hate, hate people who think you should be writing for broader audiences than your story is capable of reaching. If you're writing romance, you're writing romance for romance readers. You're not trying to reach

5 Tips On Fantasy Religions by Droemar, journal

5 Tips On Fantasy Religions

Oct 15, 2012

I'm not looking for a religious discussion. If someone starts one, I will rip your face off and block your comments. 1. How involved a deity is affects religion. At least in fantasy, anyway. Now of course there are plenty of fantasy religions that don't bother to clear up whether a god actually exists, and the driving elements of the story or more about religion and power rather than spirituality. So considering whether god or gods actually really do exist at all in your story is a perfectly cromulent question. However, if a god does exist, and is constantly involved in the lives and well-being of its worshipers, enemies or non-believers mi

5 Tips on Creating Dynamic Character by Droemar, journal

5 Tips on Creating Dynamic Character

Sep 6, 2012

EDIT: If you like this journal entry, check out The Sarcastic Guide to Writing ebook http://www.amazon.com/The-Sarcastic-Guide-Writing-ebook/dp/B005TOCC1C for exclusive content on world-building, character, and dialogue! 1. Start with a concept. This is how most of my characters start, and they usually begin with two or three word descriptors. "Demon stallion" or "spoiled dragon prince" or "psychic dolphin". Characters as this stage are more anima than anything; they are forces at play in the primordial soup of story. When an idea is this new, I try not to focus on it too much. Ideas need time to germinate, and I've found myself disappointed

5 Best Things That Ever Happened To My Writing by Droemar, journal

5 Best Things That Ever Happened To My Writing

Jun 23, 2012

EDIT: If you like this journal entry, check out The Sarcastic Guide to Writing ebook http://www.amazon.com/The-Sarcastic-Guide-Writing-ebook/dp/B005TOCC1C for exclusive content on world-building, character, and dialogue! 1. No one cared that I wrote. I say this in kind of the sin of omission sort of way. Looking back on growing up, no one in my family paid attention to the hours I spent in front of a keyboard. My mom never picked my brain about plots, my siblings were more likely to mock my prose than be curious about it. My pursuit was ignored, treated with apathy, as opposed to being actively cast down as "stupid" or "a waste of time". Whi

5 Ways Characters Can Fail by Droemar, journal

5 Ways Characters Can Fail

May 14, 2012

EDIT: If you like this journal entry, check out The Sarcastic Guide to Writing ebook http://www.amazon.com/The-Sarcastic-Guide-Writing-ebook/dp/B005TOCC1C for exclusive content on world-building, character, and dialogue! 1. They don't have flaws. Flaws are the first thing that should be explored in character, at least after the first flashes of inspiration have passed and you start moving into more concrete turf. People say Mary Sues are defined by lack of flaws; the flip side insists that giving your character "issues" won't make a character any less of a Mary Sue. Now, my definition of a Mary Sue doesn't involve flaws or the lack thereof;

5 Things I Bet Amateur Writers Haven't Considered by Droemar, journal

5 Things I Bet Amateur Writers Haven't Considered

Feb 1, 2012

EDIT: If you like this journal entry, check out The Sarcastic Guide to Writing ebook http://www.amazon.com/The-Sarcastic-Guide-Writing-ebook/dp/B005TOCC1C for exclusive content on world-building, character, and dialogue! 1. You will have to reduce your story to one page. This is called the query letter, what you write when you try and land a legit agent or publisher. You basically say "Hey, this is what my story's about, how long it is, and why I chose you to look at it." It is, in my opinion, one of the most difficult things a writer will ever face. All your nuance, your subtle build-ups, your "yes, buts", and your "no, wait, there's more

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