Answering Your Recent Writing Questions

Years ago, I used to answer people's writing questions on a regular basis, but . . . alas, my professional life got too busy to keep up with them, especially when they can be so specific to that person's needs. But recently I went through my Tumblr inbox and responded to a lot of my "asks," so I'm sharing them today in all their miscellaneous glory. Maybe they will be helpful to you.

(One caveat: I responded to these quickly off the cuff, so you will notice I'm not as deep and thorough as I am when I do regular blog posts. (Speaking of regular blog posts . . . I was also on Writers Helping Writers last week, talking about how story structure is a fractal, if you're interested 😉.))

Question: How do you show progress being made in the promises you make in your story?

Answer:

Often the best way to illustrate progress is to break big, overarching elements down into small things, and show how the small things are met/accomplished.

So, usually in a story, there will be one or more big overarching goals for the main character (of which there are three types: obtain, avoid, or maintain). Often these big goals can be broken down into smaller goals. For example . . . 

As the character successfully completes a little goal, it creates a sense of progress for the audience.

But perhaps what you are talking about isn't so much related to accomplishing little goals. 

Well, this concept can work with negative things too. . . .

For example, in Back to the Future, a photo of Marty is used to show how he isn't getting closer to his goal, but further away from it (setbacks). He is slowly disappearing from his photo, which illustrates that he is going to disappear as a person if he can't get his parents to fall in love. So, that creates a sense of progress with something negative (with stakes). As he checks the photo, he sees himself disappearing bit by bit.

Basically, you create a sense of progress by showing smaller things moving forward (or if negative, backward)--smaller increments. This keeps the story from feeling stagnant.

Question: Any advice on how to turn a 3 sentence writing prompt into a full-fledged (long) story?

Answer:

The best and most popular method for doing this sort of thing is called "The Snowflake Method" by Randy Ingermanson. He breaks down the process here. 

While everyone's writing process is different, in most (long) stories, there will be 3 - 4 major moments called plot points (aka "turning points" or "plot turns"). The climax is the biggest turning point, so if it's helpful, you can think of the plot points as being lesser "climaxes." These are usually going to be major scenes, key developments. So I would personally suggest thinking about what these major moments are or could be, to start expanding the story into something bigger. Another key moment is the inciting incident, which is essentially what kicks off the main story, so considering what that is, is usually helpful too.

If that doesn't resonate with you, I would say consider what the protagonist wants and what their concrete goals are. There are three types: obtain, avoid, or maintain. The antagonist should somehow be opposing that goal (directly or indirectly), this is what leads to conflict. And any conflict that happens should have consequences, so that the story is growing and changing. (I'm explaining this a little quickly, cause it could take pages to explain adequately.)

I would recommend checking out the Snowflake Method though, because it's a very popular approach that resonates with many writers, and it relates exactly to the sort of thing you are asking.

Question: hi. i'm about to write a scene where a character finds out her best friend was murdered. and i want her to cry, but i don't want it be cliche or cringey. i want it to feel real and raw but i don't know how. any tips?

Answer:

So often the best way to have a strong emotional impact is to focus on what causes the feelings, more than on the feelings themselves. (This is an older article I should probably update, but it still encapsulates what I mean, here.)

Which I realize sounds really counterintuitive. 

So rather than focus on rendering the emotions and feelings, think about what can cause those feelings in the audience--what memories or experiences can the character recall about her friend that will make her murder tragic? Does she see the body? Capturing the right imagery of it can also make it impactful. 

Of course, it is important to acknowledge how the character feels too--the character isn't a robot. 

But usually we want to focus on the cause more than the feelings. Cause > Feelings

However, depending on the story, if the best friend isn't a lead character, and/or dies early on, you may not be able to create a powerful impact in that way. So the other thing that is really helpful is to get deep into the character's POV. Write empathetically, not sympathetically or sentimentally (also an older article, but I'm linking to it because it relates.)

Finally, I want to share this amazing resource that every writer should have, that can help you with any kind of emotion. The Emotion Thesaurus.

This is just a quick answer--surely you can go deeper into these topics, but I hope it is helpful nonetheless. 

Question: Was wondering how you would write an adult bullying character to the main character  Like say a coworker that’s a bully or in other environments for an enemies to friends to lovers fic. But I don’t know how to write that bullying thing. Ya mind giving some pointers?

Answer:

Hmm . . . I'm not sure I have anything off the top of my head specific to bullies . . . or maybe I would need more info about the project. I mean, obviously a bully is going to be a jerk--hurting others emotionally or physically. There is often a facade of superiority or a big ego, which is actually covering up insecurities or unhappiness underneath, but the person can't deal with that because it hurts, so they overcompensate by trying to be better than others and putting others down to make them feel better. This could range from verbal abuse, online abuse, to obviously getting physically dangerous.

I feel like I'd probably need to know more about the character and/or environment to give more specific examples of how bullying could be illustrated.

In the opening, you'll likely want to illustrate the fact he is a bully very quickly. Often we want to illustrate this sort of thing in the character's first scene, which can be tricky, because if the audience hates the main character too much, they won't keep reading. So, this often needs to be balanced out with other intriguing or admirable qualities. A lot of main characters who are "a-holes" are very talented at something, or special in some way, which makes them interesting. And/or they are really proactive in getting their goals, which can draw the audience in as well. (I'm pulling from some of Brandon Sanderson's character advice here.)

Alternatively, you can show him being likable in his first scene (perhaps consider, who is he nice to? His family? His dog? His daughter?), and then undermine that by showing him being a bully in his second scene. This will immediately make him feel more complex.

It all just sort of depends on what you are going for.

It will likely be important in the beginning/Act I to show he needs to change and/or has the capacity to change, so the audience gets a sense for what kind of character arc he has.

It can also be really effective to give this character a "ghost"--a traumatic backstory that explains why he is a bully. This often helps make the character more sympathetic to the audience, even if they don't like what he does.

Other than that, you may want to look into/research the term "Alpha-hole," which is what it sounds like. These are usually a-hole male leads who act like alphas, and they crop up in certain types of romances (enough to have a term for them now). You may be able to find some more direction from that community, depending on what you are going for.

And . . . I guess I had more to say in this response than I thought!

Question: Whenever I start to write a story I feel like I'm just recycling ideas of other stories I enjoyed. I read something and like it and suddenly I have an idea to fit into my story that feels similar. I recently heard a critic say about a filmmaker how they sacrificed their own vision to imitate other successful filmmakers before them and since then I worry that is basically what I do with writing. I don't really know what to ask to solve that problem, but do you have an idea on how can I work on developing my own ideas without feeling like Im just imitating others?

Answer:

This is a more complex topic than one would initially think. So . . . I'm going to talk about two extremes first:

Writing in a Void 

I've heard of some writers who read and watch nothing, because they don't want to be influenced by anything, and they aim to be completely original in this way.

I've also heard of such writers writing very poor, boring, and cliche stories (ironically), so it didn't turn out great. 

We need to be consuming fiction to learn what works well, what doesn't and why. It also helps us develop our own tastes, and I would even say, author voices. 

Plagiarizing

Of course, on the other extreme, there is the writer who doesn't really create, but steals and copies--whether that is someone's characters, worldbuilding, or plots. I think we all know why this is a problem. But I would also like to add that if you are plagiarizing something popular, it's pretty much never going to resonate with others as well, because, well, it feels like a copy of something greater--or even an advertisement for the original. Also, if you have to resort to that, you likely don't have the greatest writing skills anyway, and (obviously) you should work on developing those skills more.

Middle ground: Influenced and Inspired

It's totally okay to be influenced and inspired by others' stories, franchises, games, books, shows, or whatever. But the key is to make it your own, and we don't want to just "copy," but evolve it, twist it, shift it, invert it, or combine it with something else. I know a writer who is really great at this. This person will say things like, "I was inspired by [t.v. show], so I wanted to create a similar vibe by doing X," or "I'm trying to combine the mystery of [movie] with the wonder of [book]." And it often works very well, and never feels like plagiarism (I also appreciate the person has no problem acknowledging what inspired their work). 

Sometimes just combining ideas or inspirations can help you turn it into something new. For example, Jack Sparrow was a very original pirate when Pirates of the Caribbean came out--there was never a pirate that existed like that before, but Johnny Depp came up with Jack's demeanor by combining Keith Richards from The Rolling Stones with Pepe le Pew. What a strange idea--a rocker and a cartoon! And yet, Jack felt like something completely new, and became the most iconic character of the series.

So, one thing I would say, is if you do find yourself pulling from other sources, try to combine ones that don't seem to obviously go together, to create something that feels fresh. Don't pull from one or two inspirations for a story--pull from several, and figure out how to combine them. (That is, if you want to go that route).

Also, over time and practice, you will develop your own tastes and voice more, and it will become easier to develop your own ideas.

Another thing that may be helpful, is to look at what is inspiring/influencing you, and look at the tropes that are in it. Then, rather than pulling directly from the source, you can take the tropes and build out a story from there.

This could also be a phase that you are simply going through as a writer, and you may come out of it after more experience. 

"Recycling" concepts isn't necessarily bad or wrong, as long as you evolve it and make it your own. Perhaps think of it as the "seed" for your story--it's a starting point, but not the endpoint for the final piece.

"I recently heard a critic say about a filmmaker how they sacrificed their own vision to imitate other successful filmmakers before them and since then I worry that is basically what I do with writing." --I do agree this can be a problem, but in a weird way this is sort of another side of this discussion. It sounds like here, the creator abandoned his vision to copy someone else--his end product was an imitation. 

I'm talking about using what inspires you as a beginning point, and then evolving it to your story, your situation, your tastes.

In one approach, you are making the end product to fit someone else. In the other, you are using it to help you start writing and get ideas.

The first one sounds a little troublesome to me. The second I'm okay with.

Anyway, I hope something in here is useful to you!

Question: I wonder if you and other people who read this blog have had this kind of writer's block before. To my knowledge writer's block is when you don't really know what to do next with the story or can't start something new... I'm a hobby writer (fanfics) with a small audience. I never aim big or anything like that so it doesn't matter if I don't post for months... except I used to be so productive and quick with updates. But lately I feel like I can't do that. It's the classic "I open the document and suddenly 20 cat videos" recurring moment, except I actually have ideas of what to do next with the stories... somehow I just can't write and feel like eventually nothing matters and these ideas are worthless somehow. It feels odd. Like it's a hobby and I used to write a lot because it's an outlet (I'm a private introverted person) but now months went without anything worthwhile and writing feels harder and harder. I don't know what I should do because taking a break is what I'm essentially doing considering I haven't even really been on fic sites again. I'm sorry for bad English but more importantly I'm sorry for the venting ask. You don't have to answer, I just wonder if you/other have insights or similar experience. Thank you so much for you and this blog, I've been learning a lot.

Answer:

I absolutely have similar experiences! 

Writer's block is, yes, usually defined as not knowing what to write, but I almost never have that problem, yet I have had major bouts with some sort of block as a writer. There could be a few things going on:

Check your mental health (or health in general).

Obviously mental health affects your ability to write, and your general health can too. So first, try to check if there could be something off there that you can fix/address/heal. (And sometimes there is something off, but you can't mend it, or at least not anytime soon, so be kind to yourself.)

Check your skills.

My worst "writer's block" has come not from not knowing what to write, but from trying to write something I didn't yet know how to write. Something I didn't have the skills for, even though I was super inspired to write it. Unfortunately, I sometimes didn't realize that was my struggle! Studying the craft has been a big help, but sometimes my brain needs time to think through how to actually apply what I've studied, to my own work.

Surprisingly, sometimes writing can actually get harder because you are getting better. You may be going through a growing phase, where you are understanding more and more about writing, but your abilities aren't quite matching up to that yet.

This is exactly how I felt during these times: "but now months went without anything worthwhile and writing feels harder and harder."

And I would try to take breaks, but they didn't really help! I ended up just trying to study the craft some more.

But that's me. I can't say for sure that is your situation, but it could be!

Try writing before or after sleeping.

I know this sounds weird. . . . but, people tend to be more creative before or after they sleep. It has to do with the state your brain goes into when you sleep (which would take more words to explain than I can spare right now). I know for me, it's harder to get into the writing zone in the afternoon, and it usually takes me longer to get into the zone when I try to write during that time. It's an odd thing, but adjusting your schedule may be the thing to help you get back to writing.

Refill your creative well.

Sometimes it's hard to write, even when you want to, because you haven't taken the time to refill your creative well. Not sure this applies to your situation, but I thought I would mention it.

Write the parts you want, first.

If you just can't write the next part, skip ahead--is there a part you feel like you can write? Or want to write? If so, maybe write all those parts first, and fill in the rest later.

Anyway, I'll have to end this response now, but I hope something is helpful in it, but no, you aren't the only one, and it can be pretty frustrating!

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