Also, On This Blessed Day Of Trans Visibility, Here’s A Reminder To Cis People Not To Be Gross When

That is too relatable.

The most relatable tweet

Me: *goes through my old posts and hcs*

Me: why was I so,,,,, embarrassing ?? Why did so many read that stuff ?? Do I really write like that ????? Did I really say that ???

"I almost always topple over, when she always bends over, baby bring that bottom over, don’t make me run on over.

Baby why do I always fall for you, I just see that bottom behind you, and it seems to keep reminding me, just how much you mean to me.

So baby let me smack that ass, you must think I have balls of brass, when really I’m just hopelessly in love with you."

Ode to MC by Kaitlyn Liao

🙄

Day 5: QoTD

What song(s) reminds you of Kaitlyn? Or song(s) that you associate with your MC and Kaitlyn?

I actually don’t have one so tell me yours! :D

happy pride to everyone who’s still closeted

happy pride to everyone who’s been kicked out

happy pride to everyone who lives somewhere where it is illegal to love who they love

happy fucking pride to all of you, i love you with my whole heart and i promise you it will get better

Showing Instead of Telling

@aithlynfreyeaesthetic said:

Hello. I hope you are doing well. I struggle with showing and not telling. Do you have any tips to get better at this? I apologize if you’ve already answered an ask like this.

Hi there, thanks so much for your ask! I don’t have much to say as a prologue-type thing, so let’s jump right into it!

The Difference Between Showing and Telling

“Nick was cold.”

This is telling. When you “tell”, you’re just giving your reader information. There’s not much room for the reader to deduce what’s happening or for you to include too many double meanings (if that’s your intention).

“Nick shivered as the strength of the wind grew, goosebumps appearing on his forearms.”

This is showing. Does it say Nick is cold? No. Could you have guessed that Nick is cold? Probably. When you “show”, you’re doing more than just giving your reader information; you’re giving them clues of sorts that lead them to the knowledge that, in this case, Nick is cold.

The Importance of Showing

In many cases, “telling” is a good way to make your readers believe that you think they’re stupid. Showing helps you give readers the opportunity to discover for themselves, and it also helps them paint a picture in their mind’s eye. 

Let’s look at the above example. Nick is cold, sure. But how does he react to being cold? How do we really know that he’s cold, as opposed to just being told? This is where showing comes in; it’s also a great way to include some imagery and for underwriters to boost their word counts.

Is telling ever acceptable?

Yes! Think, for example, of a time jump in your novel. If there’s something that you need to include but that doesn’t play a legitimate role in your story, this is where telling comes in. A week passed and nothing important happened? Write that.

For example, in my current project Smoke Shadows, I have the phrase: “Three days pass in a monotonous routine of…” Why? That’s all I need to write. Nothing important happened in these three days, but I needed my readers to know that three days passed.

It’s probably best to use telling to describe things like this, then jump right back into showing.

Some Tips for Showing

Here are some quick things to think of.

Do you ever state an emotion? Think of how you could let your readers know that your character is feeling this emotion rather than just telling them outright.

What about character traits? Sometimes those don’t need to be said outright, but instead you can pepper your writing with clues. Maybe a short character is always getting their hair ruffled or having people leaning their elbows on their shoulder.

Do your best to avoid forms of “be”. Unless it’s in dialogue or in a few other circumstances, the verb “be” is usually a sign of telling.

How are you describing the world around your character? Instead of saying they’re in a classroom, describe and give clues/description that would lead the reader to understand that the character is in a classroom.

Use your five senses! If you can really put yourself in the character’s point of view for this moment, then you can probably be sure that you’re showing instead of telling.

Read through your writing. Is there anything that seems abrupt, or that makes you feel like you’re just being given information? Unless it’s dialogue, you’re probably reading a bit of “telling”.

Remember that not everything needs to be shown! Trust your own judgment; if you’re telling but you believe that’s what’s best for your work, then don’t change it because of an advice post you’re reading on the internet.

So, that’s all I’ve got for today! If there’s anything else you want to see me write about in my next post, please don’t be afraid to drop a message in my ask! Until next time, much love! <333

Planning A Scene In A Story

– A lot of you have asked questions pertaining to a struggle with planning scenes, so I’ve decided to make a little rundown of questions to answer before writing a new scene of your story. Obviously, you probably won’t end up going through this process over and over again until the end of your writing career, as this will become like a second nature to you as you continue to practice it. If you have any further questions, my ask box is always open. Happy writing!

Intention

How is the setting of the scene relevant to the events that take place?

Is this scene easy to follow with the information given to the reader?

What role do past events play into this scene?

How will the events in this scene shift the story toward the resolution?

Does this scene solve any plot holes or create any new ones?

Purpose

What is the overall purpose this scene serves?

How will this scene progress the plot?

How will this scene help to develop your character(s)?

Information

What information is this scene supposed to reveal to the reader?

What information is required to make this scene make sense?

Subtext

Are there any hidden messages you need to plan beforehand?

Is there any foreshadowing taking place during this scene?

What context might alter the implications of this scene?

What consequences might come from the events of this scene?

Starting Point

Does this starting point make sense for the trajectory of the scene?

Does the starting point allow room for some rising action?

Is your scene starting abruptly or with a build up to a large event?

Is there space between the beginning of this scene and the last?

If there is, are there any blanks you need to fill in to continue?

Tone

What is the main way you’ll be conveying tone in the context of the scene’s events?

How do you want the tone to impact the reader’s experience?

Does the tone change drastically in contrast with the last scene?

How Do You Want The Scene To Leave The Reader?

Do you want your reader to end the scene asking a bunch of questions? 

Do you want one of the subplots to be resolved?

Do you want the reader to be shocked?

Do you want the reader to think, “Oh, that makes sense now”?

If you have any to add, feel free to leave them in the comments down below to help each other out!

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Sorry for the long post! (And low quality pics? Why tumblr?)

Easy answer for number one. The freshman, book two, chapter one is one of a my absolute favourites. It has specifically two scenes with Kaitlyn and Emily that I have always enjoyed. The first being Kaitlyn meeting the mom and their walk back to the dorm and the diamond scene at the winter festival.

What I love about them are that they are simple innocent moments in their relationship. Not a care in the world. They are just enjoying their time with each other. From kaitlyn running up and twirling Emily in the air to their silly snowball fight and kissing in the snow.

They are the moments that we do not get to see anymore. They still happen of course, but we have come to to a point in the narrative where it is simply commonplace and therefore unnecessary to keep mentioning. If anything it would become stale and too repetitive to the reader.

Anyway, the scenes are a little bit of fluff that you can go read in the first chaoter that personally warms my heart and influences my fanfics of the two. They are a raw look into how the two act.

FINAL DAY: QoTD

1.) What’s your favorite Kaitlyn chapter/scene?

2.) 3 things you love about kaitlyn and why?

I think you nailed it on the head. It certainly had issues, like the stuff with your religion choice and the lazy re-use of MC faces and the now regular forced male LI, but I agree everyone was certainly ready to jump on that bandwagon for multiple reasons.

Unpopular opinion: despite it's more serious issues, I actually enjoyed home for the holidays. I just took it for what it was worth. Plus I really liked Holly. She is gorgeous and I did not find her boring at all.

I’m neutral on this one, I’m not sure if it was actually a terrible book or we all just collectively agreed and followed along with what the majority said because if you disagree with everyone, well…

I only wish they used better MC’s faces instead of recycled love hacks ones

when I was 14 I worked in a grocery store and one day I got to bag Stephen King’s groceries and of course, being the little horror fiction nerd I am I was completely starstruck

I think he thought I was gonna ask for an autograph because I was not even lowkey staring I was full on moon-faced and bouncing and he kept looking over at me hesitantly like aw jeez kid fuck off

anyways I finally managed to squeak out that I was a huge fan and asked for advice on writing, “how do I write as well as you do?” in my horrible thick German accent and broken ass English and he gave me the best writing advice I have ever received

“shit kid, stop worrying about how other people do it and just write your story”

14 years later my wife and I nearly hit him with our car because he was jaywalking

TRANS FUCKING RIGHTS BABY!