I Was Tagged By @e-iji!! This Is My First Time Being Tagged In Something Like This So Thank You Friend

Psychology for writers: first impressions matter

I was thinking about plotting, and about telling a story chronologically or not.

It reminded me of first impressions and the primacy effect. Solomon Asch studied this in the 1940s I think. The primacy effect shows us that we appoint more weight to information that we learn first than to information we learn later.

He studied this by giving two groups of people a list of personality traits. For example, group one is introduced to a woman, “This is Anna. She is beautiful, funny, spiteful and mean.” Group two, however, hears this: “This is Anna. She is mean, spiteful, funny and beautiful.”

The second list is of course the reverse of the first list. You would think that both people form the same impression of Anna, because they are given the same adjectives. But no. Group one had a more positive impression of Anna and were more prepared to forgive her for her meanness and spitefulness than group two.

This is how you can use the primacy effect for your characters:

Introduce your main character by showing her doing something good first.

If you plan to redeem a villain in the end and make your readers feel positive towards him, show him having some small positive traits first, for example petting his kitten.

If you want your readers to go, “I knew this character was bad even though everyone trusted him, I just had this feeling he’s up to no good!”, show him doing something bad first, like kicking the kitten, and then some good acts. (”I never forgave him for kicking that helpless kitten!”)

Flashbacks, flash forwards and other ways to tell your story non-chronologically can influence the impression your readers have of your characters compared to a linear, chronological story.

I hope this was helpful. Don’t hesitate to ask me any questions, and happy writing!

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Sometimes I forget that he didn't die. Things were so bad for so long. Sometimes I think he did die, and this is another boy entirely

The Lesson by Kelly Link

I finally get to post a preview for my piece for @inkedfairytales

I got assigned to 1001 Nights and even though they encouraged us to think about of the box, I admit you've got to squint to recognize mine. I came up with a post-cannon type thing. It involves a hut in the desert, a mute character, a really tall jinn and human sacrifices. (I had to cycle through 5 ideas before settling, everybody else's ideas are so good!)

This zine was so fun to be apart of and filled with so many fantastic pieces! I'm so hyped to see how everything turns out!

 Extract:

“It’s not a good story to tell, little mouse.”

Almost as if to apologize, Ra picked up the book again and started reading. Ra had a way of forming words, his voice deep and mellow, blending with the turn of the page. Ebbing and flowing, the story drifted around him like dragging notes. Ra looked over the top of the cover as he read.

“I was a king once,” Ra didn’t say it like it was a story. He said it like a memory, bittersweet on the tongue. “They used to come to me. I’ve helped raise a city out of the sand. I’ve known the feeling of bringing armies victory. I’ve known the maddening years of darkness, waiting, seconds turning to centuries in darkness.”

Thoughts melted away as a familiar warmth settled over him, radiating from Ra like the afternoon sun. It felt like smoke coiled in his mind, slowed down and sluggish. Bo’s eyelids raised and lowered. He watched with dull entrancement as the colored shadows cast by the hanging lanterns first glittered and spun then morphed and arched into dancing figures that twirled and skipped across their walls, moving in tandem with Ra’s story. Bo’s eyes sagged then fogged. In the state in between sleeping and waking, his vision blurred, he saw Ra’s skin darken then shift. What are you?

Something fell then shattered.

Date your local necromancer. When you’re feeling down, they’ll help raise your spirits.

WIP COVER AESTHETICS: BLACK

In order of appearance—cheat [ya fantasy], howl [ya dystopia], grave mercy [adult fantasy], wicked [adult dystopia], boneyard [na paranormal], deadman society [ya paranormal].

Excerpts: x , n/a , x , x , x , x .

- New Writeblr -

Hey there! You can call me Nym.

For a while I’ve been juggling with the idea of starting a writing blog and it seems like I’ve finally found the courage to do so.

Nym, 26. Uni Student.

Friendly Mess

Passionate about reading and writing since forever.

Hoping finding an online community of writers could help kindle the dormant fires of my inspiration.

Seeking to experiment with my style.

Favorite genres to both read and write would be Fantasy (mostly dark and/or urban) and Science Fiction. But I love a little bit of everything.

Huge Greek Mythology Nerd.

World-building enthusiast.

The problem is; I’m not familiar with how things are done around here. Everyone seems to have these enormous networks and I don’t know how to do that.

- My blog is a sad empty Limbo with no format whatsoever.

- I can’t do edits.

- I don’t use an efficient tag system.

- I’m not used to the whole blogging business.

- I don’t even follow anyone as of now.

I guess what I would need is for those of you, seeing this in the tags, that feel anything I said resonate with them, to reblog this, so I can find friendly mutuals to start this adventure with.

Want to help a friend out?

Cheep and easy ways to find a basis for your plot.

When you have characters:

What does your character aspire to do or become? Making that aspiration really hard for them to reach.

What does your character love? Take it away from them and make them earn it back.

What does your character hate? Bind them too it and make them work to get rid of it.

When you have a world:

What is the most chaotic thing that can happen to this world’s politics? Find the character this chaos would effect the most and see what they do about it.

What is the most dangerous thing that can happen within this magic system? Figure out who would come to stop or reverse it and see what they do.

Who is the most damaging person in this world and what are they doing? Figure out who of those they hurt might rise up and defeat them.

When you have only spite:

What story do you absolutely hate the execution of? Take the very basic concept of its plot and build it into the story you wish it produced.

What plot structure do you enjoy but wish writers would be more original with? Take it and then throw a dozen spins on it.

** Remember to mix and match for more elaborate plot structures. Carry on this format with your own tricks to digging up basic plot structures!

the most heartbreaking part of hamlet really is the whole “goodnight sweet prince” part because when horatio says “and angels sing thee to thy rest” he is using the intimate form of thou, and it’s the first time he ever does it. hamlet consistently uses the intimate form of thou for horatio (only when they’re in private though, which – if shakespeare intentionally wanted to give their relationship homoerotic subtext, which he totally did – shows that hamlet wants to keep his romantic love for horatio a secret to the greater public) but horatio, being the respectful person he is and also given the fact that if he were to use the intimate form of thou it would pretty much be a romantic confession, never ever uses thou. except when after hamlet dies. when it’s too late. 

here hamlet is, dying in horatio’s arms, asking horatio if he ever held him in his heart. and horatio doesn’t get a chance to reply. hamlet dies. only then does horatio realizes his mistake of not confessing sooner

“ he said you were so beautiful it made him shudder “

— robert frost

to whom it may concern: live on.