You Know, When I See Fictional Characters Who Repress All Their Emotions, They're Usually Aloof And Very
You know, when I see fictional characters who repress all their emotions, they're usually aloof and very blunt about keeping people at a distance, sometimes to an edgy degree—but what I don't see nearly enough are the emotionally repressed characters who are just…mellow.
Think about it. In real life, the person that's bottling up all their emotions is not the one that's brooding in the corner and snaps at you for trying to befriend them. More often than not, it's that friendly person in your circle who makes easy conversation with you, laughs with you, and listens and gives advice whenever you're upset. But you never see them upset, in fact they seem to have endless patience for you and everything around them—and so you call them their friend, you trust them. And only after months of telling them all your secrets do you realize…
…they've never actually told you anything about themselves.
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if anyone has any tips or resources for writing pitches, taglines, etc, please share them with me and i will post a photo of my gremlin cat in whichever state he happened to be in the last time I took pics
HOLD ON-
Is this an actual reason kids wanted to travel around the world with Cale??? Is this the culprit??
Because if that's so this is fucking adorable
When i first read the novel and in the future chapters On, Hong and Raon were telling Cale that they want to travel everywhere together i just went "Aw that's sweet, yeah sure" not questioning much of it because, well, Cale didn't either. And I'm a very trustful person, who didn't thought about our narrator being a lying little shit back then.
So rereading the novel now and seeing this gives me literal butterflies!
Just think about it.
Children, who never saw much of the world, whose thoughts before been only about survival, wanted to travel everywhere together and see everything, but not for themselves.
They thought that will make Cale happy.
On, Hong and Raon obviously love Cale a lot, he is literally their parent and the first ever person to show them warmth or care.
So it is understandable that they want to show this love to him in return and I'm like :,) MAN, i love this story so much ueue
History of “Lout of Count’s Family”
This compilation lists all real-life events related to the Korean novel, 백작가의 망나니가 되었다 (Lout of Count’s Family), in chronological order, but limited to the Korean and English-reading audiences.
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2018
April 9, 2018
The novel was first released as a free-to-read series on Munpia, a Korean web novel platform, under the title, 백작가의 망나니가 되었다 (I Became the Trash of the Count’s Family) by the author, Yoo Ryeo Han, under the Korean publisher, Chungeoram. It had a Mon-Sat release schedule of 6 chapters per week.
May 29, 2018
The novel became a pay-to-read series, owing to its popularity, as announced by the author on May 25. Its first cover illustration featured Cale and Raon.
Image 1. The first cover illustration of the novel.
July 26, 2018
The novel won both the Grand Prize and the Popularity Award at the 4th Korean Web Novel Contest co-hosted by Munpia and the Korean Popular Literature Writers Association. The author received a total of 105 million KRW (~$76,000), a plaque, and other special benefits.
Image 2. Yoo Ryeo Han (right) posing for the Grand Prize winner photo. The old woman in the left is either the author's relative or a contest holder representative.
“When I first started writing, it was a very difficult time for me, both physically and mentally, so when I heard about this contest, I decided to participate,” said Yoo Ryeo Han, the author of “I Became the Trash of the Count’s Family”, the grand prize-winning story, ”I won a great prize through this contest and it was a turning point in my life. I am grateful to Munpia for providing such a great opportunity.” Source: Munpia. (2018, July 31). Munpia Holds the 4th South Korean Web Novel Contest Award Ceremony. NewsWire.co.kr.https://www.newswire.co.kr/newsRead.php?no=873212
July 30, 2018
The novel was serialized on Naver Series, a Korean web novel platform.
September ??, 2018
WuxiaWorld, an English web novel translation publisher, began an English fan translation of the novel under the title “Trash of the Count’s Family” with MiracleRifle as the translator.
October 2, 2018
The novel was serialized on RIDI, a Korean web novel and ebook publisher.
October 15, 2018
The novel was serialized on KakaoPage, a Korean web novel platform.
October 18, 2018
The author announced a temporary hiatus because her mother had an accident, so she had to take care of her mother who would be undergoing surgery.
October 26, 2018
The novel was serialized on Joara, a Korean web novel platform.
October 29, 2018
The author announced a temporary change of the release schedule from 6 chapters per week (Mon-Sat) to 5 chapters per week (Mon-Fri) for 3 weeks. This was because she wanted to devote more time to taking care of her mother whose surgery went well. She also thanked her readers who left well wishes for her and her mother.
November 29, 2018
The author announced a 1-day hiatus because she had to take care of her mother’s hospital paperwork and stuff.
2019
January 2, 2019
The author announced a 1-day hiatus because she caught a cold. She also wished her fans a Happy New Year.
January 22, 2019
The author announced a temporary change of the release schedule from 6 chapters per week (Mon-Sat) to 5 chapters per week (Mon-Fri) for the next 2-3 months. She stated it was because of a temporary change in her work environment.
March 8, 2019
The author posted a brief character profile on Munpia.
Link: https://novel.munpia.com/113612/page/1/neSrl/2290020
April 1, 2019
The author announced that she would maintain the 5 chapters per week release schedule. She said that her mother’s full recovery and rehabilitation kept getting delayed, and there were also some personal matters, so she needed 2 days off a week.
May 29, 2019
The author announced a 1-day hiatus because of health reasons.
June 14, 2019
The author announced a 5-day hiatus because of headache and fever. She went to the hospital to get herself checked, and was diagnosed with meningitis.
July 4, 2019
The release schedule was permanently changed from 6 chapters per week (Mon-Sat) to 5 chapters per week (Mon-Fri). The author said that she wanted to improve her health as the previous release schedule tired her out.
August 13, 2019
The author announced a 1-day hiatus because of health reasons.
September 16, 2019
The author announced a 4-day hiatus because of health reasons.
November 11, 2019
The author announced a 3-day hiatus because of personal reasons and body aches.
December 17, 2019
The 2nd cover illustration of the novel was released, featuring Cale, Choi Han, Raon, Ohn, and Hong.
Image 3. The second cover illustration of the novel.
December 31, 2019
The author greeted her readers a happy new year, and also joked about her wrong estimation of the novel ending soon in 500 chapters.
2020
January 17, 2020
The author posted a note in celebration of the novel’s 500th chapter. She answered a few fan questions, and insisted that her dream was not to be a slacker.
January 29, 2020
The author announced a 1-day hiatus because of a stomach ache. She also greeted her readers who recently celebrated the Lunar New Year holiday.
February 19, 2020
The author announced a 1-day hiatus because of health reasons.
April 17, 2020
The author announced a 1-day hiatus because of difficulty in writing. She said that she was suffering from pain in her lower back, wrist, and fingers, making it hard for her to type on her right hand.
April 24, 2020
The author announced a 5-day hiatus because of health reasons.
June 2, 2020
The author announced a month-long hiatus because of family circumstances, which left her in not a good mood for writing.
June 29, 2020
The author announced a 1-month hiatus because of family circumstances. She stated that one of her family members was sick, and this was a very long-term battle, so she wanted to stay by their side until they had fully recovered.
August 5, 2020
The release schedule was permanently changed from 5 chapters per week (Mon-Fri) to 3 chapters per week (MWF). This was in relation to her sick family member’s situation last June 29.
August 26, 2020
Copin Comics, a Korean webtoon publisher and studio, first announced its webtoon adaptation of the novel.
August 31, 2020
Season 1 of the webtoon adaptation of the novel was released on KakaoPage and Copin Comics’s own website, with PAN4 as the artist.
October 28, 2020
The official English title, “Lout of Count’s Family”, made its first appearance in the event prizes given by RIDI. These prizes were stickers and cell phone ring holders featuring Raon, Ohn, and Hong. One needed to purchase 30,000 KRW worth of chapters to qualify for the event.
Image 4. The stickers and cell phone ring holders given in the event.
November 5, 2020
WuxiaWorld announced that it would cease its fan translations of the novel because the author herself turned down their offer to officially translate the novel in English, despite the fact that WuxiaWorld and Chungeoram were in the middle of negotiations.
Eat Apple Pies, a fan translation site, continued the English fan translation of the novel, with permission from MiracleRifle to host in their site the already-translated chapters that were in WuxiaWorld.
November 6, 2020
Adar Terra, a personal blog, began posting English chapter summaries of the novel starting from Part 1 Chapter 630.
December 15, 2020
Copin Comics released the official English translation of the webtoon adaptation under the title, “Lout of Count’s Family” on its English website.
2021
January 4, 2021
The author announced a 1-day hiatus because of personal reasons.
January 11, 2021
The novel won 2nd place in the 2020 Best Awards of Munpia.
Link: https://www.munpia.com/page/bestawards2020f
January 26, 2021
The author announced a month-long hiatus because of family, health, and personal reasons.
April 4, 2021
TappyToon, an English webtoon publisher, also released the official English translation of the webtoon adaptation on their website.
April 30, 2021
The author announced a 1-day hiatus because of personal reasons.
May 3, 2021
The author announced a 1-day hiatus because of personal reasons.
May 14, 2021
The 3rd cover illustration was released for the novel, featuring Cale and Kim Rok Soo.
Image 5. The third cover illustration of the novel.
May 28, 2021
Season 1 of the webtoon adaptation of the novel ended.
May 31, 2021
The author posted a note in celebration of the novel’s 700th chapter. She also hinted that she was working on a paperback version of the novel.
June 14, 2021
COWON started a crowdfunding event on Tumblbug, a Korean crowdfunding platform, for a Korean mobile game adaptation of the novel, with the game title of “Plop”. Various official merchandise could also be obtained, depending on which item set the sponsor would purchase. Merchandise included in-game coupons and items, stickers, postcards, and acrylic stands.
Image 6. Preview of the mobile game adaptation.
Image 7. Acrylic stands of Alberu, Cale, and Choi Han given to sponsors who sponsored more than 65,000 KRW ($47.10).
Link: https://tumblbug.com/plop_story
June 15, 2021
The author announced a 3-day hiatus because of health reasons.
July 26, 2021
The crowdfunding event ended with 376 sponsors, raising 33,763,000 KRW (~$25,500) and surpassing its funding goal of 20,000,000 KRW.
September 17, 2021
Season 2 of the webtoon adaptation of the novel began.
October 7, 2021
The author announced a 4-day hiatus because she lost her laptop while outside and spent her time looking for it. Fortunately, she recovered her laptop back.
November 1, 2021
The Korean mobile game “Plop” was released by COWON. It followed a Visual Novel (VN) approach with dating simulation elements. Players could select different stories to play with, and these stories were mobile game adaptations of popular Korean novels. Lout of Count’s Family was one of the stories a player could select. Plop could only be downloaded on QooApp, and was Korean-only.
November 29, 2021
Part 1 of the novel ended at Chapter 776. It was also announced that 7 side stories would be released at the end of every month, and Part 2 of the novel would begin on July 1, 2022.
December 31, 2021
The 1st of 7 side stories of the novel was released.
The novel won the Grand Prize in the Fantasy Web Novel category at the 2021 RIDI Web Novel Awards. Link: https://ridibooks.com/event/37133
2022
February 2, 2022
An English version of the mobile game “Plop” was released under the title, “IFyou:episodes-love stories”, by PIER Corporation. The English mobile game adaptation of the novel could be played if one selected the “Lout of Count’s Family” story.
Image 8. Promotional image of the game showing the multiple stories one could play with.
February 4, 2022
Pocket Comics, an English webtoon publisher, released the official English translation of the webtoon adaptation on their website.
February ??, 2022
Bilibili Comics, an English webtoon publisher, released the official English translation of the webtoon adaptation on their website.
April 9, 2022
A special side story was released to celebrate the 4th anniversary of the novel’s serialization.
May 11, 2022
Chungeoram announced a crowdfunding event for the Korean hardcover books of the novel, beginning on June 13 and covering Part 1 Chapters 1-200 in 5 volumes.
Link: https://blog.naver.com/chungeoram_book/222726296248
June 13, 2022
The crowdfunding event began on Tumblbug. Various official merchandise could also be obtained, depending on which item set the sponsor would purchase. Merchandise included posters, postcards, washi tapes, etc.
Image 9. Preview of the hardcover versions of the novel, and two posters featuring Cale and Choi Han.
Link: https://tumblbug.com/henituse
July 1, 2022
Part 2 of the novel began.
July 15, 2022
The crowdfunding event ended with 4,785 sponsors, raising 788,666,000 KRW (~$596,000) and surpassing its funding goal of 15,000,000 KRW.
July 19, 2022
Copin Comics renamed itself as Terapin Studios. Their English branch continued to be called Copin Comics.
August 4, 2022
Season 2 of the webtoon adaptation of the novel ended.
August 31, 2022
Sponsors of the crowdfunding event began to receive their hardcover books and official merchandise.
October 14, 2022
Copin Comics, the English branch of Terapin Studios, announced that it would be shut down by November 30. The official English translation of the webtoon adaptation would be continued by TappyToons.
November 30, 2022
Copin Comics officially shut down. Terapin Studios continued its service as the Korean webtoon publisher and studio for the webtoon adaptation of the novel.
December 20, 2022
The author announced a week-long hiatus because of health reasons.
December ??, 2022
Plop, the Korean mobile game adaptation of the novel, was terminated.
2023
January 27, 2023
LaLatoon, an English webtoon publisher, released the official English translation of the webtoon adaptation on their website.
March 29, 2023
The author announced an almost 2-weeks long hiatus because of personal reasons.
March 31, 2023
IFyou:episodes-love stories, the English mobile game adaptation of the novel, was terminated. PIER Corporation stated that it was because they could no longer afford to pay server maintenance and labor costs.
April 18, 2023
Adar Terra announced that it would discontinue posting summaries for the novel after receiving a DMCA notice from RIDI who asserted that writing summaries itself was illegal.
June 5, 2023
The author announced a week-long hiatus because of personal reasons.
July 13, 2023
Season 3 of the webtoon adaptation of the novel began.
July 31, 2023
RIDI announced that it would release a Korean ebook adaptation of the novel on August 21. They also held a RIDI-exclusive event on July 31 to August 2 where fans could ask the author their questions.
Link: https://ridibooks.com/event/57453
August 21, 2023
RIDI released Volumes 1-5 of the Korean ebook adaptation, covering chapters 1-117 of Part 1. They also had a limited-time event where those who purchased Volumes 1-5 as a set would get discounts plus an Author Q&A as exclusive content. The Author Q&A had 26 questions answered by the author, and was based on the fan questions they gathered in their past event on July 31.
Image 10. Cover of the Author Q&A released as a RIDI-only exclusive content.
August 31, 2023
The author announced a 1-day hiatus because she caught COVID-19.
September 3, 2023
Tapas, an English webtoon publisher, released their official English translation of the webtoon adaptation on their website.
September 15, 2023
RIDI released Volumes 6-9 of the Korean ebook adaptation, covering chapters 118-200 of Part 1. They also had a limited-time event where those who purchased Volumes 6-9 as a set would get discounts.
October 20, 2023
The author posted a note in celebration of the novel’s 1000th chapter. She thanked her readers and also joked about the novel reaching 2000 chapters.
December 29, 2023
The Korean ebook adaptation of the novel won the Grand Prize in the Fantasy ebook category at the 2023 RIDI Awards.
2024
January 24, 2024
Bilibili Comics announced that it would be shut down by February 29.
February 29, 2024
Bilibili Comics officially shut down. The official English translation of the webtoon adaptation remained on the other webtoon publishers.
March 3, 2024
DAYcomics, an English webtoon publisher, released the official English translation of the webtoon adaptation on their website.
March 8, 2024
Lezhin, an English webtoon publisher, released the official English translation of the webtoon adaptation on their website.
March 18, 2024
RIDI released Volumes 10-18 of the Korean ebook adaptation, covering chapters 201-398 of Part 1. They also had a limited-time event where those who purchased Volumes 10-18 as a set would get discounts plus an LCF Modern AU Character Checklist as exclusive content. The checklist had 39 situations that described which character would likely be fit or do something in that situation, but in a modern alternate universe (AU) setting. Two new cover illustrations for the ebook adaptation were also included.
Images 11 and 12. On the left is the new cover illustration for ebook volumes 1-9, featuring Cale alone. On the right is the cover illustration for ebook volumes 10-18, featuring Cale and Raon.
March 27, 2024
Seven Seas Entertainment, an English novel publisher, announced that it had acquired the license to officially translate the novel in English, under the title, “Lout of Count’s Family”. It would be released in September of 2024 in paperback and ebook versions.
July 11, 2024
Season 3 of the webtoon adaptation of the novel ended.
August 24, 2024
Seven Seas Entertainment announced that it would release an English audiobook version of the official English translation of the novel. No release date had been given.
September 3, 2024
Seven Seas Entertainment released volume 1 of the novel's official English translation in paperback and ebook versions. It was also revealed that Seven Seas bought MiracleRifle’s fan translation to use in their official translation, and credited MiracleRifle in their print details.
Image 13. Cover illustration for volume 1 of the English adaptation of the novel.
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Coming Soon:
November 7, 2024
Seven Seas Entertainment will release the official English audiobook of the novel's volume 1 on this date. It will be narrated by Nick Martineau and produced by John Marshall Media.
December 3, 2024
Volume 2 of the official English novel translation will be released on this date.
March 4, 2025
Volume 3 of the official English novel translation would be released on this date.
==========
Personal Remarks:
Creating this list was quite a huge task for me. It also made me appreciate the author's hard work, given that she had to write the novel while having family and health problems.
This list was limited to the Korean and English-speaking audiences because finding information about official translations of the novel or webtoon adaptation in other languages was difficult, especially researching the exact dates.
Some personal bias was also involved in the creation of this list. Adar Terra should actually not be included here because it was a fandom thing and not an official one. Unless you count me getting the DMCA notice from the official publisher as an "official" thing. 😂
And that's it. This list will continue to be updated as more official events happen. If you know of other official events related to the novel that I missed, please share it in the comments! Thank you! 🥰
Magical items and cursed artefacts that are currently being used for something else than their intended purpose.
The cape of Infinite Wisdom, that gives you all the knowledge of the universe but unfortunately renders you incapable of doing anything else than stand there processing it, aware of everything everywhere all at once, which drowns out being aware of your surroundings. People use it to trap runaways and wild horses to capture them without injuring the target.
The Wrestling Machination, that was far too efficient in folding up flesh-and-blood human opponents, which was locked up for centuries before being stolen - presumably for horrifying uses. It was later found in secret use in a nearby laundromat, which uses it to neatly fold up clothing.
Potion of Shapeshifting, But Only Once. Not useful for intended purposes, but has more than once been concotioned and used by people who were utterly sick of human life and would rather spend the rest of their lives being a seagull.
The cursed amulet of No Woman Will Want To Fuck You, originally crafted as a wizard college prank, currently worn as the daily signature accessory of an astonishingly beautiful and unfathomably gay man, to ward off unwanted female attention.
6 Tips for Writing an Underdog Character
People love reading about an underdog. There’s something within all of us that relates to persevering against the odds, even when they’re crushing. Anything becomes possible—but how do you write that kind of character successfully?
Here are a few tips to get you started.
1. Create Their Disempowerment
Underdogs need to lose something or have one thing less than those they fight against. It might be something they hope to gain back or something they hope to gain at all.
Let’s use The Hunger Games as an example for this post. Katniss comes from District 12, but she’s already at a disadvantage when she volunteers as tribute. Restrictions on her district kept her from food security for most of her life. Without a lifetime of basic nutrition, her body is already at a disadvantage in the physically-demanding games.
District 12 is also one of the less appreciated districts in her country. She doesn’t think anyone will care about sponsoring her in the games, which makes survival much less likely.
But we still root for her! She volunteered to save her sister, which is heroic. There’s so much potential for more heroic growth that we keep turning the page, even though she’s not the most likely person to survive.
2. Make Your Protagonist Likable
Getting excited to see a character grow might be something you feel as a creative writer, but the average reader also needs an underdog protagonist to be likable in some way. Katniss will do anything for her family, including hunting where and when she isn’t supposed to. Many people would feel the need to do the same for their families.
She also feels deep compassion for people, which she covers up with her gruff demeanor. We’ve all felt like we got hurt because our hearts opened too wide for someone. We can relate to her building defenses into her personality, which might make her likable to more readers.
Katniss also has the core value of loyalty. People always seek loyalty in new connections. It’s how we trust new friends. It’s also how readers trust characters.
This site has a few more tips on crafting likable characters. Part of that happens while you’re creating the characters during your planning process, but you can also do it while you’re writing. As your underdog becomes more of a real person in your mind, you’ll know which primary character traits make them most likable to readers.
3. Plan Their Rock-Bottom Moment
Underdogs always reach a point where they feel they’re at their lowest. Even when they feel crushed or defeated, they choose to find strength and continue with their journey. It makes readers support them even more, but it’s also the defining moment of an underdog’s arc.
Your underdog’s rock-bottom moment will be the scene where they resist the temptation to give up, change their dream, or change who they are. It will be the choice that keeps them moving toward their end goal, instead of taking the easy road.
You could argue Katniss has a few rock-bottom moments. It might be when she hears her sister’s name called at the Reaping. It could be when Rue dies and she chooses to spearhead a revolution.
There could be multiple moments for your underdog too. It depends on the shape of your narrative arc and how many acts your story has.
4. Show Them Trying and Failing
It’s time for an important caveat—underdogs also fail. If they were perfect, they’d be god-like figures that readers couldn’t personally identify with.
Maybe your underdog achieves their ultimate goal, but they experience failure along the way. Their failure helps them grow or makes them pursue their goal with more conviction and determination.
Katniss begins her journey with a mindset of self-preservation. That makes her slightly selfish and automatically distrustful of people. She makes some choices readers would probably disagree with, but then she learns from them. By the end of the series, she’s as selfless as a human can get.
Characters don’t grow if they don’t make mistakes. Even underdogs should fail. However, that failure shouldn’t make them quit. It should either motivate them to keep going or give them a new perspective on how they can achieve their ultimate goal.
5. Train Them Along the Way
Underdogs start out as unlikely heroes because they don’t start with everything they need to succeed. That might be a societal problem, like coming from an economically disadvantaged family or a biased society. Maybe they don’t have the skills they need, like the ability to fight in hand-to-hand combat, outsmart their antagonist, or solve mysteries.
Usually, characters learn these things during their arcs. Your underdog will likely pick up what they need to succeed through the relationships they make and experiences they have.
Katniss already knows how to hunt when she volunteers for the games, but Haymitch mentors her to win over much-needed sponsors to survive. Peeta teaches her how to soften her heart and think outside the box. She wouldn’t have made it through the series without the people in her life. Other underdog characters can’t either.
6. Reward Them at the End
Underdogs work hard and transform themselves to achieve their goals. At the end of the story, they often gain a tangible reward, power, knowledge, a new title or a new community. Your underdog should get what they set out to achieve, plus a few extra things they didn’t expect.
Katniss wins the Hunger Games. She gets her primary objective: to continue living. She also protects her sister. In addition to surviving, she has her (albeit rocky) relationship with Peeta, a new mentor in Haymitch, a comfortable living in the Victor’s Village, and an audience of fans who are another layer of protection against President Snow’s desire to kill her.
The extra rewards propel her through the remainder of her storyline. They also set her up for more success with the new lifepath she sees for herself: aiding the revolution to end the games for good.
A new goal is sometimes a reward in itself. It depends on if you want to continue writing about your character or if you want a one-off story.
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I hope this helps gives you a new perspective on future protagonists! Adding one of these factors into your character’s growth could remove your writer’s block too. They set up a path forward for your protagonist and help shape their journey.
You can also use these resources to learn more about the underdog archetype:
Character Archetypes: The Disruptor and the Underdog
Writing the Underdog: Effort Matters Most
7 Tips to Writing Underdog Heroes
tcf spoilers (ch 333+)
re-reading White Star's debut in 333 and what came after, and i am once again reminded of how terrifying he was as an antagonist before he became the fandom's silly little meme
some other bits and foreshadowing i forgot/missed and find interesting
WS is proficient enough as a mage to be able to send messages telepathically
...and he used that skill to pester Cale with one-way messages lmao
WS and Cale both felt a sense of kinship the moment they locked eyes, which they both chalked up to their similarities in abilities and appearance (but it's probably more because of KRS' soul recognizing its original body)
Eruhaben says WS looks 20 (and 200+ chapters later Cale himself says he looks to be in his early 20s. If og!Cale is older than KRS, does that mean it took KRS a few years before he got kicked out of his body by WS and settled into Earth 1? Or is it the time difference between the two worlds?)
WS just affectionately addressing Cale while spouting terrible things
Skills Writers Gain From Reading
We’ve all heard the old line of encouragement—reading makes you a better writer.
But how exactly does that work?
These are a few skills you’ll gain from reading with the viewpoint of a writer, not just a reader.
You’ll Flex Your Critical Thinking Skills
Reading made up events and imaginary people might not seem like critical thinking, but you’ll use your brain in more ways than one. While you’re sifting through a book, you’re also:
Observing cause and effect correlation
Analyzing how actions and events affect characters or the plot
Recognizing things like bias (narrative or otherwise)
Problem-solving to get ahead of the problem (Who’s the murder? The thief? The villain?)
Remember what you read before (simple, but takes practice!)
All of these skills are part of the drafting and writing process too. Grab a book or two—you’ll need these abilities to bring your stories to life.
You’ll Practice Your Grammar and Spelling
Whether you feel a secret thrill at finding a typo in a published novel or second-hand embarrassment for the people who made it happen, you automatically practice your grammar skills by spotting them.
You’re also reading words over and over again, which makes them easier to recall when you’re trying to spell them.
You’ll Discover New Writing Styles You Like or Dislike
You might also find that some writers vary their sentence structures in ways you like or dislike. The long, stretching sentences within a historical fantasy novel could draw you for the long haul. Maybe you prefer the short, conversational sentences that weave between longer ones in a comedic book.
Word choice is also a significant factor in enjoying a writer’s voice/style. Some writers will challenge you to keep a dictionary nearby at all times. Others will use modern slang or colloquialisms that might take you out of the story—or make it feel more real to you.
As you get used to the styles you prefer, your writing may naturally shadow those styles when you’re writing a story after putting the book down. That’s okay! Experimenting with style or tone isn’t plagiarism and doesn’t make you a bad writer. It’s another step in the journey of defining who you are as a creative wordsmith.
You’ll Learn New Ways to Describe Things
Imagine two writers describing a character walking across the street. One writer might focus on how the character feels, what they’re thinking, or what that moment in time means to them by writing in first-person POV. The other could write about the weather, the city, the cars passing by, or what another person thinks of the protagonist through third-person omniscient POV.
It’s always good to challenge how you might write a scene by reading how others do it. You’ll return to your work or start a story with a new perspective on standby.
You’ll Analyze the Plot
When you fall in love with a novel, it’s natural to think about the plot even after you finish the book. You’re likely reminiscing about the great plot points like two future best friends meeting at a pizza shop after stepping forward for the same order—they shared first and last names! Maybe you loved how each minor conflict built into a war between nations or how a character slowly lost their mind and sought revenge.
You’ll know what works and what doesn’t work about the plot structure based on how a novel grips you or not. Your brain will take note about the many things you feel and store it for instinct later. While you’re plotting that traditional mountain-shaped plot line, your creative side will find inspiration to drop conflict or positive moments that enrich your story.
You’ll Fall in Love With Characters
We’ve all written a good character and we’ve all written a bad one. Do you remember the first time you read a morally gray character? It likely blew your mind and made you want to write one too.
Falling in love with characters is like practice for writers. You won’t want to make the exact same character in all of your future stories (unless you only want to write fan fiction, and if that’s the case—enjoy every moment of it!), so you’ll use them as inspiration just like people in real life.
You’ll Improve Your Concentration
Not to sound like a cliche, but social media companies literally create their apps to monetize the brain’s ability to crave stimulation. Scrolling and swiping has likely had an effect on how long you can concentrate. I know it has for mine!
Even if you’re not on social media, things like the pressure to multitask and juggling responsibilities can wear on your focus too. If you miss those moments in your childhood or teenage years when you would spend an entire afternoon or weekend with a book, you don’t have to be sad for long.
Reading any length of a book can improve your concentration. Set a timer and read for five minutes. Next time, read for six. Slowly expand your time for reading (while there aren’t other distractions around, like notifications on your Kindle or your phone screen lighting up nearby).
As you read in longer stretches, you’ll write in longer stretches too. Your brain will feel more at rest with the one quiet activity you choose to do. Did I mention that makes editing way easier too?
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The next time you feel guilty for reading something instead of writing, remember that you’re also sharpening these skills! Reading is an invaluable way to get better at writing. All you have to do is pick up a book.
Pacing Through Sentence Length in Writing
You ever notice how a scene can feel like it’s dragging or speeding up based solely on the length of the sentences? Sentence length isn't just a technical detail—it’s a pacing tool. When used right, it can control the speed and tension of your story. Here’s how:
Short Sentences = Speed, Tension, Impact
Short, snappy sentences are like quick breaths, instantly pulling the reader’s attention. They mimic fast action, nervous energy, or urgent thoughts. They create momentum. Think of action scenes or emotional moments—often, less is more.
Example: The door slammed shut. His heart raced. She was gone.
In just three sentences, you feel the urgency, the chaos, and the emotional weight of the moment. It’s all about breaking up the narrative with these quick hits to keep the reader on edge.
Long Sentences = Build-up, Reflection, Depth
On the flip side, long sentences slow things down, adding complexity, reflection, or tension. They’re great for moments of introspection, world-building, or setting a scene in rich detail. These sentences create a flow, pulling the reader into the character’s headspace or the atmosphere of the moment.
Example: The wind howled through the narrow alley, carrying the distant sounds of a city that never seemed to sleep, never seemed to rest, and in that eternal hum, he wondered, not for the first time, if he would ever find peace here or if, like everyone else who tried to escape the shadows, he would simply become another part of the city’s endless noise.
Here, the length of the sentence mimics the complexity of the thoughts—heavy, reflective, almost hypnotic. It builds tension not with action but with an overwhelming feeling of being stuck or trapped in thought.
Combining Both = Dynamic Flow
The real magic happens when you mix short and long sentences. This creates a rhythm—suddenly, a break in the flow, a quick shock, and then back to a longer, more drawn-out moment. It reflects real life: quick bursts of action or emotion followed by moments of pause or thought.
Example: He reached for the door. It was locked. His heart pounded, each beat a reminder of how badly he needed this. There were no other options. There was no way out. The key could be anywhere. And he could not afford to wait any longer.
TL;DR:
Long sentences = build tension, create depth, set mood. Short sentences = ramp up urgency, show action, make an impact. Mastering this flow is a game-changer for pacing!
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