To-seeking - Ej's Inspo

Soft-Feeling Latin Words & Phrases

Another list of Latin phrases, this time with soft/warm meanings. It is 2:39am as I make this list.

a te pro te: from thee for thee

ab imo pectore: from the bottom of the heart

volat hora per orbem: time files through the world

coelum versus: heavenward

concubia nocte: at dead of night

crepusculum: twilight or dusk

crescens luna: a cresent moon

cum corde: with the heart

labores solis: an eclipse of the sun

in horam viviere: to live for the moment

in rerum natura: in the nature of things

in tuto esse: in a safe place

ingens aequor: the vast ocean

inter vivos: among the living

januae mentis: inlets of knowledge

jenuis clausis: in secret, with closed doors

littera scripta manet: the written letter remains

lux mundi: light of the world

lux vitae: light of life

meo voto: by my wish

mox nox: soon night

multis cum lacrimis: with many tears

ningit: it is snowing

occidui temporis umbra: a shadow at sunset

opinio vana: an illusion

osculum pacis: kiss of peace

papilio: butterfly

par pari refero: tit for tat

per vian dolorosam: the way of sorrows

philtrum: a love potion

pluvia: rain

res rustica: a rural affair

ros marinus: rosemary

semel et semper: once and always

silva: wood or forest

sinus urbis: heart of the city

As always, happy writing!

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* . ───

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💎Before you ask, check out my masterpost part 1 and part 2 

Reference: Latin for the Illiterati: a modern guide to an ancient language by Jon R. Stone, second edition 2009.

too many stories about turning yourself into a monster as a metaphor for pretending to be something you aren't and losing yourself in the process. not enough stories about turning yourself into a monster as a metaphor for choosing to openly embrace yourself even if it's strange to other people

Yeah yeah yeah it's generic and amateurish and frankly trite, but is it earnest? Is it sincere? Is there a heart underneath it all

A lot of fiction these days reads as if—as I saw Peter Raleigh put it the other day, and as I’ve discussed it before—the author is trying to describe a video playing in their mind. Often there is little or no interiority. Scenes play out in “real time” without summary. First-person POV stories describe things the character can’t see, but a distant camera could. There’s an overemphasis on characters’ outfits and facial expressions, including my personal pet peeve: the “reaction shot round-up” in which we get a description of every character’s reaction to something as if a camera was cutting between sitcom actors.

When I talk with other creative writing professors, we all seem to agree that interiority is disappearing. Even in first-person POV stories, younger writers often skip describing their character’s hopes, dreams, fears, thoughts, memories, or reactions. This trend is hardly limited to young writers though. I was speaking to an editor yesterday who agreed interiority has largely vanished from commercial fiction, and I think you increasingly notice its absence even in works shelved as “literary fiction.” When interiority does appear on the page, it is often brief and redundant with the dialogue and action. All of this is a great shame. Interiority is perhaps the prime example of an advantage prose as a medium holds over other artforms.

fascinated by this article, "Turning Off the TV in Your Mind," about the influences of visual narratives on writing prose narratives. i def notice the two things i excerpted above in fanfic, which i guess makes even more sense as most of the fic i read is for tv and film. i will also be thinking about its discussion of time in prose - i think that's something i often struggle with and i will try to be more conscious of the differences between screen and page next time i'm writing.

WEBSITES FOR WRITERS {masterpost}

E.A. Deverell - FREE worksheets (characters, world building, narrator, etc.) and paid courses;

Hiveword - Helps to research any topic to write about (has other resources, too);

BetaBooks - Share your draft with your beta reader (can be more than one), and see where they stopped reading, their comments, etc.;

Charlotte Dillon - Research links;

Writing realistic injuries - The title is pretty self-explanatory: while writing about an injury, take a look at this useful website;

One Stop for Writers - You guys... this website has literally everything we need: a) Description thesaurus collection, b) Character builder, c) Story maps, d) Scene maps & timelines, e) World building surveys, f) Worksheets, f) Tutorials, and much more! Although it has a paid plan ($90/year | $50/6 months | $9/month), you can still get a 2-week FREE trial;

One Stop for Writers Roadmap - It has many tips for you, divided into three different topics: a) How to plan a story, b) How to write a story, c) How to revise a story. The best thing about this? It's FREE!

Story Structure Database - The Story Structure Database is an archive of books and movies, recording all their major plot points;

National Centre for Writing - FREE worksheets and writing courses. Has also paid courses;

Penguin Random House - Has some writing contests and great opportunities;

Crime Reads - Get inspired before writing a crime scene;

The Creative Academy for Writers - "Writers helping writers along every step of the path to publication." It's FREE and has ZOOM writing rooms;

Reedsy - "A trusted place to learn how to successfully publish your book" It has many tips, and tools (generators), contests, prompts lists, etc. FREE;

QueryTracker - Find agents for your books (personally, I've never used this before, but I thought I should feature it here);

Pacemaker - Track your goals (example: Write 50K words - then, everytime you write, you track the number of the words, and it will make a graphic for you with your progress). It's FREE but has a paid plan;

Save the Cat! - The blog of the most known storytelling method. You can find posts, sheets, a software (student discount - 70%), and other things;

I hope this is helpful for you!

(Also, check my blog if you want to!)

Character Types for Your Next Story

Great ideas for characters will come and go, but there are always concrete character types that you can count on to carry a plot.

Check out the most common types to see if they're what you need to make your next story come to life.

The Protagonist

This is your main character. They're the central focus of the story, the person who resolves the main conflict, or the individual who grows with or from the story's theme.

You can also have multiple protagonists! 3rd-person POV stories/books often have at least two main characters because switching between their points of view furthers the plot, adds tension, or develops their world for the reader.

Examples: Bilbo Baggins in The Hobbit; Claire Randall in Outlander

The Antagonist

This is your main character's opposition. They'll be the force against which your protagonist clashes to experience the conflict that results in their growth. Sometimes the antagonist functions as an obstacle for the protagonist to overcome. Other times, they're a lesson the main character needs to learn by the end of the story.

You can create multiple antagonists for one protagonist or multipel antagonist for a cast of protagonists. It depends on the story you have in mind and what POV you'll be using.

Examples: The White Witch in The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe; Pennywise in It

The Central (Major) Characters

Central characters are what you would call the individual protagonists who make up your cast of characters. They all grow throughout your plot and are essential to the backbone of your story.

Examples: the seven demigods in the Prophecy of Seven in The Heroes of Olympus series; the multigenerational protagonists in Homegoing

The Secondary (Minor) Characters

Secondary characters are often called sidekicks or companions. They're part of your protagonist's life and is along for the ride with them. Although your plot might not be the same without them (if they're a love interest, family member, or another person close to your protagonist), they primary exist to develop the protagonist.

Examples: Dr. Watson in the Sherlock Holmes series; Cinna in The Hunger Games series

The Static Characters

Writers need static characters to essentially remain the same for plot purposes. These characters are typically unaffected by what's happening in the protagonist's life because they're one or two steps removed from it.

Alternatively, your static character can also be antagonist. They're actively involved in your protagonist's life, but they don't undergo any inner changes that result in character growth.

Examples: Dolores Umbridge in the Harry Potter series (she remains unchanged because she has to be a constant source of conflict); Atticus Finch in To Kill a Mockingbird (he remains unchanged because he represents morality and reason to Scout)

The Dynamic Characters

Dynamic characters change throughout a story. They're most often the protagonist or one of the main cast of characters because they are actively involved in the plot.

These could be your protagonist, antagonist, or any other character that undergoes some time of fundamental change.

Examples: Ebenezer Scrooge in A Christmas Carol; Celaena Sardothien in Throne of Glass

The Flat Characters

Flat characters experience no change throughout a story. They may arrive at the end with a different opinion or goal, but they're almost identical to who they were at the beginning of the story.

Don't assume flat characters are boring or unnecessary! They always represent something for the protagonist or the reader. They can also be the antagonist!

Examples: Marmee in Little Women (she's a role model for her daughters and remains their true north throughout the book); Suzy Nakamura in American Born Chinese (she helps Wei-Chen face his complicated feelings about feeling like an outcast for his race by being vocal about hers, but that remains her sole purpose in the plot.)

The Round Characters

When someone talks about a round character, they don't mean the character's physical appearance. Instead, this phrase refers to a protagonist or antagonist's internal depth.

Round characters have complex personalities. They may contradict themselves sometimes or the people they love the most. These characters typically have full backstories and embody the phrase, "they contain multitudes."

Examples: Amy Dunne in Gone Girl; Elizabeth Bennet in Pride and Prejudice

The Stock Characters

Stock characters are flat characters that resemble a stereotype easily recognized by readers. They're your geek teenager with oversized glasses or the best friend who is only there to be the punchline.

Sometimes these characters are written so well that readers don't mind the stereotype. It depends on their relationship with other characters in your story and if they only embody the stereotype up front. Successful stock characters eventually reveal the depth of their hearts or undergo developments that push beyond the limits of their stereotype.

Examples: Rapunzel (the damsel in distress); Alaska Young in Looking for Alaska (the manic pixie dream girl)

The Anti-Hero

Readers love anti-heroes because they're protagonists who start off as the worst version of themselves and grow into the best they can be. There are always external and internal obstacles for them to overcome, which may or may not clash.

They can also start off as versions of themselves that are inherently good, then become more like an antagonist but for the right reasons. Readers may still cheer them on and hope they revert to their previous good ways or read your story to watch your anti-hero follow their worst instincts until the world crumbles around them.

Examples: Dexter Morgan in the Dexter series; Patrick Bateman in American Psycho

The Foil

Typically, the foil in any story is someone who's opposite of the protagonist. They encourage the main character to grow throughout the plot by holding reverse opinions, world views, or values.

Examples: God and Satan in Paradise Lost; Lennie and George in Of Mice and Men

The Symbolic Character

Characters can be great by themselves, but many times they will represent something the author is trying to talk about through their work. A symbolic character is the representation of an aspect of society, an idea, or theme.

Examples: the raven in The Raven (symbolizes the narrator's grief and the presence of death in general); Aslan in The Chronicles of Narnia series (symbolizes God/Jesus)

The Deuteragonist

Deuteragonists are also called the secondary characters. They're the closest characters to the protagonist throughout their journey. They give the story more depth, either through their close relationship with the protagonist or by working against them as or alongside the antagonist.

Examples: Edward Cullen in the Twilight series; Jiminy Cricket in Pinocchio

The Tertiary

You'll rarely see a tertiary character more than a few times in a story. They're background characters that most often create minor conflict on the protagonist's journey with their primary conflict. Tertiary characters add depth to a story's world, but aren't essential to the plot.

However, tertiary characters are important! Without them, there would be no nosy server at your protagonist's favorite coffee shop or supportive librarian at your main character's library.

Examples: Parvati and Padma Patil in Harry Potter; Madame Stahl in Anna Karenina

The Love Interest

Ah, the love interest. They are the secondary integral part of any romantic plot line and may challenge the protagonist to grow through introducing new experiences or points of view.

Examples: Peeta Mellark in The Hunger Games series; Will Traynor in Me Before You

The Confidante

Characters who are confidants are literary devices that help the protagonist reveal their secrets, state of mind, intentions, flaws, and feelings while all of those things are actively changing throughout a story. They can also represent real-life relationships by maintaining a healthy friendship or a manipulative friend.

Examples: Horatio in Hamlet; Samwise Gamgee in The Lord of the Rings series

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Many of these character types merge to create stories with more depth. Defining your existing or future characters with these terms could help you figure out their role in the plot and how to make your story stronger by flexing the purposes of each type.

favourite things about first drafts:

square brackets with notes to self mid-line like [does this make sense with worldbuilding?]

ah yes, Main Character and their closest friends, Unnamed Character A and Unnamed Character B.

bullshitting your way through something that you probably definitely need to research later

also square brackets to link up scenes. [scene transition idk] my beloved

the total freedom of word vomits

"I'll fix that later"

the moment when the world and characters start to gain a life of their own

pieces falling into place as you write that you were uncertain about before you started

the accomplishment of Made A Thing

basically I think that if your protagonist doesn’t want to fuck someone so bad it makes them look stupid, then there probably isn’t enough energy in your story. “Fuck someone” isn’t literal btw—they can want to uncover the secrets of their parent’s death, they can want to prove their worth, they can want a donut from one particular bakery—it can be anything so long as they want it so bad that they’ll make decisions that make any sane person go “are you a moron??”, with little to no forethought, or even tons of forethought and this is still the option they chose. Because they want to fuck that thing so bad.

being alive is so fucking scary but god do i love to love!!!! i love to love!!! i was put here to love. so much of life is so uncertain and unpredictable. but my love will be constant if i let it.