@griseldabanks / griseldabanks.tumblr.com
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Most of the writing I do these days is fanfiction, which you can find here:
(Note: I'm still in the process of posting the best of my work on AO3, so you'll find more on my FFNet profile, but may also have to wade through more old, crappy writing as a result XD)
Please consider leaving reviews/comments on any fics you enjoy, and feel free to ask me anything here. Happy reading!
Main blog: @novelmonger
Hone your writing style. One of the few writing exercises I use to hone my writing style is to copy an author's writing style. It is very simple. You find an author you like, for me it was Cormac McCarthy, try and remember a scene or moment in a book of theirs, remember it the best you can, and then write it down without looking back, or reading, the scene.
When reading the original author's scene, you will notice a difference between yours and theirs. Now you analyze. What are the big differences? What differs in descriptions? Do you not describe things more, but they do? What about word usage? How is the tone different? What do they do differently that you want start doing? What is something you do that makes the scene better?
When you do this exercise, it shows you what you might want to improve on. Better descriptions, natural sounding dialogue, a tone you want, etc. But instead of improvement, you might notice things about your style that you actually enjoy. I found that my tone of writing is very atmospheric and poetic, while McCarthy's is gritty and real. And as much as I like McCarthy's writing tone, I enjoy mine more. In trying to get that gritty and real tone, I found that I enjoy reading it but not writing it.
It is a very fun exercise to do, for improvement or not. It also helps to recognize writing styles and tone better. Give it a try! Which author would you use in this exercise?
He looked at him. He looked at him in a different way. Blinked. He tilted his head. He looked at him sideways. Under his lashes. In a unique kind of tilt. In a violent sort of way. He stared at him in a kind of way you haven’t read about before. He sighed. He looked away. He looked at a different away. He stared. Considered. Pondered. He was silent but it was interesting, somehow. It was a questioning sort of silence. Puzzled. He was still. He went even more still. He was barely breathing. He was dead with anticipation. He tensed. He relaxed minutely. The seconds ticked by, silently. He waited. He narrowed his eyes. His eyes widened. He followed you with them. His eyes. He did something that was nothing but filled the required beat of a line. He
writing badly and cringily is actually an essential part of the writing process, both in terms of individual projects and in gaining voice and confidence as a writer in the long term. there is no way around the cringe. there's no way around the work.
so many people in the notes are upset about this! Don’t be! You’re free!! You can write whatever you want and revise it until you’re proud! Mistakes are an unconditional opportunity to grow!!!!
Take Me In Chapter 49: Venturing Forward
Steve and Bucky both face the future, both good and bad.
The difference between Jake's behavior now and just a couple days ago was like night and day, like someone had flipped a switch in his little brain. But at the same time, Sam knew the changes had actually been eight months in the making. This whole time, while outwardly he hadn't seemed to be making much progress at all, he'd been silently observing and processing. The final piece of the puzzle had slotted into place, and now he embraced his new life with open arms.
Me leaving comments on fics.
Me responding to comments on fics.
my characters watching me come up with another storyline that is going to have detrimental effects on what’s left of their mental state
Here’s a scenario that’s never, ever happened: I return a client’s manuscript with the note, “Love the through-line, but you could really use a few more subplots!”
Alas, it’s the opposite. I see manuscript after manuscript with way too many subplots. While sparing, well-chosen subplots can add depth and insight to a story, too many subplots will have one or more of the following ill effects:
Solution: It’s brutal, but you’ll need to decide which story is the story and condense, rewrite, or sacrifice the others upon on its altar. Consider Lisa Cron’s explanation of the subplot’s raison d’etre:
Subplots invite the reader to leave the recent conflict behind for a moment and venture down a side road that, he believes, will lead back to the story in the near future. The reader is willing to take this jaunt because he trusts that when the subplot returns to the main storyline, he’ll have more insight with which to interpret what’s happening… All subplots must eventually merge into—and affect—the main story line, either literally or metaphorically, or else the reader is going to be mighty disappointed.
Or, to quote John Gardner, “A story is like a machine with numerous gears: it should contain no gear that doesn’t turn something.”
So your first task is to determine whether your subplots have anything at all to do with your main storyline. If Prince Abernathy’s one true desire is to usurp the throne from his uncle, his unworldly love of cribbage had better intersect with his mutinous plan. Otherwise, truly, it has no reason to be there.
You can use the but/therefore method to track down a connection between your main plot and your subplots. As in,
Prince Abernathy challenges his uncle to a game of cribbage in the hopes of proving him unworthy to rule, but his uncle bests him, therefore Abernathy tosses the game out the tower window, renounces his membership to the Medieval Cribbage Society, and vows to find another way to dethrone his uncle once and for all.
If you cannot find such a connection, you can either create one in your revision, or remove the subplot.
In all likelihood, if you have too many subplots to begin with, at least a few are disconnected from your main plot—except perhaps by a few tenuous threads of narrative summary (e.g. In Chapter One you write “Abernathy absolutely lived to play cribbage,” but there’s not a single scene that actually involves cribbage until Chapter 15).
Other times, you’ve diligently woven all your subplots in the main story… but there are so many of them they’re crowding out the main storyline. Your scenes are almost impossible to write—you feel like you’re constantly juggling 27 balls in the air—and your novel just keeps getting longer and longer.
In that case, it’s time to play favorites, choosing a few subplots you can’t live without and removing or simplifying the rest.
Hope this helps!
Writers: If you enjoyed writing it, that’s enough. Writing can be an end in itself. It doesn’t have to be “good” by anyone else’s standards. It doesn’t have to be published or validated in any way. Delight in putting words on the page. Delight in falling down pretty rabbit holes that might not “make sense” to others. IT’S OKAY TO WRITE JUST TO WRITE, just to have fun, just to please yourself. This is your permission slip. Go forth and create nonsense. I’m cheering for you. xo
Writing sometimes feels like a strange disorder you just kind of cope with by being creative. Like your brain randomly decides to dump a million-piece puzzle in front of you and says, 'Solve this or we will never think of anything else, ever.' You toil away for years and by some miracle you solve it, and it's the most fulfilling, exhilarating feeling in the world. It's perfect. You did it. And your brain is like, 'OK, here's my idea for three sequels and a spinoff.'
Take Me In Chapter 48: Revelation
Steve reluctantly faces the prospect of leaving Jake at New Hope again.
Steve switched off the lights, stepped out into the hall, and closed the door softly behind him. He leaned back against the closed door, squeezing his eyes shut to envision Jake's face. The first and only time he'd ever seen him smile. His heart lay shattered in pieces at his feet.
TW: references to child abuse
Writing in my brain: Beautiful flowing sentences full of powerful phrases and enigmatically witty dialogue.
Writing on the page: They did the thing and said some stuff. There was snark.
lovely character. i need him to finally break down sobbing clutching his chest like it'll stop the pain crumpling to the floor begging God to either help him or let him die
(From an ADHD Writer & Spoonie)
As an ADHD author, and a spoonie (migraines) I know that a lot of typical writing "guidelines" can feel overwhelming and often don't work. I taught myself to write (results may vary) and after several decades of this; here's some of what I've learned to keep the dopamine and words going.
There's nothing more restricting as an ADHD writer being told "this genre has to be this way." See those boxes. Break them. Find what type of stories and tropes and archetypes you enjoy writing in the types of worlds you find fun and exciting and write those. This should be fun. Writing may be hard, so give your brain the things it craves to snack on.
I always giggle when I think about it...
Am I psycho?
a collection of questions i, as a writer, would love to be asked !!!
1. What fic of yours would you recommend to someone who had never read any of your work? (In other words, what do you think is the best introduction to your fics?)
2. Go to your AO3 “Works” page, to the sidebar with all the filters, and click the drop-down arrow for “Additional Tags.” What are your top 3-5 most used tags? Do you think they accurately represent your writing habits?
3. What are some tropes or details that you think are very characteristic of your fics?
4. What detail in [insert fic] are you really proud of?
5. What do you wish someone would ask you about [insert fic]? Answer it now!
6. What’s one fact about the universe of [insert fic] that you didn’t get a chance to mention in the fic itself?
7. Any worldbuilding you’re particularly proud of?
8. What song would make a great fic (to either write or read)?
9. How do you find new fic to read?
10. How do you decide what to write?
11. Are you partial to a certain character/pairing or are you more equal-opportunity? If you are partial to any character/pairing, why do you think that is?
12. Are there any tropes you used to dislike but have grown on you?
13. Are there any tropes you used to like but don’t anymore?
14. Are there any tropes you would only read if written by a trusted friend or writer?
15. What’s your favorite AU that you’ve written?
16. What’s an AU you would love to read (or have read and loved)?
17. What highly specific AU do you want to read or write even though you might be the only person to appreciate it?
18. If you wrote a sequel to [insert fic], what would it involve?
19. If you wrote a spin-off of [insert fic], what would it involve?
20. If you wrote a prequel to [insert fic], what would it involve?
21. If you wrote a “missing scene” in [insert fic], what would it be?
22. Who is your favorite character in [insert fic] and why?
23. What’s a trope, AU, or concept you’ve never written, but would like to?
24. Are there any easter eggs in [insert fic], and if so, what are they?
25. What other websites or resources do you use most often when you write?
26. Would you rather write a fic that had no dialogue or one that was only dialogue?
27. How long did it take to write [insert fic]? Describe the process.
28. Does anyone read your fics before you post them? If so, who?
29. What songs would be (or are) on a playlist for [insert fic]? Explain your choices if you want!
30. Have you ever written something that was out of your comfort zone? If so, what was it, and how did it affect your approach to writing fic thereafter?
31. What’s your ideal fic length to write?
32. What’s your ideal fic length to read?
33. If you write chaptered fics, what’s your ideal chapter length to write? Is it different from your ideal chapter length to read?
34. What aspects of your writing are inspired by/taken from your real life?
35. What aspects of your writing are completely unlike your real life?
36. Do you visualize what you read/write?
37. Promote one of your own “deep cut” fics (an underrated one, or one that never got as much traction as you think it deserves!). What do you like about it?
38. Did any of your fics get surprisingly popular (whatever that means to you)? Which ones? Why do you think they were so successful?
39. Is any aspect of your writing process inspired by other writers or people? If so, who?
40. Do you tend to reread fics or are you a one-and-done kind of person?
41. Link a fic that made you think, “Wow, I want to write like that.”
42. Have you ever received a comment that particularly stood out to you for whatever reason?
43. If you take/write prompts: what’s your favorite prompt fic that you’ve written?
44. If you take/write prompts: do you prefer dialogue or scenario/narrative prompts?
45. What’s something you’ve improved on since you started writing fic?
46. Do you prefer writing on your phone or on a computer (or something else)? Do you think where you write affects the way you write?
47. If [insert fic] was a pair of shoes, what kind would it be? Describe the shoes.
48. What’s the last fic you read? Do you recommend it?
49. What are you currently working on? Share a few lines if you’re up for it!
50. Answer any question of your choice, or talk about anything you want to talk about!
