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A Sleepy Literature Nerd
07 Apr '2519:38
4,681 notes
creativepromptsforwriting
Anonymoussent

Hi! Do you have any tips on making the scene emotional, I want to be able to move and touch my readers with my writing but it's really hard when I don't understand emotions and feeling and I'm usually a thinker but I really want to make my my reader feel sadness and grief with my character. So any tips for that? Or do I have to keep practicing? Hope you have a nice day! Thank you! Your blog helps me alot!

creativepromptsforwritingreplied

Hi :)

I’m a very empathetic person. I can get kinda cold if the emotions involve myself, but if it’s about other people or fictional characters, I soak those emotions up like a sponge. I can get really into all the emotional aspects of writing, so I’m not sure how to do it if you don’t understand the emotions that well, because it comes so natural to me. I will try to give a general overview of how to write emotional scenes, but if someone else can give some other advice, it’s greatly appreciated!

How to write emotional scenes

Focus on showing, not telling:

  • don’t just say the character is afraid or panicking
  • write the actions that would let an onlooker know
  • hands trembling, pulse and breathing picking up, frantic eye movement,…
  • if you describe it well enough, the reader will feel those things too

Dialogue:

  • of course, dialogue is still important
  • but I would keep it shorter than in other scenes
  • don’t make it too emotional or it can appear sappy
  • exception: motivational speeches
  • think about the difference between showing and telling
  • are the characters trying to conceal how they really fell by saying something else?

Make the reader relate:

  • relating to a character makes the reader much more empathetic to them and it creates emotions in them
  • so try to get the reader to sympathize with your character by showing their journey and their goals
  • but if you want to have a rival in that scene, do the exact opposite
  • make the reader unsympathetic to that character to make them feel anger towards them or satisfaction if they get defeated

Heavy scenes:

  • there is a difference between an emotional scene and a truly traumatic experience
  • you don’t want the reader to feel the full range of human trauma
  • if the reader is getting too emotional, it could keep them wanting to continue reading
  • so in extremely emotional scenes try to show the overall picture
  • don’t go into specific feelings, but try to show how this affects your character as a whole
  • you can even try to make the scene feel more distant, almost numb and devoid of deep emotions if the reader already knows how traumatic this would be for the character
  • sometimes this could affect them even better than showing all the emotions because they can create their own emotions

always remember: you want to pull at your reader’s heartstrings - not break anything

Hope you have a nice day as well and good luck with your writing!

- Jana

07 Apr '2519:17
1,530 notes
imastoryteller
imastoryteller

20 Ways to Show Extreme Fear in Your Writing

As I dive into researching signs of fear for my horror WIP, I wanted to share some of the most compelling and visceral reactions I’ve come across. Whether you’re writing a chilling scene or crafting a character’s panic, these 20 signs of fear can help bring tension and realism to your story.

Physical Reactions

  1. Hyperventilating — sucking in air but never feeling like it’s enough
  2. Chest tightens — feels like a weight or hands pressing down
  3. Limbs shaking violently, knees buckling
  4. Complete loss of muscle control — collapsing or unable to stand
  5. Cold sweat soaking through clothes
  6. Heart hammering so hard they feel it in their throat or head
  7. Tunnel vision — the world narrowing down to one terrifying focal point
  8. Ringing in the ears or sudden deafness, like the world drops away
  9. Dizziness / feeling faint / vision blurring
  10. Dry mouth — unable to speak or even scream

Uncontrollable Behavior

  1. Screaming / sobbing / gasping — involuntary vocal outbursts
  2. Panic run — bolting without thinking, tripping over everything
  3. Clawing at their own skin / chest / throat — like trying to escape their body
  4. Begging / pleading out loud even if no one’s there
  5. Repeating words or phrases — “No, no, no” / “This isn’t happening”
  6. Hiding instinctively — diving under tables, closets, or corners
  7. Desperate grabbing — reaching for someone, anything solid
  8. Loss of bladder or bowel control (for extreme terror)
  9. Total mental shutdown — frozen, slack-jawed, staring blankly
  10. Memory blackout — later can’t recall what happened during the worst moment
07 Apr '2519:17
6,132 notes
fixyourwritinghabits
fixyourwritinghabits

NaNo Alternatives

Okay, real post time (but keep those boops booping) - You want to do NaNoWriMo tomorrow, but you don't want to go anywhere near the main organization and their website. Here's a list of alternatives you can try:

  • Rogue Writers - International group launched to provide an alternative for writers. Their website has challenges, free tools, and more.
  • myWriteClub - Word tracking tool.
  • Novlr - A writing app designed to help you meet your writing goals.
  • WriteTrack - Word tracking tool.
  • Shut Up and Write - Find in-person or online groups to write together with!
  • NoQuWriCo - A November writing challenge with tools, tips, and encouragement to make it through the month! (Thanks to someone letting me know - this is a Christian alternative. Try another if that does not appeal to you!)
  • Writing Month - Write. A Month. Do It.
  • Your local library - If you did NaNo events through your library, chances are they're still doing it this year. Make sure you check in with all the resources you've used in the past, as they're likely still around.

Whatever you decide to do tomorrow, good luck! And remember, if you want to still use the NaNo website but don't like their AI policies and the rest of it, just don't give them money! Laugh to yourself, evilly, as you update your word count. It's very validating.

(Now back to booping.)

07 Apr '2517:11
2,898 notes
creativepromptsforwriting
Anonymoussent

any like setting sheets, kind of like a character questionnaire but for developing main setting- namely a boarding school?

creativepromptsforwritingreplied

anon asked: hi! i really like your blog. it’s so helpful :) do you have any prompts and/or tips for writing about students at a boarding school? it would be so wonderful, thank you so much

Hi :)

I don’t know if this is the same anon, but these asks come right after each other and are about the same topic, so I will answer them together.

How to write a boarding school

This is unfortunately not a sheet that can be used for any boarding school, because from my experience, they vary too much.

I have read a lot of books and watched a lot of TV shows and movies that take place in boarding schools. What I learned from that is this: they were all very very different. (Think Zoey 101 and St. Trinian’s - not a lot in common.)

  • The country, the time period, the specialization of the school (more for richer kids, more for kids with special talents, music or sport, for a specific religion…) this all plays a big part in how the boarding school works.
  • At first, I would suggest checking out the general school system in the country you want to write about. Most of the boarding schools I’ve seen were in the UK, which in general have a lot of differences to German schools, for example. The probability of them wearing school uniforms is a lot higher already.
  • So after you checked out the school system, you can go in deeper with your research. Schools usually have websites where they showcase their school and talk about the activities and the housing of the students. Try to find a school that fits for your story and take a look at how they do it.
  • After you covered the basic principles of a boarding school in the area and with the specialization you want to write about, you can get creative. Most of these schools are privatized, so they don’t have to follow exact government guidelines like public schools do. Make sure they have the basic classes, they need to graduate, but with activities and rules etc. you can get really creative.

Prompts:

  • Having a roommate that you have every class with, spend every day with and can’t really escape from, means that you two become very good acquainted with each other.
  • It’s a sports school, which brings the competitive nature of sports to a whole new level at this boarding school.
  • The students of the boarding school were infamous in the little town close by.
  • With no parents there and only staff as adults to confide in, the students become their own support system.
  • There were a lot of fights and a lot of fraternization going on with the local public school and the private boarding school.
  • Spending the summer with their families is great, but the first day moving back to school and seeing everyone again is always special.
  • At their old school they were on the sports teams, but this new school sucks at that sport, so they try to push the new team to be able to compete against their old school.
  • Not really being able to escape school while they live there, most students find their own little hiding places.

I hope this will still help you and have fun writing it!

- Jana

09 Mar '2501:59
530 notes
literaryvein-templates
literaryvein-templates

Writing Worksheets & Templates

will update this every few weeks/months. alternatively, here are all my tagged Writing Worksheets & Templates

Character Development

Worldbuilding

References: Worldbuilding ⚜ Plot ⚜ Character ⚜ Writing Resources PDFs

all posts are queued. send questions/requests here.

09 Mar '2501:35
9,006 notes
literaryvein-reblogs
literaryvein-reblogs

Writing References: Character Development

Personality Traits

Tips/Editing

Writing Notes

More References: Plot ⚜ World-building ⚜ Writing Resources PDFs

09 Mar '2501:34
11,650 notes
literaryvein-reblogs
Anonymoussent

hi! I have a question, how do I write the movements of a ballerina? I'm writing a novel and now I'm at the part where my protagonist is dancing ballet for an audience in the theater. Could you help me with how to write her movements? I'm in doubt about how to write this

literaryvein-reblogsreplied

Some Ballet Vocabulary

  1. Adagio: “Slow tempo.” In ballet, a tempo in which the dancer moves slowly and gracefully.
  2. Allegro: “Brisk tempo.” In ballet, a tempo in which the dancer moves briskly and excitedly.
  3. Allongé: “Elongated.” An adjective used to describe poses that are stretched and elongated, like an arabesque.
  4. Arabesque: A pose in which the dancer stands on one leg—either straight or demi-plié, and either flat-footed or en pointe—while extending the other leg straight behind at a right angle. The shoulders are square with the arms held to create a long line from fingertips to toes.
  5. Arriére: “Backwards.” A move that indicates backwards movement or motion.
  6. Ballón: “To bounce.” A light jump. Used to indicate the delicacy of the movement or jump.
  7. Chaseé: To slide.
  8. Elevé: A rise upward onto the toes.
  9. En l’air: “In the air.” Indicates a movement or leg position that is held in the air.
  10. Fondu: To melt (a melting action).
  11. Frappé: To strike (like lighting a match on the floor).
  12. Glissade: To glide.
  13. Jeté: To throw.
  14. Pas de deux: A “dance for two,” or duet, in classical ballet.
  15. Petit saut: A small jump.
  16. Pirouette: A complete turn of the body on one foot, either turning inward or outward, with the body centered over the supporting leg, the arms propelling the turn but remaining stationary during the turn, and the eyes “spotting” a fixed point while the head quickly turns.
  17. Promenade: A slow pivot of the body while standing on one leg.
  18. Rèvèrence: “Bow”. Traditional port-de-bras and port-de-corps showing respect and gratitude to the ballet master or audience.
  19. Tournant: “Turn.” A term paired with a movement to indicate a body turn.
  20. Variation: A solo in classical ballet.

Although ballet actually began in Italy, it was formalized in France in the 17th century. Ballet terminology has remained largely in the French language. Ballet dancers across the world learn and can communicate with this universal ballet vocabulary.

Sources: 1234⚜More: Word Lists⚜Dance

Hope this helps with your writing! If I wasn’t able to include the right words you need, you can go through the sources. Still, remember your readers when describing the scene — perhaps some of them might not be familiar with these terminologies.

09 Mar '2501:33
735 notes
literaryvein-reblogs
literaryvein-reblogs

Writing Notes: Jet Lag

Whitley (detail) C. R. W. Nevinson 1941ALT
  • Jet lag - sometimes called desynchronosis.
  • A physiological condition marked by fatigue, insomnia, and irritability.
  • Caused by air travel—usually going from east to west or from west to east—through many changing time zones.

It is classified as a circadian rhythm sleep disorder because it alters (disrupts) the natural circadian rhythm (‘‘internal body clock’’) in humans.

  • The temporary condition is primarily caused by air travel across several time zones, but can also be caused by shift work or other factors.
  • Jet lag comes about from the inability of the internal body clock to adjust quickly enough to drastic changes in the normal sleep and wake cycle.
  • Usually it lasts only for a few days but it can last longer depending on the length of travel and the steps taken to counter it.
  • Generally, jet lag lasts longer when traveling west to east, than it does when flying east to west. A general relationship is: jet lag lasts two-thirds of a day for each time zone crossed while flying eastward, and lasts one half of a day for each time zone crossed while heading westward. Thus, flying westward across two time zones would cause jet lag for about one day for the average air traveler.

Symptoms

Disorientation and fatigue are the two most common symptoms of jet lag.

  1. Fatigue
  2. Insomnia
  3. Irritability
  4. Anxiety or mild depression
  5. Nausea
  6. Headache
  7. Disorientation
  8. Loss of appetite
  9. Diarrhea or constipation (along with general gastrointestinal
    disturbances)
  10. Reduced ability (or inability) to perform common physical and mental tasks
  11. Decreased ability to concentrate

Treatment

  • In cases of short-term insomnia triggered by jet lag, a physician may recommend over-the-counter (OTC) sleeping pills or prescription medication.
  • These medicines may help to counter the biological imbalance caused by jet lag.
  • However, they can cause adverse side effects. Thus, such medication should only be taken under the guidance of a healthcare professional.

Prevention

One cannot prevent jet lag, but it can be minimized. The following precautions taken during an international flight can help to limit or prevent jet lag:

  1. Stay hydrated. Drink plenty of water and juices to prevent dehydration. Beverages and foods with caffeine should be avoided because of their stimulant properties. Alcohol should also be avoided.
  2. Stretch and walk. As much movement as possible during a flight helps circulation, which moves nutrients and waste through the body and aids in elimination.
  3. Stay on time. Set watches and clocks ahead to the time in the destination city to start adjusting to the change.
  4. Eat a light snack upon arrival at the destination.
  5. Get as much natural sunlight as possible to help reset one’s biological clock. Do not stay inside because avoidance of sunlight makes matters worse.
  6. Sleep smart. Draw the shade and sleep during the evening hours in the destination city, even if it is still daylight outside of the airplane. Earplugs and sleep masks maybe helpful in blocking noise and light. Many airlines provide these items on international flights.
  7. Dress comfortably. Wear or bring comfortable clothes that will make sleeping during the flight easier.

Source ⚜ More: Notes & References ⚜ Sleep Metaphors ⚜ Writers' Sleep Habits

09 Mar '2501:16
72 notes
literaryvein-reblogs
literaryvein-reblogs

Writing Notes: Fever

The Improvised Field-Hospital (detail) Frederic Bazille 1865ALT

Fever - any body temperature elevation over 100°F (37.8°C).

How long a fever lasts and how high it may go depends on several factors, including its cause, the age of the patient, and overall health.

Most fevers caused by infections are acute:

  1. appearing suddenly and then
  2. dissipating as the immune system defeats the infectious agent.
  3. An infectious fever may also: rise and fall throughout the day, reaching its peek in the late afternoon or early evening.

A low-grade fever that lasts for several weeks - is associated with autoimmune diseases such as lupus or with some cancers, particularly leukemia and lymphoma.

A fever requires emergency treatment under the following circumstances:

  1. newborn (three months or younger) with a fever higher than 100.5°F (38°C)
  2. infant or child with a fever higher than 103°F (39.4°C)
  3. fever accompanied by severe headache, neck stiffness, mental confusion, or severe swelling of the throat

A very high fever in a small child can trigger seizures (febrile seizures) and therefore should be treated immediately. A fever accompanied by the listed symptoms can indicate the presence of a serious infection, such as meningitis, and should be brought to the immediate attention of a physician.

A healthy person’s body temperature fluctuates between 97F (36.1°C) and 100°F (37.8°C), with the average being 98.6°F (37°C).

  • The body maintains stability within this range by balancing the heat produced by the metabolism with the heat lost to the environment.
  • The ‘‘thermostat’’ that controls this process is located in the hypothalamus, a small structure located deep within the brain.
  • The nervous system constantly relays information about the body’s temperature to the thermostat, which in turn activates different physical responses designed to cool or warm the body, depending on the circumstances.
  • These responses include: decreasing or increasing the flow of blood from the body’s core, where it is warmed, to the surface, where it is cooled; slowing down or speeding up the rate at which the body turns food into energy (metabolic rate); inducing shivering, which generates heat through muscle contraction; and inducing sweating, which cools the body through evaporation.

Physicians agree that the most effective treatment for a fever is to address its underlying cause, such as through the administration of antibiotics.

  • Also, because a fever helps the immune system fight infection, it usually should be allowed to run its course.
  • Drugs to lower fever (antipyretics) can be given if a patient (particularly a child) is uncomfortable. These include:
  1. aspirin,
  2. acetaminophen (Tylenol), and
  3. ibuprofin (Advil).
  • Aspirin, however, should not be given to a child or adolescent with a fever since this drug has been linked to an increased risk of Reye’s syndrome.
  • Bathing a patient in cool water can also help alleviate a high fever.

Source ⚜ More: Notes & References ⚜ Writing Realistic Injuries

09 Mar '2501:10
127 notes