this book has no title, jared kintz / a green lantern on damascus’ door, nizar qabbani / song of solomon 2:3 / a midsummer night’s dream, william shakespeare / work song, hozier
Here’s an extensive questionnaire that I created a few years ago (and finally put up somewhere besides scribbled down in a tattered notebook). I suggest answering every question, even the ones that seem tedious or don’t pertain to your story. For example, even if you never mention your character’s favorite color, you can still add that detail to the way they dress, the choices they make when buying something, etc. Even the smallest detail can add A LOT to your story. And while it may seem silly to answer eye and lip shapes, those are details that not only help you and the reader imagine the character, but it helps you as a writer to use synonymous words throughout to give yourself a clear image and to keep from being repetitive. I highly recommend filling out the nervous tics and subconscious movements (like your character tugs at their ear, or brushes at the back of their neck when talking for example) because it makes your character very human and it’s something I personally think more books/stories need in their characters. I might be missing some things and sorry if it’s too small, but here’s a link for a pdf you can download: [X]
It may seem like a lot to answer but I feel that knowing the answers to these questions really helps build a realistic character and they’re great to use on secondary characters, too. I hope that this helps others in the way that it has helped me. Happy writing!
PS: Friendly reminder that I am not a professional writer. These are just things I have picked up through years of writing, reading, editors, and teachers/classes.
(Special thank you to my friend Katie for helping catch anything I might have missed—especially in the family/morals section. Follow her book blog, amoralteething or her personal blog, thewayward-sonn!)
for the theme of journal entries this week, i wasn’t too keen on releasing the pages of my journals, so i thought maybe i’d share some of my favorite links on art journaling and journaling in general!
this is a collaboration from masterposts/journaling blogs/tips from my friends!! if you have any other tips or links feel free to add them on! (huge credit to artpricot)
Of course! I’m going to post this publicly, just in case anyone else finds this useful. So, I’d like to say that for me, writing high fantasy is as easy as sitting down and letting the words flow. But I think that fantasy writers are first and foremost inventors before they are storytellers, and that can be a little tough on the mind. In my novel, I’ve essentially created an entire alternate planetary system and the story is set within one of these planets, another Earth made up almost entirely out of water. That’s a whole other global system I have to account every detail for.
So in order to stay sane, I’m in the ever ongoing process of creating the novel’s bible. That’s a handbook I keep with me at all times while writing so that I can reference an already existing world instead of making it up as I go along. It makes the writing process more comfortable and familiar to me. If that sounds like it would put you at ease too, all you need is a composition notebook (the bigger the better) and some tabs in order to divide your bible into four sections: mythology, history, geography, and culture.
Under the cut, you’ll find some tips on how to fill the book up with world building goodness.
From personal experience, I know it can be hard coming up with archetypes and things and I came across some generators that (honestly) have been super helpful when i’m stuck in a rut with what I want to write.
