How To Avoid White Room Syndrome

Do you have any tips for doing nanowrimo for the first time? Or any tips in general?

I do actually. Kind of a lot of tips. But when I have a lot of things to say about something that people would need to take action on, I like to do bullet points to organize the information so it’s easier to digest.

So.

Bullet point time.

Start now. No I don’t mean starting the story. That’s the challenge, to write all the new words in November. I mean, start THINKING about your story. Start planning. Start brainstorming. Start character development. Start backstory. Start researching. Start your writing habit. Because writing at that level take training. You have to get INTO it. It’s far too hard to start writing a novel cold if you’re not used to writing.

Make An Outline. Okay. This is a choice. Not everyone likes outlines. In nanowrimo, we say there are two types; Planners who outline their novel and Pantsers who write by the seat of their pants. This can also be called “intuitive writers.” I think there’s a third, a combo of the two. Plantsers. I like that word because not only is it a combo of pantser and planner, it also has the word “plant” in it. So you plant your garden in a plan and then let it grow however it wants, intuitively. That’s me. Anyway. If you don’t want to plan an outline because you’re a pantser, take notes on your story. Do character interviews, research back story, get excited about tropes you want to use, write short stories about the characters, take notes and make lists about ideas you have.

Start a vision board for your story. I use pinterest. Here is an example of my vision board for one of my nano novels that has already been through three drafts, so...years. I’m REALLY into pinterest do no be intimidated. I’ve been doing it a long time. Keep track of characters, settings, ideas, research, advice. It gets a different version of my brain working on my story. 

Sign up at the nanowrimo site. Choose a title, a genre, a location. Plan to attend events if you can. Okay, quarantine, but maybe digital events, i don’t know what they’re doing yet I haven’t checked. Go to the forums and engage in conversations about writing. Ask questions. Answer some. Buy some merch. Read the advice. Get involved in the community. Don’t let the community take over your writing time, but before nanowrimo? Perfect time to get involved.

Make room in your life for writing: Writing is a commitment. You have to show up to the page. You have to sit down and write. And it more or less has to be everyday, unless you’re planning on bingeing on only certain days... which is possible but harder. Plan out regular times where you will write. Carve out a schedule. It can be the whole weekend or it can be fifteen minutes here and there throughout the day. I am proof that you can write a novel in stolen fifteen minute increments. It takes TIME to write. Oh hey, while we’re on the subject, find out how long it takes you to write. How much can you write in 15 minutes? 30 minutes? an hour? How many of those time chunks will you need to get the words down. Don’t assume you write faster than you do. 

Set up your writing space. A room, a corner, a laptop on your bed, a cafe, a library, a journal. Whatever it is. Make sure you have what you need and it is reasonably organized so that you can not worry about it. ALSO, get snacks and drinks set up so you can feed your body while you write.

Tell people in your life that you will be doing this. I know that may be hard, but telling people that you are committed to this project means you are being held accountable for your goal. It’s not just a wish. The more real you make it, the more likely you’ll reach it. You want them to know that you’ll be taking time to do this. But also, support helps. If you have no one irl to support you, find groups on line, if you don’t know where to look. go look at the forums on nanowrimo.org. You can find forums for age range, life stage, interests, genre, whatever.

It turns out these are all suggestions for how to get nanowrimo going BEFORE nanowrimo. I do believe that this is important. You need to work out your writing muscles before november. This is one of the things that can help you succeed. But I have other hints for how to get it done done while you’re doing it. I’m afraid for simplicity’s sake, that needs to be another post. 

If you want to do nanowrimo... which I do suggest even if it turns out not to work for you, it helps to start earlier. Like running a marathon, you need to train to be able to go the distance. There are lots of thing to do that can get you there. These are only some of them.

Oh okay. I have one more thing. I’ve been keeping writing boards over on pinterest. I have boards both to brainstorm my novels and for writing advice. 

nanowrimo pinterest board story ideas pinterest board character ideas SFF ideas Villain ideas The Writer’s Life

Feel free to plunder and pillage my writing boards. Repin whatever you want. That’s what it’s there for as well as my own inspiration.

All my writing boards start with “to write” or most of them do. There is “the writing life” and “kids and writing.” I have a lot of boards and a lot of pins. 

also check out my writing board @rosy-writes i think at some point I’ll return this blog to a writing blog, but maybe i’ll keep rosywrites for my writing advice or something.

Some of my writer’s block cures:

Handwrite. (If you already are, write in a different coloured pen.)

Write outside or at a different location.

Read.

Look up some writing prompts.

Take a break. Do something different. Comeback to it later.

Write something else. (A different WIP, a poem, a quick short story, etc.)

Find inspiring writing music playlists on YouTube. (Themed music, POV playlists, ambient music, etc.)

Do some character or story prompts/questions to get a better idea of who or what you’re writing.

Word sprints. Set a timer and write as much as you can. Not a lot of time to overthink things.

Set your own goals and deadlines.

Write another scene from your WIP. (You don’t have to write in order.) Write a scene you want to write, or the ending. (You can change it or scrap it if it doesn’t fit into your story later.)

Write a scene for your WIP that you will never post/add to your story. A prologue, a different P.O.V., how your characters would react in a situation that’s not in your story, a flashback, etc.

Write down a bunch of ideas. Things that could happen, thing that will never happen, good things, bad things.

Change the weather (in the story of course.)

Feel free to add your own.

hey do you have any tips on how to write surreal horror (mostly short stories?) it's a genre that i've really been interested in trying to write, but i'm not too sure how to go about it (and thanks for providing such a useful blog :D)

I love surreal horror. 

Okay. 

Plot twists are your best friend. Do the unexpected. Do a 180 last second, turn everything around on the reader. Obviously it has to be believable with in the context of the story, but keep it a surprise.

False sense of security? Works wonders. Nothing is safe. Let readers think something is good/pure/innocent/calm/safe/helpful/etc when it’s not. Lure them into that trap. Let them believe and then rip it away from them. 

Invert things. Similar to the false sense of security. Take things that are usually strongly associated with one thing, and associate it with the opposite. Take something dark and make it the good thing. Take something bright and make it evil. Take something sweet and make it bitter. Take something healthy and make it deadly. If you do it right, you can make the reader curiously uncomfortable. 

With surreal horror you want to shock your reader. You want to make them feel strangely uncomfortable. You want to make them question things. 

Hope that helps :)

When I started writing fanfiction like ten years ago, dialogue was absolutely my weakest point. And I knew it. Character voice was a struggle, I used more ellipses than words probably, I just tried to lean on narration instead.

Fun to reflect and realize what a 180 I did on that. Cuz frankly dialogue is a DELIGHT and the best part of writing now. I love strong character voices. I love making characters trip over their words and talk over each other and go on tangents and lose their point and snark and snap at each other and crack wise and just, I love thinking about how dialogue sounds, and what feels most organic. 

Description and narration are all still well and good, but it’s like those are the framework and scaffolding to set characters up to just say shit. I LOVE making characters just say shit. The truest delight of fanfic.

reminder to worldbuilders: don't get caught up in things that aren't important to the story you're writing, like plot and characters! instead, try to focus on what readers actually care about: detailed plate tectonics

how can I make my writing more atmospheric?

How to Make Your Writing More Atmospheric

The key to making your writing more atmospheric is adding more description, and the key to good description is to create sensory descriptions by utilizing things that can be seen, heard, touched/felt, tasted, and smelled. For example, if your character is watching a building burn, you could describe the color of the flames, the sound of sirens or crackling fire, the smell of smoke, the taste of charred wood in the air, the heat emanating from the flames. You don't need to (and shouldn't) hit on all the senses in every description, but every time you need to describe something, consider it from your character's POV... what do they see, smell, hear, taste, etc., then choose a few that make the thing being described the most real to your reader. The following posts will also help:

How to Make Your Description More Vivid

Adding Description to Your Writing

Describing Character Appearance and Clothing

Horror by Darkness (general description advice)

Horror by Daylight (general description advice)

Adding Emotional Details to a Horror/Tragedy Scene

how to write relatable characters

writing relatable characters may seem like an easy task, especially when you’re constructing your protagonist. but what if you want to make your antagonist likeable? what if you want people to hate your protagonist but still root for them? all of this and more requires that your characters be relatable. they need to feel real, so how do you do that? here’s how:

- flaws: this is probably obvious. everyone has flaws, so we should give our characters flaws, too. this applies even if your character is non-human; they cannot escape the personification that we as writers or readers project onto them. we are humans reading, so we expect to see human qualities everywhere we look. if you’re having trouble of identifying your character’s flaws, here are some prompts for ways to think about flaws beyond a list:

what skills do they lack? what do they struggle with?

can their strengths be turned against them as a weakness?

what makes them react emotionally or impulsively?

are they aware of their flaws? if so, do they want to improve them or change them?

- quirks: these are what make your character unique or special, and no, i don’t mean purple eyes or unique physical traits. i mean: what makes your character authentically themselves? what traits define them that few others have? some ways to think about this are:

how do they react when nervous? do they have a tell? similarly, how do they react on behalf of any emotion?

what skills do they have that hardly anyone else has?

what obscure thing are they obsessed with?

do they have a unique outlook on life compared to their peers?

- values: these come from life experiences: where we were raised, our family and friends, our community, religious affiliations, etc. i suggest identifying eight to ten values that define your character and then narrowing that list down to five values that mark their core or essence. think about how these values influence their choices, decisions, and ultimately, the plot of the novel. here are some more prompts to think about values:

how do they react when their values are challenged? are they one to speak up or do they sit back in the shadows?

what, if anything, will change or shatter their values?

are their actual values misaligned with their believed values?

- stakes: what is at risk for your character? what is motivating them? stakes don’t need to be over the top or life or death; they can be as simple as maintaining a relationship or reaching a goal. unless there’s an outside influence (ie. percy’s mother being kidnapped in The Lightning Thief), most stakes—especially those relatable—tie back to values. even those influenced by outside factors can tie back to values: the only reason percy is motivated to get his mother back is because he cares for her and she is the one person who has always advocated for him and cared for him. he values family and riordan uses his family to motivate him and incite the plot. generally, there will be one overarching stake for your character, but throughout your novel, there should be several smaller stakes. these may not service the plot but should elaborate on your character nonetheless. some ways to think about stakes include:

how can i use internal or external factors to create convincing, relatable stakes that tie back to basic values?

why does the overarching stake matter to my character? why do they care?

how can i raise the stakes or introduce new ones that are relevant to my character and illustrate them as a relatable being?

- connection: even if your character is an introvert, they will still be connected to someone, something, or even an idea. we, as humans, look to certain people, pets, objects, and ideas to maintain our sense of reality whether we realize it or not. if your character prides themselves in having no attachments, think about the ideas or themes that mark the cornerstones of their reality. most human beings strive for some form of connection, so here are more prompts for thinking about your characters and connection:

what does connection mean to my character? how do they show how they value their connections or relationships?

how does my character’s behavior change when around different connections?

what connections define my character and their reality? how will these connections influence my character and/or the plot?

how will removing or challenging a connection change, influence, or motivate my character?

a good rule of thumb is to treat a character as a human, not a plot device. there is a time or place in which a character must act as a plot device, but if you’re wanting your readers to be compelled by your narration and the characters within them, you should strive to write your characters as human (aka as relatable). one of the greatest pleasures i find in writing is when other’s identify themselves in my writing.

you’re not just here to tell a story, you’re here to connect with others through the illustration of your characters. let the reader navigate your prose as a detective, to search for and identify the evidence provided by you. that is to say, show us how these things manifest in your character. don’t tell us.

happy writing! hopefully this post gave you some ways to start thinking about how to show the relatability of your character. if you have any questions about implementing these tools or about writing characters, our ask box is always open.

Whenever I see people saying that Hugo's admittedly insane info-dumping in Les Miserables is due to the fact that he was paid by the word, I get unreasonably angry.

Guys, no, you just don't get it. YOU LITERALLY DON'T GET IT.

The guy was writing this book for 20 years. 20 YEARS. It was the work of a lifetime. He travelled around, in France and abroad (Belgium), just to get a close look of all the places he was writing about, talk to the people there, communicate with the place etc. And like, he didn't travel by a motorbike, or cars or airplanes. This was not the vibe at the time.

Also, since we are in the 19th century may I remind you that there was no Google Search at the time. You couldn't just go to Wikipedia and learn about Louis-Philippe and the July Monarchy, you couldn't go to Youtube and watch documentaries about the June Rebellion and testimonies of people that were there and witnessed it. You couldn't just go to Spotify and listen to historical podcasts about the Battle of Waterloo or watch live footage. You couldn't know shit about the way Paris functioned, the history of the city, the importance and the role of infrastructure (INCLUDING THE SEWERS YES) and the way the infrastructure of a city is literally a reflection of the people and the customs and the social plagues that were specific of that city, unless you were, quite literally, a Statesman (and only if you gave a shit, which most didn't). There was no Vice News to inform you of the shit that happened in monasteries or in the labour camps. There was no possible way for anyone to have access to information on any of these things, things that were all of VITAL importance for the fate of french people, that were, for the most part, illiterate, ignorant, and/or struggling to survive until the next day. The solution for this was political conscience and social awakening but how could you do that if you don't have a voice and you don't have basic information and knowledge? But. There was a man that had the means, that had the ressources, that had the money, and he decided to actually do something with that. He decided to speak out. He decided to write a novel about an entire human society and the people in it. How they lived, what they dreamed, how they suffered, how they tried to change their fate, how they failed, how they tried again, and failed again. He gave voice to people who, quite literally, didn't have a voice. It is no coincidence that the book was loved by the people (the mass) but hated by pretentious critics, including other novelists of the time. It wasn't a novel about critics, it was a novel about people. And people loved it. They loved the info-dumping cause it wasn't "info-dumping", nor a """""""filler"""""""" for god's sake, it was quite literally a window to their world, their living space, their history, their roots, their political struggles, a window that they simply didn't have before, and that book gave it to them. It educated people at the time when they couldn't be educated otherwise, at a time when education was indispensable for social change.

But sure Hugo just dedicated 2 decades of his life writing """""fillers""""" to pass the time and get more money lmao. Shut up for the love of god.

Final note: I'm not saying that Hugo's portrayal of french society is without flaws or totally realistic, or that his characters don't seem simplistic at times in their misery and total victimization. This work doesn't delve deeply into the person, that is its flaw. It goes mainly outwards, because its main goal is to educate, while at the same time being immensely entertaining, (at least for people who weren't used to instant gratification like nowadays). That is his value.

The Top 10 Writing Posts From June 2021

Every month, we look at the posts that people read the most.

These were the new Writers Write posts you enjoyed in June 2021:

30 Writing Prompts For June 2021

A Quick-Start Guide For Creating Characters

On Ghosts & How To Write About Them

The Way Of The One – For Writers

14 Boring Expressions & What to Use Instead

How Much Sex Do You Need In A Sex Scene?

The Notorious ‘You’ – An In-Depth Look At Second Person

What Is Imagination & Why Is It Important For Fiction Writing?

The Unintended Consequences Of A Lack Of Setting

7 Writing Observations From Ian McEwan

The First Thing You Learn in University Creative Writing Classes

I was very fortunate to major in Creative Writing when I went to college. It was a great experience, but I remember being so nervous when I walked into my first class as a freshman.

I'd been writing stories since elementary school, so I worried that this first class would teach me something wildly different than what I knew about writing. Maybe there was some secret formula to creating characters or mental exercises that immediately dissolved writer's block that you could only learn from a professor.

When my first class ended, I was shocked.

The first thing you learn in a university-level creative writing class?

Read more than you write.

It's that simple. I thought my professor had lost his mind, but the many others that followed always echoed the advice.

The advice then saved my ability to write when I was getting through each day during some of the hardest times of my life.

Pick up the good books. The great books. The terrible books that make you quit reading them because they're so bad.

They will all make your writing stronger.

You'll learn how to write fantastic characters, weave plot lines, and paint worlds with words. You'll also learn what you don't like in someone's writing so you can avoid it in your own.

Even during the periods when I wrote nothing at all, reading kept that love for writing alive in my heart.

It's the best way to reconnect with that passion if you've lost it and the greatest way to develop that skill.

Read more than you write.

Your storylines and characters will thank you later.