Why Do I Intentionally Read Books With Cliffhangers Knowing That The Sequel Won't Come Out For Another

Worldbuilding stuff:

If your story has an idle nobility class, their culture shouldn't just be different from the general population, it should be an over-the-top caricature of the common folks' culture. Whatever the population generally agrees is ideal, fair, admirable, or good, the nobility will take into stupid extremes.

Contrary to the beliefs of many, people are actually not at all happy when they're idle - a person with no assigned task or duty will go out of their way to come up with one. And all around the world, whenever there's been an upper class with nothing to do, they've started to compete with each other over stupid shit, but always stupid shit that the culture they live in considers positive qualities.

From the noblemen in Europe challenging each other to a possibly lethal duel over insulting someone's hat, to a Chinese noblewoman being moved to tears by the beauty of someone's calligraphy, bored elites everywhere have always wanted to outdo each other in their expressions of possessing all the noble traits that this culture in particular holds in value.

You can, and should, use this as a way to highlight what the actual values of this society is. In a setting where being religious is held as an admirable trait, there is nobility coming up with new ways to one-up each other in their expressions of worship. Society that values art and music will have them competing over who hires the most artists, and who employs the most talented musicians. Aggressive, war-like people will have fuels to the fucking death over a stupid hat.

Literally anything can be competed in, and bored people with far too much time and money in their hands will become competitive over the most ridiculous things. This isn't just an useful tool in worldbuilding, but also a fun one.

Extremely Comprehensive World-building Checklist

Inspiration for every country

Map, or basic understanding of the layout. I recommend Inkarnate for making maps!

Major historical events, think about how wars have sparked new political philosophies and how they’ve shaped cultures today (think about how Liberalism stems from a response to oppressive monarchies)

What’s the culture of the different countries in your world? What kind of arts do they practice, if the arts are widespread? What’s available for entertainment, does the average person have enough downtime to participate in leisure? What’s the architecture like? What are the major exports of each country?

Are there any major historical figures in your countries? Any influential works of literature that have been studied?

What does daily life look like for people in different socioeconomic classes?

Is the culture of country side villages and towns similar to urban areas? How does it differ?

What is the religion? Does each country follow something different, or is everyone the same? Is it mono or polytheistic? Who are the religious leaders? Do people attend church, or is worship practiced in private? Are there any rituals?

Building off of religion, is there any religious conflict?

What does the government look like? Is it an absolute monarchy? Constitutional monarchy? Or some form of democracy or republic? Who’s the leader and what other positions hold power?

Does each country have a government, or is your world ruled under one government?

What do the different classes look like in your country? Do the higher social classes look down on those beneath them? Is there a general sense of class consciousness, and class conflicts?

Climate of each country, territory, or state

Typical jobs of every country, territory, or state

What kind of transportation is available?

What does the military look like? Is there one? Do any militias operate in the rural areas?

Does your world have any myths or legends? What were they influenced by, and how do they influence the culture? Are there any superstitions around these myths?

Typical foods, what do most people eat? Is the food bland, or flavorful? How does access to food differ for different people, and does the type of food eaten change with social status?

Type of laws, do the people have any protected rights? What might get someone thrown in a cell for a night? Do your countries have an organized prison system, or do they operate by throwing everyone in the castle’s dungeons?

What kind of economy do the different countries have? Is it regulated by the government? What’s the major currency?

What’s the social life like? Are there certain customs to follow? What’s considered polite or impolite?

How are foreigners seen? Is there any hostility towards them, or are the citizens of your countries more accepting of other cultures?

What are the relationships like between countries?

What weapons are used in war?

What’s the general attitude towards war and other conflicts? Do any of your countries use a pacifist approach? Do any countries protect their neighbors from a common enemy?

Sanitary system, do they have sewage? Think about how disease was common in cities before proper sewage was invented.

Educational System for the poor, is there any sort of public education? Is there any sort of access to higher education, if it exists in your countries?

Educational system for the rich, do nobles typically hire tutors or is there a system of private schooling?

How is education viewed? Is it valued?

How do the people communicate, between cities or even countries? Is there any form of published communication, or is everything passed through spoken word?

Morality, what is considered moral or immoral?

What are the beauty standards of your country? How are different physical appearances viewed?

What’s the clothing like? What does the average peasant wear, what does the average noble wear?

What language is spoken? Do different countries speak different languages? Is there a common tongue?

Are good hygiene practices common? How often does the average person bathe?

Is marriage viewed as a religious or legal institution? What’s the general attitude towards marriage? Is it common? What does the courting process look like?

Are water and other resources readily available? Do they have to be outsourced to other countries?

Science, is it accepted? Do people actively research new things in your countries?

Going back to the prison question, what is the legal system like? Do people get trials? What sort of crimes result in different penalties? Who makes the final decision of punishment, a judge? The lord ruling over the territory the crime took place?

How is death treated? Are funerals held? Do they bury their dead, or use funeral pyres? Are funerals viewed as a celebration of the person’s life, or a time to mourn?

What kind of diseases are common? What do the symptoms look like?

What are your countries’ attitudes towards alcohol and other substances? Is drinking a common practice, or widely frowned upon?

When looking at these different aspects of your world, it’s also important to remember that the histories of our world don’t have to dictate what happens in yours. For example, public education wasn’t really common in the United States until the 1800s. On the other end of that, one of the earliest formal schools was founded in Egypt in 2061-2010 BC and many Middle Eastern cultures have pushed for education since then as the ability to read religious scripture was important.

That said, using the characteristics of different countries can be useful in guiding your own and the histories of said countries can guide you even further. Your world can resemble ours, or be totally different and backwards. At the end of the day, have fun!

How to Finish A First Draft

Source: https://thewritepractice.com/first-draft/

post by @writingwithacutlass on instagram

Here are the two steps for writing a book:

1: sit down*

2: write.

*this step is optional.

That’s all you have to do to write a book. You can’t edit a book you never wrote! If you want to finish writing a novel, you’re gonna need to have a finished first draft.

As the article puts it; writing is not:

thinking about writing, buying books on writing, talking about writing, listening to podcasts about writing, attending writing conferences, dreaming about writing, getting a tattoo about writing, watching movies about writing, talking to your cat about writing—none of those activities will write your book.

But if you’re simply clueless on how to actually write a first draft, never fear! I’ve got you covered :) swipe!

figure out the story first

You’ll need something to guide you as you write your first draft. If you’re new to writing, you’ll figure out soon enough if you’re a plotter, plantser, or pantser, but either way you’ll want at least a vague idea of where you’re headed.

write a blurb and get feedback on it

Write a short paragraph (such as one you would find on the back of a book) that sums up your story. (don’t reveal the ending though!) share it with your friends or someone you trust (keep in mind that friends might sugarcoat to avoid hurting your feelings, so maybe ask someone else) and get their feedback on it. Did they read all the way through or did they zone out after the first sentence? Be sure they can give you honest opinions on it.

don’t let yourself get distracted while writing

When you sit down to write, it’s best if you keep all distractions away from you. Put your phone in another room, find a quiet spot, put on some music if it helps you...create a space where you can write without losing your train of thought every five seconds.

write “tk” as placeholder

When you’re unsure of something, do NOT go to google and try to figure out what it is. Write “tk” as a placeholder, as there are no words (or at least hardly any) in English that have those two letters next to each other. Later, you can search “tk” in your document and all those placeholders will show up.

don’t stop

Momentum is everything when it comes to first drafts. You need to keep writing until the first draft is complete!

don’t rewrite, edit or reread until it’s finished

Editing as you write will slow you down SO MUCH. if you’d like to save yourself a heap of time, just don’t do it. Same goes for rewriting. It’s fine as it is, you can fix things in later drafts. As for rereading what you wrote, it’s best if you don't do this either. It wastes time and keeps your mind stuck in what you already wrote, instead of what you need to write now.

don’t get discouraged

It’s really easy to get discouraged while writing a first draft. We’ve all been there. Don’t give up!! Despite all the writing advice you can find online, perseverance is really the main key when writing first drafts. You’ve got this, I'm rooting for you!

set deadlines + goals

Deadlines and goals are very helpful for both motivation and keeping track of your progress. Make sure your set *attainable* goals, or else you’ll become stressed and eventually give up. Celebrate your progress!

find a supportive community

Having supportive friends is the best thing ever :) my online friends motivate me so much, and some of them have saved my wip from dying lol but if you aren’t in a community yet, go join one! And if you don’t know where to find one, don’t worry :) instagram’s writing community is wonderful and everyone is so supportive of each other! The algorithm is being horrible to us right now but everyone is really welcoming to new accounts and you can find friends and writing buddies!

Returning to writing after a break is like having the old Windows startup sound playing on a loop in your head.

It's not an "abandoned" WIP, I didn't intentionally leave it in the forest to die and forget about it, it is a lost wip who wandered into the forest despite my pleas not to. I sit at the edge of the forest every day and hear it calling for help but there is nothing I can do. It is a haunting wip

having a meltdown over what i’m gonna do when i’m not seventeen and songs don’t mention me

“Public libraries are such important, lovely places!” Yes but do you GO there. Do you STUDY there. Do you meet friends and get coffee there. Do you borrow the FREE, ZERO SUBSCRIPTION, ZERO TRACKING books, audiobooks, ebooks, and films. Have you checked out their events and schemes. Do you sign up for the low cost courses in ASL or knitting or programming or writing your CV that they probably run. Do you know they probably have myriad of schemes to help low income families. Do you hire their low cost rooms if you need them. Have you joined their social groups. Do you use the FREE COMPUTERS. Do you even know what your library is trying to offer you. Listen, the library shouldn’t just exist for you as a nice idea. That’s why more libraries shut every year

wait are there writers who draft in times new roman

are you guys ok

Reblog, click the picture, and prepare for battle.

There are not enough hours in the day; how am I supposed to go to work AND read AND draw AND sew AND write AND stay up to date on all the tv people tell me I should watch AND scroll endlessly through tumblr and expect to actually get anything accomplished. I call bullshit on the entire concept of time