Skin (Writing recources - How to describe skincolor)

I have an enormous range of color in my new book. I love it when authors explain more about the characters' skin colors, because too often they want you to assume that the person is white. And that is so annoying, because it's stupid. Not everyone is white. It's so unrealistic.
 So here's some advice on describing skin colors :)

- Avoid too long descriptions like dark goldenrod, cracked and wrinkled skin. That's just a bit too much.

- If you describe skin tones other than white, then you should describe white skin too. Otherwise It'll be weird. Here's some examples:

Chalk

Ivory

Snowy

Pale

White

Pink

Light

- Food related descriptions... No, no, no. I mean, yeah, some may be ok, but don't use food in your descriptions too often (otherwise your reader will get hungry).

- Try to be different and unique, but don't use words that the average reader won't understand.

- Also show facial features and go deeper. Don't just say "He was Asian". That's boring! (Even though it might work the best in some cases. It's your story, who am I to tell you how to write?)

And remember that only telling the skin tone still leaves out a lot. Make sure to also show eye color, hair color and style and even describe the face or body.

Further reading:
http://writingwithcolor.tumblr.com/
http://caithyra.tumblr.com/

The Ten Best Writing Tips

Following the advice given below will guarantee to make you become a better writer, and eventually fulfill your dream of getting published!

1. Give yourself permission to write badly

Let's be real. Writing takes a lot of mental energy. And you know what also strains your brain? Showing your work to the world. There's a lot of stress involved in the writing progress, so try not to care wether your writing is good or not. Don’t be afraid that your draft might be bad (it probably will be, but that’s okay. We all go through that.)

Especially ignore your inner editor when you're in the first few drafts. What matters is to get it written.

2. Just sit down and write

Sometimes the blank page might seem daunting, but you have to get past it. I know it's scary, I know it's hard to figure out how to start your story. But you have to start somewhere.

What helps me is to divide my book into many parts – small obstacles to overcome. It's a lot easier to focus on getting one chapter done than worrying about the entire book. Start by getting something – anything – down on paper.

3. Have an outline

I used to be a hardcore pantser. I would have an idea and sit down to write, but I never finished anything. I had a lot of good ideas, but no idea where my story was going. I got nothing done.

I know that it's a lot easier for some people to write their story by the seat of their pants, and I understand that all writers are different. But I would encourage all of you to at least try outlining. It saved me from quitting writing altogether. Now I always start out with outlining, and I've finished writing my first novel.

A lot of authors hate outlining, but I have to admit that I'm one of the crazy ones who love it :D

4. Write every day

It's difficult to maintain the habit to write every day, but the more you write, the better you become, and you also get closer to your goal. Win win! You don't even necessarily have to write on your book, you can also just write in a journal or a blog (like I do when I procrastinate). Just keep writing!

Nanowrimo is a great way to learn to write every day, so I wuld really recommend trying it out if you haven't already.

5. Write like you speak

One thing that has helped me a lot as a non-English person who writes in English is reading my work out loud. The difference between good writing and super good writing is that super good writing doesn't sound like writing. Your reader will probably think the words in their mind as if they were speaking them themselves, so they will notice if something sounds weird.


Keep your sentences relatively short and don't use words you'd never use in "real life". Write like you would speak.

6. Watch YouTube videos

I've watched every writing video I could find, and it has given me a lot. There's so much advice and tips from all kinds of different people, and you can learn so much from other writers. Youtube is a great place to do research and learn to write better. 

 7. Read a lot

 Reading is one of the best ways to become a better writer. Every story gives you something. It doesn't matter if it's good or bad. You have to read both good and bad books to learn what works and what doesn't. You have to read to be a writer, there's no way around it.

8. Show, don't tell

You have heard this one a thousand times, alright. This piece of advice is one of the most important, and also the one beginners tend to ignore (or misunderstand) the most. I won't explain myself what it's all about but you can read an article about it Here.

9. Use notebooks

As you may know, I'm the biggest fan of notebooks. My floor is full of stacks of them, and the pile of notebooks on my book shelf seems to grow by itself. Notebooks are great to jot down ideas and go deeper into your story. Sometimes when I don't feel like writing at all, I take my pen and notebook and just start writing something. Usually it ends up with me telling the paper some huge secret of my unconious mind, or a solution to a problem in my story. Always keep a notebook with you.

Also, notebooks are really cute.

 10. Finish

It's important to finish stories. I used to start a lot of stories, but never finished any of them. I learned everything I know about writing while finishing my first novel. The greatest way to improve your writing skills is to start and also finish. Choose to write a story you love, and write it until you have nothing more to say. It feels amazing to write "The End", and it's sad that most people never finnish their books. Don't be one of them. Finish your book, or you'll never be an author.

After all, "A professional writer is an amateur who didn't quit" - Richard Bach

 

Also read:

Ten rules to writing good fiction

Happy writing!!

Ambling around (Synonyms for "walk" - writing tips)

I'm a fan of synonyms, okay? I use all kinds of different verbs in my writing to make things easier and faster to explain, because I believe that the less words you use, the better the writing is. This is just my opinion though, so you should do whatever you want and what works for you. But here is a wonderful list of synonyms for walk.


Amble: walk easily and/or aimlessly
Bounce: walk energetically
Clump: walk heavily and/or clumsily

Falter: walk unsteadily
Foot it: depart or set off by walking
Footslog: walk through mud

Gimp: see limp
Hike: take a long walk, especially in a park or a wilderness area
Hobble: walk unsteadily or with difficulty; see also limp


Leg it: see “foot it”
Limp: walk unsteadily because of injury, especially favoring one leg; see also falter
Lumber: walk slowly and heavily
Lurch: walk slowly but with sudden movements, or furtively

March: walk rhythmically alone or in a group according to a specified procedure
Mince: walk delicately
Mosey: see amble; also, used colloquially in the phrase “mosey along”

Nip: walk briskly or lightly; also used colloquially in the phrase “nip (on) over” to refer to a brief walk to a certain destination, as if on an errand

Pace: walk precisely to mark off a distance, or walk intently or nervously, especially back and forth
Parade: walk ostentatiously, as if to show off
Plod: walk slowly and heavily, as if reluctant or weary
Pound: see lumber
Power walk: walk briskly for fitness
Prance: walk joyfully, as if dancing or skipping
Promenade: see parade
Ramble: walk or travel aimlessly (also, talk or write aimlessly, or grow wildly)
Roam: see ramble
 

Saunter: to walk about easily
Scuff: to walk without lifting one’s feet
Shamble: see scuff
Shuffle: see scuff (also, mix, move around, or rearrange)
Stagger: walk unsteadily (also, confuse or hesitate, or shake)
Stalk: walk stealthily, as in pursuit
Step: walk, or place one’s foot or feet in a new position
Stomp: walk heavily, as if in anger
Stride: walk purposefully, with long steps
Stroll: see saunter
Strut: see parade
Stumble: walk clumsily or unsteadily, or trip
Stump: see lumber
Swagger: walk with aggressive self-confidence

Tiptoe: walk carefully on the toes or on the balls of the foot, as if in stealth
Toddle: see saunter and stagger; especially referring to the unsteady walk of a very young child
Totter: see stagger (also, sway or become unstable)
Traipse: walk lightly and/or aimlessly
Tramp: see lumber and hike
Trample: walk so as to crush something underfoot
Traverse: walk across or over a distance
Tread: walk slowly and steadily
Trip: walk lightly; see also stumble
Tromp: see lumber
Troop: walk in unison, or collectively
Trot: see nip
Trudge: see plod
 
Waddle: walk clumsily or as if burdened, swinging the body
Wander: see ramble

NaNoWriMo Days 22-30: Even more STRESS!

I don't have time to write a long blog post because I'm, well, stressed and super busy. So here we go:

I WON! I actually won nanowrimo this year! I wrote 50K words in one month! And that is it.

Sorry for not posting anything for a while, I really hope that I'll be able to write a lot more on my novel and on this blog when my tests and assignments are over.

Happy writing!!
<3: Emilia ^-^

NaNoWriMo Day 21: 4 chapters to go...

Hello hello! Today I have some good news for you. I am almost finished writing my novel.

This project has been on my mind for the last five months, and soon the first part of the process will be coming to an end. I feel so happy, and relieved. This is the first book I have ever worked on for this long, and I feel so proud (and terribly exhausted, haha).

 I still have a long way to go, since I have predicted the length of this novel to be about 70-80 thousand words long, and right now it's at 42 thousand (nanowrimo + the chapters I wrote before nano). So practically I'm half way there... Because I still have to write the second point of view that I realized that I wanted to do after already plotting it. I have also skipped a lot of scenes and even chapters because I didn't feel like writing them at the time. So yeah, there's still A LOT to be done.

But the amazing thing is that the storyline is coming to an end. Of course, since it's a series, this won't be the last time I see these characters, but still. I don't want to spoil anything, but the ending of this novel is pretty intense. There's a lot more going on than the reader or the protagonist knows about. I've came to the point where I have to reveal the mystery and tell all the secrets, and to be honest, it's intense to write. There's so much to think about and so many things to tell. My brain is pretty messed up right now :D

This is what we writers go through. Some parts I hate, and some parts I love. A few days ago I felt like the worst writer in the universe, and today before sitting down to write I felt exactly the same way. But what do we do when we feel like we suck? We write. Even when it feels terrible we have to write. The first draft is only a pile of clay that we will make into a masterpiece in the revising and editing process.

But now, go and write!!
See you tomorrow, happy writing! <3

NaNoWriMo Days 13-20: STRESS!

So... I haven't blogged in a week...

I've been really busy with school so the only free time I've had has been spent on my novel. So that's my excuse this time xD

Anyways, I just wanted to update you on my writing process. Right now I have written 38K words, which means I'm still a bit behind. But I hope that today and on Sunday (because tomorrow we'll part party) I'll be able to catch up a bit :)

Otherwise life is going a little better. I'm having stress "attacks", I get terrible headaches out of nowhere and my tummy hurts after eating or basically doing anything. I can't really focus on anything which makes life, school and writing painful. If it doesn't stop soon I think I'll have to go to the doctor, which I don't have time to do <--- This sentence explains everything -.-

My mom says that I'm too hard on myself, and maybe it's true. But I have so many things to do and so little time. And I don't just want to do homework all day, I want to have time to write and go outside. But the time just isn't enough. I come home too late every day and if I wan't do do something to stay happy and sane, like draw or read something else than homework, I have to stay up which ends in me not waking up in the morning.

But soon it will be Christmas, and all of this will be over. (For two weeks, and after that it all starts over and I have to adapt to my sucky life again. Sigh).

I wish you have a lot less to stress about and find the time to do the things you truly love <3
Happy writing!
Good night! :)

NaNoWriMo day 12: the importance of me-time

 Total word count: 16968 words

Hi!

I spent most of the day doing school work, and when it was time to write, I was just too exhausted. So instead of writing, I ended up taking a walk and a hot shower.

And I have no regrets.

Obviously, I found the time to write later in the evening, which I'm really happy for. But if I wouldn't have written anything today, I still would have been happy. Because today I spent some time on myself.

Writing a book is not only what happens on the page. In fact, most of the process is inside the mind. And what affects the mind? The body. You have to take care of both body and mind to write a book, or it won't be good.

So don't worry if you're feeling a little lazy and want to take a day off. Everyone needs me-time.

Sleep well!
HAPPY DREAMS and HAPPY WRITING lovelies!

NaNoWriMo Days 10-11

(I will be posting this on 12th of November, because I don't have time to do it now. Try not to be too confused).

Hello world!
Today is the eleventh day of Nanowrimo, and I finally feel like I'm actually getting somewhere with this :D
I'm still behind though. Right now I'm at 15 452 words, and you're supposed to have written over 18 000 words already. But I'm getting there!
Tell me how your story is going? What has been the most enjoyable scene to write? What is your current word count?
You know I love to hear from you! I've been receiving some wonderful messages on my email and instagram lately, and I want to thank all of you for being so active and amazing!
I really appreciate the support, it makes me really look forward to bringing you this book of mine. Ohh, I hope you will love it as much as I do!

Have a great day full of writing and reading, because those are two of the best things in the whole world!! :)

Love, Emilia.

NaNoWriMo Day 9: 10 000!

I just hit 10 000 words! Ten thousand was actually my goal for the weekend, but I ended up not having so much time to write, so I had to write some extra today.

Today I wrote myself so deep into the world that I hardly noticed time passing, and trust me, that is one of the best things that can happen to you as a writer. When you write, you create something from scratch, something only you can create. The easy part is figuring out the story yourself, but when it comes to telling it in the right way, it gets hard.

I love this quote by Ann Patchett, and that is exactly what I want. They say that a reader lives a thousand lives, and so do writers.

This was a short post, but I think it's good to keep these short so you'll have more time to write than read my blog :D

Happy writing!!
<3: Emilia

NaNoWriMo Day 8: The Writer Life Tag

I can't believe it's already the second week of nanowrimo! Tell me in the comments below how many words you have written so far! My word count right now is 7 738. I still have a lot to write today.... But here's the Writer Life tag:

Write fuel: what do you eat or drink while writing?
- I don't usually eat while writing, but if I do, it's most likely fruit or something. On the other hand, it's nearly impossible for me to write without a water bottle. gotta stay hydrated.

Write sounds: what do you listen to while writing?
- Before writing, I listen to a playlist with songs that remind me of my characters to get me in the mood. But I can't write while listening to lyrics though, so when I actually write I listen to instrumentals that suit the mood and theme of the story. I can't imagine wriitng without music, it's such a big source of inspiration. Music rocks.

Write vice: biggest distraction.
- School, friends and family. Got to stay in touch with the real world, haha.

Write horror: what's the worst thing that's ever happened to you while writing?
- I have no idea actually :D

Write joy: what's the best thing that's ever happened while writing and how do you celebrate small victories?
- The best thing that can happen while I'm writing is that I'm so inspired that I don't even notice time passing. I celebrate small victories by dancing around in my room and telling all my friends, who honestly don't care how many words I write xD

Write crew: who do you communicate with or not communicate with while writing?
-  I sometimes talk to my family, but I prefer bbeing all alone and isolated.

Write secret: what's you writing secret to success or biggest writing flaw.
- Hmm.. Biggest writing flaw is that I'm a huge procrastinator. This blog was born because of my constant need to procrastinate :)

Write inspiration; what makes you productive?
- Music, movies and books. Oh, and real life of course. I've noticed that I get the most inspiration whe I'm sad, so getting my heart broken also helps a lot. *sobs*

Write peeve: what's one thing writers do or you do that's annoying?
-  I'm contantly referring to my book when I talk to my family, and it's really getting on their nerves xD

Write words: share something you've written.
- "In the end, aren't we all fairies without wings?" <-- My favorite sentence from my book!!


Hope you liked it! See you again tomorrow! Also, tell me what you would like to read about next :)
Happy writing! :D

NaNoWriMo Days 6-7: Nanowrimo tag

Hi! Because I didn't write a nanowrimo update yesterday, I thought I'd do something more special today. I decided to do the nanowrimo tag, which can be found on youtube. I'll do it here on the blog, because I don't have a youtube channel :D

Alright, let's begin.

1. How many times have you done nanowrimo?
Two times. Last year was a failure,  but 2015 will be a success.

2. How did you find out about nanowrimo?
I searched for writing tips online... And then it just happened.

3. What was the name of the first novel you attempted Nano with?
Wild Azure. It really sucked xD

4. Give us a 1 sentence summary of what you're writing this year.
It's a war between Earth spirits and humans, that can either end in eternal chaos, or eternal peace between all of the beings.

5. What's the best writing advice you've ever been given?
Write. Don't care about the typos, don't care if it sounds stupid. Just write, because it's the editing that makes that pointless pile of words into a book. Just write and don't care.

6. Did you ever take a year off from NaNo? Why?
Nope :D

7. What's your biggest inspiration when figuring out what to write?
I get inspiration from movies, tv shows and books. Good stories make more stories.

8. Read us the first sentence of one of your novels.
I can't, because I don't have my laptop with me right now :(

9. Why do you love writing?
Because whenever I write, I can create anything I want. I set the rules, and I follow them. I can make fake people and fake worlds become real, with only some words. It's like magic.

I hope you enjoyed this!
Post your own nanowrimo tags below, and I'll see you tomorrow. Bye! :)

NaNoWriMo Day 5: 2 000 words in one day

Hi!

Yes, I wrote 2562 words today. It's been a tough beginning for me, but I feel like I'm finally starting to get into the flow. Nanowrimo is just such an amazing experience, and now I'm so happy that I made the decision to participate. This novel is so important to me, and now I've began to understand how strongly I feel for this project.

A story isn't only a bunch of words put into a nice order. Every story is a piece of the storyteller's heart and soul. It's like a baby. And what do you do to babies? You love and care for them. And that's what you should do to your story.

Love your story, or nobody else will.

Happy writing! Don't get discouraged. You can do this :)

Sincerely,

a happy and excited writer.

NaNoWriMo Days 1-4: A Crazy Beginning

Nanowrimo is a journey. And it's a journey I want to finish.

This year's nanowrimo has just begun, and already it feels like the time passes by faster than I can write. I'm already 3000 words behind in my word count, and I'm writing this post just to procrastinate. Ugh I should really go and write now...

It's just that it's harder for me this time, because I'm continuing a project that has been in progress for many months now, instead of beginning a new one. And everyone knows the feeling you have when you start something new; everything feels amazing and easy, and the story has no issues. yet. But when you've written more than 30K words of a single project, you're just kind of.. bored.

It's tough to write 1667 words every day, especially when you're tired of your own book idea and exhausted because of school. It's hard, and there's nothing wrong with admitting that to yourself. But you should never give up. You can write fifty thousand words this month, and so can I. We have an amazing community, and together we can do this.

Let's make this the best November and NaNoWriMo this far! :)

Happy writing!

<3

Fat days.

Ugh.
I've been wanting to write this post for a long time, but every time I start I can't come up with anything smart to say to you. I want to make you feel better and inspire you, but how can I when I'm the worst example of having good self confidence?

Almost everyone has fat days. I don't know about guys, but girls most certainly do. Age and appearance doesn't matter. It doesn't matter how loved you are. How much you weight. How many followers you have on instagram.
Everyone feels fat sometimes.

I'll try to help you beat the fat day in the face, because feeling fat should NEVER ruin your day. Ever.

You are not fat. You may feel fat, but you should know that a feeling isn't the real thing. The more you tell yourself something, the more your brain will bealieve it. Instead of standing in front of the mirror, thinking how ugly and fat you are, think about the good things. Look into your eyes. Put on some makeup if it makes you feel better. Eat something healthy for breakfast. Take a fruit with you to school or work, wherever you go. Take a walk outside. Take a hot shower. Make yourself comfortable. Put on a pair of jeans you know you look good in. Think positively. Don't let a fat feeling ruin your day. You're not fat, and you're most certainly not ugly.

And if nothing works, you can just fake it. If you walk into a room feeling fabulous, then everyone else will think you are.
Because you are.

Have a wonderful day! 

Ps. I have fat days too often... Maybe I should start following my own tips ;)

Snake hand body paint

A while ago I decided to camouflage my hand so that I could put it against a tree and it would look like my hand was cut off. But then I changed my plans and instead painted my hand into a snake. I've seen a lot of body paints like this on instagram and youtube, so I thought why not. I mean, I love snakes, and I love challenges. And this was really a challenge to me since I've never done anything like this in particular. And here's how it turned out :)

I like how it doesn't really look that realistic, but more like... well, a painted snake. It adds some kind of "artsyness" to it. What do you think?
This took about an hour for the scales, and then an hour more for the highlights (which is why it looks so silverish, even if I just used plain gray and white). Should I make more of these or was it just a waste of time? :DD

Baaiihh

Summer

Yes! It's finally summer and the sun is finally shining!!

Nope. Not here in Finland anyways.
We've had some pretty rainy days. I don't have anything against rain, actually I love rain. The sound of it is so soothing, and rain on the skin. Ah...
But nobody want's to go swimming with me when it's cold outside, and swimming when everyone else is waiting on the beach and freezing isn't that fun. And that's why I wish for the sun to shine on us, at least a little.
One of the positive things with rainy days is that I can watch movies and sit by my computer tapping stories onto the screen from morning to night. My back isn't happy about it though :D

I don't know what other to say right now. I just want to welcome you all to my blog. I've had countless blogs since I was like nine, but none of them has ever been showed off to the public to see (I'm not really sure if I want anyone to see this blog either... We'll see...).

I'll post some artsy pics soon. Since it's been raining, I've had lots of time to paint all over my floors and skin (I just find paper too boring sometimes. Gotta stay weird, huh). Also, I've started writing a novel, and because I'm a bad person, I'll not tell anyone what it's about before the first draft is done (which is January fifth, if it goes as I planned (which never happens by the way)).

So bye ^_^