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 ^-^