'Walk' synonyms

My critique partners have said to me many times that I use the word 'walk' way too much, which I totally agree with. And that's why I decided to create this list. I hope you find this helpful :)

Happy writing!!

1. Limp: walk unsteadily because of injury, especially favoring one leg; see also falter
2. Pound: see lumber
3. Lumber: walk slowly and heavily
4. Roam: see ramble
5. Ramble: walk or travel aimlessly (also, talk or write aimlessly, or grow wildly)
6. Sashay: see parade
7. Saunter: to walk about easily
8. Scuff: to walk without lifting one’s feet
9. Shamble: see scuff
10. Shuffle: see scuff (also, mix, move around, or rearrange)
11. Prance: walk joyfully, as if dancing or skipping
12. Stagger: walk unsteadily (also, confuse or hesitate, or shake)
13. Lurch: walk slowly but with sudden movements, or furtively
14. March: walk rhythmically alone or in a group according to a specified procedure
15. Mince: walk delicately
16. Mosey: walk easily and/or aimlessly
17. Pace: walk precisely to mark off a distance, or walk intently or nervously, especially back and forth
18. Amble: walk easily and/or aimlessly
19. Bounce: walk energetically
20. Clump: walk heavily and/or clumsily
21. Falter: walk unsteadily
22. Traverse: walk across or over a distance
23. Footslog: walk through mud
24. Gimp: walk unsteadily because of injury, especially favoring one leg
25. Trample: walk so as to crush something underfoot
26. Plod: walk slowly and heavily, as if reluctant or weary
27. Hobble: walk unsteadily or with difficulty; see also limp
28. Trot: walk briskly or lightly, see nip
29. Nip: walk briskly or lightly, eg. brief walk to a certain destination, as if on an errand
30. Swagger: walk with aggressive self-confidence
31. Tiptoe: walk carefully on the toes or on the balls of the foot, as if in stealth
32. Troop: walk in unison, or collectively

5 rules to writing unforgettable characters that breathe on the page

Hi!

Someone asked me to write about how to create realistic and likeable characters, and since I struggle a little bit with this myself, I went on a journey to find the best articles on it. So... I didn't get any sleep last night either... But now I know how to write an awesome character. Win!

Here are some "rules", and at the end of this post are five links to the articles I read.




Rule nr. 1: All of your characters must change

In real life, people don't change that much, but in fiction, they have to. It's just unrealistic if they don't. Crazy, right? So, the theory is this:

• In the beginning of your story, let's say your protagonist hates magic. 
• Then something happens to her that forces her to use magic.
• In the end, she realizes that magic is a good thing if you use it the right way, and uses her magic to fight off the bad guys. Happy ever after.

 or

• Your protagonist is really sad because their life sucks.
• Something happens that makes their life even worse.
• They learn that they have to stay strong and not be miserable because life will suck anyways. The end.

 (That was a pretty depressing example, but you get the point.) Your characters have to change in some way. It doesn't even be very drastic, but it has to make sense and be realistic. The characters have to have reason to change.


Rule nr. 2: Know your characters

If you don't know your characters better than yourself, then how are you going to write an entire book about them? The secret here is to write down as much as you think you need to know about them and then put it on the wall next to your writing desk or in a story bible. But don't ever make the mistake of info-dumping! Your readers don't need to know everything about the characters. When we talk about world building, we are often advised to know as much as we can about the world, but only spill the most important information to the reader, and that way, they'll automatically know that there's much we aren't telling them. And that same advice goes for characters too.

Character questionnaires are perfect for this. One is in the links below, but there's also plenty of them everywhere on the internet :)


Rule nr. 3: Listen to peoples' conversations

If you travel to school or work by bus, leave your phone in you pocket and your earphones at home. Dialogue is an enormous part of who we are, and its importance is unfortunately often underestimated. To be able to write good dialogue, you have to listen to people and also read a lot of dialogue in books. If you're an introvert, just watch a movie and make notes of how people speak and what their choice of words tell about them.

A big part of our personalities can be seen in the way we speak, so take your time to figure out how your character's voices stand out from each other.


Rule nr. 4: Study body language

There are great scientific articles online, and also a lot of helpful charts on how to write natural body language, so I won't write much about it. It's just as -- if not even more -- important as dialogue. Body language is what people say with their actions. Body language is extremely important when you for example want to show someone lying. Do your research!


Rule nr. 5: Don't neglect your secondary characters or villain

This is hard, because you don't want your secondary characters or your villain to be more fleshed out or more likeable than your protagonist, right?

No, no, no. No.

You have to flesh out all of your characters. It may be the protagonist and villain who make all the big decisions, but unless the reader cares about your supporting characters too, then why are they there? I hate it (and I know I'm not alone) when secondary characters are clearly only there to entertain or advise the protagonist. They need to have lives of their own too -- back stories, preferences, favorite foods, own voices -- or your story will be boring and flat.


I hope these "rules" (=tips) helped you. I'll see you again soon!

1. http://www.novel-writing-help.com/character-change.html
2. http://www.writersdigest.com/writing-articles/by-writing-goal/improve-my-writing/he-said-she-said
3. http://www.writersdigest.com/editor-blogs/guide-to-literary-agents/the-9-ingredients-of-character-development
4. http://www.liferichpublishing.com/AuthorResources/Fiction/Five-Traps-and-Tips-for-Character-Development.aspx
5. https://www.writingclasses.com/toolbox/character-questionnaire/proust 

Please tell me if you know any websites that I haven't listed so that I can add them in :)

Happy writing!
Em

New website

Hello!

I had a website in 2014-2015 but deleted it last summer because I felt like I wanted to change my pen name to something cooler. But I never made a new one when I decided to use E. M. Redshaw as my author name, and last night I decided to change that. So I stayed up extremely late with our horrible internet connection and made this.

I'm pretty proud of it, so you should definitely check it out and tell me what's good and what I should improve. I know I'm not super active on the blog, but I'll try to keep the website up to date and at least remember to change my age in my bio when I turn eighteen xD

The website is just for people who are interested in me and my work and want a small peek into my personality and writing style. But the blog will be the place where I share my deep thoughts and feelings about random things, with no boundaries or stuff like that. So don't worry, the website won't affect the contents here at all.

Don't forget to go to wattpad and read  the new part three of Poisoned Fire and check out my new website :)

Happy reading and writing!
Em

Broken pot art (cute little fairy garden diy)

 

Hi guys!

I've been really craftsy lately, I don't know why. Maybe it's because summer vacation just started and I finally have time to do the things I otherwise wouldn't. Wow, that's so sad. School sucks. (But you know, education is the greatest weapon you can have, and I want to be a warrior. So I guess the pain and stress is worth it..)

Aaanyways, I made a fairy garden into a broken pot today. And here's how YOU can do it too!

Yay!

First you have to break a clay pot or find a broken one that's been laying around for some time. We didn't have any pots that were broken in the "right" way, so I grabbed the hammer and screwdriver! I moisted the pot because I read somewhere that you have to do that before trying to cut it, but I don't know if that actually helped or not...

You may have to do this many times if you don't get the desired shape in the first try. When you have pot that looks like it could be filled and doesn't lay scattered all over your yard because you hit it a little too hard with the hammer (BE SUPER CAREFUL), you can pour in some sand or some kind of soil and plants. What I also did was silicone mushrooms. There's a really good video on youtube. Click here to see it. I just did what the guy on the video does but without the lights. It's so simple and so cute!

I hope this was fun to read! Comment and share if you want more posts like this :)

I'll see you again soon!

Looking for critique partners to improve your writing?

I need your help. Yes, YOUR help. If you have the time and interest to be my critique partner and want a critique partner yourself too, keep reading!

My novel Poisoned Fire is a fantasy multiple point of view story that follows different people in the kingdom of Norwood while they fight for survival as a powerful goddess plays around with their lives. Some of the most important characters are

• Corran, the king of Norwood,
• princess Itaýe, the king's niece,
• Fylkir, a confused soldier,
• Leithen, the smith's apprentice who happens to be in love with the princess,
• Commander Hav, a honest but brutal man with high aspirations hoping to be part of the royal family,
• Emery, a young Aruel who has been hunted by the king's soldiers for all of her life,
• Ayess, Emery's best friend who can't stop getting into trouble, and
• Kanryen, a sad orphan with a tragic backstory and healing abilities.

Together with a group of Aruels – a people hated for their abilities to manipulate nature – Emery and her new friends try to save the kingdom and show the king that they deserve better treatment.

Poisoned Fire is a fantasy novel written in three parts, of which I have already written half of part one. I'm however struggling with productivity and this whole process feels really slow. And that's why I need YOU to be my critique partner. If you think that this book sounds interesting and also have a story of your own (YA or NA fantasy or science fiction) that needs feedback, please contact me!

E-mail: author.e.m.redshaw@gmail.com

Instagram: an_empire_of_notebooks

Wattpad: demurendling

If you have any more questions about my story or anyhting that has to do with writing, please ask! :)

Love, Em.

"Why do you hate me?"

There's a question that has bothered me for a long time. Why do people hate me?

Last night I had something called a lucid dream. In case you've never heard about it, here's a quick explanation. Lucid dreaming is when you are asleep and dreaming, but can control the dream you're having. You can basically conciously change what's happening in your dream. Everyone has them at some point of their lives, but I've practised it for some time now, so I get them pretty often.

Anyway, I was in the middle of a nightmare. I was sitting at a table, and another girl was sitting on my left side. There was a huge assembley of people in front of us. It was like a dating game of some sort. If you were interested in one of us, you came forward and just talked to us -- I know, what a lame dream. How does my brain even come up with this stuff? xD

But that's not the point. The point is, nobody ever came up to me. I sat there and waited. It was like hours passed. Until I realized I was dreaming (because like I mentioned, what a stupid dream). I looked at all of the people, and then at the girl. She was prettier, skinnier, taller than me. Of course they would rather talk to her. I felt awful, even though I knew it wasn't real.

There was a board behind us, showing how many "points" we had gathered. The other girl had 300-something. Me: none. I was about to cry, but then I remembered, this is not real. Take a risk for once. So I stood up. On my chair. I grabbed a microphone (don't ask me how). I said something like: "Has anyone here planned on speaking to me?" The crowd was all silent. "Good", I said. "Now that we have that sorted, I won't waste your time any longer. Thank you for having me and giving me such a wonderful time here." And then I grabbed my bag and walked through the masses. To be honest, I felt like a queen.

I wish I could be myself and feel like a queen in real life too. I think that's what everyone of us want to feel about ourselves. I'm working on it every day. Right now it's scary to talk, but you have no idea how much I wish I could. People aren't quiet because they don't want to talk. I would actually love to have hour long conversations about the origins of the name ketchup! But I'm too scared! We should never make assumptions about others, and we should never let people make assumptions about us. I know people don't really hate me, because they have no reason to. It's taken a while for me to understand that. Maybe I'm not the only one who's scared.

I used to ask myself why people hated me, because I always assumed they did. Which was wrong. If I haven't done anything wrong, then why am I always lonely? Is it my face, my weight, my natinonality, my religion, my family? Am I ugly? Am I fat? Am I not worth to be spoken to? As a little sixth grader, I was really mad about this. Why was I always the last one chosen into a team in gym class? Why was I the one nobody wanted to be with in group assignments?

Now I know it doesn't matter. Humans are strange. They think someone is acting in a specific way because of some specific reason, but a lot of the time, we're wrong. The whole world isn't going to like us. No matter how rich, famous, goodhearted, beautiful, wise -- there will be people who want to change us. Why? I don't know, and I don't need to, because the most important thing is that we love ourselves and the people around us. Unconditionally.

Let's not make assumptions, let's not judge, let's  not be afraid. Let's be fearless and strong. We need to accept each other and ourselves. We need to be kind to each other and take care of each other. We need to raise our voices for the ones who can't.

We can change the world one uplifting word at a time.

Have a happy weekend,
Em :)

The 5th Wave Movie Review

I know it's a little late because I saw the movie a week ago, but I still wanted to do this.

The 5th Wave is one of my favorite books. It is just amazing, with deep themes and good, developed characters and the plot was stunning. When I read it for the first, and second, and even for the third time, I was hooked. Every time I talk about it with my sister, we get into very deep conversations about morals and what humanity really is. The book is great and no awful movie will make me hate it.

Because that is what the movie is. It's awful. All of the elements that made me love The 5th Wave had been taken away. Cassie was a little girl who suddenly trusted Evan since the beginning. Evan's humorous creepiness in the book was not portrayed at all in the movie. He was just a perfect vampire who came and saved Cassie, although in the book they both saved each other many times. Oh wait... I meant alien, of course.

Sony ruined the chances of a succesful series. It had the possibility of being great, but now it's just a cliché teen movie. I feel so bad for Rick Yancey, who has worked so hard for this novel, and now people see the movie and think that the book is just as bad. I used to think that the best thing taht could happen to an author was that their book was made into a movie, but after seeing so many HORRIBLE adaptations I've realized that it's actually one of the riskiest things. Either it comes out good, like The Hunger Games, for example, or crappy, like every other young adult book turned into a movie.

Why are they still trying to copy Twilight? The teens who loved Twilight once are now adults, and the new generation wants something new. Give them something new, not crap! I'm so tired of it.

Anyway, I believe something good came from this movie. As always, some people will actually like the movie and feel intrigued to read the book. One of them is my younger sister (who I've been telling to read The 5th Wave for ages). She saw the movie, liked it and picked up the book. And then she  said: "The movie is nothing like the book. You know what? I think I hate the movie."

Yeah, me too. What about you?

Happy reading!
Em :))

POISON BERRIES

Hey,

Today I posted the second part of my novel Poisoned Fire on Wattpad! Todays part is dark and mysterious, and it's where things really start happening. Emery and Ayess are in the woods! :O

Looks yummy? Think again...

Find Poisoned Fire Here and read the first two parts :)

And here's the blurb for the book, if you're still not intrgued to take a look...

An ancient legend says that a chosen people were given magical powers by the god Aru. In times of darkness, their gifts were to be a red rose in a field of ash. But now they are feared, slaughtered, enslaved. All because of one wrong choice. 

Before Emery's birth, the king of Norwood ordered all Aruels to be hunted down and killed. And for many years there was almost peace. They managed to stay hidden in the shadows, waiting for the day to come when Aru would tell them to rise again. 

 Emery has always been running, but her escape gets a whole new meaning when a group of her own kind gather their forces against the king. To run, and die, or to fight, and die?

Happy writing and reading!

Love, Em :)

Check out my blog: http://anempireofnotebooks.blogspot.com/ 

Follow me on IG: @demurendling

Facing fears: Climbing (And an announcement!)

I told you in my last blog post that one of the scary things I would do in 2016 was to go somewhere high. Well, last friday I went climbing with my friends and while it was fun and exciting, I was so terrified I felt like I was going to throw up.

Since I was eight or something, I've known that I'm scared of heights. I was in a park, playing with some people from my class. So, I was up in this jungle gym, and a boy told me to jump down. But I couldn't. Suddenly I realized that I was too afraid to get down from there. And that's when it began, my fear of heights.

 

I'm a very stubborn person, so even if I knew it would be hard for me, I decided that I would climb. And it was really, really hard. I climbed up on the climbing wall, slowly and carefully. But when I was supposed to let go and jump to come down, panic struck me. My hands started sweating, and my legs turned into noodles. I was nauseated. I was stuck. Just like when I was eight.

I took a few deep breaths and started climbing downward, because jumping wasn't even an option. Coming down I felt exhilarated, empowered, strong. I had made it.

After that I tried to climb a few other walls, but didn't succeed. It was too frightening. I saw my friends climb and climb, not scared at all, while my stomach was hurting so bad, and my legs weren't working.

I managed to climb up a tunnel-kind-of wall. It was dark inside, and you couldn't really see where you were going, or where you had came from. I thought it'd be easier, because I wouldn't be able to see the ground. But it wasn't much easier...

The feeling I had when I climbed can't be described. I'm usually good with words but this time they fail me. I was happy but terrified at the same time. I was so scared that it felt like my heart would actually pop out of my chest and land three metres below me.

But I did it. I climbed. I faced my fear, even though I didn't get rid of it.

When I think about it, I'm not sure if I want to get rid of this fear at all. Fearing heights make me who I am. And I'm all about being yourself.

Go out there and live, and always be you. But if a part of you keeps you from doing something you desire, get rid of it. Don't ever let yourself be stopped by anything.

Have the most amazing weekend!
Em, queen of notebooks.
<3

!!Very important!!

Today I published the first chapter/part of my novel Poisoned Fire on Wattpad, and I'd love it if you all would check it out :) It's the perfect story for anyone who loves intense fantasy stories with a lot of plot twists and magic. I've been working on this project for a long time now, and if you'd just give the first chapter a read, it would make me so happy and grateful. Thanks! :D
Here's the link: The Coolest And Most Epic Story Ever
And here's my Wattpad profile: Em The Crazy Teen Book Nerd (Go and follow me so that you can keep up with all the stupid things I do).

2016: The Year of No Fear

Hellouchh!

How are you all? I haven't been here in a while, but don't worry, one of my new year's resolutions was to blog more often, so I'll get to it eventually. (yeah sure)

Last night was one of those nights when I just couldn't sleep because too many ideas were screaming to me. I had to go up and write it down, because this one I just couldn't let go into oblivion (that's what happens to those I'm too lazy or tired to write down, they always end up forgotten).

This will be the best year of my life. I said that when 2015 started too, but this time I'm meaning it, 100%. This will truly be the year when I let go of the bad things, and bring in all the good things. 2016 will be the year of no fear.

So, in 2015 I failed. What's so special about this year?

Change is all about commitment. When I was 16 and still a bit rash, I couldn't commit. I wanted something, but I wasn't really sure what, or how to get it. But that's what happens when you grow older, you learn stuff. I've learned a lot more about myself now, and I want to learn more.

So what I'm going to do is I'll write 10 things I want to do this year, but also 10 fears that will have to be overcome. Are you ready? I am!

10 Things I Want To Do In 2016

1. Write two books
2. Help people more. Make them smile! :D
3. Learn hoopdancing
4. Finish revising my 2015 novel
5. Post something on Wattpad
6. Read 40 books
7. Eat less meat
8. Learn to hold my breath for 2 minutes
9. Travel somewhere I've never been before
10. Create a YouTube channel (I can't decide whether to put this here or on the scary things list... )

10 Things I'm Scared To Do In 2016

1. Share my blog to friends and family (I actually don't know why this is so scary, it just is!)
2. Go somewhere high (Heights. I'm afraid of heights.)
3. Tell people that I do mermaiding
4. Share a video of me hooping
5. Make a speech in front of many people
6. Let someone read my novel
7. Post more selfies on social media (my face scares me, ok xD)
8. Be one week without makeup (not on a vacation, that's cheating, haha)
9. Talk to a crush (if I find one, that is C: )
10. Be part of a big project where I'll have to be social (I've got two of them coming up this spring, and I'm already freaking out of excitement and fear)

Now I want to challenge you to do the same! You don't have to share it on the internet, but please make some changes in your life. If you want to get somewhere, you have to do something to change. It doesn't matter if you succeed or fail, what matters is that you try. Do things you love, and do things you fear. That's how we grow.

I know that life will get in the way in 2016 too, but this time I'll be more prepared. I am strong and capable of so much more than I believe. I have to kick my doubts in the face and show them they don't rule over me. I'm the queen of myself!

We are warriors, we are fighters, we can do this!

No person is to small, no challenge too big.
Love, Em.