Writer's Tip: Mary Sue's by DarlingMionette, literature
Literature
Writer's Tip: Mary Sue's
Mary Sue. It’s the phrase that makes nearly every writer cringe. To have a character labeled a Mary Sue is probably one of the worst feelings in the world, but why is that? What exactly is a Mary Sue?
The term Mary Sue originated as, yah you guessed it, a character named Mary Sue in the 1973 Paula Smith story entitled “A Trekkie’s Tale”. The story was a parody fan fiction centered around a 15 year old girl who epitomized the Mary Sue term we know and dread today. She was the youngest, smartest, prettiest, most well-trained teen ever to grace the Star Trek universe. Not surprisingly, the character was so ridiculously o
Writer's Tip: Writing Effective Sentences by DarlingMionette, literature
Literature
Writer's Tip: Writing Effective Sentences
Sentences—if the plot is the backbone of a story, then sentences are the muscles and tendons keeping it glued together. Unfortunately, writing solid sentences isn’t easy for everyone. As Human beings, we don’t speak the same way we write. Unless you do a lot of writing, you may have trouble putting together even the simplest of sentences. The last time you took a good look at a sentence and broke it down into its individual parts was probably around 3rd grade. Don’t worry—I’m here to help.
There’s More Than One Type of Sentence
There are (roughly) four different types of sentences, and we’re g
Writer's Tip: All About POV by DarlingMionette, literature
Literature
Writer's Tip: All About POV
Point of View. It can change everything. In the most literal sense, POV is the decision of who is narrating your novel, and what they see. POV also refers to the individual viewpoint of your characters, and ultimately, your readers. So where do you start? Well, that’s why I’ve written this article. We will explore the three standard POV options available to every writer, their advantages, disadvantages, and how to choose which one is best for you. Let’s get started.
First Person POV
I stepped into the room on hesitant feet. Leander, the great Lion King of the river valley lay half-in-shadow at the back corner of the room,
A Writer's Guide: Naming Characters by DarlingMionette, literature
Literature
A Writer's Guide: Naming Characters
When it comes to writing novels, names often get overlooked in the grand scheme of things. Most of us are happy if we can tell who is talking and we can remember the character’s names for the entirety of the book, but bad names can ruin a book. I don’t know about you, but when I get a hold of a book where the main character’s name is a comical 20-character tangle I can’t pronounce, it ruins the book for me. It’s hard to take a book, or a character, seriously when you want to roll your eyes every time you read the narrative.
In this article I’ve compiled a list of things to consider when naming a character
Writer's Tip: Show, don't tell. by DarlingMionette, literature
Literature
Writer's Tip: Show, don't tell.
Show, don’t tell (SDT). It’s one of the few consistent pieces of advice that all writers have heard at one time or another. Even the most amateur of writers parrot it back, but knowing the phrase doesn’t necessarily mean that we understand it, or how to implement it.
So what does “Show, don’t tell.” really mean? SDT is the idea that instead of telling your readers what’s happening in a story, you show them. This seems like an abstract concept to most of us, but what it boils down to is this: using words to give your readers an idea without having to directly state it. There are many ways good writers