ryaslibrary

[ryaslibrary]

Poetry Club

I'm making a poetry club on Discord. We can share our poems on various sites or on Discord. I plan to partner people up to read each other's poems (currently just 2 members)

#poetry #poetryclub #poems #club #wattpad #poet #poetclub #poetry club #discord club #wattpad poetry

[ryaslibrary]

I would absolutely read that book. I'm already trying to include my love for the planet in my own book but this makes me want to up my game.

If I ever write a book it will have so much anti lawn and anti “just planting the same tree everywhere as an attempt to “restore nature” without doing any research and actually harming stuff by erasing biodiversity” propaganda. There will be so many different biomes and all of them will be shown in a positive light even the “wasteland” biomes like deserts and Evil Necromancer Land

there will also be a lot of mangrove and peat bog propaganda but that’s for more personal reasons cause they’re some of my fave biomes

[ryaslibrary]

What Makes a Good Villain? Pt. 2

Here are some more qualities you could add to your villain to spice them up. Not all will apply to your villain, but some could— or at least get your gears turning. Take a few of these points and apply them to your villain, or take none at all! Let’s get into it:

     1) Obsession. Is your villain obsessed with something or someone? What is he willing to do to obtain this thing? If something were to hurt or break what he wants, how would he react? Does he want this thing because he absolutely hates it and wants to destroy it, or is he in love with it and wants to protect it at all costs? Is the protagonist a threat to his obsession, directly or indirectly? Or is the protagonist his obsession?

     2) What’s his secret? What’s he hiding—a weakness, a strength, a wound, an insecurity, something physical? Is this a secret to the audience as well, or are we fully aware and are begging for the protagonist to find out? What happens when it’s revealed? What lengths will he go to to conceal this secret? Or, perhaps he is the secret. Introduce your villain into the story with a fog of mystery surrounding them and the reader might grow anxious wanting to learn about him. Where’d he get that scar? Why does he limp? The way he talks sounds so proper, where is he from?

     3) A range of emotions! Some villains are just evil, act evil, and do evil things. But what about a villain who has his rock bottoms and his highs? What if the touch from the right person softens him, or a certain smell causes him pain because of a hard memory? Could this range of emotion put him in a weakened state against the protagonist? Could it cause the protagonist to falter, to want to help the villain instead of defeat them?

     4) Make him eerily similar to the protagonist. This one is a bit spicy. What if your villain used to be like your protagonist, but one wrong path or choice led him down a spiraling road to corruption? This is interesting because it shows the audience what the protagonist could have become or still can become if they didn’t have their own core beliefs that make them the protagonist. 

Pt. 3 — Coming Soon!

Instagram: coffeebeanwritng

📖 ☕ Official Blog: www.zmwrites.com

[ryaslibrary]

[ryaslibrary]

Joan de arc



I'm tempted to mention Joan in my novel (which is based in the time period she was alive) but I'm not sure if I should include real people in the novel or not.

It's a historical fantasy, there's magic so I'm not sure if it would be right.

#novel #novel writing #novel wip #joan of arc #my post #my novel #help lol

[ryaslibrary]

I'm trying my hardest to keep my novel fashion accurate but it gets difficult at times. I just want her beautiful hair to flow in the wind, but it can't under her bourrelet. I am also constantly forgetting who is and is not wearing veils, sleeves, stockings, and girdles.

The Importance of Fashion in Fantasy

If your fantasy world has historical connotations then having a grasp on historical fashion is really important. Talking about clothes can add layers of depth to your world, like the keftas in Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo. In this post, I will mostly be focusing on historical fashion from Europe as this is what I know most about. 

Class Hierarchy

If you want to show class and wealth differences, fashion can be key to doing so. However, this isn’t in the same way as we would see in modern times unless your world has the capacity for fast fashion. Being rich didn’t mean you had a closet the size of a barn with lots of floofy fabrics like in Bridgerton, it meant having a few garments in the latest fashion that you wore frequently. The less wealthy you were the more out of fashion your gowns or coats would be, however, gowns would often be altered where possible to fit the new style. 

The poor would still wear imitations of high fashion, but in simpler ways with simpler fabrics. Second hand or homemade was the norm. Contrary to popular belief, being poor didn’t mean ceased to care about fashion and well get onto why later. 

Regional Fashion 

Just because something was the height of fashion in Moscow, doesn’t mean it was the heigh of fashioning Paris. On a smaller scale, fashions would take time to reach rural area’s and smaller cities, so fashion would differ from region to region within a country. If you want your world to feel vast, including differences in clothing preference from country to country and region to region could really help with this. Other characters can then identify more about a new character just by looking at them.

The Importance of Fashion 

Historically, fashion held a much greater significance than it does today. This is because of what fashion meant in society. Through most of history in Europe, there have been very strict social rules that everyone had to abide by. Dressing in line with the fashion was a way of showing that you were in line with these social rules. This meant being fashionable wasn’t about setting trends and breaking out of the norm, it was about keeping to the norm as much as possible. Breaking out from the confirmative fashion could risk your place in society, affecting your relationships, marriage prospects and ultimately your livelihood.

Of course there were people who took risks that paid off and subsequently moved fashion onward, but fashion moved at a much slower pace due to the amount of time and expense required to make completely new garments and so these were relatively small changes.

Hope this was helpful!

[If reposting to instagram please credit @isabellestonebooks]

[ryaslibrary]

Im gonna say organizing. I will write 30 scenes and not know where to put them... whoops.

#novel #writeing

[ryaslibrary]

1400s Novel, Fashion shock

I'm writing a historical fantasy based in the 1400s England where the fashion was amazing... go ahead and look it up :)

To write the novel I've been doing lots of research on the time. Something interesting I found is that squirrel was the most popular fur??? Also, calf(BABY COW) skin gloves were a thing? So I looked up the gloves apparently there is still a thing and I just didn't know. (link to the website I was researching on)

#novel #1400s #15th century #medieval #the dark ages #historical #historical fashion #historical novel #vintage fashion #fashion crimes #my post

[ryaslibrary]

writers: writes a parahraph

also writers: alright, time to go on hiatus. I'll see you all in 4 to 6 months!

[ryaslibrary]

“A professional writer is an amateur who didn’t quit.”

— Richard Bach

[ryaslibrary]

How to write BETTER

Ultimately, good writing is writing that you’re proud to call your own. But how do we achieve that? Little other than writing and reading more can really help you achieve the quality of writing you’re looking for.

So you’ve done the hard work and drafted your novel BUT, going over it, you’re just not happy with the quality of your writing. Trust me, we’ve all been there!

But what is good writing? This is so subjective and, ultimately, it’s up to you whether you’re happy with the quality of your writing. So, here are a few things you can do to improve your writing to a standard you’re happy with.

✍️ Writing Exercises

The simple truth is, the more we write, the better we get at it, just as with everything. So, even when you’re not working on the next great novel, make sure you’re doing writing exercises to flex that muscle.

✍️ Read about Writing & Read as a Writer

There are some great books and articles on writing that can really help you understand the mechanics and elements of storytelling better.

Beyond that, every writer should read other fiction books - especially those within their genres. Find your influences, find the authors that inspire you, and dissect what it is about their writing that pulls you in.

✍️ Find a writing partner

This is a great way to get consistent feedback and insight into your writing. It also helps you hold yourself accountable. And guess what? We actually have a group chat full of writers you can join today.

Find the link on our tumblr site or [click here!].

✍️ Dissect writing you admire

Most people have favorite authors but many don’t understand why they’re so appealing. Take the time to understand what it is you like about their writing and how you can apply these techniques to your own writing.

✍️ Hire a coach or an editor

There’s nothing quite like getting a professional to point out the space for improvement. Consider investing in yourself and your skills and hiring someone who knows exactly what they’re talking about and who’s entirely dedicated to your project.

I’m Jasmina - I offer book editing services! If you’ve got a finished draft and no idea what to do next, let’s connect and talk about your project’s next steps!

Follow [the link here] or below to learn about my editing and how it can help you get a page-turner manuscript.

[ryaslibrary]

So many lost souls 🥲

Shout-out to all the stories that didn't make it out of the shower with us in time to be actually written down.

[ryaslibrary]

Dark Academia Names

Boys

Adrian

Alexander

Archibald

Augustus

Balthasar

Basil

Caspar

Darius

Dorian

Edgar

Edmund

Eugen

Florentin

Florian

Francis

Friedrich

Gabriel

Gustav

Jasper

Julius

Justus

Konstantin

Leopold

Ludwig

Nathaniel

Neil

Owain

Sebastian

Valentin

Wilhelm

More names!

If you like my blog and want to support me, you can buy me a coffee or become a member! And check out my Instagram! 🥰

[ryaslibrary]

This is why your characters don't feel real

Here are the top reasons why your character could be feeling flat or unreal. What every author aims for is to make palpable realistic characters who feel like someone we could actually know.

They have no internal conflict(!)

You haven’t got a clue about their backstory.

Or about what their struggle/internal conflict is rooted in.

You write them to fit the plot, instead of letting them react the way they should in the given moment (even if this leads to a huge change in the story!).

You fail to think about their dynamics & backstory with each important character in their narrative.

You don’t give them a motivation/goal going into each scene.

There are so many factors that go into making a character feel real - and you might hear advice that this is because they don’t have an interesting personality, or a unique character voice, but honestly? These are surface-level reasons. These are not going to make or break your character.

What IS going to make them interesting is internal conflict —> a struggle which we meet them in, a story of overcoming the struggle that we get invested in, and a root cause for the struggle in the character’s backstory.

Would you like to learn more about crafting realistic character who lead the plot FOR you? 🤯

You might want to give my 6-month group coaching program a go! It's designed specifically to help overcome this issue and teach you how to plot ANY story with ease. It uses a mix of writing their classes, with group coaching sessions to work specifically on YOUR project.

The first group kicks off Feb 11th, so grab your spot now!

Find out more through [the link here] or below!

[ryaslibrary]

50 WORDS TO USE INSTEAD OF “SAID”

Do you ever find yourself over-using the word “said” in your writing? Try using these words/phrases instead:

stated

commented

declared

spoke

responded

voiced

noted

uttered

iterated

explained

remarked

acknowledged

mentioned

announced

shouted

expressed

articulated

exclaimed

proclaimed

whispered

babbled

observed

deadpanned

joked

hinted

informed

coaxed

offered

cried

affirmed

vocalized

laughed

ordered

suggested

admitted

verbalized

indicated

confirmed

apologized

muttered

proposed

chatted

lied

rambled

talked

pointed out

blurted out

chimed in

brought up

wondered aloud

(NOTE: Keep in mind that all of these words have slightly different meanings and are associated with different emotions/scenarios.)

[ryaslibrary]

show, don't tell:

anticipation - bouncing legs - darting eyes - breathing deeply - useless / mindless tasks - eyes on the clock - checking and re-checking

frustration - grumbling - heavy footsteps - hot flush - narrowed eyes - pointing fingers - pacing / stomping

sadness - eyes filling up with tears - blinking quickly - hiccuped breaths - face turned away - red / burning cheeks - short sentences with gulps

happiness - smiling / cheeks hurting - animated - chest hurts from laughing - rapid movements - eye contact - quick speaking

boredom - complaining - sighing - grumbling - pacing - leg bouncing - picking at nails

fear - quick heartbeat - shaking / clammy hands - pinching self - tuck away - closing eyes - clenched hands

disappointment - no eye contact - hard swallow - clenched hands - tears, occasionally - mhm-hmm

tiredness - spacing out - eyes closing - nodding head absently - long sighs - no eye contact - grim smile

confidence - prolonged eye contact - appreciates instead of apologizing - active listening - shoulders back - micro reactions

[ryaslibrary]

Reverse Dictionary 📖

Take advantage of this site, it’s super helpful when looking for similar and different words or phrases. Yes, you can type whole phrases and get alternatives. Way to spice up your creative writing 😉

Hint, click on any word to get its definition.