#anyone can submit their writing as well as pictures and whatnot

[thehiccunzelnetwork]

Say The Word And We'll Find A Way

   Hiccup frowned as the train left without him, leaving him stranded in the heart of the city. He hated his boss for giving him all the paperwork for the case against some psycho called “Daggur the Deranged”. He’d seen some of the guys work on the news, needless to say, he earned his name.

Sighing, he whipped out his phone. 5 missed calls from Heather. Great, Hiccup thought as he sat on the bench. The last thing he needed was his harpy of a girlfriend going off at him. But his parents liked her, at least his dad did anyway. Then again, he didn’t know the truth.

Of course Hiccup had looked for every way out he could. Heather was many horrible things, but she was definitely smart. All he’d heard as he left for the firm that morning was how lonely his “poor girlfriend” would be without him, especially considering she had his son with her.

He hated her using his son as a bargaining chip for control. To drag an innocent 3 year old into her manipulative world was more than enough for him to want to leave her.

But he had nothing to play against her. She definitely was discrete in her ways and he had no real way of proving she was an unfit parent. Her acting skills were just too good. But he knew she’d slip up one day  and until that day, he was staying.

And at the first chance he could, he was taking custody of his son and getting the Hell out of there. He was staying with her for Tyler’s sake. He didn’t want his son to have to go through the emotional turmoil of a custody battle. No child of his, or any child really, would be safe with Heather. If only the courts would believe it.

He’d been so wrapped up in his thoughts, he’d hardly noticed the woman joining him on the bench. Tan, long blonde hair and spring green eyes. Eyes that, now that he thought about it, seemed very familiar.

“Riley?” He let the name escape before he could think about it.

The blonde turned, looking confused before breaking out into a grin.

“Hiccup! Oh my God! It’s been so long!” She was as perky as he remembered.

“8 years, if you want to be precise.” He half-heartedly joked, given he’d been counting the days after he’d met Heather. Riley laughed and Hiccup felt his mood lift at the sound.

“Well, look at you, when did you grow?” She smirked, Hiccup joining her in their recollection of his former self.

“After you moved, Dad signed me up for Hockey. Arguably he last bit of proof to show he knew nothing about me.”

“I’m guessing you didn’t like it?” Riley asked with a ridiculously raised brow, drawing a chuckle from Hiccup.

“Hate it. But I met my friend Jack, he got me into the gym more often.”

“Well you’re not the only one who’s changed! I’m finally a social worker!” Riley twirled, allowing him to take in her floral dress underneath a lilac jacket.

“Wow. Lucky kids for having the Amazing Mrs. Corona rescue them.”

“Miss Corona. I’m afraid moving to Arendale, the ‘kingdom’ of California didn’t do much for me romantically. But I did get my degree and managed to meet my dads side of the family.” Riley beamed before pulling out her phone.

“Hey, you’ve gotta give me your number. I won’t take no for an answer. I missed my best friend all those years.”

Hiccup smiled and pulled out his phone, grimacing at the screensaver. Heather and him, when they’d only just met and he thought she was perfect.

“Actually Punz, I can’t really do that. My girlfriend’s ridiculously jealous.” Riley frowned seeing Hiccups demeanor change.

“Well, you don’t seem very enthusiastic about having a girlfriend. This coming from the girl who listened to you go on and on about how 'perfect’ Astrid Hofferson was from middle to high school.”

Hiccup chuckled at the mention of Astrid, they were great friends now. He’d practically forgotten he’d ever had a crush on her.

“Well, she’s just… not been herself since Tyler was born.”

   Riley gasped, Hiccup was married?

   “You’re… You have a… Oh my gosh Hiccup, Congratulations!” She smiled.

   “Yeah, thanks.” Hiccup frowned, putting his phone away. Deciding to cheer her friend up, Riley grabbed Hiccups hand and pulled him up. “What’re you doing?”

   “Helping my friend feel better. Now you and I are gonna go get some coffee and you’re gonna tell me everything.”       They went to a small café and say down, Riley apparently knew the place and ordered for them.

   “Now, please Hiccup, talk to me. You look stressed and anxious. Let me in.” Riley sighed, noticing her friend’s eyes were downcast.

   “I’m stuck with her. Heather’s got me tied down like a dog. She checks my phone, she calls me constantly and she acts like she loves me when I know she’s only after my money. I made the biggest mistake of my life talking to her that first time, let alone asking her out.”

   Hiccup ran a hand through his hair, continuing. “And then she got pregnant even though we were completely safe the one time we slept together. My dad seems bent on me marrying her when all I really wanna do is take Tyler and leave. You should see her Riley, she doesn’t care that shes a mother. I’ve had to stop her from smoking in front of Tyler a billion times!”       Riley frowned, taking in all the information her friend just revealed to her. She hated seeing him like this, especially since she loved him. Yes, loved him loved him. It’d been the move that made her realize how important he was to her.

   And after hearing him recount the details of the past 8 years to her, she knew she had to do something. An idea began to form in her mind and she followed it. She just needed to call someone first. She remembered Hiccup saying how horrible Heather was to Tyler. If she could just get her angry enough, she could help Hiccup get full custody of Tyler. Breaking off his and Heathers relationship is just a bonus, she told herself.       She turned to Hiccup, rummaging through her purse. She silently prayed her friend would pick up.

   “Um, Hiccup, can I borrow your phone real quick, I have to call an associate about a case.”

   Hiccup frowned before conceding and handing the phone over.

   “Thanks.” Riley offered, quickly calling her friend Merida.

   “Hello?” came the voice of her Scottish friend and coworker from the other end of the line.

   “Hey Mer, I was wondering about that case. If the husband had a recording of his wife saying she didn’t want custody, could he use it against her?”

   “Um, I dunno what case 'ur goin’ off about, but ya, it’d work.” Riley silently thanked God and was practically jumping up and down. Her plan would work!

   “Thanks Mer! See you Monday!”

   “Always happy to help Punz.” Riley gave Hiccup his phone back, noticing his suspicious look.

   “Punz, are you up to something?” Hiccup asked, noticing the blonde’s strange expression.

   “No. So Hiccup, can I meet Tyler? He sounds wonderful!” Riley noticed how Hiccup’s smile grew at the mention of his son.      “I don’t know, Heather can be…” Hiccup began, remembering how Heather had slowly cut him off from any other women, despite her not liking him.

   “I’m sure she won’t mind me. I’ll be in and out.” Riley smiled as Hiccup put up his hands in surrender.

   “Okay, be prepared to meet Evil Incarnate.”       Riley hadn’t known what she suspected to see when they came to Hiccups apartment building. It wasn’t particularly nice, what with a lawyers pay, she’s imagine Hiccup could afford more.

   “I refuse to buy a house with her.” He offered as they rode the elevator up to his floor.

   They came to the door and Hiccup flipped through his keys, looking for the one to his house. He sighed, finally finding the right one.

   Only for the door to open wide and for a 4 year old to tackle Hiccups leg.

   “Daddy! You’re home!” The boy sounded so happy it almost made Riley scared, what little boy was so desperate to avoid his mother? What mother could Heather be to lead her son to avoid her?

   She got her answer as a mockingly sweet voice addressed Hiccup, a bottle clinking as she turned to the speaker.

   “Well, look who finally decided to show up! Looks like your not good for nothing after all.” The brunette said, sipping from the bottle Riley identified as white wine. And it was almost completely empty.

   “Heather, not in front of Tyler.” Hiccup quietly asked, looking down at his son.

   “Fine, you take him inside while I have a discussion with the dumb blonde you decided to invite to our house.” Riley grimaced as Hiccup picked Tyler up and closed the door, leaving her with the woman who made his life Hell.       Heather was pretty, at least she would’ve been if she hadn’t been drinking, her black hair missed and her green eyes glazed over. Her skinny body was wrapped in a black cocktail dress and Riley could tell she hadn’t started her evening with the white wine.

   “So, did the idiot take a mistress?” The woman smirked, sipping her bottle and silently sizing up her opponent.

   Riley frowned, holding onto her phone hidden in her purse. She pressed the button, knowing what she had to do.

   “You’re horrible, you know that. I’m not Hiccups mistress. I’m his friend. And he told me all about how you use Tyler against him. What kind of mother uses her child as leverage?”

   Heather smirked, chuckling slightly. Riley didn’t trust the look, it was too devious, there was malice behind it.

   “The kind of mother that’s gonna marry that idiot and be rolling in it. I have to say, nine months and labor was a lot of work, but it certainly made him stay with me.”

   Riley couldn’t believe her ears, she knew Heather was bad, but that sort of activity was borderline psychotic.

   “You got pregnant just to keep Hiccup around?” She could hardly believe her own words.

   “Of course, and he was so perfect, doing the 'honorable thing’ and supporting me. His parents are so excited and his dad’s pushing for us to get married. I’m sure he’ll crack once I pop out another kid. I’ll just get him drunk enough, maybe slip into something pretty and make him think he’s protected. Only it won’t work. Just like last time. And once I’ve got a ring on my finger, I’ll be free to live the easy life.”

   Riley felt her anger rise as she spoke, her emotions for Hiccup emboldening her. He deserved so much more than Heather.

   “You’re the worst person I’ve ever met. Tyler and Hiccup deserve so much more than you. Some snobby gold-digger who’s uglier than a pit-bull!”

   Heather's  green eyes lit up with anger, her throwing down her bottle.

   “You know what bitch?! I could care less about either of them. The kids a headache and the man’s a nerdy idiot! I can’t believe I even let him get me pregnant! Thank God I was drunk otherwise I might’ve vomited.”

   Riley wanted to rip Heathers head off but she had what she needed. She held the ace and she’d win the game Heather was playing.

   “You know what Heather. I’m done with you. Now I’m gonna go inside, say goodbye to Hiccup and Tyler and leave.”

   “Be my guest. Hope you break something on your way home Blondie.” Heather smirked triumphantly, thinking she won.

   Riley walked into the apartment, hearing Tyler’s voice from down the hall. She walked to the bedroom, stopping upon hearing the conversation.       “Daddy, why do you stay with Mommy? She’s a meanie and she says bad words. She even gave my dragon a boo-boo.”

   Hiccup looked at the plush Night Fury he’d given Tyler for his birthday. The left tail fin was ripped. He knew how much the toy meant to his son and quickly set to work making his son feel better.

   “Tyler, Night Furies don’t get boo-boo’s. They’re the biggest, strongest dragons ever and they’re not afraid of anyone.”

   “Anyone?” Tyler asked, his voice full of awe.

   “Anyone.” Hiccup nodded, taking the stuffed toy and fiddling with the cloth, covering the hole so no stuffing would escape.

   “Do you remember the day I got him for you? The carnival we went to for your birthday, just you and me? You know why I bought Toothless for you, Tyler?”

   “You said he’d keep the monsters away.” The 4 year old nodded, leaning into his father’s embrace.

   “Exactly. And he can’t be stopped by a measly little boo-boo. He’s a Night Fury. He’s your Night Fury. And he’ll protect you forever. Just like me.” Hiccup concluded, ruffling his son’s hair.

   “Thanks Daddy. I love you.” The boy yawned, slowly closing his eyes.      “Love you too Bud. Now get some sleep.”

  “Okay.” The boy nodded before laying down. Only to sit up again as Hiccup got up.      “Who’s that pretty lady talking to Mommy? She looked like an angel. And she was super nice. Is she gonna come around often. I like her. She’s nice. She’s not mean like Mommy. Can she visit?” The 4 year old asked.

   “That’s Riley. She’s a friend of mine. And maybe Buddy.” Hiccup frowned, hoping his son wouldn’t get too attached to his friend. Tyler couldn’t have his heart broken. Besides, why would Riley even show any interest in Hiccup, he was a soon to be single dad with a son to support. His son interrupted his thoughts.

   “She looks like a Mommy. Like a real Mommy. Is she someone else’s Mommy?”

   “Tyler, she’s my friend but that doesn’t give you any permission to ask a million questions.” Hiccup sighed, trying to get back to Heather so he could say bye to Riley.      “I’m sorry Daddy. I was just wondering if…” The toddler stopped, looking down at Toothless.

   “If what Buddy?” Hiccup asked, getting to eye level with his son.

   “… If she could be my Mommy.” Tyler finished.       Hiccup frowned, looking at his son. The 4 year old fiddled with his hands, looking like he admitted to murder. Hiccup frowned, realizing his son had already become attached.

   “But you have a Mommy, Tyler.” Hiccup offered, trying to diffuse the situation.

   “She’s not a Mommy. A Mommy is nice and sweet and cares about you. A Mommy loves you and doesn’t say bad words to you. Riwey looks like a real Mommy and I like her.” Tyler frowned as he finished.

   Hiccup couldn’t blame his son. Riley captured anyone she met. Including him. He’d loved her when he was younger. As in, he’d been in love with her. Them meeting again only enforced that he still was.

   “I like her too Bud.” Hiccup admitted, noticing his son seemed to think before smiling.

   “Then why doesn’t she become my Mommy?” The boy smiled like he’d discovered the cure for cancer, AIDS and world hunger all in one.

   “I wish it was that simple Tyler. Things are… complicated. Adult stuff, that you don’t need to worry about now. You’ll understand when you’re older. Now get some sleep.” He got up, approaching the door.

   “Okay Daddy. I love you.” The toddler quietly said, already dozing off again.

   “Love you too Bud.” Hiccup sighed, closing the door.

   He turned, only to see Riley looking at him. He felt his face light up and he stammered to catch his words.

   “You… Tell me you didn’t…”

   She nodded, her cheeks aflame. Hiccup gulped.

   “Hiccup. I like you too.” Riley offered, reaching into her purse.

   She took out her phone, handing it to him like it was invaluable to his life.

   “Here. Give me your number. I’ve got evidence that will make sure the judge doesn’t give Heather any custody over Tyler.” She answered his silent question.

   Hiccup stared at the phone, half-convinced he was dreaming. Riley pushed the button and Heathers voice came from the speakers: You know what bitch?! I could care less about either of them. The kids a headache and the man’s a nerdy idiot! I can’t believe I even let him get me pregnant! Thank God I was drunk otherwise I might’ve vomited.

   Hiccup had to suppress a smile as he lifted Riley off the ground and twirled her in the air.

   “Thank you! Thank you so much!” He said with honest relief and happiness filling his voice.

   He lowered her to the ground and kissed her, earning a gasp. He pulled away, cheeks red.

   “I-I’m sorry. I-I was just really excited.” Riley smiled at him, taking his hand.

   “Well, I like you when you’re excited. And I intend to see you like this more often.”

   She pulled him down for another kiss. They pulled apart when a small body came between them, both looking down the the interrupting toddler.

   “Daddy! You and her kissed!” The 4 year old whispered loudly, as if to keep it secret.

Riley smiled, getting to eye level with Tyler.

   “Tyler, remember when you said you wanted me to be your Mommy?” She answer, smiling as the boy seemed so surprised at her knowing what he’d said.

   The little boy nodded. “You heard that?”

   “Yep. And I hope I can be your Mommy eventually. If you’ll have me.” Riley offered.

   Tyler nearly leapt into her arms, his face buried in the crook of her neck.

   “Yes! I’d love you as my Mommy!” The 4 yeas old admitted, almost catatonic with joy, much like his father.

   “Okay Tyler, we’re leaving and we’re not coming back.” Hiccup smiled, wrapping an arm around the 2 people he cared for more than anything in the world.

   “Really?” The boy asked, still clinging to Riley.

    “Yeah. We’ll pack and leave and we won’t have to come back.” Hiccup smiled.

   “No more meanie Mommy?” The boy asked, his smile disappearing for a second.

   “No more meanie Mommy.” Hiccup nodded before going to their rooms. Tyler smiled and burrowed further into Riley’s arms. She was beginning to love the little boy and hoped she could become his real mother.

   “Where are we going?” He asked politely.

   Riley smiled. “We’re going to my house. And we’ll go out tomorrow and buy some paint and furniture for your new room.”

   Tyler seemed to think for a second, his eyebrows scrunched in thought.

   “Can it be green? I like green. And dragons.”

   “Of course Tyler. Anything for you.” Riley smiled, noticing there was little to no decoration in Tyler’s room. Only essential furniture and some toys. She wondered if he even had enough for a suitcase. Tyler pulled her from her thoughts, shaking his head.

   “I just want my Toothless, and my Mommy and Daddy.” The boy held his toy close, looking at its ripped fin.

   “I can fix that for you.” Riley offered.

   Tyler shook his head, a playful light in his electric green eyes as he held the damaged toy as if it were a priceless treasure.

   “Toothless is a Night Fury. He’s not hurt by boo-boos. He’s-” Tyler was cut off by the front door slamming.       “What the Hell is going on in here? I come in and see Hiccup’s in our room, packing his bags and you’re here holding my kid?” Heather frowned, noticing Tyler turned away from her. “Come on Tommy. Come to Mommy.”

   Riley frowned in disgust. “It’s Tyler. And your are no mother if the way you treat him is any indication of your feelings for him.”

   Heather frowned. “Uh, last time I checked, I gave birth to him. So, yeah, I’m his Mommy.” She extended her arms and Tyler frowned.

   “Mommy,” he looked up at Riley. “Keep her away! She’s a meanie!”

   “Yeah, you’re a meanie.” Riley nodded, holding Tyler close. “And as God is my witness, you won’t hurt him or Hiccup again. Got it?”

   Heather backed down, noticing the fierce light in Riley’s eyes.

   What’s going on?“ Hiccup asked as he came in, bags in hand.

   "Hiccup! You can’t leave me! I’ll just file for child support! I’ll get custody of Tyler and you’ll never see him again!” Heather threatened, desperate to keep what was hers.

   Hiccup chuckled, wrapping an arm around Riley and Tyler. “Um, you can’t do that Heather. According to an audio recording, you 'could care less about either of us’. So, I’m definitely getting custody over Tyler and you’re not getting a dime.”

   Heather gaped in response as Hiccup led Tyler and Riley to the door.

   “Now, why don’t we go to Riley’s and set up some accommodations for ourselves, okay Tyler?”

   Tyler nodded, smiling as he jumped to Hiccup’s arms. “Yay! We’re going to Mommy’s house!”

   Hiccup stopped at the door, turning back to Heather. The woman who’d trapped him for 5 years, held him close, used him and his money, threatened him with his son, his most precious gift in life. He had no remorse as he spoke.       “You can keep the apartment. I never liked it anyway. See you in court.”

   And with that, he turned and closed the door behind him. Tyler’s eyes were beginning to droop as he laid in Riley’s arms.

   “You get some sleep Tyler.” Riley softly chided as the 4 year old rubbed his eyes.

   “I’m not sleepy. I wanna stay up so Mommy can tell me a story.”

   Riley took the boys hand, linking his pinkie in hers. “How about this Tyler? Tomorrow I’ll tell you two stories. And maybe we can make some hazelnut cookies?”

   Tyler nodded, eyes closing. Hiccup smiled, opening the door to his car and setting Tyler in the car seat. Joining Riley at the front, he linked his free hand in hers as they drove off.

   “Thank you.” He offered.

   “For what?” Riley asked, she’d only done a little to help.

   “For setting us free.” Hiccup said, honest gratitude showing in his emerald eyes.

   “It’s okay. I’d do anything for the ones I love.”

   Hiccup turned, slightly smiling. “I’m not used to hearing that.”

   “Well, get used to it. I’ll be reminding you every day.” Riley countered.

   “Of course. Love you too.” Hiccup sighed, glad to have found the girl of his dreams and escape his nightmare of a girlfriend with his son, glad that Riley had found him.

#thanks for the submission #drabble #hiccunzel #anyone can submit their writing as well as pictures and whatnot #fanboyofallthingsfandom #submission

[bakugouscentedcaramel]

Ah yes, the time has come.

It's time to get your pen and paper because class is in session!

There's plenty of things I could talk about and I pretty much covered the basics down below, but I'm more than willing to help y'all out with anything specific!

I have to preface that I'm not an English major by any means nor do I have any experience writing professionally, the things listed below are purely based on my opinions and submissions I have received.

Writing is forever a learning process, there really isn't a right way of writing but there are definitely some things that will hinder your readers. Here is a list that I compiled both with my own experiences as well as some user submitted issues when it comes to reading works:

•Big blocks of text

° Typos/wrong word usage

•Using the same words

°Too spaced out/not indented where needed

• Dialogue runs into normal sentences

° Speakers/POVs change without notice

• Inconsistencies, either in general or story inconsistencies

°Lack of description/Too much description

• Bland/Artificial actions/dialogue

° Misuse of punctuation/lack thereof

• Capitalization errors

° Long winded sentences

• Using italics for actions

° Confusing formating

• Changing in Tenses

° Using wrong tags/falsely advertising (ex. Reader x Blank should have Y/N, not an OC/Authors name)

• Author notes/comics/pictures in middle of fic

° "~This is a transition~"

• Forcing a character to be OOC for sake of story

° Filler characters

• Not sticking to a specific genre/jumpy moods

Now don't be intimidated by this list! Some of these are pretty self explanatory so I won't go into a few of them. There are plenty of ways to avoid these and in some cases it is perfectly fine to use any of the above. 

Let's start off with the basics!

Sentence structure is the backbone of writing, but it's a very flexible rule. Obviously you have your subject, verb, object and whatnot, but the true art lies in word choice and length.

When it comes to sentences, size does matter. If your sentences are too short they will seem choppy and unfinished, whereas if they are long they will seem winded and unnatural. The biggest tool you can use to find out if a sentence is too short/long is by reading it aloud! If you run out of breath it's too long but if you finish abruptly it's too short.

Word choice is my favorite weapon to work with, I could describe a blue jay as a normal bird or as a mythical animal just by picking the right words!

"The blue jay flew across the field while it sang it's melody."

Or

"A creature with wings made of clouds swooped across the field whilst roaring out a devilish tune."

Word choice can easily convey tone/feeling so it's definitely an important element to writing! If you ever have trouble finding that perfect word try googling for synonyms! Also this website might help you find that one word that you just can't think of!

Grammar is also a very important part of writing. Using the right words and punctuation can be difficult sometimes but there are some easy fixes!

Spelling is an easy fix, if you forgot/don't know how to spell a word consulting a dictionary or Google is a surefire way of solving your problem. You can even find synonyms if you feel like you've used a word too much. 

Punctuation on the other can be a big more difficult, however. 

Here's a couple of sentences that helped me learn basic punctuation:

A comma splice walks into a bar, it has a drink then leaves. Commas are a means of sewing two sentences together to form a compound sentence. These are mainly used to list out things and to add fluidity to your works so they don't sound as choppy.

A question mark walks into a bar? Question marks are pretty self explanatory. They either raise a question or form uncertainty.

Two quotation marks "walk" into a bar. Quotations are used for both dialogue and metaphors. I personally love using them for sarcasm!

A gerund and an infinitive walk into a bar, drinking to drink. This one is a tougher one that I personally never learned from any of my classes. A gerund is basically a word that can act as a verb or a noun which would be "drinking". An infinitive is the base of a verb, in this case it's "drink".

The bar was walked into by a passive voice. A passive voice is when you emphasize the action and object of a sentence rather than the subject. You can find that a passive voice tends to use past tense where as an active voice uses present/future tense.

Three intransitives walk into a bar. They sit. They drink. They leave. An intransitive verb is an action verb, expressing a doable activity like arrive, go, lie, sneeze, sit, die, etc.

Some other things that I commonly see are the wrong usages of words. For example:

They: a group of individuals/pronoun "Yeah, they said he'd be here thirty minutes ago."

Their: a possessive pronoun "Leave their stuff alone!'

There: location "What's that over there?"

Then: event/action "Val went to the mall then skittered to the park."

Your: possessive "Your self esteem is lower than the Mariana's Trench!"

You're: a conjunctive "you are"

Affect: caused by actions "The fallen french fry really affected Val's mood."

Effect: caused by events "Climate change has a negative effect on my Cheerios."

Peaked: a summit "Val has peaked at 10:19pm"

Piqued: stimulate interest/curiosity "You have piqued Val's interest by mentioning food."

Do time: "Val is fixin' to do time if she keeps slacking."

Due time: "Val will come with hydration in due time."

Per say: not a thing

Per se: by/in itself "She didn't write this late at night, per se…"

There are different tools you can use to spice up your writings, from metaphors to innuendos, all the way to zeugmas! Let's go over the basic definitions of these bad boys.

Metaphor: a figure of speech that is not literally applicable. "The darkness surrounded us like a shroud." Obviously the darkness can't physically shroud anyone.

Innuendo: a sentence with a hidden meaning "Is that a gator in your pants or are you just happy to see me~" 

Zeugma: a sentence containing words that can be used literally and figuratively, like a love child of the two above. "Val and her coupon expired last week." This implies that not only did my Colgate coupon expire, but I died as well.

Paragraphs are a necessity when it comes to writing. Big blocks of text are an eyestrain to readers and it's easy to lose your place, even if it's only 150 words. It's always best to use Tab or at least 5 spaces when indenting. A paragraph should only be 5-7 sentences long, this is so it's not just multiple blocks of text

When to add a new paragraph:

° A new person comes in

• New idea/context

° Setting changes

• New person is speaking

° Time changes

• The "camera" moves

° Tone shifts

• 5-7 sentences has been reached

Paragraphs help you organize your work in a way and they make it easier for your readers' eyes!

POVs are also very important. First person and third person are by far the most common ones so I'll only touch on these two. It's very important to write a story in one strict POV as to not confuse the readers. You can however jump perspectives like Heroes of Olmpyus by Rick Rodian, as long as the ready can easily tell who is telling the story.

First person is a story that is told from first-hand experience. It's the same as if I told y'all the story on how I almost chopped off my thumb in woodshop class back in middle school. First person tends to use a lot of I's and my's

Third person is a story that is told from a narrators' point of view. Such as "Once upon a time" type of stories. I's and my's should only be used in dialogue

Dialogue is probably one of the most important features of any fic/story. Dialogue can push plots forward as well as add life to a character. Here's a simple exchanged:

"Hiya 'Splodey," Val chirped.

Katuski smirked, "M'dumbass."

Dialogue should always come with a pair of quotation marks. Commas and periods generally go inside the quotation marks whereas dashes, colons, and semicolons almost always go outside the quotation marks. Question marks and exclamation marks however can go either inside or outside, it goes by a case by case basis. Always indent whenever a different speaker is talking, running quotes into each other is a no-go because it causes confusion and eyestrain.

You have to be wary of using simple dialogue exchanges though, if they seem off try saying them out loud! Dialogue is one of my favorite things to write because you can weave personality into them, not to mention you can always hear people talking to get a better idea on how to write dialogue.

For example, I have a southern dialect, meaning I sound different than someone from the north! I use words like "y'all", "fixin'", "finna", "ain't" and have a different vocabulary than that of my northern friends. This means that the characters you're portraying should have their own way of speaking! This will not only add flavor to your dialogue but it also adds to their personalities/backgrounds.

Describing things can be just as valuable as dialogue, but it is a bit more complex. Sure we've all heard of the "show, don't tell" rule. Which is a good rule to follow, however too much showing is just as bad as telling. Again, reading out your work is a great way to tell if you're focusing too much on one thing. Another thing to keep in mind is importance, such as do we really need to know that the grass outside was bluegrass? Which in certain situations it would be! For example:

The grass around the disheveled house was brown and straw-like, with the exception of a ring of grass. Bluegrass. Which wasn't even native to this location.

This paints a pretty good spooky picture in the readers' mind and even adds the element suspense by the implied uncertainty.

I've only covered a small portion of writing so if y'all have any questions or need any help feel free to slide into my DMs or send in an ask! I love getting questions about writing and I'm always willing to help a fellow writer!

#valvent #ask val #writing help #writing tips #val explains writing #writblr #im serious y'all send in any questions! #these were just the basics but i can pretty much go in-depth if yall are struggling with something

[seenashwrite]

The Nail: May 2017

I see lots of weekly/bi-weekly/monthly fic recommendation lists going around, and I think this is absolutely wonderful exposure for writers from their peers and those who may not write, but sure do enjoy reading. 

A great thing about the lists I've seen is their focus on certain categories of fic - very ideal for readers to sort what they'd like to read; thing is, I haven't personally seen one that focuses solely on the quality of the writing.

You know - Character dimension. Writing with clever readers in mind. Crazy crisp dialogue. Incredibly tight plotting. Big emotion.

So what’s the scoop on The Nail?  

Since there's lots of opportunity to get on the aforementioned types of lists, The Nail's not gonna focus on those. You can find more detail on what that means HERE.

What The Nail isn't about is perfection. It isn't about Pulitzer-level contenders. It's about seeing focus and effort radiate out of the screen.

Though I focus on Supernatural, it doesn't matter what fandom or if it is a completely original work; how "known" or "unknown" the author may be; poetry, series, long, short  - quality is quality. If an author nailed it, they [and others] should know it.

And here's the thing: I'm not going to be the only one making the call - YOU are the main curators. The aim is to kick out a round-up on/near the top of every month, filled with what you think is the best of the lot. The link to every post will be archived at the main page for The Nail linked above.

How to get it to me?

Dear Nash IS THE PREFERENCE [link to fic + your comment for why you’ve nominated]

Tag me when you re-blog it, noting you’ve tagged me specifically for “The Nail” consideration

If you forgot to add a comment in your re-blog on why you want it considered for “The Nail”, send it via message

UPDATE 12/2017: Go here to get the scoop on what “The Nail” is looking for, then over here to submit your nomination. I won’t take ‘em by tagging me or PMs or Asks, purely for organization sake!

Why are you being asked to comment on why you loved it? 

Other than serving to encourage the author, you and your recommendation are *also* going to be noted in The Nail, because awesome readers deserve some props, too.  Think of it as a virtual book jacket with featured quotes from an author's peers.

Keep scrolling for some fics I've reviewed during my time here - they contain a variety of subject matter and all feature a common thread: Quality.

(And you can always find my original reviews of these & others by searching for the hashtag - Nash Gives [Feed]back)

For your reblogging convenience, here’s The Nail Master Post of Editions!

* All from the world of “Supernatural unless otherwise noted - untitled works use the first few words as substitute - listed in no particular order *

SHORTER [1,500-ish & below, such as gif-inspired, drabbles & whatnots]

@idreamofhazel - SAM WAS, FOR ALL INTENTS AND PURPOSES [...]

A light vignette on how what others see - and perhaps how we see ourselves - is not all there is to the story of a person.

@lipstickandwhiskey - CONVALLARIA

Did you hear the one about the artist who walked into a flower shop and met a former jailbird angel? Haven’t?  No worries, it’s all explained in this lovely tale.

@castielhasthetardis - DIFFERENCES

A slightly serious with touches of sweetness story with nicely done characterizations.

@impala-dreamer - I WANNA HOLD YOUR HAND

An incredibly well-constructed drabble that [for this reviewer] still hasn't been beat in terms of telling a fleshed-out story in such a short space while keeping an even tone throughout.

@leatherwhiskeycoffeeplaid - THE ONE WITH THE GIRL FROM POUGHKEEPSIE

If you've ever wondered why "Poughkeepsie" was the stop-everything-and-go signal for the Winchester brothers, look no further. [**unable to tag, if someone would kindly let them know**]

@hamartiamacguffin - TOLD YA

Laughter guaranteed in this top-shelf, perfectly written, gut-busting tale of an encounter with a most formidable foe.

@bringmesomepie56 - I STEPPED INTO THE ROOM [...]

A vignette on comfort that shows restraint in dialogue and descriptors without losing tone, and emphasizes a balance in both characters' needs being met.

@whispersandwhiskerburn - OFFICER, LOOK [...]

Very smile-inducing, funny and witty tale of the trials of helping Dean talk his way out of a jam.

@zepppie  - NO PLACE LIKE HOME... UNTIL NOW

An engaging & grin-worthy little tale with a unique setting - if you need a touch of levity in your day, this should do the trick nicely.

@chaos-and-the-calm67 - FIRST TIME

Great little quickie-fic with a sassy protagonist and a sexy interaction over a game of pool.

@demondean-for-kingofhell - ITCH

A short, tightly-written, humorous tale. No more will be revealed so as not to ruin the plot, other than this: Dean's got an itch to scratch.

@itsnotsammy - ANGELS ARE REAL [...]

Quick burst of a tale that takes on the perspective of a person making the leap from innocence of a sort to full-blown knowledge.

@impala-dreamer - WHAT NOW

A limited dialogue vignette taking on the perspective of a person whose life has been saved by the Winchesters, with nice detailed touches that paint the picture of her experience.

@calaphrass - SAM EATS BLACKBERRIES [...]

Tightly-written piece that has an allegorical bend & looks at how we can make substitutions, replace the bad with the good, though it never erases the pull of the past.

@just-another-busy-fangirl - MILK

A graveyard shift at the Gas-n-Sip gets a lot more interesting for a bored clerk when a black Impala pulls up out front. Get ready to laugh.  

@fanforfanatic - WATCH FOREVER

An introspective, yet not weighed-down, vignette on what Dean sees when he stops and takes in his life.

@amanda-teaches - THE RADIO

A humorous tale involving what is possibly Dean’s #1 pet peeve.

 @blackcaptainrogers - HEROES

A story with a perspective twist not typically seen, highlighting the blend of trepidation with strength that is felt when confronted with needed sacrifice, and a nice touch of closure at the end.

@lipstickandwhiskey - MR. CHERRY PIE [PT.2]

A well-paced, short-and-sweet story with a thoughtful, reminiscent Dean who considers what might have been - and then, just maybe, what still could be.

.

MID-WAY [around 1,500 - 2,000-ish]

@storyofawinchester - FLOATING

Lovely, considerate, dark and introspective short story written with a poetic feel that has resolution without going sappy.

@fanforfanatic - WE'LL BUILD A TREEHOUSE

Suggests what life might be like should the Winchesters “retire” to dip into an average life and resists the pull into the saccharine in favor of mixing sweet with sour, and is all the better for it.

@roxy-davenport - HARD HABIT TO BREAK 

Do you like a touch of angst with your Dean Winchester? With some love and a splash of naughty, too?  Search no further.

@fanforfanatic - THE ORANGE THING

Easy read of a story that’s guaranteed to make you chuckle, all about an everyday activity gone rogue.

.

LONGER [2,000-ish & beyond]

@butiaintgonnaloveem - IT'S A DYING INDUSTRY [PT.2]

Well-written and well-researched story with an inventive plot, touches of humor amongst the creepy - so it nails the Supernatural vibe - and spot-on characterization.

@seljepw - PRACTICAL ANIMISM

Well-crafted story, from structure to plot to verbiage, all about the Impala's early life with the Winchesters - and all from Baby's perspective.

@fanforfanatic - TAKE ME HOME

A palate cleanser from sappy and shmoopy that’s well-written and abundantly realistic for anyone who’s ever been in a long-term relationship that should work on paper but just won’t in reality.

@butiaintgonnaloveem - THAT SPECIAL SOMEONE

A what-may-have-happened tale, set during Sam's time at Stanford, with a solidly fleshed-out protagonist and plot, tied up with a spot-on ending.

.

DEEP DIVES * Series that are just kicking into gear, but are off to a hell of a world-building start *

@carryonmycobaltangel - BEGINNING AGAIN

A post-apocalyptic tale - "It was never like this. A time where humanity forcefully became a part of a game where the only options were dying a bloody death while on the run, or turning into one of them."

@idreamofhazel - THE BOYKING

An alternative universe -  "Sam became Azazel’s Boyking. Dean couldn’t stop it and now he lives in uncomfortable tolerance of Sam, struggling to understand why this happened."

.

OTHER FANDOMS

@buckykingofmemes [ Mod: @hellenhighwater ] - CLOSET SOFTIE: OR, HOW BUCKY BARNES NEARLY RUINED HIS TOUGH-GUY REP

A precision-crafted, hilarious delight that starts with missing trail mix and goes on to view a handful of situations through the eyes of one very confused Clint Barton.

.

ORIGINAL WORK

@hamartiamacguffin - A GENTLE, TIRED SIGH

A short, melancholic, somewhat poetic tale that is an excellent example of putting just enough plot information out there so the ending can unfurl gracefully.

Happy reading!

[PS: I have several more in my “To Review” folder - just ‘cause you’re not on the list for May doesn’t mean you won’t be soon!]

#supernatural fanfiction #spn fanfic #The Nail #Nailed It! #Quality Writing #Must Reads

[we-future-first]

The world is utterly unprepared for artificial intelligence in the near-term: "Media Synthesis", the phenomenon which includes deepfakes, is further along than almost anyone realizes and is prepared for, and this will result in a lot of fun and angst come the 2020s

I run the /r/MediaSynthesis subreddit, collecting links and discussions surrounding this technology. The other day, I asked /r/MachineLearning about a topic that I've been tossing about my head for almost a full decade now: when will we be able to use style transfer on audio reliably?

In the simplest possible terms, "style transfer" is when you make one thing like another using machine learning. You upload a picture of a sunny day as an input, upload a bunch of pictures of night time as variables, and then get the original picture but now it's night time. The algorithm didn't fetch a picture of the scene at a different time of day. It altered the very pixels, turning day into night.

Here's a few examples:

Color transfer

Video transfer, turning a street scene with trees into one with buildings or more trees, among other things

Musical transfer, changing instruments and genres.

All of which are from 2017 or 2018.

There's a lot more, and this includes deepfakes which I'm sure plenty of people are aware of. The potential of this technology over the next 5 years— and yes, I'm saying five years, not fifteen or twenty five or fifty— is going to lead to people with no skill in machine learning or artistry to be able to alter existing media almost completely as well as generate some kinds of new media.

Back specifically on the topic of audio style transfer, this includes being able to take a song, any song, and altering at your leisure in a variety of different ways ranging from adding or subtracting instruments, swapping the vocalist or removing them entirely, and perhaps even extending the song in an "intelligent" manner— meaning the algorithm can actually generate more sections of that song that didn't previously exist (within reason). You could turn any top 40 pop song into a 20-minute-long pop epic.

My classic desire is taking TLC's Waterfalls and turning it into a barbershop quartet, complete with the mustachioed men singing in tune with all the 1920s graininess you'd expect. Did you like Bohemian Rhapsody but could do without the heavy guitars? Why not transfer it into a polka song? That's indeed very possible. Covering songs in a different style is obviously a thing that you can already find on YouTube and "X Goes Pop" compilations whatnot, but that involves actual musicians and artists putting in the time and effort. We're not far away from having a theoretical "Audacity 2.0" where you could do the same thing with a few clicks of your mouse.

One of my more esoteric desires goes a step further, and it's also very much on the horizon. I love Witchfinder General, but they've always been a bit too amateurish. They were almost a great band, if only a few lyrics were changed and some instruments were tightened up. In the future, I could be able to "correct" these "mistakes", going in to change the lyrics myself so that Zeeb Parkes is singing something a bit different over a band that's even slower and doomier than they actually were. In some cases, that means adding lines where there weren't originally.

It would obviously still be a laborious process because vocals in songs can be complex and heavily individualized.

But that was only ever a problem for the old era of digital software, where things had to be cut up and easily able to fit into bits and pieces and then essentially standardized as if you're playing something on a synth. This new era is something entirely different and infinitely more capable. You couldn't replicate Bob Dylan's soul if you had his voice in a voice synthesis software program as might exist today.

There's no style nor soul that'll be beyond my fingers with the right neural networks.

For someone like me, who loves creating entire musical scenes and movements from playlists and imagination, that's a godsend. For an actual musician or any creative who prides themselves on their humanity, it sounds like the worst dystopia.

I'm not overselling this either. Audio is, fundamentally, a bunch of waves. If you can edit those waveforms, you can create any audio you wish. It's just that the way we edit those waveforms is usually by hitting drums, strumming guitars, pressing keyboards, and singing.

Of course, there are much darker applications of this technology. The very first thing to come to mind is putting words in someone else's mouth for political purposes, as can be demonstrated here:

Deepfakes on Obama, Putin, and others

Making Trump say new things

If the latter sounds too robotic, don't fret/relax. Making voices sound audiorealistic is just a matter of parameters and data, of which the likes of Google, Baidu, Facebook, OpenAI, and many others have no shortage. The crappy free text-to-speech programs you might find with a Google search or in a PDF file is as representative of the state of the art as a bottle rocket is of the military's explosive ordinance.

And that's literally just the tip of the iceberg. Just because I'm focusing on audio doesn't mean there's nothing for images and video, obviously. Just the opposite— everyone is so focused on deepfakes and image synthesis that we're overlooking audio synthesis.

It's not coming in stages, nor is it arriving slowly and at easily digestible and tolerable speeds as might be written in a shlock cyberpunk novel. We're not going to struggle with image synthesis for 20 years, then struggle with audio synthesis for 20 years, and so on until we reach a point in the distant future where you can't trust anything you see. We're developing them all simultaneously and seeing progress come at breakneck speeds, and we'll be well within that future this time next decade.

In fact, this time next decade we'll have entirely different zeitgeists when it comes to art, entertainment, and the news. There's no refuge in cartoons. Neural networks are in the early stages of learning how to do caricatures and exaggerations— the fundamental root of cartooning. Others can generate short animations from text alone. Even more can be used to remaster old video games and create games from scratch.

And no, you can't find refuge in writing either. Scarily enough, it's the text synthesis network that shows the most signs of general intelligence. It's not AGI by far, but it's most general AI ever created and it isn't even a very complex machine at that. But it's apparently too dangerous to be released.

If you have a passion for all of this and create art for art's sake or are willing to accept fewer (but likely much higher paid) commissions rather than a "career" as we understand it to be, you're fine. If you're someone who wants to become a career artist/model/voice actor/musician/animator/writer/comic artist/newscaster and expect to find consistent work for the next 50 years, (first, good luck regardless) make these next five to ten years count and/or try considering jumping into the former category.

We don't need AGI for any of this either, so don't think that we have to wait until we "solve intelligence" to see any of this. Nor should you expect it to cost a fortune to use. We only need GANs and most of this tech is open source.

The final and most sobering realization of all this is the cold fact that, ironically contrary to all those predictions of how automation would unfold, entertainment and the arts will be the first field to go. Everyone said that all the drudgery of the world would be automated first, freeing up workers to pursue the arts because "a machine could never write a poem, pen a song, or paint a work of art".

This is something so stupefyingly far from public conscious that there is virtually nothing being done or said about it. You might initially think that it doesn't warrant much discussion until it actually arrives, but when you really start looking at this in-depth, you have a tendency to grow a bit fatalistic. One of my future-shock angsts is about schooling and how public and private schools in their current form are utterly unable to prepare children for the future into which they will graduate (a future in which school itself may become obsolete because there will be little point for it besides social functions and raw education, which isn't what American schooling is for). This is related, but a bit different.

We have a technology that didn't exist 10 years ago and yet will almost certainly upend the entire entertainment industry within 10 years from now. Photoshops and photo manipulation, "dumbfakes" if you will, weren't even a pre-meal mint, let alone the appetizer. We ought to be having a dialog on this, but we aren't.

Many of us refuse to believe it exists at all, that it's just some schizophrenic pipe dreams found on /r/Futurology and /r/Singularity. Others so desperately want to leave a place for humans that they will deny that machines will be able to do these things competently despite being shown the evidence. And those who accept it can only say "So what?" Even though I eagerly await a world where I could generate a multimedia franchise (and the global reaction) in my bedroom on my laptop, there are still pertinent risks.

As /u/ksblur said:

Strange how we live in a world of trust-based security. It would be relatively easy for cryptography to solve that issue (your phone could automatically reject calls without proper signatures or encryption), but people grew up "trusting" the systems so there's not a lot of incentive to change it.

Could you imagine inventing the telephone in 2019 and either A) not encrypting the data (landlines) or B) using weak 64bit A5/1 encryption (GSM)?*

TLDR Skynet wants to become a singer and artist, and Dad (i.e. Humans) doesn't realize it yet.

submitted by /u/Yuli-Ban [link] [comments] source https://www.reddit.com/r/Futurology/comments/b2wv71/the_world_is_utterly_unprepared_for_artificial/

#Future #Futuristic #Future oriented