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Talk like an open book
So one exercise I like to do, to get my focus on writing in check, is to make a list of the things I like to write about. Everything from the deeply thematic to the stupidest little details, character tropes and setting details. So here, I will stream of conscious a list first, then try to make an order of it afterwards. Later on, I can figure out if/how I can incorporate as many of these things as possible into my Nano.
This exercise is way super helpful to me, especially when I get all "BAAAAAAAAAWL I NEVER WRITE ANYTHING ORIGINAL OR INTERESTING, BAAAAAAWL." The point is to write stuff I like, and if other people like it too, then there we go.
___________________________________
-Cowboys
-Guns
-Long staff type weapons, like javelins and bos
-Chest armor
-Athletic characters, actually participate in sports
-Golds and warm colors
-Characters in their 20's
-Emphasis on hands, fingers, sense of touch
-Characters with pride
-Prince character tropes
-Tarot, astrology, numerology
-Characters who knowingly reject stereotypes, may end up in conflict with family/community because of it
-Diversity in cast characters
-Riddlers, characters with joking, jaunty patterns of speech
-Trickster characters as guides, tricksters as the only voice of sanity in an unstable place
-Oblivious characters, characters willfully ignorant of major issues in their lives
-Characters who turn away from the support of others for the sake of pride
-Setting during a change of seasons, spring to summer, summer to fall, etc
-Motorcycles
-Chains, leather, bondage imagery (not for the sake of a BDSM fetish, but for an allusion to emotional bondage, See Asiel.)
-Mirrored personalities, two sides to the same person
-Female characters who are doggedly independent
-Characters with many siblings.
-Conversely, characters raised as only-children.
-Fast paced action, face-breaking action. Violence and blood without being gruesome. Speed, whirlwind motion.
-OH SHIT revelation moments.
-Troubled relationships, relationships on the rocks whether for internal or external reasons.
-Slap Slap Kiss Kiss
-Dreams, unconscious.
-Contrasting a character's self-perception with their reality.
-Sleep, vulnerablity of a person who is sleeping (translated as emotional vulnerability)
-Mythology, gods, heroes.
-Lost power, difficulties adapting to a fallen status. Denial.
-Trapped characters, characters who are forced to barricade themselves against danger.
-Passive male characters increasingly forced into being more and more active and aggressive.
-On the run, on the road.
-Urban settings, real world, minimal magical influence.
-Character feeling it is him/her against the world, but choosing to be a champion instead of backing down.
-Characters with something to say, either public speaking or as writers or musicians.
-Brown-eyed characters.
-Animals as symbols.
-Characters with bad fashion (willfully as a way of saying SCREW YOU to the people around them)
-Characters with bad fashion (as an extension of their obliviousness)
-Awesome shoes for practical purposes
-Leather jackets
-Sunglasses
-Looking at the same thing and thinking different things
-Panicked introductions, introducing a character while they are out of their element
-Characters with unconventional means, solutions
-Characters who can build and create objects
-Flirty male characters
-Girls who can game
-Casual speech patterns, dialogue that follows usual jargon and bad grammar
-Characters gaining the strength to break out of confinement
-Forests, trees, the protective cover of a heavy canopy.
-Healing, particularly the personal 'nurse' interaction of one char to another
-Rebirth, regeneration, reincarnation.
-Fear, what it takes to get a person to a breaking point.
-Alcohol as escape.
-Applying a 'code of honor' to non-battle situations, like music or gaming
-Characters reverting to childish behavior/hobbies when stressed out (playing with legos, building a cushion fort, etc)
-Meeting of ancient and modern, give-and-take of the two eras in question, finding odd parallels
-Stars, planets.
-Jersey guys and girls, Italian characters.
- Leaving a homeland.
- "Happiness in slavery" (a line from a Nine Inch Nails song, as a conflict, independence and struggle vs. happy complacency)
-Music as an indicator of personality.
- Foolish mistakes as a youth that still haunts.
- Bittersweet endings, endings in which the end result is primarily an emotional/psychological shift in a character.
- Relationships that restrain and hurt
- Present phobias/worries that tie into pain in a past life/experience, and the slow reveal of
-Punny names, names with relevance
-Characters who react badly to figures of authority.
-Male characters threatened by other males.
- Real courage born of trying to protect others confused with courage that is born of desire to prove self
__________________________
Okay, that is all I can manage for now. TIME FOR MORE TAGS :D As a bonus, have this Metric song I've been playing on repeat - Gimme Sympathy.
If you intend on commenting on this, you better comment with 5 things that you like to write about <3 Big or small.
This exercise is way super helpful to me, especially when I get all "BAAAAAAAAAWL I NEVER WRITE ANYTHING ORIGINAL OR INTERESTING, BAAAAAAWL." The point is to write stuff I like, and if other people like it too, then there we go.
___________________________________
-Cowboys
-Guns
-Long staff type weapons, like javelins and bos
-Chest armor
-Athletic characters, actually participate in sports
-Golds and warm colors
-Characters in their 20's
-Emphasis on hands, fingers, sense of touch
-Characters with pride
-Prince character tropes
-Tarot, astrology, numerology
-Characters who knowingly reject stereotypes, may end up in conflict with family/community because of it
-Diversity in cast characters
-Riddlers, characters with joking, jaunty patterns of speech
-Trickster characters as guides, tricksters as the only voice of sanity in an unstable place
-Oblivious characters, characters willfully ignorant of major issues in their lives
-Characters who turn away from the support of others for the sake of pride
-Setting during a change of seasons, spring to summer, summer to fall, etc
-Motorcycles
-Chains, leather, bondage imagery (not for the sake of a BDSM fetish, but for an allusion to emotional bondage, See Asiel.)
-Mirrored personalities, two sides to the same person
-Female characters who are doggedly independent
-Characters with many siblings.
-Conversely, characters raised as only-children.
-Fast paced action, face-breaking action. Violence and blood without being gruesome. Speed, whirlwind motion.
-OH SHIT revelation moments.
-Troubled relationships, relationships on the rocks whether for internal or external reasons.
-Slap Slap Kiss Kiss
-Dreams, unconscious.
-Contrasting a character's self-perception with their reality.
-Sleep, vulnerablity of a person who is sleeping (translated as emotional vulnerability)
-Mythology, gods, heroes.
-Lost power, difficulties adapting to a fallen status. Denial.
-Trapped characters, characters who are forced to barricade themselves against danger.
-Passive male characters increasingly forced into being more and more active and aggressive.
-On the run, on the road.
-Urban settings, real world, minimal magical influence.
-Character feeling it is him/her against the world, but choosing to be a champion instead of backing down.
-Characters with something to say, either public speaking or as writers or musicians.
-Brown-eyed characters.
-Animals as symbols.
-Characters with bad fashion (willfully as a way of saying SCREW YOU to the people around them)
-Characters with bad fashion (as an extension of their obliviousness)
-Awesome shoes for practical purposes
-Leather jackets
-Sunglasses
-Looking at the same thing and thinking different things
-Panicked introductions, introducing a character while they are out of their element
-Characters with unconventional means, solutions
-Characters who can build and create objects
-Flirty male characters
-Girls who can game
-Casual speech patterns, dialogue that follows usual jargon and bad grammar
-Characters gaining the strength to break out of confinement
-Forests, trees, the protective cover of a heavy canopy.
-Healing, particularly the personal 'nurse' interaction of one char to another
-Rebirth, regeneration, reincarnation.
-Fear, what it takes to get a person to a breaking point.
-Alcohol as escape.
-Applying a 'code of honor' to non-battle situations, like music or gaming
-Characters reverting to childish behavior/hobbies when stressed out (playing with legos, building a cushion fort, etc)
-Meeting of ancient and modern, give-and-take of the two eras in question, finding odd parallels
-Stars, planets.
-Jersey guys and girls, Italian characters.
- Leaving a homeland.
- "Happiness in slavery" (a line from a Nine Inch Nails song, as a conflict, independence and struggle vs. happy complacency)
-Music as an indicator of personality.
- Foolish mistakes as a youth that still haunts.
- Bittersweet endings, endings in which the end result is primarily an emotional/psychological shift in a character.
- Relationships that restrain and hurt
- Present phobias/worries that tie into pain in a past life/experience, and the slow reveal of
-Punny names, names with relevance
-Characters who react badly to figures of authority.
-Male characters threatened by other males.
- Real courage born of trying to protect others confused with courage that is born of desire to prove self
__________________________
Okay, that is all I can manage for now. TIME FOR MORE TAGS :D As a bonus, have this Metric song I've been playing on repeat - Gimme Sympathy.
If you intend on commenting on this, you better comment with 5 things that you like to write about <3 Big or small.
no subject
By the way, I'm thinking about trying for maybe a novella during this writing month thing. Not the full on novel, but maybe half of it. I'm not sure, though.
(I think I'm looking for someone else to say, AW HELL YES so I can feel like I'm not being crazy. )
no subject
dude you have NOTHING TO LOSE by trying. And Nano is like my Christmas. It is what I look forward to every year, and though it can be a bitch at the time, I always feel a billion times better about myself as a writer once I'm done.
What do you like to write about :D
no subject
What do I like to write about? What don't I like to write about is a shorter list, really.
Sex, swordplay, straight historical fiction, junior high, magical cats.