˒⠀S O T T . . . 𝙲𝙰𝚁𝙳𝙸𝙸𝙰𝙲
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❛ 𝑾𝑬𝑳𝑪𝑶𝑴𝑬 TO THE 𝑭𝑰𝑵𝑨𝑳
𝑺𝑯𝑶𝑾, 𝑯𝑶𝑷𝑬 YOU'RE WEARING
YOUR 𝑩𝑬𝑺𝑻 CLOTHES. ❜
what NOT to do! ━━ no. 010
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In many writing tips books, almost everyone has this chapter or one similar to it. It's your typical "What Not to Do When Writing" chapter. So, being the boring person I can be, I decided to hop on the bandwagon and do my version! Granted, some of what I say might be reiterated versions of tips already given or simply repeats, so I apologize.
𝟎𝟏. 𝐒𝐭𝐨𝐩 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮'𝐫𝐞 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭. (I'm calling all of us out right now.) All right, so that title might be slightly confusing and passive-aggressive, but it's supposed to be. As a collective mindset, I feel we, as writers tend to create these more perfect versions of ourselves in our stories. Whether they're portrayed as the main or secondary characters, they exist, and it's obvious when there's a perfect character in a story. Not only is it obvious, but it's also annoying, and we need to stop.
Perfection and perfect are simply words that represent toxic ideologies that we, as individuals, have when it comes to who or what we perceive to be perfect and right. No one is perfect; you and I both know that, yet we still conjure up these fictional personas that "prove" that that isn't the case. Is that realistic? No. So, why do we include them in our stories? Because fictional worlds are better than our own, we also want those who inhabit those worlds to be better than us.
I will have an entire dedicated to perfect characters in the future, but I wanted to mention it here.
𝟎𝟐. 𝐂𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐩𝐥𝐨𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧'𝐭 𝐜𝐮𝐭𝐞 𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐲. Cliché storylines are awful, and nobody I know likes them. Nobody likes to watch the same movie with the same plot over and over again every time they turn on the TV. We are constantly searching for something new and different, especially under the current climate of our world, where our everyday lives are blurring together into the same cluster of repetitive events. So, write something new, not old.
I will have an entire dedicated to this in the future, but I wanted to mention it here.
𝟎𝟑. 𝐋𝐎𝐕𝐄 𝐀𝐓 𝐅𝐈𝐑𝐒𝐓 𝐒𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓 𝐈𝐒𝐍'𝐓 𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐋. I am so, so fucking tired of seeing and reading about this cliché. It's bland, boring, predictable, and unrealistic. You don't fall in love with someone just because of their appearance, a slight brushing of the hands, or because they do a kind gesture for you. You fall in love with who someone is; the good, the bad, and the ugly. Not the outer shell. Please, stop using this cliché and avoid it. It doesn't make for an engaging or interesting story.
𝟎𝟒. 𝐔𝐬𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐚𝐬 𝐭𝐨 𝐰𝐡𝐲 𝐚 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐛𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐤𝐬 𝐮𝐩, 𝐰𝐡𝐲 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐩 𝐛𝐞𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐰𝐡𝐲 𝐟𝐚𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐢𝐞𝐬 𝐬𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐭 𝐚𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬𝐧'𝐭 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤. Don't have couples, friends, or families break up in your stories just because they have a fight or disagree on a topic. That's not what happens in "real life," and it takes much more than an argument to ruin a relationship. People fight for one another. They don't usually give up unless they've been pushed to their wits' end. So, if you want that to happen, use compelling, realistic, and understandable reasoning. Make it believable so that if the reader were in the character's place, they wouldn't want to stay in that relationship, family, or friendship.
𝟎𝟓. 𝐎𝐯𝐞𝐫-𝐞𝐱𝐚𝐠𝐠𝐞𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐬𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐝𝐫𝐚𝐦𝐚 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐧𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐨𝐧 𝐝𝐨𝐞𝐬𝐧'𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐲𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫. Just because you have a lil drop of drama or conflict in your storyline doesn't mean that it's immaculate or outstanding. Especially if the drama is petty or ridiculous, for example, don't create an entire dramatic storyline or scene just because Jessica doesn't like Tiffany and tells people at school that her outfits are ugly and remind her of a toddler. That's stupid and boring. Additionally, don't have exaggerated scenes over minor events. If it's going to be a dramatic scene, make it over something that will have people shaken. Give a good reason and solid conflict.
I hope this is helpful! This is super short, but these are just some of my What Not to Do's when writing.
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❛ YOU 𝑪𝑨𝑵'𝑻 𝑩𝑹𝑰𝑩𝑬 THE DOOR
ON 𝒀𝑶𝑼𝑹 𝑾𝑨𝒀 TO THE 𝚂𝙺𝚈. ❜
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