Writing Prompt #380: Hook, Line And Sinker

Here’s a tip;

Write about the things that hurt you. The things that itch just beneath your skin. About the shit inside your head that you can’t get out of your mouth, words too fragile and broken to talk about. Write and write and write it out on paper, write it away, write it from deep inside you and get it out.

pick-me-ups for writers

for the self-conscious beginner: No one makes great things until the world intimately knows their mediocrity. Don’t think of your writing as terrible; think of it as preparing to contribute something great.

for the self-conscious late bloomer: Look at old writing as how far you’ve come. You can’t get to where you are today without covering all that past ground. For that, be proud.

for the perfectionist: Think about how much you complain about things you love—the mistakes and retcons in all your favorite series—and how you still love them anyway. Give yourself that same space.

for the realist: There will be people who hate your story even if it’s considered a classic. But there will be people who love your story, even if it is strange and unpopular.

for the fanfic writer: Your work isn’t lesser for not following canon. When you write, you’ve created a new work on its own. It can be, but does not have to be, limited by the source material. Canon is not the end-all, be-all. 

for the writer’s blocked: It doesn’t need to be perfect. Sometimes you have to move on and commit a few writing sins if it means you can create better things out of it.

for the lost: You started writing for a reason; remember that reason. It’s ok to move on. You are more than your writing. It will be here if you want to come back.

Writing Prompt #296: Write This Story

Animals tend to be the best alarm systems. if they suddenly kick up a fuss, it’s time to move. If they go completely silent, it’s really time to move.

Writing Prompt #22: Prove Them Wrong!

Take every bit of writing advice you’ve ever heard and throw it out the window. Your job today is to fit every cliche you can possibly think of into your story. Don’t write them in a new way, don’t put a spin on it, don’t phrase it differently. Do straight up, in your face cliche. And make us like it.

One Word Writing Prompts

Send me a number 1 thru 50 for a word that I’ll use to write either a headcanon, drabble, or starter. Send 🌀 for a random number instead.

01. — first 02. — kiss 03. — final 04. — numb 05. — broken 06. — wings 07. — melody 08. — rules 09. — chocolate 10. — nostalgia 11. — heartbeat 12. — stranger 13. — confusion 14. — bitter 15. — afterlife 16. — daybreak 17. — audience 18. — endless 19. — fireworks 20. — wishing 21. — birthday 22. — tomorrow 23. — oppression 24. — agony 25. — return 26. — protection 27. — boxes 28. — hope 29. — preparation 30. — beautiful 31. — lies 32. — underneath 33. — hide 34. — diary 35. — unforeseen 36. — conditional 37. — gone 38. — clear 39. — heartache 40. — wired 41. — insanity 42. — foolish 43. — words 44. — study 45. — love 46. — skies 47. — stars 48. — lucky 49. — shake 50. — punctual

Worldbuilding: Food and Drink

When building a world, sometimes food and drink can be overlooked in the worldbuilding process.  It can sometimes just be assumed what the characters are eating.  But not all taverns and restaurants serve the same things, especially if they are different locations.  What different classes eat will vary as well.  So it is important to work out a menu for your culture.  Especially when trying to figure out what just made your character ill. In this post, I have compiled a list of questions pertaining to food and drink.  While it was exhausting to put together, the list itself is not exhaustive.  The intent of the questions is to get you thinking about your characters’ diets, and possibly the diet of all the other cultures you may have created.

Be as detailed as possible, answer questions not listed, and above all, have fun!

The questions compiled are inspired, taken, modified, or edited from three forums on the NaNoWriMo website: Respond, Answer, Ask 2016 Worldbuilding, Respond, Answer, Ask, 2016 Fantasy, and Fantasy Worldbuilding Questions.

What is the common breakfast meal?

What is the common lunch meal?

What is the common dinner meal?

Does it differ from class to class?

Are there any more meals in the day? Second breakfast?  Elevensies? Chocolate time?  Midnight snack?

What times do the meals take place?

Is there any take out form of meal? What restaurants sell fast food?  How do they package the food?  Do they charge more because of packaging?

What does the typical restaurant/tavern sell? What are some popular restaurants/taverns?  What is the favorite hang out place?

What can be found at a bar?

What kinds of alcoholic drinks are available?

What kind of drinks do they have with their meal? Just water?  Or perhaps a sip of wine?

What kind of drinks do they have without meals? Perhaps it is improper to have tea with breakfast.  Perhaps milk is best drunk alone.

What role does food and drink play? Are they for sustenance only?  Are they a status of wealth?

What are some popular dishes or recipes?

What are some favorite snacks? Jerky? Dried fruit?  Chocolate?  Some food not found on Earth?

What foods are seasonal?

What is considered dessert?

What kind of seasonings are used? Which ones are popular?  Which ones are coveted because it is hard to get them?

How is food and drink stored?

Do diets vary by place or species? Do elves and humans living together eat the same thing?  Or do they have a separate diet?  Why?

What food is common?

What food is consider a delicacy?

What foods have to be prepared in a certain way so they are not poisonous? Blowfish not cooked properly can poisonous.  The pits of apricots and apple seeds are lethal if too many are eaten.  What foods must be prepared or eaten with care?

What are some foods that would only be seen on a rich person’s table?

What are some foods that would only be seen on a poor person’s table?

What are some foods that would sold on the street? Corndogs?  Scorpion on a stick?  Fried frog?

Does the community hold potlucks?  What would be brought to a potluck?

What are some dining etiquettes? Burping at the table is a compliment to the chef.  It is impolite to not thank the host for the food before eating.  No elbows are allowed on the table.

Is it improper to eat with someone outside of their class?

What kind of dishes are used at the table?

What are some things no one should do at the table?

Are there foods for the road?

What are some common poisons? Everyone knows it’s poisonous.  And it can be found anywhere.

What are some lesser known poisons? Exotic poisons.  Poisons from different lands.  Poisons that assassins may use in the king’s cup.

Most effective poisons? What is consider most effective?  Poisons where the victim is clearly poisoned, with foam coming from the mouth?  Or poisons where the victim slips into a deep sleep and no one knows what happened until they discover the victim won’t wake up?

How is drinking water collected?

What are the most common crops?

Does magic play in a part in agriculture?

What is the most common animal to be hunted?

Is fishing an available option?

Words to use instead of ‘said’

**Using the word ‘said’ is absolutely not a bad choice, and in fact, you will want to use it for at least 40% of all your dialogue tags. Using other words can be great, especially for description and showing emotion, but used in excess can take away or distract from the story.

Neutral: acknowledged, added, affirmed, agreed, announced, answered, appealed, articulated, attested, began, bemused, boasted, called, chimed in, claimed, clarified, commented, conceded, confided, confirmed, contended, continued, corrected, decided, declared, deflected, demurred, disclosed, disputed, emphasized, explained, expressed, finished, gloated, greeted, hinted, imitated, imparted, implied, informed, interjected, insinuated, insisted, instructed, lectured, maintained, mouthed, mused, noted, observed, offered, put forth, reassured, recited, remarked, repeated, requested, replied, revealed, shared, spoke up, stated, suggested, uttered, voiced, volunteered, vowed, went on

Persuasive: advised, appealed, asserted, assured, begged, cajoled, claimed, convinced, directed, encouraged, implored, insisted, pleaded, pressed, probed, prodded, prompted, stressed, suggested, urged

Continuously: babbled, chattered, jabbered, rambled, rattled on

Quietly: admitted, breathed, confessed, croaked, crooned, grumbled, hissed, mumbled, murmured, muttered, purred, sighed, whispered

Loudly: bellowed, blurted, boomed, cried, hollered, howled, piped, roared, screamed, screeched, shouted, shrieked, squawked, thundered, wailed, yelled, yelped

Happily/Lovingly: admired, beamed, cackled, cheered, chirped, comforted, consoled, cooed, empathized, flirted, gushed, hummed, invited, praised, proclaimed, professed, reassured, soothed, squealed, whooped

Humour: bantered, chuckled, giggled, guffawed, jested, joked, joshed

Sad: bawled, begged, bemoaned, blubbered, grieved, lamented, mewled, mourned, pleaded, sniffled, sniveled, sobbed, wailed, wept, whimpered

Frustrated: argued, bickered, chastised, complained, exasperated, groaned, huffed, protested, whinged

Anger: accused, bristled, criticized, condemned, cursed, demanded, denounced, erupted, fumed, growled, lied, nagged, ordered, provoked, raged, ranted remonstrated, retorted, scoffed, scolded, scowled, seethed, shot, snapped, snarled, sneered, spat, stormed, swore, taunted, threatened, warned

Disgust: cringed, gagged, groused, griped, grunted, mocked, rasped, sniffed, snorted

Fear: cautioned, faltered, fretted, gasped, quaked, quavered, shuddered, stammered, stuttered, trembled, warned, whimpered, whined

Excited: beamed, cheered, cried out, crowed, exclaimed, gushed, rejoiced, sang, trumpeted

Surprised: blurted, exclaimed, gasped, marveled, sputtered, yelped

Provoked: bragged, dared, gibed, goaded, insulted, jeered, lied, mimicked, nagged, pestered, provoked, quipped, ribbed, ridiculed, sassed, teased

Uncertainty/Questionned: asked, challenged, coaxed, concluded, countered, debated, doubted, entreated, guessed, hesitated, hinted, implored, inquired, objected, persuaded, petitioned, pleaded, pondered, pressed, probed, proposed, queried, questioned, quizzed, reasoned, reiterated, reported, requested, speculated, supposed, surmised, testified, theorized, verified, wondered

This is by no means a full list, but should be more than enough to get you started!

Any more words you favor? Add them in the comments!

Happy Writing :)

Writing Prompt #234: Write This Story

The apothecary had been there for as long as anyone could remember.

Full offense but your writing style is for you and nobody else. Use the words you want to use; play with language, experiment, use said, use adverbs, use “unrealistic” writing patterns, slap words you don’t even know are words on the page. Language is a sandbox and you, as the author, are at liberty to shape it however you wish. Build castles. Build a hovel. Build a mountain on a mountain or make a tiny cottage on a hill. Whatever it is you want to do. Write.

Writing Prompt #284: That’s What They Said

“Wow. This is all kinds of not good.”