Physical Descriptions - List of Hair Colors Hair Color List (Note: an updated and expanded version of this list appears in my 15K-word book How to Describe Hair and Skin. See below.) [First, my profound apologies to the vast majority of readers who don't steal content, but I have to state the following. This article and all content on this website belongs to Val Kovalin, copyright © Obsidianbookshelf.com, except where noted. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without written permission from Val Kovalin is strictly prohibited. I'll admit it – hair colors are fun, even for someone like me who advocates keeping description to a minimum. Natural human hair color comes in these basic shades: blond(e), red, light brown, dark brown, black, gray, white. Don't forget about highlights! What are the nouns that apply to people with certain hair colors? Also, sometimes words pick up additional shades of meaning over time that are irrational but exist, and you won't find these connotations listed in the dictionary.
Cheat Sheets for Writing Body Language Translate emotions into written body language We are always told to use body language in our writing. Sometimes, it's easier said than written. I decided to create these cheat sheets to help you show a character's state of mind. Obviously, a character may exhibit a number of these behaviours. For example, he may be shocked and angry, or shocked and happy. The Top Five Tips For Using Body Language Use body language to add depth to dialogue. If you want to learn how to write a book, join our Writers Write course in Johannesburg. Even if you're not busy with a book, prompts are an excellent way to exercise the writing muscle. If you enjoyed this post, read:
Character Flaw Index To make characters realistic and relatable they are given flaws, because if there is anything a writer can be sure of it is that no one in their audience will be perfect. Flaws are character traits that have a negative impact in the narrative, unless they are simply informed. They can also be exploited. See Good Flaws, Bad Flaws for a scale of flaw acceptability. Compare Seven Deadly Sins, Ego Tropes. Abusive Parents: Habitually violent and cruel to their own children, often because that's how they themselves were raised.
Character Questionnaires - Get to Know Your Characters Receive more writing tips and advice (along with special offers and other Gotham news). One of the best ways to get to know your characters is to ask questions about them. Many writers do this as a kind of homework before they actually start writing a story. The more you know your characters, the fuller they will be. This might also make your story easier to write. The following questionnaires may be downloaded so you can work with the actual documents. Character Questionnaire 1 This questionnaire is found in Gotham Writers Workshops Writing Fiction. You might start with questions that address the basics about a character: What is your characters name? What is your characters hair color? What kind of distinguishing facial features does your character have? Does your character have a birthmark? Who are your characters friends and family? Where was your character born? Where does your character go when hes angry? What is her biggest fear? Does she have a secret? Look at your characters feet.
Emotional Insecurity – Cause, Aftermath and How to Get Rid of It - Sparkonit Emotional Insecurity maybe defined as a feeling of unease which is triggered by perceiving oneself to be worthless, unloved or not good enough. Emotional insecurity is mostly a big part of some mental disorders like Borderline Personality Disorder and Narcissistic Personality Disorder, which often results in low self-esteem and at times in too high self-esteem that manifests itself as arrogance or a sense of superiority. An emotionally insecure person is pessimistic, sometimes antisocial or suffers from social anxiety, body dysmorphia, self-centeredness among other emotional states. Most insecure people suffer from some degree of isolation. Emotional security is the potential in which a person has a complete control over his emotional state, or in short, a person who is psychologically resilient. Unlike a person who is emotionally secured, an insecure person is psychologically weak, he believes he has certain flaws and he’s not as perfect as he should be.
Creating Stunning Character Arcs, Pt. 1: Can You Structure Characters? What if there were a sure-fire secret to creating stunning character arcs? Would you be interested in discovering it? If you care about connecting with readers, grabbing hold of their emotions, and creating stories that will resonate with them on a level deeper than mere entertainment, then the answer has to be a resounding yes! But here’s the thing about character arcs: they’re way too easy to take for granted. On the surface, character arcs seem to boil down to nothing more than a simple three-step process: 1. 2. 3. That’s character arc in a nutshell. Turns out: a lot. (Featured in the Structuring Your Novel Workbook.) The Link Between Character Arcs and Story Structure Too often, character and plot are viewed as separate entities—to the point that we often pit them against each other, trying to determine which is more important. We often think of plot as being about structure, but our notions of character and character arc tend toward the more airy-fairy. Surely, right? Wrong, actually.
30 Tips For Writing a Book in 30 Days WritersDigest.com Sometimes it’s a lone writer who’s been putting off a story idea for too long, and decides it’s now or never. Sometimes it’s a pair or a group determined to find out what they can achieve by sharing self-imposed deadlines and strong pots of coffee. Sometimes it’s peer pressure or curiosity about National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo.org), that challenge that rallies ever-increasing numbers of writers around the globe every November to band together in pursuit of a 50,000-word “win.” This article is by Jessica Strawser, editor of Writer’s Digest. For more great writing advice, follow her on Twitter @JessicaStrawser. What do writers really glean from these write-a-thons? 1. After working five years on perfecting a novel, I sent out a round of queries, received some requests for the full manuscript, but ultimately was rejected every time. For years friends had been trying to get me to participate in NaNoWriMo. The results were amazing. [21 Fast Hacks to Fuel Your Story With Suspense] 2.
Medieval Names - List of Medieval Names List of human emotions. List of feelings. I put this list of emotions and feelings together some years ago for use in my counselling sessions. I was aware that men in particular (though of course not exclusively) often struggled to articulate their feelings. I thought it could help to give them a list of emotions and feelings to guide them towards identifying specifically what they felt. Prof. Simon Baron Cohen, in his book “The Essential Difference”, talks about 'empathising' brains and 'systemising' brains. Men are more likely to have systemising brains while women are more like to have empathising brains. The 'emphasisers' are more 'in touch' with their feelings and so can more easily pinpoint the particular emotions they are experiencing at any time. This can mean that women are generally more able to identify and talk about their feelings than men. Of course, I learned over time that sometimes roles are switched. Oh and by the way... clients couldn't care less about the difference between emotions and feelings!
25 Things You Should Know About Character Previous iterations of the “25 Things” series: 25 Things Every Writer Should Know 25 Things You Should Know About Storytelling And now… Here you’ll find the many things I believe — at this moment! 1. Without character, you have nothing. 2. A great character can be the line between narrative life and story death. 3. Don’t believe that all those other aspects are separate from the character. 4. The audience will do anything to spend time with a great character. 5. It is critical to know what a character wants from the start. 6. It doesn’t matter if we “like” your character, or in the parlance of junior high whether we even “like-like” your character. 7. It is critical to smack the audience in the crotchal region with an undeniable reason to give a fuck. 8. You must prove this thesis: “This character is worth the audience’s time.” 9. Don’t let the character be a dingleberry stuck to the ass of a toad as he floats downriver on a bumpy log. 10. 11. 12. 13. The law of threes. 15. 16. 17. 18.
Creative Writing Prompts Write a scene that includes a character speaking a different language, speaking in a thick accent, or otherwise speaking in a way that is unintelligibe to the other characters. (Note: You don't necessarily need to know the language the character is speaking—be creative with it!) Describe a character's reaction to something without explaining what it is. Write a story or a scene about one character playing a prank on another. Writing Prompt: Write a story that involves confusion over homonyms (words that have the same spelling but different meanings) or homophones (words that sound the same but are spelled differently). For World Storytelling Day, share the best story you've ever heard or told by word of mouth, or have a fictional character recount their favorite story. You're making your way down a cobbled street when a stocky, red-bearded man beckons you into an alley. Pick an item from each column in the chart to create a simile.
6 Ways to Make Sure Your Reader’s Brain Syncs with Your Protagonist’s Brain photo by Andres Musta via Flickr Because here’s the thing: it’s not fiction. It’s fact. And, okay, the part where you have to put your fingertips on the other guy’s face to do it. To figure that part out we had to wait for something that even ‘Bones’ McCoy didn’t have access to — fMRI technology, which revealed that when we’re really engaged in listening to a story, our brain synchronizes with the speaker’s brain – literally mirroring it. fMRI studies reveal that when we’re really engaged in listening to a story, our brain synchronizes with the speaker’s brain – literally mirroring it. In other words, we really are on the same wavelength, and their experiences become ours. The exact same thing is true when we’re reading a story. Cognitive psychologist and novelist Keith Oatley defines fiction as “a simulation that runs on the software of our minds. Exactly! Story is an internal brain-to-brain, emotion-driven expedition, whether it’s a literary novel, a potboiler or an ad for toothpaste.
Spelling Bee What are the different ways to play the Visual Thesaurus Spelling Bee? There are two different ways to play. In the Tournament Spelling Bee, you'll be challenged by a series of words, with the spelling difficulty adapted to your skill level. The more words you get right, the higher your score will go, on a scale from 200 to 800. You can also try a Community Spelling Bee generated from one of our subscribers' word lists. How does the Visual Thesaurus Spelling Bee work? Each turn, you'll hear the recording of the word and see its definition (with words suitably omitted that might give away the correct spelling). In the Tournament Spelling Bee, the more words you get right, the higher your score will go. If you play a Community Spelling Bee, the words from the selected word list are presented in random order. What happens if I misspell a word? If you spell a word incorrectly, you can keep guessing for as long as you like. How does the scoring work? How do I get on the high score list?