1. Character profilesThese are great quick snapshots of who each of your main characters are. I try to do one for each of my main characters and supporting characters. Try to go beyond the traditional "blue eyes, black hair, 150lbs." Go deeper than that. I always include a little paragraph about their history as well as their preferred weaponry, language use, and growth points. List their weird quirk, the trait that sets them apart, or the first thing people notice about them. I also like to include an inspiration picture if I can find one on Pinterest. I have an example below (character names placeholders for my real ones). Male MC 1 Race - Dragonbourne Occupation - tracker Phrase Description - bad boy Hair - half shaven head with black, shaggy hair that falls into his eyes a lot. Constantly sweeping it aside. Face - chiseled jawline, scar near his ear, high cheekbones History - always a physical child, loving parents turned him out when he proved to be too much trouble, joined military young, involved with the wrong crowd. Growth point - The world is not out to get him. Weaponry - dual wielding swords Languages - common, dragonbourne You can add anything you want, those are just some of my important categories that really help me when needing to reference back. Customize these profiles to what YOU need to know! 2. Major Element ExplanationsI have not only several magical beings that need explaining, but also several items and plot points. Use your book bible to flush these elements out and over explain them so when they go into the book, you can pull the descriptions you need. I have pages about things like magical artifacts, healing potions, and creature abilities. Your book bible is where you can OVER-explain these things (whereas in your writing, you'll probably have to tone it down). Don't hold back! Go into major detail about everything so that when you pull it into your book, you can pick and choose the best parts. 3. Chapter summariesThis is extremely helpful for pacing. It gives you an overarching view of your whole book and you can see where various plot points are. However, where I find it most helpful is in looking at what chapters are valuable. If there's a chapter description that doesn't lead up to the main conflict or contribute at all, either I have to rewrite it, or delete it! I have a one-word sentence for each chapter that lets me know what happens, whose POV it is and what time of day it is (I don't know why, but I always find time of day super helpful). For example; MC is introduced to SC1 and told about quest plus religious ties. Night. Bar. 4. HistoryThis is where the world-building comes in. Separate your book bible into major sections like Government, Religion, Technology, Weaponry, Culture, Food. Then world-build, world-build, world-build! This section gives me something to refer back to when I have a character curse (would they actually say hell or an equivalent in their religion?) or work through wars or pick out clothing. Instead of making up something that doesn't make sense within the context of your world, take a look back at your history section and find something within it that will fit. I personally write a mini history of the world, cultures, religions, and government. These are my top categories that I find myself referring back to all the time. But it's different for every story and every writer! Find out what you're most often pausing to remember and dig in deep with your details in your book bible. In ConclusionI hope this helps you! What else do you include in your book bibles? Did I miss anything? Let me know in the comments!
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Prompt: The door shut with a hollow thud. Words to use: lap, scrape, hope, treat, alone, almighty My Paragraph: The door shut with a hollow thud. My fingers scraped against its hammered brass as I sunk to my knees. "Please," I whispered, but no one, not even the Almighty Eil, was there to hear me. "Please." I closed my eyes, squeezing out fresh tears, though part of me still held on to hope. This couldn't be right. Soon the doors would open and my husband would storm out, appalled at his first wife being treated this way. My hands fell into my lap. But that would mean Resed lived. And as sure as the sun rose, I knew my husband was dead. Him and everything he stood for gone overnight in an onslaught of feigned patriotism. Leaving me alone. Almighty Eil, what had I done to deserve this? I'd love to see your paragraph or snippet of a story inspired by this prompt in the comments!
Switch it upTry a different project for a little while. A short story, a different genre story, or a side quest for your heroes! This can be dangerous (I just started a new book after pausing my edits on another... whoops), but it's also incredibly healthy. As writers, we get so immersed in our projects that we forget that there's life outside of it! We also tend to forget the excitement of discovering a new story when up to our necks in our current stories. So set it aside for a week and try something else! I promise your book will still be there when you decide to return to it. Lower your daily goalsWhen I get burnt out, I lower my word count goals to only 500 words a day. If it's lower for you, that's totally fine. The habit of writing every day is what matters. So quit focusing on the numbers! So what if you were doing 2,000 words per day, do 500 now. The most important thing, however, is to keep writing, no matter how little. Because the habit of writing daily that's gotten you this far can disappear fast! Another way to relax your goals if word counts aren't your thing is to set a timer for only 30 minutes a day. I do this on my lunch break at work and I'm always surprised how when I don't focus on word count, I actually write more. Instead of worrying about filling the page, I just allow myself to "go with the flow." I find this incredibly therapeutic and a great way to explore new ideas. ReadThink of reading as research or studying for your craft. One of the best things about writing (in my opinion) is that the more you read, the better writer you become. Even if you don't read books critically (I've found myself doing this lately and I hate it), you're subconsciously absorbing the way authors write dialogue and set scenes. When I get overwhelmed or burnt out with my book, I dive into other books in my genre. It reminds me why I love what I do and keeps me going! I'll also pick up a book or two outside of my genre to learn different styles and take a break from what I've been surrounding myself with. Some great standalone books to dive into: -A House of Salt and Sorrows (Erin A. Craig) -A Man Called Ove (Fredrik Backman) -The Life We Bury (Allen Eskens) -Station Eleven (Emily St. John Mandel) -The Five People You Meet in Heaven (Mitch Albom) -Stardust (Neil Gaiman) How to know when the burnout is goneWhen you're itching to get back to your story is when you know you've officially overcome that burnout!
Even if you don't feel burnt out yet, it might be good to try a few of these ideas for a couple weeks to recharge your batteries. Let me know how you overcome burnout in the comments! Photo credit: Pexels The most important thing I've learned during my writing journey is that writing isn't a formula. Not every tip or style works for everyone. You have to work to find what works for you! I share this in hopes of reaching others who may have been in the same boat as me; thinking I was writing "wrong" because I couldn't find anyone who created/wrote the way I did. Write First, Build SecondI know - this is contrary to almost everything you read. Even in school, they teach you how to outline, plot and plan your papers to death. The thing is, that doesn't always work for fiction and it definitely doesn't always work for everyone. I'm a pantser, which means I write best when I wing it. Now that doesn't mean that I get out of world building! Instead, I let my characters tell me about their world first and then I buff it up with little details later. For me, as I write, I visualize the world. Some of that will have to be changed later and guess what? That's okay. So many people wait to write because they think they have to have the world or the characters or the ideas completely flushed out. For some people, yes, this is the case. But it's not that way for everyone! Just start writing and see what comes. My characters have told me the quirkiest things about their worlds that I later add to, and that's great! Why? Because it works. Writing this way is not wrong. I promise you. What works for you is right! Don't wait to start writing because you don't have a world flushed out. It's so much more important to write your story. Take NotesAllow yourself free reign to make crazy choices. Don't limit yourself. You can always edit and cut and rework later. Be creative for a little bit first. While you write, take notes of what you like about the world you've started to create, about what fits and what doesn't. But don't change anything yet. Just write. The editing stage is for making everything cohesive. You get your best ideas when you don't constrain yourself. Where do you even get world-building ideas?A lot of people have asked me where I even get my ideas for my worlds. Many times my characters just tell me about their lives (I'm sane, I promise!). Other than that, honestly travel is a big one for me. Taking my actual experiences and immersing myself in a culture does wonders for my writing, but my top three are below:
Downloadable ResourcesSo that you don't have to go back to all of my previous posts, check out the links below for downloadable docs with worksheets to build your world! Again, I do this all after I'm done so that I can narrow down what questions actually pertain to my story.
Government Belief Systems Peoples Advancement Geography Civilization Remember, there's no right way to do world-building or writing for that matter. You've got this! Happy Writing, World-Builders! Photo credit: M. M. Kastanek
Prompt: A pair of eyes poked out from between the leaves. Words: slit, iris, mouse, ember, dart, cover My Paragraph: A pair of eyes poked out from between the leaves. The amber irises widened as I crouched down. Blinked. Lids peeled open and closed like the dragons of the south. But it wasn't a dragon. Of that I was sure. Instead of being slitted like a dragon's, the eyes were wide and round like Ember's eyes when she saw a mouse. Whatever it was didn't seem afraid, more just curious. A clump of leaves fell in front of it, causing it to dart beneath a moss covered stone. It chittered and then the eyes reappeared closer than before. |
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