5 Corrupt Settings for Your Fictional World Building
Corrupt politicians
Is your world full of corrupt politicians?
Is the whole system corrupt or are there certain secret societies of corruption?
Corrupt justice system
Does your character fight their way through a corrupt justice system?
Do they deal with an entire country or more local corruption?
Are they a lawyer?
Are they a judge?
Are they an officer?
Are they a reporter?
Are they the defendant?
Are they the prosecutor?
Corrupt police force
Des your character deal with a corrupt police system?
Are there a few bad cops or does it run much deeper?
Are they a cop or a citizen?
How do they find out about the corruption?
How does the opposing antagonist threaten them?
Company corruption
Is the CEO embezzling?
Is the board lying and stealing from the customers?
Is the company covering something up?
Are there billions or trillions on the line?
Are individuals that find out dying?
How far do they go to keep everything covered up and out of the light?
Corrupt Government
How far does the corruption go?
Are they stealing from the people?
Do they deny the people their rights and freedoms?
Is there a certain sector of the government that is more corrupt?
Who finds out and how?
What is the allegation?
Put your characters into corrupt situations to create tension and interest for your story.
If nothing ever goes wrong for them, they don’t have very interesting lives.
Follow the natural consequences of the setting to make problems for your characters to overcome
The more organic it is, the more depth the fictional story will carry with it in a natural way.
We hope you are enjoying our series on bad settings that make interesting stories. Look around for more settings that could spark your next best seller!
5 Corrupt Settings for Your Fictional World Building
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5 Corrupt Settings for Your Fictional World Building
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Use These Powerful Words to Express Heartache | Writing Examples Included
1. Pain
There isn’t much pain like heartache.
2. Grief
His grief was inconsolable. No one could get him out of his trance. He just sat day and night waiting for the pain to pass, but knew it never would. That nothing would ever be the same without her.
3. Despair
They came in and took everything. They left nothing for the people they raided. They left utter despair.
4. Sadness
Ever experience the sadness of a heartbreak?
5. Hurt
Even though the damage was only emotional the hurt was physical, sickening and he couldn’t find a way to logically escape it.
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5 Powerful Words that Express Heartache + Writing Prompts
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5 Powerful Words that Express Heartache+ Writing Prompts
Be a smart writer and take advantage of every word.
Write powerful words when appropriate to trigger an emotional response from your reader.
You can write powerful words instead of dull words to incite a desirous psychological reaction in your reader while you have their attention.
Write power words to give your reader specific feelings about characters and events.
Use the powerful word in a natural way that comes across organic and smoothly. Do not force it. Just let it flow.
Power words are good for pivotal dialogue moments. They are good to consider for fiction as well as non-fiction.
Use power words to take your reader’s attention.
Draw their eyes and attention to where you want it the most.
Wake the reader up from zoning out while they are reading your piece.
Use power words strategically to get them from idea to idea.
Use simple power words that are easy to understand but that pack a punch compared to other boring words.
Write powerful words to keep your sentences interesting to your reader.
Don’t lose them by not drawing their attention back from losing focus.
When doing freelance writing projects use power words to write better-converting headlines and subject lines.
In blogging use power words in the titles and subheadings.
In emails use them in headlines and subject lines.
Don’t overdo it. Don’t try to force many into any one sentence unless it calls for it.
Hopefully, this fast short post helps you think through some of your own writing and where you can incorporate simple power words in a meaningful, natural, and effective way.
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If you enjoy Use These Powerful Words to Express Heartache | Writing Examples Included, Storytelling and writing in general, you might love owning a domain of your own where you can write about it? Ever want to own your own domain name (Yourname.com)?
Bluehost hosts your blog so that you can own your domain and make money blogging. Check them out only if you’re interested in making money blogging; otherwise, go for a free blog instead 🙂
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5 Powerful Words that feel Bizarre + Writing Prompts
Odd
“Have you been feeling odd lately?”
“Yes. How did you know?”
“Well, it could be because of the poison I’ve been putting in your dinners.”
“You’ve been poisoning me?”
“Yes, darling. I told you I’d get you back.”
Peculiar
“Peculiar circumstances have been happening a lot in this community lately.”
Curious
“Well, I’m as curious as you are. Why don’t we just go ask hin already?!”
Outlandish
“Now that’s an outlandish idea. You want to rope up some cows together and see if you can stand on them while they run? And you say this will help you get better at water skiing?!”
5 Powerful Words that feel Bizarre + Writing Prompts
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Unorthodox
“That’s is the craziest thing I’ve ever heard of.”
“Yes, it’s a bit unorthodox, but it actually just might work. Our timing has to be perfect though or else sssplat!”
Write power words to help your reader feel a certain way towards characters or situations.
Use the powerful word in a natural way that comes across organic and smoothly. Do not force it. Just let it flow.
Power words are good for pivotal dialogue moments. They are good to consider fiction as well as non-fiction.
Use power words to take your reader’s attention.
Draw their eyes and attention to where you want it the most.
Wake the reader up from zoning out while they are reading your piece.
Use power words strategically to get them from idea to idea.
Use simple power words that are easy to understand but that pack a punch compared to other boring words.
Write powerful words to keep your sentences interesting to your reader.
Don’t lose them by not drawing their attention back from losing focus.
When doing freelance writing projects use power words to write better-converting headlines and subject lines.
In blogging use power words in the titles and subheadings.
In emails use them in headlines and subject lines.
Don’t overdo it. Don’t try to force many into any one sentence unless it calls for it.
Hopefully, this fast short post helps you think through some of your own writing and where you can incorporate simple power words in a meaningful, natural, and effective way.
5 Powerful Words that feel Bizarre + Writing Prompts
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5 Powerful Words that feel Bizarre + Writing Prompts
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Avoid These Common World Building Mistakes When Writing Nature
There are some common tropes that get brought up when creating nature. Peace, tranquility, and innocence.
But if you actually take a look at nature you see very different themes coming up.
It’s a dog eat dog world.
Many writers have written nature as if it is the peaceful land that civilization came and messed up. This thought seems to come mostly from those that actually think that humans and civilization ruin everything.
But let’s examine nature with or without humans.
Most of the animals hunt and kill and eat each other. Wolves murder wolves not in their own specific pack. Foxes kill rabbits. Spiders eat other insects. Fish eat fish. Fish eat bugs.
There is a vast amount of killing and bloodshed in the woods all while humans are away. Violence is present in the wilderness with or without humans.
Nature doesn’t always have to be portrayed as the peaceful and tranquil forest that is untainted by man. You see this a lot in Eastern films. (Don’t get me wrong, anime is awesome) but the point stands that if you wanted to write about the violence of nature that would be a completely understandable theme. (It seems like Attack on Titan explores this theme)
Money is the root of all evil.
A theme we see a lot is the forest is pure until evil man comes and corrupts it with industry and greed.
The quote that “money is the root of all evil” actually comes from the Bible. And this is a misquote of what was actually said.
The actual quote is, “the love of money is the root of all kinds of evil.” See the difference? Money isn’t the root of ALL evil acts, but the LOVE OF MONEY is the cause of many evil decisions.
So is money and industry inherently bad for nature? No. People need to survive and build homes and make heat. Cutting down some trees to do so is a part of nature existing just as much as planting new trees and growing new forests.
The point is you can build good industries into your world and evil industries. And they can both affect nature in good and unhealthy ways.
But corruption shows itself in nature every day in wilderness where man has yet to step.
Parasite.
Need I say more?
In nature fungus grows on trees and kills them. Parasites latch onto animals and feed on them while they’re still alive.
The very existence of these parasitic species is evidence of corruption in nature.
Now, does it seem like man ultimately caused that corruption in the first place? Yes. But that’s another story for another time.
The point is corruption in nature can be an explored theme in world-building without the evil industry making its way into the woods.
Death stalks the forest.
In this entire post, the theme is that violence, corruption, and death at this time all run rampant in the woods even on days when humans don’t get involved.
A Hunter may not shoot the rabbit with his bow but the bobcat might still pounce on it and break its neck.
A resounding theme in the wilderness is unending survival. Every creature seems to be struggling to survive.
And that is a great theme: survival.
So don’t always assume that if you are attempting to do some world-building and the woods are a major part that you MUST make the woods peaceful, tranquil, and pure (even though these themes can also be found there. I know this first hand.) You can also explore death, corruption, violence, and the struggle for survival in a natural setting.
Avoid These Common World Building Mistakes When Writing Nature.
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Avoid These Common World Building Mistakes When Writing Nature.
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Story settings are a big part of the overall feeling of our stories. Use these horrific setting ideas in this short post to help your reader get into the feeling of the story you want to create.
Mistreatment for gender
Mistreatment for whatever reason is horrific and should be condemned. Handle these settings with respect and care.
In this setting do they mistreat a specific gender?
How do they mistreat them?
Are only some mistreated and some are left alone?
Mistreatment of a person with a physical handicapped
Is your main character a person with a physical handicap in this scenario or is it a loved one?
Mistreatment of persons with mental disabilities
What does this society do to mistreat them?
Do they have to hide in secret?
If they are found out do they need to run?
Are they shunned?
Are they treated differently by peers?
Are they even mistreated by family members?
Mistreatment of animals
Is the setting of animals on a farm?
Does the reader know the thoughts and feelings of the animals?
Are they personified from the animal’s perspective?
Slavery
Are your main characters slaves?
Do they own slaves?
Are they sold into slavery?
Are they sold onto slavery by their family or friends? (In the story of Joseph in the Bible his brothers sold him into slavery.)
Are they sold into slavery by their enemies? (In history, warring tribes would sell their prisoners into slavery)
Does your main character know something they shouldn’t so that they are “getting rid of them” by selling them?
Are the children sold into slavery by their parents to provide for the rest of the family?
By putting your characters through unfavorable scenarios you will write interesting settings for your reader.
If nothing ever goes wrong for them, they don’t have very interesting lives.
Use settings like these to create natural problems they might run into in everyday life.
The more naturally it is, the more depth the fictional story will carry with it naturally.
We hope you are enjoying our series on settings that make interesting stories. Look around for more settings that could spark your next best seller!
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We hope you enjoyed: Horrific Story Settings for Your Fictional World!
If You’re a Woman Writing a Male Character Avoid these Bad Writing Tips
As a male reader and writer I have been seeing some really bad advice pop up regularly about writing characters in general and specifically about writing males.
I understand, writers don’t want to offend anyone with their writing, but that’s almost impossible these days.
If you create content and give it to the masses it’ll almost always offend someone or at least one person won’t like it for whatever reason.
I also understand that for men and women it can be hard to write the opposite gender and not stereotype them. We will address this as well.
But there has been some “cool” “hip” “woke” writing advice flying around out there that needs to be addressed so that writers can continue to do what they do best, write.
So if you are a woman and you want to write a man I hope this post frees you from some trepidation in trying to write a male. 🙂
So let’s dive in!
Avoid Stereotypes
This seems to be the trope of the hour. And in this writer’s opinion it is so absurd.
And remember this is coming from a male. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion.
Ever heard of the movie “A Knight’s Tale?” Heath Ledger, great cast, love that movie.
You know what’s in it? A bunch of male stereotypes. (What? a male loves a movie filled with male stereotypes? Absurd!) Nope it’s true.
You have greedy men. Men that are arrogant and obsessed with their own voice. You have unemotional men that seem to only know how to express anger. You have the main character who is a bit of a macho man, but falls in love and goes after his one true love.
These are all gross stereotypes and as a male watching this movie, I personally love it.
Let’s bring up “The Mary Tyler Moore Show.”
Again this show is packed with male stereotypes. Lou Grant the unemotional father figure who’s kind of a drunk, he’s hilarious. Ted Baxtor is a massive stereotype of a typical narcissistic male who is extremely in love with himself and his own voice. As a male I love these stereotypical characters even to this day.
One more, “The Office.”
Need I even draw out the stereotypes in this?
Jim, the cool guy. Darrel, the unemotional hides his feelings mostly. Michael, idiot boss, how did he become a manager? Dwight, typical power hungry competitive narcissist.
Need I go on? In fact, Toby, Oscar, Ryan, Stanley, and Kevin are all seemingly stereotypical characters as well.
Males LOVE The Office. Females LOVE The Office. And it is very much based around the humor associated with stereotypes. Creed might be the only non stereotype I can think of. Unless they were going for office creep? 😂
Should you really avoid stereotypes? Are you going to offend people by writing characters that are actually like people you’ve seen, met, and interacted with?
The point is, it seems to me like major audiences actually like stereotypeswhen they are done well.
And they transcend genre, it seems to be the overhyped “writers guild” that is bored of stereotypes, but the problem with listening to just their advice is, they don’t make up the MAJORITY of people that you’ll be entertaining with your story.
Keep this in mind, we are NEVER going to be and to please everyone, but we can serve a lot of people by writing well and making interesting characters.
I think one could say, you aren’t going to offend most males if you decide to make some stereotypical male characters appear in your story.
Can I say, “duh” here? Well, of course, unless there is an emotionless robot character that fans have proven to love. Wait!
That happened. Star Trek anyone? Data?
If you haven’t seen it it’s okay, but if you want to write an emotionless robot that audiences loved you could spend a moment studying the character arc of Data.
So let it be known! A successful male emotionless robot has been written and people loved it!
But seriously, we all have met the quiet, seemingly emotionless type of male before. They seem to not care about anything. They don’t say what they’re thinking or feeling… ever.
So don’t think you can’t write a character that’s like this. There are REAL people walking around today that function mostly in this way.
Now, are they REALLY emotionless? No. They’re probably a little shy. And they probably don’t have much to say, but if you married one, I bet it wouldn’t take long to see them emote sometimes.
But that’s the amazing part of reading a character someone else creates, whether they are male or female.
If you decide to make the “emotionless” father. At some point you might write a scene where we see him crying alone in his room. Our heart starts to break. This strong male figure is crying. He was supposed to be the pillar, but now he’s losing it.
You want to create moments like this. Emotional moments for your reader to latch onto and feel something.
Writing a strong male character that we get to see break is not going to offend most males.
The BIGGEST thing is, stay true to the character you’ve created. Don’t let outside opinions sway you in the wrong direction. (Even mine.) If this opinion causes you to betray the character you are creating, don’t use it on that character.
Don’t make the major mistake of changing the character completely somewhere towards the middle or end of the story. Don’t make them betray everything you’ve made us believe about them at a last second decision.
When you create a character and give them certain habits and traits, naturally we expect it to be hard for them to break away from those habits.
It would make sense if they change some over our journey with them, but not overnight.
So if you write the “secretive,” “doesn’t show much emotion” male, it doesn’t mean we can’t ever see them emote. It just means that they’ll continue to predominantly be that way the entire story. And don’t worry about shying away from making a male character that way.
It’s not offensive. Again, the reason they are written is because writers know people like this or look up to them or even look down on them.
Bonus thought, you can even share some background why they are that way. Maybe you can come up with something interesting to make sense of it in the reader’s mind.
Don’t waste time talking about their physical features.
I can kind of agree with this. I think it depends more on your genre and target audience.
Personally, I think enough description to get the reader’s imagination going is enough.
“She saw him from across the hallway. They hadn’t made eye contact yet. She immediately noticed how tall he was. She tried not to stare but he was definitely handsome. At least, her type of handsome. Strong cheekbones, fair skin, and as he approached her she could see the green in his eyes. She hoped she wasn’t blushing as he spoke to her.”
Not perfect, but on the fly you can see through our main characters thoughts an outline of what this male looks like and we’re still moving the story forward. We don’t really stop the plot and say, “this is what he looks like.” And after some tweaking and adding a few more physical description points (hair color, maybe clothing style, freckles, etc) while still pushing the plot forward the reader’s imagination will fill in the blanks.
This is general writing advice for this specific point though because obviously the amount of physical that you want to give can change dramatically with genre and target audience.
Exercise: Take some time and study how famous author give enough description and then let readers fill in the blanks with their imagination.
The BIG secret.
In all honesty, if you’re a woman trying to write a man more often than not it is hard to tell that a woman is writing a male character. Men writing women can be a bit more obvious.
J.K. Rowling created some fantastic male characters that were loved by men and women alike.
The only thing women should be concerned about in writing males is if they “hate all males.”
And this goes both ways.
You can tell when an author is sexist, and maybe not for the reasons you might think.
One might assume that if a stereotypical male shows up that the author hates males, but what about the other males? Are there ANY good males? Is the continual running joke always and only directed towards males? Is EVERY male character an idiot? Do they ever poke fun at women too? Is every female character perfect and faultless?
This is how you avoid offending a large majority of the opposite gender. If you’re a female writer that hates all males it’ll be obvious, you’ll make every man have tons of faults and only ever make jokes than belittle men.
If you’re a male writer that hates females you’ll make every female dumb, and only ever make female references that belittles ALL the females in the story.
How do you avoid this?
Make good characters out of both genders. Make bad characters out of both genders. Make jokes about both genders. Be fair.
Here’s a BIG lesson in writing psychology; make your writing fair towards both genders.
If you want to write something that’s just for women then you can poke fun at men all day and vice versa, but if you want to make sure that both men and women enjoy you just have to treat both genders fairly in the story.
Again this doesn’t mean that everyone is perfect. In fact, it means the opposite. Both genders are imperfect and jokes can easily be made about both.
Again think of the office. Both genders are fallible and no one is safe from a jabbing joke. This makes both men and women able to enjoy a show or story.
Don’t bother avoiding stereotypes. As long as you use them to your advantage people will still love the characters or hate them if you want them to.
You can use stereotypes to make people laugh, cry, hate, you can use them to catch the reader’s attention and help them feel whatever way you want them to towards that character.
Don’t worry about making an “emotionless” male character. It has been done well before and can be done well again. After all, as readers, we know they aren’t completely emotionless and we’re waiting for you to show us that.
The amount you focus on physical description is very much contingent on your genre and target audience.
If you want men and women to like your characters, make both sexes have good points and bad points, or poke fun at both of their stereotypical fallacies.
If you choose just one or the other the opposite gender will not enjoy your story as much.
This is just my opinion, you’re entitled to yours. 🙂
If you agree or disagree with anything in this post please feel free to let us know in the comments below!
If You’re a Woman Writing a Male Character Avoid these Bad Writing Tips
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If You’re a Woman Writing a Male Character Avoid these Bad Writing Tips
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How to Write a Diverse Character in the Midst of a Cancel Culture
It can be tough in today’s culture to know when and if to write any character given that just about any one of the 7 billion people on the planet could accuse you of being racist, homophobic, genophobic, or any other number of titles that suddenly make you a bad person for trying to be creative and trying to write something you were hoping the world would enjoy and love.
Most writers that I can think of don’t spend their days thinking, “how can I create a character that is so offensive that mass amounts of people will trash me and my writing on social media?”
I can’t think of any, (except maybe Ben Settle, but his marketing is edgy. It’s his thing) But seriously most writers are trying to create entertaining and interesting reads for their audience.
And just so you know, I’m not saying this because it recently happened to me, I just see it happening in general. It even happened to J.K. Rowling recently of all people.
I’m sure she was sitting in her hidden cavern by candle light, plucking away at a typewriter laughing maniacally as she wrote the character she knew would really make people mad.
So in the midst of a culture where any number of 7 billion people can get access to your work, and any amount of them can find reason to be offended about it, how do we write characters AT ALL?
Let’s figure it out together!
You don’t have to be everything in order to write anything.
Some of cancel culture mentality is that you have to be the type of character you are writing about. If you want to write about a white person you have to be a white person. If you want to write about an American Indian, you have to be AMerican Indian. If you want to write about another being from planet mars you have to be from mars…oh wait…no they haven’t said that one yet…hmmmmm…well I’m sure it’s coming soon.
I think you can see my point. If we think like this, we’re saying you can’t write about a spy unless you are or have been a spy. Did you spend 10 years in the military? Did you dodge death at least 20 times? Have you grabbed a grenade out of the air while jumping from a helicopter into a pond teeming with man eating crocodiles and throw the grenade through a fiery hoop and blow up the bad guy?
No? Well sorry then you can’t write about it. Save it for us that have the experience okay buddy?
Of course, I’m being a BIT ridiculous here, but hopefully we can see the point. If we keep saying you can’t write about it unless you are it or have experienced it that really limits the amount of anything any one writer can write about without being attacked.
The character’s color/type/gender/culture doesn’t have to be the focal point of their existence.
Did you go to the store today?
Yes.
Oh my goodness! I didn’t know your type of people do that! That’s fascinating! Why did you go?
Uh…to get food?
Food! Oh my! What kind of food do your kind of people like?
I mean, I like cereal…
OH my! Cereal! This is gold! I’m writing this down! Hang on! I’ll be right back!
For some reason it seems like when we jump on the cnacel culture bandwagon there is this weird need to say that based on a character’s preferences it means they won’t act a certain way or do certain things because of those preferences. And of course this is true, but it’s also not true.
We have to stay away from thinking about people in a herd mentality and think of characters on more of an individual basis.
Let’s talk me for example. All of my family plays tennis. I was expected to also play tennis. It’s in my culture, but when I was little I wanted nothing to do with tennis, because in my little circle, EVERYONE played tennis and I for some reason always wanted to be “different” so I didn’t want to play.
Now if that were some random character a person although meaning well, might say, “that character definitely wouldn’t have chosen not to play tennis. It’s their culture, their heritage. They would have played and been very good, not the other way around.”
Who are we to say what a character that another person is writing would or wouldn’t do?
Real people make INDIVIDUAL decisions all the time. There is literally no limit to the possibilities of a brand new character being added to the universe.
Personally, to put SO many labels on people is a bit counterproductive in my mind. I mean why can’t people just be people that make choices everyday?
Why do they have to be a straight, white, American Indian, that likes to play soccer?
Why can’t they be steve? Why can’t Steve like to play soccer and drink tea with his grandma on saturday mornings? Why can’t Steve like to help his neighbor with their groceries when he sees them pulling into their driveway? Why can’t Steve secretly long to be an alien?
The point is, unless it completely is the focal point of your character on purpose or it is the main points of your plot you don’t have to be as dramatically focused on their gender, color, sexual identity stuff as much as the cancel culture is.
Just write the character you want to and have them make choices about their life based on their specific circumstances, just like a normal person would.
Don’t bother trying to please the “woke police;” try to not write poorly.
I love this advice. No matter what you set out to do, someone will come along and try to put the “hate” on you. These days, you could call these people the “woke police.” Maybe they are a “troll.”
Whoever they are they have too much free time and not enough of it are they using to try to help those nearest to them. They seem angry and like they score the interchannels of social media looking for the next fight to pick. Don’t be these people.
Be someone that creates, not destroys. If we don’t like something, that’s fine, we don’t have to like it. We don’t even have to read it or watch it. It’s okay to be reading something, not like something in it and put it down and go do something else.
We don’t have to be someone that is constantly out for blood.
We don’t have to be afraid of these people that are offended by almost anything and everything. We have to continue to write and think and create. It’s in our DNA.
So don’t set out to please the haters. Set out to write something really entertaining or inspirational. Something you enjoy writing. Do good research and make sure to study your character well and write them in a way that makes others interested in them and the way they make decisions in their specific life and world.
Make sure your characters are convincing. Interact with people from the backgrounds you want to write about. Don’t just google stuff, talk to people too. You never know where your own journey in writing a story about a beloved character might take you.
Write whatever you want and treat people with respect.
When you are writing a character treat them with the honest respect you would anyone. Just because they make morally bad decisions in their journey doesn’t mean you disrespected them. It just means they made some bad choices along the way.
What consequences do they discover? Do they decide to change? Do they continue down a road of continual self-destruction?
These are all interesting questions and if we were constantly worried about what other people think we might never even try to find the answers for these characters. Don’t let the “woke police” stifle your creativity.
People are always going to have opinions and that is NEVER going to change, but here is the funny thing. THEIR OPINIONS CAN AND DO CHANGE.
100 years ago what is offensive now isn’t offensive then. What isn’t offensive now was offensive then. 100 years from now these people will be offended by other things.
We just can’t please everyone’s opinion. It’s ACTUALLY LITERALLY impossible.
So instead of trying to please people, focus on writing amazing characters in amazing stories, with amazing writing.
Final Thoughts
Writing characters is less about specific “groups” of people and more about individuals making their own individual choices for their specific circumstance.
For example, just because someone comes from the south doesn’t mean they’ll always love sweet tea and country music. They also might love those things. That’s okay. They’re an individual that makes individual choices just like everyone else.
That’s the fun of creating a character. You get to decide what they like and what they don’t like. You get to create where they’re from and how they think and why.
In real life, granny may be an assassin. The pastor may be a hypocrite. Junior might be a serial killing machine.
In real life, people of all colors, all types, all preferences, all backgrounds make individual choices.
Do I follow the mob? Do I stay home? Do I watch tv? Do I go out with my friends? Do I date this person or this person?
If our characters were REAL people, the “woke cancel culture” that keeps attacking the next target they find that offends THEM wouldn’t go after them saying, “You can’t make these decisions because you’re defined by your sexuality/color/culture Or whatever.” Now, might they disagree with their personal preferences and choices? Yes. But we should be entitled to our personal opinions and freedoms. (That’s just my opinion.)
Stereotypes in writing aren’t inherently bad. They are real. If you do your research well, YOU WILL FIND STEREOTYPES. That’s why they exist in the first place.
For instance, my family is a stereotypical family. We watch movies WE LIKE. We don’t watch movies and tv we don’t like. My father in law loves bluegrass. That’s stereotypical where he’s from, but THAT’S OKAY. He’s allowed to like bluegrass and if someone got inspiration to write a character after him, if they wrote about his love for bluegrass is that wrong?
The problem is people are constantly searching for ways to be offended. The problem is NOT creative writers that want to write diverse characters. The problem is not writers that are curious about lifestyles and cultures they weren’t raised in.
Characters used to be fun and a blank slate and you could study anyone and find really amazing stuff to write about.
Now writers feel trepid and avoid writing certain things because they don’t want to be attacked by the mob that “who knows what they’ll be offended by next week?”
In a truly free creative space, NOTHING is off limits.
One of the key things is, don’t become one of these “cancel everything that offends you” people.
And if someone writes something you don’t like or agree with, YOU DON’T HAVE TO LIKE IT OR AGREE WITH IT. IT’S OKAY. 🤣
But we can agree to disagree and still get along peacefully without trying to attack people for trying to be creative and write.
Instead work on honing your skill as a writer. Be so good that people can’t ignore you.
But that’s just my opinion and you’re welcome to disagree with it if you like 🤙
Please feel free to leave a comment on what you agree and disagree with in this post.
How are you going to write your next interesting character in the midst of a cancel culture?
How to Write a Diverse Character in the Midst of a Cancel Culture
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How to Write a Diverse Character in the Midst of a Cancel Culture
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5 Powerful Words that feel Sacred + Writing Prompts
When it comes to writing copy and stories word choices matter. Choosing certain words help bring certain feeling, tone, and voice.
See if these powerful words will help you give the feel of “sacred” to your sentences.
Unveiled
After centuries of the mask being hidden behind the walls of the tomb, its secret was unveiled.
Hidden
The benefits of this superfood have been hidden in the wilds of the unreachable amazon jungle until now.
Confidential
“This briefing is strictly confidential. Any information leaked out of this room could be catastrophic for this firm and your jobs.”
Locked
That door is kept locked forever for a reason. No one has ever attempted to unlock it and it will remain that way for all eternity.
Concealed
“Her whereabouts have been concealed from the general public to hopefully save her life at this time.”
Powerful Words that give the feeling of Sacred
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Powerful Words that give the feeling of Sacred
Write powerful words to help your reader feel a certain way towards characters, situations, and events.
Use the powerful word in a natural way that comes across organic and smoothly. Do not force it. Just let it flow in the best way possible.
Power words are good for pivotal dialogue moments. They are good to consider for fiction as well as non-fiction. You can use them, but choose the right moments for them.
Use power words to take your reader’s attention.
Draw their eyes and attention to where you want it the most.
Wake the reader up from zoning out while they are reading your piece.
Use power words strategically to get them from idea to idea.
Use “sacred” power words that are easy to understand but pack a punch compared to other boring words that don’t give the reader much feeling.
Write powerful words to keep your sentences interesting to your reader.
Don’t lose them by not drawing their attention back from losing focus.
When doing freelance writing projects use power words to write better-converting headlines and subject lines.
In blogging, use power words in the titles and subheadings.
In emails, use them in headlines and subject lines.
Don’t overdo it. Don’t try to force too many into any one sentence unless it calls for it.
Hopefully, this fast short post helps you think through some of your own writing and where you can incorporate simple power words in a meaningful, natural, and effective way.
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We hope you enjoyed: Powerful Words that give the feeling of Sacred!
What is the Setting of Your Story? Everything You Want to Know About Writing an Amazing Setting.
What is the setting? What makes a great setting? What type of setting draws the reader in? How do I describe my setting without boring my reader to death?
These are some great questions to start with when you are thinking about your setting.
So let’s dive in.
What is the setting?
“A setting (or backdrop) is the time and geographic location within a narrative, either nonfiction or fiction. It is a literary element. The setting initiates the main backdrop and mood for a story. The setting can be referred to as story world[1] or milieu to include a context (especially society) beyond the immediate surroundings of the story. Elements of setting may include culture, historical period, geography, and hour. Along with the plot, character, theme, and style, setting is considered one of the fundamental components of fiction.” – Source
Thanks Wikipedia! That was thoughtful!
When you are thinking about your setting, another way to think about it is you’re thinking about world building.
Was your character born and raised in this world? Did they get transported here? If they did get transported where did they come from originally?
The setting of your story and the setting your character is in during the story can change. If your story is one where people can transport in and out of worlds then that fact is a part of the story setting, (A universe where characters can transport in and out of other worlds.)
But at any certain moment of your story your setting could be mushroom land, or it might be fairy land. So you have to think about two different kinds of settings in this scenario. Think about the overarching setting of the universe your characters are in and then the subsetting could be the world or part of the world your character finds themselves at any given moment.
This is similarly true with stories that don’t world jump. Your story could be a pirate ship and following their journey. Some subsetting would be time at sea, whereas another subsetting would be going assure. And even further subsetting would be the setting of stormy seas compared to sunny day, nice breeze settings.
It’s important to understand how this makes the reader feel. If the character is going through a really tough time at sea with cold weather and stormy seas this will give the story a much different feel than if the character were relaxing on a sunny beach somewhere.
When choosing your setting for any particular moment, be sure to understand what your reader will see in the their mind and how this affects their feelings.
What time is it?
Did you mean time or time period? Great question.
A key part of our setting is the time period. This gives a BIG BROAD brush stroke on how the reader will feel about the story and the type of imagery they see.
If it’s 2020, they might think of Covid 19! Everything is canceled! Trump Vs. Biden! If it’s 1887 you might have to do some history research and blatantly tell them a bit more about what is going on in the world and what people are wearing. You might have to tell them where the economy is at. If it’s 2457, you’ll definitely have to make some stuff up and tell them about how people no longer have bodies, they all live in tubes! (Ewww, imagining everyone living in tubes gives a very eerie feeling.)
Understanding what time of the day it is also important. If it’s late it could be dark. If it’s early the sun could be rising. If they are in a different galaxy, does it ever get dark or light? And What’s the regular temperature? This is all important to the setting and how it makes the reader feel.
What is the place?
We already covered a bit of the place, but here’s a list just to be a bit more helpful and specific:
Places can have permanent change or momentary change. The stormy sea is momentary. The building blowing up is permanent. (They could build a new one, but it’ll never be exactly the same.)
Places give restrictions. A place has boundaries. Are they in a prison or a spaceship? Are they on a planet but can’t get below the surface? Are they underwater but can’t get to the air?
Places play a big role in mood. A dark gloomy mountain is much more ominous than a happy sunny beach. You can toy with these ideas by making a happy sunny beach turn into a murder scene or having a happy reuniting of two lost characters on the base of a gloomy dark mountain. You can use the setting to give a helpful feeling you want or you can use it to through the reader into curious suspense. (Is this a good or bad scene?! What a nail biter!)
Research your place and time.
DO NOT make stuff up if you are doing some type of historical fiction. You can make up the characters and the story, but the scene and the time have parameters that make sense to a reader and unless you tell them they are in an alternate universe they won’t buy what you’re selling if you can’t do decent research.
Of course if you are inventing everything then you don’t have to do a ton of research, but I find that most readers like a little truth in their fiction. They like to learn something cool about their reality even if they are trying to briefly escape it.
If you write about a scuba instructor that crashes on an island and has to survive 45 days. I find that most readers want you to throw in some fun true facts about scuba diving and how this instructor uses their specific skill set to survive.
Do your research and write something thoughtful.
Some helpful tips for research:
Internet research is helpful
Find 3D tours to go to places you are writing about
Read blogs from people that have actually been there
Pick 3 books from your local library (most local libraries are free)
Find social communities on FB, reddit, twitter, where people actually talk about the places and times you are writing into your story
Use Google street view
Research the idioms.
Idioms are basically sayings.
A good example is Jesus’ words about if a person has a good eye or a bad eye. (I’m paraphrasing) He says that a person full of light will have a good eye, but a person with a bad eye will be full of darkness.
Can you guess what that means?
Without knowing the History and culture of the time, this would be very hard to guess exactly what that means.
But to the people of the time it was just a saying they were used to everyday, and that’s why Jesus said it to them. It was a simple teaching. Back then, 2000 years ago in Israel, if you told someone they had a good eye, that meant they were a generous person. If they had a bad eye it meant they were a greedy person.
So the lesson would be that good generous people used their eyes to look at people and look for ways to give to them, whereas people full of darkness or bad would look at their neighbors greedily and think how can I take from them.
This was a simple idiom or phrase from 2000 years ago. Let’s look at another example:
They just “kicked the bucket.” Now you may have heard this saying before in the 21st century and it simply means the person has passed away or died, but if someone read that and translated it 2000 years from now, they may be very confused.
They might think the character involved literally used their foot and kicked a bucket.
You can use phrases like this in your dialogue.
What’s the dialogue?
Dialogue is actually very important to the setting. As I made the point above depending on what place and time you are in the idioms and common everyday phrases might be different and you have to be the one to decide how different they will be and how you will translate them for the reader.
Reading Shakespeare, you may need an interpreter. Reading Jane Austin there is a good bit of timely phrases as well.
Use the time and place to match your dialogue and really give your reader an experience of stepping into the setting you are trying to create for them.
If you nail the time and place but the dialogue of the characters doesn’t match you’ll have really missed some brownie points on the setting score scale.
Give small injections of the setting.
Don’t do giant paragraph drops of setting on the first pages or paragraphs of your story. We have to learn when and how to inject settings.
Bad example: “The castle was a stone castle. It was 400 feet tall. It had vines growing up. It was dark and cloudy. It started to rain. Tracey walked up to the castle.”
Good example: “Tracey stepped up to the castle. She could see her breath for the first time. Without warning thunder struck and it caused her to jump. The first couple rain drops hit her shoulders. They felt like icy fingers that wouldn’t let go. She looked up the castle wall, her eyes following the vines that had grown innumerable over time. She didn’t want to go in, but she had nowhere else to go. She reached out for the handle of the door.”
Okay, so it’s not an amazing example and needs lots of editing, but I think it gives the point. We have to inject the setting into our story as the plot moves forward.We don’t have to stop the plot to get the reader to imagine our setting and we shouldn’t. We should also be revealing more about the character through the setting and time. These things should be happening all the time to keep the readers interested in continuing the story.
Do you want to know what happens next to Tracey as she touches the door handle?
If yes, then it’s as simple as that and we’ve done our job as a writer. If no, then we have more work to do in getting this scene ready to entertain a reader!
Take notes.
This should be a normal part of any writer’s life. As we research we should also be writing and recording our findings. ESPECIALLY things we want to throw directly into the story.
If I’m writing about New Zealand and I’m surfing through Google view and I find the perfect market place for a scene I have in mind I need to stop and start writing.
These notes don’t have to be perfect. In fact, I recommend they don’t be. But we need to continue to practice how to describe what we see in words. If I find the perfect place for my scene, I need to stop and write out what it looks like.
I then need to picture my character in it. What are they doing? Do they stand far back from vendors and just look? Do they go up and touch and handle items? Do they talk to vendors and make small talk?
These are important to revealing the character through the settings we put them in. and it all ties together.
Final thoughts:
The setting is the time and place where we find your characters. This is both the overarching setting of the story and the individual subsettings we see them in over time in the story.
Remember to not only think about the time period, but the time of the day for any given scene. (Especially if they time travel 🙂 )
Do your research. Don’t be lazy with research. Not every writer will like research, but some will love it. Look into the place, time, and language for any given potential story plot.
While you are doing research be sure to take time to start writing down descriptions of places and times and how your character would interact with them and why. If you know why your character would make small talk with a random vendor in New Zealand, then you know how to get your reader to see why without always telling them why. (Or vice versa, the character might do something and your reader doesn’t know why, but is curious. This gives you the opportunity to keep them hooked for a moment while you figure out how to tell them.)
Once you have all your ingredients from your research, learn to inject them into places over time in the story. Always be moving the story along and adding extra to the plot by placing the character into the settings and showing how they would interact with it. As you show how they interact with their setting your reader will get to know them on a personal level and they will love your writing style for being able to get to know characters without you literally having to tell them about their personalities.
What is the Setting of Your Story? Everything You Want to Know About Writing an Amazing Setting.
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What is the Setting of Your Story? Everything You Want to Know About Writing an Amazing Setting.
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5 Powerful Words that feel Secret + Writing Prompts
Exclusive
“Their group is extremely exclusive. I tried to sit at their table once. Without saying a word they actually all stopped talking and got up and walked away and sat at another table. I was mortified. I just got up and left the cafeteria.”
Myth
“Everyone said it was just a myth but I don’t know anymore.”
“I know what you mean. I mean can you explain that?”
“No. No, I can’t. And I don’t even want to try to. Let’s just get out of here.”
Smuggled
We smuggled 300 Christian women and children out of the country that week. The government imprisoned 5,000. It was a devastating time for everyone.
Hush
“Listen. I already told you everything I can. So why don’t you just hush up about it?!”
“Why are you being so forceful and rude?”
“Because we are on a train and I don’t know who will hear you.”
Hidden
“The pathway is hidden from all the unworthy and only one individual will know how to find the way. It has been kept secret for generations, but now that someone has come looking for it I have a feeling it is announcing its secret to the one who knows the way!”
5 Powerful Words that feel Secret + Writing Prompts
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Use these power words to help your reader feel secretive towards characters or situations.
Use the powerful word in a natural way that comes across as organic and smooth. Don’t force it. Just let it flow.
Power words are good for pivotal dialogue moments. They are good to consider for fiction as well as non-fiction.
Use power words to take your reader’s attention.
Draw their eyes and attention to where you want it the most.
Wake the reader up from zoning out while they are reading your piece.
Use power words strategically to get them from one idea to the next.
Use secret power words that are easy to understand but that pack a punch compared to other boring words.
Write powerful words to keep your sentences interesting to your reader.
Don’t lose them by not drawing their attention back from losing focus.
When doing freelance writing projects use power words to write better-converting headlines and subject lines.
In blogging use power words in the titles and subheadings.
In emails use them in headlines and subject lines.
Don’t overdo it. Don’t try to force too many into any one sentence unless it calls for it.
Hopefully, this fast short post helps you think through some of your own writing and where you can incorporate secretive power words in a meaningful, natural, and effective way.
5 Powerful Words that feel Secret + Writing Prompts
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