Max: I Don’t Know Really…Ash Is Just…he’s Brilliant, Ya Know? It’s Impossible Not to Love

I didn’t even realise I did this. Almost subconsciously, it’s just the way my writing is. I thought it was normal…? Okay. 

Hi, I'm rereading some of my work and I notice that most of the sentences start with a subject and it tends to get really annoying after a while. Any tips on other ways I could start my sentences?

How to Diversify Your Sentence Structure

This is a really common problem that I think a lot of writers have! Having a repetitive sentence structure without variation can make your prose really choppy, boring and difficult to read, while overall weakening your voice.

Here are some techniques to help you change things up a bit!

Switch around your subject

Very basic grammar: Every sentence has a subject and a predicate. I think when we think of subject in a sentence, we often think of person. This might be especially true in creative writing because we deal with characters.

For example:

Amelia opened her front door and walked outside. She felt a cold breeze blow through her. She realized that she wasn’t dressed appropriately for the weather. Amelia turned around and went back inside to grab a jacket.

In this example, Amelia is the subject of every single sentence, and a verb is followed immediately afterward. Because every sentence begins with ‘Amelia’ or ‘she’, there’s no variety and it’s a little bit boring to read. 

Here’s what it could look like if I switched the subject around somewhere.

She felt a cold breeze blow through her.

A cold breeze blew through her.

The difference is subtle, but now the subject of the sentence is the breeze, not Amelia. The sentence structure is still the same: The subject is followed by a verb. However, because the subject is different from Amelia, it still brings variety to how your sentences read. 

Here’s what it looks like now:

Amelia opened her front door and walked outside. A cold breeze blew through her. She realized that she wasn’t dressed appropriately for the weather. Amelia turned around and went back inside to grab a jacket.

Now that every sentence doesn’t begin with “Amelia” or “she” it seems a little bit more interesting.

Put dependent clause before subject 

So we changed one subject in a sentence, but we still have multiple sentences that have Amelia as the subject. It still doesn’t have too much variety in sentence structure, and as a result, it can be stilted.

So let’s try bringing a dependent clause before the subject.

She realized that she wasn’t dressed appropriately for the weather. Amelia turned around and went back inside to grab a jacket.

Realizing that she wasn’t dressed appropriately for the weather, Amelia turned around and went back inside to grab a jacket.

By bringing ‘realizing’ before the subject, I created a dependent clause and succeeded making the first word something other than the subject. 

However, because it’s a dependent clause, ‘realizing that she wasn’t dressed appropriately’ is a sentence fragment — it’s an incomplete thought. So I combined it with the last sentence to make it complete.

So after those two techniques, let’s compare the original with the rewrite.

Original

Amelia opened her front door and walked outside. She felt a cold breeze blow through her. She realized that she wasn’t dressed appropriately for the weather. Amelia turned around and went back inside to grab a jacket. 

Rewrite

Amelia opened her front door and walked outside. A cold breeze blew through her. Realizing that she wasn’t dressed appropriately for the weather, Amelia turned around and went back inside to grab a jacket.

Now because there’s a variety in sentence structure and subject, the paragraph  is not only more interesting to read, it also flows better and more smoothly. It also has the added bonus of diverse sentence lengths which was lacking before, and it helps make the writing more engaging.

I just wanted to note: there is nothing bad about having your subject as the first word in a sentence. I don’t want anyone to feel like they have to change every single sentence they ever wrote. Like in my example, the first sentence starts with Amelia. That’s fine.

The problem is that when every single sentence starts that way, it becomes repetitive. You can still have some sentences that start with your character, just make sure to throw in some other sentence structures, and your writing will be more engaging!

Outside of this specific example, you can also try playing around with dependent clauses in your existing sentences as well.

Jamie walked into the haunted house, despite her reluctance.

Despite her reluctance, Jamie walked into the haunted house.

The sentence is the exact same, but I just switched around where the dependent clause ‘despite her reluctance’ is placed. Even though it has the same meaning, it can provide a different feel or at the very least, switch up having your subject as the first word of every sentence.

I also talk about this in my guide about how to make your writing flow better. Sentence structure has a lot to do with making your writing sound cohesive and eloquent, so I would definitely recommend checking that out as well!

Thanks so much for asking Anon, I definitely struggled with this too when I was just starting out. I remember seeing how every single paragraph started with a name, and that was really annoying me, but I had trouble figuring out how to fix it. I hope this helped!

Didn’t want to derail the last post I reblogged (about Serbia), so I’m making my own)

! I know only like 8 people follow me but like if 8 people find out about an issue they didnt know about then I think that’s great tbh

OK SO

another country with a heap of problems right now is Belarus. I’ve reblogged posts about it before and yes I’m refusing to stop cause I see nothing about it anywhere.

Belarus has had the same president since 1994. Since he came into power, the country hasn’t had a SINGLE FAIR ELECTION.

Covid-19 has caused many problems there. The country still hasn’t imposed any official measures. The president has been quoted as saying ‘I don’t see any viruses here’ and the country has had horrendous amounts of cases, I’m not even sure if the figures are accurate, they could be fabricated.

There is an election this year. Protests broke out in Belarus because of the imprisonment of the president’s strongest competitors in the election. Random people have been arrested off the streets and the police have been violent.

The worst part is that there’s very little media coverage.

Please reblog this, or at least research the topic it would mean a LOT

I would love that! Even if I don’t write straight romance, it’s always there.  Edit: I mean totally romance, as in that’s the main genre. Though I don’t really write hetero couples except for parents… Tender Tuesday seems great and would totally check in for that. Though my WIP right now is about scandals and and bunch of shit(see the debutante series which is what inspired me, though it has a darker feel) so it does include more sexual stuff. They are hormonal teenagers by the way.    Wedding Wednesday might be good for those of us who have wedding scenes in our romance. For example, my WIP(Historical romance ) that I haven’t touched in years it feels like, the ending scene was a wedding scene the last words being “i do”. 

Romance writing

I’ve been wondering for a while that I could make an event for romance writers (that includes of course every other genre you have a WIP with a major romance line in) because I mainly see fantasy stories getting attention and maybe it would be nice to gather with like minded people. (I’m thinking something like World Building Wednesday or maybe Flash Fic Friday or possibly both, except these would be romance related) On the other hand maybe there are mainly only fantasy writers on Tumblr and that’s the reason for the lack of visibility of romance WIPs.

Either way, please reblog this if you’re a romance writer/other genre writer but would be interested in a specific romance ask game/flash fic prompts event and yeah, I will try to come up with something if there’s interest.

P.S.: Boost this, please, even if you aren’t interested, someone might be xx

Apps For Writers I Wish I Had

So, as a writer who’s more lazy than my cats, I spend many a sleepless night thinking up apps for me to use to make the process much easier. These are a few of those. 

One: A app where you can enter a name and click ‘search’ and it will tell you if it’s okay to use in a project. You can specify wether it’s a person name, an establishment name, a place name, etc. to refine your search.  A possible name would be ‘Name Check’ or some variant.  Two: a face claim app. You can specify the basics of your character and it will pull up pictures/face claims matching the description. Eg. ‘hazel eyes’ ‘black hair’ ‘male’ ‘freckles’ and so on getting more and more specific. 

Three: an app for job research. You type in the job you have for your character and it pulls up real life accounts of people with that job. It would explain what the basics are, day to day routine, schooling necessary, hazards, time, etc. Note that this only applies to real life jobs, not fantasy

Four: a music app. You give the browser the themes, feelings, etc. of your project and it pulls up music that fits that. Also can define by genre. Also applicable for characters. 

Five: kind of goes along with face claim. A scene reference app. You give the feeling, genre, what you know about it, etc. and it pulls up pictures that match that for you to reference. To see it in front of you. 

Six: This one is sort of like three. Need to write a scene you’ve never experienced? This gives you kind of like a guideline Do’s and Don’ts, if you will. Someone who’s experienced it explains(to the best of their abilities) what they were feeling. You have to know your character well enough to change those feelings to fit your character.  Not for fantasy.   Seven: Character name checking. It’s a fucking pain to have to figure out if this awesome name is available to use in a book or anything that’s going to be written by you. With this, all you have to do is type in the name and if it turns green, it’s safe to use. 

“Don't be ashamed to weep; 'tis right to grieve. Tears are only water, and flowers, trees, and fruit cannot grow without water” — Brian Jacques, Taggerung.

You know, just because you’re male doesn’t mean you can treat women like they don’t matter

10 Things I Hate About You (1999) dir. Gil Junger

Nah. With song covers, many change the pronouns. There’s only a few that don’t. It’s different when it just came on the radio, I think. The again, I’m pan-ace so I wouldn’t know. There’s always speculation if you don’t change the pronouns (see: BTS). 

The Best Thing About Being Bi

Is that you can sing virtually any love song and not have to change the pronouns. 

How to write about Grief:

There is no right or wrong way to experience grief. Just as there is no right or wrong way to write it. Everyone is different, each set of circumstances are different. 

The point of this post is to show you how different people react in different ways, and give points on how you might write that, depending on your character and story.

Reactions to Grief

Numbness: Your character may go into auto-pilot and be unable to process the events that have unfolded.

Anger: This can be aimed at other people, at a Higher Being, or at nothing in particular.

Unsteady: Your characters may be unsteady. For example, unable to stop their voice from shaking or they may find it difficult to stand.

Focusing on Others: Your character may disregard their own feelings because they are so overwhelmed and instead concentrate on someone else’s well-being. 

Seek out routines: Amid upheavals, your character may seek comfort in tasks that are familiar and “safe,” such as working, cleaning, making their bed, making absurd amounts of tea or taking a morning walk.

Pretending that Everything Is Okay: Grief is viewed as an emotion that should cease or be concealed once the funeral is over. So people mention the news in an offhand comment, then talk and laugh as if all is right with the world.

Denial: Some people deny the reality of death and convince themselves that the news is a joke or can’t be true.

Reactions from people surrounding your character:

People may avoid your character as they do not know what to say or simply can’t find the right words.

Some may even go as far as to cross the street when they notice your character approaching.

Even people that the character has known for years may act strange or standoff-ish, simply because they don’t know what to say.

On the other side of that, some people may be overly helpful and friendly.

It is not uncommon for estranged friends, family or others to suddenly reappear in a person’s life after they have experienced grief. 

Either because those people want to offer their support and love  or because they’re being nosy and they want to be kept up to date on the “drama”.

Most people will move on from the event fairly quickly if they weren’t emotionally invested. 

Some people may even get annoyed at your character for still being upset weeks or months later.

When talking about the person they have lost:

Your character may recall a memory or tell a story about their loved one, these are possible reactions. (I have encountered all of them.)

Your character may being to cry or get upset at the thought of the person they have lost. 

The person they are talking to may become awkward and avert eye contact when your character brings up the person they have lost. 

Others may ask or tell your character to stop talking about the person they have lost. They may roll their eyes, cough awkwardly, or cut off your character mid sentences so that they can change the subject.

Some people may ask inappropriate questions about the circumstances in which the character’s loved one passed away. Depending on the personality of your character then may react differently. 

Other things to note:

Grief is not constrained by time. 

One of the main problems with grief in fiction is that a character is typically heartbroken for a couple scenes and then happy again. But grief does not evaporate because the world needs saving. 

Allow your character to wrestle with their grief. 

Your character may feel guilty. Your character may feel a twinge of guilt when they laugh or have a good time with someone else; when they do something to remind them that they’re alive, and their loved one isn’t. 

Grief is a game changer. A previously outgoing character may withdraw and isolate themselves. Some people may take grief and/or bereavement as a sign that life is too short; they may make big decisions in an attempt to make themselves feel better and grow away from their pain.

Sometimes grief can help you find your purpose.

At first grief can be all consuming. It hurts and you can’t really control it. It may seem unrelenting. Eventually the grief will become easier to deal with, your character may find the days to be better, but that doesn’t mean that when the grief hits it doesn’t hurt any less.

For most people, grief never really goes away. “Sometimes you have to accept the fact that certain things will never go back to how they used to be.”

It is rare that a person will ever give a long speech about their feelings, a lot of people struggle to even find the words. But that’s okay. Show the reader how your character feels, rather than just telling them.

Don’t pause the plot to deal with the aspect of grief. This could overwhelm the readers and drag the pace down. In reality, life doesn’t just stop due to grief, the world keeps spinning and things still need to be done. Use the character’s grief as a backdrop for the story’s events.  

Yes, grief affects the character’s day-to-day life, goals, and relationships. But it shouldn’t drive readers away or stagnate the story. Instead, should engage readers and produce empathy that keeps them turning pages.

You don’t need to tell your readers that everything will be fine. You don’t need to provide all of the answers.

“Skirting grief and treating it lightly is easy. But by realistically portraying it through a variety of responses and its lasting effects on the character’s life, readers will form a connection with your characters.“

That must be the one I’m thinking of, thank you. 

The Fuck Is Happening?

So usually I suck—and I mean suck—at naming characters. It takes me forever and a plethora of research before I even get a working name. Now? I’ve come up with three off the top of my head, only looking up one name(Aysha) which is fair because of the rarity of it.  Though I came up with some…odd surnames. Greenbay and Greyborn. Like…what? Where did those come from? This is contemporary. Set in real life.