Writing Prompt- Skeletons in the Closet

Secrets, everyone has secrets. They can be what drives people to do or to not do things. They make things exciting. Some secrets aren't very big while others are. And secrets can make people to crazy things to keep them hidden.

So tonight we're going to take a look at secrets and how to incorporate them into your stories.

Everyone has them
Everyone person has a secret and sometimes those secrets can effect other people around them. When creating your characters, remember that while they don't have to have a secret, they can. Now it doesn't have to be life threatening, although it can, but it can be as simple as a friend having a secret crush on the same person that your character. But they can be big, like keeping a boy/girlfriend a secret from their parents, the unknown sibling or half-sibling, etc.

But remember no matter what secret a character has, if that character is going to reveal it at some point in time, make sure it at least has something to do with the story. It doesn't have to effect the MC his/herself, but it could affect a friend which in turn, effects the MC. There's endless possibilities.

It doesn't have to be a person.
Something that some people forget is that not just people can have secrets. Buildings for example can, like a secret passageway or a room. Animals can have a secret like maybe burying or hiding something that belongs to a character and then later on having the character find it.

By giving buildings or something besides a character a secret can build to the story. It can add elements to the story that previously wouldn't have been there or it can give a character a secret in turn (for example, a character finds the secret passageway and decides to keep it a secret).

One could be sneaky and have the MC think someone has a secret but really they don't! A character could also be keeping a secret for another character.

Keep the reader guessing.
Remember that if someone or something is going to have a secret, they're going to keep it as long as possible. When thinking about when to reveal it, or if to reveal it at all, think about the timing of it. One wouldn't want to reveal the secret whenever, that could throw the story off, or if you put it in a spot with a bunch of other stuff going on, it could get lost in the commotion or lose its importance. If you're going to reveal a secret trying finding a spot in the story where the character or something doesn't have a choice but to reveal it.

For example, Charrie has a secret boyfriend she's been hiding. This boyfriend happens to be Kia's boyfriend. And during the big Spring Prom, this boyfriend has no choice but to reveal to one of the girls that he's been cheating on her. Of course, he could just not go, but he has to go because he is the host of the party. He could have just chose between the two girls eailer but he's been trying to lead both girls on as long as possible. So now he calls one of the girls, just as she's getting ready to go, and tells her that he's sick, thinking that she'll stay home. But instead she tags along with her best friend and when she gets to Prom, guess who's there! Now the boyfriend has no choice but to reveal his secret.

Exercise!
Here's some tips to help you come up with some ideas.

• Look at your MC and some other characters. What do they have that could be a secret? Do they know something or  have something that they don't want anyone to know about or something they want to reveal too the world? List all the possibilities and then decide what could be used. Remember that characters can have more than one secret. 
• Back stories can be great sources for secrets. If you're having trouble thinking of a back story or what to add to one, try adding in a secret. 
• Does your character or another character know something they shouldn't? Are they keeping a secret for someone? Try writing a scene where a character finds out something important and doesn't know what to do about it. Then have them go tell that secret to someone else. 
• What would happen if a character accused another of having a secret they didn't really. What if they confronted them about it privately or publicly?

Remember:

• Remember that when a secret is revealed, it will always cause someone to lost trust in that character. Even if it's a good secret or something that they knew but shouldn't have. 
• Also, secrets add mystery. People like mysteries. 
• Secrets should have something to do with the story, even if they are small. 
• Buildings or other objects can "keep secrets". Most of the time, its just hiding something. 
• Secrets will always change someone's life or at least change how someone thinks about the character. 
• Reveal the secret when the time is right. And don't reveal it right away unless it's important for the story. 

So, has a secret ever greatly affected your life or the life of someone you know?

Sincerely,
Sareh

Liar Lair! Pants of Fire! (Interesting Facts- Lying).

People lie all the time and it can be useful to know how to tell if someone is lying or not. When we're writing, our characters often will tell or want to know when someone is lying. And so, here's some tips!


Body Language

• Physical expression might be stiff and few. 
• Doesn't make eye contact
• Hands often touch a familiar place where your eyes often look, like their face, throat, or mouth. Sometimes playing with jewelry can show nervousness, indicating a lie. 

Emotional Gestures and Contradiction

• The timing and duration of emotions are off. It is delayed, stays longer, and then is gone as quickly as it came. 
• Timing is off between expressions and words. 
• Expressions don't match their words.
• Is uncomfortable during pauses in the conversation.

Interactions/Reactions

• A guilty person will get defensive while innocent people will do the opposite. 
• The person accused might turn their head or body away; they might look at something else. 
• Places objects between themselves and the person they're talking to. 
• Watch other people's reactions to see if they are buying their story.

Verbal Cues

• Will throw the person's words back at them. 
• Avoid making direct statements. 
• Speak more than they normally do. 
• Speak as little as possible.
• Repeat questions because it gives them time to think of an answer.
• Slow down their speech to think of what to say next and when they have it, speak faster.

Tips to see if someone's really lying:

• Have them tell their story backwards, from what happened last to the beginning.
• Have them repeat their story.
• Ask open-ended questions.
• Change the subject of the conversation quickly, a liar will become more relaxed and go along with it. While an innocent person will become confused and wonder why the topic was switched. 

Keep in mind...

• Even if someone displays some of these cues, they may not be lying. 

More Information

Eye direction and Lying

Micro Expressions and Lying

Statement Analysis

Resources

How to Detect Lies

How to tell when someone is lying.

Sincerely,

Sareh

Writing Prompt #2: Have fun and get working!

I was actually thinking of combining this with tonight's game idea, but then I decided that these ideas to have fun, do something, and get writing could be put under just writing prompt anyways.

Act it Out
Just as the title says. Grab some friends and some costumes and act out scenes from your story or a book. And you never know, your friends could give you some ideas or make the story go in ways that you could never have thought of. And just to make sure, tell them that they're free to make the story go in anyways they see fit if they think it'd be better. Or not, its your story.

Read it out loud!
Another idea involves reading your story out loud, but instead, record it! If you have a recent computer and some form of a microphone look for a program that will record things. Some computers actually have a recording program built into it, but if not, I'm sure you can find a program for free. And once you've recorded it, put it on your ipod or other listening device so you can listen to your story whenever you'd like. Also grab some friends to read other character's parts or put some music in the background.

Sincerely,
Sareh

Game Night- I think...

Okay so this probably isn't the best game, but it can come out with some really funny results. As far as I know it doesn't have a name but to play pick a spot in a public spot to sit in with a friend or without, and watching people who pass by. Then pick a person at random (preferably someone you don't know) and try to come up with a story about them.

Who is the woman sitting in the coffee shop poring over the news about Iran and why?
Could that tattoo on the person next to you stand for something?

It's amusing and can be great for helping your writer-ly brain. Writers often use people from real life to base their characters off of and that's fine. So here's a somewhat fun way to do so, and if you'd like, bring a friend and see what you can come up with!

Sincerely,
Sareh

Book Review- The Book Thief

It’s just a small story really, about among other things: a girl, some words, an accordionist, some fanatical Germans, a Jewish fist-fighter, and quite a lot of thievery. . . .

Set during World War II in Germany, Markus Zusak’s groundbreaking new novel is the story of Liesel Meminger, a foster girl living outside of Munich. Liesel scratches out a meager existence for herself by stealing when she encounters something she can’t resist–books. With the help of her accordion-playing foster father, she learns to read and shares her stolen books with her neighbors during bombing raids as well as with the Jewish man hidden in her basement before he is marched to Dachau.

This is an unforgettable story about the ability of books to feed the soul.


Okay, so I've seen this book in my library before and I didn't pick it up because it didn't sound like something I'd read, but then, my pen pal recommended it and she said it was really good. 


So I read it. 


And it was. 


First of all, the book is kinda in first person and then it kinda isn't. But wait Sareh, how can that be? Well you see, the book is written from Death's point of view in first person but he tells the story of Liesel most of the time so it's kinda in third person. But also kinda like a flash back in a way. 


Anyways, Death was actually funny and cool. And he was interesting. He kinda gave some foreshadowing but instead of ruining the book, I think it made it better because you wanted to read on till whatever happened. 


This book is historical fiction about WWII and usually when we see stories about WWII its from a Jew's pov. But this wasn't, it was about a German girl living in Nazi Germany. I loved how books had such a large part in this story and how they clearly affected the MC and the people around her. It was so interesting to think about how a simple act can change so much. 


One of the reasons I love this book was the writing. It was so...cool and interesting. I thought about the story constantly and I wanted to read more. It was very unique from my perspective. 

The characters were very well developed, each with their flaws and their strengths. Although I didn't like Max all that much for some reason, or his drawings. His drawings sometimes were weird. I liked Liesel's foster parents, they were interesting. Rudy annoyed me at times, but mostly because he was so stubborn. And I thought all the other characters were interesting. Including the mayor's wife (or at least, I think she was the mayor's wife, I can't remember), although I didn't know what was wrong with her. Was she lonely?

Anyways, it was a really great read and I really recommend it. 

On Goodreads: The Book Thief

Sincerely,

Sareh

Buying vs. Borrowing Books?

I saw an article a while back that talked about borrowing vs buying books. And so I want to know, which do you prefer?

Anyways...

Borrowing Books

Pros- You don't have to spend money, even if you borrow it from a friend or the library. Hopefully, if you're lucky, you can barrow as many books as you want. Libraries have tons of books so you can find books on pretty much any subject. It's more eco-friendly (if you're into that type thing).

Cons- You only have a certain time to read them, and if you don't return them in on time you have to pay a fee (if you're borrowing from the library of course). Libraries may not always have the book you want or it may be on a waiting list and you have to wait till the person ahead of you is done with it. The books may come in a
damaged way (i.e coffee stains, pencil/pen marks. drawings, missing pages etc).

Buying Books

Pros- It's yours, so technically you're allowed to do whatever with it. You can make notes or high light stuff in it.  You don't have to worry about when to return it. There's something special about buying a new book and seeing that book sit on your bookshelf or wherever you keep books (unless you're buying them used, cause unless the person recently bought the book it probably won't be in perfect condition). You can read it whenever you'd like. Plus you support authors when you buy books because authors don't get any money when you rent their books from libraries.

Cons- Books are expensive, especially if they're new. This means that you may not be able to get as many as you'd like. And if you buy a book you end up liking you're stuck with it most of the time unless you return it or give it to a friend. Friends may want to borrow the book from you and some times not return it or damage it.

Inspiration for this post:
Is it best to buy or borrow books?

Sincerely,
Sareh

Blog News- October Issue

So, I meant to post this yesterday but I was busy writing and procrastinating. It was fun.

Blog News

Welcome New Members!
Welcome new members who have joined in the month of October! We love seeing your friendly avie there in the follower box! Last month we had a total of twenty five and this month we jumped to twenty-nine. 

Schedule Changes- Again
So because I'm actually reading more books and I thought I'd be able to, I've changed Sundays to books reviews. And on Sundays and Thursdays, I will be reviewing two books each time. On Mondays, I've also added Writing Prompts.

It's Nanowrimo Time!
Hey writers! It's that month again! November is official National Writing a Novel Month! For those who are doing it, have you signed up at the site yet? If you have, add me! I'm known as Sareh Qu. on it. Anyways, I'd love to hear how you're doing and what you're writing for this year.

Reminders from last month:
Wanted- Suggestions 
Did you recently come across an interesting article or piece of news? Do you have a favorite picture/video that inspires you or you think is just awesome? Is there a great site you visit all the time? Or do you have a great idea for a blog post or a topic you would like to see discussed? If you have a suggestion for something or maybe you would even like to do/see a blog post on something, please let me know though either the facebook page, the contact form at the bottom of the About page, or by emailing me (email address at the bottom of the About page).


Resource Tab
Because it's already getting pretty long and so far I've only added books and websites to it, I was wondering if I should add a category for individual pages? I'm not sure if this new category would be organized at all. So what do you think?


Wanted- Writing Ideas and Prompts
My brain isn't great with coming up good ideas, so if you have any writing prompts or ideas you'd like to share, please do so! Or maybe you have a funny story or something random/cool, that works too. Maybe a picture or video?


Facebook:
Yes! We finally have a facebook page! If you haven't liked it so far, please do so! Remember that you can post suggestions and other stuff on it if you'd like but just remember to keep it clean and safe. No swearing or anything with offensive stuff. I'll try my best to keep it updated with blog posts from here and news or whatever else.


Stats: Cause they're interesting. 
Most of these are arranged by top five.


Posts
The History and Usage of Codes- 176 pageviews
How to read and write in roman numerals- 29 pageviews
In the News- Cat has Two faces and "The Simpsons"...- 18 pageviews
Poetry- Shape Poems- 17 pageviews
Writing Tips- Stories with a love triangle- 14 pageviews

Pages
Post Archive- 6
Resources- 6
Writing Prompts- 4
About- 1

Referring Sites
Google- 192
Google UK- 50
Google Fr (france?)- 43
Google Ca (Canada?)- 28
Google In (India?)- 21

Search Keywords
Code pigpen- 26
alphabet code pigpen- 6
spy codes- 6
secret alphabet code- 5
NHKN (the N's are backwards and the letters are really small. Another language perhaps?)- 5

Countries
United States- 652
UK- 79
France- 53
Netherlands- 53
Canada- 35

Browsers
Chrome- 527 (46%)
Internet Explorer- 353 (31%)
Firefox- 155 (13%)
Safari- 60 (5%)
Opera- 18 (1%)

Featured Articles and Sites (Sites will be found on Resources page too.)
Fiction Factor- Synopsis - Tips on how to condense your novel.
Character Planning- Back stories and Inner 'demons". - tips on creating believable characters.
Chaotic Shiny- A wonderful generator site.
Spring Hole- Another generator site along with quizzes to determine if you have original characters and worlds.