I enjoy finding ways for my characters to communicate silently with one another through the use of context and expression. It can create more tension than using dialogue if the set up is right. E.g. instead of A saying to B: “what do you think?” and B replying “your guess is as good as mine” you could instead do the following A: raises eyebrow at B B: offers hands out in a shrug. If you think about it it’s rare to communicate that way with someone you’ve recently met. It’s an effective way to imply chemistry between characters. If you want to take it further have your POV character observe that interaction between two different characters and through that they can learn something new. Sometimes it can be something important.
I love how you often give writing advice that goes smaller scale than character, plot, worldbuilding etc. Good sentence level advice is so rare and you’re so good at giving it! (Id anyone reading this knows other good sentence /paragraph level writing advice please leave a comment. I’d love to find more sources)
I love first person retrospective, too. I think it’s particularly useful when you’re using a young protagonist but want their experience filtered through a more mature lens. Since you asked, my favourite technique is ending scenes on a line that accentuates the atmosphere and tone that’d been brewing within that scene. Not in a flashy way. I just like closing scenes with a slight punch to the reader.
Asymmetrical conversations thrill me, especially when words are exchanged but not on the same subject. Imagine one person trying to get to the bottom of something and the other perpetually trying to change the topic. Or a talkative person set against one that is not. Diametrically opposite personalities illustrated in how and what they talk about is great fun, such as an FBI agent interviewing a young child. Being more subtle, a person's worldview will affect the interpretation of words. A phrase meant as a compliment could be taken as an insult. The string of words said in retaliation, might not be perceived as assertive. A nice conversation where two people clearly don't understand each other is a fine way of characterizing both.
I LOVE using repetition to highlight tension. It’s kinda hard to explain, but I think it’s a really useful for that, and also using sensation as a way to ground the character. Like if they were spiralling into thought, or something like that, having them suddenly notice a particular sensation, and pulling them out of their head.
Placing the characters physically within the setting is something i also really like to focus on cause i tend to lose track of it lol. I also REALLY love subtle foreshadowing, like just placing a hint that i didnt even realize could be a hint until after i wrote it, its the best! Its literally one of my favorite parts when writing cause it only happens when i know the characters and story well and it just seeps into the text.
@@ShaelinWrites It's so weird because in french, the verb actually exist: "Méduser". And the adjectif made of it (médusé) is pretty common! :-) So I watched your video and I was like : "but wait, she didn't made up this word !" :D
@@billyalarie929 Petrifying. Medusa is a gorgon. She turns men into stone. Thusly, petrifying someone can be referred to as Medusaing but also gorgonizing.
I love reflective imagery. Two protagonists look at the same place and have completely different thoughts and reflections on it. I've been working on a pulpy noir murder mystery novel where I juxtapose a serial killer and the detective working the case as to highlight just how much perspectives can differ when observing similar instances. I also love unrealistically snappy dialogue. I steal a looooot of my inspiration on this from the likes of Joss Whedon with Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Rob Thomas' Veronica Mars. Both have incredible dialogue and it's just such a delight to listen to. This one is, perhaps, my quirkiest of likes but I'll often utilize imagery in my storytelling as well. I'll hire an illustrator for things like letters, pages from a diary etc. Whenever my character writes something (like in a notebook during a murder case) I'll make sure the reader can see the notes too. I find it gives a lot of personality to someone when you see how they write.
I felt this in my soul. I personally LOVE specificity within sensory detail/atmosphere. I legit ship these 2 techniques, lol. They overlap with some of the other techniques you've mentioned, but the ability to capture certain smells, tastes, textures, and sounds, esp. when they're culturally specific, is absolute witchcraft and I stan it.
Love this video! I took notes this time 🙂 I love that you mentioned colour pallete, it's a favourite of mine too. I also love to write comparisons, how people and places change over time and the difference between upbringings.
Hi Shaelin!Your lesson is great for budding writers because they may have clues,now,as to how to be creative with words,sentences and plots. Thanks & regards.
Thank you so much for this video, I was so stressed about writing and wanted to find love in it again, and seeing you so joyful about it, like it’s your happy place, it made me remember why I wanted to write in the first place, thank you so much ❤ I’m going to write for myself now
I really like all these & how specific some of them are. To your point about high or dreamy realism - I’ve found that this is something I really enjoy doing. & for me, it comes from being inspired by reading a lot of magical realism. I’ve written pure fantasy as well but I almost feel as if that subtext of dreaminess or high realism is more evocative & mysterious.
God, I love it when authors are really good at verbing nouns. I'd love to do more of it myself, but it's really hard to pull of elegantly in German... One of my favorite things is using unusual metaphors, although I often go overboard with them & editors have to reel it back in. :D
Gosh your writing style and techniques are so cool and interesting! You really inspire me to make my writing interesting on purpose and I love how passionate you are, keep up the great work!!
Shaelin, I love these writing techniques. As for point of view, I mainly write in third person. I like writing in first person, but I find a beauty in third person past tense both in omniscient and limited form. I love using symbolism as a device to enhance my stories. In my short story, The Christmas Party, Christmas symbolizes a state of happiness. The Tree of Exposure has trees being a symbol of being visible to the world and being protected as it plunges. I describe everything as a bequeathing star. The Charms of the Land Far is primarily about finding someone in a different world and that symbolizes the constant love and rapture we are surrounded by. I love using imagery in my writing as well. I love you
I also love similes but I'm also totally in love with symbolism, I always add too many symbols in my first drafts, and repetition too like you said I think can add a beauty to the prose and a nice sense of pace, almost like mimicking thought
According to one of my writing teachers from ages ago, "1st person directed/referral" is 2nd person pov. The only short story I ever finished was written in 2nd pov & it's very interesting to write in.
This is the first time someone pointed out color schemes for writing. Every story I write has a different color scheme. A ghost story would be dusty pinks and greenish bluish grays. A witch story is magentas and oranges. It's so hard to explain to anyone, but it makes so much sense.
Great video! I remember that lexicology has the term for this verbing nouns sings and I as a linguist am really ashamed that I can't remember the name. Thinking about my fav techniques... I do love similies too. And picturing skies for some reason. Lately I understood that I enjoy describing architecture, and my readers have noticed important details in characters' gowns which is also brings me a lot of fun to write about as I'm a visual person. I need to see pics and I keen on conveying them to reades. I also love short sentences, as they give tension and make some senses deeper and stronger (ofc I watch rhythmic patterns, and my texts are not full of short phrases only). Sometimes I write the passage and finish it with the short sentence that either breaks the previous thought saying like the cheracher was wrong, or confirms their thoughts. Lately I've noticed that overuse homogeneous members of a sentence (??? Sorry, I'm not quite sure if it's a correct term) which are linked with AND. The same was with all the similes some time ago. I also find it fun to use actions as dialogue tags to show what person is doing (especially when it comes to fine motor skill), and though this I give readers the hint if the words are the truth or a lie, and how the person truly feels, and also it shows some habbits. Well, I actually love fine motor skills overall. One thing that is a guilty pleasure ish for me is writing dreams, illusions, and apparitions because it gives an opportunity to go to the surrealistic level in prose and bring more deeper meanings through characters' own visions. It opens their perseprion of life and image. Their imagination. And... Probably, the last two things: I love rhythimc prose and repeatitions on structural and lexical levels when it's not a mistake, I mean. Actually, I'm all bout passing I think as I wrote poetry for a long time when I was younger 😅 Sorry for any possible mistakes. I don't mind if you point them out especially in terminology. English is my second language, and I try my best.) Thank you for the video!
Love. This. Video. Thank you for delving into your mind & allowing us to visit! Everything you like is what I like & appreciate, so a video like this is incredibly eye-opening & USEFUL for me (and, I’m sure, plenty of others). Thank you thank you thank you. Please continue making videos like these! They’re just so personal yet universal?
I used to think first person referral was just a gimmick, now I'm in love with it. First person retrospective is one of the things I love the most about Otessa Moshfegh's Eileen.
My favorite point of view is 3rd person omniscient. My novel ‘December 1989’ is told in it. PS if you like color in writing, read ‘the astonishing color of after’ because the author uses color to describe the main character’s feelings and emotions
i rlly love verbing nouns!!! expanding off of that, another one of my favourite things to do is inventing my own phrases that read like idioms. i think it makes everything so fun, especially when youre writing fantasy or other settings that don't quite fit in the real world. additionally, i appreciate whenever someone puts a spin on an actual idiom- one of my favourite examples is 'curiosity did cease the cat's attention'. once you step away from the unwritten rules of the english language, writing becomes so much more fun!!
Hello Shealin, I really appreciate your video on BLM. Very few youtubers are talking about it. I appreciate all the resources you listed, too. I love your videos! 💕
i like to describe things in ways they're not "supposed" to be described, like giving a taste to the sun or a smell to a sound, using adjectives that are commonly used to describe a character to describe a scenery. i love being very caricatural and obvious but making the atmosphere a little off, i related a lot to "highlighting discomfort"!
If you like similes, you use similes. I think they're easy to overuse in general but can be so useful. My favorite use of them (probably b/c I write fantasy) is to cement the world and characters more. Ex. In my first novel, I use similes with dragons, but these are used to show how different characters perceive dragons in the world: One character says, "She's a little dragon!" meaning she's chaotic and destructive, whereas another character says, "No matter the facts, some would argue with a dragon," showing that she sees dragons as stubborn. Dragons are crucial to the world, themes, and narrative in my story, and I think this adds a nice level of immersion. Thanks for the video!
I think it's called verbalizing. Which is kinda confusing because verbalizing has a more widely used definition. It's the opposite of nominalizing. Myself, I love the rule of three. I'll often structure descriptions or actions or dialogue in sets of three and i don't know why, but it makes my brain be happy.
Omg I love the idea of "jarringly close" third person present tense I'm writing a story about someone that becomes famous (along with the whole group) but I wanted to present it in a way that feels rough and real and close, to stop idolizing famous people and at the same time appreciate them as humans and artists And 3rd person present tense sounds perfect for it
Neology. A neologist. I believe it is the use of a new word or expression or to use an existing word or expression in a new or different way. Brilliant idea. I'm generally so hyper-aware of using words precisely as they are intended and would nowaver use this technique.
The novel I'm writing right now is half 1st person retrospective and half 1st person present tense. It is an own voice's story in a surreal atmosphere.
I really like most of these writing techniques as well! I also think you should read Things We Have in Common by Tasha Kavanagh! It has a VERY unhinged main character, told in first person referral, has a character how knows she wants something she shouldn't be wanting, and many relationships that aren't how it is logical for them to be! I just read it last week and really LOVED it!! Also, I really like your top
The word Medusaed is in Cherry and Jane. I know it because I re read it this very afternoon, before sitting down to write. Because you inspire me t h i s m u c h
I think the writing technique you are talking about with 'made up words' is in the novel Alice in Wonderland(I think there are examples of what your refering to in there). I think the term starts with a 'W'. Wuffle or whifle words...or something. I also strive to do this. Good luck.
omg I studied French in school for 12 years and most of my teachers were Quebecois (I was in French immersion) and they would do this alllll the time but I never thought about it until you just mentioned it!
I have mixed feelings about the verbing of nouns. I think that, when used sparingly, funky verbs can be extremely effective and super fun to read, but I've noticed that a ton of contemporary writers do it so much that I've started to get annoyed when I see it. It seems like a crutch for a lot of people, and once it starts feeling like a device in a piece of work, the author's presence begins to feel intrusive. I think that part of what makes a funky verb work is its unexpectedness, but they've become so common in current literary fiction that the surprise factor is gone, which makes them so much less effective. Not sure what the answer is, though, because I think these verbs do still have an important place in writing!
That's super fair! I definitely went a bit overboard with the made up verbs when I first discovered the joy of making up verbs, and they lost impact, so I try to use them more sparingly so they keep their impact.
First person retrospective is definitely my default point of view. It could almost be considered first person directed--all I would really have to do is actually include that extra person, I never thought of doing that. I tend to go for metaphors over similes. They're everywhere in my writing. When I reread it, there's been a few occasions where I just...didn't even know what i meant.
One of my FAVOURITE point of views ever is 2nd person present tense, when the main character is the "you", so it sounds like they're justifying this extraordinarily niche situation to someone, acting like it's this daily occurence an example would be like (this is so random but), "so, naturally, you dissect the words into their chemical compounds, anatomize them into a consolified structure, in preparation. when you're done, you say, "i love you."" idk it just cracks me up
If you like beauty in combo with the disgusting I highly recommend Swedish author Sara Stridsberg. I'm Swedish so I've read her in the original language. I hope it translates well. I see that the English novels by her are some of the ones I haven't read, but I find it to be rather integral to her style anyway. Very much recommend her either way.
It would be very cool and educational if you gave good examples of exactly what these terms are and good examples of how you use them. That would be very helpful.
I love third person present, never thought of it as intrusive though thats very interesting, to me it feels like I'm walking along side the characters as the story plays out, like an invisible participant or a ghost following them (which I guess IS pretty intrusive haha). To me it feels very homey and companionable to read. From a writing standpoint I also just really enjoy seeing my characters names more in the text and for me its just the most natural way to write, almost everything I write is in third person limited present tense. Though, I do enjoy a good first person retrospective with diary entries witch puts the story into this weird retrospective present kinda, as each entry is very close to the present and the story unfolds between and through each entry, its almost like this rich delay sensation where the characters and the reader are very caught up in the present while also looking back on it. And the space between diary entries is really good because you know what just happened that was in the last diary entry but you don't know whats happening NOW and what will happen next, and by the time you find out because of tense it will have already happened. It creates a sort of finality or inevitability or unavoidable quality which can be fantastic or tragic (depending on the story). Though, you could use only diary entries or mix it with other povs for other sections of the work and both options are great for different purposes. Dating diary entries also excellent technique time between them can tell alot. Dairies are also so personal and close and yet so distant from the actual character writing them especially depending on when and where the diary is from it can even venture into otherworldly and almost surreal. Yeah, okay just while writing this am I relising how much I love dairy narratives, and that prob why I love the Dear Canada series so much even though I think Canadian history is dull trash.
Making up verbs or turning verbs into nouns is called 'Conceptism'. Invented by Francisco de Quevedo in the late 16th century. The literary term for dreamy realism is 'marvelous realism'. Hightened sense of reality is 'hyperreality' or virtual reality. The term for first person referral is 'homodiegetic narrator'.
Ooooo I noticed most of the sequel to Gideon the Ninth was in first person referral POV, even if it stayed with the "you" narration a for the first 65% you could really feel the presence of a different narrator 👀 it was fascinating and I wanted to immediately reread it just to study the POV 😅 It was weird & I think it'd put off a lot of readers who loved Gideon IX, but I was obsessed
There *are* grammatical rules for "verbing" as well so keep an eye out for that. You might ignore such rules if that is your style but be careful or else your work might come across as sloppy -- I believe the etymology of the noun 'verb' is latin, therefore we add the suffix '-al' to make it an adjective --> 'verbal', to make 'verb' a verb you take the adjective form and add the suffix '-ize' --> 'verbalize'. Another example of a Latin word verbalized: institution --> institutional --> institutionalize
"To verbalize" and "to verb" are actually two separate verbs with very different meanings. The first means "say, utter, put into words", while the second means "make into a verb".
@@taylor_green_9 Just checked four dictionaries: Merriam Webster, Macmillan, Cambridge and Dictionary.com The definitions do go back and forth, with both 'verbalize' and 'verb' having entries for 'making into a verb'
First person retrospective! I hadn't even considered what the term for it was when I utilized that in the first book of my tetralogy. In a lot of it, the main protagonist is debriefing with new potential allies as she recuperates from some injuries.
There's an Aimee Bender short story, but I forget the name haha. Incidentally, it's about forgetting names of things and verbing/adjectiving words to compensate.
My channel name is basically an adjective-turned-verb, though in the form of a noun ;) A creative writing teacher of mine once asked us to write a piece with 'music' used as a verb, I absolutely loved doing that. I'm pretty sure the technique I'm most obsessed with is alliteration. I use it way too much.
im not sure if this is a technique or anything but I really like focusing on what other people/things are doing in a scene outside of the character's view, even if it's not related or effecting the main characters ya know. Like describing what the couple in the seat over are doing or children across the parking lot, even if it has nothing to do with our main focus. I feel it just makes the world more lived in . I don know is that too hyper specific
Verbing nouns. I thought at first it is a Gerund. Anyway, great as always. Thanks Prefered: -Color Palate. I also do this with my stories. One novel has a grey and rainy theme whole the other is yellow and summer. -Juxtaposing Beauty and Disgust Personally: -Long sentences -Writing Descriptive Setting
I think a gerund is something slightly different! I think that's a noun functioning as a verb in a sentence, but what I'm talking about is making up a verb, which I know has its own name but that I can't remember haha
No Kidding by Bruce Brooks is written in third person present. The version of that point of view where we don't get the character's thoughts at all but are just left to infer them by their actions--what's that called? I'm drawing a blank at the moment. It's a YA novel, written in the nineties I think--that would have been when I would have read it anyway--but it's one I would recommend to anybody if it's still even in print. At least one of his other books it out of print now.
Hi, Shaelin. I just discovered your channel and I find your videos very interesting. I'm not sure what kind of audience you want to drive to your videos, but if you want a broad audience, I think you should remember that some people are beginners. And they want to learn how to write, or write better. As a content creator (a blogger), I have learned to remember the beginner. To be helpful, we have to teach. I bet many beginners have no idea what you are talking about when you use words such as "first person referral POV, similes, or anaphora". Why not give them some examples? From your own writing, or other writers'? I mean: show, don't tell. Thanks. (Note: I am sure that a series of videos aimed at the beginners (the basics of fiction writing) would bring you a ton of watchers.)
Third person present tense? I used to do that unconsciously, and I really want to do it again. That made my novel not only enjoyable for the reader, but strongly enjoyable for me.
How do you spell it, is it "medusaed"? You know, we have that word in French: "médusé". I recently coined a verb myself and I thought, can I do this? Of course we can. English, French are living languages, and we call them so because our languages are changing, and new words can be invented every day. When in Scotland, I first heard the noun "serendipity". I loved it so much that I went to Paris to look for the old book "The three princes of Serendip" at the library, with a vague plan of rewriting the story.
Have you read NK Jemisin's Broken Earth Trilogy? She uses what you call "1st person referral" (I'd call it "2nd person with an intra-diegetic narrator", don't know if either is correct ^^) for one of the points of view, and the best part is that at the end of the third book you learn there's a very good plot reason for it, so it's not just for style or to set the POVs apart (although I think it does that, and it's a good thing). And it's very very good. It's the only series to ever win the Hugo for three books in a row.
I haven't because I'm not much of a fantasy reader, but I bought it for my brother (who reads pretty much only fantasy) for his birthday haha. But the POV intrigues me so much I might pick it up myself!
There's a technique I like in Er Gen's novels. The character is going through something that can be expressed in numbers(Like climbing stairs, running a marathon, ringing a bell...) and he puts a break between telling how many repetitions or how far the character went and describing. I think this makes the scenes more exciting and helps to show the character struggling. Example: "500 meters!" He felt his legs burning and his whole body begging for a rest, but he could see the finishing line, and giving up wasn't an option. "600 meters!" ...
1st person retrospective is how I'd like to write, but the story I'm working on can't do that since the protagonist dies. :/ I would have to switch PoV/perspective part-way through the story, and I'm not sure if I really want to do that. The story has 3 quite distinct parts, and I figured the first one could be from the perspective of the protagonist, the 2nd part from the perspective of a friend, and the 3rd part from the perspective of a sort of aquaintance. It would make some parts of the 2nd part easier to write, but... damn it's tricky, this. I'm working on the 4th version of this story, lol...
@@ShaelinWrites oh and pov.. I used to not think about pov until you mentioned it so many times in your channel and now I can't unsee it. If the pov doesn't make sense I will almost always hate the book and with my writing.. well let's say that I make it super complicated for myself to chose one... damn it XD
I use a lot of metaphors. I don't really describe the image I see in my head with images; they're sorta like impressions of how the event appears in memory most of the time, but with too many metaphors as weird references. With poetry though it's different. Still too many metaphors, but now it's more of just like a bard's tale type thing where I make up a character and there's a story and it's some strange thing you can have fun reading.
OOooh Have you read Harrow The Ninth from the Locked Tomb trilogy? It uses the first person referral but the protagonist is 'you' technique and it works so well.
I'm probably gonna do a shit job at describing. Kinda expanding on heighten discomfort I like to do that with a small/unneeded or uninteresting feelings or sensations, but in certain (mostly stressful) situations its beneficial to point them out. For example lets say the character is at an event where there is a person they don't get along with or maybe they don't like being around other people in general. So now they are forced to play nice with the person and on top of that they are wearing really uncomfortable shoes or something. I just feel it grounds the reader in the moment.
I really like the idea of verbing nouns. The current scene I'm working on these two characters are sitting in a bedroom, playing video games, and drinking from little bottles of cinnamon whiskey. A fun verb noun could be -- fireballing XD
2nd person is where the narrator is referred to as 'you' and 1st person referral is where the narrator is referred to as 'I' and refers to another character in the story as 'you.' If you scroll a bit through the comments on this video, I've left some examples because the question has been asked a couple times! I also explained it in my video on 2nd person.
@ShaelinWrites. If you like making verbs out of nouns, I recommend you to take some classes of Hungarian. :) We are experts at making a verb from any noun under the sun, though English may come second. Some examples you may understand: radio > radiozik (he listens to radio), cigi = cig > cigizik (he smokes/is smoking), Bicigli > biciglizik (he rides/is riding a bicycle). This could be a great inspitation to your writing and speaking/understanding some Hungarian you would definitely win the heart of, I guess, 3 aspiring Hungarian writers who follow your show here, those who youtubozik :)
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i love all the quirks to Shae's writing it feels like its own person sometimes
She used the noun "verb" as a verb in verbing nouns lol pretty damn meta
inception!!
@@ShaelinWrites She's boss.
I have always called it verbifying haha
@@ShaelinWrites Hi, great video. Are you no longer with Reedsy?
REDJEWEL No, I’m still with Reedsy, why would you think so?
"I Will Never Tell You This" is so good. :,)
one of my favorite stories i've read in awhile :)
It really is. The writing creates such a sweet but dark and interesting atmosphere. It's beautiful.
wow you’re literally a fashion icon I can’t!!
I enjoy finding ways for my characters to communicate silently with one another through the use of context and expression. It can create more tension than using dialogue if the set up is right.
E.g.
instead of A saying to B: “what do you think?” and B replying “your guess is as good as mine” you could instead do the following
A: raises eyebrow at B
B: offers hands out in a shrug.
If you think about it it’s rare to communicate that way with someone you’ve recently met. It’s an effective way to imply chemistry between characters.
If you want to take it further have your POV character observe that interaction between two different characters and through that they can learn something new. Sometimes it can be something important.
I love this technique too :)
I love how you often give writing advice that goes smaller scale than character, plot, worldbuilding etc. Good sentence level advice is so rare and you’re so good at giving it!
(Id anyone reading this knows other good sentence /paragraph level writing advice please leave a comment. I’d love to find more sources)
Your love for these techniques is sort of adorable. LOL
I love first person retrospective, too. I think it’s particularly useful when you’re using a young protagonist but want their experience filtered through a more mature lens.
Since you asked, my favourite technique is ending scenes on a line that accentuates the atmosphere and tone that’d been brewing within that scene. Not in a flashy way. I just like closing scenes with a slight punch to the reader.
Asymmetrical conversations thrill me, especially when words are exchanged but not on the same subject. Imagine one person trying to get to the bottom of something and the other perpetually trying to change the topic.
Or a talkative person set against one that is not. Diametrically opposite personalities illustrated in how and what they talk about is great fun, such as an FBI agent interviewing a young child.
Being more subtle, a person's worldview will affect the interpretation of words. A phrase meant as a compliment could be taken as an insult. The string of words said in retaliation, might not be perceived as assertive. A nice conversation where two people clearly don't understand each other is a fine way of characterizing both.
I LOVE using repetition to highlight tension. It’s kinda hard to explain, but I think it’s a really useful for that, and also using sensation as a way to ground the character. Like if they were spiralling into thought, or something like that, having them suddenly notice a particular sensation, and pulling them out of their head.
Placing the characters physically within the setting is something i also really like to focus on cause i tend to lose track of it lol. I also REALLY love subtle foreshadowing, like just placing a hint that i didnt even realize could be a hint until after i wrote it, its the best! Its literally one of my favorite parts when writing cause it only happens when i know the characters and story well and it just seeps into the text.
I like to translate sayings literally. So “morsear” which in Spanish means “to be lazy, like a walrus” turns into walrusing.
I love this very much
That's so awesome!
"Medusaed" can also be "gorgonized" because that's technically a word lmaooo
ohhhhhhhhh this is amazing
@@ShaelinWrites It's so weird because in french, the verb actually exist: "Méduser". And the adjectif made of it (médusé) is pretty common! :-) So I watched your video and I was like : "but wait, she didn't made up this word !" :D
what in the UNHOLY H*CK is "gorgonized"!!!!!!!????????
@@billyalarie929 Petrifying. Medusa is a gorgon. She turns men into stone. Thusly, petrifying someone can be referred to as Medusaing but also gorgonizing.
I love the term "gorgonized" but would probably opt not to use it because I think a significant percentage of readers would miss the reference.
I love reflective imagery. Two protagonists look at the same place and have completely different thoughts and reflections on it. I've been working on a pulpy noir murder mystery novel where I juxtapose a serial killer and the detective working the case as to highlight just how much perspectives can differ when observing similar instances.
I also love unrealistically snappy dialogue. I steal a looooot of my inspiration on this from the likes of Joss Whedon with Buffy the Vampire Slayer or Rob Thomas' Veronica Mars. Both have incredible dialogue and it's just such a delight to listen to.
This one is, perhaps, my quirkiest of likes but I'll often utilize imagery in my storytelling as well. I'll hire an illustrator for things like letters, pages from a diary etc. Whenever my character writes something (like in a notebook during a murder case) I'll make sure the reader can see the notes too. I find it gives a lot of personality to someone when you see how they write.
oh hell yes reflective imagery is some top tier shit
I felt this in my soul. I personally LOVE specificity within sensory detail/atmosphere. I legit ship these 2 techniques, lol. They overlap with some of the other techniques you've mentioned, but the ability to capture certain smells, tastes, textures, and sounds, esp. when they're culturally specific, is absolute witchcraft and I stan it.
I would love for you to do a whole video on how to implement a color palette into your writing. That's a really cool concept.
Atmospheric Tension is the name of my art rock band
Hopefully eventually it turns into a plot 😂
Love this video! I took notes this time 🙂 I love that you mentioned colour pallete, it's a favourite of mine too. I also love to write comparisons, how people and places change over time and the difference between upbringings.
I love first-person referral. "I Will Never Tell You This" was the first story I read in that pov.
I honestly can’t wait for honey vinegar to one day be published, it sounds so interesting.
Loved the video!
fav person talking about fav writing techniques in fav outfit?? 🤩
Hi Shaelin!Your lesson is great for budding writers because they may have clues,now,as to how to be creative with words,sentences and plots.
Thanks & regards.
Thank you so much for this video, I was so stressed about writing and wanted to find love in it again, and seeing you so joyful about it, like it’s your happy place, it made me remember why I wanted to write in the first place, thank you so much ❤ I’m going to write for myself now
I really like all these & how specific some of them are. To your point about high or dreamy realism - I’ve found that this is something I really enjoy doing. & for me, it comes from being inspired by reading a lot of magical realism. I’ve written pure fantasy as well but I almost feel as if that subtext of dreaminess or high realism is more evocative & mysterious.
God, I love it when authors are really good at verbing nouns. I'd love to do more of it myself, but it's really hard to pull of elegantly in German... One of my favorite things is using unusual metaphors, although I often go overboard with them & editors have to reel it back in. :D
You're making me feel much better about my third person present tense. Thank you.
Gosh your writing style and techniques are so cool and interesting! You really inspire me to make my writing interesting on purpose and I love how passionate you are, keep up the great work!!
Shaelin, I love these writing techniques. As for point of view, I mainly write in third person. I like writing in first person, but I find a beauty in third person past tense both in omniscient and limited form. I love using symbolism as a device to enhance my stories. In my short story, The Christmas Party, Christmas symbolizes a state of happiness. The Tree of Exposure has trees being a symbol of being visible to the world and being protected as it plunges. I describe everything as a bequeathing star. The Charms of the Land Far is primarily about finding someone in a different world and that symbolizes the constant love and rapture we are surrounded by. I love using imagery in my writing as well. I love you
YESSS THIRD PERSON PRESENT TENSE YESSSSSSS !! i love how jarringly close it is it's my fave
I also love similes but I'm also totally in love with symbolism, I always add too many symbols in my first drafts, and repetition too like you said I think can add a beauty to the prose and a nice sense of pace, almost like mimicking thought
According to one of my writing teachers from ages ago, "1st person directed/referral" is 2nd person pov. The only short story I ever finished was written in 2nd pov & it's very interesting to write in.
i love having characters be in denial, but also on some level be aware that they're in denial
I absolutely LOVE the passion you show for writing! I'm overjoyed to have found your channel.
A simile rich prose is like a well buttered sandwich. Each bite brings your choice ingredients to life with unexpected yumminess.
This is the first time someone pointed out color schemes for writing. Every story I write has a different color scheme. A ghost story would be dusty pinks and greenish bluish grays. A witch story is magentas and oranges. It's so hard to explain to anyone, but it makes so much sense.
I love all your videos but this one is definitely my favourite. Thank you!!!
The color palette technique sounds SO interesting.... I'm going to try to implement it in my works!!
Great video! I remember that lexicology has the term for this verbing nouns sings and I as a linguist am really ashamed that I can't remember the name.
Thinking about my fav techniques... I do love similies too. And picturing skies for some reason.
Lately I understood that I enjoy describing architecture, and my readers have noticed important details in characters' gowns which is also brings me a lot of fun to write about as I'm a visual person. I need to see pics and I keen on conveying them to reades.
I also love short sentences, as they give tension and make some senses deeper and stronger (ofc I watch rhythmic patterns, and my texts are not full of short phrases only). Sometimes I write the passage and finish it with the short sentence that either breaks the previous thought saying like the cheracher was wrong, or confirms their thoughts.
Lately I've noticed that overuse homogeneous members of a sentence (??? Sorry, I'm not quite sure if it's a correct term) which are linked with AND. The same was with all the similes some time ago.
I also find it fun to use actions as dialogue tags to show what person is doing (especially when it comes to fine motor skill), and though this I give readers the hint if the words are the truth or a lie, and how the person truly feels, and also it shows some habbits. Well, I actually love fine motor skills overall.
One thing that is a guilty pleasure ish for me is writing dreams, illusions, and apparitions because it gives an opportunity to go to the surrealistic level in prose and bring more deeper meanings through characters' own visions. It opens their perseprion of life and image. Their imagination.
And... Probably, the last two things: I love rhythimc prose and repeatitions on structural and lexical levels when it's not a mistake, I mean. Actually, I'm all bout passing I think as I wrote poetry for a long time when I was younger 😅
Sorry for any possible mistakes. I don't mind if you point them out especially in terminology. English is my second language, and I try my best.)
Thank you for the video!
Verbing is a form of conversion, also called "zero derivation". I couldn't remember it either but I knew where to look it up, haha!
Love. This. Video. Thank you for delving into your mind & allowing us to visit! Everything you like is what I like & appreciate, so a video like this is incredibly eye-opening & USEFUL for me (and, I’m sure, plenty of others). Thank you thank you thank you. Please continue making videos like these! They’re just so personal yet universal?
Ubiquitous?!?! That’s the word!
I used to think first person referral was just a gimmick, now I'm in love with it.
First person retrospective is one of the things I love the most about Otessa Moshfegh's Eileen.
My favorite point of view is 3rd person omniscient. My novel ‘December 1989’ is told in it.
PS if you like color in writing, read ‘the astonishing color of after’ because the author uses color to describe the main character’s feelings and emotions
i rlly love verbing nouns!!! expanding off of that, another one of my favourite things to do is inventing my own phrases that read like idioms. i think it makes everything so fun, especially when youre writing fantasy or other settings that don't quite fit in the real world. additionally, i appreciate whenever someone puts a spin on an actual idiom- one of my favourite examples is 'curiosity did cease the cat's attention'. once you step away from the unwritten rules of the english language, writing becomes so much more fun!!
Hello Shealin,
I really appreciate your video on BLM. Very few youtubers are talking about it. I appreciate all the resources you listed, too. I love your videos! 💕
i like to describe things in ways they're not "supposed" to be described, like giving a taste to the sun or a smell to a sound, using adjectives that are commonly used to describe a character to describe a scenery. i love being very caricatural and obvious but making the atmosphere a little off, i related a lot to "highlighting discomfort"!
Love the passion and that shirt looks really great on you!!
I love 1st person retrospective!! i don’t see it much in books i read but i use it for the novel i’m working on
If you like similes, you use similes. I think they're easy to overuse in general but can be so useful. My favorite use of them (probably b/c I write fantasy) is to cement the world and characters more. Ex. In my first novel, I use similes with dragons, but these are used to show how different characters perceive dragons in the world: One character says, "She's a little dragon!" meaning she's chaotic and destructive, whereas another character says, "No matter the facts, some would argue with a dragon," showing that she sees dragons as stubborn. Dragons are crucial to the world, themes, and narrative in my story, and I think this adds a nice level of immersion.
Thanks for the video!
I think it's called verbalizing. Which is kinda confusing because verbalizing has a more widely used definition. It's the opposite of nominalizing.
Myself, I love the rule of three. I'll often structure descriptions or actions or dialogue in sets of three and i don't know why, but it makes my brain be happy.
Omg I love the idea of "jarringly close" third person present tense
I'm writing a story about someone that becomes famous (along with the whole group) but I wanted to present it in a way that feels rough and real and close, to stop idolizing famous people and at the same time appreciate them as humans and artists
And 3rd person present tense sounds perfect for it
Love making up words that just make sense. See also, "Brave as a Noun"
U help me so much when I write my books I wanne thank u with all my heart whenever it hit shelves I make sure u get a copie
Neology. A neologist. I believe it is the use of a new word or expression or to use an existing word or expression in a new or different way. Brilliant idea. I'm generally so hyper-aware of using words precisely as they are intended and would nowaver use this technique.
Neologism is the new word
The novel I'm writing right now is half 1st person retrospective and half 1st person present tense. It is an own voice's story in a surreal atmosphere.
I just love your videos so much. I've been here since your Chain Reaction outlining video and ahhh. I grew up with your channel T_T
I really like most of these writing techniques as well! I also think you should read Things We Have in Common by Tasha Kavanagh! It has a VERY unhinged main character, told in first person referral, has a character how knows she wants something she shouldn't be wanting, and many relationships that aren't how it is logical for them to be! I just read it last week and really LOVED it!!
Also, I really like your top
The word Medusaed is in Cherry and Jane. I know it because I re read it this very afternoon, before sitting down to write. Because you inspire me t h i s m u c h
I'd love a video that explains the POV. POV simplified
With examples
I think the writing technique you are talking about with 'made up words' is in the novel Alice in Wonderland(I think there are examples of what your refering to in there). I think the term starts with a 'W'. Wuffle or whifle words...or something. I also strive to do this. Good luck.
Making up verb i love it! Im a french canadian from quebec and in our way of speaking french we do that all the time!
omg I studied French in school for 12 years and most of my teachers were Quebecois (I was in French immersion) and they would do this alllll the time but I never thought about it until you just mentioned it!
I have mixed feelings about the verbing of nouns. I think that, when used sparingly, funky verbs can be extremely effective and super fun to read, but I've noticed that a ton of contemporary writers do it so much that I've started to get annoyed when I see it. It seems like a crutch for a lot of people, and once it starts feeling like a device in a piece of work, the author's presence begins to feel intrusive. I think that part of what makes a funky verb work is its unexpectedness, but they've become so common in current literary fiction that the surprise factor is gone, which makes them so much less effective. Not sure what the answer is, though, because I think these verbs do still have an important place in writing!
That's super fair! I definitely went a bit overboard with the made up verbs when I first discovered the joy of making up verbs, and they lost impact, so I try to use them more sparingly so they keep their impact.
0:58 That's Buffy-speak right there.
just add a -y to the end of all your words, voila
@@TunezCottage Yeah that conclusion is pretty voila-y.
First person retrospective is definitely my default point of view. It could almost be considered first person directed--all I would really have to do is actually include that extra person, I never thought of doing that.
I tend to go for metaphors over similes. They're everywhere in my writing. When I reread it, there's been a few occasions where I just...didn't even know what i meant.
One of my FAVOURITE point of views ever is 2nd person present tense, when the main character is the "you", so it sounds like they're justifying this extraordinarily niche situation to someone, acting like it's this daily occurence
an example would be like (this is so random but), "so, naturally, you dissect the words into their chemical compounds, anatomize them into a consolified structure, in preparation. when you're done, you say, "i love you."" idk it just cracks me up
omg i love lists, especially when placing three random things together that don't belong in the same sentence.
If you like beauty in combo with the disgusting I highly recommend Swedish author Sara Stridsberg. I'm Swedish so I've read her in the original language. I hope it translates well. I see that the English novels by her are some of the ones I haven't read, but I find it to be rather integral to her style anyway. Very much recommend her either way.
It would be very cool and educational if you gave good examples of exactly what these terms are and good examples of how you use them. That would be very helpful.
I love third person present, never thought of it as intrusive though thats very interesting, to me it feels like I'm walking along side the characters as the story plays out, like an invisible participant or a ghost following them (which I guess IS pretty intrusive haha). To me it feels very homey and companionable to read. From a writing standpoint I also just really enjoy seeing my characters names more in the text and for me its just the most natural way to write, almost everything I write is in third person limited present tense.
Though, I do enjoy a good first person retrospective with diary entries witch puts the story into this weird retrospective present kinda, as each entry is very close to the present and the story unfolds between and through each entry, its almost like this rich delay sensation where the characters and the reader are very caught up in the present while also looking back on it.
And the space between diary entries is really good because you know what just happened that was in the last diary entry but you don't know whats happening NOW and what will happen next, and by the time you find out because of tense it will have already happened. It creates a sort of finality or inevitability or unavoidable quality which can be fantastic or tragic (depending on the story). Though, you could use only diary entries or mix it with other povs for other sections of the work and both options are great for different purposes. Dating diary entries also excellent technique time between them can tell alot. Dairies are also so personal and close and yet so distant from the actual character writing them especially depending on when and where the diary is from it can even venture into otherworldly and almost surreal. Yeah, okay just while writing this am I relising how much I love dairy narratives, and that prob why I love the Dear Canada series so much even though I think Canadian history is dull trash.
Making up verbs or turning verbs into nouns is called 'Conceptism'. Invented by Francisco de Quevedo in the late 16th century.
The literary term for dreamy realism is 'marvelous realism'.
Hightened sense of reality is 'hyperreality' or virtual reality.
The term for first person referral is 'homodiegetic narrator'.
Ooooo I noticed most of the sequel to Gideon the Ninth was in first person referral POV, even if it stayed with the "you" narration a for the first 65% you could really feel the presence of a different narrator 👀 it was fascinating and I wanted to immediately reread it just to study the POV 😅 It was weird & I think it'd put off a lot of readers who loved Gideon IX, but I was obsessed
There *are* grammatical rules for "verbing" as well so keep an eye out for that. You might ignore such rules if that is your style but be careful or else your work might come across as sloppy -- I believe the etymology of the noun 'verb' is latin, therefore we add the suffix '-al' to make it an adjective --> 'verbal', to make 'verb' a verb you take the adjective form and add the suffix '-ize' --> 'verbalize'. Another example of a Latin word verbalized: institution --> institutional --> institutionalize
"To verbalize" and "to verb" are actually two separate verbs with very different meanings. The first means "say, utter, put into words", while the second means "make into a verb".
@@taylor_green_9 Just checked four dictionaries: Merriam Webster, Macmillan, Cambridge and Dictionary.com
The definitions do go back and forth, with both 'verbalize' and 'verb' having entries for 'making into a verb'
@@gao1812 Interesting. I've never heard "verbalize" with that meaning.
First person retrospective! I hadn't even considered what the term for it was when I utilized that in the first book of my tetralogy. In a lot of it, the main protagonist is debriefing with new potential allies as she recuperates from some injuries.
I also wrote a story in "you" person. Till this day, this is my steamyest story online. Weirdly.
There's an Aimee Bender short story, but I forget the name haha. Incidentally, it's about forgetting names of things and verbing/adjectiving words to compensate.
My channel name is basically an adjective-turned-verb, though in the form of a noun ;) A creative writing teacher of mine once asked us to write a piece with 'music' used as a verb, I absolutely loved doing that.
I'm pretty sure the technique I'm most obsessed with is alliteration. I use it way too much.
Can you make a video talking more in-depth on how to properly incorporate describing things physically in your writing?
im not sure if this is a technique or anything but I really like focusing on what other people/things are doing in a scene outside of the character's view, even if it's not related or effecting the main characters ya know. Like describing what the couple in the seat over are doing or children across the parking lot, even if it has nothing to do with our main focus. I feel it just makes the world more lived in . I don know is that too hyper specific
Verbing nouns. I thought at first it is a Gerund.
Anyway, great as always.
Thanks
Prefered:
-Color Palate. I also do this with my stories. One novel has a grey and rainy theme whole the other is yellow and summer.
-Juxtaposing Beauty and Disgust
Personally:
-Long sentences
-Writing Descriptive Setting
I think a gerund is something slightly different! I think that's a noun functioning as a verb in a sentence, but what I'm talking about is making up a verb, which I know has its own name but that I can't remember haha
Great video as always!
No Kidding by Bruce Brooks is written in third person present. The version of that point of view where we don't get the character's thoughts at all but are just left to infer them by their actions--what's that called? I'm drawing a blank at the moment. It's a YA novel, written in the nineties I think--that would have been when I would have read it anyway--but it's one I would recommend to anybody if it's still even in print. At least one of his other books it out of print now.
Hi, Shaelin. I just discovered your channel and I find your videos very interesting. I'm not sure what kind of audience you want to drive to your videos, but if you want a broad audience, I think you should remember that some people are beginners. And they want to learn how to write, or write better. As a content creator (a blogger), I have learned to remember the beginner. To be helpful, we have to teach. I bet many beginners have no idea what you are talking about when you use words such as "first person referral POV, similes, or anaphora". Why not give them some examples? From your own writing, or other writers'? I mean: show, don't tell. Thanks.
(Note: I am sure that a series of videos aimed at the beginners (the basics of fiction writing) would bring you a ton of watchers.)
First person retrospective is the truth. But also the hardest
I enjoyed this video so much!
Third person present tense? I used to do that unconsciously, and I really want to do it again. That made my novel not only enjoyable for the reader, but strongly enjoyable for me.
How do you spell it, is it "medusaed"? You know, we have that word in French: "médusé". I recently coined a verb myself and I thought, can I do this? Of course we can. English, French are living languages, and we call them so because our languages are changing, and new words can be invented every day. When in Scotland, I first heard the noun "serendipity". I loved it so much that I went to Paris to look for the old book "The three princes of Serendip" at the library, with a vague plan of rewriting the story.
Have you read NK Jemisin's Broken Earth Trilogy? She uses what you call "1st person referral" (I'd call it "2nd person with an intra-diegetic narrator", don't know if either is correct ^^) for one of the points of view, and the best part is that at the end of the third book you learn there's a very good plot reason for it, so it's not just for style or to set the POVs apart (although I think it does that, and it's a good thing). And it's very very good. It's the only series to ever win the Hugo for three books in a row.
I haven't because I'm not much of a fantasy reader, but I bought it for my brother (who reads pretty much only fantasy) for his birthday haha. But the POV intrigues me so much I might pick it up myself!
There's a technique I like in Er Gen's novels. The character is going through something that can be expressed in numbers(Like climbing stairs, running a marathon, ringing a bell...) and he puts a break between telling how many repetitions or how far the character went and describing. I think this makes the scenes more exciting and helps to show the character struggling. Example:
"500 meters!"
He felt his legs burning and his whole body begging for a rest, but he could see the finishing line, and giving up wasn't an option.
"600 meters!"
...
I wish you gave examples :( I had trouble understanding what you meant on some.
1st person retrospective is how I'd like to write, but the story I'm working on can't do that since the protagonist dies. :/ I would have to switch PoV/perspective part-way through the story, and I'm not sure if I really want to do that.
The story has 3 quite distinct parts, and I figured the first one could be from the perspective of the protagonist, the 2nd part from the perspective of a friend, and the 3rd part from the perspective of a sort of aquaintance. It would make some parts of the 2nd part easier to write, but... damn it's tricky, this.
I'm working on the 4th version of this story, lol...
Borges has some beautiful high realism ❤️
I love the unreliable narrator technique. :) super fun and realistic
How Could I Forget Unreliable Narrators !!!
@@ShaelinWrites oh and pov.. I used to not think about pov until you mentioned it so many times in your channel and now I can't unsee it. If the pov doesn't make sense I will almost always hate the book and with my writing.. well let's say that I make it super complicated for myself to chose one... damn it XD
I use a lot of metaphors. I don't really describe the image I see in my head with images; they're sorta like impressions of how the event appears in memory most of the time, but with too many metaphors as weird references.
With poetry though it's different. Still too many metaphors, but now it's more of just like a bard's tale type thing where I make up a character and there's a story and it's some strange thing you can have fun reading.
OOooh Have you read Harrow The Ninth from the Locked Tomb trilogy? It uses the first person referral but the protagonist is 'you' technique and it works so well.
Can you please make a video about similes?
Now I want to try to write in 3rd Person Present Tense 😂
I'm probably gonna do a shit job at describing. Kinda expanding on heighten discomfort I like to do that with a small/unneeded or uninteresting feelings or sensations, but in certain (mostly stressful) situations its beneficial to point them out. For example lets say the character is at an event where there is a person they don't get along with or maybe they don't like being around other people in general. So now they are forced to play nice with the person and on top of that they are wearing really uncomfortable shoes or something. I just feel it grounds the reader in the moment.
I really like the idea of verbing nouns. The current scene I'm working on these two characters are sitting in a bedroom, playing video games, and drinking from little bottles of cinnamon whiskey. A fun verb noun could be -- fireballing XD
This is unrelated haha (this is such a great video by the way ) but where do you get your earrings from? All of them are so fire
an etsy shop called souvenirhandmade!
@@ShaelinWrites thank you :)
Your passion is so contagious, yay, haha!
ALso question: what’s the difference between 1st Person Referral and 2nd Person?
2nd person is where the narrator is referred to as 'you' and 1st person referral is where the narrator is referred to as 'I' and refers to another character in the story as 'you.' If you scroll a bit through the comments on this video, I've left some examples because the question has been asked a couple times! I also explained it in my video on 2nd person.
ShaelinWrites • I was just about to ask for examples, haha, thank you!
loved this video.
@ShaelinWrites. If you like making verbs out of nouns, I recommend you to take some classes of Hungarian. :) We are experts at making a verb from any noun under the sun, though English may come second. Some examples you may understand: radio > radiozik (he listens to radio), cigi = cig > cigizik (he smokes/is smoking), Bicigli > biciglizik (he rides/is riding a bicycle). This could be a great inspitation to your writing and speaking/understanding some Hungarian you would definitely win the heart of, I guess, 3 aspiring Hungarian writers who follow your show here, those who youtubozik :)