Jars of Words

How to World Build: In Brandon Sanderson’s worldbuilding lectures, worldbuilding is divided into two parts: physical and cultural. Physical worldbuilding includes aspects of the world that would exist even without humans present such as terrain, climates, animal and plant life, cosmology, etc. Cultural worldbuilding is things created by humans such as architecture, history (common heroes and villains), government (monarchy, oligarchy, democracy, anarchy), laws, rights, justice system, caste system, gender norms, race relations, prejudices, education, jobs, culture (beliefs, holidays, special ages like 16 or 18), romance (how is sex, marriage, etc. treated), art, sports, entertainment, clothes, values, technology/weapons, magic, science (its capabilities and who has access to it), economy, landmarks/wonders, philosophy, food, folklore, languages, etc. However fun worldbuilding might be, it is imperative that career writers don’t worldbuild for ten years. Extensively develop...

Though I’m still a newbie writer, I’ve learned that nailing your viewpoint and tense distinguishes you from amateurs. Viewpoint is whose head you’re in. Tense is whether the story is happening in the past or the present. The best way to choose which is right for your story is to know what they do. Viewpoint First person limited: Uses the pronouns “I,” “me,” “my,” etc. and stays in one character’s head. With first person limited you can have head-hopping (switching to a new character’s viewpoint every chapter or line break); However, if you’re a beginner, I would try sticking to one character and see how that works first. Ex. I glance around the clearing, feeling afraid. Advantages: First person books are monologues so you can charm readers with one (or two) unique and dynamic voice(s). In this way, it’s typical for young adult fiction since kids can easily bond with one person. YA or middle-grade books are also shorter and can stand on one personality. Furthermore, this ...

Ice cream is delicious at any point in the day and any season of the year. However, sometimes it’s too sweet. So I’ve found a healthier version that makes my stomach feel better after indulging and is just as flavorful and creamy. Give it a go and tell me if you like it better than store bought! 2 frozen bananas 1 tbsp peanut butter Splash of almond milk ¼ tsp vanilla extract Dash of Cinnamon 1 tbsp unsweetened cocoa powder (If you like chocolate ice cream) Put in a blender then enjoy! * Never feel guilty about indulging. Treating yourself can become unhealthy, but only in excessive amounts at a high frequency. Eating too much is not as bad as eating too little. If you want real ice cream, have it! A couple scoops won’t make you gain. My favorite flavor of ice cream is cookies and cream. What’s yours?

Your character’s voice is their distinct view on the world, which is displayed in what the character notices and how they describe it. Their world view depends on their experiences, goals, hobbies, quirks, habits, qualities, friends, family, job, and emotions; it is filtered through their introspection, brand of humor, and syntax . Examples: Kathryn Stockett’s novel The Help :   “By sixteen I wasn’t just not pretty, I was painfully tall. The kind of tall that puts a girl in the back row of class pictures with the boys. The kind of tall where your mother spends her nights taking down hems, yanking at sweater sleeves, flattening your hair for dances you hadn’t been asked to, finally pressing the top of your head as if she could shrink you back to the years when she had to remind you to stand up straight” (Stockett 67). Skeeter notices her height not because she cares, but because her mother cares, displaying her people-pleasing personality and insecurities...