An Actual Writing Tip From An Actual Author

waughinjarth:

xhalaxsun:

waughinjarth:

Wow holy shit I’m gonna actually give you guys an actual writing tip, being a published and award winning author and all.

Anyways, a great way to work in TOTALLY UNRELATED little details about your setting or what have you that may or may not be relevant later on is through the use of metaphors, euphemisms, etc. in character dialogue.

“This cold is terrible! I’m wearing more layers than an Aenirian bride!”

Congratulations, you now know something about Aenirian marriage customs. You might not even know what exactly an Aenirian is, but you know that their brides wear lots of layers.

See where I’m going with this?

also even though it seems like common sense little details add so much depth and flavour to a story even and maybe especially when those details aren’t plot relevant

not everything in the real world connects neatly and seamlessly with everything else; there are TONS of loose ends in real life because there’s an entire world that keeps going regardless of one particular person or group’s drama

having proof of a world outside of and utterly unconcerned with the main conflict is such a nice touch and a really quick way to breathe life into dialogue

Excellent addition!