Anonymous asked: “I have a terrible attachment with just. I use it way too much in my writing, and I know it’s one of those words you should avoid, along with very and really. The problem is I don’t know what words to replace it with.”
Just, very, and really are what I’d call filler words. They don’t actually serve much of a purpose in writing unless they’re part of the voice and they don’t make much of an impact on the sentence.
Since I had an earlier ask about slang, I thought I’d pull together a few resources:
Historical Dictionary of American Slang - allows you to search by year
Slang Terms for Sex (And Related F*ckery) - Bow chicka wah wah
Medieval Slang Terms and Terminology - PDF File (Use these sparingly)
Victorian Slang Terms - Again, use sparingly
This is gonna be a long list.
Anonymous asked: I’m doing crime fiction in school and have to write a short story, but I’ve never written crime before and I don’t really know how. Do you have any tips? Maybe something on writing action scenes, creating suspense, and leaving clues? Thanks for any help you can give me!
Crime fiction is most definitely one of my favorite genres to read, so I’m so happy that you’ve given me the chance to look these things up!
Action Scenes
Creating Suspense
Leaving Clues
Crime Fiction
I hope these links can help you. If you have any further questions, let me know!
[Made rebloggable by request]
Every now and then I come across a book, movie, TV-series, fanfic, game or whatever, that mention a fictional “Norwegian” or “norse” place or person, and it just sounds so wrong it makes me either cringe or ROFL. Really. I still haven’t recovered from the 1995 X-files episode, “Død Kalm”, which took us to the port of “Tildeskan” where we met “Henry Trondheim”, “Halverson” and “Olafsson”. Hopefully this list will keep others from being that “creative” with names. :)
These names are very generic and suitable for a place, village or town anywhere (and pretty much any time) in Norway. Mix and match prefixes with suffixes for diversity. Bonus: All of these can also be used as surnames. Name (meaning) - usage
Nes (headland, cape, ness) - Standalone Bø (fenced-in field on a farm) - Standalone Fjell (mountain) - Standalone or prefix/suffix: Fjell- / -fjell Haug (small hill / large mound) - Standalone or prefix/suffix: Haug- / -haug Vik, Viken, Vika (inlet, the inlet, the inlet) - Standalone or prefix/suffix: Vik- / -viken / -vika Ås, Åsen (hill, the hill (larger than “Bakken”)) - Standalone or prefix/suffix: Dal, Dalen (valley, the valley) - Standalone or prefix/suffix: Berg (small mountain) - Standalone or prefix/suffix: Berg(s)- / -berg Sand (sand) - Standalone or prefix/suffix: Sand- / -sand Strand (beach) - Standalone or prefix/suffix: Strand- / -strand Li (hill) - Standalone or prefix/suffix: Li- / -li Gran (spruce) - Standalone or prefix: Gran- Bratt (steep) - prefix only: Bratt- Myr (bog, mire) - prefix only: Myr- Neset, Nesset (the headland, the cape, the ness) - Standalone or suffix: -neset / -nesset Odden (foreland, headland) - Standalone or suffix: -odden Våg (cove, bay) - Standalone or suffix: -våg Lund (grove) - Standalone or suffix: -lund Sund (sound, strait) - Standalone or suffix: -sund Skog (forest) prefix/suffix: Skog- / -skog Øy (island) prefix/suffix: Øy- / -øy øya (the island) - suffix only: -øya bakken (the hill) - suffix only: -bakken gard / gård / gården (farm / farm / the farm) - suffix only: -gard / -gård / -gården elv, -elva (river, the river) suffix only: -elv / -elva stad (old word for town/place) suffix only: -stad vannet (the lake) - suffix only: -vannet
Common words that can be used as prefix to any of the suffixes above Svart- (black) Lille- (little/small) Sol- (sun) Brei-/Bred- (wide) Stor- (big) Lang- (long)
Heredatory surnames didn’t become mandatory in Norway until 1923. Many took the name from the farm or place they lived, or just changed their primary patronyms into hereditary patronyms. Example: Helgessønn/Helgesdatter (son of Helge / daughter of Helge) became Helgesen.
Alm Andersen Anderssen Antonsen Aspelund Bakke Bakken Bang Berg Bjerkan Bråthen Christensen Corneliussen Dahl Dahlberg Danielsen Dyrnes Dørum Eide Ellingsen Erdal Eriksen Falch Fredriksen Foss Fure Fylling Gabrielsen Gran Grønning Halvorsen Hansen Hanssen Hay Hoff Holm Holt Husby Isaksen Iversen Jacobsen Jensen Jenssen Johansen Karlsen Klausen Konradsen Kristensen Kristiansen Larsen Larssen Lie Lien Lund Løvold Magnussen Meyer Mikalsen Mo Moen Myhre Myklebust Mørk Ness Nilsen Olavsen Olsen Paulsen Pettersen Prestegård Rasmussen Riise Rogstad Ruud Simonsen Solbakken Solli Stokke Strøm Sund Svendsen Thorvaldsen Torp Thune Tønnesen Ueland Ulven Urdal Vik Vinje Wahl Wik Wilhelmsen Zakariassen Ødegård Årseth Årvik Ås, Aas Åsen, Aasen
Men
Anders André Andreas Are Arne Atle Bjørn Cato Chris Christian, Kristian Christoffer, Kristoffer Daniel David Dennis Elias Emil Espen Erik, Eric Eirik Fredrik Filip Geir Harald Helge Hans Henning Håkon, Haakon Håvard Isak Jan Joachim Johan Johannes John, Jon Johnny Jonas Jonathan Kim Kristian, Christian Kristoffer, Christoffer Lars Lucas, Lukas Mads, Mats Magnus Martin Michael, Mikael Morten Niklas Nils Odin Ole Ove Paul Per Peter, Petter Preben Pål Richard, Rikard Roger Sebastian Simen Simon Sindre Sondre Stian Terje Thomas Thor, Tor Thore, Tore Vegard Werner William Øystein Åge Åsmund
Women
Andrea Ane, Anne Anette, Annette Annika, Anniken Astrid Bente Camilla Carina Cathrine Celine Charlotte Christin, Kristin Christina, Kristina Christine, Kristine Elin, Eline Elise Elisabeth Emilie Eva Frida Grete, Grethe Hanne Hege Heidi Helene Hilde Ida Ine Ingrid Ingvill, Ingvild Isabel, Isabell, Isabelle Iselin Jannicke Janine Jeanette Jennie, Jenny Julia, Julie Karoline (Kine) Katrin, Katrine Kristin, Christin Lea, Leah Lena, Lene Linda Line Linn Linnea Lise, Lisa Liv, Live Mai, May Maja Malin Margrete, Margrethe Mari, Maria, Marie Mariann, Marianne Marte, Marthe Mette Monica Nina Nora Oda Pia Ragnhild Randi Rikke Sara, Sarah Silje Siv Stina, Stine Susann, Susanne Tanja Tina, Tine Tiril Tone Trine Vilde Vera Veronica Wenche Åse Åshild
Men Aksel Albert Anders Andreas Anker Ansgar Arne Arnt Arve Asle Atle Birger Bård Charles Edmund Edvard Egon Erling Even Fred Fredrik Frode Geir Georg Gunnar Gunvald Gustav Harald Helge Hilmar Håkon, Haakon Ivar Ingvar Jens Jesper Jørgen Joakim Karl Karsten, Karstein Kjell Klaus Kolbein Kolbjørn Kristian Kåre Lars Lavrans Leif Lossius Ludvig Magne Magnus Nikolai Nils Odd Oddvar Odin Ola Olai Olaf Olav Ole Omar Oscar, Oskar Peder Per Petter Philip, Phillip Pål Ragnar Rikard Roald Roar (also Hroar) Rolf Rune Sigurd Sigvard, Sigvart Simon Svein Sverre Tarjei Terje Toralf, Thoralf Torbjørn, Thorbjørn Torleif, Thorleif Torstein, Thorstein Torvald, Thorvald Trond Ulf Ulrik Valdemar Wilhelm Willy Åge
Women
Albertine Alice, Alise Alma Anita Anna Annbjørg Asbjørg Astrid Aud Bente Berit Birgit Birgitte Bjørg Bjørgun Bodil Borghild Dagny Dagrun Edel Ella Ellen Elsa Fredrikke Frida Gerd Gjertrud Gunhild Gyda Hanna, Hannah Helga Henny Herdis Hilda Hilde Hjørdis Ingeborg Inger Irene Johanna, Johanne Jorun, Jorunn Josefine Judith Kari Karin Kirsten Kitty Kjersti Laila Lilli, Lilly Lisa, Lise Liv Lovise Mathilde Margaret Marit Martha Molly Nanna Oddrun Oddveig Olga Ragna Ragnhild Rigmor Sara Signe Sissel Solbjørg Solveig Solvår Svanhild Sylvi Sølvi Tora Torhild, Toril, Torill Torun, Torunn Tove Valborg Ylva Åse Åshild
Names usage Double names, like Ragnhild Johanne or Ole Martin are common in Norway. Just keep them as two names and don’t use “-”, and you’ll be safe, even if it ends up a tongue twister. Using only one of two given names is also common practice.
In Norway everyone is on a first name basis. Students call teachers and other kids’ parents by their first name, workers call their boss by their first name, we call our Prime Minister by her first name (journalists will use her title when speaking to her though). Some senior citizens still use surnames and titles when speaking of or to people their own age.
There are some exceptions. For example, a doctor may be referred to as Dr. Lastname when we speak of them, but first name is used when speaking to them. A priest is “the priest” when speaking of him/her and their first name is used when spaking to them. In the millitary only surnames (and ranks) are used. If you meet Harald, the King of Norway, in an official setting you will refer to him as “Kongen” (the king). If you run into him at the gas station, or while hiking, he is “Harald”.
If you don’t know someone’s name it is okay to use their title, or just say “you”.
Dogs Laika (f) Bamse (m) (bear) Tinka (f) Loke/Loki (m) + characters from TV/film/books…
Cats Melis (m/f) (powdered sugar) Mango (m/f) (mango) Pus (f) (kitty) Mons (m) (tomcat) Nala (f) Pusur (m) (Garfield) Felix (m) Simba (m) + characters from TV/film/books…
Horses Pajazz (m) Mulan (f) Balder (m) - cold blood Kompis (m) (pal) Freya (f) - cold blood + characters from TV/film/books…
Rabbits Trampe (m) (Thumper) Trulte (f) + characters from TV/film/books…
Cows (yes, I am serious) Dagros Rosa Mira Luna Sara + characters from TV/film - Disney is popular, as are the Kardashians :)
Storgata (usually the main street) Kongens gate (the king’s street) Dronningens gate (the queen’s street) Jernbanegata (railroad street) Jernbaneveien (railroad road) Sjøgata (ocean street) Sjøveien, Sjøvegen (ocean road) Skolegata (school street) Torvgata (plaza street) Industrigata (industrial street) Industriveien (industrial road)
Prefixes Blåbær- (blueberry) Bringebær- (raspberry) Bjørke- (birch) Aspe- (asp) Kastanje- (chestnut) Solsikke- (sun flower) Blåklokke- (blue bell) Nype- (rosehip) Kirke- (church) Park- (park)
Suffixes -veien, -vegen (the road) -stien (the path)
Other Torvet (the plaza) - standalone or suffix: -torvet Havna (the port) - standalone or suffix: -havna Kaia (the port) - standalone or suffix: -kaia
Safe solution: use a first name or surname as prefix.
Men’s names Agnarr (Agnar) Alfr (Alf) Ámundi (Amund) Ánarr Árngrimr (Arngrim) Askr (Ask) Auðun (Audun) Baldr (Balder) Beinir Bjørn Burr Borkr Dagfinnr (Dagfinn) Davið (David) Drengr Durinn Einarr (Einar) Eirikr (Eirik) Eivindr (Eivind) Erlingr (Erling) Fafnir Flóki Freyr (Frey) Fuldarr Galinn Gautarr (Gaute) Gegnir Geirr (Geir) Glóinn Grímarr (Grimar) Hafli Hakon Hallsteinn (Hallstein) Haraldr (Harald) Haukr (Hauk) Heðinn (Hedin, Hedinn) Helgi (Helge) Hrafn, Hrafni (Ravn) Hrafnkell (Ravnkjell) Iarl (Jarl) Ingolfr (Ingolf) Iuar (Ivar) Jafnhárr Jón Jóngeirr Kál Kiaran Klaus Knútr (Knut) Kolgrimr (Kolgrim) Kolr (Kol) Leifr (Leif) Loki Lyngvi Magnus Mikjáll (Mikal, Mikkel) Mór Morði Nesbjørn Nokkvi Oddr (Odd) Oddbjørn Oðin (Odin) Olafr (Olaf) Ormr (Orm) Otr Ouden Pálni Pedr Ragnarr (Ragnar) Ragnvaldr (Ragnvald) Randr (Rand) Róaldr (Roald) Rólfr (Rolf) Salvi Sigarr (Sigar) Sigbjørn Sigurðr (Sigurd) Skarpe Snorri (Snorre) Steinn (Stein) Sveinn (Svein) Teitr Þor (Thor/Tor) Þórbjørn (Thorbjørn/Torbjørn) Þorsteinn (Thorstein/Torstein) Tryggr (Trygg) Týr Ulfár Ulfheðinn (Ulvhedin) Ulfr (Ulf) Vakr Vani Veigr Viðarr (Vidar) Yngvarr (Yngvar) Æsi
Women’s names
Anna Arnfriðr (Arnfrid) Ása Bera Bergdís (Bergdis) Biørg (Bjørg) Cecilia Cecilie Christina Dagný (Dagny) Dagrún (Dagrun) Dís Dísa Edda Elin Ellisif (Ellisiv) Freyja (Freya) Friða (Frida) Frigg Gerðr (Gerd) Gertrud Grima Gyða (Gyda) Hadda Hallbéra Hallkatla Herdís (Herdis) Hildigunnr (Hildegunn) Huld Hvít Ida Iðunn (Idun, Idunn) Ingríðr (Ingrid) Johanna Jórunn (Jorun, Jorunn) Juliana Katla Katrine Kristín (Kristin) Leikný (Leikny) Lif (Liv) Magnhildr (Magnhild) Mjøll Myrgiol Nál Nanna Nótt Oda Oddný (Oddny) Ólaug (Olaug) Rafnhildr (Ragnhild) Rán Rannveíg Ríkví (Rikvi, Rikke) Rúna (Runa) Roskva Sága (Saga) Sif (Siv) Sigriðr (Sigrid) Skaði (Skadi) Skuld Svana Sýn Solveig Tekla Tóra (Tora) Trana Ulfhildr (Ulfhild) Una Urðr (Urd) Valborg Vigdís (Viigdis) Vírún Yngvildr (Ingvill, Ingvild) Yrsa
Bynames Bynames, or nicknames, could be neutral, praising or condescending. Usually bynames described a person’s
Examples: Eirik Blodøks (Eirik Blood-Axe), Gammel-Anna (old Anna), Halte-Ása (limping Ása). I suggest that you stick with English for bynames, or use (relatively) modern language if you are writing in Norwegian.
Surnames
Surnames weren’t really a thing until 1923 when they became mandatory. Before 1923 patronyms (son/daughter of) were used, and the name of the farm you lived on was often added as an address.
For instance: Helgi Eiriksøn (Helgi, son of Eirik), who lived at the farm called Vollr (grass field), would be called Helgi Eiriksøn Vollr. If he moved to the farm called Haugr his name would change to Helgi Eiriksøn Haugr.
Patronyms
Men: Use father’s first name and add -sen /-son /-sønn Women: Use father’s first name and add -dotter / -dottir / -datter
Farm names
Farm names were usually relevant and derived from either the location, a nearby landmark, nature or from occupation. I suggest you stick with the modern forms for farm names.
Old Norse (meaning) - modern Bekkr (stream) - Bekk, Bekken Dalr (valley) - Dal, Dahl Horn (horn) - Horn Vollr (field) - Vold, Volden Lundr (grove) - Lund
The list of common names for places/villages/towns is still valid, although the spelling is modern. Just keep it simple and make “clever” combos based on meaning.
Because everyone is tired of baristas and bartenders.
Here is a list of 30 underused careers for your characters, in alphabetical order. Some of the definitions may be obvious, but I included one for all careers none the less.
Found Here x
41 Emotions as Expressed through Body Language unique This list, while exhausting, is soooo not exhaustive; it barely scratches the surface. And each entry could easily become cliché (if it isn’t already). But, it should be enough to get you started. Want more? Start watching people (not in a creepy way), and take notes of what they seem to do when expressing different emotions. Your repertoire of expression will double in no time. PS—do not use these for actual, real-life body language reading; you will fail. These are strictly novelistic.
Awed -Slack -jawed, raised eyebrows, staring -Frozen, slack body language (Self? What self? There is only Zuul.) -Take a step back and put a hand to his heart
Amused -Smiling and throwing back her head laughing -Slapping her thighs, stamping her feet, clapping her hands -Shaking her head (That’s so wrong!)
Angry/Aggressive -Sharp movements, like shaking a fist, pointing, slashing, or slamming a fist on a table -Flushed face, patchy red blotches -Tension in neck—chords standing out, veins throbbing—and jutting or tucked chin -Arms akimbo, or clenching fists -Entering someone else’s space and forcing them out -Poofing up with a wide stance (I am big! Very big!), arms wide (Bring it!) -Lowered eyebrows, squinting eyes -Teeth bared, jaw clenched, snarling
Annoyed -Pressing lips together into a thin line -Narrowing eyes sometimes with slight head tilt (Why do you still exist?) -Rolling eyes, often paired with a long-suffering sigh
Anxious -Fidgeting, such as tearing grass into little pieces, playing with a ring, or chewing on a pencil -Biting lower lip, swallowing unnecessarily -Quickened breathing or holding breath -Darting eyes -Pallor, sweating, clammy palms -Unusually high-pitched, “nervous” laughter -Hunched shoulders -Pacing
Attentive -Slow head nodding with a furrowed brow -Leaning forward, toward the speaker, and sitting up -Taking notes -Looking over the top of her glasses
Bored -Resting his head on his palm, peeking out between the fingers, maybe even slipping so his head “accidentally” hits the table -Tapping toes, twirling pencil, doodling, and otherwise fidgeting -Staring out a window, or at anything remotely more interesting (Which is everything …)
Confident -Arms clasped behind body -Head lifted, chest out, standing tall -Walking briskly and making firm, precise movements
Confused -Tilting head with narrowed eyes -A furrowed brow -Shrugging
Contempt/Superiority -Lifted chin (The better to look down the nose.) -Pursed lips, sneering, slight frown -Circling a shoulder, stretching her neck, turning away—anything to indicate she doesn’t see the person as a threat or worthy of her attention -Grabbing her lapels, or tucking her thumbs in her waistcoat (See this clothing? It is much nicer than yours.) -Dismissive hand-waving
Cynical/Sarcastic/Bitter -Twisted lips or a half-smile -Sneering, sometimes with shaking the head and other defensive body language -Pressed lips with a slight frown -Eye rolling
Defensive -Crossed arms, legs, crossed anything, really (Well, maybe not fingers … or eyes …) -Arms out, palms forward (Stop!) -Placing anything (sword, shield, book, backpack) in front of her body
Disgusted -Crinkling his nose -Curling his lip and/or showing the tip of his tongue briefly -Flinching back and interposing a shoulder or turning away -Covering his nose, gagging, and squinting his eyes shut—hard—for a moment. (It assaults all the senses.)
Displeased -A plastered-on fake smile (You suck; but I can’t tell you that. So here: a fake smile! Enjoy.) -Pouting or frowning (I’ll cry if you don’t give me what I want—don’t test me, I will!) -Crossed arms and other defensive/frustrated body language (I will not let that terrible idea influence me!)
Distressed -Wide eyes and shallow, rapid breathing -Beating the walls, or huddling into a corner -Clasping hands over his head protectively -Rocking himself -Handwringing -Running his hands through his hair
Earnest/Passionate -Leaning forward, nodding, wide eyes with strong eye contact and raised eyebrows -Hand on heart, or presented palms-up, or otherwise visible -A double-handed handshake (I really want to make sure you understand me!)
Embarrassment -Blushing -Stammering -Covering her face with her hands or bowing her head (I’m so embarrassed, I can’t look!) -Difficulty maintaining eye contact, looking down and away
Excited/Anticipation -Rubbing hands together (I can’t wait to get my hands on it!) -Licking lips (It’s so close I can taste it!) -A vigorous, pumping handshake (I can’t wait to get started!) -Jumping up and down (Look at me being literal here! I am jumping for joy.) -A wide and easy grin
Flirty -Eye play, like winking, looking up through the lashes, over the shoulder glances, and eye catching -Preening, like hair flipping or smooth, clothing straightening, spine straightening, etc. -Striking a cowboy pose, with his thumbs gripping his belt tight
Frustrated -Shaking his head (You are so wrong!) -Massaging temples (My brain—it hurts.) -Clasping his wrist in his opposite hand, behind his back (Bad arm! No biscuit.) -Running his hands through his hair (All this frustration is making my hair mussy. I can feel it.) -Grabbing onto something like armrests, or white-knuckled interdigitation (Restrain yourself!)
Happy -Smiling and laughing -Eyes and nose crinkling -Swinging her arms, spinning loosely, dancing, jumping
Impatience -Quick head nodding (Get on with it!) -Toe/finger tapping (Hear this? These are seconds. Wasted. Listening to you.) -Sighing, checking the clock/sundial/freckles (Time. It is moving so slowly.)
Jealous -Tight lips, or a sour expression -Narrow eyes locked on the perpetrator, to the point of a stare down -Crossed arms, and additional frustrated, angry, possessive, or bitter body language
Lying -Scratching their nose, ear, neck, miscellaneous part of face -Sudden change in behavior or demeanor, including shifty eye contact, lots of long blinking, shrugging -Ill-timed smiles or laughter (This is how I normally smile, right? Right???) -Additional anxiety body language -Shaking head no while saying “yes” (I can’t believe I just lied.) -Licking lips, covering mouth, touching mouth, etc.
Overwhelmed -Both palms to forehead, fingers splayed (This gives me a headache.) -Covering eyes with one hand (If I can’t see the world, it can’t see me …) -Eyes wide and staring into space, hands gripping the table in front of her (… Woah.)
Playful/Friendly -Winking -Waggling eyebrows -Tiny shoves or nudge
Pleasure -Head tilted back, lips parted slightly, eyes wide or closed -Slow, languorous movements, stretching (such as arching her neck or back) -Slight flush, quickened breath and pulse
Possessive -Handshake with arm clasp -Putting hands on or around someone’s shoulders, neck, waist, back, or even just the wall near them -Standing in someone’s personal space, body positioned toward that person -Any one-sided act of intimacy, like running a knuckle down someone’s cheek -Staring down any who get too close
Proud/Dominant -Chin up, chest out, shoulders back -A painfully hard handshake that not only squishes the bones, but also forces his hand on top -Leaning back with his hands behind his head, and his feet up -Strong, unblinking, focused eye contact
Reluctance/Resistance -Arms crossed, sometimes with fists (Not happening.) -Dragging feet (But I don’t wanna!) -Pinching nose (You want me to do what now?) -Clamping hands over ears (La la la la!)
Sad/Upset -Droopy body (and anything held, like a sword), bowed in shoulders, wrapping arms around self -Slow movements with hesitation -Bottom lip jutting out and/or quivering -Crying, sobbing, body shaking, sniffling, wet eyes
Secretive -A tight-lipped smile (My lips are zipped.) -Hiding her hands in her pockets (What has it got in its nasty little pocket?) -Looking away
Scared -Hunched shoulders, shrinking back from others (Don’t hurt me!) -Wide eyes and lifted eyebrows (The better to see them coming.) -Shaking, trembling, or freezing -Rocking from side to side, sometimes holding self (It’ll all be okay, self, it’ll all be okay.)
Shame -Slumped shoulders (Don’t look at me.) -Trouble meeting your gaze, looking down and away -Burying her face in her hands or bowing her head (I can’t face the world right now.)
Shocked -Hands covering her mouth, or mouth hanging open, sometimes with a gasp (If I had words, I would be saying them.) -Freezing and staring with wide eyes and eyebrows raised (Diverting all resources toward staring.) -Smacking a palm into his forehead (Clearly, my head isn’t working right, or I wouldn’t have seen that)
Shy -Avoids eye contact, or has only fleeting eye contact (Eye contact means you might speak to me.) -Keeps a fair distance from everyone, and will back away if someone steps closer (Space invaders!) -Folded arms, head down, and other defensive body language (If I make myself small, they can’t see me.)
Smug -Slight, close-lipped smile (occasionally one-sided) and sometimes one raised eyebrow (I know something you don’t know.) -Chin slightly tucked, Mona Lisa smile, raised eyebrows (I know better.) -Finger steepling (I am so smaaaht.)
Suspicious/Skeptical/Disbelief -Narrowed eyes, sometimes with a sidelong glance or raised eyebrow (Perhaps if I look at it out of the corner of my eye, I will catch it unawares.) -Rubbing his eyes (I can’t believe what I’m metaphorically or literally seeing!) -Shaking his head (I—I don’t believe it.) -Blowing out cheeks (Well , I don’t know …)
Tired -Rubbing his eyes, eyes staring into space, raised eyebrows (Raising my eyebrows helps keep my eyes open.) -Yawning and/or stretching (I am tired—see? Tired! Too tired to care!) -Almost nodding off and jerking awake (Cannot. Stay. Awa—snnnnurzzzz.) -Gritting teeth to stay awake (Cannot—yawn—dang it!)
Thoughtfulness/Thinking -Steepling fingers (I will think better if I center myself and focus.) -Pinching nose, sometimes with closed eyes (Focus, focus—I just need to focus.) -Tugging on an ear (This will help me remember!) -Stroking a real or imaginary beard (People with beards look smart.) -Furrowed brow, narrowed eyes, sometimes tilted head and pressing lips together (I can’t see it—I will try harder!) -Resting his chin on his hand (Thinking makes my head heavy.)
Triumphant -Hands clenched and held above head while grimacing (She is invincible!) -Head tilted back with a yell (She is fierce!) -Arm pumping in the air, jumping (Woohoo!)
Long paras are a staple of TOS, but we know it can get a little intimidating when you don’t know how to match the colossal para you just got, or that 500 word limit is just a little too far away. So we’ve compiled a series of tips to make replying to someone that much easier, and ultimately, hopefully, to help make more confident writers. Obviously none of these are rule rules, just advice to give for a spin when you do get stuck.
Try to give your rp partner 3 active things to respond to. An explicit action, dialogue (asking questions is great), or a change in the environment worth commenting on. This is especially important in the starter, because replying to starters that only have one thing to respond to is hard. The more you give in the starter, the easier your next reply is. If you’re the one replying, make sure to respond to what your partner gives you, both verbal and nonverbal, active and passive. If both players are actively making sure there’s plenty for their para partner to respond to, you’re making it easier for the both of you to reply in much longer ways.
Ask for more to work with! It really is okay, and most people won’t have an issue writing a couple more sentences to help you out, or give you a description your character can respond to– especially if you’re in their character’s office or something like that. You can also ask if it’s okay to progress to the next plot point if you have something planned out, or if you can introduce a new element altogether. Communication is the bomb.
Describe the other character. You can obviously do this in one big chunk in one para, or space it out. We don’t mean like “He was wearing blue clothes”, but rather, how does their appearance affect your character’s opinion of them? Do they think her clothes are as disorganized as she must be? Does their abuse of the color yellow put your character off? Does he look as tired as your character does, and what could that mean. We all judge people by their appearances, and those judgements depend on how much you like the person, and don’t have to be right in reality or wrong. It’s also a really cool way to show character development and their connection changing over time if the way you describe someone changes. Someone who at first may come across as haughty may later be interpreted as nervous, and it’s fun to play with that.
Additionally, if a character is disabled don’t be afraid of mentioning that in your writing or having a character interact with that aspect of the other character. If you’re not familiar with something or some aspect of a character and are maybe afraid of being offensive, don’t be afraid to look things up or ask the other player for some more information. Your character might not always be 100% PC and that’s okay. Just be sure to use appropriate trigger warnings when that’s the case.
Have a plan. Long paras can go on for a long time, and sometimes it’s hard to know when to dash or how to keep it in one timeline. Even if the plan is as vague as “They fight. She wins.” If you have a vague idea how it ends, you can base future interactions on it while you’re still writing it. It also helps with inspiration. If you could go anywhere it’s harder to pick which way to go. When you have a destination in mind you know heading East will get you there faster than going West will.
Is your character someone who looks forward or looks back? Having them reminisce and connect the current situation to the past is a great way to slide in your neat little headcanons and give everyone perspective on your character’s motive. If they’re looking forward, how does this link to their future, what they want? For example, someone who wants a relationship someday talking to a “taken” character– how does the relationship they perceive match up with what they want of their relationship, and how doesn’t it? This can also help build tension or specific dynamics, and, when use consistently, introduces new characteristics.
Use your setting. It’s there, it’s around you. It can help build mood through language choices and details, or show how your character feels in certain environments, as well as drive plot points. Maybe they’re really chilled out outside, and agitated in an office. Maybe meeting new people makes them want to examine a leaf on a nearby tree. Maybe there are glowing eyes in the forest nearby that are kinda freaking one character out while the other is oblivious. By doing so, you’re making them real people in a real place, not a person detached from reality in an endless void, or someone obviously pasted onto a CGI background. The world is real to them; make it real to you.
Write in a word document or something and make the font size 8, single-spaced. Not advisable for those with bad eyesight, but it’s kind of a neat way to trick your brain into writing more. 500+ words looks and feels like a lot less when it’s tiny. Then you make it big and… hey, when did you write that much?
Sometimes starting is the hardest part. Try having a word war with yourself– write for 10 - 15 minutes straight, no pauses, no editing. Once you’re in the groove, you’re more likely to keep going, and you’ll have a good chunk of it done. Try this.
Try not writing in order! When you read a para, try writing down your immediate responses– a dialogue, a thought, an action– and then building around it. It also helps having a framework. Say you make 6 bullet points of things to say/do/think. You write about 85 words on each bullet point minimum, you’ve got it down pat, and make sure you’ve remembered to include things for your partner to reply to. The first sentence chronologically can be the last one you write, and things can always be rearranged or changed.
Try waiting to read replies you receive until you can reply yourself. Some people are the planning types and need 24+ hours to mull over the kind of response they want to write, and that’s fine! However, reading a nice reply that gives you things to play off of can give you an immediate surge of ideas and inspiration that dwindles the longer you wait to get typing. If you’re the second type of person, then waiting to read the reply until you know you can write yours might result in increased productivity and flow of ideas.
Don’t get hung up on using colorful language or describing details. Try using the first word that comes to mind, because 99% of the time, it’ll be the best and most genuine choice, and it means not getting stuck in one place and needing to find your groove again. You have something you want to accomplish with your reply, so do that and fill in the other details around it afterwards. Editing can always come later.
Use the Plot/Character/Mood rule. This ties into other advice listed, but it’s a great way to decide whether something is relevant or filler. If you’re worldbuilding, character building, advancing the plot, or showing the mood, it isn’t filler; it’s building a story.
Ultimately, practice makes perfect. The more you do it, and the more often you do it, the easier it becomes. The more it gets put off, the harder it looks and the harder it becomes. We hope that with these tips, 500 words feel less like an unclimbable mountain, and more like a molehill.
Some more awesome guides:
Anonymous asked: I have difficulty ‘connecting’ with my characters. Often I find them seem like me, and I can’t tell if it’s because it’s part of them, or part of me. I have difficulty thinking about writing characters far from me, and I really don’t know what to do. They could just be them, or they could be me. (It might also be a problem that I believe I have a sort of mild mpd, just bc I have strong mood or personality switches, so I can constantly react to things very differently.) so then I don’t know if it’s them or me even more) I know this is straying very close to something you wouldn’t answer, but I just need help knowing my characters easily and knowing the distinct differences between them and I. I’m sorry, I know this is difficult, it sounds difficult to me. But if you can’t answer it or have no idea what I’m saying/don’t understand, could you publish it anyway? See if anyone else gets it? Thank you so much, I just need help with my characters
You could try doing a comparison chart to show all the differences between you and each character. A basic one might look like this:
You could add a column at the beginning for listing particular traits (hair color, eye color, likes, dislikes, mood, personality, hopes, fears, etc.), or you can just list everything that is unique to yourself or to a particular character. If you see a lot of similarities, you can augment as needed to keep everyone relatively different. A few similarities are okay, however, and each character will probably have a few things in common with you, as well, which is totally normal. :)
I can tell you not to use a Thesaurus when writing your narrative, but that really only means: be wary of it. People are smarter than you think and they can tell when you’ve tried to pretty things up, specially if every word in a single sentence is just a blatant replacement of a much simpler, smaller one. Sometimes even if every word feels like a blatant replacement of a much simpler, smaller one.
-Alex
Most famous writers have their own style, so it becomes easy to pinpoint one of their books. Authors like Stephen King and Chuck Palahniuk are instantly recognizable, but sometimes it could be hard to understand why. How did they develop their style? What makes them different from other writers? It’s not normally something writers strive to do, it usually just happens without them realizing it.
Your style generally develops naturally over time and can come from what you read, what inspires you, your personality, and certain decisions you make when it comes to your writing. Obviously, there’s a way you prefer to write. Whatever your most comfortable doing, that’s usually how you write. If you think about it too much, your writing might become unnatural and too conscious.
When you write every day it becomes easier to understand what your style is. You’ll figure out what type of sentence structure you prefer, what POV you like to write in, or what your “voice” is. Voice is the way you tell a story, which varies from author to author. It’s what makes your writing recognizable, much like how you almost immediately know if Stephen King wrote a book without looking at the title. It can be hard to develop a distinct voice and can take years, but the more you write the easier it will become.
I came up with a few things to avoid when developing your own style. Like I said, it usually comes naturally and can’t necessarily be forced. It also might happen more easily for some writers than others.
-If your writing is forced into a particular style (if you attempt to emulate your favorite author, for example) your writing won’t flow like it should. Don’t try to be something you’re not. Work with your own strengths and don’t feel bad about certain weaknesses you might have.
-If your writing becomes less about story and more about displaying your writing talent, your readers most likely won’t stay interested. Avoid using “big” words in order to impress people. This won’t help you develop style and just alienates your readers. Don’t write to show off.
-Try to avoid redundancy. If you’re using the same ideas over and over again, that’s not style. You can still be different and speak in the same voice as your previous novels. Style has nothing to do with being redundant.
Style can be just as important as plot because it can be what draws the reader in. If a publisher or agent feels like your story is too bland or lacks an interesting “voice” that might be something you have to discover within your own writing. Something like that might be harder to fix than grammar or plot, so they might be less likely to accept your manuscript. Don’t be afraid to let your personality shine through.
-Kris Noel
Composition refers to the process by which a text is written, and it can occur on multiple levels. A writer can be skilled at one level of composition but unskilled at another. How well a text functions is a product of its composition across all levels.
So, what are these levels?
In order to improve as a writer, it is necessary to improve across all of these levels. However, the steps required for improvement are not the same across each level.
Improving at the word level is arguably the easiest. What is necessary is a larger vocabulary, and this can be developed through both indirect means (e.g., reading more) or direct means (e.g., studying word lists and using a thesaurus regularly). Other ways of increasing your vocabulary include reading a wider selection of material (e.g., newspapers and magazines instead of just fantasy novels) and talking to more people.
The important thing for improving at the word level is consistent effort. It simply isn’t possible to massively increase your vocabulary overnight, but most people can handle learning one new word a day. Consistent effort is also required to master new words since it is one thing to know what a word means and quite another to use it in a skilful and nuanced manner.
Constructing better sentences is something that many writers struggle with. Part of this is undoubtedly due to style. Some writers naturally tend toward more ornate and complex sentences, and there are some schools of thought that maintain that such sentences are somehow ‘wrong’ or ‘bad’. Personally, I don’t think that there is anything inherently wrong with ornate or complex sentences. To me what matters is whether or not the sentence is intelligible and whether or not it reads well.
An intelligible sentence is one that makes sense. More importantly, it is one that makes sense to the reader. In other words, a good sentence is one that the reader can make sense of without further assistance. If a sentence needs to be explained to the reader, then it’s entirely possible it isn’t a very good sentence.
It is a little more difficult to define what it means for a sentence to read well. To some extent, it is very much a qualitative thing. When you read a sentence that reads well, it flows smoothly, either in your mind or when it is spoken aloud. It is one that feels right. If the reader reads it more than once, it is because they want to savour it and not because it feels clunky and necessitates a second look.
The best way, I’ve found, to get better at sentence construction is through practice. The first draft of something is usually fairly horrible, and bad sentences are a big part of that. Go through your drafts and work through the sentences one by one, working on each of them until they are better. They don’t have to be perfect, just better than when you started. If that is too difficult, then simply start with one paragraph and tinker with the sentences in it until they improve.
Paragraphs are made up of several sentences that cover the same point or are in some other way related. Improving at the paragraph level requires a grasp of how sentences can fit and work together.
Consider a paragraph designed to build up a sense of unease. It is very difficult to build up a sense of unease in just one sentence. Instead, it is how the sentences in a paragraph fit together that builds up the sense of unease. The first sentence might set the scene, depicting something that would ordinarily seem quite cheerful and warm. The second sentence might point out a few oddities, things that don’t quite fit. The third sentence might imply some disturbing reasons for why those oddities exist. The fourth sentence might offer some evidence that those reasons are correct, allowing the reader to draw their own conclusions.
Here’s a brief example:
The rocking horse moved back and forth. In their beds, the children continued to sleep. The darkness in the room quivered and stretched out over them, one by one. And the rocking horse continued to move, its creaking growing louder as the darkness deepened.
The example given above shows how a paragraph is more than the sum of its parts. Individually, none of the sentences are particularly creepy, but together, they can create a much creepier atmosphere. They do this because each sentence builds upon the previous one, providing the reader with more information while guiding their imagination in the desired direction.
To improve on a paragraph level, it is important to understand that although sentences can stand alone, they are much stronger when they are connected to each other on a logical or thematic level. An argument is stronger when each sentence hammers away at the same point, making opposition impossible, and a description is much richer when each sentences adds another detail or fleshes out one that has already been given.
This is another instance in which practice is invaluable. But you can make the process more efficient by focusing your attention on paragraphs, as opposed to entire texts. Try to write a single paragraph that provides as rich a description of a setting as possible. Now, try a paragraph that inspires as much fear as possible. Regularly repeat this for different genres and styles, and you should notice an improvement.
A well-written text is almost always one that has a goal. That goal may be to entertain, it may be to inform, or it may be to persuade. Whatever the goal is, improving at the text level means learning to use the entire body of a text (i.e., every word, sentence, and paragraph) to advance that goal.
The first thing you should do is to learn the basic structure of the form of writing you’re doing. If you’re writing to entertain, then you’re probably writing a story although you could be writing a poem, a script, or a song. In any case, each of those formats has particular rules and guidelines. Learn them. Likewise, if you’re writing to persuade or inform, then those forms of writing have rules and guidelines too. Learn those as well.
You don’t always have to follow rules and guidelines, but they can be enormously helpful when you’re starting out. That’s why courses teaching students how to write essays and reports generally suggest similar structures. Those structures aren’t always ideal, but they will do a reasonably good job most of the time. That’s why people use them.
To improve at the text level, you need to understand what purpose your writing serves. If it is to entertain, you must ask yourself how you will entertain the reader. If you are writing a story, then focus on things like the characters, plot, settings, and ideas. If you are trying to inform the reader about an issue or topic, then ask yourself what you want to tell them about (e.g., what details are important, what does past research say, and what does future research need to look at). And if you’re trying to persuade people, think about how you can do that. What are the different sides of the argument? What are the key arguments for and against each side? What does the evidence suggest?
Improving your writing can be difficult, but it often helps to break it down. Working on one thing at a time - one level at a time - can make a seemingly insurmountable task much more approachable.
If you want to read more about my thoughts on writing, you can find those here.
I also write original fiction, which you can find here.
i —— foreword
Fairly recently I realized that a lot of writers and US citizens alike don’t really know and fully understand their rights when being arrested/interrogated. This is mostly a writing guide but if you’re a US citizen this stuff is just useful to know. Basically, the police won’t tell you most of your rights aside from what you know — but they don’t even explain those. I hope this helps.
ii —— being arrested
If you are not served with a warrant, the police can not arrest you. They can say they have one, but unless they show it to you, you don’t have to cooperate with them. Upon being arrested, you will be read your rights.
“You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say or do can be held against you in the court of law. You have the right to an attorney, if you can not afford one you will be provided one without any cost to you.”
Every so often the police officers fail to say this to the suspect before the questioning session and usually that results in negative consequences for the officers involved. What they don’t tell you is that you are allowed to have an attorney present before and during your questioning. They also don’t tell you that what you don’t say and do can be held against you. An example of this is, say you’re being accused of murder. If you sit there expressionless and stoic while they’re telling you that you killed your mother its gonna seem suspicious and they can use that in their favor. Now, in that same respect if you sit there sweating and vehemently denying it — they can use that against you as well.
Alright, they also don’t tell you that you can accidentally forfeit your ‘right to remain silent’ (fifth amendment right). If you say “I didn’t kill my mother.” you just gave up your right to remain silent. They will likely try to provoke you to say something like this that will make you give up this right. That’s why you want a lawyer present during and before your questioning.
iii —— interrogation techniques
There are a lot so I’ll only be outlining a few major things. Additionally, this guide is only applicable to lawful interrogations of arrested individuals that are US citizens and do not fall under the “terrorist“ category, because military interrogations are quite a bit different. I might touch on that later.
The room is set up strategically. In almost every interrogation room, there is a table, two chairs, and a mirror/one way glass. The suspect sits on one side of the table, a police officer on the other, and the interrogator stands. The sitting police officer serves to corroborate and support the other police officer, or participate in the good cop/bad cop facade. The one sitting will usually pretend to be more friendly and try to feed you the age old lie “if you just tell the truth it won’t be as bad”.
The sitting cop will also look for microexpressions and pay attention to body language while the standing cop will generally pace around and give off aggressive vibes to intimidate you, the suspect.
On rare occasions, you can be questioned without being served a warrant. During these times, you have not been read your rights most likely and you do not have to cooperate. Sometimes its in your best interest, other times its not. Either way you don’t have to stay. On other occasions they are allowed to detain you for up to 12 hours but that is exceptionally rare.
The police officers questioning you will try to make you trip up on your own story. They do this mainly by trying to speed up the process so you have less time to think and process — the aggressive body language comes into play here. If you feel threatened you’re more likely to stutter and stumble around than if you have a clear mind.
If they’re having a difficult time getting you to start talking, they’ll ask you harmless questions — questions usually about your family members, your birthday, etc. These are always things they know already but it gets the metaphorical ball rolling. Along with that, they can establish a baseline of what your body language is when you’re telling the truth so they know when you’re lying.
iv —— “enhanced interrogation” techniques
As far as the less lawful interrogations go, just keep in mind that all pain would have to start at a minimal level and incrementally increase in intensity to be effective. You also have to factor in disorientation due to pain and possibly blood loss. At a certain point in time, your subject will realize they are going to die and there is no going back and they will stop caring. If they think it could possibly stop, you can get information out of them. There always has to be the possibility of getting out of it alive. Or you could also kidnap someone close to them and hurt them in front of your subject if that works.
The most commonly known about method is waterboarding, but its not the most widely used. The mechanics are basic, actually. Some sort of material is wrapped over the subject’s head — like a thick canvas material, or plastic — and water is poured over it. Essentially they feel like their drowning but you are just asphyxiating them. Its more mental torture than anything else.
Sometimes hypothermia is used, and that is basically just taking the subject’s clothing and putting them in a room about 50* F. Then every couple of minutes the subject is doused in cold water.
A very common technique is to shake the subject and that is fairly self explanatory, I believe. Not enough to hurt them, just enough to instill fear that you will. An open handed slap to the face or abdomen is also used. Punching is usually not employed by the government because it harms the prisoner, but if you’re talking about another country or a rogue operative, maybe a drug dealer — who knows.
Sometimes it is as simple as making the subject stand in one place in the same position for hours. It causes intense strain on the muscles and is usually quite effective.
v —— end thoughts
I could have gotten a lot more in depth on a lot of this but I felt I covered it enough to give a general idea. I do hope this helps people write these sort of things more accurately, or maybe even if they get into a scuttle with law enforcement (which I hope does not happen). If you have any questions, comments, or anything additional that I should add, don’t hesitate to contact me.
A lot of your characters might have weapons they’re proficient at. Unless they’re already pros before the beginning of your novel, you might have to explain their training. This can be difficult, especially if you have absolutely no idea how to use that weapon.
I decided to link to a few articles/websites that might help you with your research. This is also useful if your character is constructing a weapon. Here are a few weapon basics—
Bow & Arrow
Guns
Sword Fighting
Fictional Weapons
-Kris Noel
A GUIDE ON VODOU [HAITIAN RELIGION]:
- a traditional Afro-Haitian religion that encompasses philosophy, justice, and medicine.
Stages of Deterioration in the Human Body
The Moment Of Death: 1. The heart stops. 2. The skin gets tight and ashen in color. 3. All the muscles relax. 4. The bladder and bowels empty. 5. The body temperature begins to drop 1 1/2 degrees Fahrenheit per hour. After 30 minutes: 6. The skin gets purple and waxy. 7. The lips, fingernails, and toenails fade to a pale color. 8. Blood pools at the bottom of the body. 9. The hands and feet turn blue. 10. The eyes sink into the skull. After 4 hours: 11. Rigor mortis has set in. 12. The purpling of the skin and the pooling of the blood continue. 13. Rigor continues to tighten muscles for another 24 hours or so. After 12 hours: 14. The body is in full rigor mortis. After 24 hours: 15. The body is now the temperature of the surrounding environment. 16. In males, the semen dies. 17. The head and neck are now a greenish-blue color. 18. The greenish-blue color spreads to the rest of the body. 19. There is a pervasive smell of rotting meat. After 3 days: 20. The gas in the body tissues forms large blisters on the skin. 21. The whole body begins to bloat and swell grotesquely. 22. Fluids leak from the mouth, nose, vagina, and rectum. After 3 weeks: 23. The skin, hair, and nails are so loose they can easily be pulled off the corpse. 24. The skin bursts open on many places on the body. 25. Decomposition will continue until the body is nothing but skeletal remains, a process that can take a month or so in hot climates, and two months or more in cold climates.
A Masterlist of Archery Resources
My current book includes an archer, but I have little knowledge of the subject myself. I compiled this list to help and decided to share. Feel free to message us, if you think any sources should be added/removed. I haven’t had a chance to look them all over thoroughly, merely skim.
I've seen you write some really great in-depth things about firearms and most of it goes way over my head. There are words that I recognize as having to do with guns, and I have no idea what they mean. Any chance you could give kind of a brief Guns And Characters That Shoot Them 101 crash course for those of us who might work with characters that use guns and don't want to sound like idiots while writing them, but aren't necessarily going into the nitty-gritty details of gunfighting scenes?
Let’s see what I can do. Fair warning, there’s probably going to be a few very minor technical inaccuracies. I’m typing this off the top of my head.
Gun: pretty much any gunpowder based weapon. This includes both hand weapons and artillery. It does not (normally) include weapons that fire self-propelled ordinance, such as a missile launcher.
Gunpowder: This is actually a catch all term. Early gunpowder (now called “black powder) was mixed from saltpeter (potassium nitrate), charcoal, and sulfur. Modern firearms use variations of smokeless powder, originally developed in the late 19th century. Black Powder is still used with some antique and replica weapons.
As an academic distinction, it’s worth pointing out that gunpowder isn’t actually explosive, it just burns very aggressively, which results in the expansion of gas and bushing the bullet into motion. Unburned powder that remains in the gun is a persistent headache in gun design, and why guns need to be cleaned frequently.
A tiny amount of an explosive, called the Primer, is used to get the powder burning. Historically this has included substances such as picric acid and nitroglycerin. I believe modern primers use lead styphnate, but I’m honestly not sure, off the top of my head.
Cartridge: The entire package of a bullet, powder, and primer. In modern weapons, the container itself is referred to as a shell casing. The shell casing can also be referred to as a shell or casing, independent of the other.
Shell casings are sometimes referred to, idiomatically as “brass” because it is the most common material, though aluminum and other soft metals are used.
Idiomatically, shotgun cartridges are referred to as shells. Historically these were frequently made from paper. Modern shells use corrugated plastic, color coded to denote the contents.
After having been fired, a cartridge (or shell) is referred to as “spent.”
Firearms/Small Arms: Firearms, primarily refer to handheld gunpowder weapons. Small Arms refer to guns with a bore diameter (literally the size of the barrel) smaller than an inch.
Bore: This is the literal hole in the center of the barrel, that the projectile(s) travel through.
Chamber/Battery: Both terms are technically correct. This refers to where the bullet resides when the weapon is ready to fire. If a weapon’s chamber is empty, it is impossible to fire it.
Chambered: Both the state of a round being in the chamber, ready to fire, and a term that refers to the cartridge size a firearm has been designed to accept. Examples: “Chambered in .308.” “It has a round chambered.”
Incidentally, “rechambering” a weapon refers to changing the rounds a weapon will accept, removing a round and loading a fresh one is cycling (see below). Rechambering a weapon usually involves replacing the barrel, action, and magazine. Though it can be more involved if alternate parts aren’t available.
Action: The mechanical systems that clear and replace the bullet in the chamber whenever the weapon is fired. We’ll come back to this with a couple varieties in a bit.
Cycle: The actual process of the action functioning. Depending on the firearm, this can either occur automatically with each trigger pull, or it can require a direct user input.
Receiver: The physical housing that holds the action.
Hammer: a physical component behind the pistol which strikes the firing pin. Not all firearms have one.
Bolt: This is the component that actually locks the cartridge in the chamber, when the weapon is ready to fire.
Firing Pin: This is a small metal cylinder pin which (in modern firearms) strikes the back of the cartridge, detonating the primer, igniting the powder. Usually this is a separate articulated component, though some weapons have a simple stud soldered onto the bolt.
Open Bolt/Closed Bolt: This refers to which configuration the weapon fires from. Technically the bolt needs to be closed in order to actually get the bullet moving.
With an open bolt design, the act of dropping the bolt will detonate the primer. This is primarily used with fully automatic weapons (see below). The bolt will fall, igniting the primer, recoil will send the bolt back, and the return spring will cause it to close, firing again.
Magazine: This is where rounds are stored inside of the weapon, before firing. The action will extract a round from the magazine each time it is cycled. Depending on the firearm, this may be removable.
Clip: A device used to load a firearm’s magazine. This is NOT interchangeable terms. Usually these are short metal strips that grip the base of the shell, though speedloaders for revolvers sometimes qualify as clips.
Clips can be used with modern weapons to quickly reload box magazines, but they’re somewhat uncommon.
If the firearm’s reloading process involves loading the rounds and then ejecting the clip, that’s, well, a clip. If the reloading process involves removing an empty container, and loading a fresh one, that’s a magazine.
Few things will irritate someone with firearms training faster than mixing these terms up.
Rifles: The term actually refers to two separate things. Rifling are mildly spiraling lands and grooves cut into the barrel of a gun. This prevents the bullet from tumbling once it leaves the barrel, and massively improves accuracy. Rifles originally referred to any firearm that featured a rifled barrel. However, the term is no longer inclusive, because handguns and other non-rifles include rifled barrels.
Handgun: A smaller version of a firearm that can be operated with one hand. This term is inclusive of several different varieties of firearm. It should be noted: you should not use a handgun one handed, but it is possible.
Pistol: This refers to nearly every handgun, except revolvers.
Revolver: A firearm that rotates to feed rounds into the chamber. Most often this refers to handguns, though some grenade launchers also use a revolver design. Revolver rifles, carbines, and shotguns exist, but are rare. There is a small gap between the cylinder and the barrel, which tends to vent burning powder when fired, which makes revolvers with a fore grip unpleasant to use. That is to say, they’ll try to set your shirt or arm on fire.
Shotgun: This refers to a weapon designed to handle unusually large cartridges, holding multiple projectiles. These are frequently smooth-bore (see below), but rifled shotguns do exist. In modern combat, shotguns are more characterized by their ability to accept a wide variety of projectiles to accommodate different situations. Shotguns can be loaded with everything from water (disruptor shells), to grenades (FRAG-12s).
Smooth-Bore: A barrel without any rifling. Most common with shotguns. This favors projectiles that will somehow self stabilize (such as flechette darts, yes, it’s another shotgun shell variety), or fire multiple simultaneous projectiles (such as a shotgun).
Single Shot: This refers to a weapon that can be fired once, and then must be reloaded. This includes muskets and some shotguns.
Semi-Automatic: A non-revolver firearm that will fire a round with each pull of the trigger until the magazine is depleted. Critically, the weapon must do this automatically as a result of firing. If a weapon needs to be manually cycled, such as a bolt or lever action, it is a repeater, and not semi-automatic. In any case where “automatic” is paired with another word, it can be abbreviated as “auto.”Automatic: A firearm that will fire multiple rounds with each pull of the trigger. Also sometimes referred to as Fully Automatic. Idiomatically, semi-automatic pistols are sometimes referred to as “Automatics.” This is incorrect on a technical level, but the actual meaning is, usually, understood.
Burst Fire: An automatic firearm that fires a specific number of rounds with each pull of the trigger and then stops. Three round burst settings are the most common, though two round burst weapons have proven popular in some circles.
Select Fire: An automatic firearm that can be switched between multiple fire configurations. Most often this allows switching the weapon between semi-auto and full auto, or semi-auto and a burst fire setting. Select fire almost always includes a semi-auto setting. It can include multiple other settings, including (rarely) both 2 and 3 round burst settings.
Single Action: A firearm where pulling the trigger will not cock the hammer. This is intermittently used as a safety feature on modern handguns. It is also somewhat common among sport revolvers, and antique revolvers.
Single Action firearms often have a much lighter trigger pull (the force needed to draw the trigger and fire the weapon). This allows for greater accuracy. It also allows automatics to be carried with a round in the chamber and the hammer down, without risk of the weapon firing as a result of an errant trigger pull. It’s still shouldn’t happen with safe weapon handling, but it is another safety feature.
Double Action: A firearm where pulling the trigger will cock the hammer. Almost all revolvers intended for practical use include this. It’s inclusion with semi-automatic pistols varies widely.
The complicated issue with single and double action handguns comes from semi-auto pistols. When the slide cycles, it will recock the hammer, this means a single action pistol can be fired repeatedly, without having to manually recock the hammer.
SAO/DAO: Single Action Only/Double Action Only. These terms get applied to pistols because there are pistols designed to switch between single and double action based on a variety of control parameters.
For example: pulling the slide back ~1/4″ on a Walther P99 will switch it from single to double action, and vise versa. Though it also exists in SAO and DAO variants that remove this feature and lock the action in one of the modes.
Bolt Action: A firearm where the bolt must be unlocked and manually cycled by the user. This allows for substantially heavier loads than any other style of firearm. Though it is a popular configuration for hunting and varmint rifles.
Lever Action: A firearm where the action is cycled by use of a lever, usually mounted under the handgrip. Originally these allowed for faster cycling than a bolt action weapon. These are fairly uncommon now.
Pump Action: A firearm that cycles the action by use of an articulated foregrip. This is normally seen on shotguns, though a few pump action rifle models probably exist.
Machine Gun: This refers to a fully automatic weapon. By itself the term is antiquated. Most often, when someone uses the term, they’re incorrectly referring to an Assault Rifle.
Assault Rifle: A select fire weapon chambered in an “intermediate” rifle round. Usually between 5mm and 6mm. Note: these do not always include full auto settings. The modern M16 variants can only be fired in semi-automatic or 3 round burst.
Battle Rifle: A select fire weapon chambered in a high power rifle round (roughly 7.6mm). This includes the M14 and AK47/AKM. Misidentifying a battle rifle as an assault rifle is… eh. It happens.
Carbine: A shortened rifle. Usually assigned for use in tight quarters, or vehicle crews. Historically these were also issued to cavalry. Sometimes issued to support personnel, depending on the military.
Light Machine Gun: Also sometimes referred to as a Squad Support Weapon is an unusually heavy automatic rifle intended for use in suppression. Sometimes abbreviated LMG.
Submachine Gun: An automatic weapon chambered to fire a pistol round. Sometimes abbreviated SMG.
Machine Pistol: A submachine gun that retains an overall pistol design. Informally, these terms can get mixed up pretty heavily.
Caliber: This is the imperial system of measuring bullet diameter. It’s expressed as a period with a two digit number. (EG: .45 or .38) This indicates the size of the cartridge in 100ths of an inch. So .50 is, roughly, half an inch in diameter. Additional digits beyond the first two denote differences in the cartridge, but not significant changes in the cartridge size. (EG: .308, .303, 30.06 are all .30 caliber rounds, roughly.)
Gauge: The imperial system for measuring the size of a shotgun shell. This one’s a little more idiosyncratic. It’s calculated based on the weight of a solid ball of lead, that barrel would accommodate. So 12 gauge will fit a single 1/12th pound ball of lead. This also means, as the gauge goes up, the size shrinks. 20 Gauge shells are significantly smaller than 12 gauge, for example. This is abbreviated as “ga”, so “410ga” would indicate a 410 shell.
Millimeter (mm): The metric system for measuring the size of a bullet. Usually expressed as a simple value. (EG: 9mm or 5.56mm). When multiple cartridges exist that are of similar sizes, other terms will be applied. (Technically, this also occurs with calibers. For example: .357 Magnum, and .357 SIG.) With metric measurements, the length is frequently added to distinguish two similar rounds, (for example: 9x19mm vs 9x18mm) or some other distinguishing characteristic. (for example: 9mm Parabellum vs 9mm Makarov). Usually you do not need to include both together. For example: 9x19mm Parabellum would be redundant, because 9mm Parabellum is a 9x19mm round.
Grain: The amount of powder loaded with a bullet. (Literally, an archaic unit of measurement.) Bullets in a specific caliber are usually available with multiple grain variants. For example: .45 ACP is commercially available anywhere from 185 grain to 230 grain.
Handload: The act of manufacturing your own bullets. Also a term for non-standard rounds produced this way.
Load: A term for the individual characteristics of a round that go beyond the size of the bullet. This includes the grain, and may include the kind of bullets (see below).
Magnum: A term denoting an unusually high grain load. Most commonly associated with the .357 Magnum and .44 Magnum rounds. Though other magnum rounds exist.
Ball: A bullet with a rounded tip. The most common kind of ammunition for handguns.
Hollowpoint: A bullet with a divotted tip. On impact, it causes the bullet to expand flattening. In a human body, this can sometimes sheer apart, and can cause catastrophic internal damage.While illegal, an individual can add a small high explosive to the tip of a hollowpoint round, converting it into an improvised high explosive round. The most commonly available materials that would react appropriately are primers.
Wadcutter: A bullet with a flat tip. Usually employed in target shooting, to create clean holes in targets.
[Material] Jacketed: Frequently copper, though other soft metals are sometimes used. This is used to partially shield the user from the bullet’s lead, and the associated health risks.
[Material] Core: Most often, the material is steel, though spent uranium (in this case, spent is a nuclear term, not the firearms meaning), is an exotic variant. The core will push through materials that would stop normal bullets. Lead shields the core from the barrel. (Firing a steel slug from a firearm would shred the rifling, so the softer metal contacts the metal.)
Tracer: A pyrotechnic round that ignites on contact with air and shows the shooter exactly where the round went. These are also mildly incendiary, and can start fires if they connect with something flammable on the other end.
I’m not going to give a full list of what you can stick in a shotgun, because it’s a very long list. But, a few quick highlights.
Buckshot: Ball bearings, usually lead or steel.
Slug: A single, solid, bullet.
Flechette: A steel dart, usually with fins to stabilize it in flight. Fired with a plastic sabot system that falls away once the dart is in the air.
FRAG-12: A small, impact detonated grenade, designed to be fired from a 12 gauge shotgun.
Flares: Commercial flare guns fire a low power 12 gauge shotgun shell. While you cannot load normal shotgun shells into a flare gun (it’s not designed for that kind of power, and will explode), 12 gauge flare shells can be loaded into a shotgun and fired. If the shotgun is semi-automatic the flare will probably not provide enough force to cycle the action, so the user will need to do that manually.
Dragon’s Breath: A shell loaded with a mix of oxygen igniting metals. Metallic Sodium and Potassium are most common. This creates the effect of the shotgun blasting flames.
I feel like I’ve only scratched the surface, and I know I’ve missed a few things. I’ll try to remember to revisit this in the near future.
Hope this helps some of you get started.
-Starke
