WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.030 --> 00:00:00.859 Okay. 2 00:00:02.830 --> 00:00:13.240 Now we've started, and we've already got loads of people coming in. So that's a good sign. Okay, alright, let me alt tab. So I can grab my script 3 00:00:13.840 --> 00:00:14.970 Sarah @ ProWritingAid: here we can. 4 00:00:15.690 --> 00:00:28.740 Hello, everyone! I'm Sarah from parenting aid and thank you for joining us today. If you can see and hear me. Please drop your name and location in the chat. I haven't seen anyone yet, so I'm hoping people are here and can see and hear me. 5 00:00:29.020 --> 00:00:39.130 Sarah @ ProWritingAid: We'll wait and see what what we see, what we get. Olivia might be a delay. I got Scott from Florida, Amber from Maryland. 6 00:00:39.420 --> 00:00:46.119 Sarah @ ProWritingAid: Oh, I saw someone from Glasgow, Steph from Glasgow. We've got 7 00:00:47.480 --> 00:00:51.220 Sarah @ ProWritingAid: Pauline, from Bristol in England, not far from me. 8 00:00:51.310 --> 00:01:09.910 Sarah @ ProWritingAid: We've got Gabi from. Oh, is that Michigan, Michigan. We've got loads of people. This is brilliant. Okay, okay. So before we get started, I've just got some housekeeping items, I want to go through with you. Can you let me know in the chat if you can see my slides? 9 00:01:10.580 --> 00:01:17.170 Sarah @ ProWritingAid: I usually like to just make sure. Yes, I've got yes, perfect. That's good enough for me. Right? Let's get going 10 00:01:17.170 --> 00:01:41.579 so how to access your replays so replays will be added to our hub page once they're done processing by zoom, so that can usually take a little while. We have been a bit quicker than average, I'd say on it this time. So we have been putting them up, I think, on the same day, but like within a few hours but I still usually recommend looking the next day just in case and if they, if you don't see them, then 11 00:01:41.580 --> 00:02:02.260 maybe look a little bit later. But we do keep them up for a week. After the end of the event. So that'll be until March first. And then after this date the replays are available for premium and premium pro members and it will be on our community page. So if you're already on the community, then they'll be on there. If you're not on the community you should join it. 12 00:02:02.530 --> 00:02:24.179 Okay. So premium day details. At the moment we are still running our free sessions today. But then we've got tomorrow. All of those sessions are limited to premium and premium pro users. You can upgrade your account if you are currently free, and you would like to access the content tomorrow. And then 13 00:02:24.310 --> 00:02:47.349 Sarah @ ProWritingAid: free at the premium and premium pro users will receive an email tomorrow morning with a link to all of that content. If you don't receive the email or you can't find it, just email Us. And I'll help you out with that, and I'll I'll make sure that you get the link for those again. They'll be recorded as well. So then you'll be able to access those on the community page when they go over to there, or on the link that we can send you for the replays. 14 00:02:47.550 --> 00:03:18.660 Sarah @ ProWritingAid: if you are free and considering upgrading at the moment we are offering a 25% off yearly premium or premium pro so that gives you the access to all the premium features which we keep adding to all the time. Including the AI features of rephrase sparks critique and we've got just so much coming for you, so it is a very good opportunity to take this offer for you. That offer also ends on March first 15 00:03:18.660 --> 00:03:44.179 Sarah @ ProWritingAid: and then, as I mentioned with the community. If you wanna keep talking romance writing. We have our online writing community, which you can log in with your pro writing aid login. It's you can access it. I'll send the link to the chat in a minute, but you can also access it from our homepage under the learn menu, I think, is so yeah, once you're on there, we have a live chat where people are talking about their takeaways 16 00:03:44.180 --> 00:04:09.089 Sarah @ ProWritingAid: and anything they're learning this week. We have a feature request section. So if you want to see for writing aid in an app that it's not already in, or you think so? We do have a Q&A box. Sasha's told me 17 00:04:09.090 --> 00:04:33.780 she's going to try and leave room for a Q&A at the end. So if you have questions for Sasha, then obviously do leave them in there. The chat goes pretty quickly. We've already got nearly 200 people here, so if if you put it in there, we might miss it. So I'd rather you put it in the Q&A box, so that we can actually get to it. So, mentioning the chat, if you do want to chat with other people that are attending. 18 00:04:33.780 --> 00:04:54.750 and I hang out in the chat as well while the speakers talking. Then do use the chat for that, because it's always good to get each other's opinions on things and everything that we've mentioned all the information. There's a participant guide literally everything you could. So I'll link that again in a minute as well. 19 00:04:55.740 --> 00:05:26.520 Sarah @ ProWritingAid: I think that's everything in terms of my slides. So let me stop sharing. and I will grab up the information I have about Sasha. So today we're joined by Sasha Black. I'm really excited because I usually use a lot of her resources and books that she's written. So I'll just give you a little bit of information about her. So Sasha Black is a best-selling and competition winning author, rebel, Podcaster, speaker, and casual rule breaker which I love. 20 00:05:26.600 --> 00:05:50.050 Sarah @ ProWritingAid: she writes, writing craft books for authors. Those are the ones I'm talking about, and spicy Sapphic fantasy romance as Ruby Rowe, which sounds awesome as well. I have to check those out. She lives in Cambridgeshire, England, with her wife and genius giant of a son. So without further ado, I think I can pass that over to Sasha, and we'll get going. 21 00:05:50.270 --> 00:06:07.890 Sacha Black (she/her): Hello! Hello! Well, thank you. I can see the comments saying that they love my bookcase. It is floor to ceiling, wall to wall, and it is my pride and joy. My wife made it for me. It was the only thing I asked for for my birthday cause. She was really desperate not to do it but I got it. So I love it. So thank you. Everybody for talking about. 22 00:06:07.890 --> 00:06:23.290 Okay, this is literally my favorite thing. I already love you guys. Okay, right, I'm gonna share screen. And we are going to rock and roll. I'm just going to move the chat so that I can still see what you're all saying, because I just love your comments. 23 00:06:23.620 --> 00:06:37.169 Sacha Black (she/her): Okay, I will do my best to be on my best behavior and not say any naughty words, but for anybody that already knows me, I am the rebel author, and I've got to potty mouth, so I apologize if something slips out 24 00:06:37.170 --> 00:06:56.890 alright. We are going to talk about the senses. This is ultra important for romance writers. For obvious reasons. We have some very sensual scenes that we all need to write. So what do we? Oh, wait! Oh, this is me. By the way, if you're interested in connecting with me afterwards, there's all my stuff, and there are all my books. 25 00:06:56.890 --> 00:07:21.039 and I will show this slide again at the end. But for now that's boring, right? What are we gonna cover? We are. Gonna look at when we should be using the senses, why we should be using them. Some tools, in fact, a whole bunch of tools that you can use in your writing. And then we're gonna dive into just 3 of the senses today, because, like 45 min. So we're gonna race through some of this content, so that you've got loads of tips to go away with afterwards. 26 00:07:21.050 --> 00:07:31.459 Sacha Black (she/her): So why do we even bother with the senses in the first place? Well, of course, everybody will know that writing with the senses is the cornerstone of show. Don't tell 27 00:07:31.620 --> 00:07:42.749 Sacha Black (she/her): so obviously we need to use the senses. But also, there is a lot of scientific data. I come from a psychological background. II did. Oh, our accounts on fingers can't do numbers because I'm an author 28 00:07:42.750 --> 00:08:07.720 5 years 6 can't remember several years of psychology background. I got a degree in a masters, and I got a Phd. To do us a scholarship to do a Phd, but I didn't do it. But anyway, and what that research shows is that the same areas when our brains are in functional MRI scanners. Our brains pull blood flow to the same areas of the brain when we're doing an exercise. 29 00:08:07.790 --> 00:08:33.580 As to when we are thinking about that exercise. So, for example, if we are playing tennis, the same areas in our brain light up as if we are thinking about playing tennis, which is incredible, and it's an incredible tool for us writers and means that we can invoke the same feelings, the same experiences. Okay, maybe not quite identically, because we're not actually playing tennis, but we can still evoke a lot of the same experiences for readers. 30 00:08:33.650 --> 00:08:43.679 This is why some of us really like lose ourselves in books, you know. There's that cliche phrase about a reader lives a thousand lives. Well, it's true, and this is why. 31 00:08:44.390 --> 00:09:16.340 of course, writing with the census creates richer, deeper prose. It makes you writing pretty nice, and we all like pretty shiny things. Okay. but more than that, it also enables you to draw in the reader. You are letting the reader into the narrator's mind, or the or the protagonist's mind. Whoever is talking, it creates an intimacy right? We all want to be seen. We all want to be understood, and that is the job of the protagonist is to make the reader feel seen. That's why diversity is so important in fiction, too. 32 00:09:16.700 --> 00:09:31.060 Sacha Black (she/her): but also the protagonist reactions, both visceral thinking thoughts, actions. They are all what help to make the reader feel like. They know the character and those sensory reactions are an important part of that as well. 33 00:09:31.100 --> 00:09:57.310 More than that, though, we can be clever, clever, devious little authors, and we can use the senses and sensory writing to create subtext where we're not explicitly saying stuff in the text. But we are telling the reader something that the other characters don't know by their visceral kind of sensory reactions to stuff. You know how like a lot of my favorite, but like inner enemies to lovers, romance 34 00:09:57.310 --> 00:10:22.259 Sacha Black (she/her): and on the outside the characters, and then on the inside, they were like, because their bodies like tingling, and they just can't help it, and their bodies like a traitor like catnip to me. But this is what I mean about text right? And this is how you make the reader feel like they know the character, and this is how you let them in on the secret. So this is another reason why enemies or not. 35 00:10:22.480 --> 00:10:46.290 Yes, anyway. No. This is another reason why sensory writing is so important, but also what a character pays attention to matters, and that includes, like what they see, what they feel, what they touch right? You can tell the reader things. You can direct the reader's attention by whatever the protagonist or the characters are paying attention to. 36 00:10:47.960 --> 00:10:55.879 Sacha Black (she/her): I have to drink a lot, because, like, I burn all the calories while doing this one staying up. I'm like, Yeah, yeah, let's let's talk about the senses. Okay. 37 00:10:56.050 --> 00:11:13.620 Sacha Black (she/her): right? Moving on. Okay, so that's fine. Everybody knows with space to use the senses. But like, but like, when or do we use the census right? Because using the sensors using the senses creates a whole heap of words because it's description. It is a beautiful phrasing beautiful prose. 38 00:11:13.860 --> 00:11:17.410 Sacha Black (she/her): So like, when are we actually supposed to use it? And when are we not supposed to use it? 39 00:11:17.510 --> 00:11:19.660 Sacha Black (she/her): Well, well, well, well. 40 00:11:19.980 --> 00:11:33.369 Sacha Black (she/her): I'm gonna tell you. 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 different places that you can and can't use it. And the thing is in in romantic scenes. And for romance writers. You want to pick and choose the senses that you're going to use right? Because 41 00:11:33.410 --> 00:11:45.040 Sacha Black (she/her): we don't. We don't need to have any. You know. You know what I'm saying? We want to hear the mind so great sound sense, and we don't. We don't wanna hear the rest of it. Okay. So 42 00:11:45.290 --> 00:11:48.809 Sacha Black (she/her): when you have something important 43 00:11:48.960 --> 00:11:57.440 Sacha Black (she/her): in your plot, when you need to slow down because you need to draw out what's happening, you definitely need to use the senses 44 00:11:57.480 --> 00:12:22.279 Sacha Black (she/her): other times high emotion. So romance scenes but also like hate, scenes too. Right? Like in the beginning of enemies, lovers, or in the begin beginning of like friends to lovers where there's no like. What is that action? Oh, my goodness me! When there's no sexual Ca like interactions yet you need to use more 45 00:12:22.280 --> 00:12:36.100 visceral senses because you need to create that subtext but also, if there's arguments right? Or if there is a scene where somebody's not saying something. Then you need to use the the senses to be able to 46 00:12:36.100 --> 00:12:38.509 convey the emotion without 47 00:12:38.810 --> 00:13:06.869 Sacha Black (she/her): doing too much exposition and just dropping it into dialogue. New locations, the whole point of characters. Not the whole point, but characters are action right? So the best way to world build without dumping it is to let the character interact with the world. And how do they interact with the world through the senses? So this is a great, a new place to do it. Every time somebody goes into a new building, a new room, a carriage as swimming pool, whatever wherever it is. 48 00:13:07.100 --> 00:13:39.540 Sacha Black (she/her): you need them to interact with their sensors. You need to write more sensory description. Okay? If there's like a new building, buildings are very visceral, right? We, you know, if you think about a Gothic vampire novel? They're beautiful. But what does it feel like? What if somebody brushes their hand along the wall as they go in. What if you're in a car? What does the car smell of right? So when they are interacting with physical things as well a big giant sword in an epic fantasy. What does it feel like? What is the weight like? These are all sensory reactions. 49 00:13:39.630 --> 00:13:59.640 Sacha Black (she/her): Now, when don't you want to use it. Okay, okay. So the key places you don't want to use the senses is anywhere that you need pace. So this is a bit of a bit of a contradiction to what I said earlier, because, like, when you have an argument that's really fast pace, it's like whip, wap, whip, you know, bit, slapping each other in conversation. But 50 00:14:00.080 --> 00:14:22.490 Sacha Black (she/her): and so that's all quick pace. But actually in and around that an argument is a visceral experience for those characters, and what I'm having around with my wife, it feels I'm pretty hot and raging. So that is a visceral reaction. You just have to temper the amount that you're doing. But in a battle scene it's more description, you know. Sounds clashing metals. But you're not gonna have 51 00:14:22.490 --> 00:14:38.179 really long drawn out descriptions on like you within a romance scene. If you know what I'm saying right so think about where you want pace and just cut back the amount of description that you are using for sensory things and use like 52 00:14:38.180 --> 00:14:55.780 Sacha Black (she/her): you. I. When I was at school I had this teacher that used to say, use the Premier League word Sasha, instead of like using boring word, you know, because 4 letter word use Premier League word. It's the same, for in these fast paced scenes use Premier League sensory examples. Alright, let's move on. 53 00:14:56.320 --> 00:15:22.150 Sacha Black (she/her): Okay. 2 types of sensory use direct sensory usage. This is what we all know of and think of and that we use most. Obviously. So, this is where literally, we are engaging one of the senses intentionally in the prose, and the character is having some kind of a sensory experience. So the example I've got here. Cool air whipped under the markets, rattling metal rafters. 54 00:15:22.150 --> 00:15:39.369 The breeze circled around the stalls and brought the sharp tang of leeks and bitter coffee with it. Nobody can tell me they didn't pitch on that in their brain, and that's because it's a visceral experience. There are smells, there are sounds, there are tastes almost on the air. Everybody can taste the tangy sort of onion smell taste of a leek. 55 00:15:39.810 --> 00:16:03.059 Sacha Black (she/her): but then also have another way that you can use sensory language. And this really crafty kind of tool. So instead of actually using a sense directly in the sentence. You can use words that have sensory connotations attached to them. So an example of that would be like a corrosive stare. Let's say, you know who who reminds me of this? And I'm gonna get her bloody name wrong. But 56 00:16:03.060 --> 00:16:15.079 Sacha Black (she/her): who's what wants to think? Ross? Is it, Ross? Is it Ross? The green receptionist like somebody tell me. Into so somebody tell me in the comments the yes, Ross, brilliant, excellent. Thank you. 57 00:16:15.080 --> 00:16:20.849 Okay, yes. So Ross has a corrosive stare, but the word corrosive has 58 00:16:20.980 --> 00:16:42.969 Sacha Black (she/her): has, like sensory meaning attached to it. So like sharp, acid core. Stick her glare. You gonna poop your panties if she glares at you like that right? So then you can use indirect sensory usage in your sentences if you like, and a great example of when to do this is in the fight scenes right? Because you don't wanna add out your fight scenes. You want them to be. Bang, bang, bang! Bang! Bang! 59 00:16:43.220 --> 00:16:48.340 Sacha Black (she/her): So use words that have sensory connotations attached to them. Okay. 60 00:16:48.510 --> 00:17:05.359 Sacha Black (she/her): yes, and I'm sorry. I saw somebody say you're so I'm super hyper always. But I like to RAM as much detail into these sessions as humanly possible. So I do talk fast. But you can slow me down after okay, tools that you definitely 61 00:17:05.440 --> 00:17:23.000 Sacha Black (she/her): need to use. So making your sensory details work double time for you. So consider where you can get your sensory sentences and your sensory reactions to give additional meaning. 62 00:17:23.109 --> 00:17:38.519 For example, let's say, a character smell something that they love. You guys are all talking about coffee in the way I need another. But actually, I probably don't need another coffee. I'm hyperactive enough as it is, but love the smell of fresh coffee. Hate the smell of sale coffee, love the smell of fresh coffee. 63 00:17:39.330 --> 00:18:01.940 Let's do more than that right like, what else can you do? How can you add symbolic meaning. What does coffee mean to the character for you guys? I think it means getting up in the morning and getting the energy. That you that you need. But what can it mean to the character? Is there some kind of wound that it's attached to? Or is it actually attached to a lovely memory. Let's say somebody's relative past in there 64 00:18:01.940 --> 00:18:13.280 Sacha Black (she/her): recently, and there's a particular smell, lavender or coffee or roses that reminds them of that character. But attach meaning to the sensory experiences. 65 00:18:13.280 --> 00:18:32.950 Sacha Black (she/her): and it could be a taste, you know, like we've all got a grandma, or a mother, or a father or parent sibling whatever. Who cooks us that meal? Maybe it's a soup on a Sunday, you know. So how can you make your a sensory sentences and experiences these characters are having do more than or mean more than just. 66 00:18:33.020 --> 00:18:45.670 Sacha Black (she/her): it smells like coffee, you know. Okay, so then, the subversion, how can we subvert what the readers expecting. If it's the morning, of course everybody is gonna smell coffee 67 00:18:45.840 --> 00:18:56.079 Sacha Black (she/her): But what else could you smell? What if there's some habit or Quirk, that your character has that is attached to a different type of sensory experience, subvert what the reader is expecting. 68 00:18:56.490 --> 00:19:18.969 Sacha Black (she/her): Blue skies are normal, but if you described it, using a completely unexpected description. It will create better imagery. Right? So the sky was the color of a crinkled navy uniform. Okay, maybe it's not the best sentence in the world, but you get the point. You get the picture of doing something that's unexpected with your description. Also, it makes that sentence, stand out to make sure it's a good one. 69 00:19:19.300 --> 00:19:38.340 Sacha Black (she/her): but break the rules. Don't do what the reader is expecting. Use juxtapositions honestly for me, I'm like obsessed with juxtapositions. They are everywhere in story, but they're also, I think, the best tool at a writer's disposal. But that is a whole other presentation. 70 00:19:38.630 --> 00:19:40.239 Sacha Black (she/her): Okay, let's move on. 71 00:19:41.160 --> 00:20:06.970 Sacha Black (she/her): Okay, one tool to avoid filtering. So filtering is when you, the author, add in unnecessary narration causing the reader to be removed one step from the character. So when we write as authors, we want to put the reader basically in the body of the protagonist, right? So they're experiencing the story through the eyes of the protagonist. 72 00:20:07.100 --> 00:20:12.570 But what you? What happens when you use these filter words I heard, I saw, I felt I thought. 73 00:20:12.650 --> 00:20:33.100 Sacha Black (she/her): what you're doing is, instead of the reader being inside the body of the protagonist, they're like, step to the side, and they are watching the protagonist do the action in the story, instead of essentially being the protagonist doing the action. So you're literally taking the reader out of the character's brain. And also the thing is 74 00:20:33.170 --> 00:20:39.519 Sacha Black (she/her): these sent, these words are completely useless. You can cut them, and you won't lose any meaning in the sentence at all. So a couple of examples. 75 00:20:39.640 --> 00:21:03.910 I heard an owl hooting in the trees, and a moment later I saw the canopy leaves rustle as if replying, so without the filter word. Then an owl hooted in the trees, and a moment later the canopy leaves rustled as if replying. So the other thing that this does when you remove these words is, it makes the sentence and the action more immediate, which means it's closer to the reader. 76 00:21:04.250 --> 00:21:23.969 Sacha Black (she/her): Okay? And then a sort of more romantic example so with filter she felt his fingers caress her skin, and heard his moan as her body tightened under him, and then, without the filter, his fingers caressed her skin, he moaned, as her body tightened under him. 77 00:21:23.980 --> 00:21:44.080 Sacha Black (she/her): Okay, so hopefully, you've all got that now? Alright. So it's all good and well using the senses. But how can we take so I always think that writing without using the senses is a bit like a pencil sketch. Right? It's pretty, it's great. It can be nice. It can be full of action. Right? We can. I enjoy a pencil sketch of some really beautiful artists on Instagram? 78 00:21:44.080 --> 00:21:59.790 Sacha Black (she/her): But you know what I love even more for Dx cinema, right? And that is what happens when you create writing. That lay is the senses. So rather than just having one or 2. Then you, you can use a couple. And we're gonna look at examples of that right now. 79 00:21:59.790 --> 00:22:02.080 Sacha Black (she/her): Okay, Dicky. So 80 00:22:02.630 --> 00:22:29.719 Sacha Black (she/her): my eyes stream as I claw my way through brambles and shrubs, touch sense arms, stinging touch again, and stained red from thorny lacerations. I keep moving. I have to reach the clearing. Smoke smell clois in my throat as I gasp for breath. Instead of oxygen I swallow acrid gulps of air, taste my mouth fills with grit and such again, that's taste it tastes like soured me and death. So there you can see, like a whole heap of layering the senses. 81 00:22:29.880 --> 00:22:42.300 And that makes it much more visceral. And then another example, words still from my mouth, and this is like a much less this is more of like a I was quite like author philosophy, where with it's sort of like, 82 00:22:42.580 --> 00:22:44.530 Sacha Black (she/her): what are the words like? 83 00:22:45.990 --> 00:22:59.950 Sacha Black (she/her): Never mind, it's just basically the author putting character opinion in kind of thing, right? So words spill from my mouth, they sound like a promise, but taste like a lie, and the reason that sentence works so well, not just because you're layering, tearing, but it's the rhythm of it as well. 84 00:23:00.470 --> 00:23:29.879 Sacha Black (she/her): Okay. And then this last example is from Sarah Pinborough and the language of dying. This is gorgeous, gorgeous writing, and a really like heart wrenching book as well. There is a scented candle smell burning on the window ledge and flowers on your desk, but they can't hide the smell of cancer. A bloated fart sound hanging in the air, the smell of rotting that escape a witch's smell that escapes with every acidic burp, smell and touch emitted from your poor insides. I look at Penny and squeeze, touch 85 00:23:30.220 --> 00:23:52.180 Sacha Black (she/her): hand. I wish I hadn't chosen a Christmas candle smell to burn and so that last sentence is smell and unsaid, meaning right? Because not only is is the smell now ruined for the character? But the implied meaning here is that Christmas is now ruined as well. 86 00:23:52.230 --> 00:23:53.980 And 87 00:23:54.170 --> 00:24:11.610 Sacha Black (she/her): so this is kind of an example of what I was saying earlier, where you can create symbolism with the senses. So earlier on, we were talking about like, what is the additional meaning of coffee? Well, the implied additional symbolic meaning here is this is creating a wound. We are seeing the wound created in live time I need to drink. 88 00:24:14.420 --> 00:24:15.170 Sacha Black (she/her): Hi! 89 00:24:16.980 --> 00:24:30.130 Sacha Black (she/her): Alright. So I talked about this earlier, but well, no, I didn't. I talked about another psychology thing, but essentially smell and memory are often linked. And the reason for that is that the the areas in the brain, that process 90 00:24:30.520 --> 00:24:44.150 Sacha Black (she/her): both smell and memory have their neurons cross a little bit. So basically, when this, when the sensory receptors kind of like fire off some of the electrical impulses can get. 91 00:24:44.170 --> 00:24:58.760 Sacha Black (she/her): let's let's let the psychology teach it already. And they can basically fire off and go across the other pathways. And so that basically links them together, and and so I'm sure you've all got an example. So for me, for example. 92 00:24:59.090 --> 00:25:08.740 Sacha Black (she/her): I checked to Mount Everest Base camp when I was 18 and I spent a little bit of time in Kathmandu, and the smell of nag champa josticks. 93 00:25:08.860 --> 00:25:25.610 Sacha Black (she/her): or incense, as you call it, probably call them in America. We call them just 6 here, but anyway, the smell of those incense sticks is so powerful it literally like pulls me back to Nepal. And I feel like I'm there. And the reason for that is 94 00:25:25.640 --> 00:25:41.539 Sacha Black (she/her): these pathways and the neurons firing the electrical impulses basically cross over. So this is, yeah. A great great tool. That writers can use. If you want to evoke things for readers. Okay. 95 00:25:43.160 --> 00:25:46.949 Sacha Black (she/her): really. Good example. I'm loving this memory in his 96 00:25:47.760 --> 00:26:08.399 Sacha Black (she/her): okay, Neil Gaiman. American gods! Great great example the house smells musty and damp and a little sweet, as if it were haunted by the ghost of long dead cookies like oh, I got like. No wonder he's such a master! The ghosts of long dead cookies are you? Are you kidding me go away makes me want to quit. 97 00:26:08.630 --> 00:26:27.070 Sacha Black (she/her): but like I love it so much. And also the point of this is that long day cookies all those things that we can all reminisce about right. We all remember like people baking for us as a kid. 98 00:26:27.470 --> 00:26:37.739 Sacha Black (she/her): you know. Like, and and and home baked cakes on a Sunday or or birthday cake in that warm and sweet smell, anyway, anyway, anyway, anyway, anyway, anyway, anyway. okay, let's move on. 99 00:26:38.540 --> 00:27:05.350 Sacha Black (she/her): Alright. So it's not just about using smells that we know. And just that one smell. You can also juxtapose smells or conflict them right when. And I talked a little bit earlier about juxtapositions and why they're like my absolute famous favorite but here's another example of characters who are juxtapositions, Captain Kirk and Scott as Spock. Oh, my God! Unlike my tongue, is like 100 00:27:05.370 --> 00:27:17.719 Spock. These 2 characters are juxtapositions of each other. Right one is chaotic. One is absolutely down the line and fully logical, and no and no emotions, and the other one leads with their heart and emotion, and the reason that the the writers do. That is because. 101 00:27:17.760 --> 00:27:41.359 having 2 characters that are the complete polar opposites, creates sharper characterization, it makes their differences more acute. Right? And so you can do that with the senses as well. Yes, exactly. Enemies to lovers. It's a juxtaposition, in fact, any trope that has an innate a any trope that is a large, so I call the major and minor tropes. But A major trope is any trope that has a inherent 102 00:27:41.380 --> 00:27:47.880 plot in it. So enemies to love is a story, and it's in in those 3 words, 103 00:27:48.220 --> 00:28:03.979 Sacha Black (she/her): whereas what am I trying to say? Yeah, grumpy sunshine. But whereas if you just talk about like only one bed, there's not really a story in that. So anyway, all of the major plot tropes are juxtapositions. You can't fake, actually date someone, for example, anyway. 104 00:28:04.190 --> 00:28:28.770 back to the point you can do this with your sensory writing, and when you do. It creates much, much more vivid description. It creates tension as well, because when you have conflicting things, even in the sentence, it creates a kind of friction, because we energetically everything should flow and be smooth together, right? So you could use it as a tool to create tension in your writing as well. 105 00:28:29.880 --> 00:28:59.059 Sacha Black (she/her): I think I said everything. Him? Okay? Oh, yes, yes, yes. And so we talked a little bit about this in terms of like the symbolism of smells, but also the consequences. Right? How can a smell bother your character, or how can it provoke some kind of unexpected emotional reaction? Right? Everything needs to cause a problem, create, create conflict, or you know, not necessarily, or solve a problem right? Like, when somebody brings that one thing that a person 106 00:28:59.060 --> 00:29:17.790 Sacha Black (she/her): absolutely loves writing the grand gesture moment. You can have sensory things attached to that as well. But what emotional reactions or responses can your characters have? Can can a smell make them wanna puke? Okay, right? Confession time. Now I'm a vegetarian. I've been a vegetarian my whole life. 107 00:29:17.790 --> 00:29:25.679 That is a whole other story, but A lot of people tell me that the one meat that persuades vegetarians back is bacon. 108 00:29:26.150 --> 00:29:55.090 Sacha Black (she/her): I cannot stand the smell of bacon. I got very, very oh, well, I had a good evening, and the following morning I wasn't feeling too well, and my friend, my housemate cooked bacon, and it made me more poorly. Let's put it that way. I need a medal and anyway, so I now won't allow bacon in my house. So this is a an example of a consequence to some kind of a a sensory experience. 109 00:29:55.360 --> 00:30:08.819 Sacha Black (she/her): Yes, exactly exactly like Phoebe from Exact and tha, that is a beautiful example, because it's so unexpected and not in her normal kind of remit of her characterization, which is exactly why it's a great example. 110 00:30:09.220 --> 00:30:12.990 Sacha Black (she/her): right? Yes. How can history repeat 111 00:30:13.400 --> 00:30:42.359 Sacha Black (she/her): with these kind of either smell related or touch related experiences? And then also, the other thing you need to think about is like we are talking about all great smells right for me. Bacon is a terrible smell, and that is something to think about. You don't just have to have positive experiences with these sensory writing, you can also create a bad smell for your character, or even better, something that actually the rest of society thinks is a great smell, and they think is a horrible smell. 112 00:30:43.730 --> 00:30:51.900 So so, for example, pancakes or bacon rest of society thinks it smells nice. 113 00:30:52.020 --> 00:31:01.140 Sacha Black (she/her): Oh, no somebody bought bacon to you. I'm so sorry. Okay, okay, what else? If we got here? Let's move on 114 00:31:01.640 --> 00:31:04.410 Sacha Black (she/her): right. Vary your description. 115 00:31:04.800 --> 00:31:26.419 Sacha Black (she/her): okey-dokey, and we're gonna talk about this with all of the senses that we're gonna talk about today. But smell isn't flat, right when we when we wear perfume, I'm like obsessed with perfumes. I really like really deep kind of Middle Eastern smells, but whenever you buy perfume it's not just perfume, it's like and Rose, and this and that. 116 00:31:26.420 --> 00:31:38.280 and there's like your bass notes and your higher notes are your top notes. I think they're called so. How can you do that in your writing. Well, think about the strength as a smell. It's not just bacon. It's oh, Bacon, you know. 117 00:31:38.360 --> 00:31:55.920 Sacha Black (she/her): Okay, maybe maybe you can't quite translate that sentence into your writing, but you get my point right like I could tell you what I can describe. They can ask, but I went to the same polite but is it a week smell? Is it a strong smell what you words can use to describe the strength of it? 118 00:31:56.030 --> 00:32:01.899 What what type of smell is it? Sweet, sour, bitter, acrid and then. 119 00:32:02.300 --> 00:32:15.080 Sacha Black (she/her): yeah, like, we talked about with the perfume, can you layer smell so rather than just having bacon, is it also bacon and and homemade bread? Right? That smells very, very different to just bacon. 120 00:32:15.220 --> 00:32:26.269 Sacha Black (she/her): Yes, and then we've talked about character, opinion, character, opinion is everything right? You can sway your readers. Opinions based on your characters, opinions all right. 121 00:32:27.380 --> 00:32:51.459 Sacha Black (she/her): okay, so taste and smell are intricately linked. Because if we don't have a sense of smell we can't taste I don't know if you guys knew that, but I have a couple of friends who can't smell, and they they then struggle with taste, which then impacts the textures that they want to eat. But think about that right? So in terms of your writing when you layer the senses smell often goes with taste. Doesn't mean you can't subvert that. Yes, exactly. Covid. Smells 122 00:32:51.480 --> 00:32:56.339 Sacha Black (she/her): yeah. So too long. Didn't read, basically tastes Bfs to smell 123 00:32:57.440 --> 00:33:15.399 Sacha Black (she/her): alright. So taste sense. How can we describe all of the various different aspects of taste? So once again, we've got strength, not you know. Something could be like plain pasta. Right? Doesn't really have a taste. It's kind of just like this muted 124 00:33:16.250 --> 00:33:24.490 Sacha Black (she/her): sticky, chammy type based. But there's not really a strength to it if you made it 125 00:33:24.610 --> 00:33:51.360 Sacha Black (she/her): there is a theme today. If you made it habanara, it's gonna taste creamy and bacony along with the texture. Which is like that soft crunch depending on whether or not you have it, Eldente. Look at me. I'm a chef. No, I'm really not but yes, taste. Tastes have textures, so don't just think about like what is the flavor. Also think about the texture in the mouth. And that can create different types of releases and experiences. For the reader. 126 00:33:51.360 --> 00:33:58.959 Sacha Black (she/her): Think about flavors like one of the things that I do is I will keep a spreadsheet. I might sound like a nerd, but 127 00:33:58.960 --> 00:34:21.590 I keep like a spreadsheet of different things. Some of them is like I don't know if you guys have heard of Jennifer Lyn Barnes. But I have an id spreadsheet. But another one is when I create a new book. I'm like, Okay, what is the vibe? What is the atmosphere that I'm trying to create? And then I'll brain dump a whole bunch of words that I am trying to that I want to use to create that feeling and vibe and atmosphere in the story. 128 00:34:21.679 --> 00:34:42.719 Sacha Black (she/her): And another thing I do that with is tropes. I also create do a brain dump for words related to the trait. Right? So if you've got a stalker trope, all the words are like, I own you, your mind pronouns yours, your your mine. Yeah. So I wanna say both. You belong to me, for example, brain dump. The words for the sensory writing. 129 00:34:43.260 --> 00:34:56.820 Sacha Black (she/her): and then with taste also, we have like temperature, too, so things can be hot or they can be spicy. A different type of hot, and there's 2 types of spicy, too. They can be cool, or I see right? 130 00:34:57.170 --> 00:35:01.899 But adding a temperature will add depth to your description. 131 00:35:02.190 --> 00:35:18.719 Sacha Black (she/her): And then, just like we said with the others, what is the meaning attached to the taste? Is there a memory that you can insert just a teeny, tiny sentence or 2. That's like a flashback. But without actually taking you out of present time. That is how you layer on characterization. 132 00:35:23.950 --> 00:35:31.230 Sacha Black (she/her): I'm literally sweating here. That's a sensory experience. Okay? 133 00:35:31.400 --> 00:35:58.630 Sacha Black (she/her): oh, yes, and my absolute favorite. So this is a method of subverting right. Often the characters will always experience sensory things right. But sometimes the absence of a sense can be even more powerful. Think, for example, in a horror movie, and you'll get like the sort of low blur beats and basses, and then it will ratchet up and ratchet up until it's like really high pitched like. 134 00:35:59.070 --> 00:36:14.880 Sacha Black (she/her): and you're like, Oh, shit! Oh, shit! Something's coming the months that's coming, and then it all drops out, and it's definitely silent, and you literally have to put pillow over your face. Is that just? Am I? My way like this is all quite. If I'm on my own cause. II really like all the movies. But my point is 135 00:36:15.240 --> 00:36:39.869 Sacha Black (she/her): the absence of an a sensory experience can be just as powerful, just like when oh, my God! I'm on my own just like when somebody doesn't respond right? So in in dialogue, when you're having an argument, it can be just as powerful to have that back and forth, back and forth, back and forth as it can for somebody to step away and not respond. 136 00:36:39.980 --> 00:36:47.540 And then you get all of the internal visceral sensory experiences rather than it projecting out towards the other character. 137 00:36:48.370 --> 00:36:49.359 Sacha Black (she/her): Okay. 138 00:36:50.880 --> 00:37:04.600 Sacha Black (she/her): alright. So we, I think we are. I'm putting in a kind of how many slides I've done now. But anyway. Okay, so types of touch sense. So we've got and we've sort of talked about temperature in terms of food. But 139 00:37:04.610 --> 00:37:30.759 Sacha Black (she/her): we can also think about it in terms of the objects or things that they are touching or experiencing. So like, if you're touching somebody else's body, is it warm? Are they a vampire. Is it actually cold? You know, what does that feel like? It's it's shocking. If you're used to touching humans, anyone touched a vampire. No, okay, but weapons right? What in I in a game of hearts and heights, which is the first Sapphic romance book that II did. I have an assassin. 140 00:37:31.130 --> 00:37:50.400 Sacha Black (she/her): And she basically falls in love. You haven't touched a van paling shame. She falls in love with a blade. She is in a basically a weapons shop, and she picks up this weapon. In fact, I think actually is going to be in here. Never mind, I'm gonna stop talking. We're gonna talk about this in a second. Huh? I'm like foreshadowing myself. 141 00:37:51.100 --> 00:38:15.659 Sacha Black (she/her): anyway. What is somebody's hands like? Right? Are they warm? Are they cold? Are they rough? Think about pressure? Okay? So when somebody touches you, is it a gentle pressure? Is it hard pressure? What is clothing? Feel like right now? Because I'm sweating. My trousers are like stuck to me, and my purpose stuck to me right? And I will also like I can feel the tickle of my hair where I'm going out striking me nuts, I should have put it up. 142 00:38:15.730 --> 00:38:23.039 Sacha Black (she/her): But what is what? What is? How does that make you feel? How is it making you react like for me right now? It's just making. 143 00:38:24.680 --> 00:38:41.270 Sacha Black (she/her): I should've put my hair up. a pain and pleasure. This is important for romance writers, especially if you're at Bdsm. But also arguments and and battles and epic fantasy with big big like lord of the Rings type wars 144 00:38:41.270 --> 00:39:02.539 Sacha Black (she/her): you've got injuries. What is the the the pain and pleasure inside? An injury? Paper cut? Oh, my God! The worst injury ever is a paper cut but, you know, is there a a touch, or a taste, or a smell, or any kind of visceral reaction other than the explosion associated with an orgasm or like when somebody caresses you. 145 00:39:02.540 --> 00:39:23.209 Sacha Black (she/her): But also think about actually, I think I'm gonna say that in a bit as well so vibrations, another type of touch, experience other vibrations pleasurable. Are they painful? What? What about the way that a carriage bulbs underneath you? Is it vibrating across like the cobbles. For example, if you write historical fiction oh. 146 00:39:23.930 --> 00:39:41.239 and also the weather like, how does the weather feel on your skin? It's not just that it's hammering down and pathetic fallacy during your dark night of the soul. What is it doing to your skin? How is it making you? How is it making your emotional reactions worse because you're in that dark emotional place, right? 147 00:39:41.320 --> 00:39:46.620 And then we've got things like, yeah, texture. So is it rough? Is it smooth? 148 00:39:46.780 --> 00:40:07.700 Sacha Black (she/her): But also think outside the box. What is a person's texture? Mine is wild, you know, but somebody what is Roz's texture? A brief them? So think about how laughter can feel on your like, in your body or in your mind, or in your, you know, in the air. Think outside the box is my point here. 149 00:40:07.710 --> 00:40:12.049 Sacha Black (she/her): Oh, yeah. And ticklin itch, they are also types of touch sensation, too. 150 00:40:13.790 --> 00:40:25.289 Sacha Black (she/her): Okay, so where can you apply it? Yeah, we've kind of covered this a little bit. But think about basically, when you get this off to it. This is essentially like a brainstorm of different places and different 151 00:40:25.960 --> 00:40:44.600 Sacha Black (she/her): sensories, sort of words that you can that you can use associated with touch sense. So I'm not going to go through all of this as I did kind of pick up on some of those on the last slide. But do think about just one that I didn't really pick up on the last slide is things like nature. And how the characters interact with nature? 152 00:40:44.600 --> 00:40:57.960 Sacha Black (she/her): And so things like, there's a there's a plant that we have in the Uk. Maybe it's you have a a elsewhere, and it's green, but on the leaves they have like white 153 00:40:59.290 --> 00:41:26.950 Sacha Black (she/her): like fur it's called sheep. Something sheep is, or I don't remember. But anyway, it's super soft and completely different. Yes, lands it exactly. So you know. Think about like if a character touches it, or ex or you know, is it the sharp prick of a thorn? Is it squelchy mud in the ground, or is it really tough and like, when I went to New York 154 00:41:27.430 --> 00:41:57.730 Sacha Black (she/her): I always have to take super, comfortable trainers, because I don't know what it is about New York. It's one of my favorite places in the world, but the the ground is unbearable. It's like it's made out of granite. I don't understand it, but my knees hurt more in New York than anywhere else in the world, and I love and I've timed them on Everest base camp. So that's telling you something right? But so think about how the characters are interacting with the ground. And what are the consequences of that right? My bloody knees hurt? So again, yeah, use these as brainstorm slides. 155 00:41:58.440 --> 00:42:11.079 Sacha Black (she/her): Alright. So this is the blade example that I was talking about where I lay it on kind of the emotional sensory experience. So Scarlett Brand 156 00:42:11.360 --> 00:42:21.710 Sacha Black (she/her): Scarlett ran her hand over the blade. Its surface was smooth and icy. So 2 temperatures, far colder than the air around her odd. 157 00:42:21.780 --> 00:42:37.430 Sacha Black (she/her): Her fingers slipped to the cutting edge. Touch again. As she examined the shape and lines of the weapon. She drew her finger down the tip. It was so sharp it stung hot and sliced into her skin. Scarlett smiled. She hadn't pushed hard enough to cut flesh. 158 00:42:37.520 --> 00:42:54.229 Sacha Black (she/her): The blade was obviously hungry for blood. A drop of red rolled to the metal point, and she swore. It vibrated in response, deep and rumbling, almost as if it was greeting her one weapon to another. I'll take it, she said, and slung a pouch of coins on the counter. 159 00:42:54.300 --> 00:43:14.720 Sacha Black (she/her): So here's an example of like a a character viscerally interacting with a physical object, and how you can then layer up the senses, but also create consequences right? The visceral experience that she had formed her opinion and made her yes, it could describe a gun as well. Exactly 160 00:43:15.070 --> 00:43:21.280 Sacha Black (she/her): so, anyway. Alright final things to think about when 161 00:43:21.380 --> 00:43:23.429 looking at touch 162 00:43:23.890 --> 00:43:26.110 Sacha Black (she/her): a character's age. 163 00:43:26.230 --> 00:43:53.909 Sacha Black (she/her): As we get older, our nerve endings become more numb, and, like our pain, receptors and temperature receptors and even like the nerve endings in our genitals all decline as we age. So if you have all the characters, you can use that as something. Oh, thank you. Thank you. I have actually narrated 2 of my nonfiction audio books. I do love it. And so fun, but it's I don't think I can be a pro and do it for 164 00:43:53.970 --> 00:44:01.940 Sacha Black (she/her): fiction. But I would love to, anyway, just for funzies. Yes, so think about if you have different age ranges of characters. 165 00:44:01.940 --> 00:44:25.479 what are their sensory experiences. Right? How is that different? How can you differentiate those characters? And actually, that goes for characters of similar ages, too? Right? We shouldn't all be having the same evisceral emotional, sensory reactions to everything. If everybody reacts to ice cream the same way it becomes boring. I'm lactose, intolerant. Trust me, I do not react the same way as my son does to ice cream. 166 00:44:25.880 --> 00:44:44.980 But that we won't talk about. Okay. And then the other thing to think about is that not all touch is equal in the body. I think of the romance writers. We probably understand that, but there are some parts of your body more tuned to touch than other areas, fingers, lips, feet, genitals. 167 00:44:45.270 --> 00:44:46.170 Sacha Black (she/her): But 168 00:44:46.710 --> 00:45:09.040 Sacha Black (she/her): you can subvert this right. Has anybody like I? What was it? I think it was the hating game. And Sally Thorn had this incredible moment where the character, like the was it the elbow, the back of the arm, was touched by the elbow, and it was like I was literally like, Oh, my God! Oh, my God! I need my wife to touch the back of my love. Come here. 169 00:45:09.040 --> 00:45:25.820 Yeah. Of course. Obviously it didn't have the same effect. But the point is that subversion and that unexpected body area we don't have to stick to the body areas that we know are oversensitive. Mix it up and it makes it really hot. That's all I'm saying. Okay. 170 00:45:25.840 --> 00:45:56.909 Sacha Black (she/her): alright and then, oh, yes, okay, so this is. If you're dealing with more sensitive topics. and perhaps you know trauma, then you can differentiate people's reactions so like it feels different when somebody you are like attracted to touches you. It feels kind of nice, right? We all have tingles in our tummy, or whatever we experience, but if you hate that person, then you might be annoyed by them touching you. It might make you hot, but not in their like 171 00:45:56.910 --> 00:46:13.410 Sacha Black (she/her): hot wink, wink, way. It might make you like hot angry, so consider how the same touch! How could you? How could you go away and write the same scene, but have and have 2 characters, one that the protagonist likes, and one that the protagonist dislikes 172 00:46:13.410 --> 00:46:36.309 Sacha Black (she/her): have them touch the protagonist in the same way. And then how do they react differently to that? It's a great exercise to do if you're trying to get to know your characters and how they react emotionally to things. Alright, I think. That is bang on 45 min. So well done me for getting in on time, do we? Have any questions 173 00:46:37.000 --> 00:47:01.649 Sarah @ ProWritingAid: that was amazing. We we do have questions. I think you've blown away so many people that we've only got 5 at the moment, but I'm expecting a lot more to come streaming through as we start talking so. But I was laughing so much during that, so like not just like it's like your energy is amazing. Everyone was commenting on it. But some of the comments that people were coming out 174 00:47:01.650 --> 00:47:15.569 Sarah @ ProWritingAid: with, like everyone just seemed too matching. It was just brilliant. I love that so much. I learned a lot as well, which is great, and I can tell a lot of other people have as well. So we can get started with these questions. 175 00:47:15.570 --> 00:47:38.739 Sacha Black (she/her): Do you have any tips on how to make sex scenes more unusual? It feels to me like I keep repeating the same words, and there are so many cliches to avoid. I'd love your advice on this, and that's from Tally. Yeah, I mean, II have this problem. So you get to a certain point when you've written like, say, 3, 4, 5 spicy books. 176 00:47:38.760 --> 00:47:59.240 Sacha Black (she/her): And then you're like, oh, shit like! What? How can I like vary this up? So here's my advice. The first thing is, locations. How can you vary the locations? And the. And then the second thing is to literally like differentiate the sex. And by that I mean, not everybody has sex in the same way, right? 177 00:47:59.430 --> 00:48:21.980 Sacha Black (she/her): We can't really get away from the fact that genital words. There are only a handful of words that are acceptable in prose. Right? So you're going to repeat some of those words, but also you can use. You can still make it super, spicy and steamy, but have more innuendos, and like describe around it rather than repeating, like pleasure, or, you know. 178 00:48:22.120 --> 00:48:48.289 Sacha Black (she/her): expletive, explanative. But the other thing that you can do is vary the type of sex. So that's what I'm I am doing like in my series at the moment. It's like, Okay, well, some characters are very vanilla. So I've got em House of Crimson Hearts is my vampire romance that is, kicks on my Kickstarter right now. But what I have is a sweeping kind of sweet romance 179 00:48:48.530 --> 00:48:58.760 Sacha Black (she/her): paired, which is like historical and then, in the present time, I've got a really spicy kind of Bdsm romance. 180 00:48:58.820 --> 00:49:15.060 And not only did I do that because it's a juxtaposition, but also because it's really important to explore the different types of sex. So look at power plays, look at in in bringing in toys right that changes up the sexual dynamic. Think about how you can 181 00:49:15.130 --> 00:49:35.990 Sacha Black (she/her): like. Does somebody have a kink that they like right? I'm told, like, I don't wanna go to too much details like, I'm trying to keep it like, kind of pg, but think about the think about how people have different likes and dislikes. That is, that is probably my best advice, and then keep it consistent with those characters. That's that's the point. Cause then it makes it different to the others 182 00:49:36.300 --> 00:49:58.609 Sarah @ ProWritingAid: perfect. Okay, there were so many comments after. You started answering that one, and we've already had a couple more questions. So mj, said the oh, this is interesting, the without filter. So on the slide where you you showed about adding filters and taking off examples sounded like telling, not showing. I thought that was quite interesting 183 00:49:58.920 --> 00:50:03.520 Sarah @ ProWritingAid: point. And I if you could elaborate on on what the 184 00:50:04.040 --> 00:50:28.910 Sacha Black (she/her): when you're using filtering when you're not using filtering, because when you use a filter it's much more of a tell. And then when you ex take out the filter because it makes the sentence more active, it becomes a showing, because the characters are doing the action right, or the tree is doing the action, or the owl is doing the action. So yes, exactly when you have filtering, it is more of a telling sentence. Yeah. 185 00:50:29.080 --> 00:50:49.109 Sacha Black (she/her): nice one. Okay. An anonymous question here says, please explain your definitions of major and minor tropes. Okay? So a major trope is any trope where there is an innate plot inside it. So where are so? A trope that has stakes or very evident conflict. 186 00:50:49.110 --> 00:51:01.799 So, for example, enemies to lovers, it's very clear that they're gonna start. The this beginning is enemies. The middle is where they get over that, and the end is lovers right grumpy sunshine they go. 187 00:51:02.220 --> 00:51:26.799 Sacha Black (she/her): That's a bad example. Fake dating. They have to go through fake dating in order to date for real right. So that is a major trait. A minor trait would be things like so if you write really spicy romance. You might use a mini trope like eyes on me, which means when they're in a romance interaction, they want you to look at you whilst you have. 188 00:51:26.800 --> 00:51:37.499 Sacha Black (she/her): But if you catch my drift or but there's no innate plot inside that it's a moment in a scene. 189 00:51:37.830 --> 00:51:48.489 Sacha Black (she/her): a lot of romance. Writers are using micro traapes and major traes to promote their books at the moment, because. especially on Tiktok. So I do this a lot on Tiktok 190 00:51:48.880 --> 00:52:17.639 Sacha Black (she/her): and I will say, Oh, you know grumpy Gagos, which isn't really a trope, but like it's a fun element, or from the story that you can share so eyes on me. Bratty vampire, bratty bedroom vampire, not a trait, but it tells the reader something. So it's like a micro trope. It's like a micro little bit of joy in your in your story. Yeah. So yes, okay. So Lindsay's just put one bed is micro. I completely agree, except I read a book called 191 00:52:17.640 --> 00:52:38.780 Sacha Black (she/her): only one Coffin, which was a male male romance, and the whole plot was based on only one bed. It blew my mind cause I had never seen only one bed, because I thought it was a microscope, and I think it is really a microtrobe but they had, you know, subverted that expectation and made the whole story. About sharing the coffin. It was brilliant. 192 00:52:39.590 --> 00:53:02.730 Sarah @ ProWritingAid: awesome. Okay, okay. Next one. It's from a a digital Dina, I think, is the username and it says, I have a narrow, divergent Mc. With a running internal commentary for her. I use filtering a lot, because that's how she perceives the world, except when she manages to be present in the moment. Will the reader pick up on this 193 00:53:02.730 --> 00:53:23.910 Sacha Black (she/her): Anit. So sorry. Say that again. So they've got a neuro divergent main character with a running internal commentary. And then for her, they use a lot of filtering. Because that's how the main character perceives the world, except when she manages to be present in the moment. And then, she said, will the reader pick up on this? 194 00:53:26.320 --> 00:53:36.600 Sacha Black (she/her): That is difficult without seeing it in context and in the pros. If the voices pro is. 195 00:53:36.700 --> 00:53:40.770 Sacha Black (she/her): if the prose is like in air quotes voicey enough 196 00:53:40.860 --> 00:53:52.140 Sacha Black (she/her): then? Yes, probably so there's a book called Fresh by Margo Wood, and the protagonist has Adhd, and she uses footnotes 197 00:53:52.140 --> 00:54:16.219 Sacha Black (she/her): constantly throughout the book because that's what it's like being inside the brain of somebody with Adhd, right? And she was explaining to me on my podcast that that's how her like. That's how she feels like it's, you know, constantly here, here, here, here, and so that she wanted to create that rhythmic feel in the pros of that brain experience for readers. So that's why. And actually, she got a lot of comments. From. 198 00:54:16.510 --> 00:54:31.730 Sacha Black (she/her): I'm assuming Neurotypical people. Who said they found it hard. But yeah, that's the point. That's how these people are experiencing the world. So I think it's fantastic when you can do that and do it like authentically. 199 00:54:31.730 --> 00:54:50.629 Sacha Black (she/her): II would have to read it to know if it's landed. Well, but that is definitely something to ask the editor, and I think the thing is, if you've done it intentionally, it probably will work cause when you do these things intentionally. It's just like repetition, right? If we drop something in twice, it's an accident. If we do it 3 times, it's the rule of 3. 200 00:54:50.760 --> 00:54:57.840 Sacha Black (she/her): So it really depends like what the manifestation of that is like inside the in in the book, in the in the price 201 00:54:57.870 --> 00:55:04.570 Sacha Black (she/her): absolutely it was fresh by Margot Wood, MARG. OT. Wood. 202 00:55:04.910 --> 00:55:14.329 Sarah @ ProWritingAid: I was. Gonna say, I was gonna ask you to repeat that cause. I wanna read that now. So it's a suffic like college bromance. It was really good. I have never laughed. Say hard in my life. 203 00:55:14.380 --> 00:55:15.400 Sarah @ ProWritingAid: brilliant 204 00:55:15.480 --> 00:55:41.869 Sacha Black (she/her): okey dokey! Another anonymous one said, your example about the the house smelled sweeter, so haunted by the smell of long dead cookies. So that's Neil Gabin's. One was so wonderful. Can a person teach themselves to start thinking this way so that they can become a better writer? If so, what are ways to do that? I go away and read the anatomy of a bestseller by me, Sasha black 205 00:55:41.870 --> 00:56:03.970 because I deconstruct everything. I'm I commit sacrilege every time I read a physical book. and I underline sentences. I deconstruct them. I write notes in pen in my books trying to break down. Essentially, what I do is I break down anything that I think is fantastic into the simplest units 206 00:56:03.970 --> 00:56:25.749 so that I can find out what is the tool that the that the author is using? Is it a juxtaposition? Is it a metaphor. Okay, well, have they used Premier League words in the metaphor, what? Why is this working? Is it a character? So haunting Adline? And I'm gonna butcher the quote, but it opens with something along the lines of 207 00:56:25.760 --> 00:56:29.240 Sacha Black (she/her): I have thoughts. No. 208 00:56:29.790 --> 00:56:50.970 Sacha Black (she/her): no, daughter should have. I have dark thoughts about my mother that no daughter should have no sane daughter or something along those lines. And essentially it is a confession plus a concession. Not so. When I deconstruct these things you can't always like. Say, Oh, it's 209 00:56:51.110 --> 00:56:54.020 Sacha Black (she/her): personification. Sometimes it's like 210 00:56:54.040 --> 00:57:19.020 Sacha Black (she/her): a concept that this author is doing and so that's what I do is, I break down the sentences to see what these authors are doing, and then I take the tool away. So whilst I wouldn't write that sentence, I might write a confession, followed by a concession. So I might say, like I've been collecting things that know. 211 00:57:19.110 --> 00:57:41.689 Sacha Black (she/her): and police officer should their fingers or something, you know. Right? So I'm using the same tool, a confession followed by a concession, but completely in a different context. So it's mimicry rather than plagiarism. Right? So yeah. The anatomy of a bestseller is what I would recommend that you go and read. That is how I taught myself to write that the methods in there 212 00:57:42.300 --> 00:57:51.439 Sarah @ ProWritingAid: perfect. Yeah, I think I completely agree about the whole learning from others. And just rather than taking. And and yeah. 213 00:57:51.440 --> 00:58:13.410 Sarah @ ProWritingAid: plagiarizing. It's it's just learning how they they do something amazing. And and that can do it your own way. I think that's great. Okay, thank you. So? Laura asked, which of your books has this information about the senses? So you've mentioned the the anatomy of prose is the one that I talk about the senses. Yep, perfect. Okay. 214 00:58:13.810 --> 00:58:29.589 Sacha Black (she/her): Okay. Next one is yalamed. Asked how many senses to use to prevent the filtering and not overdo the description and create a simple and neat narrative. I mean that I mean 215 00:58:30.250 --> 00:58:46.150 Sacha Black (she/her): what beauty is in the eye of the beholder, right? So filtering isn't about how many senses you can use. It's about removing those words. Where is now? I think it's backwards. Isn't it sorry? I'm probably making everybody feel sick skimming through these slides. But oh! 216 00:58:46.550 --> 00:59:03.560 Sacha Black (she/her): Oh! There we go! So filtering is about removing these words, and actually sorry. The contrast probably isn't high enough on this image for you to see. Well, but heard and saw other words that we removed. So they've been removed from this sentence. So it's not really about 217 00:59:03.640 --> 00:59:10.829 Sacha Black (she/her): layering the senses here. It's about cleaning up the pros and making the the pros clearer 218 00:59:11.850 --> 00:59:14.800 And what was the other bit of that question 219 00:59:15.420 --> 00:59:40.319 Sacha Black (she/her): so, and not to overdo the description and create a simple and neat narrative. So not over the description. Okay, so the other thing about this is that it's really important to read in your genre, not just read in your genre, but read the best-selling books in your genre, and the reason that you need to do. That is because those are the books that are actually delivering what the reader wants. Right? So and then what you can do. And I always say that we need to read at least 5 books in our 220 00:59:40.320 --> 01:00:14.179 that are bestselling. The reason for that is that when you see something twice, it's a connection when you see it 3 times. It's a pattern. Patterns are, reader expectations. And therefore you need to deliver to those reader expectations. Everybody's always like like, when you you know, when you write in a genre, you have to deliver to reader expectations. What does that mean? That means you, as the author need to go and look at all the books that are selling and find the patterns. So, for example, in psychological thrillers there is very little description. They write very clean sentences. They don't add a huge amount 221 01:00:14.180 --> 01:00:41.100 Sacha Black (she/her): of world building. Their sentences are shorter, sharper, choppier. When you go and read epic fantasy. You can have a whole bloody 5 pages about red wine, you know, like, Okay, that's a bit of an exaggeration. But you get my point, and therefore you need to go and read and see what the level of descriptions are in that genre and in those bestselling books. And then you need to like deconstruct those books 222 01:00:41.100 --> 01:00:46.629 and find the patterns, and then replicate that in your own work. So 223 01:00:46.920 --> 01:00:51.580 Sacha Black (she/her): I would say that I can't answer that you need to answer that by knowing your genre. 224 01:00:52.590 --> 01:01:18.830 Sacha Black (she/her): I love that. Okay, and I've got Jay said. Are there any resources that you're aware of that we can find slash. Get to continue studying, studying how to use sensory in our writing. So obviously, you've mentioned your books. I didn't know if you had any others, or if you just want to mention your books again. Yes. So, aside from the anatomy of prose and the anatomy of a bestseller, I would also recommend. Angela 225 01:01:18.830 --> 01:01:24.660 recommends the emotion, thesaurus, because that will give you a whole ton of ideas. 226 01:01:24.720 --> 01:01:34.790 Sacha Black (she/her): all about like visceral reactions. So I always recommend that. And then also the emotional craft of fiction by Donald Masse. I think 227 01:01:34.850 --> 01:01:35.980 Sacha Black (she/her): that's the other one. 228 01:01:36.380 --> 01:01:37.550 Sarah @ ProWritingAid: Nice. Huh? 229 01:01:37.680 --> 01:01:53.889 Okay, we've got 2 questions from Kenzie, but I think the second one, you've basically already covered in one of our previous questions. But this first one here. Do you think any of the sensors are harder to include in your pros and any tips to help with that. 230 01:01:53.890 --> 01:02:09.260 Sacha Black (she/her): Yes, sound is usually the hardest, mostly because of onomatopoeia, which can almost sound childlike. When we read a lot of children's books, we see a lot of onomatopia and that can make it difficult. 231 01:02:09.260 --> 01:02:18.819 Sacha Black (she/her): So I think also sound is just the hardest to capture, because I don't know why, because a lot of the others 232 01:02:20.310 --> 01:02:30.839 Sacha Black (she/her): I don't know why it's the hardest. But I would definitely say that that's the one that I feel is the hardest and in terms of tips and tricks to include it. 233 01:02:31.620 --> 01:02:40.269 Sacha Black (she/her): Well, that would be the one that I didn't put in here, and so I haven't gone back over my notes. Go and read the anatomy, but the the anatomy of prose, because that has a whole section on sound. 234 01:02:40.360 --> 01:03:08.250 Sacha Black (she/her): Yeah? Yeah. I mean, also think about like the the melodies and the lack of sound, because sometimes the lack of sound can create the other end of emotional reactions. So like you can almost have a touch nature to it. And then think about like the texture of sound rather than necessarily things that like go clash right? Because clash is such a 235 01:03:08.400 --> 01:03:17.520 Sacha Black (she/her): crude word. So you want to think about how you can describe all of the layers of sound without just describing the crash. Bang! Wallop is what I would say 236 01:03:17.700 --> 01:03:40.109 Sarah @ ProWritingAid: perfect. I think that is all of the questions, and we're only just over the hours. So this is actually been one, probably one of the most perfectly timed sessions so well done for that. We've had so many lovely comments from everyone. I personally think, yeah, this is one of the best sessions we've we've ever hosted. In my opinion, it's so much fun. 237 01:03:40.110 --> 01:04:02.329 Sacha Black (she/her): And I think a lot of people have been saying exactly the same thing. I'm definitely gonna be re-watching this one and and pausing, because obviously this one was quite, quite quick. Sorry I try and cram in as much as humanly possible in my session, because I knew there was gonna be a replay, right? So I'd rather vomit a fire hose of information at you that you can slow down after 238 01:04:02.370 --> 01:04:27.319 Sarah @ ProWritingAid: this is this is, it's been amazing honestly. And and everything you've shared with us is so so helpful, especially to me. But I know that a lot of people, everyone's just saying, Thank you. Revisiting again. Yeah, it's been. It's been so good. So I've posted some links in the in the chat. I will post them again now very quickly. But yeah, I just want to say, Thank you, Sasha, for coming. This has been so 239 01:04:27.320 --> 01:05:01.869 good. Thank you. Everyone else who turned up. I know we've lost a few people because we went over the hour. But like. yeah, just thanks for obviously sticking with it and and sending us your questions and and being a part of it. And yeah, we hope you enjoy obviously watching the replay and all of the other content that we've got for the rest of romance writers week, including our networking, which we've got another session that we've just added to Friday. So I wanted to point that out in case anyone missed the update because it wasn't on the schedule before. So do come along to that. It's tomorrow. It's 9 pm. My time. I think it's 240 01:05:02.000 --> 01:05:26.729 Sarah @ ProWritingAid: I have. I have no idea what it is in Edt. I'm always rubbish with the maths for that 4 Pm. There you go. There you go. Thank you. Thank you. Also. Alright. Well, yeah, thank you for joining us, Sasha. And yeah, everyone go ahead and check out Sasha's website and her books because they're amazing. She also does webinars and and podcast and everything else. So obviously, she's got so much content for you. 241 01:05:26.820 --> 01:05:33.720 Sacha Black (she/her): And yeah, we'll see you again in probably just under an hour bye, for everybody.