To Suck or Not To Suck? [Writing Tips]

|18| Find Yourself A Trademark

Do you want to be different?

Do you want to stand out?

Do you want to be so unique that when someone says something their mind immediately wanders to you?

Then you've got to find yourself a trademark. Something that is used distinctly by you that helps you stand out among other writers.

For example, when I'm creating an original female character, I use names for them that are, for the majority, considered to be guy names.

But I kicked gender specifics out the window and named my chicks whatever the heck I wanted.

Evidenced by:
-Randi
-Landon
-Asher
-Jaycen (Jason)
-Troy

That is my trademark. And I typically give them somewhat girly middle names to balance it out, but I love their names because not many female characters will have similar ones.

Now that doesn't mean go and steal my trademark, because I will know if you do. It means that you need to find something that works for you and your writing style.

Maybe all of your OCs start with the same letter.

Maybe you incorporate a certain nationality or ethnicity into all of your OCs.

Maybe the OC is always a sibling or child to a wrestler.

Though trademarks aren't just limited to OCs, however.

A trademark can vary from the cover you use, to the way your description in your stories are written, all the way to the way you arrange your bio.

Here's a few trademarks that I've noticed while searching through the WWE fandom:

1. Violet (Bloodsen) always seems to have a black and white profile picture.

2. Val (Ambraigelover57) is a fan of Paramore and some (not all) of her stories have Paramore songs as titles.

3. Jeanine (-Unibxtches) loves Sasha Banks, and more often than not has a Sasha profile picture.

Of course, those aren't all, but just some of the ones I've noticed. If you have a trademark, feel free to tell me.

What I'm saying is: be original people! There's one thing that really, really bothers me. Someone will have a great idea for a prologue and write it in a super different way than most people, and when a fan of theirs reads it, they're like "that's so unique".

Then do you know what they do? They turn around and write one the exact same way and put "dedicated to (insert author's name) for the inspiration".

No.

No!

That's ripping them off, whether you give credit or not. Think for yourself. Which brings me back to the key point of this: be original!

Think outside of the metaphorical box.

To Suck

Being one of those people that gets lost in the shuffle. If you don't have a trademark, you need to take a few minutes to figure one out. It's not a waste of time, I promise.

Not To Suck

Having your own trademark that makes you known as a writer. Break through the crowd and wave your hand to let everyone know that you can stand out amongst all the people. Make them see you with something unique.

*Got a request for a topic you're having trouble with? Tell it to me in the comments or, if you want, drop me a PM and I'll leave you anonymous.

I'm here to help, so don't be shy! (My official sign off from now on.)