badluckstories

[badluckstories]

traits turned sour

honest - insensitive

persuasive - manipulative

caring - overprotective

confidence - arrogance

fearless - cocky

loyalty - an excuse

devotion - obsession

agreeable - lazy

perfectionism - insatisfaction

reserved - aloof

cautious - skeptical

self loved - selfish

available - distractible

emotional - dramatic

humble - attention-seeking

diligent - imposing

dutiful - submissive

assertive - bossy

strategic - calculated

truthful - cruel

#writing

[badluckstories]

20 partners in crime prompts

requested by: anonymous

Feel free to use and reblog!

Platonic:

#1 - always looking out for the other's safety

#2 - anticpiating the other's next words and moves

#3 - finishing each other's sentences

#4 - calling the other out on their shit

#5 - getting aggravated whenever the other does something slightly different from their plan

#6 - to outsiders, it looks like they don't along at all

#7 - knowing the other's weaknesses better than their own

#8 - picking on the other for their defeats

#9 - spurring each other on to better performance

#10 - having each others' backs unconditionally

Romantic:

#11 - yelling at them because they thought they'd lose them

#12 - romance getting in the way of their missions

#13 - showing off their skills to impress the other

#14 - getting turned on when they see the other succeeding

#15 - kisses in the 'workplace'

#16 - using their affiliation to get further in their mission

#17 - denying their relationship strongly

#18 - falling asleep in each other's arms after a stressful mission

#19 - vowing to protect the other from all harm

#20 - being inspired to master every challenge because their love makes them strong

#writing

[badluckstories]

character insecurities

insecurities are honestly a construct and the dumbest thing society has conditioned us to believe matter because i could literally make this a prompt of random things and it would probably be accurate but anyway! feel free to use <3

your character is insecure about:

how loud they speak

their accent

how passionate they get about certain things

their recent haircut

their height

their clothing style

their place in their friend group

their place in society… especially if they’re a minority

the way they think people perceive them

their hobbies

their lack of hobbies

their lack of friends

the fact that they have a lot of friends

their personality

their openness

how much they talk and who they talk to about it

their past

their future

their present… like they are insecure about where they’re at and wish they were in a better state

the place they live

their lack of confidence

their writing style… haha

their talents .. or lack thereof

their past lovers i.e. feeling like someone they were with didn’t value them

they think everyone is always making fun of them

hope this helps !!

#writing

[badluckstories]

Neighbors to Lovers Prompts

The apartment she moved to has a beautiful, well-tended garden. After a while she finds out that her neighbor is the one tending to the plants and she decides to help him out one day.

One neighbor is an actor, playing out dramatic scenes, but the walls are so thin that their neighbor thinks they are in trouble and tries to rescue them.

This cute person runs around the neighborhood every morning and their neighbor has a crush on them and decides to start going on runs themself.

Their neighbor's dog has an obsession with them, even if they are in a different part of town, suddenly this big fluffy thing is coming up, trying to lick their face.

Construction workers dug up a bomb that didn't go off in the world war, which means that everyone has to evacuate their buildings and spent the night in a school gym. That gives them the chance to get to know their neighbors better.

They asked their neighbor to water their plants while they were gone and the neighbor keeps sending them selfies of them with the plants, and when they come back the plants look much healthier than before.

When they are having a barbecue in their garden with their friends and family, it only feels right to invite the new neighbor over.

One of them getting a new dog, leads to two neighbors going on walks with their dogs twice a day together.

If you like my blog and want to support me, you can buy me a coffee or become a member! And check out my Instagram! 🥰

#writing #prompt #prompts

[badluckstories]

Random + angst prompts:

By @me-writes-prompts

Character A gets hurt/injured ft. Character B’s feral response

Situationship prompts

Reuniting angst prompt

“What are we?” Prompts

Ghost x vampire prompts

More ghost x vampire prompts

Close proximity prompts

Crush prompts

Navigating through new relationship prompts

"Please don't leave me" prompts

Lovers in "denial" prompts

Reunited lovers prompts

Grumpy x sunshine prompts

"You're too good for me" prompts

"I think...I'm in love with you" prompts

Fake dating prompts

Betrayal prompts

"What would I do without you" prompts

Roommates to lovers prompts

Ice cream prompts

Underrated trope list

First date prompts

Oblivious x pining prompts

Break up prompts

Marriage of convenience prompts

Jealously prompts

OTP bonding with their children prompts

Secret relationship between two boys prompts

Denial of feelings prompts

Internalized homophobia prompts

Sunshine vampire x grumpy human prompts

Party game prompts

Family fluff prompts

Hero/warrior prompts

Lovers to friends prompts

Childhood friends prompts

Self-esteem issue prompts for your ocs

Nervous/awkward couple prompts

Forced proximity but one of them is claustrophobic prompts

#writing #prompt #prompts

[badluckstories]

Ghost Prompts

Inconvenient things a ghost could do

Human x Ghost Prompts

Human/Ghost Dialogue Prompts

Haunted Objects

#writing #prompt #prompts

[badluckstories]

[badluckstories]

Conventions of Genre

                I think tropes often get a really bad rap amongst the online writing communities. We liken it back to unoriginal stories or outdated characters and concepts. While there are some outdated tropes in contemporary genre, on the whole there is nothing wrong with tropes and conventions of genre. In fact, genre allows readers to find what they’re interested in (and if your story would align with that), give a general idea on what the story will be like, and allows us as writers to explore new concepts without having to reinvent the wheel.

                In order to utilize genre and tropes effectively you need to first know which genre (or hybrid) you are writing or want to write, acknowledge the tropes that already exist in that genre, and then choose which tropes you want to follow, and which you want to subvert.

                Consider the movie Enchanted. It takes the classic fairy-tale genre—true love’s kiss, princess and the prince charming, talking animals—but subverts it by bringing it to modern-day New York.

                We still know we’re getting into a fantasy romance movie (you get what you came for, we’re happy) but we’re also surprised enough that it feels fresh and interesting.

                So here’s some classic genre conventions you can either follow or subvert. Even combining two surprising genres (horror and fable, mystery-fantasy) can create something new. Try it out!

Fantasy

Elves, orcs, goblins, dwarves, trolls, humanoids etc.

Dragons, unicorns, other creatures

Magic. Wizards, sorcerers, witches

Takes place in a world that more closely resembles the past than the present

Castles and villages, focus on setting

Natural landscapes

Fable

Talking animals

Moral/lesson

Short

Magic

Child or animal protagonist

Adventure

Hero/Villain

Forest, jungle, desert setting (extreme weather)

Danger—man vs. nature

Evil organization

Treasure

Small group of explorers – protagonist

Race against time

Mystery

Detective

Murder

Small group of suspects

Gritty/realistic

Mansion/train/small town

Dark tone

Foreshadowing

Big twist

YA – Dystopian

Evil government and “False utopia”

Protagonist aged 15-20

Love triangle

City setting—technology take-over, devastation of natural world

Class divide

Resistance group

Set in future

#writing

[badluckstories]

“How do you write so much so quickly” I don’t edit. Welcome to the First Draft Trash Show. If I skimmed the chapter for typos before uploading then I put in 10x the effort I usually do.

#writing

[badluckstories]

unironic number one most important and useful writing tip I can give you is to make your women weirder. If your female characters are feeling flat or one dimensional give them a odd lil obsession or hobby. ESPECIALLY the sexy characters add a little “strange and offputting” spice in there and I’ll 1000% guarantee they’ll become better. Listen to me. Listen to ME it’ll work or your money back let the femme fatale give live newts to people as thanks and she’s become a more engaging and realized person.

#writing

[badluckstories]

Neurotypical writers giving advice: Be realistic with your goals. Try to outline or write a little every day. Refill the well. Get yourself a cup of tea and write for 30 minutes until the tea is empty. Check in daily with your accountability buddies for the next three to six months.

ADHD writers giving advice: Put on a movie that matches the tone of your novel to kickstart your dopamine and get into hyperfocus, then put a song on loop on noise-cancelling headphones, livestream your writing session so you feel watched and owe someone accountability, and write as much as you can for as long as you can. Don't forget to eat, sleep or drink. Now go write that novel in 5 days.

#writing

[badluckstories]

Breaking the Rules is Okay

Sometimes saying, "they sat down," is better than saying, "they sat" or even, "they slumped into the chair."

Sometimes saying, "his eyes were brown," is better than saying, "his eyes glinted like a shard of a broken rum bottle smashed in the waves until it became honeyed beach glass."

Sometimes saying, "and so all thought of her passed from the minds of her children, and happily they lived in their ignorance," makes more sense than saying, "her children forgot her and lived happily."

Sometimes saying, "yeah! And then I thwacked my head straight into the fucking doorframe!" is more appropriate than, "I slammed my head against the doorframe."

Sometimes saying, "she was miserable," is fine and saying, "she spent most of her day staring out the window, watching the raindrops race to the ground, their shadows like tears streaming from her heavy eyes," is just too much.

Sometimes saying, "the emperor knelt before the urchin's corpse," is more impactful than saying, "Alexander knelt before Pip's corpse."

Sometimes filler words are okay. Sometimes bland words are better than vivid ones. Sometimes wordiness is pretty. Sometimes words don't have to be in order. Sometimes it's okay to use archaic language or too complicated words, even when there's a simpler word. Sometimes it's okay to have really long sentences. Sometimes it's okay to use slang, to swear. Sometimes multiple exclamation marks are fine. Sometimes it's okay to tell instead of show. Sometimes epithets are tasty. Sometimes...

How do you know when to break the rules?

I've come to the conclusion that the rules all intend to help writers write more vividly, more scrumptiously. If you want to punch your readers, dazzle them, make them salivate, or just be dramatic, follow the rules.

But if you're dramatic all the time, it stops being dramatic. If you're always writing vividly, you can't get any more vivid.

Sometimes actions aren't important. Sometimes you don't want your reader to remember that sentence, you just need it to get from one thought to the next. Sometimes it's fine to just be vivid when it counts, at the climatic moments, when you want the reader to remember. Sometimes the voice is more important than the sense of immediacy. Sometimes character's names aren't important, but their relationships are.

#writing

[badluckstories]

How to Write a Character Falling Out of Love

How to write a character falling in love is a topic that’s been explored a lot on writing blogs, so when I was recently asked how to write a character falling out of love I felt like it needed a full post. Thanks to natashawattswrites for the question!

A lot of us know what it feels like to be infatuated with someone and then look back on the event later in life and say to ourselves, “why did I ever like that person?” It can sometimes be easy to feel that way looking back on something, but when you’re in the moment it’s harder to explain. How to do you explain the process of falling out of love with someone? How can you let your readers know what your character is feeling? Hopefully these tips will help you.

Here are a few ways to write a character falling out of love:

They will become less interested in the other person

One big way to show that your character is falling out of love is that they start to lose interest in what the other person likes or does. Maybe they find that they like to be alone more often. Where they were once excited to hang out with other person, now they never have the urge to.

They might feel annoyed

Focus on your character’s emotions toward the other person. They might snap at their partner easily. They might get annoyed by things they say. These will all help reveal that they might not feel the same anymore.

There was an event that changed their feelings

A great way to have a character fall out of love is to write in a scene that would explain their changing feelings. Maybe they were cheated on. Maybe they’re suspicious. Maybe they just don’t feel like they connect on the same level.

They might hate the thought of being alone with the other person

One major clue that your feelings have changed for another person is if you hate the thought of having to hang out with them. This might seem like a no-brainer, but we often make excuses for these emotions like “I have a headache” or “I’m just grumpy today”—instead of figuring out why it’s happening so often

They find interest in another person

Another good way to show that your character wants to move on is if they start to become interested in someone else. This might reflect what they’re missing in their current relationship or partnership.

They feel guilty

Sometimes when people fall out of love, they feel extremely guilty about their changing feelings. They might feel like they need to give it another shot or something is wrong with how they’re feeling. Have your character analyze these feelings and try to come to terms with their relationship.

They might be afraid to lose comfort

Many people stay in a relationship that’s not quite working out because they’re afraid of being alone and losing the comfort they have in their current situation. Obviously this isn’t true for all relationships, especially abusive situations, but it can be a major factor for your character. Maybe they’re afraid to move on or they feel like they’re making a mistake.

They might feel relief when it’s all over

A character falling out of love won’t be a completely negative experience. Sometimes ridding ourselves of relationships that aren’t working is a huge relief. Consider these feelings when writing your character. They might be happy to move on and admit that they’re no longer in love (or maybe they weren’t ever in love).

-Kris Noel

#writing

[badluckstories]

Broke: vampires are vulnerable to the trappings of Christianity only, particularly Catholicism, no matter how dubiously applied. (See: Van Helsing's Communion wafer grouting).

Woke: vampires are vulnerable to sincere faith of all kinds, and atheist vampire-hunters need to believe very strongly in the Power of Friendship or their love of Star Trek to get by.

Bespoke: vampires are vulnerable to the faith that they followed when they were alive, and hunters tracking down an ancient vampire are obliged to learn about Neo-Babylonian theology or Middle Palaeolithic bear cults.

#writing

[badluckstories]

The best advice really is to just write. Write badly - purple prose, stilted conversations, rambling descriptions. Don't delete it, pass go, take your $200, save all your garbage in a big folder. Look at how much you've made - it doesn't matter if it isn't perfect, isn't polished, it was practice. Every time you write you learn a little more, and find another piece of your voice.

#writing

[badluckstories]

[footage of the inside of an ordinary Eastern-European home, taken with a handheld phone camera, the man filming is walking from the living room to the back door of the house]

man, narrating in russian: Every fucking year, this time of the year, the pond at my backyard gets infested. What do ponds get infested with? Frogs? Poisonous weeds? Geese? No. Not my pond.

[The man opens the back door, stepping out into a garden. Three or four nude, human-like figures dash from the borders of a pond back into the water.]

man: Rusalki! I don’t know where they come from or how they get here, and I can’t afford to hire an exterminator every year. I can’t let my cat outside anymore. Last year a rusalka managed to drown a whole deer in my pond, the stench was unbearable.

[He walks as he speaks, approaching the pond. There are several eerily beautiful female beings peering at him from under the surface, their long hair floating in the murky water. Their eyes are gleaming in an unhuman way. The man holding the camera stops to film them.]

man, calm and deadpan: What the fuck are all of you staring at. Get jobs or something.

[One of the rusalki, smaller than the others and clearly not a fully matured adult, slowly reaches out of the water with her white, thin hand, grasping his ankle. He appears unconcerned.]

man: You can’t drown me, you little idiot. You’re too small. Shoo!

[A loud thud startles the rusalki, making them scatter. A second thud makes it clear these are the approaching footsteps of something massive. The man turns around and points the camera at what appears to be a house, walking past above the treeline with chicken-like legs]

man, now yelling: IF YOUR HOUSE SHITS ON MY YARD AGAIN I SWEAR TO FUCKING GOD-

#funny #i can't stop thinking of this as a modern au for the witcher #witcher #geralt of rivia #a grumpy old man with rusalki in his yard

[badluckstories]

How To Develop Your Characters

1) Reveal your character slowly. If you info-dump too much about your protagonist straight away, there is no more wonder surrounding them. By slowly unraveling details about a character, the reader can understand them more fully and see their growth happen in real-time. When your character begins to open up naturally as the story progresses, they’ll reveal things about themselves through their actions or dialogue.

2) All protagonists should have a goal. When a character sets out to complete their goal, that is when the story is born as well as their character arc. The obstacles they have to overcome and the setbacks they face develop them as the story progresses. When you give your character a goal and make it hard for them to reach it, they begin to figure things out and grow as a person.

3) Create obstacles. And then more obstacles. The more conflict that you shove in your protagonist’s face, the more active they have to be in the story. It’s by actively making choices that someone begins to transform. Give your protagonist physical obstacles to overcome but also internal ones like doubt, regret, anger, confusion, lust, etc. 

4) Let them Fail. Overwhelm your character, push them to their limits, kick them when they’re low, make them feel like their heart will never heal… and then help them overcome the hardship. (Or not, if your story consists of a negative character arc). Regardless, failure is an important part of any story because no one is perfect and readers love seeing a protagonist overcome the impossible. Have your protagonist fail continuously throughout the story… big failures, little failures, half-failures… it all builds character.

5) Enhance their growth by having static characters in the story. Protagonists are typically dynamic characters which means they change throughout the story. It can be smart to contrast a dynamic character with a minor static/flat character who remains the same throughout the story. If two characters come from the same starting point but only one changes, the audience can see the growth that has really happened to them.

6) Give your character a past that they can overcome. A backstory, an origin, a past. We all start somewhere. The way we grew up undoubtedly shaped us into who we are today and it’s no different for a character. Whether your character comes from a backstory of hardships or privilege, you must know the reasons behind who they are at the start of your story. Then, you can start developing them… making them into a better or worse person.

For example, maybe your protagonist has a deathly fear of cars because of being in an accident as a child. Put them and a love interest in a car together or have them take walks by a highway late at night. Perhaps he even shows her what a car looks like under the hood and helps her to understand the safety features. This all develops your character into growing past their fear, which we understand because of their past.

7) Give your character’s flaws that are real. I don’t mean little flaws like being bad a math or extremely clumsy. While these are all aspects that are okay to give a character, your protagonist needs a more deep and intense obstacle to overcome. A werewolf who can’t control their anger and transforms sporadically. A cheerleader who shakes so badly from presentation anxiety that she risks dropping a teammate. These traits are realistic and relatable to the audience and can be overcome as the character develops, learns, and grows throughout the story.

Instagram: coffeebeanwriting

#writing