kari-writes-stuff

[kari-writes-stuff]

Some of my favorite words and phrases to describe a character in pain

coiling (up in a ball, in on themselves, against something, etc)

panting (there’s a slew of adjectives you can put after this, my favorites are shakily, weakly, etc)

keeling over (synonyms are words like collapsing, which is equally as good but overused in media)

trembling/shivering (additional adjectives could be violently, uncontrollably, etc)

sobbing (weeping is a synonym but i’ve never liked that word. also love using sob by itself, as a noun, like “he let out a quiet sob”)

whimpering (love hitting the wips with this word when a character is weak, especially when the pain is subsiding. also love using it for nightmares/attacks and things like that)

clinging (to someone or something, maybe even to themselves or their own clothes)

writhing/thrashing (maybe someone’s holding them down, or maybe they’re in bed alone)

crying (not actual tears. cry as in a shrill, sudden shout)

dazed (usually after the pain has subsided, or when adrenaline is still flowing)

wincing (probably overused but i love this word. synonym could be grimacing)

doubling-over (kinda close to keeling over but they don’t actually hit the ground, just kinda fold in on themselves)

heaving (i like to use it for describing the way someone’s breathing, ex. “heaving breaths” but can also be used for the nasty stuff like dry heaving or vomiting)

gasping/sucking/drawing in a breath (or any other words and phrases that mean a sharp intake of breath, that shite is gold)

murmuring/muttering/whispering (or other quiet forms of speaking after enduring intense pain)

hiccuping/spluttering/sniffling (words that generally imply crying without saying crying. the word crying is used so much it kinda loses its appeal, that’s why i like to mix other words like these in)

stuttering (or other general terms that show an impaired ability to speak — when someone’s in intense pain, it gets hard to talk)

staggering/stumbling (there is a difference between pain that makes you not want to stand, and pain that makes it impossible to stand. explore that!)

recoiling/shrinking away (from either the threat or someone trying to help)

pleading/begging (again, to the threat, someone trying to help, or just begging the pain to stop)

Feel free to add your favorites or most used in the comments/reblogs!

[kari-writes-stuff]

more on writing muslim characters from a hijabi muslim girl

- hijabis get really excited over pretty scarves - they also like to collect pins and brooches - we get asked a lot of questions and it can be annoying or it can be amusing, just depends on our mood and personality and how the question is phrased - common questions include: - “not even water?” (referring to fasting) - hijabis hear a lot of “do you sleep in that?” (we don’t) and “where is your hair?” (in a bun or a braid, usually) - “is it mooze-slim or mozzlem?” (the answer is neither, it’s muslim, with a soft s and accent on the first syllable) - “ee-slam or iz-lamb?” (it’s iss-laam, accent on the first syllable) - “hee-job?” (heh-jahb, accent on the second syllable)

- “kor-an?” (no. quran. say it like koor-annn, accent on the second syllable) - people tend to mess up our names really badly and you just get a sigh and a resigned nod or an awkward smile, maybe a nickname instead - long hair is easy to hide, short hair is harder to wrap up - hijab isn’t just covering hair, it’s also showing as little skin as possible with the exception of face, hands, and feet, and not wearing tight/sheer clothing - that applies to men too, people just don’t like to mention it ( i wonder why) - henna/mehendi isn’t just for special occasions, you’ll see people wearing it for fun - henna/mehendi isn’t just for muslims, either, it’s not a religious thing - henna/mehendi is not just for women, men also wear it, especially on their weddings - there are big mehendi parties in the couple of nights before eid where people (usually just women and kids) gather and do each other’s mehendi, usually just hands and feet - five daily prayers - most muslim kids can stutter through a couple verses of quran in the original arabic text by the age of seven or eight, it does not matter where they live or where they’re from or what language they speak natively - muslim families tend to have multiple copies of the quran - there are no “versions” of the quran, there has only ever been one. all muslims follow the exact same book - muslims have no concept of taking God’s name in vain, we call on God at every little inconvenience - don’t use islamic phrases if you don’t know what they mean or how to use them. we use them often, inside and outside of religious settings. in islam, it is encouraged to mention God often and we say these things very casually, but we take them very seriously - Allahu Akbar means “God is Greatest” (often said when something shocks or surprises us, or if we’re scared or daunted, or when something amazing happens, whether it be good or bad; it’s like saying “oh my god”) - Subhan Allah means “Glory be to God” (i say subhan Allah at the sky, at babies, at trees, whatever strikes me as pleasant, especially if it’s in nature) - Bismillah means “in the name of God” and it’s just something you say before you start something like eating or doing your homework - In Shaa Allah means “if God wills” (example: you’ll be famous, in shaa Allah) (it’s a reminder that the future is in God’s hands, so be humble and be hopeful)

- Astaghfirullah means “i seek forgiveness from Allah” and it’s like “god forgive me” - Alhamdulillah means “all thanks and praise belong to God” and it’s just a little bit more serious than saying “thank god” (example: i passed my exams, alhamdulillah; i made it home okay, alhamdulillah) - when i say we use them casually, i really mean it - teacher forgot to assign homework? Alhamdulillah - our version of “amen” is “ameen” - muslims greet each other with “assalamu alaikum” which just means “peace be on you” and it’s like saying hi - the proper response is “walaikum assalam” which means “and on you be peace” and it’s like saying “you too”

#save #helpful resourses

[kari-writes-stuff]

Ten questions to ask a friend who just read your novel

Here are ten questions to ask that will not put your friend in a tough spot, but will still give you some useful input on your novel:

1. At what point did you feel like “Ah, now the story has really begun!”  2. What were the points where you found yourself skimming?  3. Which setting in the book was clearest to you as you were reading it? Which do you remember the best?  4. Which character would you most like to meet and get to know?  5. What was the most suspenseful moment in the book?  6. If you had to pick one character to get rid of, who would you axe?  7. Was there a situation in the novel that reminded you of something in your own life?  8. Where did you stop reading, the first time you cracked open the manuscript? (Can show you where your first dull part is, and help you fix your pacing.)  9. What was the last book you read, before this? And what did you think of it? (This can put their comments in context in surprising ways, when you find out what their general interests are. It might surprise you.)  10. Finish this sentence: “I kept reading because…”

Your friend is probably still going to tell you, “It was good!” However, if you can ask any specific questions, and read between the lines, you can still get some helpful information out of even the most well-meaning reader.

Source: Examiner

[kari-writes-stuff]

[kari-writes-stuff]

[kari-writes-stuff]

GUIDE ON WRITING CHARACTERS WITH EPILEPSY

By popular demand (and by “popular” I mean 20 people besides myself), I have written a guide on writing characters with epilepsy. It is in a Google Doc, as it is both long (14 pages) and several things are hyperlinked and I didn’t want t*mblr to hate me! There are titles added within an outline, so you can click to whatever section you want to read at any time. I tried to make it in depth as possible, but I’m sure I missed something so just let me know if I did and I can add things! Note: This is mostly geared towards the rpc, though I’m sure it can be applied to other writing mediums.

Disclaimer:  I am one person with epilepsy, and I do not have any medical background. I tried to include as many facts in here as possible, but there are likely a lot of subjective things from my own experience as well. I will also be including throughout this my own experiences. If another person with epilepsy does correct you on something you’re writing, please listen to them too, as my experiences do not reflect everyone’s.

GONE OVER IN THE GUIDE: Language, Types of Epilepsy/Seizures, Ways to Treat Epilepsy, Seizure Triggers, How Does Epilepsy Form, Medical Things to Know, Before and After a Seizure, and some final notes

TRIGGER WARNINGS: Lots of medical talk (obviously seizures and epilepsy, but also brief mentions of concussions/brain injuries, brain tumors, strokes, surgery, and illness), brief mentions of alcohol/drugs and addictions to those (more in depth talks of marijuana), mentions of the keto diet, brief mention of death (specifically SUDEP)

CLICK HERE FOR THE GUIDE

[kari-writes-stuff]

30 Day Fluff Challenge! Every day for thirty days, you’ll be given a sugary sweet prompt.

“You’re my new pillow”

Making pancakes

Birthday

Messing around in IKEA

Painting together

Prom-posal

“If we both want to fit, we’ll have to cuddle”

Comfort food

“This is my favourite place in the whole world”

Wearing each other’s clothes

Crying during a movie

Baking

Getting dressed up for a completely casual date

Taking care of each other while sick

Buying each other a book

“I want to stay up with you”

Sleeping in the same bed for the first time

Pillow forts

Beach day

Drive in movie

Barbecue

Proposal

“Dance with me”

Making each other dinner

Regular at a coffee shop

“Come on. Tell me a story”

Taking care of an animal

Carnival / fair

One year anniversary

First date

Also see:

30 day AU challenge

30 day angst writing challenge

[kari-writes-stuff]

Hey um tulip is the mango doing the thing with there legs now

No...

But with Purple's help, he will.

[kari-writes-stuff]

Another kind of diversity we need in writing is protagonists without love interests. Give me adults with full-fledged stories that don't include falling in love.

#yeah this is why i worry about one of the stories im writing #cuz the mc and most the main characters wont have love interests me thinks #i like found family more #and while i know itll happen no matter what #id rather not have the characters be shipped #😬

[kari-writes-stuff]

Writers!!! Please interact with this post because I love having friends in the writing community and I want to hype up/support you and your work! I love handing out notes! Let’s follow each other and be each others’ fan boys/girls/folks!!

Literally down for meeting writers in pretty much any genre, I’m so experimental and eclectic these days. Just thought I’d announce this because it’s totally one of my reasons for being on here besides promoting my Hera trilogy (do check out my intro for more details on that, I’m super excited for its release very soon!) <3

#:)

[kari-writes-stuff]

How fucking annoying is it when you feel so restless with creative energy but you can’t decide what to do with it and when you finally try to create something it comes out shit so you just give up and sit there being all creatively annoyed and jittery.

#save #advice

[kari-writes-stuff]

hey i know a lot of you cannot donate, but wikipedia NEEDS money to keep functioning. AO3 was able to surpass their fundraising goal in days, but wikipedia has been trying to get donations for months now to no avail. that’s not a “don’t donate to AO3”, that’s a “also donate to wikipedia” or “donate to wikipedia instead, because AO3 is doing good”. if any of you can donate, please do. wikipedia is one of the best things to happen on the internet, and i would hate to see it with tons of ads or worse.

donate to wikipedia!!

[kari-writes-stuff]

Looking for Writeblrs!

Turns out when you create a whole new account, your dash is pretty sparse. I also just wanna make some friends XD SO. If you write about about any of these things, please reblog this or otherwise interact so I can check out your blog!

⁕ Women-centric Works ⁕ Fantasy ⁕ Horror (especially gothic) ⁕ Mental Illness ⁕ Non-human Characters ⁕ Sapphic Characters ⁕ Chronically Ill Characters ⁕ Various Shades of Morality for MCs ⁕

[kari-writes-stuff]

Black Horror Writers

Feeling a sudden desire, for whatever reason, to add some diversity to your bookshelf? Want to put a few bucks in the pockets of authors of color? Here’s a sampler platter to get you started. 

Tananarive Due A film historian and a hot name in horror fiction, Due is an outspoken academic and prolific author. Start with The Good House, a 2003 Gothic, if you’re a fan of haunted house stories.

Wrath James White A former athlete, White is a hugely prolific author of hardcore horror. You can start with The Resurrectionist, but honestly, with more than 35 books to choose from, you’ve got plenty of options.

Victor LaValle LaValle has only written four novels so far, but they’re well-regarded and rich narratives. The Changeling is the usual recommendation for a starting place.

Brandon Massey Southern Gothic themes woven through horror, suspense and urban themes - that’s Massey’s brand in a nutshell. He’s plenty prolific, so you’ve got a bunch to choose from. Maybe start with this year’s new release, The Quiet Ones.

Chesya Burke A prolific short story writer, Burke writes speculative fiction and comic books. If you’d like a collection of stories all in one place, try out Let’s Play White. If you’d rather do a novel, read The Strange Crimes of Little Africa.

Jemiah Jefferson Do you like pulpy erotic vampire horror? You don’t have to answer that. Just buy Jefferson’s books if you do. There’s a series, so you’ll want to start at the beginning with Voice of the Blood.

Michael Boatman An actor and screenwriter, Boatman is also a novelist. He writes splatterpunk that Joe Lansdale has praised, which is as fine an accolade as they come. The Revenant Road was his first novel. He also shows up in a ton of anthologies, so keep an eye out.

Helen Oyeyemi Oyeyemi is a rising star, Shirley Jackson Award finalist, scholar, a world traveler, among other things. Her most recent book, Gingerbread, came out in 2019. I think it would not be out of line to compare her to Angela Carter.

Maurice Carlos Ruffin A debut novelist, Ruffin’s work launched with a bang in February. His book We Cast a Shadow was long-listed for a stack of prizes, and as a scathing cultural sci-fi horror, it fits right in with the work of folks like Jordan Peele.

Nnedi Okorafor A Nigerian-American writer, Okorafor writes for both children and adults, and her stories have earned a whole stack of awards. She is, for the record, also disabled. She’s got a whole stack of YA and adult books to choose from, as well as comic books. Binti and its sequel are as good a place as any to start, though.

Jewelle Gomez Philanthropist, playwright, poet, author – Gomez dabbles in a lot of things, and she’s an outspoken voice for LGBTQ women of color. Check out The Gilda Stories if you’ve always wanted to read about a black lesbian vampire (and, let’s be honest, who hasn’t?)

PS: When you order, don’t waste your money on Amazon. Instead, use a service like https://bookshop.org/ that distributes your hard-earned cash to independent booksellers. Keep money in your community. 

PPS: I love Toni Morrison and Octavia Butler and also left them off the list because they’re well-known already and because I think it’s really important right now to support living artists, but you should check out their work too. 

[kari-writes-stuff]

ᴄʜᴀʀᴀᴄᴛᴇʀ ᴘᴇʀꜱᴏɴᴀʟɪᴛɪᴇꜱ (ᴍʏᴇʀꜱ-ʙʀɪɢɢꜱ)

tag yourself!

➼ recap: the Myers-briggs test is a personality test that helps you understand your personality. at the end of the test, you earn a four-letter acronym that helps you understand how you think and see [Extraversion / Introversion; Sensing / Intuition; Thinking / Feeling; Judging / Perceiving]. (see more)

➼ matching and understand these to your characters can help you understand what they would do in certain situations, and develop their personality via a vast trove of information online.

FAVORITE WORLD: Do you prefer to focus on the outer world or on your own inner world? This is called Extraversion (E) or Introversion (I).

INFORMATION: Do you prefer to focus on the basic information you take in or do you prefer to interpret and add meaning? This is called Sensing (S) or Intuition (N).

DECISIONS: When making decisions, do you prefer to first look at logic and consistency or first look at the people and special circumstances? This is called Thinking (T) or Feeling (F).

STRUCTURE: In dealing with the outside world, do you prefer to get things decided or do you prefer to stay open to new information and options? This is called Judging (J) or Perceiving (P).

~

ISTJ ➼ most reliable; organized, compulsive, trustworthy, follows rules and regulations, practical

ISFJ ➼ most loyal; easy to collaborate with, works behind the scenes, sacrifices readily, accountable

ISFP ➼ most artistic; warm, sensitive, unassuming, team player, in touch with self and nature

ISTP ➼ most pragmatic; observant, often seen as cold and aloof, practical, unpretentious, ready for anything

INTJ ➼ most independent; theoretical, skeptical, needs to be competent, sees world as chessboard, see things "my way"

INFP ➼ most idealistic; has strong personal values, seeks inner order and peace, creative, non directive, reserved with people

INTP ➼ most conceptual; challenges others to think, high need for competency, socially cautious, independent

ENFP ➼ most optimistic; people-oriented, creative, seeks harmony with others, life of the party, better at starting than finishing

ENTP ➼ most inventive; given to brinksmanship, tests limits, enthusiastic, innovative, enjoys arguing both sides, likes challenges

ENFJ ➼ most persuasive; charismatic, idealistic, ignores unpleasantness, sees the potential in others, compassionate

ENTJ ➼ most commanding; visionary, gregarious, argumentative, planner, leader, impatient with incompetence

ESFJ ➼ most harmonious; gracious, thoughtful, lives to please, has strong interpersonal skills, accomplished host/hostess

~

sources: via ; via ; via

[kari-writes-stuff]

[kari-writes-stuff]

ᴡʀɪᴛɪɴɢ ꜰɪɢʜᴛ ꜱᴄᴇɴᴇꜱ ɪɴ ᴛᴡᴇɴᴛʏ ᴘᴏɪɴᴛꜱ

how is this fight scene crucial to the plot?

how does it reinforce the characters' beliefs?

what are the stakes?

keep the action moving

keep sentences short and punchy

how does this impact the characters mentally?

remove unnecessary sentences

what mistakes reflect the character?

how do their flaws impact the fight?

what is the goal of the fight?

what started it?

would the plot be the same without the fight? in that case, you may not need it.

mix dialogue and action

read fight scenes—Macbeth, the princess bride, Percy Jackson

watch fight scenes and rewrite them in your own words

how does the setting affect the tone and mood?

avoid blow-by-blow

research the weapons and techniques used for accuracy

what are the characters thinking?

show the aftermath.

requested by anon