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Basing Your Society on Another

If you’re lost as to where to start with your world building, here are some credible websites that give you a basis to make your own culture. (Just a note, since this is regional, I’m grouping countries that are similar geographically. Also, this list has by no means every country, just some examples, in particular regions of the world) Have fun! (If not a writing tool, this may help if you’re about to travel :D)

North America

Native Americans

Mexico

Canada

United States (South)

United States (North)

United States (West)

Central America

Guatemala

Belize

El Salvador

Honduras

Nicaragua

Costa Rica

Panama

South America

Brazil

Chile

Peru

Colombia

Ecuador

Venezuela

Bolivia

Europe

Portugal

Spain

Scandinavia (Finland, Sweden, Norway, Denmark, Iceland, Greenland)

France

Germany

United Kingdom

Italy

Ukraine

Poland

Czech Republic

Greece

Romania

Africa

South Africa

Egypt

Morocco

Sudan

Madagascar

Somalia

Senegal

Central African Republic

Asia

China

India

Kazakhstan

Thailand

Vietnam

Indonesia

Korea

Japan

The Philippines

Uzbekistan

The Middle East

Saudi Arabia

Iran

Turkey

United Arab Emirates

Iraq

Syria

Israel

Jordan

Oman

Yemen

Bonus Round! Fictional Places

Westeros

Klingon Culture

Middle Earth

The Sovereign (Guardians of the Galaxy Vol 2)

Wonderland (sort of? mostly describes effects on society)

The best part of any world building is mixing and matching different traditions from all around the world to make something entirely creative and new. Good luck building your own!

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Writing Advice Master List

Getting Started

Bad Habits of Beginning Writers Creating Writing Habits Prewriting 101 Returning to Old Works Setting Up Your Space Starting Again (if you’ve stopped) Where to Start Writing the Beginning Writing What You Don’t Know 5 Truths About Being A Writer

Career as a Writer

Making Money Writing for a Living

Characters:

Character Building Character Quirks Non-Binary Characters Religious Characters Writing A Hero Writing Non-Humans Writing Women 5 Ways to Name Your Character 5 More Ways to Name Your Character 7 Steps to Character Creation

Dialogue:

Dialogue Improving Dialogue: Eliminate Exposition

FanFiction

Fanfiction 101

NaNoWriMo

NaNoWriMo Tips & Tricks for NaNoWriMo 3 Tips for NaNo

Planning & Outlines

How to Start Outlining Is My Idea Good Enough? Research Should you Outline? 7 Things to Do Before You Start

Plot:

Details Fight Scenes Sequels Sex Scenes Sexual Assault in Literature Story Arcs

Poetry

Editing Poetry Reading Poetry 5 Quick Poetry Tips

Publishing:

Choosing a Title Rejection Letters Social Media When and Where to Publish

Romance:

LGB Relationships Romantic Subplots Writing a Romance Novel

Setting:

Description When Setting Really Matters

World Building:

Creating Another Species Creating World Maps World Building 101 World Building 201

Other

Editing Making Time to Write Point Of View Prologues Why I Write Writers Block Writing with Sound 5 Signs You Treat Your Reader Like an Idiot

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How to: write pain

Don’t make paragraphs about it - battles are supposed to be fast-paced

Describe:

- the object used to harm the character

-where the injury is

-how long the character had had the injury

-how deep the cut is (for blades)

-whether or not the wound triggers other things (dizziness, bleeding)

There are different kinds of pain

punch/blunt force trauma:

-how it feels: aching, a single spike of pain before it fades into an ache, throbbing, numbness

-effects: swelling, bruising, broken bones, unconsciousness, dizziness, concussion, internal bleeding.

stab wound/cut

-how it feels: stinging (shallow wounds), burning

-effects: bleeding (the blood from arteries is a brighter red, like vermilion, the blood from veins is dark crimson), dizziness from the blood loss, unconsciousness, infection (if left unattended), death

gunshot

-how it feels: depends on the caliber bullet, from how far away they were shot and in what place

-effects: same as stab wounds

Things that an injured character may have/do

-heavy, harsh, ragged breathing

-panting, gasping, crying, grunting, hissing, groaning, whimpering, screaming, shrieking, clenching their teeth

-ears ringing, unable to speak

-pressing their hands on the injury to try and stop the bleeding, trembling, eyes rolling up into their head

-vision blurring, room spinning

Where to hit in a fight

temple and jaw - good for a knockout punch, but are near the skull so it will be dangerous if you miss (it can broke/dislocate your fingers)

nose/eyes - messes up the senses and distracts the opponent

neck: can mess up breathing, talking and the spinal cord

inner elbow: can disable the opponent’s arm

solar plexus: hard to hit but very effective

liver: causes immediate pain, dizziness and loss of breath

kidneys

groin

outer/inner thighs

knees

—————–

But not getting into a fight stops the injury for both the opponents :)

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oc interview game :)

I was tagged by @dam-those-words to do this ThInG.

My two ocs that will be interviewed are Alyster Bennett and Lorelle Lister. They are from back in the day, so they aren’t familiar with some of the terms used in the questions.

If anyone is confused with their relationship, They both hate each other, but Alyster shows sympathy for her in certain areas, it’s a long story lol

1. What is your full name?

“Lorelle Azalea Lister. Pleased to make your aquantince.” Lorelle curtsied, as a smile danced along her lips. Her smile was soon to fade as she saw who was sitting next to her.

“Alyster Henry Bennett, Of The Avirrer Empire, at your service.” A wide grin, a face he almost never made, was masked over his usually depressing nature. You could tell he was rather... uncomfortable sitting next to Lorelle. They both were.

2. What does your name mean?

Lorelle closed her eyes for a moment, as if the meaning was buried deep in her mind. She finally spoke, her voice warm and sweet, “Ah, yes, Little Laurel, I believe. My father’s name was Laurel.” She smiled at the memory, but he focus quickly snapped to Alyster.

Alyster pauses for a moment, in his opinion at the confusing meaning, as Lorelle was quite tall for her age. “Defender Of mankind, and peacemaker.”

Lorelle scoffed, and glared in his direction. “Peacemaker? You tried to hang me.”

“That was the plan.” He gritted his teeth in response, clutching the hilt of his sword.

3. Do you have any nicknames?

“...” Lorelle stares quizzically at the interviewer, then to Alyster. “What’s a nickname?”

“It’s a name people call you by, usually close friends, instead or your birth name.” The interviewer said, scribbling on his notepad.

“Alyster. It’s just Alyster.” Alyster said, as he and his, ‘friends’, kept it quite professional. Alyster shifted in his seat, expectantly waiting for Lorelle’s response in a mocking manner.

“Lor, I guess. It’s not used very much, though.” Lorelle crosses her arms, tired of Alysters frequently annoying personality.

4. And, what is your gender?

“I am a Women, clearly. I don’t know about Alyster, over here.” She raised her chin in his direction.

“I am a Man, Lady, so watch your tone.” Alyster clenched his fist, and Lorelle backed down almost immediately.

5. What’s your sexuality?

“I... WE refuse to answer that question,” Alyster closed his eyes and took a deep breathe, “...there is only God’s word to explain who we should love.” Alyster paused a moment, and looked into Lorelle’s eyes, with a hint of sadness.

“I...” Lorelle paused, she hated lying, but what else could she do, she knew the consequences, so did Alyster. “I of course would agree.” She whispered, in a low voice.

6. Okay then, where are you from?

“I am from Avirrer but of course, Prince Alyster Bennett, I faught in the Great War, Sire.” Alyster declared, proud, but in the back of his voice there was a cold, distant echo. Something that reminded everybody in the room of the years spent fighting in that nasty, cruel fight.

The sharp sound of a harsh breathe on Lorelle’s part, awoken the room from it’s dismay. “I”’ From Rowedale. No title, no golden throne on which I sit.” Lorelle spat at Alyster, at his glowing jewelry and shining sword.

The interviewer cleared their throat.

7. How old are you?

“27.” Alyster coughed over his answer, as he was much older than Lorelle. His body repositioned, in a more condfident pose, as he felt some what authority over her, even if he was hesitant to announce his age.

“16, and still smarter than his Highness.” Lorelle sighed through her nose, clearly annoyed at his unsessary reluctance and body language.

8. Any special talents of the sort?

“I wouldn’t say so. I just help my parents with a sewing buissness.” Lorelle spoke, her words coated with dismay as she wished she had something special to share.

“Being able to stay afloat in the swamp of work I’m given to do, does that count?” A sort chuckle escaped his mouth, but it’s faded out as the memories came back to him. Never being able to talk with his bride, constantly having expectations forced upon him.

9. Do you have kids?

“No. And I never will have a wife thanks to—“ he cut himself off, and glared at Lorelle, a burning flame alive in his eyes.

Lorelle avoided his gaze, but she wasn’t embarrassed. She just felt guilty, being part of the reason he lost his fianceé. “No.” That was her only answer, but she glazed her words with a cherry sound, trying to lighten the mood.

10. What’s your aesthetic?

“I have absolutely no idea what that is, Sire. Pardon my knowledge, care to explain what an... aesthetic is?” Alyster perked his head up at the new word rolling off his lips. The way he said it, jumping from one syllable to the next.

“It’s hard to explain... it’s things that remind you of... you.” The interviewer spoke, pausing every few seconds trying to explain.

“Books I guess. Papers, ink. Silver, a crown perhaps.” He gazed quizzically at Lorelle.

“Baking. Flowers. The forest at the edge of town...” she smiled at the thought of it.

11. Who’s your best friend?

“I... have but one. Basilea. I wouldn’t call her a friend but,” Her cheeks turned that of a Rose field. Bright and colorful, full of life. You could almost see straight through her chest and to her heart, that was beating faster than usual.

Alyster cleated his throat, and remained silent as he thought. “I do not have one. My brother, perhaps, but he has broken my trust as of late.” Alyster pinched the bridge of his nose, his eyes glazing over.

12. Would you ever get a tattoo?

“Heavens no!” Lorelle spat out, she then regained her manners and dusted off her skirt. “Pardon me, Sire, but I would never.” She spoke again, quieter.

Alyster let out a small chuckle, then composed himself. “I agree. I would never.” He glanced over at Lorelle, who was clearly embarrassed.

13. When are you your happiest?

“With my beloved, of course.” Lorelle faintly spoke, so quietly the interviewer barely heard.

“My happiness has been ripped from me, recently, and I’m trying to get it back. I’m unable to answer that question, currently.” Alyster sulked, depressingly and dull.

14. What’s your biggest, deepest secret?

“The reason I was almost hung.” Lorelle’s eyes danced in Alysters direction.

“I’m a coward. Almost died on the field couldn’t go back.” His eyes squinted as he looks past the interviewer. “Wish I could change my past, Sire.” He chuckled, “Don’t we all.”

15. What’s the first thing you notice about people?

“If they’re trying to kill me or not. It’s rather obvious, Sir. Hands on the hilt, eyebrows knit together.” She iterlaced her fingers together and set them gently in her lap.

Alyster paused slowly, “Their social class, possibly. Though I notice many things.” Alyster declared, picking through all the things he notices about people in his brain.

Welp that’s it lol hope you enjoyed reading. And who I tag, you may ask? YOU! I’m tagging whoever is reading this because I have no friends ;-;

Have a good day :)

#writing #writing ocs #WIP #writing wip #tag game #oc #oc art #oc writing #oc prompt #writeblr

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How to learn languages by being lazy

So, today I’m gonna talk about how I learned 7 languages (English, Spanish, French, German, ASL, Libras, LSM) by being lazy as f**ck.

The first thing you need to understand is that you need to put your target language on your routine just as your native language. Then, here we go.

• Listen Just as your native language, it’s very important to listen every single day on the language you’re learning. You can totally do it by listening to a song or a podcast itself.

• Talk Make native or fluent friends in your TL (you can use apps/sites as Lingbe, Tandem, Interpals) and speak to them, sending audios and texts. A great way to practice almost everyday in a really cool way.

• Play Playing games it’s also a awesome way: you’ll become kinda addicted to it, then yay, you’re practicing it everyday in a entertaining mode. This can give you hella vocabulary too.

• Read Reading books (short stories on Wattpad can be great), quotes, newspaper and magazines is a good option as well.

• Watch

I’m pretty sure you love to watch TV shows, TV programs, videos on YouTube, so why not watch all of it in your target language?

You can totally watch your favorite program/tv show dubbed, cool videos and etc.

Tip: if you have Netflix, change the idiom of your profile and pum, it’ll appears lots and lots of movies and tv shows in that language. If you don’t, you can just search on YouTube the movie title that it’ll show.

• Write

Writing a diary (what happened in your day, how you’re feeling…) or stories or poems in your TL can help a lot too. Don’t worry about grammar or vocabulary mistakes, just write, you should do the corrections later.

These are general topics, there may be things that aren’t in your native language routine, so you can also modify this.

I hope this helps you guys, any doubts you can totally ask me! Greetings from Brazil! :)

[supersockosis]

Drawing Faces (A Collage of Tips)

Hey hey! We just drew a cute sketch of one of the alters in our system (Ava) and, since we’re really happy with it, we’ll share some proportion and facial construction tips that will hopefully help you with drawing too. 

Picture for example above, explanation/details are below each picture. 

The center of the eye almost always lines up with the corners of the lips (approximately–some people have slightly smaller or larger lips). If you’re confused about the size of the mouth, but the eyes look great, just draw a line down from the center of each eye and you’ll have the exact size of the mouth you need!

It’s approximately five eyes that go across the face (depending on your style, play with this a little). The head wraps in a circle, so if the end eyes go over that’s cool, especially when drawing the face at an angle or in a semi-realistic style like this. 

The key part is that one eye width is in between both eyes. This helps remain as a guide for typical eye-to-eye distance. Then, if you have a character who has wider or closer together eyes, you can change that consciously! 

Enticing eyelashes have movement! They essentially work like arrows from the center of the eye. Upper eyelashes curve in the opposite direction of the lower eyelashes (directions are on the left side of the above picture). 

Just make sure they curve, no one has straight eye lashes (unless you’re deliberately using that for stylistic effect)!

Hair has lots of movement too! Drawing arrows to start getting a sense of direction can be a great place to start. Start the arrow where the hair is attached to the head or pinned (like with a clip or hair tie) and then fan out from there. 

Draw hair in sections/chunks that vary in size. See how some are thin sections and others are thicker? Typically on the edges of hair it’s thiner (like by the face, edges of the hair/outline) and in the center of sections it’s thicker. 

As always, don’t be afraid to use references so you can see how hair falls on the shape of a human head!

A little neck trick: There is a V of muscles that connects near the collarbones and all the way up to under the ear. Make sure this V is something you draw (even if you erase it because your character has a thicker neck). The thinnest part of the neck cannot be thinner than this V.

Also, shoulder muscles start pretty soon after the neck, so see that thick red line on the side? That’s where the V and the shoulder muscles (the ones that get really sore on all of us) coming around the back connect. This gentle V will add a much more realistic look to the necks you draw and help the head look properly supported! 

Best wishes with your drawing!

-Arien (& Bael)

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30min warm up doodle(s)

Art/Character©Boyybites

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OC Art Prompt time!

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Me: Why can’t I use [social media app]

Parents: because we don’t want you posting pictures of yourself.

Also Parents: *posts 1 million pics of me of their Facebook wiTHOUT MY CONSENT*

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OC Drawing Prompts!

Reblog for others to send emojis to your ask box (or just draw what you want)!

✂️ Hair Swap - Draw an OC with the hairstyle of another character

📕 Books - Draw an OC reading their favorite book in their favorite spot

🌧 Rainy Day - Draw your OC out in the rain, with or without an umbrella

❤️ Love - Draw your OC with their romantic partner(s)

💔 Heartbreak - Draw your OC experiencing heartbreak

🌈 Pride - Draw any LGBT+ OC celebrating pride of their identity

💧 Tears - Draw your OC crying, either lightly or heavy sobs

🌸 Flower - Draw your OC in a flower crown

⭐️ Divinity - Draw your OC as a deity, in godlike clothing

👑 Royalty - Draw your OC as royalty with a crown that fits their personality

👩‍👩‍👧‍👦 Family - Draw your OC with one or more members of their immediate family

👕 Outfit Swap - Draw your OC in the clothes of another OC

🌙 Bedtime - Draw your OC in their pajamas

🗡 Adventure - Draw your OC as if they were a fantasy adventurer

🔮 Magic - Draw your OC as a magic being/using magic

💊 Medic - Draw your OC having wounds patched up

🌎 Culture - Draw your OC in clothes and/or doing actions that represent their culture

🕷 Spooky - Draw your OC terrified/facing their biggest fear

😡 Rage - Draw your OC the maddest they’ve ever been

✏️ School - Draw your OC in a school uniform, either as when they were a child or as an adult

🎩 Dapper - Draw your OC in fancy dinner party clothes

🏖 Beach Day - Draw your OC in their swimsuit, or whatever they would typically wear to the beach

❄️ Arctic - Draw your OC in heavy winter clothing

🐻 Species Swap - Draw a human OC as an animal, or an animal oc as a human

⚰️ Death - Draw your OC as a ghost

🍭 Candy - Draw your OC in candy clothes

💫 Galaxy - Draw your OC with a space/galaxy aesthetic

🤖 Robot - Draw your OC as a robot (or draw your robot OC as a human)

📜 Old Times - Draw your OC in old-fashioned

🔧 Job Swap - Draw your OC wearing the uniform and doing the job of another OC

🎥 Star - Draw your OC as a moviestar

🛏 Sleep - Draw your OC napping, in their bed or in an inconvenient or strange location

🍎 Food - Draw your OC enjoying their favorite food

[supersockosis]

Writing great friendships

Some of the best chemistry/relationships in fiction exist between characters who are/become friends. Here are some tips for making friendships come alive on the page:

1. Banter

One of the most interesting aspects of fictional friendships is the way the characters interact with each other whilst important plot points are occurring.

If your characters have easy banter, teasing one another without missing a beat and managing to bounce off each other even in the toughest circumstances, it will be clear to the reader that these two are/should be good friends.

Friends know each other well. They know the other’s character so well that they can easily find something to tease each other over. However, this also means knowing which topics are off-limits.

If you want to write a good, healthy friendship, your characters shouldn’t use humour/sarcasm as a way to hurt the other. It should be good-natured and understood as such from both sides.

Different friendships will have different types of chemistry. Some friends may tease each other with facial expressions. Others may already anticipate a snarky remark and counter it before it’s been spoken. Others will have physical ways of goofing around. 

Some friends might not tease each other at all. Banter isn’t necessary; it’s just a good way to make your characters come alive and make their friendship one that is loved by readers.

What’s important is chemistry - the way they automatically react to each other.

Think Sam and Dean in Supernatural or Juliette and Kenji in the Shatter Me series.

2. Mutual support 

Unless you purposefully want to write an unhealthy/toxic friendship, your characters should both be supportive of the other. 

This means that, even if one is the MC and the other the side-kick, both should be cognisant of the other’s feelings and problems, and should be considerate in this regard.

Few things will make your MC as likable as remembering to check in and be there for their best friend even when they are in the thick of a crisis.

You need to show your characters being vulnerable in front of each other and being supportive in ways that are tailored to the needs of each friend.

So, if one of the characters really responds to physical comfort, the other should know to give hugs/rub their back when they’re not feeling well. Similarly, if one of them doesn’t like being touched and responds to material comfort, have the other bring them ice cream and join them for a movie marathon. Whatever works for your characters.

What gets me every time is when a character is falling apart and won’t listen to/be consoled by anyone but their best friend (but this is just personal preference).

3. Knowing the other’s past/family life

This really only applies to characters who have been friends for quite a while.

Good friends know each other’s backstory - the highs and lows and mundane details. They know they layout of their family home and they probably know their family members well.

Friends will often talk about these things, only having to mention a few words for the other to know what they’re talking about i.e. “The ‘09 Thanksgiving disaster” or “You know how Uncle Fred is”

This will instantly make it clear that your characters are close and have come a long way together. 

Perhaps there are issues at home/trauma from the past that the other character will immediately understand. So, if one character appears with a black eye, their friend might know that the father was probably drunk the night before and got violent. Or if the character has a nightmare, the friend might know that it was about childhood abuse etc.

This can also apply to good things i.e. if one of the characters gets a nice note in their lunchbox, the other might know that their grandma is in town.

Whatever works for your story should be used to indicate the level of unspoken understanding the friends have.

4. Being protective

Few things will make your readers love a friendship more than the friends being fiercely protective of each other (in a healthy, non-territorial way).

Has someone hurt one of the characters? The other should be furious and want to exact revenge. Does someone say something demeaning to one of the friends? The other should defend them immediately and vehemently.

This can also take on a humorous twist if one of the characters starts dating someone. The friend can make extra sure that said date is sincere and promise to exact vengeance if their friend is hurt.

This can also be a great plot device, since it could explain why the MC’s best friend joins the quest/goes along on the journey. Perhaps this is the main plot point: a character seeking to protect/avenge their friend.

If you want to go in a toxic direction, this can be taken too far i.e. a friend who never lets the other spend time with anyone else/stalks the other/is patronising etc.

5.  Common interest(s)

Even if the two characters are vastly different, there should be something that keeps them together besides loyalty.

This is especially important for characters who become friends throughout the course of the novel.

This doesn’t have to mean that both of them go hiking every weekend or want to become pilots one day. It could be something small, like a love of cheesy movies or a shared taste in music. Maybe they both enjoy silence/don’t like other people. Maybe they are both social justice warriors, but for different causes. 

This could also be common characteristics instead of interests. Perhaps both are very ambitious/funny/social.

There should just be some factor that ignited the friendship and brings the two of them together.

This doesn’t necessarily have to be a big part of your story, but you should at least have it mentioned to make the friendship appear more authentic.

Reblog if you found these tips useful. Comment if you would like a Part 2. Follow me for similar content.

[supersockosis]

hello :) I was wondering (if you haven’t answered this before) if you had any tips on how to perfectly write an OC? For example, how to get their actions/words to relate to their personality. I understand if it's hard to understand, I can always elaborate more! Thank you☺️

Writing Realistic Characters

The most important thing you can do when crafting characters is to not overthink personality. Human personality isn’t some kind of mystery. You’ve been experiencing personalities your entire life. Every single person you’ve ever known has had a personality. YOU have a personality… And if you think about yourself and the people you know, you’ll see that personality also isn’t this vast, complicated thing that adheres to rules and absolutes. A person who has an upbeat, bubbly personality can still be angry or sad. A person who’s timid and quiet can still have moments where they’re outgoing. What matters is that there’s a reason for the change. Maybe the timid person is only that way around strangers, but they blossom around small groups of people they know well. Maybe the bubbly person gets upset or angry only in the face of injustice. There’s no right or wrong. It’s up to you to figure it out. The best thing you can do is just think about people you know or characters you’ve seen on TV. Think about how rich and vibrant their personalities are. Start by modeling your character’s personality after someone you know, but don’t be afraid to stray from that, too. Just follow your gut. Write what makes sense to you! If you’ve been around people your whole life as most of us have, it’s very hard to get personality wrong. :)

[supersockosis]

:(

dude, c'mon, join the hive mind already

[supersockosis]

worldbuilding: problems

there’s no place where everything runs smoothly. every country has it’s problems. that might be poverty, weak government, fake news, gun violence, or abuse of magical abilities. it could really be anything. so what’s wrong with your world?

what could go wrong:

poverty

corrupt government (a few infiltrations? biased officials? a dictator?)

discrimination/persecution of any kind (sexism, racism, religion, anything that makes someone unique)

violence (gangs, guns, magic, sexual assault)

failing economy

counterfeits (money, expensive products, anything)

drugs (fake drugs, very real and dangerous drugs)

weak government (ie. the government isn’t necessarily corrupt, but no one listens to them and they have no real power at all so everyone just runs amok)

environmental crisis

relations with other countries/regions

war

fake news (can be something smaller like what goes around on the internet today, or something as horrible as the propaganda the axis powers fed their people about the allied powers)

scarcity

terrorist groups

stereotypes (remember, even seemingly positive stereotypes can be damaging)

manipulation/using people

there’s a whole lot more, get creative! as saddening as this will be, scrolling through news articles will give you some good inspiration because our world is pretty messed up

how to choose which problems to include

what is your world like? as obvious as this probably sounds, your world’s problems are directly related to the things in your world. choose pretty much any element of your world, however small it may seem, and there can be made a problem out of it.

in a world of magic:

magic can be abused

magic can be faked (ie. in harry potter, around exam season, students sell items that “enhance your brain” or whatever when it’s really pixie poop, i’m not even kidding)

discrimination between magical and non magical people (muggleborns vs. purebloods)

people rely too much on magic and become weak (a great example of this is the Renegades series, where the non prodigies depend on the prodigies way too much)

non magic people using magical people (or magical people using other magicals, ex. grindelwald/percival graves using creedence to find the obscurial)

really, the problems for a magical world are endless - you can use regular real-life problems with a twist. the magical government lies to the public, buying out the main news source? people of pure magical lineage are somehow better than those related to non magical people? harry potter is a fantastic example of magical worldbuilding, steal stuff from jkr (but don’t make gay characters who are never actually gay)

in a world of science:

i’m a big fantasy nerd, much less sci-fi, so i don’t really have any good examples from books/movies, but here are some ideas anyway

the people who live on a different planet are starting to run out of resources and take over the earth (literally the plot of the Lunar Chronicles series)

the government is testing out new sciencey techy stuff and they accidentally make superhuman demon things (Incredibles, but they’re nice guys, not demon things, except maybe jack jack but he’s a cutie don’t hurt him)

terrorist groups steal a smart guy to make weapons for them (Iron Man)

the world is dying 

two + planets are fighting over something

technology/inventions/whatever can be abused

wow these are terrible i’m sorry i need to read more sci-fi

again, you can take regular real world problems and put a sciencey twist on them; a gang that kills people with laserbeam contact lenses, a new invention that uses a very rare element that’s important to the ecosystem and is starting to destroy the planet, the little robots we send to mars become self aware and build a colony of robots. go off sis

[supersockosis]

A Flirting Guide For Writers (And Real World Usage)

I reblogged a post a day or so ago, and the result (which made me sad) was mostly people saying that they feel they cannot flirt (and therefore cannot write it effectively). 

So I thought I’d share my own, admittedly limited, knowledge (under the guise of writing advice) so that you can all write kick-ass romance and show your feelings like the boss-ass-bitches you are! 

The Basics; Eye-Contact, Personal Space, Body Language

The thing about flirting is that most of it is non-verbal, and the world is split between those writers who find this part the easiest, and those who find it the most incomprehensible. 

The problem is that it’s all dependent on a fine, mostly unspoken, line which makes the interaction creepy if crossed. When writing a character who is trying to flirt with someone, or when trying to flirt with someone yourself, you need to keep three main things in mind; personal space, body language, and potential restriction. This is especially important for men. The problem is that this is mostly instinctual, and so it can be hard to write if you haven’t had time to develop the right skills yourself. 

Personal space

When trying to show that your character is flirting you need to make a note of them moving into the other person’s personal space but not too much. Consider this; someone leaning into your space just a little to speak to you versus someone being practically nose to nose with you. One catches your attention, the other is uncomfortable at best and intimidating at worst. The idea is to lean in enough to show interest and create a sense of intimacy, without becoming overbearing or threatening. As a rule, I find that I begin to feel uncomfortable if a man I’m not sure of gets closer than the distance it would take to perform a ballroom Waltz. 

To get an idea of how that looks, hold up your hand at arms length as if pushing someone away or pressing against a wall. Now slowly bend your elbow until the point sits just under your breast or pectoral muscle. 

That’s the maximum personal space invasion I allow from people I don’t know well. In my experience, this is common to many women, though others prefer more space. Likewise, in my experience, men I have met seemed perfectly comfortable with me being closer than even that, but I am small, relatively unthreatening, and we have to allow for the fact that we were in the position of viewing each other as romantic interests. Men may prefer more space from other men, or from individuals that they do not see in a romantic light already. This changes from person to person, and noting your characters preference is a good way to show what kind of person they are.

Eye-Contact 

Another fundamental which relies on instinct subtlety; conventional wisdom says that you should make eye-contact in order to show interest. Actual wisdom will also tell you that too much becomes intense and a little creepy. If your character holds someone’s eye for too long its becomes fixative rather than flirtatious; it becomes staring. Depending on your character and their interest this can either read as obsessive, creepy, or aggressive. 

Flirtatious eye contact can take a few forms; 

1 - the “getting caught” method where a person looks at someone and quickly looks away again. When caught have your character (or yourself) look away quickly and then back, hold eye contact for a few moments and then acknowledge the other person. A smile, wink, or nod will suffice for this. 

2 - the “lash” method where someone, usually a woman, catches their crushes eye, looks down, and then back up from under the lashes. Also very effective when done by men with big eyelashes. 

3 - the “full cheese” method by which someone winks, grins, or wiggles their eyebrows. This is effective when used sparingly. 

If your character also touches the person they are flirting with lightly, this will build tension. The touch should be gentle, but obviously deliberate. Avoid possessive gestures like gripping or pulling, however. 

Body Language

When flirting, the body language of both people is important; your character should watch their crush for signs of interest and/or discomfort. 

Positive signs; leaning in, touching, playing with hair, smiling, licking or biting lips, tilting their head slightly, mirroring. 

Negative signs; leaning away, crossing arms, pursing lips, refusing to make eye-contact, raising their shoulders, crossing their legs away from the other person, frowning, clenching jaw, balling fists. 

This body language can apply to both characters in the scene. 

Advanced Techniques; Verbal Cues, Suggestions, And Other Senses

This is the shit I thrive on, as a writer you will probably feel the same way; I notice the sounds, smells, and textures of another person as well as what they say (in fact, when you read my work you’ll notice that the smell of any romantic lead is noted upon more than once). 

Verbal Cues

This is the thing that most people focus upon when it comes to discussions or attempts at flirtation. The verbal sparring that comes with flirting is what really gets our stomachs churning and our hearts pulsing… but why are some people so naturally good at it, while others are… less so? 

And why does some of the most vapid and run-of-the-mill stuff seem to work between the right people? 

Well, the sad news for your unlovely characters is that physical attraction makes us more likely to respond to even the most poorly constructed of verbal flirtation. Then again, beauty is in the eye of the beholder so even the least pretty of characters could find themselves flirting up a storm with the right person. 

Verbal cues include; 

- Gentle teasing 

- Compliments

- Inside jokes

- Using someone’s name (yes, really)

- Asking questions and responding in a thoughtful way

- Sexual innuendo (when used tastefully and sparingly)

Suggestion

This is the easiest to miss or overshoot because it’s a combination of everything else we’ve already covered. For example, your character saying to a friend, 

“I’m just going to hop into the shower, talk soon.” 

Is not a suggestive statement. Now imagine your character flirting with someone on the phone before sighing and saying, 

“I’m going to take a shower… I’ll speak to you soon, ok?”

The difference is subtle but important; the second suggests that they don’t want to stop talking to the other person, that they definitely want to speak to them again as soon as possible, and subtly encourages the other person to consider them in the shower. You see? 

Easy to miss, easy to fudge. Suggestion is hard to pull off, and hard to write, but think of it this way - suggestion;

1) Encourages the other person to think of you/your character in an intimate way

2) Implies enjoyment in and desire for their presence

3) Is open-ended and encourages reciprocation

The Other Senses

This is not so much flirting, but the act of making your character/yourself as appealing as possible to another. Personal hygiene, a good fashion sense, and good manners are a part of this.

But - 

When writing about this you should not discuss it directly unless your character is making a conscious choice. Instead, focus on the character that yours is focussed upon. 

- How do they smell?

- What are the textures of their clothes?

- What manners do they affect?

- Does their voice have a texture?

- Do they touch your character a lot? 

- Do they note upon your characters smell or noticeably try to take in their smell? 

- Do they react noticeably to your character’s voice or mannerisms?

This is just a basic guide, of course, but if you get this down you’re in a good position to build romantic tension in every walk of life!

If you found this post useful and you want to help keep me writing, you can support me through Kofi!

[supersockosis]

how not to start your story

the beginning of your story is arguably the most important part - it determines if your reader will put it down or keep reading. here are a list of overused, cheesy ways to start your story that you should definitely avoid using. 

onomatopoeia!!! god, this one is absolutely terrible. in school, i’ve been taught that this is a good way to “hook” your reader, which is frankly garbage advice. it’s incredibly overused and probably my least favorite way to start a story ever. if anyone ever advises me to do this, i never listen to any other advice they offer.

full names. like “Harry James Potter didn’t know it yet, but he was a famous wizard”. it’s very overused. it’s also especially bad if the other names are never used again, because, well, what was the point of that intro then? none. no point. 

extensive descriptions are not only boring in the middle of the book, they are especially bad when placed in the beginning because the reader isn’t looking for the perfect image of a rainy day, they want a hook. they already know what a rainy day, sunset, or a dingy hotel room looks like. 

infodumps are ocassionally acceptable in writing, but again, if placed in the beginning, they will bore your reader. give them a little action!

the start of a story needs to be simple, because the reader is new to this world. adding in more than about 4 characters will confuse your reader. if you confuse the reader, they’ll assume the rest of the book is like this as well, and put your book back on the shelf. 

that’s all for this post, y’all, good luck and keep working on your wips! 

[supersockosis]

Hi, I'm rereading some of my work and I notice that most of the sentences start with a subject and it tends to get really annoying after a while. Any tips on other ways I could start my sentences?

How to Diversify Your Sentence Structure

This is a really common problem that I think a lot of writers have! Having a repetitive sentence structure without variation can make your prose really choppy, boring and difficult to read, while overall weakening your voice.

Here are some techniques to help you change things up a bit!

Switch around your subject

Very basic grammar: Every sentence has a subject and a predicate. I think when we think of subject in a sentence, we often think of person. This might be especially true in creative writing because we deal with characters.

For example:

Amelia opened her front door and walked outside. She felt a cold breeze blow through her. She realized that she wasn’t dressed appropriately for the weather. Amelia turned around and went back inside to grab a jacket.

In this example, Amelia is the subject of every single sentence, and a verb is followed immediately afterward. Because every sentence begins with ‘Amelia’ or ‘she’, there’s no variety and it’s a little bit boring to read. 

Here’s what it could look like if I switched the subject around somewhere.

She felt a cold breeze blow through her.

A cold breeze blew through her.

The difference is subtle, but now the subject of the sentence is the breeze, not Amelia. The sentence structure is still the same: The subject is followed by a verb. However, because the subject is different from Amelia, it still brings variety to how your sentences read. 

Here’s what it looks like now:

Amelia opened her front door and walked outside. A cold breeze blew through her. She realized that she wasn’t dressed appropriately for the weather. Amelia turned around and went back inside to grab a jacket.

Now that every sentence doesn’t begin with “Amelia” or “she” it seems a little bit more interesting.

Put dependent clause before subject 

So we changed one subject in a sentence, but we still have multiple sentences that have Amelia as the subject. It still doesn’t have too much variety in sentence structure, and as a result, it can be stilted.

So let’s try bringing a dependent clause before the subject.

She realized that she wasn’t dressed appropriately for the weather. Amelia turned around and went back inside to grab a jacket.

Realizing that she wasn’t dressed appropriately for the weather, Amelia turned around and went back inside to grab a jacket.

By bringing ‘realizing’ before the subject, I created a dependent clause and succeeded making the first word something other than the subject. 

However, because it’s a dependent clause, ‘realizing that she wasn’t dressed appropriately’ is a sentence fragment — it’s an incomplete thought. So I combined it with the last sentence to make it complete.

So after those two techniques, let’s compare the original with the rewrite.

Original

Amelia opened her front door and walked outside. She felt a cold breeze blow through her. She realized that she wasn’t dressed appropriately for the weather. Amelia turned around and went back inside to grab a jacket. 

Rewrite

Amelia opened her front door and walked outside. A cold breeze blew through her. Realizing that she wasn’t dressed appropriately for the weather, Amelia turned around and went back inside to grab a jacket.

Now because there’s a variety in sentence structure and subject, the paragraph  is not only more interesting to read, it also flows better and more smoothly. It also has the added bonus of diverse sentence lengths which was lacking before, and it helps make the writing more engaging.

I just wanted to note: there is nothing bad about having your subject as the first word in a sentence. I don’t want anyone to feel like they have to change every single sentence they ever wrote. Like in my example, the first sentence starts with Amelia. That’s fine.

The problem is that when every single sentence starts that way, it becomes repetitive. You can still have some sentences that start with your character, just make sure to throw in some other sentence structures, and your writing will be more engaging!

Outside of this specific example, you can also try playing around with dependent clauses in your existing sentences as well.

Jamie walked into the haunted house, despite her reluctance.

Despite her reluctance, Jamie walked into the haunted house.

The sentence is the exact same, but I just switched around where the dependent clause ‘despite her reluctance’ is placed. Even though it has the same meaning, it can provide a different feel or at the very least, switch up having your subject as the first word of every sentence.

I also talk about this in my guide about how to make your writing flow better. Sentence structure has a lot to do with making your writing sound cohesive and eloquent, so I would definitely recommend checking that out as well!

Thanks so much for asking Anon, I definitely struggled with this too when I was just starting out. I remember seeing how every single paragraph started with a name, and that was really annoying me, but I had trouble figuring out how to fix it. I hope this helped!