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hayatheauthor · 8 days

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Writing Rage: How To Make Your Characters Seem Angry

Anger is a powerful emotion that can add depth and intensity to your character's personality. If you're facing issues realistically expressing your characters' rage, here are some quick tips to help you get the ball rolling. Whether your character is seething with quiet rage or exploding in a fit of fury, these tips will help you convey their emotions vividly to your readers.

Facial Expressions

Furrowed Brows: Describe the deep lines between their eyebrows, signaling frustration or intensity.

Tightened Jaw: Mention their clenched jaw, indicating suppressed anger or tension.

Narrowed Eyes: Highlight how their eyes narrow, showing suspicion, irritation, or anger.

Raised Upper Lip: Note the slight curl of the lip, suggesting disdain or contempt.

Flared Nostrils: Describe how their nostrils flare, indicating heightened emotions like anger or aggression.

Body Language and Gestures

Crossed Arms: Show their defensive stance, portraying resistance or defiance.

Pointing Finger: Describe them pointing accusatively, conveying aggression or assertion.

Fist Clenching: Mention their clenched fists, symbolizing anger or readiness for confrontation.

Hand Gestures: Detail specific hand movements like chopping motions, indicating frustration or emphasis.

Aggressive Posturing: Describe them leaning forward, invading personal space to intimidate or assert dominance.

Posture

Tense Shoulders: Highlight their raised or tense shoulders, indicating stress or readiness for conflict.

Upright Stance: Describe their rigid posture, showing control or a desire to appear strong.

Stiff Movements: Mention their jerky or abrupt movements, reflecting agitation or impatience.

Eye Contact

Intense Stares: Describe their intense or prolonged gaze, signaling confrontation or challenge.

Avoiding Eye Contact: Note how they avoid eye contact, suggesting discomfort or a desire to disengage.

Glaring: Mention how they glare at others, conveying hostility or disapproval.

Dialogue

Raised or strained tone with variations in pitch reflects heightened emotions.

Short, clipped sentences or abrupt pauses convey controlled anger.

Use of profanity or harsh language intensifies verbal expressions of anger.

Volume increase, from whispers to shouts, mirrors escalating anger levels.

Monotonous or sarcastic tone adds layers to angry dialogue.

Interruptions or talking over others signify impatience and frustration.

Aggressive verbal cues like "I can't believe..." or "How dare you..." express anger explicitly.

Reactions

Physical Reactions: Detail physical responses like increased heart rate, sweating, or trembling, showing emotional arousal.

Defensive Maneuvers: Describe how they react defensively if someone tries to touch or talk to them, such as stepping back or raising a hand to ward off contact.

Object Interaction

Aggressive Handling: Show them slamming objects, throwing things, or gripping items tightly, reflecting anger or aggression.

Use of Props: Mention how they use objects to emphasize their emotions, like slamming a door or clenching a pen.

Descriptive Words:

Verbs:

Roared with fury, expressing unbridled anger.

Snapped in frustration, indicating sudden irritation.

Shouted angrily, releasing pent-up emotions.

Glared fiercely, showing intense displeasure.

Slammed objects in rage, symbolizing anger's physical manifestation.

Grunted in annoyance, displaying impatience.

Raged vehemently, portraying uncontrolled anger.

Adjectives:

Furious and incensed, conveying intense anger.

Seething with rage, bubbling beneath the surface.

Livid and fuming, exhibiting visible anger.

Agitated and irritated, showing growing impatience.

Enraged and wrathful, expressing extreme anger.

Vexed and irate, indicating annoyance.

Infuriated and incandescent, highlighting explosive anger.

Looking For More Writing Tips And Tricks?

Are you an author looking for writing tips and tricks to better your manuscript? Or do you want to learn about how to get a literary agent, get published and properly market your book? Consider checking out the rest of Haya’s book blog where I post writing and publishing tips for authors every Monday and Thursday! And don’t forget to head over to my TikTok and Instagram profiles @hayatheauthor to learn more about my WIP and writing journey!

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novlr · 3 months

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How do you write characters who ignore their feelings

When you write characters who ignore their feelings, you delve into a complex psychological landscape that, if done well, can resonate deeply with readers. These characters are walking contradictions, their emotions simmering just beneath the surface. This tension between their inner experiences and external expressions makes them fascinating and relatable to readers.

Behaviour

Disregard their own emotional well-being

Focus on logic and facts

Appear stoic or unfazed in stressful scenarios

Engage in compulsive behaviours as a distraction

Will take on burdens without complaining

Avoid conversations about their feelings

Can be reliable in a crisis

Immerse themselves in work or hobbies

Seen as cold or insensitive by others

Exhibit control issues, and micromanaging tendencies

Interactions

Difficulty forming deep, emotional connections

Uncomfortable with physical displays of affection

Struggle to empathise with others’ feelings

Change the subject when discussions turn emotional

Appear indifferent or detached in social settings

Perceived as blunt or straightforward in their communication

Offer practical solutions to problems, rather than emotional support

Have a small, close-knit circle of friends, if any

Inadvertently hurt others by dismissing their emotions

Often seen as the ‘rock’ or ‘anchor’ by their peers

Body language

Cross arms or create physical barriers when emotional topics arise

Maintain a steady, controlled posture

Rarely exhibit nervous ticks or fidgeting

Minimal eye contact during emotional conversations

Often have a rigid or stiff walk or stance

Avoid touch or recoil slightly from unexpected contact

Neutral or hard to read facial expressions

Look away or distance themselves from emotional displays

Rarely cry or show signs of emotional distress in public

Likely to control voice pitch and volume meticulously, even when agitated

Attitude

A practical and no-nonsense demeanour

Often skeptical of emotional reasoning or decisions

May seem dismissive or cynical about sentimentality

Value strength, self-sufficiency, and independence

Pride themselves on not ‘giving in’ to emotions

Can be incredibly self-disciplined and focused

View emotional displays as weaknesses or inconveniences

Have a strong drive to maintain composure under pressure

Sometimes accused of lacking passion or enthusiasm

Can come across as disinterested or aloof

Positive story outcomes

Learn to acknowledge and accept their emotions in a healthy way

Build stronger, more genuine relationships through vulnerability

Find themselves more at peace after emotional breakthroughs

Gain respect from others for their growth and emotional maturity

Overcome past traumas that caused them to suppress their feelings

Develop a more balanced approach to problem-solving

Become a role model for others struggling with emotional expression

Facilitate a cathartic moment that resolves a central conflict

Experience personal breakthroughs leading to unexpected joy

Discover hidden strengths through the acceptance of weakness

Negative story outcomes

Relationships may deteriorate because of emotional neglect

They could face a breakdown from accumulated stress

Might cause unintended harm to themselves or others

Risk becoming isolated because of their lack of emotional openness

Can suffer from health issues related to suppressed emotions

Might miss out on life-changing opportunities because of fear of vulnerability

Could be overtaken by their emotions in a critical moment

May lose the trust or respect of peers who crave emotional honesty

Potentially fail to resolve a major conflict because of emotional barriers

Their growth as a character might stagnate, leading to a tragic outcome

Helpful Vocabulary

Aloof

Detached

Dismissive

Stoic

Impassive

Restrained

Unflappable

Resolute

Suppressed

Guarded

Inexpressive

Dispassionate

Self-contained

Unemotional

Nonreactive

Disconnected

Inhibited

Controlled

Reticent

Reserved

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drgrlfriend · 9 months

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Comments versus Bookmarks on AO3

A few people seemed appreciative of my post about how to use AO3's Marked for Later feature, so I thought I'd follow up with another tip about comments versus bookmarks. As part of the amazing @justleaveacommentfest I noticed a few people mentioned leaving nice comments in bookmarks, and I thought it might help to have a little info about how comments are different from bookmarks, and why it's better to send a comment if you want to make an author happy or make fandom friends or have an interesting discussion.

Bookmarks *are* viewable by everyone, unless you make them private. If you plan to say anything negative in your bookmark, please make it private. It's not really the flip side, however, that leaving positive statements in your bookmarks will reach the author, though.

Most authors are alerted when they get new comments, either through their dashboard or via email if they choose, or both. Yay! Serotonin boost, and also the ability to reply back and start a conversation! Plus, readers can have great discussions with each *other* in the comments section of a fic! If you're super into a fic you can read comments on the chapter even years later, and sometimes find the author adding additional thoughts or discussing their thought process while writing! It's like DVD extras for fanfic! (Do kids these days know what DVD extras are any more? Damned if I know).

You don't really know, as an author, when someone bookmarks one of your fics. Some authors, particularly when they are feeling low (cough cough) may also look at bookmarks to see if there are nice things there. This would basically just involve clicking on the bookmarks for each of your fics individually to see if there's anything a.) new and b.) nice in them.

This is an act of desperation. It's not really a wise thing to do, as 99% of bookmarks have no comments, or just list the title and author in fear of the fic being deleted some day and not knowing what you're missing. Even worse, if you, as an author, get desperate enough to cruise your bookmarks, you are as likely to see someone say something like "Meh" or "This got boring so I stopped reading at Chapter 5" or "Too many werewolves 3/10" in a werewolf fic than you are to see a nice compliment.

So, if you loved a fic and want to memorialize your love in a bookmark, be an extra super-duper sweetheart and cut and paste that into a comment for the author! Make the AO3 environment enriching for both authors and fellow readers in the comments section, and protect your friendly local author by not providing intermittent positive reinforcement for the negative behavior of scrolling through bookmarks!

I still recommend bookmarking fics. Bookmark those favorite fics you want to come back and read later, or use bookmarks to leave yourself little reminders if they are nice or in private bookmarks if they are not nice. Bookmark good resources, like how to code things in html or how to use AO3 filters most effectively. Find awesome new things to read by looking through the bookmarks of your favorite authors, because if you vibe with someone's writing you may also vibe with their favorite fics to read!

#archive of our own #ao3 #fanfiction #authors #writers #readers #bookmarks versus comments #how to ao3 #ao3 tips and tricks #ao3 how-tos #ao3 resources

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the-ellia-west · 1 month

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How to make your Readers Feel Emotions for Dummies

(AWWWWW :]]]] Edition)

So... Do you have any cute animals or children in your story?

No?

Then I can't help you go away

Kidding, kidding, you can make AWW moments in your story no matter who or what your characters are.

First

You have to have at least semi-Likable characters (Pets, adorable animals, or children make this wayyyyyy easier)

Likable characters make your readers want the characters to be happy! You can't really get AWWWW moments if you want the characters to suffer

Most AWWW moments come from Shipping or cute baby moments

Second

Decide what Type

whether you want it to be an AWWWW Romance moment, or an AWWWWW Baby moment

There's also #3 I forgot to mention: AWWWWW comfort/sentimental moment

Third

Decide which character the AWWW moment will happen between

Couple, Father/child, mother/child, friends, siblings, doesn't matter - Well... it obviously matters Which AWWW moment you're going for but... yeah

Fourth

What's Gonna happen?

For romance it's usually cute fluff moments - Want examples? Too bad, look it up on Pinterest! No, no, Joking. Here's a list:

Small cheek/hand kisses

A small, 'I love you so much.'

Wearing other's clothes

Forehead touch

Cuddling

Holding BOTH of each other's hands

FACE TOUCHES - Cheek/jawbone is best

Leaning into touch

Careful dancing

For parental figure and Child it's usually a comforting trust moment, a protecting the child moment, or a 'make me proud' moments

I fucking love these and I'm gonna go on a rant Addict, Tired, bitter mentors are so fucking great. There's so much you can do with them Mostly there's 'make me proud moments' The first 'I approve' moment There's 'you've made me proud' moments There's also 'Fine, you're my kid' moments And comforting trust moments hit so much harder when the mentor rarely shows affection.

It's just so... :D

For Friends, You should do with comforting moments, or a 'you don't know how much I care about you moments

Fifth

Soft Phrasing = soft emotions

Use long, calm sentences. No exclamation points or question marks unless it's dialogue. Keep everything smooth and fluid.

Tears are a powerful tool so use them sparingly

Use short words, and use cuter, softer words, metaphors, and adjectives.

Sixth

Have a visible result

Smiles, cute thoughts, cute dialogue, different feelings or actions towards other characters

Stuff like that

AWWWWW moments can be very powerful to characters as they can for real people, they can change so much with little words.

They can be turning points, displays of affection to the audience, turning points of affection, showcases of change, strengthening of relationships, a final goodbye, they can be so much in just so little.

Good Evening and Good Luck with your Writing My loveable Writing friends! you can do this! <3

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honestly-oceanie · 1 year

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You drew stars around my scars || Manhwa DILFS edition

Synopsis: drawing or painting something on them

《Claude de Alger Obelia, Anastacius de Alger Obelia, Regis Adri Floyen, Abel Heilon, Gallahan Lombardi, Charente Crown, Dane Henstone, Lant Agriche | gn!reader》

{Fluff♡ | ▪︎imagine/scenario▪︎}

A/N: should I do the female leads/characters next?

Who Made Me A Princess/ Suddenly, I Became A Princess One Day

Claude De Alger Obelia

"Emperor of the Obelian Empire"

🦋 You were sitting on one of the couches provided on the Emperor's office per usual. Just laying there doing nothing eventually got you into boredom.

🦋 You started to think of something that may entertain you. Then your eyes come across the quill on Claude's office table. You suddenly remembered that day you spend with Athy.

🦋 The young princess managed to get ahold of some paint and offered if she could paint some doodle on you. You had been strict on neatness so this made you quite nervous inside yet you agreed with the young princess' request. She did told you to return the same favor to her, and you both had the joyous laugh and fun of your lives. Lily did scold the both of you after she caught you two.

🦋 Since it's only you and the Emperor, only he could be your victim. You ask if you could draw on him mindlessly, forgetting just who you were talking to. After a long moment of stunned silence, you finally realized that the person you were talking to is Claude de Alger Obelia.

🦋 As you were about to apologize, he says: "It's fine." Of course you were shock, contemplating if he did mean it or if it's your last day of living. After a while, you finally stood up and did as you wanted to.

🦋 As a matter of fact, he actually saw what happened that day, he could hear your rare laugh along with his daughter's. He decided to 'check' on what was happening and there he saw you both, filthy with paint yet happy. Thus, today he was quite shock by your sudden request, he won't ever admit it but he felt quite jealous seeing that.

🦋 It would be quite nice to do this to him while he's having his beauty rest, but only when you have the guts🤭

ଘ・┈┈・✧・┈┈・✦・┈┈・✧・┈┈・✦

Who Made Me A Princess/ Suddenly, I Became A Princess One Day

Anastacius De Alger Obelia

"Former Emperor of the Obelian Empire"

🦋 Let's set this by the time he's still possessed.

🦋 As Lady Jennette's personal attendant, you had always been around her as she grew up. You were kindhearted and gentle. Jennette really admires you a lot, she grew to see you as a parental figure of hers.

🦋 One day, you saw Jennette chatting with a man that seemed familiar for some reason. After debating with yourself whether you should interrupt or not, you remembered the reason you came looking for her.

🦋 Anastacius could see you walking forward from his peripheral vision but he continued to talk with his daughter.

"Lady Jennette, your afternoon tea is ready."

"Right of course! I'll see you next time Viscount!"

🦋 After Jennette left, you and Anastacius had a short staring contest before you left to go follow the young lady.

🦋 Jennette doesn't seem to mind the company of this certain Viscount Patterson yet you were rather suspicious of him, he just has this mysterious aura that you can't trust him just yet. However, you didn't voice out your doubts, you were just a mere servant you couldn't just interfere in your master's business that easily. Eventhough Jennette wouldn't mind at all

🦋 After some days, there seem to be no suspicious movement from him so you started to warm up to him a bit. What matters the most to you was Jennette's safety and happiness.

🦋 You and Jennette were doodling on each others arms, this always bring calm to Jennette and she enjoys doing this so it has became a habit between you both, sometimes Ijekiel does join when he has spare time but today he was quite busy so instead you were accompanied by Viscount Patterson. Jennette's friendly personality invited him as he happened to pass by, and here he is now seated beside you.

🦋 Jennette had gotten tired and decided to take a break. As she ate her biscuits she suggested for him to join and for you to draw on him as she is too tired to continue.

"May I?"

🦋 You asked him and he did agree, only because of his daughter. He was surprise at how good you are and compliment you for your talent. He asked if you were an artist before but you were not, though painting and sketching are hobbies of yours.

🦋 Jennette watch the interaction between you two, she was very happy and celebrating inside. Although you were kind and gentle, you're also very shy, she still remembers the time you first meet her. Your soft voice and stuttering at your introduction replays in her memory. Before, you couldn't even talk without a stutter at all, yet here you are now finally allowing yourself to mingle with others.

🦋 You were slowly warming up, and Anastacius could see that too.

ଘ・┈┈・✧・┈┈・✦・┈┈・✧・┈┈・✦

Father, I Dont Want To Get Married!

Regis Adri Floyen

"Duke of the Floyen Duchy"

🦋 At this very moment, Regis feels as the most fortunate man to be able to have you in this life.

🦋 Jubel is seated in front of you as you do a portrait of her. After you had finish, she excitedly rush to you. Seeing your finished masterpiece of her, Jubellian poured a waterfall of praises while gazing amazedly at you.

🦋 She fancied you even in the 'novel', you were the only one who genuinely cared for the villainess. You tried everything to break up Jubellian and Mikhail, knowing he wasn't sincere with her at all, yet it cause the connection between you both to cut off as Jubellian believes "you did not want for her to be happy". Despite all that, you still defended her during the accident even if it costed you your life.

🦋 The entire ordeal, Regis just watched your interaction with his daughter, very grateful that you are still a part in this life. The serenity of the sight in front of him brought Regis' heart into peace. This tranquility he wishes would last, but he knows now is not the right time, but eventually it will come. He has been given a second chance to right the wrongs so he must use this chance, right?

🦋 Jubel could feel some piercing eyes from behind her, she turned to scold max as she thought it was just him, but it was her father, gazing lovingly at them. Picking up on the hint, Jubel excuse herself so you and her father could spend some time.

🦋 Regis took the seat Jubel previously seated on, waiting for you to pick up on his presence. All of a sudden, Selena thought it would be a good opportunity to be the third wheel. You heard a chirping on your side, knowing it was either Selli or Eddie, you took a look at your side only to yelp, surpise to find the empty spot replaced by Regis and Selena on his shoulder.

🦋 Afterwards you started some small talk with him while petting Selli, who moved to lay on your lap. Since you had already made a portrait and painting of Regis before, you thought why don't he become your canvas this time.

🦋 Although he was confuse on what you meant he agreed, you hold his arm and started drawing some cute animals you could think of there. Although it wasn't his first time seeing your artworks, it never ceases to amaze him.

🦋 He loves to give compliments and praises to your artworks and you. In this life, he will cherish you always and never take you for granted.

🦋 While you two are having a lovey-dovey moment, Jubel watches from the door, she was very happy for the two of you, however someone was not. Selena was not happy, not because of the two of you but because you still haven't made a portrait of her. Don't worry 'cause Edward comforted her as he too, still hasn't gotten his own portrait.

ଘ・┈┈・✧・┈┈・✦・┈┈・✧・┈┈・✦

Author Of My Own Destiny/ I Became The Wife Of The Male Lead

Abel Heilon

"Duke of the North"

🦋 You and Abel had a slow burn romance which Fiona greatly regrets now. At first she thought it was a good idea and she really liked how it turned out. But right now she just wants to shove the two of you together in one place so these longing stares will finally come to an end.

🦋 Even Siegren understands the situation very well and wants to help pushing it too. Fiona herself is tired of you two, just why did it had to be slow burn?!

🦋 Finally, Siegren and Fiona had come up with a plan. A few plans as a matter of fact. Though hopefully they won't have to use all of it.

🦋 The first two plans failed miserably. But they say third time's a charm.

🦋 You were invited by Siegren and Fiona, they said they wanted to spend some time with you and have 'fun'. You, of course agreed, you love these kids too much to even reject their puppy eyes. You guys are on Fiona's room, some art materials scattered on the floor waiting to be use.

🦋 You have no idea why they thought of this, but currently you three are running around the room having a paint war, attacking whoever you get ahold of with some messy drawing or even a doodle with the paint you have in your hands.

🦋 Now Fiona's room isn't presentable at all not even a little decent, but none of you cared, even Fiona and Siegren are having too much fun that they almost forgot their mission. Luckily Abel came in at point.

🦋 Abel was stunned at what had happen to Fiona's room, he scolded the children for their reckless behavior. Now things weren't going as planned. You couldn't stand to see the kids being scolded for you have a very soft spot for them. You just said what you could think of at that moment; inviting Abel to join you guys instead. You were surprise you even had the guts to interrupt him but words can't be taken back once they're said. Fiona and Siegren were internally celebrating, you managed to sail the boat without even knowing!

🦋 Abel was pondering for awhile if he should really join you guys or scold you too. But he succumb to his desire and join you three, though just most likely you. The kids immediately run off on the corner of the room to avoid disturbing you two, then acted as though they were doing something. You give a smile to Abel as he sat down beside you. You raise the paint brush on your hand, silently asking him if you could draw on him and he nodded.

🦋 You looked serious as you were doing your task but really, your heart was beating too fast it could leap out of your chest, you tried your best to look normal as possible, unbeknownst to you Abel was on a similar situation. Fiona and Siegren just staring at you both intensely, praying and hoping that this plan would succeed.

🦋 After you had finish Abel stared at your drawing for awhile before grabbing your wrist and the paint brush on your hand, taking you by surprise but also intrigued by what he is gonna do. Instead of drawing, he seemed to write some letters on your arm but you couldn't read it properly as he was covering it. After he had finally written the words he couldn't say, he let you read it.

🦋 Your eyes went wide as you proccess the words written on your arm by Abel Heilon himself. This was a sudden confession but Abel couldn't hold it in anymore. There was a long moment of silence, Abel was growing nervous, maybe this wasn't the right time, but you proved him wrong as you jumped on him to tackle him with a hug. You repeated the words he wrote to you as you stared at his eyes.

🦋 Just the two of you on your own world... until Fiona and Siegren cheered loudly to celebrate this success, you two had almost forgetten they were there too.

ଘ・┈┈・✧・┈┈・✦・┈┈・✧・┈┈・✦

I'll Be The Matriarch In This Life/ I Shall Master This Family

Gallahan Lombardi

🦋 You and Gallahan are always willing to try anything new in your relationship, that's how you two have had a lot of habits and tradition you both just randomly made up.

🦋 Just like now, when you saw a quill on the table, you dipped it with its ink, and did some cute little drawings on his face while your other hand keeps him steady. He just sat still waiting for you to finish what you were doing without interrupting you.

🦋 Once you were done, you run around to find a hand mirror then gave it to him so he could see what you've done to him, he was surprise as it was his first time seeing you draw something even though it is on his face, but he liked how good your drawings are even if it's simple.

🦋 He feign sadness as you laugh at him. Promising to help him clean up after you feel satisfied. He wasn't gonna back down that easily, whilst you were trying to calm down, he swiftly got ahold of the quill and did the same favor on you, it caught you off guard.

🦋 Instead of cleaning up, you ended up having a competition on who had the best drawing. Tia was walking around when she saw what you two were doing, it seems fun she wanted to join and of course you both let her.

🦋 In the end, you both made tia win, you and Gallahan now look messier than ever as you let tia draw a lot, what's important was that you had tia have some fun. Since tia didn't had much inks on her, you let the maids take care of her.

🦋 You and Gallahan are helping each other remove the inks on each other. Being together brought you both in happiness, no matter the circumstance you may face you know you both can pull through. Afterall you promised one another to be there through sickness and health. For now, while there is still chance you try to do everything you can before the time is up. One's presence may fade but their memories will never cease to exist.

ଘ・┈┈・✧・┈┈・✦・┈┈・✧・┈┈・✦

Please Give Me The Pacifier!

Charente Crown

"Heir to the Crown Duchy"

🦋 I have mixed feelings with this man so I don't know what I'm doing here.

🦋 Kaishan loves to have you around, because of you Kaishan had become rebellious to his father, thus Charente had allowed you to visit his manor at some appointed time(s) which honestly scared you.

🦋 But overtime Charente had gotten used to your presence, he eventually let you visit at anytime you wished to which made you and Kaishan celebrate with joy.

🦋 You had thought about doing this activity so Kaishan could have some fun. Your company is enough for Kaishan to have fun and be happy. Unfortunately, you had forgotten to bring the materials with you, you apologize to the cute kid but he told you not to worry, he left the room in a hurry but not before telling you to not follow him as he will be back soon.

🦋 Kaishan run off to find his father and told him the situation. After some minutes of waiting, Kaishan finally returned... with his father carrying the materials needed. Thankfully you had gotten accustomed with his existence so you did not mind him around anymore.

🦋 At first, you were just calmly teaching him how to do some basic painting starting with shapes first yet he decided to start a war by smudging some paint on your face on purpose, he gave a cheeky apology afterwards but you knew you weren't putting down without a fight, so you return the same favor to him. You and Kaishan are now filthy with paint yet Charente didn't stop you at all, you both were having a good time.

🦋 You didn't know, but as much as you make Kaishan happy, you also make Charente happy internally, he is already satisfied with the proximity you two have and yet he can't help but feel jealous of his own son right now.

🦋 You could feel him burning holes at the back of your head so you turn to look at him. His eyes seems to say something, you had an inkling on what it may be but you did not dwell much on it, afterall he was a man that's very hard to read, you'd rather avoid the consequences than to suffer from it because of some misunderstanding.

ଘ・┈┈・✧・┈┈・✦・┈┈・✧・┈┈・✦

Tricked Into Becoming The Heroine's Stepmother

Duke Dane Henstone

🦋 His situation is quite similar to Charente's but successful thanks to the help of his little pumpkin that made it possible.

🦋 You were at the garden with Pierta, watching as she eats one of her favorite candy, pumpkin candy. You are aware of how much she loves her pumpkin and wanted to do something special for her, unfortunately, you had no idea how to cook nor bake so you think of other ideas.

🦋 You remembered in your childhood how much you loved to have the ink spilled on your skin as you draw whatever you could think of, you always end up getting scolded by nanny, in the end the entire household made sure that any ink or something that may color your skin will be out of reach for you. At first you threw tantrums but eventually you grew to forget about it.

🦋 Luckily, you always bring a pen with you. You thought about drawing some cute pumpkins on Pierta. The little one complied when you ask her to give you her hand, then you started drawing some pumpkins with funny faces. Pierta seemed to like it too much as she reaches out to you again asking you to do more.

🦋 You chuckled nervously, you don't wish for the little pumpkin to have the same habit, just thinking about it made you sweat anxiously you don't want to face the wrath of Duke Henstone. Pierta notice some eyes and looked up to see her father, she immediately stood up and ran to him excitedly. You bowed to the Duke as you greet him, Pierta could understand that her father likes you and decided to be the cupid.

🦋 She drags her father towards you and have him seated, she explained to him what you were doing to her a few moments ago, she asks if you could do the same to her father. You tried to make up an excuse "Only if the Duke agrees with it." And of course he would, he'll do anything his daughter asks of him.

🦋 In the end, you gave in, how could you resist the little pumpkin. You were seriously staring at what you were doing while the Duke is also busy staring at you, none of you notice the chestnut cupid sneakily running away. After you had finish you looked up to him but immediately looked away after he stared back at you. It seems the little pumpkin went away huh. You finally started small conversation with him which he has been waiting to as he couldn't do so, something always happens whenever he wants to talk to you.

🦋 He'll be sure to thank his princess, knowing well that it was her who gave him this opportunity.

ଘ・┈┈・✧・┈┈・✦・┈┈・✧・┈┈・✦

The Way To Protect The Female Lead's Older Brother

Lante Agriche

"Former Head of the Black Agriche"

🦋 Nah. Just Nah. Runn🏃‍♂️🏃‍♀️🏃‍♀️🏃

⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯ ⋆✦⋆ ⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯

╔══ ≪ °❈° ≫ ══╗

Honestly, Oceanie

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goodluckclove · 12 days

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I've been meaning to say something. (100 follower hot take)

Hey! Thanks for stopping by. I hope you've had a nice day. Why don't you rest with me for a while? I made some chocolate chip cookies - with shortening instead of butter, so they're very soft and very chocolatey. I made way too many and they aren't my wife's favorite, so I could use some help in eating them.

You're probably a writer, right? Or maybe you think about how you could be. Browse the tags here, or on other social media platforms. Maybe you used to write stories as a kid. I bet those were fun. Teachers might've thought they were impressive, or they dissected them line by line until the words didn't make sense in your head anymore. Either way, if you're here you're probably here for a reason.

(rant alert)

I dipped a toe in online writing communities on and off. My last attempt was forty-five minutes scrolling through the writing hashtag on Youtube Shorts (so TikTok, I guess? I don't know). I didn't like it. I really didn't. The thing that sticks out the strongest in my mind is one particular video where a woman claims that every story needs a second act plot twist.

Huh? Every story? All of them? Why? Since when? Who are you? What qualifications do you have to make a statement like that?

That's the common thread that makes a lot of writing spaces very uncomfortable for me. Successful writers are really only successful in their genre and for the given moment, so they don't have that much objective authority in the craft. And yet I see a lot of people deciding the things that you can't do in writing. Or the things you have to do, and how you have to do them. It was so much of Writeblr at first glance that I almost dipped out once again. I didn't, though, and I'm glad I didn't because now I get to watch some of the next great storytellers from across the world grow and examine and forge their way forward.

No one can teach you how to write. No, that's not true. Teachers teach literacy. Handwriting. Typing maybe - do schools still teach typing? Let me try saying it in a different way - no one, not one single person on this goddamned planet, has the right to tell you how to make a story.

I was supposed to get my MFA in creative writing before my first breakdown. My uncle stayed in the program I was meant to be in, and a few years after I dropped out he graduated. Recently I had the thought to look up his thesis novella, and as I searched I found myself regretting my decision to leave school. If I stayed and got to develop my writing in an actual class, with other writers and a knowledgeable professor, how much further along would I be than where I am right now?

It was bad. His novella was terrible. It was so bad I had a small existential crisis for, like, three days. He spent so much money on years and years of professional education and came out with a truly soulless story that read as if you prompted an AI to write the next Great American Novel. So if you think you need a writing degree to be a legitimate author, it could help connections-wise, but it ultimately won't be the thing that does the work for you.

Not all advice I see online on writing is bad. I find the people who are able to capture the "I" statements of therapy and phrase advice as things that have worked for them, or things that they personally enjoy, to be fine. Some writing advice can spark inspiration.

But if someone is the type of person to boil every story down to troupes and cliches, and then immediately say that every story that uses the trait they don't like is automatically bad for everyone? I'm dropping the kindness for a second - that's trash. That's a trash take and I see far too many writers use it as a reason to stop before they begin.

I don't like whump. I say my reasons in previous posts if you go back through my blog. But you will never hear me say that any story with whump in it is bad, because I don't know that. You might prove me wrong. I am an adult human being and I have the humility to admit that I can like something I didn't expect to. I genuinely enjoy the direction of The Human Centipede (only the first one) and if you cringed just now that probably means you haven't seen it.

There are so many types of books and movies and plays and comics out there. To enjoy a specific genre is fine, to ignore the existence of everything else is a really, really, really odd thing to do. Maybe someone will hate your story because they think everything should be Neil Gaiman, and therefore have no way to understand your epistolary high-Western. You are not the wrong end of that situation just for existing.

And at there is a definite threshold on how many writing tips you can gather before they stop being useful. If you find them interesting, that's one thing. That's fine. But if the culture of creativity online has made you feel like you need to educate yourself on every possible angle before you can write a story, you are actively harming yourself.

Imagine taking the level of structure you put on yourself in that way and putting it on children playing pretend in the backyard. Oh, Susie, don't you know that it's overdone for your Kitsune have dead parents? Xyler, shouldn't you ask someone else before you decide how Spiderman would react to this? It would make no sense and they do not need it. Kids will make a whole world out of nothing and it's the most fucked thing in my heart that at some point they get access to Reddit and dipshits start insisting that's wrong.

They aren't wrong and you aren't either. Your favorite creative influencer can't tell you your story, strangers on the internet can't tell you your story, your teachers and loved ones can't tell you your story. They can influence it, but they can't write it honestly the way you can.

You do that. That's the thing you do.

Man that makes me upset. I can't tell you how to make a story, either. If anyone sends me asks for writing advice the most I'll do is say what I've done before hopping into your DMs and starting a direct conversation. it's so personal to each individual artist, and I'd like to think that the people selling these classes and software and promoting these platforms haven't thought about that before. Otherwise it does feel manipulative. If you have a willingness to practice and imagine and really experiment with the possibilities, you are ready to write your story.

And if it doesn't work? Try again. That's what you do.

Stephen King has written roughly a thousand books and maybe five of them have decent endings. He is unimaginably successful.

I'm rambling now. I think I got that out of my system. I was really worried to say this out of fear of being too weird or somehow reverse-gatekeeping so hard that it circles back into also being a bad thing. I've just spoken to a lot of people who I still think of throughout my day, and I truly ache for them to get past the fear of creation. Because it's worth it. It's worth it and it's fun, even when it's messy and you're tired.

Let it Be just came on. Beatles. I haven't listened to The Beatles in a long time. Feels a little apropos.

I love you, reader. Reader, Writer, Colleague. Take care of yourself. Especially the little you, still sitting there in the backyard of your soul, bathing in the sun with their bare feet in the damp earth.

Consider joining them, maybe.

#writeblr #writing community #writers on tumblr #queer writers #authors of tumblr #on writing #writing #actually writing #writing resources #writing tips #writing help #writing advice #how to write #writing tips and tricks #writers supporting writers

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bonefall · 5 months

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post/734733274896809984/do-you-ever-worry-your-own-writing-might-come-off that makes sense. i was asking because i'm afraid of accidentally writing misogyny myself and i kind of admire what you do

Hmm... I wish I had better advice to give you on this front, but honestly, the only thing I can tell you is to consider the perspective of your female characters.

Women are people. They have thoughts and feelings of their own, so like... just let them have their own arcs. A lot of the worst misogyny in WC comes from the way that the writers just don't care about their girls (or, in the case of tall shadow, actually get undermined and forced to rewrite entire chapters), so they're not curious about their lives, or WHY they feel the way they do or what they want, or any direction for their character arcs.

Turtle Tail as an example. She'll often just end up feeling whatever Gray Wing's plot demands. She's gotta leave when Storm dumps him to make him feel lonely. She shows up again to love him in the next book. Lets her best friend Bumble get dragged back to Tom the Wifebeater, but is sad enough about her death to be "unreasonably angry" with Clear Sky, and then calms down and accept Gray Wing is right all along.

And then she dies, so he can have his very own fridge wife.

In this way, Turtle Tail's just being used to tell Gray Wing's story. They're not interested in why she would turn on Bumble, or god forbid any lingering negative feelings for how she didn't help her, or even resentment towards Clear Sky for killing her or Gray Wing for jumping to his defense. She isn't really going through her own character arc.

She does have personality traits of her own, don't misunderstand my criticism, but as a character she revolves around Gray Wing.

So, zoom out every now and then, and just ask yourself; "Whose story is being told by what I wrote? Do my female characters have goals, wants, and agency, or are they just supporting men? How do their choices impact the narrative?"

But that's already kinda assuming that you already have characters like Turtle Tail who DO have personalities and potential of their own. Here's some super simple and practical advice that helped me;

Tally the genders in your cast. How many are boys, how many are girls, how many are others?

And take stock of how many of those characters are just in the supporting cast, and compare that to the amount you have in the main cast.

If you have a significant imbalance, ESPECIALLY in the main cast, fire the Woman Beam.

It's a really simple trick to just write a male character, and then change its gender while keeping it the same. I promise women are really not fundamentally different from men lmao. You can consider how your in-universe gender roles affect them later, if you'd like, but when you're just starting to wean yourself off a "boy bias" this trick works like a charm.

Also you're not allowed to change the body type of any girl you Woman Beam because I said so. PLEASE allow your girls to have muscles, or be fat, or be old, or have lots of scars. Do NOT do what a cowardly Triple A studio does, where the women all have the same cute or sexy face and curvy body while they're standing next to dwarves, robots, and a gorilla.

Or this shit,

If you do this I will GET you. If you're ever possessed by the dark urge, you will see my face appear in the clouds like Mufasa himself to guide you away from the path of evil.

Anyway, you get better at just making characters girls to begin with as time goes on and you practice it. It's really not as big of a deal as your brain might think it is.

Take a legitimate interest in female characters and try not to disproportionately hit them with parental/romance plots as opposed to the male cast, and you'll be fine. Don't think of them as "SPECIAL WOMEN CHARACTERS" just make a character and then let her be a girl, occasionally checking your tally and doing some critical thinking about their use in the story.

(Also remember I'm not a professional or anything, I'm just trying to give advice)

#I wish I had more succinct and practical advice to give you besides the woman beam trick #Honestly I just kinda feel it out because I like telling stories about girls #I made it fun for myself by clapping and cheering and whooping and hollering whenever a girl does something #because it's not fun to write like a monk in a monastery #With the spectre of Brother Smockbimble looming over your shoulder telling you to Write Perfectly Every Time #Characters aren't real people. You can just fix it if you happen to fuck up or do better next time with what you learned.#Making mistakes is just part of acquiring skill #and writing is an art just like painting or drawing.#So don't make a fun OC project into homework! You should be enjoying making your own art! Express yourself!#Please understand that when I'm ripping into the series I'm being so harsh because it's bestselling corporate media #Read by HUNDREDS of thousands of kids worldwide #Raking in millions of dollars a year. Written by a TEAM of professionals.#So I have higher expectations of it than of a fandom rando on the internet. Or even a self-published author who's just One Guy.#Hence why I'm infinitely more charitable to Ratha than I am to Battle Cats #bones gives advice

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stygianpen · 1 year

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World Building 101

World building! How many other hobbies or careers involve creating an entire world all your own? Not many.

There’s nothing quite like setting out to create your fictional world. Drawing maps, deciding which civilizations live where, throwing in crazy kinds of solar systems and vegetation if you’re really going all out… it can be a ton of fun.

However, one of the writer’s most exciting tasks is also one of their most intimidating.

On one hand: you get to build your own world. On the other hand… you have to build your own whole entire WORLD?! Where do you even start??

Well, you can start right here. Today I’m going to walk you through some basic pointers to get your world up and running.

World Building and World Building

Right off the bat, you should be aware that there are two kinds of world building. There’s the large-scale fantasy world building which I will be talking about today, and there is also world building that goes into other story genres.

Every writer is going to do some level of world-building, whether you’re painting a verbal picture of the lake your character goes to to get some peace of mind, pulling a reader into an important event and making them feel like they’re actually attending, or creating a whole new planet for your space pirate to fly to.

The Top 6

When you have a massive task ahead of you it’s always best to start by breaking it down. So, let’s take a look at the top 6 features you’re going to be focusing on when building your world.

WHO

Ask yourself: who lives in your world?Most likely there is a variety of species and races. Or, you could decide on a world where every creature is exactly alike — it is of course, your world.

Do the creatures of your planet have different cultures or are these homogeneous?

It will be easiest to start off with your main characters and work out from there. What is their species and race, and what does their culture look like?

For each species in your world, jot down the following:

Species name

Race names

Physical description

Language

Cultural notes

Special abilities

WHAT

Ask yourself: what social structures exist in your society? Again, start with your main characters and work out from there. For each species within your world, you’re going to need to determine how they manage their society.

What beliefs do they have? Are they religious, or more philosophical? Is there a divide between the two? What do their political structures look like? How strict are their laws?

You’ll want to consider trade and economy as well. Do they have a money system? A barter system?

You may not need to go too in depth with every single species in your world, but you’ll want a basic note or two about each in case it comes up in your writing.

For each species in your world, decide at least one point about each of the following:

Religion

Philosophies

Politics and laws

Economy

WHERE

Ask yourself: where does your species exist?Finally, we get to the physical world of your world building. What is the geography like? The biomes? Is your world bountiful with resources or is it a dying planet with species’ in desperate search of new sustenance?

For some writers, they will take years fleshing out the ‘where’ of their world, including the cosmos surrounding it. For others, a map with the basic locations of the story will suffice. It is up to you how in-depth you would like to go.

At the very least, you should outline one or two notes about each of the following:

Solar system (does your world exist near ours or is it completely fabricated?)

Geography (this one can be split per species — forest elves live in the woods, nymphs live near the sea, etc.)

Biomes (split by species region)

Resources (split by species region)

WHEN

Ask yourself: when do the events of your story occur?The story you are telling may be the main focus of your book, but what happened to lead up to it? What has your main character’s species and world been through that is causing the story to occur? Even if the events of the world do not impact your story much, they will have had at least some level of ripple effect that reflects on your characters’ day-to-day. Was this civilization a warring one and the story takes place in a broken society? Or, has their society reached its peak of enterprise?

For each region in your world, establish the following:

Founding events

Defining events

Recent events

(if relevant) Future events

WHY

Ask yourself: why do the species in your world behave as they do?The why of your story will tie in with many of the previous points you’ve outlined, but it gets more to the point in a way that can directly apply to your story and characters. Why are things happening as they are today? What evolution did this society go through? Do they share common goals now or are your characters going against the grain of their people? What conflicts exist in this world, and is your main character involved in those conflicts or attempting to avoid involvement?

A few pertinent notes to take per species would be:

Social evolution

Societal goals

Societal conflicts

HOW

Ask yourself: how do the species in your world solve problems? In the category of ‘who’, you will have outlined your main characters’ abilities. These could be magical or technological or maybe they are super strong, or super smart. Now, you can get deeper into the magical or technological systems of your world. Start with your main characters and work outwards. Is everyone magical here? Do different species and races have different abilities? Is there a human or human-related race, and at what point are they at with their technology?

Figure out the following (for each species and race if applicable):

Magic abilities

Technological advancements

Scientific knowledge

Militaristic power

The World is yours: Command it

An author with a strong command of the world they are writing within will have at their fingertips an endless landscape of possibility. Look to authors such as J.R.R. Tokien or George R.R. Martin — it’s no wonder their works are so successful. They perfectly encapsulate what fantasy readers are looking for in a novel: escapism. The worlds don’t need to be pretty, they need to be fully formed; realistic in their mysticism.

World-building can seem like a lot of work, and it is. But do it bit by bit, and try to keep it fun. Don’t sit down in one day expecting to create your whole world. It’ll take time. But that time spent will be well worth it in the end!

#writing #writing community #creative writing #new author #writing help #writing tips #writing advice #writing resources #writing tips and tricks #editing #self publishing #world building #fantasy worldbuilding #worldbuilding #world creation

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