lackluster21 - Tumblr blog

lackluster21 · 24 days ago

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girls who say bruh

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lackluster21 · 1 month ago

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Posting my current AO3 fanfic links here, please enjoy!! Crossovers will be colour-coded in purple 😊💛💜

Harry Potter/Marauders:

ziggy played guitar

Short, no-magic modern AU, domestic Wolfstar fluff one-shot with trans(ftm) Remus and ace Sirius (ft. their cat Magnus). 1,355 words.

la lune and i

No-Voldemort Hogwarts AU Moonwater potions partners slow burn with trans!Regulus Black. Ft. Rosekiller, Xenodora, and Dorlene. 6,700 words.

less than three, you love me (typing out my fantasy)

Texting/social media no-magic modern AU Marauders Era. Genderfluid!Sirius and Remus date each other anonymously and don’t realise. Ft. Wolfstar, Jegulus, Marylily, Rosekiller, Dorlene, and Xenodora. 1,664 words.

JOYRIDE

Modern no-magic AU one-shot Rosekiller get freaky in a car (HEAVY SMUT) inspired by Kesha’s new song. Ft. Wolfstar and Jegulus. 2,501 words.

Sleepily, Venus sinks and hollows

Modern PJO-AU Marauders. Centred around Wolfstar and Jegulus. Everyone are demigods and go to CHB, but Kronos is rising. Ft. Rosekiller, Dorlene, Marylily, and Xenodora. 6,751 words.

Percy Jackson:

XOXO (Kisses Hugs)

Discontinued(?) PJO kinktober with trans!Percy/Ganymede. Only chapter up is pegging, though I may continue it this October?? Possibly?? 3,681 words.

My Hero Academia/Boku No Hero Academia:

Gold-skinned eager baby

MHA/BNHA AU where Touya Todoroki survived and got custody of Shoto and raised him. Ft. Autistic Shoto and Seroki. 2,797 words.

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lackluster21 · 3 months ago

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also on adhd in the series—annabeth's hyperfixating, social-cues-who?/"I will speak when I want and do what I want and you cannot physically unglue me from this task" adhd is so cool to see on screen. that girl is neurodivergent af and we're gonna spend the series praising her brain as a daughter of athena, on and off screen, and holy shit that is so powerful

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lackluster21 · 3 months ago

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Writing Descriptions

Wednesday’s post was all about writing dialogue, and now we move on to my personal favorite of the two: descriptions. In my opinion, both dialogue and descriptions can be extremely hard to write, but something about descriptions is just a little bit harder even though I prefer writing them. I also prefer reading descriptions. A well-crafted description can absolutely pull a reader into a story. It brings far-off lands and creative settings to life, and makes made up characters feel as familiar as our own best friends. That was my little poetic appreciation for descriptions which does not help you write them at all, unfortunately, so without further ado, here are some tips that help me when I’m writing descriptions.

But I Already Know That

More often than not if you hear the word sky, you’re going to picture the color blue. If you hear the word ‘clouds’, you’re going to picture some thing fluffy and white, maybe a nice cumulonimbus if you will. If you hear the word grass, you’re going to picture that green. My point is that generally with common things like the sky, clouds, and grass, we already have a clear enough picture of what those things look like in our minds. Something I see all the time is that authors will take the time to actually write out, “the sky was a beautiful shade of blue with fluffy, white clouds. The grass beneath was green.” Well, yes, most readers would assume all of those things. Using basic adjectives that already come to mind when you say something defeats the purpose of having descriptions. They’re unnecessary, and they bog down your writing. If you want to describe the sky, it better not be blue, and if it is blue, either describe what about that blue is so particularly noteworthy or write a much shorter sentence. The sentence “Clouds dotted the sky.” brings the same image of the sky as the sentence above, but it’s much more focused and less redundant. Just because you’re writing a description, doesn’t mean you always need tones of uber descriptive words.

Thesaurus.com: Friend or Foe?

Which leads us into our second tip. I used to get annoyed when teachers told us not to use the thesaurus on our writing assignments, but now as someone who has read things where the author most definitely used a thesaurus, I get it. Using a thesaurus isn’t necessarily a bad thing. They can give some really interesting words, or jump start the creative process when you’re trying to figure out what word fits in a sentence. But, if a peasant character in your story is suddenly describing things as ostentatiously opulent instead of just saying beautiful or fancy, I’m going to be suspicious. That’s also why you have to take into account who is describing things and whose POV you’re in. Just like with dialogue, a well-educated princess and an illiterate peasant are not going to describe things the same way. Even when you’re trying to make descriptions beautiful and such, they should still fit in with what we know of the character and they’re knowledge level, ability, etc. And, yes, you should probably use more interesting words than beautiful or fancy, but if you feel like beautiful and fancy are the way to go and fit within your story, go for it! Honestly, my favorite descriptions are simple ones where the author wasn’t trying to impress me with their SAT-level vocabulary.

All the Senses

Descriptions tend to focus heavily on sight, but using all five senses in your descriptions can make for a lot more detail and make your reader feel like they’re right there beside your charters. It really brings the scenes to life and makes them so much more interesting to read. One of the common writer saying is “show, don’t tell” and including a lot of vivid sensory details can help you make sure that you do a lot more showing than telling. For a quick rundown, here are the five senses and some ways to use them:

Sight: the most obvious, what does the character see around them.

Touch: how does the environment around them feel? Are they running their hands across the damp, cracked stones of an old castle? Are they barefoot at the beach feeling the sand on their toes?

Hearing: sounds are some of my favorite! The sound of rain on a cold, dark night. Waves crashing against the shore. Birds chirping in the distance.

Smell: Are they in a factory district that smells like smog? Or are they in a beautiful garden full of fragrant, sweet-smelling flowers?

Taste: Taste is a little harder, but describing the different taste of foods when describing a new culture in your story is a great place to start!

Back to Third Grade Language Arts

In third grade, my teacher told me that after third grade, I would only be allowed to write in cursive. She was completely lying, and because of her, I now physically cannot write in print. But, she was not lying about the importance of literary devices and figurative language. Of course, in third grade, my knowledge of similes started and ended with my mom saying that looking for something was like looking for a needle in a haystack. Thankfully, my literary device skills have grown since third grade even though I still cannot write in print. Silver-linings, I suppose. Even though there are a plethora of of different literary devices at your disposal, oftentimes sticking with those simple similes and metaphors makes for the best descriptions. Metaphors especially. They’re a great way to tie a character with a certain object and sprinkle in a little foreshadowing while you’re at it! Another good literary devices for descriptions (when used in moderation) is onomatopoeia. They’re normally super descriptive and immediately conjure up a very specific image in the reader’s mind which makes them especially great for shorter descriptions!

Five Pages to Describe a Dres???

Add it to the list of reasons one Sarah J. Maas, owes me a personal check. It might not be exactly five pages, but it was a long, freakin time. Pretty much every time the character changed clothes, we got an exceedingly long description of her new dress or pants or tunic or whatever. Please, don’t be that person. I think one or two descriptions of an outfit could be a great thing to add to your story, but adding several in or describing every time your character gets a new outfit will just bog down your story with descriptions and bore your reader. Granted, I am no fashion guru, but still. And, I think a lot of authors fall into the trap of over-description. Everyone is so scared of falling into white-room syndrome or not providing the reader with a vivid enough description that they describe every single detail of every single room the character walks into. Especially, if it’s a place your character will be at frequently, you don’t have to describe all of it in one setting (because that does count as an info-dump). You can describe enough to give the reader an idea, but also let them fill in the rest. For example if I write, “Every aspect of her bedroom was pink and frilly. Typical of a girl of seven.” You have a pretty good idea of what the bedroom looks like, but I didn’t have to write a whole paragraph explaining every aspect of every single dresser, curtain, or chair in it. Everyone always lauds descriptive paragraphs, but sometimes less is more!

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lackluster21 · 3 months ago

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How To Write And Create A Subplot

A subplot is an essential aspect of any book. It helps drive your story forward and hook your readers in with a compelling narrative. A good subplot raises the stakes for the main character by introducing side characters, creating plot twists, adding another dimension to the story or revealing information from the past or future.

However, if executed incorrectly subplots can overshadow your main plot and deviate from the heart of your story. Unsure how to create and execute a subplot? Here are some helpful tips to get you started!

Why Are Subplots Important?

A subplot is a narrative thread that supports the elements of your main plot. They often build conflict or shed light on a secondary character’s story. Subplots help you create multilevel narrative arcs and build complexity and depth.

Your readers certainly don’t need to know what your antagonists were doing while the protagonist underwent secluded training, but adding this subplot builds tension, heightens the stakes and easily portrays personality traits and character flaws. This is especially true for genres such as SFF or horror where your characters often don’t know their enemy’s plan until the last moment.

Subplots are often what make your readers connect with your characters and world-building. To put it simply, if Harry Potter was written without any subplots Rowling could have wrapped up the entire series in one book.

Types Of Subplots

It’s important for authors to branch out and implement more than one subplot in their manuscript. Sticking to one subplot can often result in a poor portrayal of an important moment or make an interesting arc fall flat. A simple way to avoid this is by combining different subplots when working on your manuscript.

Mirror Subplots

Mirror subplots are essentially a subplot that mirrors what your protagonist or antagonist is going through in order to illuminate their personality traits and how they dealt with said situation. A great example of a mirror subplot would be Sophie and Agatha’s dynamics during the first book of A School For Good and Evil.

Sophie and Agatha both start off with essentially the same introduction to characters like Tedros, the faculty, their roommates, etc. but while Sophie uses a negative outlook to harm those around her Agatha focuses more on a problem-solving approach.

Contrasting Subplot

A contrasting subplot is when a smaller character faces the same situation as your protagonist/antagonist but handles the situation differently. For example, a protagonist allowed themselves to be injured in order to safely evacuate a nearby citizen but an antagonist in a similar position used the civilian to shield themselves from the attack.

Contrasting subplots cannot exist unless both characters undergo the same situation, which is why it is important to plan this subplot out before executing it.

Complicating Subplot

Complicating subplots are the most common subplot used in literature. They’re pretty self-explanatory and involve a secondary character creating complications for the protagonist. This can be as simple as your love interest’s sister spreading gossip about the protagonist, or as complicated as a grand political scheme created to turn the protagonist’s allies against them.

Romantic Subplot

Romantic subplots are often confused with romance written as a subgenre. The difference between the two is simple—a book with romance as a subgenre simply includes romantic themes, however, a romantic subplot uses romance to deviate from the main plot.��

For example, if your protagonist left their usual environment to attend an event with your love interest for a couple of chapters, that counts as a romantic subplot. However, a character simply having a romantic moment does not constitute as a subplot.

Things To Keep In Mind When Creating A Subplot

Now that I’ve divulged all of the facts associated with writing a subplot, here are some personal tips writers should take into consideration when creating a subplot.

A Subplot Is NOT Its Own Story

This is an important factor many writers often forget when creating a subplot. Subplots are meant to tie into the main plot and move the story forward. They are supposed to be an arc in your story, not a story of their own.

Subplots are a great way to foreshadow events, drop hints, reveal character traits, etc. however, you need to consider whether or not your manuscript needs to have these characters. Your deuteragonist’s tragic past with the antagonist might make for a good story, but you could probably summarise those events within one chapter.

The same can be said for past love interests, ex-friends, training arcs and backstory arcs for minor characters. These factors would all propel your plot forward, however, incorrectly implementing them can ruin your reader’s immersion and deviate from the actual plot.

If you’re unsure whether or not your subplot should be included in your novel, take the time to consider these few questions:

Does your subplot help your protagonist accomplish their main goal? Or does it drastically deviate them from their initial purpose?

Does this subplot introduce a new character, a new side to an old character, or the ‘true’ version of a seemingly good/bad character?

Would your character be unable to attain their long-term goal without this subplot?

Would your world-building, character development, or a certain aspect of the main plot feel confusing if not for this subplot?

If your answer to these was yes, then you probably have a valid subplot on your hands. If not, then you should genuinely consider questions and take into account why you want to include this subplot, to begin with. If your answer is something along the lines of ‘it has so and so scene/dynamic which I really enjoyed or think the readers will like’ then your manuscript would probably do better without that subplot.

Create Conclusive Arcs

Unlike your main plot, subplots are supposed to have a start and finish. They need to have a complete arc and some semblance of a conclusion.

For example, if you were writing a contrasting subplot where the side character decided to abandon another character in order to save themselves, you need to consider what happens once you write out this scene. How do the other characters react to it? Does this impact your side character’s position in the story? And most importantly, how does this impact the rest of your plot?

You need to know where you’re going to go with your story once you have concluded your subplot, and figure out a way to tie your subplot into your main plot.

I hope this blog on how to create and execute a sub plot will help you in your writing journey. Be sure to comment any tips of your own to help your fellow authors prosper, and follow my blog for new blog updates every Monday and Thursday.

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 marketing tools for authors every Monday and Thursday.

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lackluster21 · 4 months ago

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Writing Description Notes:

Updated 17th July 2024 More writing tips, review tips & writing description notes

Facial Expressions

Masking Emotions

Smiles/Smirks/Grins

Eye Contact/Eye Movements

Blushing

Voice/Tone

Body Language/Idle Movement

Thoughts/Thinking/Focusing/Distracted

Silence

Memories

Happy/Content/Comforted

Love/Romance

Sadness/Crying/Hurt

Confidence/Determination/Hopeful

Surprised/Shocked

Guilt/Regret

Disgusted/Jealous

Uncertain/Doubtful/Worried

Anger/Rage

Laughter

Confused

Speechless/Tongue Tied

Fear/Terrified

Mental Pain

Physical Pain

Tired/Drowsy/Exhausted

Eating

Drinking

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lackluster21 · 4 months ago

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Writing Description Notes:

Updated 17th July 2024 More writing tips, review tips & writing description notes

Facial Expressions

Masking Emotions

Smiles/Smirks/Grins

Eye Contact/Eye Movements

Blushing

Voice/Tone

Body Language/Idle Movement

Thoughts/Thinking/Focusing/Distracted

Silence

Memories

Happy/Content/Comforted

Love/Romance

Sadness/Crying/Hurt

Confidence/Determination/Hopeful

Surprised/Shocked

Guilt/Regret

Disgusted/Jealous

Uncertain/Doubtful/Worried

Anger/Rage

Laughter

Confused

Speechless/Tongue Tied

Fear/Terrified

Mental Pain

Physical Pain

Tired/Drowsy/Exhausted

Eating

Drinking

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lackluster21 · 4 months ago

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for all the artists out there, here are my favorite resources i use to learn!

Files

The Complete Famous Artist Course

Art Books and Resources

Art, Anatomy, and Color Books

PDF Files of Art Books

Internet Archive

YouTube

My YouTube Playlist of Tutorials

How to Draw Facial Features

Drawing and Art Advice

Drawing Lessons

Art Fundamentals

Anatomy of the Human Body

2D Animation

Perspective Drawing

Websites

Pinterest Board for Poses

Another Pinterest Board for Poses

Pinterest Boards for References

Reference Angle

Figurosity

Sketch Daily

Line of Action

Human Anatomy

Animal Photo References

Humanae - Angélica Dass

Fine Art - Jimmy Nelson

Character Design References

CDR's Twitter Account

iamagco's Twitter Account

taco1704's Twitter Account

takuya_kakikata's Twitter Account

EtheringtonBro's Twitter Account

Drawabox

Color Wheel

Color Palette Cinema

Free Images and Pictures

Free Stock Photos

FILMGRAB

Screen Musings

William Nguyen Light Reference Tool

Animation References - sakugabooru

Animation References - Bodies in Motion

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lackluster21 · 4 months ago

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Can't afford art school?

After seeing post like this 👇

And this gem 👇

As well as countless of others from the AI generator community. Just talking about how "inaccessible art" is, I decided why not show how wrong these guys are while also helping anyone who actually wants to learn.

Here is the first one ART TEACHERS! There are plenty online and in places like youtube.

📺Here is my list:

Proko (Free, mostly teaches anatomy and how to draw people. But does have art talks and teaches the basics.)

Marc Brunet (Free but he does have other classes for a cheap price. Use to work for Blizzard and teaches you everything)

Aaron Rutten (free, tips about art, talks about art programs and the best products for digital art)

BoroCG (free, teaches a verity of art mediums from 3D modeling to digital painting. As well as some tips that can be used across styles)

Jesse J. Jones (free, talks about animating)

Jesus Conde (free, teaches digital painting and has classes in Spanish)

Mohammed Agbadi (free, he gives some advice in some videos and talks about art)

Ross Draws (free, he does have other classes for a good price. Mostly teaching character designs and simple backgrounds.)

SamDoesArts (free, gives good advice and critiques)

Drawfee Show (free, they do give some good advice and great inspiration)

The Art of Aaron Blaise ( useful tips for digital art and animation. Was an animator for Disney. Mostly nature art)

Bobby Chiu ( useful tips and interviews with artist who are in the industry or making a living as artist)

Sinix Design (has some tips on drawing people)

Winged canvas (art school for free on a verity of mediums)

Bob Ross (just a good time, learn how to paint, as well as how too relax when doing art. "there are no mistakes only happy accidents", this channel also provides tips from another artist)

Scott Christian Sava (Inspiration and provides tips and advice)

Pikat (art advice and critiques)

Drawbox (a suggested cheap online art school, made of a community of artist)

Skillshare (A cheap learning site that has art classes ranging from traditional to digital. As well as Animation and tutorials on art programs. All under one price, in the USA it's around $34 a month)

Human anatomy for artist (not a video or teacher but the site is full of awesome refs to practice and get better at anatomy)

Second part BOOKS, I have collected some books that have helped me and might help others.

📚Here is my list:

The "how to draw manga" series produced by Graphic-sha. These are for manga artist but they give great advice and information.

"Creating characters with personality" by Tom Bancroft. A great book that can help not just people who draw cartoons but also realistic ones. As it helps you with facial ques and how to make a character interesting.

"Albinus on anatomy" by Robert Beverly Hale and Terence Coyle. Great book to help someone learn basic anatomy.

"Artistic Anatomy" by Dr. Paul Richer and Robert Beverly Hale. A good book if you want to go further in-depth with anatomy.

"Directing the story" by Francis Glebas. A good book if you want to Story board or make comics.

"Animal Anatomy for Artists" by Eliot Goldfinger. A good book for if you want to draw animals or creatures.

"Constructive Anatomy: with almost 500 illustrations" by George B. Bridgman. A great book to help you block out shadows in your figures and see them in a more 3 diamantine way.

"Dynamic Anatomy: Revised and expand" by Burne Hogarth. A book that shows how to block out shapes and easily understand what you are looking out. When it comes to human subjects.

"An Atlas of animal anatomy for artist" by W. Ellenberger and H. Dittrich and H. Baum. This is another good one for people who want to draw animals or creatures.

Etherington Brothers, they make books and have a free blog with art tips.

📝As for Supplies, I recommend starting out cheap, buying Pencils and art paper at dollar tree or 5 below. If you want to go fancy Michaels is always a good place for traditional supplies. They also get in some good sales and discounts. For digital art, I recommend not starting with a screen art drawing tablet as they are usually more expensive.

For the Best art Tablet I recommend either Xp-pen, Bamboo or Huion. Some can range from about 40$ to the thousands.

💻As for art programs here is a list of Free to pay.

Clip Studio paint ( you can choose to pay once or sub and get updates. Galaxy, Windows, macOS, iPad, iPhone, Android, or Chromebook device. )

Procreate ( pay once for $9.99 usd, IPAD & IPHONE ONLY)

Blender (for 3D modules/sculpting, animation and more. Free)

PaintTool SAI (pay but has a 31 day free trail)

Krita (Free)

mypaint (free)

FireAlpaca (free)

Aseprite ($19.99 usd but has a free trail, for pixel art Windows & macOS)

Drawpile (free and for if you want to draw with others)

IbisPaint (free, phone app ONLY)

Medibang (free, IPAD, Android and PC)

NOTE: Some of these can work on almost any computer like Clip and Sai but others will require a bit stronger computer like Blender. Please check their sites for if your computer is compatible.

So do with this information as you will but as you can tell there are ways to learn how to become an artist, without breaking the bank. The only thing that might be stopping YOU from using any of these things, is YOU.

I have made time to learn to draw and many artist have too. Either in-between working two jobs or taking care of your family and a job or regular school and chores. YOU just have to take the time or use some time management, it really doesn't take long to practice for like an hour or less. YOU also don't have to do it every day, just once or three times a week is fine.

Hope this was helpful and have a great day.

"also apologies for any spelling or grammar errors, I have Dyslexia and it makes my brain go XP when it comes to speech or writing"

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