#::writingadvice

[s-soulwriter]

Things Real People Do in Dialogue (For Your Next Story)

Okay, let’s be real—dialogue can make or break a scene. You want your characters to sound natural, like actual humans talking, not robots reading a script. So, how do you write dialogue that feels real without it turning into a mess of awkward pauses and “ums”? Here’s a little cheat sheet of what real people actually do when they talk (and you can totally steal these for your next story):

1. People Interrupt Each Other All the Time In real conversations, nobody waits for the perfect moment to speak. We interrupt, cut each other off, and finish each other's sentences. Throw in some overlaps or interruptions in your dialogue to make it feel more dynamic and less like a rehearsed play.

2. They Don’t Always Say What They Mean Real people are masters of dodging. They’ll say one thing but mean something totally different (hello, passive-aggressive banter). Or they’ll just avoid the question entirely. Let your characters be vague, sarcastic, or just plain evasive sometimes—it makes their conversations feel more layered.

3. People Trail Off... We don’t always finish our sentences. Sometimes we just... stop talking because we assume the other person gets what we’re trying to say. Use that in your dialogue! Let a sentence trail off into nothing. It adds realism and shows the comfort (or awkwardness) between characters.

4. Repeating Words Is Normal In real life, people repeat words when they’re excited, nervous, or trying to make a point. It’s not a sign of bad writing—it’s how we talk. Let your characters get a little repetitive now and then. It adds a rhythm to their speech that feels more genuine.

5. Fillers Are Your Friends People say "um," "uh," "like," "you know," all the time. Not every character needs to sound polished or poetic. Sprinkle in some filler words where it makes sense, especially if the character is nervous or thinking on their feet.

6. Not Everyone Speaks in Complete Sentences Sometimes, people just throw out fragments instead of complete sentences, especially when emotions are high. Short, choppy dialogue can convey tension or excitement. Instead of saying “I really think we need to talk about this,” try “We need to talk. Now.”

7. Body Language Is Part of the Conversation Real people don’t just communicate with words; they use facial expressions, gestures, and body language. When your characters are talking, think about what they’re doing—are they fidgeting? Smiling? Crossing their arms? Those little actions can add a lot of subtext to the dialogue without needing extra words.

8. Awkward Silences Are Golden People don’t talk non-stop. Sometimes, they stop mid-conversation to think, or because things just got weird. Don’t be afraid to add a beat of awkward silence, a long pause, or a meaningful look between characters. It can say more than words.

9. People Talk Over Themselves When They're Nervous When we’re anxious, we tend to talk too fast, go back to rephrase what we just said, or add unnecessary details. If your character’s nervous, let them ramble a bit or correct themselves. It’s a great way to show their internal state through dialogue.

10. Inside Jokes and Shared History Real people have history. Sometimes they reference something that happened off-page, or they share an inside joke only they get. This makes your dialogue feel lived-in and shows that your characters have a life beyond the scene. Throw in a callback to something earlier, or a joke only two characters understand.

11. No One Explains Everything People leave stuff out. We assume the person we’re talking to knows what we’re talking about, so we skip over background details. Instead of having your character explain everything for the reader’s benefit, let some things go unsaid. It’ll feel more natural—and trust your reader to keep up!

12. Characters Have Different Voices Real people don’t all talk the same way. Your characters shouldn’t either! Pay attention to their unique quirks—does one character use slang? Does another speak more formally? Maybe someone’s always cutting people off while another is super polite. Give them different voices and patterns of speech so their dialogue feels authentic to them.

13. People Change the Subject In real life, conversations don’t always stay on track. People get sidetracked, jump to random topics, or avoid certain subjects altogether. If your characters are uncomfortable or trying to dodge a question, let them awkwardly change the subject or ramble to fill the space.

14. Reactions Aren’t Always Immediate People don’t always respond right away. They pause, they think, they hesitate. Sometimes they don’t know what to say, and that delay can speak volumes. Give your characters a moment to process before they respond—it’ll make the conversation feel more natural.

Important note: Please don’t use all of these tips in one dialogue at once.

[thewriteadviceforwriters]

✏️ Writing Dialogue That Sounds Like Real People, Not Theater Kids on Red Bull

(a crash course in vibes, verbal economy, and making your characters shut up already)

Okay. We need to talk about dialogue. Specifically: why everyone in your draft sounds like they’re in a high school improv group doing a dramatic reading of Riverdale fanfiction.

Before you panic, this is normal. Early dialogue is almost always too much. Too polished. Too "scripted." So if yours feels off? You’re not failing. You’re just doing Draft Zero Dialogue, and it’s time to revise it like a boss.

Here’s how to fix it.

─────── ✦ ───────

🎭 STEP ONE: DETOX THEATER ENERGY I say this with love: your characters are not all quippy geniuses. They do not need to deliver emotional monologues at every plot beat. They can just say things. Weird, half-finished, awkward things.

Real people:

interrupt each other

trail off mid-thought

dodge questions

contradict themselves

repeat stuff

change the subject randomly

Let your characters sound messy. Not every line needs to sparkle. In fact, the more effort you put into making dialogue ✨perfect✨, the more fake it sounds. Cut 30% of your clever lines and see what happens.

─────── ✦ ───────

🎤 STEP TWO: GIVE EACH CHARACTER A VERBAL FINGERPRINT The fastest way to make dialogue feel alive? Make everyone speak differently. Think rhythm, grammar, vocabulary, tone.

Some dials you can twist:

Long-winded vs. clipped

Formal vs. casual

Emojis of speech: sarcasm, filler words, expletives, slang

Sentence structure: do they talk in fragments? Run-ons? Spirals?

Emotion control: are they blunt, diplomatic, avoidant, performative?

Here’s a shortcut: imagine what your character sounds like over text. Are they the “lol okay” type or the “okie dokie artichokie 🌈✨” one? Now translate that into speech.

─────── ✦ ───────

🧠 STEP THREE: FUNCTION > FILLER Every line of dialogue should do something. Reveal something. Move something. Change something.

Ask:

Does this line push the plot forward?

Does it show character motivation/conflict/dynamic?

Does it create tension, add context, or raise a question?

If it’s just noise? It’s dead air. Cut it. Replace it with a glance. A gesture. A silence that says more.

TIP: look at a dialogue scene and remove every third line. Does the scene still work? Probably better.

─────── ✦ ───────

💥 STEP FOUR: REACTIVITY IS THE GOLD STANDARD Characters don’t talk into a void. They respond. And how they respond = the real juice.

Don’t just write back-and-forth ping pong. Write conflict, dodge, misunderstanding. If one character says something vulnerable, the other might joke. Or ignore it. Or say something cruel. That’s tension.

Dialogue is not just information exchange. It’s emotional strategy.

Try this exercise: A says something revealing. B lies. A notices, but pretends they don’t. B changes the subject. Now you’ve got a real scene.

─────── ✦ ───────

🔍 STEP FIVE: PAY ATTENTION TO POWER Every convo has a power dynamic, even if it’s tiny. Who’s steering? Who’s withholding? Who’s deflecting, chasing, challenging?

Power can shift line to line. That shift = tension. And tension = narrative fuel.

Write conversations like chess matches, not ping pong.

─────── ✦ ───────

✂️ STEP SIX: SCISSORS ARE YOUR BEST FRIEND The best dialogue is often the second draft. Or third. Or fourth. First drafts are just you figuring out what everyone wants to say. Later drafts figure out what they actually would say.

Things to cut:

Greetings/closings ("Hi!" "Bye!"--skip it unless it serves tone)

Exposition disguised as chat

Obvious thoughts spoken aloud

Explaining jokes

Repeating what we already know

Readers are smart. Let them fill in blanks.

─────── ✦ ───────

🎧 STEP SEVEN: READ IT OUT LOUD (YES, REALLY) If you hate this step: too bad. It works. Read it. Mumbling is fine. Cringe is part of the ritual.

Ask yourself:

Would someone actually say this?

Does this sound like one person speaking, or a puppet show with one hand?

Where does the rhythm trip? Where’s the breath?

If you can’t say it out loud without wincing, the reader won’t make it either. Respect the vibe.

─────── ✦ ───────

🏁 TL;DR: If you want your dialogue to sound like real people, let your characters be real. Messy. Annoying. Human. Let them interrupt and lie and joke badly and say the wrong thing at the worst time.

Cut the improv class energy. Kill the urge to be ✨brilliant✨. And listen to how people talk when they’re scared, tired, pissed off, in love, or trying not to say what they mean.

That’s where the good stuff is.

—rin t. // thewriteadviceforwriters // official advocate of awkward silences and one-word replies

P.S. I made a free mini eBook about the 5 biggest mistakes writers make in the first 10 pages 👀 you can grab it here for FREE:

[3mbot]

Mr. Gap Wants YOU

Desc: You hide behind Mr. Gap to get away from Mr. Scarletella. You didn’t think that would be for free, did you? ;) Gender neutral reader

Warnings!!: 18+ just to be safe, making out, solo Mr. Gap masturbation at the end hehe. You can skip that part it’s after the “＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚”

A/n: I haven’t written for a long time so forgive me if it’s not the best.  Any constructive criticism is welcome. I was inspired to write again after playing this game and seeing how lively the fandom is. I hope to write more for Homicipher and other things in the future! 

╔═══════════════*.·:·.✧ ✦ ✧.·:·.*══════════════════╗

Walking through endless corridors of the ghost apartments is beginning to take its toll. After being separated again from Mr. Crawling, your only source of comfort, you become focused on one thing. Your only goal is to find the exit. 

You trudge along for what seems like ages until a faint glow of red can be seen around the corner. Your heart drops. This can only be from one source- Mr. Scarletella. His form glitches in and out of existence, which startles you out of being frozen in terror, and you begin to run in the other direction. 

To your horror, the corridor you ran to is a long stretch of hallway with no place to escape- until you see an opening in the bottom of the wall. With Mr. Scarletella hot on your heels, you run over there and are not surprised to see Mr. Gap appear. 

He tries to ask you for something but you can hear Mr. Scarletella’s static noises drawing ever near. In your panic, you push him to the side to jump into the dark hole to hide from the scarlet man. 

Mr. Gap isn’t happy about this but makes no move to push you back out and allows you to hide behind him in the darkness. 

Just as Mr. Scarletella makes it into the long hallway, you’re clinging to the side of Mr. Gap, shaking in fright. Your warmth envelops his cold body and Mr. Gap decides this isn’t so bad after all. He can always get your heart later. 

Several anxious seconds pass while Mr. Scarletella makes his way down the hallway. (Please don’t find me!!) you think to yourself. Each step causes you to hold your breath. 

Finally, he stops right outside the opening. He lingers there for a moment and you fear you’ve been found out. Suddenly, his head dips down to an inhuman position peering into the darkness. 

Almost as if he knew, Mr. Gap quickly covered your mouth to stop the surprised yelp from escaping you. You can feel his long, cold fingers, and they weirdly enough calm you down and prevent any noise from escaping. 

After a moment of searching, Mr. Scarletella sees nothing in the darkness and glitches away. 

You both stay stuck to each other for a bit, with you still holding your breath thinking he might come back and snatch you. What pulls you out of this state is Mr. Gap gently running his fingers along your side to comfort you. 

You look up at him and he is already looking down at you. You both blush and step away from each other. 

“He gone.” Mr Gap says. 

“Ha, yes… I think you’re right.” 

Mr Gap stares at you in confusion. You’re speaking in your language again without realizing it. 

“Thank you.” You say to him with a bow. 

He just stares at you. 

…

“I leave now.” You say to him. You turn to crawl back out, but Mr Gap grabs your wrist. You look back, confused. 

“No. You help me now.” He says, smiling. 

You roll your eyes at him. Of course, he wants something in return. 

“What do you want?” You ask him, annoyed. 

“You.” 

…

You blink up at him in surprise. (Did I hear that right?) Looking at his expression, his twisted smile looks more like a smirk than usual. Your heart skips a beat. 

“Me?” You question, pointing at yourself. 

His hand was still firmly on your wrist. His smile grows and he pulls you in close to him. 

“Yes, you” he confirms.

You gulp and stare back up at him. 

He places his cold, rough fingers on your face by holding your chin and studying your reaction. He seems pleased and brings you close to his face, giving you plenty of time to push him away. You don’t. 

His lips touch yours gently, far more gently than you would think suits him. Delighted by your submission, he goes back in for more. 

You both slowly warm up to the kiss and it gets heated. It gets sloppy. You’re almost surprised at how bad he is at kissing, but you don’t mind it. He is a quick learner and each one is better than the last. 

You don’t know how long it’s been, but when you finally part to gasp for air, his eyes are blown out, wet mouth glistening in the dim light, and looking the most delighted you’d ever seen him. His longing gaze catches you off guard. 

He comes back for more and you oblige, showing him the ropes. Your tongues dance together in harmony but he easily dominates yours at the same time. He loves the noises you make and he experimentally gropes around your body, surprised by how soft it is. 

You tap his arm to signal that you need air and he grunts but allows you to part. Your dazed expression sends a signal to his nether region that causes it to stir. 

You catch your breath and blush at his eyes piercing into your soul. Solely focused on you. You clear your throat and say “Thank you. Good enough? I go now?”

He makes a face and grumbles. “Yes. Leave.” Before you can respond, he drops you off in another room to rest. You turn back to say your thanks, but he’s already gone. 

You have a feeling that won’t be your last encounter. 

＊*•̩̩͙✩•̩̩͙*˚

Extra. 

Mr Gap returns to the darkness after leaving you and touches his fingers to his lips, still feeling the phantom touch of your lips. 

By this point, he is frustratingly bothered by you, evident by the bulge in his pants. He grunts in annoyance and fishes his dick out of his pants. 

He does this often by himself but something was different this time. He was far more sensitive as he gently stroked himself and growled, member twitching wildly at the thought of you. 

He was already so close without any friction at all. With each rough stroke, he pictured your flushed face, heavy panting breaths, your supple body…everything about you drove him mad. 

He had to slow down so he didn’t come too quick. Instead, he focused on teasing his tip with his cold fingers. He wondered how yours would feel. You were so warm. 

He cursed at himself for not feeling your hands more. Were they nice and soft like the rest of you, or calloused and hard like his? Either way, it excited him to fantasize about. 

He wondered if you would tease his tip until he became a whiny mess, if you would take the time to fondle his balls, stroke his thigh…splurt. 

Damn it. He came too quick. 

╚═════════════════*.·:·.✧ ✦ ✧.·:·.*════════════════╝

A/n: Again, I apologize if it’s not the best thing you’ve ever read. I haven’t written for a long while. Any comments are appreciated!! Please be nice. :,) If you liked it, feel free to request something else! I’ll publish a pinned post soon to tell you about me and what things I'll write for!

[scriptwriters-network]

The secret to being a writer is that you have to write. It’s not enough to think about writing or to study literature or plan a future life as an author. You really have to lock yourself away, alone, and get to work.

— Augusten Burroughs

[glowettee]

HIIII MINDYYY!!! how are you doing?

i love your guides and advice so much, i wanted to ask you if you could make your own guide to writing in a diary? like diary writing tips, making it pretty, girly diaries, etc etc etc.

thanks so much for ur time and ily!!

hey glam!! omg i'm so excited to answer this because diary keeping is one of my absolute favorite things to talk about (and do!!)... i've been keeping diaries since i was 9 years old and i have boxes of them under my bed that i sometimes read through when i'm feeling nostalgic or need to remember who i used to be. so yesss, of course glam, i'd love to give you a little guide, i hope this post answers your question well <3

✧ mindy's guide to keeping the most magical diary ever ✧

first of all, let's talk about WHY keeping a diary is literally life-changing:

• it's like having therapy but it's free and available at 3am when you're spiraling

• you can say things you'd never say out loud (and sometimes just writing them is enough to feel better)

• it creates this beautiful archive of your life that future you will treasure

• it helps you notice patterns in your thoughts and behaviors that you might miss otherwise

• it's the perfect place to dream without anyone's judgment (including your own)

✧ finding your perfect diary format:

the biggest mistake people make is thinking there's only one "right" way to keep a diary. there isn't!! here are some formats i've tried and loved and hopefully you like it:

• the classic narrative diary: just writing about your day, your thoughts, whatever comes to mind

• the bullet diary: quick points about what happened, how you felt, what you're thinking

• the themed diary: keeping separate journals for different parts of your life (one for dreams, one for creative ideas, one for processing emotions)

• the question diary: answering the same set of questions every day to track how you're evolving

• the art diary: more visuals than words, perfect if you process feelings through colors and images

• the structured diary: using prompts and templates to guide your writing (i'm actually going to be selling prompts + journaling templates on my gumroad soon)

personally, i switch between formats depending on my mood and energy levels. some days i write pages and pages, and other days i just jot down three bullet points before falling asleep. both are valid!!

✧ making your diary absolutely beautiful:

• invest in a diary that makes you excited to write in it!! (this is so important... if you don't love looking at it, you won't reach for it)

• create a "diary aesthetic" with special pens, stickers, washi tape, pressed flowers, etc.

• designate a special spot in your room as your "diary corner" with good lighting and cozy vibes

• develop little rituals around writing (i light a specific candle and make rose tea before i write. i also love putting on the soundtrack from legally blonde on or sometimes even harry potter music, weird right?)

• don't be afraid to make it messy!! perfect diaries are usually abandoned diaries

• use different colored pens for different moods or topics

• leave space for future reflections (i leave margins so i can add notes when i reread)

• include little artifacts from your life (movie tickets, dried flowers, polaroids)

✧ what to actually write about (for when you're staring at the blank page):

• write a letter to your future self or past self

• document the tiny beautiful moments that would otherwise be forgotten

• write about what you're learning right now (about yourself, about others, about the world)

• create lists (things i'm grateful for, things that made me laugh today, things i want to try)

• write about your dreams (both the sleeping kind and the aspiration kind)

• describe someone you love in detail

• write about what's worrying you and then write advice to yourself as if you were your own best friend

• document your current favorites (songs, foods, people, places, outfits)

• write about the version of yourself you're becoming

✧ how to keep it up long-term:

• lower the bar for what "counts" as a diary entry (sometimes mine are literally two sentences)

• connect it to an existing habit (i write right after i brush my teeth at night)

• don't try to catch up if you miss days (just start fresh where you are)

• give yourself permission to be boring, repetitive, and contradictory

• read old entries when you need motivation (it's so magical to see how far you've come)

• remember that you're writing for YOU, not for some imaginary reader

• create seasonal "check-in" dates where you review and reflect (i do this every equinox and solstice)

• experiment with different times of day to find when your thoughts flow most easily

• use voice memos when you don't feel like writing (you can transcribe them later)

✧ making your diary extra girly & coquette ✧

i know this was your main question, so here is a long list of a bunch of things i personally do to make my diaries cute and girly <3

• use pastel gel pens for different moods (pink for happy days, lavender for dreamy thoughts, baby blue for sad reflections)

• decorate your diary cover with pressed flowers, lace trim, or tiny pearl stickers

• create "pretty borders" around special entries with delicate doodles of flowers, hearts, or ribbons

• use strawberry or rose scented stickers as entry markers (scratch-n-sniff diaries are elite!!)

• add little bows or ribbons to mark important pages (i tie tiny satin ribbons to the corners)

• press flower petals between pages (roses and lavender dry beautifully and make your diary smell divine)

• use a soft pink book light for nighttime writing to keep the aesthetic consistent

• write in your prettiest handwriting for entries about things that made you happy

• add little watercolor washes as backgrounds for special memories

• use heart-dotted i's and swirly flourishes when you're feeling extra

• create "memory pockets" by gluing tiny envelopes to pages where you can tuck away small mementos

• draw tiny butterflies or hearts in the margins when something good happens

• use coquette-core stickers (bows, ballet slippers, swans, cherries) to categorize different types of entries

• spritz your favorite perfume very lightly on special pages (just a tiny bit so it doesn't damage the paper!)

• decorate with vintage-looking lace tape along the edges of important entries

• use a pink silk ribbon as a bookmark (i attached a tiny crystal charm to mine)

• draw little crowns above dates that were particularly magical

• create a "glossary of feelings" in the back with different symbols for different emotions

• use glitter gel pens for birthdays, achievements, and other celebrations

• write quotes from your favorite romantic movies or books in fancy lettering

• create little "note to self" sections with pink highlighter boxes around them

• use strawberry-scented erasable pens so your diary always smells sweet

• add tiny pearl or rhinestone stickers to mark especially precious memories

remember that "girly" means whatever feels feminine and special to YOU. there's no right or wrong way to express your femininity in your diary!! the most important thing is that it feels like a beautiful, safe space that you're excited to return to every day.

✧ the deeper magic of diary-keeping:

the most beautiful thing about keeping a diary is that it helps you become friends with yourself. you start to notice your own patterns, celebrate your tiny victories, and hold space for your struggles. you create this ongoing conversation with yourself that grows deeper and richer over time.

your diary becomes this sacred space where you can be fully, messily, contradictorily yourself. in a world that's constantly asking us to curate and filter our experiences, there's something revolutionary about documenting your life exactly as it is. beautiful, boring, confusing, and real.

xoxo, mindy 🤍

p.s. if you're worried about someone finding and reading your diary, i have a whole system for that too!! let me know if you want me to share it in another post!! 💭 thank you so much for this ask glam! <3

[wekasuwi]

This video is my baby,

Essentially, this video is a combination of my two true loves. And no, not Medic and Heavy lmao. Film is a passion of mine I rarely get to explore anymore with all of the TF2 videos I've been making. I studied acting in college, and I like to say that I dabble in screenwriting, couple that with my love for TF2 and you get this little monster. I even teared up at the end, I know it sounds super silly but this one really does mean a lot to me.

This took a lot of coordinated planning, and a lot of stuff to wade through, and thankfully, with a lot of help, it was accomplished. I love making breakdowns like this, they make me truly happy. So please, give it a watch and tell me what you think!

This month has been full of ups and downs but I'm excited to finally share this with you. Any like, comment, reblog, or repost, helps make the dream come true. If you've supported me thus far, thank you. 🫀

[oliolioxenfreewrites]

it’s time for a new writeblr intro

my name is oliver or oli; whatever’s clever!

hi there if you haven’t come across my page already 🫶🏾

my characters are messy, queer as fuck, haunted by their future… or their past, respectfully. they're constantly walking the line between ‘right’ and ‘wrong.’ my ocs not here to save the world—they’re mostly trying to survive it, one brutal decision at a time. and honestly?

so are the readers i want to connect with.

my linktree has all of my creative writing links: ao3, substack, & my ko-fi where i upload my in-depth fantasy world-building templates! you can use the qr code below and access it!

my wips are under the cut; don't hesitate to dive in and experience my cherished worlds and characters.

wips:

novaxiom: my world of sonoric sorcery, sound wave based magic. 🔊

the tryskelion prophecy; triplets born under the trinal moon, burdened with the responsibility of maintaining balance as a trio, their intertwined powers over dreams, memory, life, and death are key to this outcome, but their personal conflicts and unresolved karmic debts threaten to unravel everything.

osi’s midnight masquerade; a theatre troupe of queer vampires who play by their own rules.

[supersoakerfullofblood]

Lotta people here and elsewhere say things like, "Don't listen to anyone who says what you read is bad—all writing is subjective! Like what you like!" and while I agree on a surface level, retreating into the artistic closet so you don't have to engage with others' thoughts of what makes "good art" is also really rough. There is no solid definition of "good art"—this is true, and anyone worth their salt will agree with this. BUT this doesn't mean we as readers and writers should turn to a hyper relativistic, no-stepping-on-toes view of literature, a "I'll like what I like, you'll like what you like, and if you don't like that, dni" attitude.

Art exists to show us who we are. Good art does this well. If someone says something is good art and you disagree with them, listen to them, because refining your view of art is how you refine your view of who we are. If you say something is good art and someone disagrees with you, they should listen to you too.

Obviously, this isn't how it works in practice. The internet and general discourse is filled with people who see reading as a competition to find the objectively best book and the platonic ideal of writing, and if your favorite book doesn't fit that mold, it is lesser than. This is batshit, obviously. But the reclusive response to this is equally harmful to genuine artistic interaction and growth.

Listen to the wisdom of others about what they've found makes a good book good, and in turn, give the wisdom you've gained from reading to others! There is no right answer, but you gotta play the game, because in playing the game, you find out what it means to be you!!! That's why we're all doing this, people!!!!!

[theyuniversity]

📝✨ Using “ergo” won’t impress admissions officers who read your essays. Being you will.

Big words like “ergo,” “thusly,” or “heretofore” aren’t what make your essay great.

Clear, authentic storytelling > Thesaurus Olympics. 🏅

Admissions officers want your voice—not a Victorian novel. Say it simply. Say it sincerely.

📌 Tip: If you wouldn’t say it in real life, don’t write it in your essay.

Website | Twitter |  Instagram | Medium | Pinterest

[spookiestz]

How to write (food) Anaphylaxis

(Sorry for the formatting, was having issues with it.)

This is from my personal experience with Anaphylaxis, which is a type of allergic reaction that is deadly if not treated with epinephrine.

Okay, so if you have a character with Anaphylaxis, first of all you obviously need to have a cause for this reaction or an allergy.

So, let’s say this character is anaphylactic to shrimp. These are the main stages of anaphylaxis and of course, symptoms can vary person to person. I’m basing these symptoms off of my own personal experience with food anaphylaxis.

Stage 1:

Rash, itching, swelling, hives, stomach cramps or nausea. If you’re writing about a character having a reaction like this, you can use multiple of these.

Your character will/could get a red rash on their skin, especially around the area that the allergen came in contact with. For example, if you’re anaphylactic to bee stings, the area around the sting would be especially red/itchy with hives or swelling. Another example, if they’re anaphylactic to a certain food that they ate, their lips, tongue, chin and mouth would swell/ get hives or a rash. (Swelling on lips and tongue is more of a stage 2 of anaphylaxis, but I decided to include it here.)

I’m unsure if this is the same for people who don’t have food anaphylaxis, but immediately after they consume a food they have anaphylaxis to, they could start getting intensely painful stomach cramps, and/or nausea.

NOTES: Most, if not all anaphylaxis reactions happen pretty much immediately after coming into contact with the allergen. At most, it’ll take ten minutes for a reaction but that happens rarely. Stage 2:

Non-stop vomiting, ( When this happened to me I literally vomited until only bile came up ) As much as someone might think vomiting up food when you’re having an anaphylactic reaction will help, it doesn’t. Because your body already started having the reaction, it will continue even if the allergen is out of your system.

More widespread rash/swelling Stage 3:

Dizziness, shortness of breath, extreme swelling, difficulty breathing. At this point, the character will literally start to feel their throat closing up, and if they weren’t panicked before they surely would be now. Stage 4:

Inadequate blood flow to vital organs, not enough oxygen in the blood that does make it to those organs, the character will end up passing out and will die if not treated with an EpiPen or taken to a hospital.

Proper EpiPen insertion -

Take out of protective casing

Pull off blue cap

Aim red tip towards the outside of the character’s thigh, and stab it in (harshly) while pressing the button on the top and hold it there for atleast 10 seconds.

Call 911

NOTES & LONG - LASTING EFFECTS

Most people with diagnosed anaphylaxis will know to keep an EpiPen on them at all times, and know how to administer it as well as the signs of a reaction.

Anaphylaxis if treated early will not really give any long term effects.

If a character has had an allergic reaction when they were a child, or were traumatized by it they may develop anxiety or PTSD from this. Some people who have food anaphylaxis might develop EDs from this.

[kinomiakai]

Hello! I think I need some advice :(

I've been struggling with comparing my writing/fics to others based on the ao3 stats. I know it's been said repeatedly that "stats don't reflect the quality of your writing" but like. It's still a major bummer to see those numbers. I write for a small fandom, ~1k works till now for the ship I write, and the average kudos is around 300-500 per fic (and I've gotten that kind of stat on my older fics from '23-'24), it's just that my current multi chapter WIP is pretty much collecting dust, and I've noticed the number of my usual readers sort of.... Falling off with every chapter ;~;

So.... Is there anything that helped you deal with this feeling of "low numbers" = "my writing must have become shitty" ? 🥲

Ohhh, my friend. This is such an eternal struggle of the online world. This is such an eternal struggle of humanity! Comparison! And numbers are so EASY to compare, they’re right there in your face. Hang on I need to find a meme for you HJKDSHFKSJHF I CAN’T FIND IT

[Insert the meme that is a graph going up and down through the writing process, with a huge dip when you post the fic with “I have lost the ability to write”]

I don’t know if I will ever get over the initial feeling/fear of posting something new - when all the stats are at 0, no matter how much people like your old stuff, it feels like - “oh. It’s finally happened. I do suck! I knew it!!!!” And then you have to beat that fear back with a pool noodle and tell it you go through this every time.

So. Here are my thoughts about all that:

You’re never going to write for everyone. You don’t WANT to write for everyone. Think about the assholes in the world. You want them to like your work? Hell no, it’s a compliment when they don’t!

If you want to write a story, you are one person in the world it resonates with. THERE IS ALWAYS ANOTHER PERSON. I can’t tell you how many stories I’ve written off as bad that I still get comments on that someone connected to it in some way. You are not necessarily writing for that person, but you are writing a story that resonates with you, and it will undoubtably resonate with someone else. And if you don’t ever hear from that person, that’s okay - the story wasn’t for them. It was for you.

There’s that post that talks about how like 10% of any fandom has people that are balls to the walls bonkers. In bigger fandoms, this number increases proportionally; that’s why smaller fandoms - or groups, or forums, etc etc - tend to have that nicer community feel. Niche is nice. You have the people that are actually invested. You might not have the numbers, but you have the quality, and is so important. I’m thinking particularly of one of my lowest liked fics that I am still quite obsessed with and still really resonates with me - I’ve gotten two or three comments where I am like YES. YOU GET IT. And THAT is what it’s all about.

Numbers lie. Your newer stuff always looks like it’s doing worse than your older stuff, UNLESS you get on a fic rec list. I can genuinely tell when a fic breaks containment in some way because the numbers stop following a year when posted trend. People also tend to bookmark long fics vs. kudos shorter ones (in my experience). The more tags you have, the more people might see your stuff (or have it blacklisted). Long fics pop up on feeds more often because they might be there every time a new chapter is posted. Particularly artsy or more obscure writing styles will have lower numbers - I just went through my stats and yep - all my lowest ones are new, or poetry, or haven’t been on a fic rec list. Rebuilding was my highest in all stats for the longest time (basically my first fic when I properly came to writing and ao3), until Waiting for an Answer broke containment somehow. Numbers are a cool way to see how your writing is being read, how people are experiencing it, if they tend to come back to it, etc etc - but they’re not actually at all related to writing skill. I think Rosaceae is one of the best? toughest? my favourite? things I’ve ever written, but it’s very low down, and Bare is even further, pretty much the bottom - they’re just not a traditional type of story that people in the fandom tend to click on. OH ALSO - about tags again, easier-going stories tend to be more “popular” than stories that deal with heavier content, because people are almost always in the headspace for something light vs. they have to manage their emotions & energy and decide whether to read something darker. It’s not that one is good and another is bad, it’s just that it’s much easier to open up and casually read something that’s meant for casual reading. (I also think this is super fandom dependent and that fanfic tends to almost take an opposite structure to canon material - aka angst and drama in Naruto means people crave seeing stability and fix-its, vs. stories that are super chill and easy-going tend to have people wanting to see how those characters would deal with dramatic or dark situations. This is not 100% the case at all, but more of a general theme I think I’ve noticed)

When people are clicking on fics, they’re managing their time and energy. So - WIPs tend to be less read than complete fics, shorter fics can be quickly read through and commented on, longer fics can lose people in the middle NOT because the story is bad BUT because the person gets 50 work emails and then they forget when they’re frantically closing all their tabs so their phone stops freezing.

Also about WIPS: in my experience, comments & read pattern of a WIP are a U-curve - a bunch at the beginning because people are curious about the premise, and then interaction tapers off - then it will jump up again when completed. The most interaction I’ve gotten on my WIPs are like,,years after they’ve been completed, and that includes the ones where I posted a chapter a day. I think this is for a couple reasons; it’s a lot harder to commit to reading a WIP that is like 30 chapters in with no signs of slowing - and if it’s like 45/50? I want to read it when it’s 50. A lot of WIPs never get finished, so people have trust issues with getting really invested into a story - and stories can also totally go off the rails, so people manage their time (consciously or unconsciously) in that sort of way.

SO. Back to your actual question - yeah. Having enough evidence over the years of just pushing through and writing and not having my writing suddenly become the world’s greatest dumpsterfire means I can effectively bat away those thoughts with “yeah, yeah, this is what you said last time. And look what happened? You’re fine, and your writing is fine.”

But I’ll also use this answer to say this is one of the reasons a lot of writers really, really call for comments. For me, those comments - among a ton of other things - can become a little evidence bank that I access to prove doubts and fears wrong, and that lets me more easily keep writing. It is harder when you don’t have that external evidence, but it’s also really important that you’re able to keep going without it, because your writing really has to be for you.

When I first started writing properly, after my experience with How to Break a Mask, that’s one of the reasons I decided to write Enter Naruto and Rebuilding in full before posting them. When writing How to Break a Mask originally, I found myself being influenced by the comments to the point of really needing to keep people happy - this often became a big source of writer’s block (anxiety can be a big thing that makes your thoughts freeze!). Writing a fic all the way through can be really challenging, because it pushes you to write just to write. You might be finishing it to post it, sure, but you have no idea if people like it halfway through. But do you like it?

Writing takes ages. It’s such a grind. You wouldn’t be pushing to write chapter after chapter if you didn’t love your ideas. So my advice is really - have faith in yourself and your ideas. They are good, whether other people say so or not. They have to be. You wouldn’t be writing them otherwise.

And if you still can’t tell yourself your skills are up to par, consider this: how much writing is out there for Naruto? How many people trash talk Kishimoto’s ability to write? Is it the writing we love, or was it the ideas? What makes a story so worth reading? So worth loving? Is it not the author's ability to hold those ideas out, and offer them for consideration, thought, inspiration?

Just something to think about. All my love to you, anon <3

[s-soulwriter]

How do we write characters authentically?

Hello, my dear writer! I assume we've all wondered at the beginning of our writing journey, "How do I find my own writing style? How do I stand out, and how do I make my characters sound authentic?" This post is dedicated precisely to the latter question. How do we write characters authentically?

Observe Different Personalities: Observe people of different age groups, from various cultural backgrounds, and with diverse life experiences. Pay attention to their language, gestures, and behaviors to develop a broad understanding of human diversity.

Take Time for Character Development: Invest time in developing your characters, including their background, motivations, goals, strengths, and weaknesses. The better you know your characters, the more authentically you can portray them.

Utilize Realistic Settings: Place your characters in realistic environments and situations that are recognizable to your readers. Describe the details of their surroundings, such as landscapes, buildings, clothing, and everyday items, to create a vibrant backdrop for your story.

Be Open to Change and Development: Allow your characters room for growth and change. People evolve over time based on their experiences and decisions. Permit your characters to learn from their mistakes, gain new insights, and undergo development.

Everyday SituationsAn additional tip is to place your character in various small situations, even if they are a fantasy figure. For instance, have your character order coffee. What happens if they encounter a ghost? What are their feelings about Christmas? Accompany them while shopping. How do they react when meeting their greatest hero? Describe everyday scenarios that aren't part of your official story but are meant for you to better understand your character.

[thewriteadviceforwriters]

🧪 Character Arcs 101: what they are, what they aren’t, and how to make them hurt

by rin t. (resident chaos scribe of thewriteadviceforwriters)

Okay so here’s the thing. You can give me all the pretty pinterest moodboards and soft trauma playlists in the world, but if your character doesn’t change, I will send them back to the factory.

Let’s talk about character arcs. Not vibes. Not tragic backstory flavoring. Actual. Arcs. (It hurts but we’ll get through it together.)

─────── ✦ ───────

💡 what a character arc IS:

a transformational journey (keyword: transformation)

the internal response to external pressure (aka plot consequences)

a shift in worldview, behavior, belief, self-concept

the emotional architecture of your story

the reason we care

💥 what a character arc is NOT:

a sad monologue halfway through act 2

a single cool scene where they yell or cry

a moral they magically learn by the end

a “development” label slapped on a flatline

─────── ✦ ───────

✨ THE 3 BASIC FLAVORS OF ARC (and how to emotionally damage your characters accordingly):

Positive Arc They start with a flaw, false belief, or fear that limits them. Through the events of the story (and many Ls), they confront that internal lie, grow, and emerge changed. Hurt factor: Drag them through the mud. Make them fight to believe in themselves. Break their trust, make them doubt. Let them earn their ending.

Negative Arc They begin whole(ish) and devolve. They fail to overcome their flaw or false belief. This arc ends in ruin, corruption, or defeat. Hurt factor: Let them almost have a chance. Build hope. Then show how they sabotage it, or how the world takes it anyway. Twist the knife.

Flat/Static Arc They don’t change, but the world around them does. They hold onto a core truth, and it’s their constancy that drives change in others. Think: mentor, revolutionary, or truth-teller type. Hurt factor: Make the world push back. Make their values cost them something. The tension comes from holding steady in chaos.

─────── ✦ ───────

🎯 how to build an arc that actually HITS (no ✨soft lessons✨, just internal structure):

Lie they believe: What false thing do they think about themselves or the world? (“I’m unlovable.” “Power = safety.” “I’m only valuable if I’m useful.”)

Want vs. need: What do they think they want? What do they actually need to grow?

Wound/backstory scar: What made them like this? You don’t need a tragic past™ but you do need cause and effect.

Turning point: What moment forces them to question their worldview? What event cracks the surface?

Moment of choice: Do they change? Or not? What decision seals their arc?

🧪 Pro tip: this is not a worksheet. This is scaffolding. The arc lives in the story, not just your doc notes. The lie isn’t revealed in a monologue, it’s felt through consequences, relationships, mistakes.

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🛠️ things to actually do with this:

Write scenes where the character’s flaw messes things up. Like, they lose something. A person. A plan. Their cool. Make the flaw hurt.

Track their beliefs like a timeline. How do they start? What chips away at it? When does the shift stick?

Use relationships as arc mirrors. Who challenges them? Enables them? Forces reflection? Internal change is almost never solo.

Revisit the lie. Circle back to it at least three times in escalating intensity. Reminder > confrontation > transformation.

─────── ✦ ───────

🌊 bonus pain level: REVERSE THE ARC

Wanna make it really hurt? Set them up for one arc, and give them the opposite. They think they’re growing into a better person. But actually, they’re losing themselves. They think they’re spiraling. But they’re really healing. Let them be surprised. Let the reader be surprised.

─────── ✦ ───────

TL;DR: If your plot is a skeleton, your character arc is the nervous system.

The change is the thing. Don’t just dress it up in trauma. Don’t let your character learn nothing. Make them face themselves. And yeah. Make it hurt a little. (Or a lot. I won’t stop you.)

—rin t. // thewriteadviceforwriters // plotting pain professionally since forever

P.S. I made a free mini eBook about the 5 biggest mistakes writers make in the first 10 pages 👀 you can grab it here for FREE:

[thatchickcanwrite]

Opinions on Trans Werewolves?

I'm a non-binary author, and one of the stories I'm working on has a werewolf as one of the two main characters. Inspired by a remark one of my trans friends made, I initially began writing this character as a transwoman (the idea being that they understand the need to rip off your flesh). However, while discussing my story with one of my non-binary friends, they remarked that the idea of a trans werewolf gave them the ick because it felt a little like saying that trans people are animals or not human, which is NOT what I want to covey whatsoever. Still another trans friend said they liked the idea because when they were first transitioning they only came out of the closet at night, and the idea of being a little bit feral resonated with them (trans rights or I bites).

I had initially planned to have my transfemme bestie and her polycule help me alpha read for this story so I could ensure the character was authentic, and they all really liked the idea, but now I'm stuck.

I do NOT want to accidentally send a bad message or image that I think trans people are less than. This character being a werewolf is integral to the story, so now I have to decide if I want to go through with making them trans or not.

I would really love if some trans and non-binary folks could give me their opinions on trans werewolf characters. I am genuinely looking for constructive criticism.

[scriptwriters-network]

A writer is a world trapped in a person.

— Victor Hugo

[tobylitt]

Some advice on taking writing advice.

And not taking it too personally.

#writingcommunity #amwriting