#(also this was just a first draft so if you see any grammatical errors/confusing wording… no you don’t [joking])

[official-time-loop-posts]

hi official time loop posts. do you have any favourite time loop media?

I’d have to say Chonny’s Charming Chaos Compendium is my favorite at the moment, but that’s always subject to change :).

(long rant about it under the cut) (it was not supposed to be this long, i just kept having stuff to say lol)

To try and summarize it, it’s an album about this guy who is having a Not Great Time mentally so he splits himself into his Heart, Mind, and Soul. This does not help.

It’s also a cover album. Most of the songs covered are from the band Tally Hall, but there are some from other artists related to the band. A lot of the songs have their lyrics mostly/completely changed, to the point where some of them don’t even feel like the same songs anymore.

The time loop aspect is maybe* meant to represent the cycle of mental health. How you can end up in a loop of finally feeling like you’re getting better, just to spiral again.

*it’s hard to say for certain what most of the album symbolizes, since a lot of it is just up to interpretation.

If you want to check it out, just be warned that there are many mentions of suicide throughout the entire album. Also, if you watch the videos for the songs, a lot of them will have flashing lights.

With all that said, here’s a link to the songs if you want to listen for yourself :)

[asshlyyyy]

Absolute Silence Pt. 2

Part One | Part Three

I have no idea how well the first part did considering I finished this before posting the first part. However, thank you so much for all the love and affection on the first part if you left any! I am still working on my drafts and I hope to get those all finished before making my way back to Fairytale and Personal Nurse!

Masterlist

Pairing: Austin Butler x Deaf!Fem!Reader

Warnings: Some information may be inaccurate, swearing, Olivia is sort of a bitch but not really, spelling and grammatical errors. Let me know if I missed anything!

Word Count: 2k

You took a step back and smiled. Your dress was finally complete, and in perfect timing also. You and Austin were flying out to Nice in a couple of days for the Cannes film festival. To finally see the premiere of Austin’s hard work. You two decided to match in a subtle way. Austin would wear a black suit with a dash of color on his pin. A dark blue flower. You would wear a dark blue dress with black lace over top. 

You saw the flickering lights and turned around to find Austin. You smiled at him and showed him the dress. You pretty much always wore your cochlear, but Austin never knew when you were taking a break and when you weren’t.

“What do you think?” You asked him. Austin smiled and made his way over. He wrapped his arm around your waist and pulled you in closer.

“I  think you’re going to look beautiful.” He stated and pressed a kiss to your head. You let out a hum of comfort and smiled. You wrapped your arm around his torso and placed your hand on his chest. 

You two have been together for almost five years now. You wouldn’t have it any other way either. These past years have been amazing, even if there was a global pandemic sprinkled in with it. You ended up moving in with Austin during that time. You spent time helping him with his role in Elvis. You spent time digging deeper into each other. You meant that on a more innocent note then… not saying you didn’t though. 

“I can’t wait for this trip. I’ve always wanted to go to Paris.” You told him. You turned your head upwards to face him. 

“I’m glad you’re coming with me. I really need you there.” Austin admitted. You shook your head lightly.

“You don’t need me there Austin. You did amazing.”

“Maybe in your eyes. But I need my clover there.” You blushed at his words and shook your head. He really knew how to make your heart beat faster. Even if you two have been together for a long time. He was able to still surprise you. 

“You’re a dork,” you teased him and pulled away. Austin chuckled in response and pulled you back in. 

“Maybe, but you make me the dork I am.” He said as he leaned down and pressed his soft lips against your own. You hummed against the feeling and kissed back. 

You got to France not too long afterward. You two were in your hotel room getting ready. You had already got on your dress and were working on getting your makeup done. You saw Austin appear closer to you from the mirror. You looked at him through the mirror and smiled. 

“Hi, Austin.” You smiled and continued to put on your makeup.

“Hey beautiful,” he smiled and pressed a kiss to your head. “You look beautiful.” You blushed at his words and shook your head.

“Oh please, I’m nothing compared to your handsome looks. I’ll be the ugly nobody standing next to you.” You told him as you placed down the lip gloss you had just applied. 

“Never call yourself ugly, Clover, because you are far from it.” He pushed a piece of loose hair behind your ear.

“Hm, well… your opinion is the only one that matters.” You smiled and leaned closer to him and kissed him. Something that still drove you crazy to this day. There was nothing like kissing the love of your life. 

“May I make a suggestion?” Austin questioned. You nodded as you stood up.  “I think it’ll be smart if you don’t want your cochlear. Only while we’re outside with the press.” You looked at him confused.

“You want me to go silent?”

“It’s going to get real loud, clover. People will be yelling, it’s going to be chaotic. You can put it on once we get in the theater. I just don’t want you to get overstimulated.” He explained to you. You nodded taking in all the information. He had a point. When you were introduced to new sounds all at once you tended to get… a bit overwhelmed. 

“Okay,” you said softly and slipped the device off. You handed him the device and smiled sadly. Austin took the device and slipped it into his pocket for safekeeping. 

“Trust me, clover. It’s for the best.” You nodded once again and wrapped your arms around him. It was hard to take away your hearing when you only just got it. Maybe you were overreacting but… it was still hard. 

“I trust you,” you quickly signed and pulled away. Elvis gave you a slight smile and shortly you guys were off. 

You two got into the car and were on your way to the Cannes film festival. Your first festival, and probably not your last one. You looked outside the window and looked at the ocean. It was certainly a site to behold. A site that you could never get from your California apartment.  

Austin held your hand on his lap and his thumb rubbed patterns again your skin. You were nervous, but you knew he had to be more nervous. Considering he said that he needed his lucky clover by his side. It would be your first public appearance with him. You weren’t sure if you were ready for all the… for all the drama. 

But you knew better than to think about that. You knew that Austin loved you and that’s all that mattered. That was all that meant anything in the end. You had Austin’s love, and he had yours. 

You two came to the location and you felt immediately overwhelmed. There were hundreds of people. Hundreds of cameras. Austin was definitely right about you not wearing your device. The door was pulled open and Austin stepped out. Well… it was now or never. Austin reached his hand towards you and grabbed your hand. You smiled and gave his hand a squeeze before you made your way outside. You had no idea what was happening right now. You figured people were yelling to get Austin’s attention, but other than that… you were clueless.

“Don’t let go of my hand okay?” He quickly signed to you. You nodded and gave his hand a tight squeeze. You stood near Austin’s side the whole time. 

You felt out of place… You felt… you felt weird. Maybe it was because people were pushing cameras in your face, and trying to communicate with you. In reality, though, you were too overwhelmed to know what was going on. 

You felt like you were out there for hours. But, before you knew it you were sitting down in the theater. Austin pulled your device out of his ear and handed it to you. You thanked him with a smile and put it on.

“You okay?” He asked once he knew you could hear him. You nodded your head gently.

“Yeah, I’m okay. A bit overwhelmed but… I’ll manage.” You admitted to him. 

“I’m sorry clover,” he whispered, “but the hard parts are over. We enjoy the movie and then we head back to the hotel room.” He explained to you. 

“Thank you.” you whispered back and laid your head on his shoulder.

“Hey Austin,” Olivia came over with a smile on her face. She saw you and gave you a wave. You returned her wave with a smile. 

“Hey Olivia, everything all good?” He asked her. She nodded and sat down next to him.

“Oh yeah, I’m just excited to finally see the movie.” She admitted.

“I’m a bit nervous, but I got my lucky clover so.” Austin smiled as he gave your hand a squeeze. God, this man was going to be the death of you. You melted against his touch and closed your eyes ever so slightly.

“Oh please, you’re going to be amazing. We all are.” She continued on. The two of them spoke up until the movie started. Well, almost up to the movie, because Austin excused himself.

“So, Austin tells me you’re deaf?” Oliva turned to speak to you. That was a weird question to ask someone who was deaf. 

“Um… yeah.” You replied with a forced smile. It wasn’t like there was anything wrong with asking that. It was more or less the fact that she was asking someone if they were deaf. 

“That must be so hard,” she shook her head gently. You shrugged in response. Sure, it was hard at some points, but you’ve been living with it for years at this point.

“Well, I grew up like this so.” You replied and pulled off your device. You’ll make sure to put it back on when the movie starts, but for now, you didn’t want to listen to her anymore. You were positive she was still talking to you, but at this point, you just wanted to be left alone. 

Before you know it Austin came back with some water and a closed captioning device. You felt your heart do a flip. Sure you were able to hear movies now, but you still liked to be able to read what was going on.

“Sorry bout that, I’m back.”

“I took it off. Olivia was bothering me and I just wanted to be left alone. I’ll put it back on when the movie starts.” You quickly explained to him. He nodded his head and sat down. He handed you the device so that you could put it in place. 

“That girlfriend of yours is rude,” Olive said to Austin. Who in return looked at her confused. You have never been rude ever before in your life. Well, as long as he has known you. 

“I’m sorry?”

“She just started to ignore me. I mean, who even does that? I was speaking to her.”

“She probably didn’t mean to. She doesn’t have her device on. So, she can’t hear a single thing that’s happening around her. I also don’t appreciate you calling my girlfriend rude, because she is the nicest human being I have ever met in my life.” Austin stated and turned away from her. You looked at Austin confused.

“You okay?” You asked him. Austin nodded in return and opened his water bottle.

“Yeah, just Olivia,” he signed back. You nodded and waited for the movie to start. It didn’t take too much longer until the movie started. You slipped your device back on and grabbed Austin’s hand and gave it a squeeze. You were so proud of him. 

When the movie came to an end, everyone rose from their seats and clapped. It was truly a brilliant movie, and Baz had a certain direction he took and it worked. The movie was beautiful… your boyfriend was beautiful. His heart and soul really were put to work for this movie and you could tell.  

You peered down at your boyfriend and saw that he started to tear up. You smiled softly at your pretty boy and pulled him up onto his feet. You wrapped your arm around him and pulled him close. He deserved this attention. For all the hard work he did… he deserved it. 

The two of you got home a little bit later. You kicked off your heels and turned your back towards Austin. You felt his hands on your shoulders before they went toward your zipper. You were entirely pooped after the day you just had. You just wanted to spend the rest of the night in with Austin. 

“I still can’t believe they stood for twelve minutes. It couldn’t have been that good…” Austin said in disbelief. You let out a light laugh and shook your head. 

“Well better believe it because it happened.” You turned to face him once he was done. 

“Well… it wouldn’t have happened without you.” He admitted. You smiled and pressed yourself up to your tippy toes.

“Oh please, I just stood on the sidelines.” You said softly as you undid his bow tie. Austin placed his hands on your hips and gave them a squeeze.

“You did so much more clover. So so… so much more.” He whispered and leaned down to kiss you deeply. 

Mutual Taglist: @darlinboypresley @emmymaehereeeeee @venus-haze @austinstyles

[yourstarvic]

Could you please do prompt 5 and 3 with Atsumu?

“(Y/n)-Chan!” You heard a voice behind you as you were walking out of the building. You and your older brother, Shugo Meian, sighed as you heard the familiar voice, coming up next to you.

“What can I help you with Miya-San?” You gave him a small smile, halting your step to look at him.

“I wanted to tell you a joke!” Atsumu said, ignored the disgusting look his captain was giving him.

“Okay?” You questioned, waiting for him to tell you.

“What do trees say?” Atsumu asked, giving you a childlike smile.

“I don’t know,” you chuckled, trying to stop the growing smile, “leaves?”

“Oh,” Atsumu pouted, rubbing the back of his neck nervously, “I wish I thought of that.”

“What did you come up with?” You smiled, raising your eyebrows at him.

“I don’t remember,” Atsumu smiled at you. But it turned into a smirk as he bends down at your level to say, “I’m stumped.”

“That wasn’t funny,” You scoffed off your laughter, trying not to laugh so much. But the growing smile on your face showed that you did enjoy the joke.

“Perfect, you’re smiling,” Atsumu noted as he stood straight with an awe expression, “you have a beautiful smile.”

“Thank you,” you blushed, biting down on your lip nervously.

“Now to do step three,” Atsumu muttered to himself. Atsumu started to feel nervous, feeling everyone stare at him as he talked to the captain’s younger sister. All of his teammates saw how Meian was glaring at Atsumu, wanting him away from you, his innocent sister. 

“I didn’t know he liked (Y/n),” Hinata muttered, watching Atsumu becoming nervous.

“She is going to say no,” Sakusa stated, “(Y/n) can do so much better.”

“Agree,” the two boys and a few members around them nodded. 

Atsumu felt annoyed and a bit hurt hearing them agree to Sakusa, but he shook it off. Taking a deep breath, Atsumu gave you a nervous smile as he stated, “Go out and have dinner with me. Before your brother kills me.”

You gave him a smile, making Atsumu sighed out in relief seeing he didn’t mess up. Grabbing a piece of a napkin from your purse and a pen, you wrote down something and gave it to him.

“Perfect!” Atsumu said as he grabbed the napkin, “I’ll text you the time and…”

“Is something wrong, Miya-San?” You gave him an innocent smile and an innocent look in your eye.

“T-This is your email?” Atsumu questioned with a dumbstruck look on his face. “B-But your number will be easier…”

“Email me on why you want to go on a date with me,” you smiled at him, patting in on his shoulder a comfort. “Full sentences, correct grammar, formal writing, and no picture. Please, no pictures. And I’ll think about it.”

“Y-Yeah,” Atsumu slowly nodded, still dumbstruck. Everyone watching all snickered, enjoying Atsumu's expression and Meian's relieved look that you didn’t accept his proposal.

“See ya!” You waved off, walking away with Meian next to you.

Everyone else walked off, glad they stayed to watch the show. But Hinata, Bokuto, and Sakusa walked up to the frozen Atsumu. Hinata waved his hand in front of Atsumu, trying to get a reaction from him. Sakusa grabbed the paper from Atsumu outstretched to look at him. He then put it back on Atsumu's hand as told him, “That was fun to watch.”

Breaking out of his trance, Atsumu yelled, scaring Hinata and Bokuto with his outburst, “Ya just jealous that I got a way to contact (Y/n)!”

“I have her phone number you idiot,” Sakusa smirked, seeing Atsumu’s face turn to betrayal.

“Give it to me,” Atsumu said, taking a step closer to him.

“No,” Sakusa said taking a step back. Atsumu kept repeating his demand, jumping on Sakusa while Sakusa tried to get him away. Causing Bokuto to try and help but ended up falling on Sakusa. Hinata just ran, trying to catch the paper then held your email that Atsumu accidentally let go.

A few days later…

“I don’t know what to do!” Atsumu yelled in agony. Sitting on the gym floor, his back against the wall and his laptop on his lap, Atsumu pulled on his hair in frustration.

“You’re still trying to send an email to (Y/n)?” Hinata asked, taking a sip out of his water bottle.

“Yes,” Atsumu groan, “but I can’t make the perfect email. Everything I typed sounds so weird.”

“Of course it does,” Sakusa said, joining the group, “you send me a draft saying ‘your eyes are the sky, limitless.’ Who even says that?”

“Shut it!” Atsumu yelled, “I’m trying my best and my pickup lines don’t work great when it’s typed.”

“But why is your email hotsetterfordays?" Sakusa asked, cringing at the name.

“I made it when I was in high school, it’s going to follow me forever,” Atsumu muttered. “But that doesn’t matter! What matters is, I made over 100 email drafts and I can’t make the perfect one.

Putting his laptop aside leaned over and buried his face in his hands. With his face down, he could see Hinata taking the laptop and motion Sakusa to talk and ask questions.

“What would you say to her, if it was face to face?” Sakusa asked, understanding what Hinata was saying.

“I would say she’s amazing,” Atsumu smiled with his face still in his hands. “Just the way she walks in any room it would instantly brighten up. Her laughter is the most amazing thing I ever heard. And the way she talks about things. She’s so passionate about everything and always give it her all.”

“What else?” Sakusa asked again, seeing Hinata need more information to type.

“She so smart,” Atsumu looked up, chuckling softly with a loving smile, “and funny that it makes me the happiest person on earth to just being near her. Everything she does is so graceful and jaw-dropping. Even if she says no to me, as long as I get to be near her is enough.”

“That’s good,” Hinata said, giving him back his laptop, “now send it.”

“What?” Atsumu grabbed back the laptop and reading what Hinata type. “This is perfect! Now all I got to do is to send-”

“Watch out!” Bokuto yelled, but it was too late. The ball already hit Atsumu and the laptop. Sakusa and Hinata looked at Atsumu with wide eyes, seeing if he was okay. Instead of telling them, he was fine, Atsumu quickly went to his laptop to check if it was in good condition.

“It’s fine,” Atsumu breath out. But his face turned to horror when he was what was on display on his screen, “My emails… all of my emails were sent to her…”

“It be like that,” Sakusa said, making Atsumu glare at him.

Once practice was over, Atsumu walked out of the building with slump shoulders, knowing that you would never agree to go out with him after reading all those emails. Sakusa, Bokuto, and Hinata followed him, giving him words of encouragement, except for Sakusa. 

“Miya-San!” Atsumu heard, making his ears perk. Looking up from the ground, Atsumu saw you running towards him with a wide smile.

“(Y/n)-Chan?” Atsumu's eyes widen, seeing it was you standing in front of him and not an illusion his mind made up.

“I read your emails,” You smiled, bitting down on your lip.

“All of them?” Atsumu cringed.

“Most of them,” you smiled at him, “there was no way I could read all 289 of your emails.”

“R-Right,” Atsumu flinched at the number.

Taking a step closer to him, you gave him a teasing smile, “Also, I would love to go have dinner with you.”

“Really?” Atsumu eyes light up, looking at you with a bright smile.

“Really?” Bokuto, Hinata, and Sakusa asked, confused on how you could say yes to him after all those emails. 

“Yes, really,” you laughed at them.

Overcoming with joy, Atsumu leaped onto you. Placing his hands on both sides of your checks and dipping his head down, capturing your lips. You were taken back at first but sank into the feeling of his lips on yours. Slowly breaking apart, Atsumu laid his forehead against yours with a carefree smile, “Be my girlfriend, so I can kiss you anytime I want.”

Giggling at him, you nodded your head and biting your lip, still in a daze because of the kiss. Atsumu pecked your lips, muttering, “You are so beautiful, it hurts.” In-between each kiss, making sure to kiss every part of your face.

“They do know we are still here?” Sakusa asked, looking at them in disgust.

“Should we tell them that Meian is coming over here and looks mad at Tsumu?”

Notes: I tried to get all the grammatical errors, I’m sorry if I didn't catch them all! 

[unmanageable-day]

Come to me

PART 26.5 - next

masterlist / previous chapter: 26

Summary. After what happened in a relationship in the past, you found it difficult to trust someone with the gentleman image. ‘Gentleman’ seems like merely a concept and it was probably impossible for someone to be a genuine one. Now that you’re stuck with the number one gentleman at campus for a group project, how would you cope with the one and only Joshua Hong?

Genre. College!au, non-idol!au / friends to lover

Pairing. Joshua x y/n x S.Coups

wc / warning. 1k / prolly grammatical error, and nothing more, i guess? (does mentioning shua’s nickname of the holy jisoos count?? if anyone feels disturbed about it, please do let me know!)

TAGLIST.  @samemagicpoint @unravellyn @nonuuu @seventeeneration @skylions-den @wooziverse @infinitemoods @haoraecane @sunflowergyeomie @flower0930 @riashushu​ — [ send ask or dm if you’re interested to be added in the list! 🖤 ]

a/n: i’ve decided to cut this written part into two chapters. hope you still enjoy it, any comments are warmly welcomed! i have this rough draft ready looong time before those smau parts but it took me a while to rewrite it, so it is kinda tricky to connect all the dots hehe

You set the living room as if you were going on a picnic. Instead of a rug or carpet, you used a yoga mat covered with an old scarf—resulting in Joshua quietly laughed at this sudden creativity. The pizza box was wide opened between you and him. Yet what you two had in your hands were two scoops of ice cream. Joshua was the one suggesting to have this salty-sweet-salty-sweet eating pattern.

"Okay. Let's start with... why does everyone call you a gentleman? Oh, I think I've also heard about the holy Jisoos," you trailed off, stirring the ice cream on your cup.

Joshua chuckled. "I honestly have no idea. Some kids made that up. I mean, I do consider myself as a gentle person but I won't even call myself a gentleman."

You nodded slowly, a spoonful of ice cream went into your mouth.

"And, please, stop with the holy Jisoos. If I find out who started that, I think I will commit a murder," he said, rolling his eyes in annoyance. No one really had ever said this particular nickname right into his face, but still, it was the one he most despises of.

Unconsciously you watched his expression quite eagerly. It was probably the first rime you caught him making that face. Even he still kept his smile intact and never showed it if he was exhausted during overtime—unlike you who looked like a mess when it was past 9 PM in the office. And it was fascinating to hear him wanting to murder someone. Basically the word murder and his by-default smiley face simply didn't match.

He made eye contact and you were flustered. "Come on, ask me more questions," said him, looking as eager as you.

"Are you always this nice to people? I mean, not even a bad intention once a while?" That was the best filtered words you can arrange. The truth is, you wanted to ask 'are you sure you're not being fake with all that kindness?' but now that you think about it, it sounds very rude.

"I do plot some things. Well, not to random people, but to my friends." He shrugged, but his voice started to sound more excited. After the last bite of his ice cream, he took a slice of pizza. "Do you remember the first time we met?"

Your eyes got widened at that question. How can you not? You squinted your eyes, looking guilty. "You mean how I made you come late to your first class?"

"What? That was you?"

"... yeah?"

He paused. Tilting his head, he looked at you with puzzled expression. He surely remembered his first day of uni and the accident of coming late and getting scolded by one of the most legendary lecturer in campus because of somebody. Apparently he was too shocked to remember who it was.

“I know, I ran away when you went in to Prof. Lee’s class,” you shyly confessed, covering your face with your hands. “And our second meeting was not great either,” you mumbled.

“Was it coffee accident?”

You nodded.

He smiled wide to himself. Looking at you fondly, he continued, “I thought that was our first meeting. But knowing the truth of our first meeting, it was quite fascinating.”

“I know it’s probably too late, but I’m sorry about getting scolded by Prof. Lee and for ruining your white shirt.” You bowed down.

Still smiling, Joshua shook his head, suggesting to never mind it. “Anyway, about that white shirt..” A mischievous grin grew wider. "That’s not my shirt. It's Jeonghan's. Just a few days before my first day going to school, he dropped some ragu sauce on my shirt he wore. I was already plotting something, that was why I wore his clothes, but you unexpectedly did it for me. So..." He made a face, which strangely reminded you of Johnny’s ‘not my problem’ face.

"Wait, what?" You squinted in disbelief. "But you looked mad though?"

"I did?" The bambi eyes widened at your accusation. "Rather than mad, I think I was more shocked. I mean who wouldn't, right?"

Eventually, you two laughed it off. You were glad you cleared at least one unsettled matter with this guy.

"I'll confess one more thing. You can judge me as you please," he spoke rather excitedly and you just nodded. "You know, I often got anonymous love letters in my locker."

"People are still doing that like in Japanese comic?" you commented, holding your laugh.

"I know right. But that's not the point. Those letters, I never read them. Either I just leave it in my locker, or I just throw them away. Or sometimes Seokmin would read it for me, and still they ended up in the trash."

A dramatic gasp left your lips. "Oh my gosh, those poor girls.. Maybe they're just shy, you know? You should give them a chance." Instantly you realized what you said just changed the mood.

“Why don’t you give me a chance?” he calmly retorted.

You chewed your lips, unable to answer him right away.

"Y/N, I'm shy too, but since we were assigned for group project, I encourage myself to talk to you instead of sending anonymous letter." He tried to break the ice.

"Like you, Y/N, they only see me as someone with that too good to be true image. If they really mean it, why not approach me personally? You see, I had bad relationships too. There are many people who only like the way I look, the way I behave. How I don't really voice out, how I never show them if I'm angry, how I always say "it's okay" when things start going bad and "I'm sorry" even when the fault is not mine. They thought I'm 24/7 an angel who is never upset."

A small part of your heart just melted to finally see another side of Joshua Hong. You simply could feel the honesty. It was nice to see the ‘humane’ side of him, to see his emotion as he shared a bit about himself. Now you felt bad for having bad prejudice about him.

"There is one thing I’ve been wondering. Why me?" you asked carefully after observing him catching his breath.

"I don't know." He shrugged. "It's just interesting to see you. It looks like there are so many sides of you."

You looked at him, confused.

“When you're with me, do you notice you're very quiet? But when you're with Johnny, you turn into someone else and you express yourself easily. When you're with Mingyu, Seokmin, and Soonyoung, you change again. You play along with them, you get their jokes, overall it's like you're a child again playing with your friends. Then Wonwoo, you used to have that sheepish smile when you talk to him. And when you're with Seungcheol...” Joshua paused, clearing his throat and looked away. “It's clear how you're comfortable with him, you talk freely with him, as if he's an old friend. And the way you smile at him.. how could I not envy him?”

You attentively listened to him while trying to digest everything. You were quite flustered that he paid that much attention to you.

"So I thought, there must be something wrong with me. I was insecure of myself. 'What is it that Seungcheol does better than me?', 'Why the quiet Wonwoo can be close with you while I can't?', 'Am I good enough to be with you?', 'Am I a trust worthy person to you?'. I was always doubting myself whenever I tried to make a move. Especially since Seungcheol butts in."

The pizza was long forgotten as you were drowning in his thoughts.

"If there is one thing I'm lacking, it's confidence. I don't want people to know about that. Also, I'm not really into telling others how I feel, not even to Jeonghan. I tend to bottle up everything instead of expressing my feelings. Then I would overthink, I would be overly sensitive about things. In the end, I wouldn't actually do anything about it. I'm a coward, Y/N." His hands were fiddling with the spoon on his empty cup.

"Y/N, do you like Seungcheol?" he asked suddenly, making you flinched in your seat.

"Honestly it's hard to not to.." you said guiltily. It was such a mystery to you too why you felt guilty. It wasn’t like you and Joshua were something in the first place.

[avelera]

Advice on Writing Dialogue

For @sailor-hufflepuff, who requested my take on how to write dialogue. 

I’m going to begin this advice with quick, easy, and actionable tips, then move on to personal strategies, and then to outside anecdotes that I found compelling if not necessarily lifechanging for me personally.

1) Read dialogue aloud to yourself - this is a very basic tip that helps you figure out if this is something anyone would say. Good for finding typos and grammatical errors, but also logic flaws, repetition, tongue twisters, and just general OOCness. The first and most important tip for learning how to write good dialogue.

2) Dialogue tags - don’t stress about them, but be aware of their function. When in doubt, just use “(Character Name) said.”/“said (Character Name).” A reader is never going to get mad at you for clarifying who is speaking. Readers don’t like to be confused. That said, I think the hysteria over using an adverb to describe dialogue (ex. “he said quietly.) is way overblown. It’s fine to use an adverb as a modifier rather than do a lengthy description (“his voice was a low hiss like leaves over stone blah blah blah”) or even over a verb (“he whispered”) if that verb being overused or is simply not accurate (saying something quietly is not the same as whispering it).

The rule of thumb I’ve seen is that it’s fine to break from using said alone any time the content of the sentence does not make clear how the sentence is said. ““Where are you going?” she asked.” is somewhat redundant. We know she asked a question because there’s a question mark. But “Where are you going?” she screeched.” has an entirely different meaning which changes how the sentence is read, as does “Where are you going?” she whispered.” and “Where are you going?” she said quietly.” “Where are you going?” she said angrily.” “Where are you going?” she snarled.”

3) Most people don’t monologue or give long speeches in everyday dialogue. If your dialogue goes on more than, for example, 3 sentences, check to see if that’s something someone would actually say or even have time to say. Read it aloud to check.

4) Don’t edit until your first draft is done - that’s not to say you can’t tweak lines as  you go, nothing is absolute. But these suggestions are meant for reviewing your dialogue, not for when you write it.

5) My personal technique, which other writers have said is helpful, is what I call the Bracket Technique. When I’m stuck on the flow of dialogue between 2 (or more) characters, don’t know how to figure out what needs to be said, everything that could be said, everything the character is holding back but has as an undertone in their words, how to get the characters to shift the discussion from Point A to Point B, etc. etc. I open a bracket and:

Person A: “(I’m so angry at you right now I could actually murder you. I’m mad at that thing you did yesterday, but I would never tell you that in a million years because you didn’t know I was spying on you. I’m hurt that you didn’t trust me with this information. I wish we could get back on good terms but I fear that time is past. I wish you would leave me alone.”

Person B: “(Gee, I wonder what’s wrong with Person A, they’ve been really distant lately. I should make some attempt at being nice to them in order to find out what’s wrong and see if it’s my fault.”)

The dialogue that comes out of this ends up getting boiled down to:

Person B: “Hey A, how’ve you been lately?”

Person A: “Fuck off.”

It can be frustrating to boil down so much to so little, but it makes for snappier dialogue and it helps clear my thoughts. I need to know everything that could be said before I can get out of it what they do say, what’s good for the story, how it moves the plot, etc.

The Bracket Technique is also useful for writing drafts without second-guessing yourself, and for placeholders. It’s at its best when you find that ONE perfect line buried in all the rambling that encapsulates all the other lines around it, but you really needed to write out all the rambling before you could find it. When in doubt, use the bracket rule.

Write everything the dialogue could be, everything it could accomplish within the brackets. Worry about the specifics of what they say, what iteration is the most beautiful or poetic, the most powerful or precise, later.

Some anecdotes paraphrased (badly) from other writers that I found useful:

7) Fiction dialogue is not real dialogue. The way people talk in real life is a mess of umms, aaah, repetition, misunderstandings, missing what the other person said or just flat out ignoring it, etc. Fictional dialogue is designed to drive forward the plot of a story, reveal a character, or reveal an emotion or philosophy that is relevant to the story. If it does not accomplish any of those things, you should consider why it is there and if it can be cut to make the dialogue snappier, more eye-catching, more interesting, and more entertaining to the reader.

8) One of the most eye-opening pieces of writing advice I ever received was that few authors actually think about their audience, or how to make an enjoyable experience for their audience. Probably because most writers start out, as they should, with writing for themselves. You shouldn’t write for everyone. Sometimes it works to just write for one person, or one audience whose love of your work would be fulfilling in and of itself (ex. the Bagginshield fandom, or the MCU fandom, or even just a particular character’s fandom, or just a personal friend of yours who loves your headcanons). 

But going back to dialogue, think about how your dialogue is working in the overall story. Is the dialogue helping you tell a story that this person will enjoy, in addition to yourself? Are you entertaining your audience, or just rambling for your own sake? How can you take the rambling you did for your own sake, which constitutes the first draft, and turn it into a piece of entertaining dialogue for your intended audience in the second draft?

9) Dialogue can be a powerful tool for exposition. Ideally, the audience shouldn’t even notice when they’ve received exposition.

Caveat to this, avoid, “As you know, Bob.”

Good example: “Why do you care that a bunch of androids were killed, you don’t even think they’re people.” (paraphrased from “Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep”)

This dialogue reveals that an android has been killed, that the speakers are discussing it, that there’s contentiousness between them, perhaps anger, and that one of them doesn’t think androids can be people but perhaps the speaker does think they can be.

Bad example: “As you know, Bob, when we were children, androids were granted human rights, but to this day most people still think of them as only machines, despite the fact they have complex emotional capability chips. I know you are one of those people, Bob, as we have known each other for many years, so I am surprised that you’re greeting the news that everyone is talking about from last week with any level of sympathy. I care about androids, but you do not.”

- This dialogue is bad for ALL THE REASONS, but the most important and annoying is that it’s too obvious and it’s full of stuff no one would ever say to another actual human being.

As a side note though, writing out the “bad” example in full in your brackets can be a good way to pair it down to the “good” example. Sometimes it’s really hard to figure out that spare, cleaner version without writing out the whole thing.

Other people’s tips that I found less useful but may be of interest to others:

9) Dialogue is more interesting when something is being held back. People rarely tell the whole truth to each other, and holding something back creates suspense.

10) Dialogue is more interesting when people are talking past each other to some extent, expressing themselves rather than simply answering the question or addressing the current topic of conversation. In that way you can reveal character, what people don’t say is as important as what they do say.

11) Read books on script writing for movies and plays. Since their entire art is dialogue, they’ve got a lot of good tips on how prose writers can improve their dialogue. 

[sunnydwrites]

The Editing Phase

Hey everyone, it’s Abby with another writing advice post! This week we’re talking about the part of the process we hate to love: editing. Seeing as I’m in the middle of this process with Smoke Shadows now, I figured it couldn’t be too bad of an idea to make a big ol’ post on it.

Disclaimer: This guide won’t be comprehensive. I intend to cover as much as I can, but I won’t get to everything. These aren’t hard-and-fast rules; the process varies from author to author.

Step One: Pure Agony [a.k.a. The Wait]

So, you’ve finished the first draft of your project; that means it’s time for something much worse, and that’s not writing. You think writing is bad? Try not to do it for about a month.

But here’s the fun part: You don’t have to stop writing completely. What’s suggested is you leave that project alone, no matter how many ideas for improvement you get. You can work on a different project, be it writing another first draft or getting the planning of it started. The biggest nightmare for new writers is they would have to break their writing routine, but this isn’t true at all. A few writing-involved things you could do during this stage:

Start brainstorming ideas for a new project

Start writing or editing a secondary project (one you won’t get too attached to for the time being)

Try your hand at other writing-related things. Maybe it’s poems, short stories, AU’s, writing prompts - keep the writing flow going.

Read! Check out a few reference books or popular books from your genre; see what they did and realize there was a lot of editing that went into those, it’s a big morale booster.

Waiting to continue in your story doesn’t necessarily mean you stop writing all completely. This stage means you’re giving your brain a break from this project, so it’ll be easier to take a step back and see what needs fixing. (Honestly, I would recommend this between every draft, but not for a month - maybe a few days or a week, just so you come back refreshed.)

Step Two: Over-Exaggerating Minor Details [ a.k.a. The First Read-Through]

The first read-through can be a nightmare. You catch a mistake and immediately think: “Oh my gosh, I’m the worst writer ever.” (Don’t worry, we all have those moments.)

And, because we’re writers, we get the immediate urge to fix everything as we see it. Usually these things are grammatical errors, and very quickly we forget this is the first draft; there are much, much bigger things to worry about than the correct spelling of champagne or where that semi-colon should go. In the read-through, try to be blind to grammar and spelling errors. You’re looking for things like:

Plot holes

Inconsistency in things like world-building, characters, and relationships

Confusing areas

Parts of your story (scenes, paragraphs, maybe chapters) that don’t need to be there

Parts of your story that might need for content for clarification

Integration of subplots

Things that don’t make sense and either need more information or need to be changed

Descriptions

What you want for this stage is a good, old-fashioned notebook (or an open document, if that’s what you prefer). Write these things down as you read so you can fix them later, but don’t try to fix everything as you read. Fixing one thing could screw up another, and you’ll want to make sure everything flows together seamlessly.

It’s really easy to get discouraged during this step. So what you’ll also want to do is note the things you noticed that you did well and write those down, too. Look for things like:

Good pacing

Consistency

Efficient and in-character dialogue

Well-explained parts of the story

Descriptions

These all deserve to be recognized as well! You need to keep your morale up and it’s easy to forget that nobody can create an absolute masterpiece on the first try. Balance the good with the bad in your notes - this will also make it easier to see what does and doesn’t need to be changed.

Step Three: Pure Agony 2.0 [The Re-Write]

This step should come after you’ve completed the read-through, note before. You want to have all of your ducks in a row first. Once you’ve gotten your notes ready and you’re prepared for Stage Three™, it’s time to get going.

The re-write tends to get a bad rep (as you could probably tell from the title of this step). But it’s a heck of a lot easier than writing a first draft; here you have a direction for your story and you know what there is to work on. After all, you have a list, right?

Before you start this step, make a list of everything you want to improve on. Smoke Shadows has been quite the journey and I’ve gone through several versions (not drafts, versions) here, but currently I’m on the second draft. Of the fourth version. Anyway, not the point. For this draft my goals are to:

Increase the word count by at least 20k

Improve relationships between Jax and the home characters

Improve world-building in all parts

Work more with characters from the complex

Include more involvement with Big Bad

More on inner workings of the complex

More on inner thoughts of Jax - strengthen characterization

That’s a lot of improvement, and obviously I won’t get 100% of it done in this draft. The second draft is meant to solidify things like this and get them down; it’s a time for getting everything to flow more smoothly. The goal is to do the majority of the improvement things on your list, and everything will come together as you continue to fine-tune the story and get everything taken care of.

If you don’t do every single thing on your second draft list, that’s okay. There’s no limit to the amount of drafts you can write to get everything perfect, I promise.

Step Four: Everything Else [a.k.a. Drafts Three-∞]

This is the last step I’m going to include in the process, because the steps after this would be things like beta-reading and the professional edit - neither of which I have done yet.

So, step four is meant to be carried out on your own. You take these drafts to get everything as good as you possibly can. This step doesn’t necessarily entail any re-writes unless necessity calls for it, in which case nobody’s stopping you. But once you’ve got the major details down, the story should be operating like an actual story now. You should be looking at the smaller details, like:

Character quirks

Minor details about characters and the world

Dialogue

Descriptions

Inner thoughts

These are things that aren’t necessary an absolute need for a story, but that statement is only true if you want to write a story that seems a little unfinished. Adding these details makes everything a little more real; it may be tedious, but adding these brings you so much closer to creating an actual, functioning story.

And once you get these, it’s time for the line edits. Here you’re looking at the more minor descriptions, wording, grammar, and spelling. You should be fine-tuning everything to the best of your ability; line editing should be done at least twice to make sure you’ve gotten everything.

Maybe along the way you find a critique partner (shout out to @mangoandsnow who is like the best critique partner ever) to exchange stories and get someone else’s insight. Maybe you share your story with your friends and see how they like it. This stage is all about gaining confidence.

And... that’s as far as I’m comfortable going. Smoke Shadows isn’t too far along on it’s own but this is what I know about the editing process. Maybe once I get there I’ll make some posts on beta readers and the professional edit, but with no experience I couldn’t do the job justice.

So, that’s my advice for today. Happy editing and stay lovely <333

[ringo-ichigo]

An Essay Concerning Grammar for the Aspiring Writer

I’ve seen an attitude spreading in the writing community lately. It is degrading on many levels to the writing industry as a whole and particularly to editors. This attitude is the belief that you don’t need to have good grammar to write. It is patently false and I will explain why now.

Firstly, we must examine what writing is meant to do. Writing of any type is a means of communication. We use it to express ideas on the page. Now what does grammar have to do with this? Grammar is the rules of the road so to speak. It is the foundation upon which you build. So shoddy grammar makes for poor communication. Poor grammar can cause your point to become muddled.

Take antecedents. If you say, “Sally hit Jen, and she regretted it,” your reader will become confused. The antecedent for “she” in this case is Jen. However, it doesn’t make sense why Jen would regret being hit. It makes far more sense for Sally to regret the strike, yet what you have written does not communicate that. This is just one example. There are many others such as tense changes making the timing unclear or incorrect forms of words causing issues. These all weaken your writing as you no longer are able to convey your message without confusion. No one wants to be confused and have to reread your writing in order to comprehend it.

Now, I can hear some protesting “But this author says you don’t have to be perfect at grammar to be a writer!” To which I will say, yes, he’s correct in a way. You can break the rules and still be a good writer. Shocking, I know. The issue is that you must know the rules first in order to break them. What do I mean? Simple. In order to use this writing technique, it must be done with a purpose like I just did above with the fragment. I did it to emphasize the word and to be an example. I had a purpose to it. But if you do not understand the rules in the first place, you have no hope of choosing the proper time to break them. Instead of enhancing your writing, poor grammar will weaken your writing as it will come across as ignorance or laziness instead of competence. Not to mention, it will draw the attention to the errors instead of to your skill with the pen. Remember, the nail that sticks out is the one that is beaten down first.

Specifically, run-ons will always weaken your writing, never strengthen it. The problem with run-ons and comma splices is they can always be broken into smaller, stronger sentences. When you break them, they also become easier to read and more impactful to read. No longer does the reader start questioning where the end of this sentence is. He can focus on what is happening instead of the glaring mistake.

Now let’s talk about why you need to fix it now while you’re still newer and earlier in the story rather than later. I share this from personal experience: it is easier to do it now than wait. If you wait, you will only create more work for yourself. Run-ons and comma splices require you to rework sentence structures entirely, forcing you to rewrite entire sections to fix one error sometimes. If you’re particularly egregious on these types of cascading errors, this could entail completely scrapping your work and starting over anew. I’m sure you’re already going, “But… I do this all the time. I’ve written six chapters and they’re all ten pages apiece. That’s sixty pages to rewrite!” Yes, you are correct. It’s a daunting task sometimes to admit that you must scrap everything and start fresh. But it is better and easier to fix these bad habits now when there is less on the page than to plough ahead and create an even larger amount of work.

Stopping and fixing errors now is better not only for the amount of work, but also because you will start to recognize patterns. You may find that you split infinitives constantly or always forget to place commas after certain dependent clauses. This will allow you to course correct early on and keep an eye out in the future for this. This way, when you go through a day’s writing to proofread for major errors, you can also look for these repetitive pitfalls and fix them. Not only that, but if you keep these in mind as you write, you will catch yourself before you commit them and eventually you may even find you have broken the habit. You’ve created less proofreading for yourself, improved your ability to communicate, and saved yourself time all at once. All because you took the time to consider good grammar.

It is time now to shift away from writing as communication, and focus on it more as an industry. Many want to write. Many try to enter this industry; many fail. Writing is a competitive industry. In a way, you are in an arms race of talent. Who can improve their talent and make it stand out the best? Thousands submit their works yearly to publishing companies and yet out of these thousands only a dozen or less actually manage to get published. Why? Simply put, writing is about outshining others and gambling chances. The only way to be noticed is to show the company you are worth investing time and effort into your work. This means you must show promise as a writer.

However, as I showed earlier, poor grammar can get in the way of your talent and communication abilities. You have hamstringed yourself before the race even began. When others have worked hard and put their best forward, you’ve left your glaring grammatical errors in your piece. Yours is difficult to read due to its errors, while the others have polished their pieces to near perfection. Would you rather read something hard to comprehend or something easy to comprehend? I prefer the latter, and most companies will as well. Minor and occasional issues are fine. But every other sentence being a run-on or comma splice? These are unacceptable.

This isn’t the only issue though. If you’re submitting to a publisher, the companies are run by professionals. Poor grammar is not only crippling your writing. It’s actively spitting in the face of a publisher when they see it. Grammatical errors come across as unprofessional. It conveys laziness as it seems you didn’t even try to polish this manuscript or take a second look at it before submitting. Bad grammar can indicate that you either have a lack of beta readers or at best, that you ignore their advice. Considering proper grammar is taught in schools, it also comes across as you being unwilling to learn and grow. Both of these mean that you cannot stomach critique, and thus any advice they might have to make you publishing quality is wasted. If you are too lazy to take it, it does them no good. If you are too stubborn to admit flaws, it does them no good. Why should they bother working with you if you can’t do the basics required of the job? Into the trash with your manuscript.

You don’t get an editor from a company when you submit your piece. You get an editor once the company has decided you are worth the gamble required to sell your book. An editor is there to help you take the final steps to get to a professional quality of manuscript. The company has to sink time and money into preparing your book for publishing. There’s no guarantee it’ll get the money back either. Books flop frequently, and the publisher can only have so many flops before they shut down. Sending in an error-ridden manuscript is like showing up to an interview to be a lawyer’s intern in a bikini and flip flops. You have come to the company poorly prepared and unprofessionally attired. Why should they bother with you? On an aside: you can hire an agent who will do the hard work of shopping for a publisher for you. Unfortunately, they too check your manuscript for grammar issues and may refuse the job if your piece is need of serious grammatical revision.

Not to mention, this attitude of “My future editor will fix it” is disrespectful to editors. They have better things to do than attempt to fix your grammar. Their job description is not “teach poor writers grammar.” That is your English teacher’s job and no one else’s. Your editor will likely have several other projects they’re working on in addition to yours. If they have to spend all their time correcting your grammar because you didn’t bother to put in the extra effort to correct it personally, you are wasting your editor’s time and effort. Your beta can at times fill in the role of grammar teacher, but it should not be his primary role to go through your works and point out your egregious number of run-ons. Finally, it is not your critics’ jobs to teach you how to fix your errors. It is one person’s job to learn how to fix your grammatical errors: yours.

Not to mention an editor won’t coddle your feelings. They will critique you, and it won’t be gentle. You will be expected to take their critiques as a professional and not throw a fit or defend your choice. If you are showing an inability to accept a random stranger’s critique without losing your cool now, how can you think “Oh, I’ll be able to handle it then.” You have none of the tools, none of the experience, none of the grace to handle it any better then because you have refused to develop them now. The time to build up that ability is now when you’re still learning to write, not later down the road. Stop procrastinating and start learning to turn off your insta-rage and listen.

Critique comes whether you are ready or not. If you are posting something to the public for them to read—even a first draft, you are saying to anyone who reads it, “This is what I consider acceptable for public consumption.” This is what you’ve set as your standard of what is your best work to the public’s eye. If that work contains swaths of grammatical errors, the public will comment eventually. It may take time, but someone with a critical eye will find your piece. They will likely comment, and if your grammar is so atrocious that it took labor to understand your writing, they will be nasty about it. They won’t care about your feelings because you have wasted their time and effort and given them nothing for it but a migraine. At that point, it won’t matter how good or bad your story idea is. It will not be able to outshine the errors hanging over it like a fog. Bad grammar will overpower your talent every single time.

With the internet, it connects you not only to possible reviewers but also to agents and editors. They can and will look into your past if you get past initial rejection. Agents will look into your websites. They will find your temper tantrum over those poor critiques. Those will color their opinion on your work because they’ve now seen what you will be like on this project. No one wants to have to fight at work. No one wants to bring that amount of stress into his life. Agents and editors will see your poor behavior and go, “That writer isn’t ready for this emotionally yet.” You will be rejected, and if you’re lucky, they might tell you why.

Lastly, I wish to impart this knowledge to you: loving writing is not enough. It isn’t. You can love writing all you want, but if you cannot listen to criticism and grow from it, you will never improve. You will always be suffocating in the valley instead of joining those on the mountaintop. Those people are the ones who took the time and spent the effort to better their writing through grammar and feedback.  You will always be looking up to them and wondering how they are so good and why you’ve plateaued. As someone who has been writing since she was eleven, I can tell you that I’ve had people critique my writing. I didn’t whine about poor reviews either. I understood, even at that age, that I had to listen. I posted my works knowing they might get bad reviews and knew that I would have to grow a thick skin and sift through the ones of “u suk” and “wow that was bad” to find the “Your writing lacks description” types. It doesn’t matter if they aren’t saying how to improve precisely. A critique doesn’t need to say “if you change x, then it will fix y.” A critique can be as simple as “You have an issue with run-ons.” Why? It pointed out the flaw. You can now locate the issue and fix it. Nor is it the critic’s job to teach you grammar. As I pointed out though, if your grammar is unreadable, expect that critique to be harsh enough to remove paint. You offered what could’ve been a five star meal and gave them your half-chewed leftovers instead. And who wouldn’t be angry at that?

Sources/Further Reading

Sources about grammar in general:

http://ask.dailygrammar.com/Why-is-grammar-important.html

https://www.clearvoice.com/blog/yes-good-grammar-still-important-heres/

http://www.witslanguageschool.com/NewsRoom/ArticleView/tabid/180/ArticleId/279/Is-grammar-important.aspx

http://www.startribune.com/top-10-reasons-you-should-learn-to-use-proper-grammar/348141711/

https://www.huffingtonpost.com/william-b-bradshaw/why-grammar-is-important_b_4128521.html

Sources about the writing industry:

https://blog.reedsy.com/perfect-submission-tips-from-a-publisher/

https://thinkwritten.com/6-tips-for-submitting-your-manuscript/

http://www.writersdigest.com/editor-blogs/guide-to-literary-agents/pubtips

http://www.ian-irvine.com/on-writing/what-publishers-hate/

[asshlyyyy]

Besides You

This is for all my people who are having a rough day. I've had this in my drafts for quite some time and didn't know where to take it. I hope you enjoy this, and I can't wait to get more out to you guys! Hopefully I'll have some one-shots coming up while I continue work on the multi-part fics.

If anyone knows why my posts have been doing terribly also... let me know. My posts have been... not doing quite as well as they should be. I'm not complaining it is just frustrating when you look at your follower to like ratio. My posts are showing up in tags... I just don't know what's happening.

Masterlist

Pairing: Elvis (or Austin!Elvis) x gn!reader

Warnings: Slight sexual themes, swearing, spelling and grammatical errors most likely. If I missed anything please let me know.

Word Count: 1.1k

“Hey darlin’, everything all right?” You heard Elvis speak from the door frame. You hummed and looked over at him. “Ya haven’t come down yet.” You gave him a weak smile. 

“I know… just… I’m just having an off day is all.” You replied back with a simple shrug. Though it more looked like an awkward movement due to you laying down.

You felt so bad. God… you felt so so bad. It wasn’t fair to Elvis. You were extremely happy with Elvis. That wasn’t the issue at bay. Your depression just made everything worse. You had these episodes now and again. These could appear at any moment, so you could really never prepare for them, which is why it wasn’t fair for Elvis. He shouldn’t have to deal with your… illness. 

“Mind if I join ya?” He asked with a slight smile on his face. 

You smiled softly and nodded, “though I don’t want to hold you back, Elvis.” 

“You can never hold me back, darlin’. I always want to be beside you.” He said softly and laid down on the bed next to you. You let out a break and shook your head.

“I just feel like I’m constantly holding you back.” You confessed to him. It was the first time you let those words come out of your mouth. You never told him about this. You didn’t want him to worry about you any more than he did. He looked at you confused. You brought your hand up to his shirt and played with his buttons.

“What do you mean? You’re never holding me back.” Elvis shook his head. 

“Remember all those things you wanted to do? Those that you wanted me to join you with? I would say no sometimes… and then you just wouldn’t do them. I… I don't want you to not do something just because I’m not in the mood.” You explained to Elvis. He brought his hand up to your head and ran his fingers through your hair. 

“Do me a favor, sweetheart. Look at ya ring finger there. What do ya see?” You looked at him confused but brought your hand up to your face. You looked at your engagement ring and wedding band. 

“The engagement ring you gave me, and the wedding band that binds us together.” You answered him. You looked past your hand and towards his blue eyes. 

“Exactly,” he used his finger to caress your cheek. You blushed lightly and pressed your face against his chest. “I married you because I love you for who you are. Just because ya have a few flaws don’ mean I don’ love ‘em. I love every single inch of you. From the top of your head to the ends of your toes.” He poked your stomach.

You let out a small giggle and looked up at him, “you’re so silly.” 

“Only for you of course.” You rolled your eyes playfully and pulled away. You pushed yourself up into a seated position and faced him. 

“Thank you.”

“Why are ya thankin’ me for?” He rubbed your thigh gently. 

“Because you’ve done a lot for me.” You grabbed his hand and interlocked your fingers together, “From putting up with my mood swings, joining me on my off days, holding me when I’m crying and not forcing me to speak about my feelings… to not ask why I’m crying. You don’t see me as a crybaby. You see me as a person.”

“I see you as the most perfect person I’ve eva met.” Elvis rested his forehead against yours. 

“Oh stop,” you giggled lightly as you slapped his chest lightly.

“‘M being serious,” he chuckled lightly and pulled away so that he could look at you. Your e/c orbs rolled in playfulness and pulled yourself far away from him. “Without you, I don’ know where I would’ve been in ma life. As cliche as it sounds… ya shaped me into who I am today.”

“Well… you shaped me into who I am today. Without you… I could've been dead, who knows.” You shrugged and got out of bed, feeling much better than you did beforehand. 

“I have a feelin’ God made it so we found each other. I believe in every universe… or different timeline… we would have found each other. We complete one another.”

“Okay lover boy, get out of bed.” You pulled the sheets off. “I have to clean these.”

“They can survive another night.”

“Elivs… these need to be cleaned. Especially after what happened yesterday morning.” You pointed out to him as you rolled the sheet over your hands.

“I have no idea what you are talkin’ about,” he said as a smirk found its way onto his lips. You rolled your eyes and walked over to the basket. You had to use whatever energy you had currently and get these chores done.

“Why don’ I help ya?” Elvis suggested. You looked over at him confused. It wasn’t like he never offered to help before, but when it came to laundry he tended to… shy away. He didn’t want to end up fucking something up. Like… accidentally shrinking his clothes, or turning his whites to pink.

“Are you sure? You can go ahead and do other things, I don’t mind.” You answered as you continued to peel the bed sheets off. 

“‘M sure. I want to make this day easy and enjoyable for you.” You smiled at his kind words and looked over at him. God, you were so lucky to call him yours. You always viewed him as the poor boy you met. The fame and fortune… it was something you never saw. You viewed it more as… he got a raise. It was silly but…

You knew how stressful Elvis got when it came to fame and fortune. You also knew that he loved to spend his fortune. Especially when it came to you. He loved to shower you with new things, and you loved every minute of it. Yet, you made sure he knew that you didn’t need anything. You had him, and that was all that mattered. He was all you needed.

“You’re all I need Elvis,” you whispered, “being near you makes everything easy and enjoyable.” 

“Oh darlin’,” he smiled and made his way over to you. “You’re all I need also.”

Elvis pressed his lips against yours and pulled you down onto the bed with him. You let out a light squeal before you kissed back. You brought your hands up to his face and smiled. Elvis was all you needed on a bad day. 

Sorry this was so short. Sometimes, there are certain things that need to be short. Just because they are short don't mean that they don't have meaning. I know I love writing longer things, but sometimes I can't force it out of me to write longer fics.

Mutual Taglist: @babyhoneypresley, @emmymaehereeeeee, @venus-haze, @austinstyles

[dontjudgemeimawriter]

When to Give Constructive Criticism: Fitting it to the draft

I’ve gotten pretty good at giving constructive criticism (I think), and I felt like I should lay out some advice.

If you’re a decently experienced writer, you can kinda tell what kind of draft it is by looking at it. There are different kinds of drafts you might be looking at. Knowing what type of writing and writer this is is will help. If you, for example, give to amateur writer who doens’t super know what they’re doing but has just started to get excited a deeply constructive critique, it can kill their excitement. But if you give me, a decently experienced writer, some generic “It was great, you have great ideas” then I’m going to be frustrated, especially if I’m looking for something constructive.

When NOT to be constructive

>When this is obviously a beginner.

You can tell when they’re a beginner. Maybe they don’t start a new paragraph with dialogue. Maybe they put exclamation marks in their narration. Maybe the first scene is a loner teen girl getting ready for her day and you feel like some band is about to adopt them. I can usually tell right away just by the voice, and that’s something I can’t pinpoint, but I can feel it, and as soon as I feel it I can spot other problems.

I say don’t be constructive here. Even if they want to know what you really think. Tbh, I try to avoid even getting to the point of giving feedback on these, just because it’s difficult for me to read, but sometimes it’s an assignment in your creative writing class or you already said you would because you’re The Writer Friend.

Here’s what you do for a beginner: avoid any line edits-- there will be too much. Instead, find the good things-- there will probably be something that’s a good idea, something that’s interesting. Some decent story idea that is currently trapped in beginner writing. Find it and pull it out, find things to like about it. And then ask questions! Encourage them to explore the answers-- word it like “I love this idea, you’ve made me curious about this. Are you going to explore the answer in future chapters?” Never suggest that it should have been there already-- it’s hard as a beginner to take feedback as constructive and instead it can feel like you did it wrong.

The only thing a beginner can do wrong is stop writing. You job is to encourage and validate them, and by finding a good idea and asking questions about it, they can be driven to write further.

(This could backfire in that they keep asking you for feedback further on.)

>When it’s obviously raw writing

Usually this won’t come up with people asking for feedback. For me this happens in a discord I’m in where after a sprint we post excerpts of it. It’s harder to tell here-- some people’s freewriting can sound VERY professional-- but context will help. If it’s posted on tumblr it may be tagged as something or indicated somewhere (If it’s just posted on tumblr, they probably don’t want constructive criticism anyway).

Raw writing is messy, but that doesn't mean you can’t be proud of it. Critiquing raw writing is useless. The only criticism I ever give to something like that is, if I’m friendly with the person, “Let yourself be messy when you’re drafting this sounds way too eloquent for a draft.”

Show excitement here! Show intrigue! Find things that draw you in, that make you wonder what’s going on, that make you interested in reading more. If there’s not a plot thing or a character, find something in the writing-- but don’t prioritize that. Style is not important in raw writing, though if it jumps out at you, go ahead and compliment!

>When it’s writing that the writer has no intention of writing the rest of

They might be answering a prompt or just going off their mind. If something’s confusing maybe point that out, but don’t be too critical-- it’s not supposed to  be A Thing.

It’s good to show intrigue here or interest in story events, and if you think it has a lot of potential go ahead and encourage more. But the best thing to focus on here actually is style-- even if it’s raw. Their voice and style will be carried into other projects, not necessarily that plot. If you know this person and their other writing, it might be good to say like “The description is really good here, I’d like to see more of that in [their current] project].” But in general, things you like are best here.

>When they share it because they’re excited not because they want feedback

“Hey! I wrote a thing!”

Love it! Again, find something to like. They aren’t asking for feedback, just validation.

Perhaps once you read and say what you like about it, ask if they want more in-depth feedback.

>When it’s already published

No point in constructive feedback here, they can’t do anything about it. If you think they can take it you may be able to say what you didn’t like-- big things, not nitpicking-- but if not, just say things you liked about it (Even if you’re lying) and move on.

When giving Constructive Criticism

The different stages of drafts correspond to what type of criticism you’re giving. Are you a beta reader, an editor, or a proofreader?

>Beta

Ignore grammatical and spelling errors, unless you’re confused by the mistake. Ignore confusing or badly worded sentences, unless you missed something, in which case, it’s not “Fix this sentence like this to make more sense” it’s “Did I get this right? [restate what’s happening]”

Pay most attention to emotions while reading, things the author did well, moments you felt were slow. Critique when there’s plot holes or character inconsistencies or the character is flat or the description goes on to long (I got bored reading all this). And of course, if you’re sensitivity reading, pay attention to that in a critical way-- good idea to, even if you think something is okay, point out if it’s a bit iffy, why you thin it’s okay but also why someone might disagree).

Read like a reader, judge it based on how you’d judge a book you pick up for fun, with the ability to live-comment your reactions, and do so! If something surprises you, comment it, if you have a prediction, add it. But if something was too obvious, also say so. Pay attention to your feelings while reading and word it accordingly, rather than as instruction.

>Editor

Assuming you’re not a professional editor, in which case do your job. But if this is a later draft and they want you to give them real harsh feedback so they can fix it up:

Grammatical/spelling errors: I think it’s fine to point these out, but it’s not your job to look for them, and if there’s a bunch, I encourage one note (This paragraph is in present tense instead of past; Proper punctuation is to have a comma at the end of dialogue that’s tagged; etc) rather than fixing every one.

Do point out confusing sentences and suggest ways to clarify.

For the most part, reactions aren’t your job here, but channel those into advice/compliments. Look at why it’s happening-- instead of “Oooh I’m really nervous!” say “You’ve done a great job building suspense here!” or instead of “I got bored reading this exposition,” maybe “simplify the explanation here”

Point out character inconsistencies and plot holes, and actively look for them. Reread it a few times to figure it out, and bring in some analysis. Suggest subtle changes they could make, metaphors that may help, if the narration needs to be closer. Ask why they made certain choices and what they’d need to do to make those effective.

>Proofreader

Usually this isn’t your job unless specifically asked. It can be annoying, no matter your level of experience, to open feedback and see nothing but typo corrections. This is low priority until the final draft.

If you are asked to proofread though, read carefully, point out grammatical errors and typos. Reactions and large scale plot edits aren’t your concern-- if they’re really bad you may want to say “You might want to look at this plot element,” but it’s not your job to tear that apart-- you may want to ask them if they want you to, but then you become an editor, not proofreader.

>Incomplete drafts

Incompletes require a separate category, just because you can’t do the same thing. You can’t find plot holes and it may be hard to find character inconsistencies. You can, though, point out things that are interesting, things that are flat, and plenty of other things to criticize.

Them giving you an incomplete draft, though, likely means that they are looking for some validation, but they want to know if it has potential. Some people can take you telling them it has none, but that’s not usually the case. All stories have potential, I think, but that doesn’t always mean the writer will be good at it at first.

Do everything you might do as a beta, or even an editor, but instead of anything being wrong, it’s something to fix in the future, as they keep writing. Point out things that may trip them up now-- maybe a plot hole can be patched as they write-- and plot threads they should follow.

One note, though, is it’s okay to point out when they have a scene or tidbit that doesn’t add anything, but you never know if it will in the future, and imo, it’s okay to have some useless stuff in a first draft, especially if it’s a wip. Saying you didn’t see the point tot he scene can be helpful if they thought it did, but that doesn’t necessarily mean it has no place there.

On a closing note, something to keep in mind when receiving feedback

Something that took me a while to learn, something I have to remind myself, is that no matter what, a draft is okay. The critique I get doesn’t mean I should have done it like that in the first place, all it means is that I can improve it later. being a good writer isn’t about having a perfect first draft, and critiques are not evidence of being bad at it.

[dgwrites-stuff]

Editing and Feedback Checklist

I wrote this for myself a while back and recently shared it with my writing group. Hopefully it’ll be useful for other people too!

You might have the best idea in the world, but if it isn’t presented appropriately, you’ll get nowhere. I use all of the lists below in my own editing. This first list will be most useful when giving feedback to your peers; sharing creative ideas is helpful. The second list is my editing and proofreading one. This stuff is seriously important. If you get all of that right, you’ll look like a writer who knows their shit. Make sure you know your shit. The last list I usually use when I’m coming to the end of my edits and I’ll double check I haven’t left any of those points unattended. They’re fairly obvious, but when you’re editing several thousand words, it’s hard to get everything in one sweep, so you usually have to look for a few specific things at a time. This is, by far, not a conclusive list. It’s just a useful guide that I use in my own work and that I thought I’d share to help people out.

Questions regarding the story as a whole

1.       Plot:

a.       Is the scene set well?

b.       Do you like the events? Is there something else you would have liked to have seen happen? Another direction the story could have gone?

c.       Strong first sentence?

d.       Strong first paragraph?

e.       Satisfying ending (anyone writing ‘she woke up and realised it was all a bad dream’ will be shot – you’re better than this!)

f.        Is there any part of the story that is predictable?

2.       Pace:

a.       Were there any paragraphs that are too fast/slow?

b.       Did you want more description anywhere? (People and place)

c.       Did you find there was too much description in places?

d.       Is the action described appropriately? (Quick and effective – like a mugging. This isn’t Hollywood: we don’t do slow motion action scenes of bullets flying and damsel-in-distress-screams. Trigger pulled. Bang. Body hits the floor. Game over.)

e.       Is there any point in the story where you lost interest/skipped words and sentences? Be honest – this is important.

3.       Characters:

a.       Are they realistic?

b.       Are they consistent (an emotional character at the start of your story might be a little disturbed after witnessing someone be pancacked by a double-decker.)

c.       Are there too many/too few?

d.       Are they different enough from each other?

e.       Are they introduced gradually – not five all in one go so that the reader has no clue which one is the one with purple hair and a nipple-piercing.

4.       Tense:

a.       Is the tense appropriate?

i.      Would it better in present/past tense? If you’re unsure, change your first paragraph to the other tense and use that to inform your decision.

5.       Person:

a.       Is third person most appropriate, or first?

i.      Like the above, if you’re unsure, change your first paragraph to the other.

6.       Style:

a.       How close is the narrator to the reader? Are they chatting away to you over a cup of tea, or is it more of an ‘Attenborough’ narrator, describing what he sees and why they do things?

b.       Is the style appropriate for the story you’re telling? Sitting on the shoulder of a narrator might be perfect for a murder mystery, but maybe less so for a fantasy tale with complex concepts. Figure out how ‘attached’ you want your reader to be – do you want your reader to see everything your character does, or is it a little more omniscient?

c.       Lexis (not a typo for the car) – what is your vocabulary like? As a university student, you probably know big words. These aren’t usually appropriate for a fictional novel. Choose your words carefully.

d.       Think about who is telling the story and how they would speak. Would the narrator use colloquial and contracted language, or would it be written with full and ‘proper’ English?

THE IMPORTANT STUFF

If you’re sending anything off to anyone that isn’t part of your writing group, you need to make sure all of this stuff is perfect. I’m not kidding: not even your mum wants to read something riddled with typos and grammatical errors.

1.       Capital letters. Full stops.

a.       Sounds like obvious stuff, but when your fingers are flying at 30-keys a second, you want to make sure you catch these bad boys before you get your manuscript shoved back in your face. Grammarly and digital proofers will usually pick these up, but make sure you double-check.

2.       Apostrophes

a.       These are easy to miss when you’re in ‘the zone’. I won’t hold it against anyone who misses a few on their first edit. After edit two, these errors should be gone. That’s why you have writing friends and English nerds.

b.       It’s/hasn’t/she’s – these are all using the apostrophe to replace a letter. They are two words glued together.

c.       They donkey’s left bollock – this shows the left bollock belongs to the donkey. I don’t know who the right one belongs to. The apostrophe is possessive.

d.       James’ dad likes to eat wild mushrooms – this one is also possessive. This is more of a stylistic thing, but in other countries, it could be written James’s. The UK way is like the first example, and most broadly accepted.

3.       Commas

a.       The first draft always has weird commas. You look at them and think ‘how the hell did you get there?’ It’s usually with these little shits that the thought comes up ‘Oh my God, I’m a terrible writer, I’m never going to make it.’ This is why we have editing!

b.       Before you tell me commas aren’t that big of a deal, have a look here: ‘Let’s eat Grandma/Let’s eat, Grandma.’ I don’t know about you, but I prefer my Grannies roasted. Here’s another: ‘This book is dedicated to my siblings, Jenny and God.’ Now, if you’re siblings with his almightiness, then this works fine. If not, then you’ve got a bit of ambiguity here.

4.       Semi-colons:

a.       I love these things. Read this: http://theoatmeal.com/comics/semicolon

5.       Typos

a.       We all cringe at the random autocorrected work that Word thinks is right. Make sure you check your work for duck’s sake!

6.        Clarity

a.       Whatever you write, you want people to understand you. If you’re going through your writing and tripping up a little or getting lost, have a restructure. Usually, it’s nothing a little punctuation can’t fix.

b.       Use language everyone will understand – not everyone knows

7.       Speech

a.       There’s usually quite a bit of confusion about how to write speech. Where do you put the commas? How do you punctuate it when you have a dialogue tag? What about action?

b.       “My uncle is as dim as that lightbulb,” James said, pointing to the lampshade. // Laura frowned. “But it’s off.” // “Exactly,” he grinned, “that light was switched off years ago.” Okay, so that last bit doesn’t make a lot of sense, but you can see what I’m doing with the punctuation.

c.       Each time a new person speaks, a new paragraph ensues. In the above example, the // shows the paragraph breaks.

d.       Use ‘said’ or use action. Anything else use sparingly. Do this and your reader will throw darts at a printed picture of you: “Red,” Kyle said miserably. “Blue,” Tiffany said excitedly. “Yellow,” June said uncertainly. “Why are we saying colours?” Rory said nervously.

e.       If someone shouts, do not put it in capitals; you’re not texting.

f.        Italics are for emphasis. Don’t do what I’ve done in this and underlined stuff. You don’t see it in your novels, so don’t do it in yours.

Last checks

The above are all the things you need to go over with a fine-tooth comb. Make sure all that stuff is in order and tidy. Now you need to look for changes that will make your writing sparkle!

1.       Use common language.

2.       Omit needless words.

3.       Don’t dump all your fantastic research in one go – fly tipping is illegal, and no one likes it.

4.       Don’t be obvious.

a.       ‘She nodded her head.’ Well what else is she going to nod?

b.       ‘He clapped his hands.’ Well what else is he going to clap? His feet!?

c.       ‘She blinked her eyes.’ You get it by now.

5.       Try and avoid the words up/down.

a.       ‘He sat down on the bench.’ You can just say ‘he sat on the bench.’ Nothing is lost and it’s easier to read.

b.       ‘She climbed up the stairs.’ You don’t really climb down stairs.

6.       Give your reader credit.

a.       As much as we might think it, they’re not stupid. They have brains. If you say ‘they sat across from each other,’ we assume they’re say on chairs, probably at a table, probably directly opposite.

7.       ADJECTIVES

a.       You misuse these, and I’ll tell Stephen King. Sparingly is the only way.

8.       Clichés

a.       These are bad.

b.       Unless you’re twisting them or playing with them, just don’t.

9.       Use character action to express emotion

a.       ‘He was angry. He punched her in the face.’ You don’t have to be Sherlock Holmes to know that a punch to the face usually means someone is pissed with you.

10.   Verbs are what sets an amazing writer aside from a good writer.

a.       I’m serious. A good writer might do something like this, ‘He walked down the road, wincing every time he put his ankle down. He looked in a shop window, saw the security camera, and moved swiftly on.’

b.       An amazing writer will have more fun with it: ‘He limped down the road, head down, hands in pockets. He glanced in a shop window, spotted a security camera, and hurried on.’ Good verb choice takes your writing up a level. Be an amazing writer.

At the end of the day, if you’re ever unsure about anything, go to your bookshelf and pick out a traditionally published book (you’d be safer learning from a traditionally published book). Flick through and find an example of what you’re stuck on. See how the pros do it. If they’ve been published, it means a whole team has read that book. A professional editor, proof reader, and copy editor has gone through it and done their job. These are the industry standards, and you need to make sure you’re on their level.

[dangerouslyoptimisticstudent]

How To Write A Psychology Essay

How to Write a Psychology Essay

A psychology essay is an article that tackles a certain aspect of psychology.

Before writing a psychology essay, it is important first to understand the question at hand.

To explain a particular concept: a psychology essay tries to explain a certain aspect like for example, what causes fears and phobias;

To encourage creativity: a psychology essay improves the creativity of students as they are required to think out of their comfort zone and write an article that stands out;

To give a diagnosis: the student can write a psychology essay to explain why they think that a particular diagnosis is necessary. It explains the reasons behind the diagnosis arrived at.

Before writing an essay on psychology, it is important first to understand what the topic is all about. Reread general notes on the area before narrowing down to your area of interest. Doing this makes it easier to settle on a subject. Besides, follow the tips for a psychology essay writing to make your work easier.

Personality and Character

In interpersonal relationships, various factors contribute to the sustenance of a relationship. Different people have different personalities and how they relate to each other is different. Understanding personalities lead to better interpersonal relationships.

Different circumstances shape personality traits and characters and therefore influence how they interact with others.

Girls who grow up in violent homes have self-esteem issues. Seeing their mom being abused gives them a false understanding that being a woman is worthless.

A person who grew up without siblings becomes more inclined to being self-centered as they are not accustomed to sharing.

An introvert is more likely to have fun when staying indoors with friends rather than going out or hanging out in crowded areas.

Various factors shape personality and character and these factors should not be overlooked. The environment that a person grows greatly influences their future life.

The above outline for a psychology essay looks at effects and influences of environment on the character.

1. Tips concerning introduction for a psychology essay

The first step to writing a good psychology essay introduction is to have a rough idea of what you are about to write. Having some previous knowledge on the topic ensures that you become more competent and research widely.

Secondly, have a global structure- this ensures that you have a coherent sentence and flow of ideas. The psychology essay draft tells you whether your content will be enough and lets you know if you have the know-how on how to go about the topic. This method of psychology essay writing is very helpful.

How to start a psychology essay is challenging for many writers. It is, therefore, necessary to follow the guidelines as shown by the lecturer or from copies found on the internet and various other sources. Start with a catchy phrase or a story. The purpose is to attract the reader from the very beginning. The rule of the thumb in the introduction is always to be creative. Readers should look forward to reading your essay and not just skimming through it.

Write your introduction in short flowing sentences. They give your essay a touch of excellence. When writing very long sentences, use commas to allow the reader to breathe.

Ensure your topic is written well and not too wordy. It should not have more than ten words. The topic sentence should show the reader what your essay discusses. Having a long topic sentence confuses the reader as they cannot pick out the theme to be discussed.

The thesis is the main point of the piece. Choose a topic that is relevant and has a case study to back up your theory.

The thesis question and statement should not be too broad for you to cover. Narrow down on a particular topic to ensure quality work in research. The thesis statement should be well thought out to elude knowledge and mastery of content.

Try as much as possible to paraphrase and not to copy and paste thesis from the internet from a pre-written essay on psychology. If researching, rephrase it to avoid plagiarism. Most people are tempted to copy directly from the web.

3. Tips on writing the body (length, paragraphs, and transitions)

The body carries the weight of the thesis. Have knowledge and understanding of your topic- do not write a subject that you will have no content. Show that you understand all specifics of your research question and can relate them to real life situations.

Have critical evaluation- your assumptions should have relevant evidence both in theory and application. It requires insightful and independent thinking. When mentioning any theory, ensure that you have a case to defend how to apply the theory. The body should be well written. When writing an essay on psychology, the body, and language is crucial.

Avoid using too much jargon in your writing. In case you do use some technical terms, explain them. Complexities in essay writing make the reader bored. Explain your themes in well laid out independent paragraphs. Each section should carry a point or two. Ensure that the points do not run over to the next paragraph.

Like all other essays. How you write the psychology essay conclusion is critical.

Introduce the conclusion in a unique manner.

Avoid using words like ‘to conclude.'

Your conclusion for a psychology essay sums up your arguments. Give the consequences of your study concerning your research.

Do not introduce new concepts.

Make sure that you cover all the topics in the body so as not to defend them in conclusion.

There are so many materials where the student can gather essay questions:

Books on psychology are useful in getting the concepts.

The internet provides various themes and psychology essay guides.

Brainstorming from a general topic and narrowing down.

A literature review is also a valuable source for ideas and other psychology essay writing help that you may need.

Try to interact with teachers for more information and psychology essay writing guides.

The final step of writing an article is proofreading. Proofread to correct spelling, punctuations, and other grammatical errors. Ensure you check out for plagiarism. Your work should be original and creative. Use citations and proper referencing of sources. There are different referencing styles like Harvard, Chicago or APA. The writer can also give out the written copy to friends for feedback. Be prepared to get both negative and positive criticism. Finally, ensure that you have a glossary of technical terms well defined for the reader to understand. The psychology essay outlining should be done as required.

Research widely on different disciplines before settling for a topic.

Pick an area that you have an interest as this is a high motivation for research.

Refer to other items to find out the outline.

Be flexible that is, allow yourself to have room for change. After writing the body, your arguments might end up defending a different topic

Have a list of keywords you intend to use

Ensure you have the available material for your topic

Below is a list of available topics for a psychology essay that the student can pick from for your psychology essay writing.

For even more amazing guidelines visit this site: https://buy-essaycheap.com/physics

[notionposts-blog]

Tools for writer:

Digital media has taken the world by storm. The labyrinth network of the World Wide Web has effortlessly engulfed us into its spell. In today’s digital world, there is an app or a tool for every act right from booking a cab to ordering food. When it comes to indulging in the plethora of services and helpful tools provided by the magnificent Internet, we writers are at a huge advantage.  

Gone are the days when writing a book involved using an old-school typewriter, a scribbling pad and tonnes of coffee. With the abundant writing and editing tools available online, all you need is a laptop, a good Wi-Fi connection and oceans of creativity to come up with a spectacular international bestseller. We, at Notion Press, understand the twists and turns every author faces and have hence consolidated the best tools available on the Internet, which make writing a book a therapeutic experience.

Productivity Tools

The key to any success story is being organised and productive. Keeping this mind, we have a list of productivity and distraction free tools that will help authors stay focused.

BlankPage

If you are looking to set goals and make sure you achieve them, BlankPage should be your go-to tool. BlankPage is a distraction free writing app, which gives you detailed statistics about when and how you write, reminders about your writing and also shows you interesting and inspirational content. The tool is available at $8 a month, and it works on all devices.

Calmly Writer

As the name suggests, this magical tool ensures you write with a calm mind by removing all distractions. Calmly writer also has a function called “focus mode” that only highlights the parts you are editing.  Everything you write is also automatically backed up, so you never have to worry about losing your work.

Evernote

All of us have the habit of taking down notes. Bits of information, things to do or gentle reminders are the most common reasons for which we take notes. Evernote is one useful tool for writers. It is an online note-taking application. It is similar to the Google keep the app or an MS-One note. It records your thoughts, notes and photos for future reference. It has now introduced a new feature called Work chat which enables you to message instantly to the people with whom you have shared a particular document. It works really well if you are collaborating with someone on your document.

Freedom

Our phones and the internet is the greatest invention by the humanity. However, they can also distract us from that important task that we have set for ourselves. So how do we solve this problem? That is where the Freedom tool comes in. With Freedom, you can block apps and websites on the device you are working on and focus on being more productive. The tool is easy to use; just select your device and set a schedule and voila, it’s done.  According to Freedom, its users gain an average of 2.5 hours of productive time each day. You can start a free trial and then cover all your devices for less than $2.50 a month.

Trello

Being organised is the only way to ensure that any project meets its deadline and writing a book is no different. Trello is not a tool built just for writers, but the tool’s easy-to-use interface makes it an excellent option for writers as well. You can create boards, lists and cards with Trello, which will help you organise and prioritise your work. The best part about this tool is that it is free.

Writing tools

Writing a novel is a dream for almost all writers, and this dream requires more than just an idea. When you actually sit down to write, you realise that publishing a book requires research, creating the characters, structuring the story, writing it, formatting the book and keeping track of your work. Here is a list of top writing tools.

Novelize

Novelize is a mobile-optimized writing tool that offers you the freedom to write anywhere with an Internet connection. It works on smartphones, tablets, laptops and computers and has an array of helpful features for all budding authors. You can choose to write your manuscript in the outline mode or write mode and keep track of valuable information in the notebook panel. Additionally, you can also track your progress in the progress tracker and organise your novel with a convenient autosave option. This effective tool is available at a price of $5 per month or $45 for a yearly subscription.

Scrivener

Scrivener is a quintessential writing studio, which helps in organising and structuring long-form content. It also offers formatting and proofreading options. Other than novels, if you regularly write blogs, podcasts, scripts or speeches, this can be the right word processor for you. Just like the full-screen mode of viewing in your system, where there is little scope to get distracted, this tool offers a distraction-free mode while typing. This aspect is really important for a writer. Scrivener is priced at $40 per year.

Writer

Writer is a quick and distraction-free writing app used by renowned authors worldwide. It has a plethora of extraordinary features which assists you at every mode of writing. This full-screen writing dashboard provides a user-friendly environment with autosave and privacy options. It also offers writing goals, markdown formatting, revision history, a built-in thesaurus and an automated archive of all your work.  

Ywriter

Ywriter helps you sequentially arrange your novel or screenplay based on chapters and scenes and then write as per the relevant scene which comes under the corresponding chapter. So in future, you might not have to rename the saved text and recheck the entire database to see where the actual scene fits in. It saves your time and makes your work organised and structured. It is more like compartmentalising your living room into spaces like space for your TV and other space for the furniture.

Copyscape

Copyscape is one of the oldest, popular, original, and the most used plagiarism checker available. With its premium version, you can check the content for duplication and see if your work is original. It accurately compares the text you’ve keyed in with billions of other documents and web pages on the Internet and gives you a detailed analysis of the plagiarised text.

FlowState

If procrastination is your biggest enemy, then FlowState is the best solution. This innovative tool is a mind-blowing word processor with a unique feature of deleting your data if you are idle for a particular span of time. This distinctive factor pushes you to work faster and reduces your rate of getting distracted by a large extent.

Ilys

Ilys is a groundbreaking writing app that addresses your writer’s block. This simple word processor gets your creative juices flowing with utmost ease. All you need to do is type in your expected word count and keep writing till you reach your goal. The app does not allow you to make any changes to your text till you’ve reached the word count mentioned earlier. Once you’ve completed writing, you can use the inbuilt editor to modify your work.Editing tools

You have finished your first draft of your book. Well, congratulations! However, the biggest part of the journey is just beginning. Editing can be daunting, but these tools will make your life slightly easier.

Grammarly

Grammarly is the premium editing tools used by authors worldwide. It is available as an online dashboard or a Google Chrome plugin. This tool offers you the convenience of either writing on the dashboard directly or uploading your work for evaluation. The editor performs an accurate grammar check with keen attention on confused prepositions, repetitive words, misspelt words and the overuse of passive voice.

AutoCrit

As the name suggests, AutoCrit scrutinises your manuscript and provides you with constructive criticism for proficient writing which can be published with conviction. This self-editing software strengthens your writing skills with extensive word suggestions, perfectly scripted dialogues, uniform placing and an acute repetition check. These expert features make AutoCrit the perfect editing software for both budding writers and published authors.

SmartEdit

If you are not a fan of automated correction and prefer studying the suggested changes in your manuscript, then SmartEdit is the perfect editing software for you. This user-friendly plugin runs 20 different grammar checks on your work and emphasises on the areas that need more attention. It also provides you with a list of the redundancies, proper nouns, acronyms, misused words, suspect punctuation, cliches and much more. You can use this editing dashboard with a one-time investment of $67.

ProWritingAid

ProWritingAid is a mind-blowing editing software which provides an abundance of grammatical corrections and improvements for a hassle-free editing process. It eradicates errors and provides you with suggestions of the right words with clarification for each correction. Additionally, the tool gives you an extensive explanation about the suggested changes, so you end up learning more about advanced grammar. You can now get the premium version at $40 per year and $140 for a lifetime.

After the Deadline

This language checker focuses on the spelling, style and grammar of your manuscript. Furthermore, it highlights misused words and even provides an elaborate explanation of the corrections given. The grammar check focuses on basic segments like confused and repeated words. It also provides an advanced grammar check and checks for clichés and eliminates the passive voice in the manuscript.

CorrectEnglish

CorrectEnglish is a brilliant editing tool tailor-made for global and multilingual writers. It provides instant proofreading by evaluating your work with thousands of grammatical tests and has been rated as the most precise grammar checker for years. It has a variety of writing tools and tips along with licensed multi-lingual research tools, which are ideal for authors as well as students. This tool is available at $120 for the first year subscription with renewals at $20 every consecutive year.

Hemingway

The Hemingway editor is a desktop app, which evaluates your manuscript by scoring it based on readability. It also highlights regions of your work with a special colour code. Each colour represents a particular grammatical issue. For example, lengthy sentences are highlighted in yellow and complicated sentences are highlighted in red. This will give you a clear understanding of the areas you need to work on. It also highlights passive voices, extensive use of adverbs and provides simpler alternatives to complex phrases. You can buy the Hemingway editor at $19.99 for both Mac and Windows.

PaperRater

This grammar and plagiarism checker is all you need to strengthen your copies and create a bold manuscript worthy to be a bestseller. PaperRater does a vigorous grammar check on your work with a multitude of writing suggestions and corrections. It also provides a plagiarism score on your manuscript by comparing your content with billions of other documents on the web. You can now buy the premium version of this software at $95.40 per year or at $14.95 for a month.

Marketing Tools

There is no better feeling than seeing your published and printed copy of your book. All your hard work has paid off! While this is true, the next obvious step would be to make sure you book is marketed to the right target audience. Marketing your book involves a multitude of channels. From book launches, making a book trailer, building an author website to marketing on social mediaplatforms such as Facebook, Twitter and Quora, marketing is an important aspect author cannot ignore.

Website

WordPress

WordPress provides you with customisable, mobile-ready designs and themes, which are user-friendly.  Wordpress is the go-to option for building a website. Just choose your theme, pick a domain, select a plan, and start building.

Wix

Wix is one of the easiest website builders. With an easy, do-it-yourself, drag and drop interface, Wix does a fabulous job at building your website. The tool is free of cost, and all you need to do is pick a template that suits you and creates the website.

Social media tools

Hootsuite

Hootsuite is a social media scheduling tool where you can manage channels such as Facebook, Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn, MySpace and Foursquare, blogging on WordPress. It also has real time analytics, which will help you track the ROI of your social media campaign.

Price: 30-day free trial – Individual plans to Organisational plans ranging from Rs.1260 to Rs.32000 per month.

Keyhole

Measuring your marketing efforts is the most important piece of your marketing puzzle. The best way to do this is using Keyhole, a tool that analyses your social media posts and tells you exactly what is working.

Price: $89 – $3,000+ USD per month

MailChimp

MailChimp is one of the best email marketing tools that a marketer has. You can connect your business and send emails to your network and build your brand. If you are just starting an email marketing campaign and have 2,000 or lesser subscribers, MailChimp lets you send up to 12,000 emails per month free.

Ebook creation tools

PDF

PDF is the most commonly used reading format, thanks to ready-made availability and easy download options. PDF layouts are very professional, so they are and mostly used ideal to share information. If your novel is of the biographical or factual genre, this format should suit your eBook best.

MOBI

If you feel your book can be converted to a mobile-friendly eBook variant, this format is for you. MOBI format works well on both iOS and Android platforms and is prevalent on a majority of eBook apps. The nifty features like swiping to turn a page and earmarking a page can be enabled for a price.  

EPUB

EPUB is similar to MOBI with the added advantage of being a free format. It is also the most used format across all popular e-reading devices.

iBook

For those authors looking to go exclusively with their EBooks, the iBook format offers a similar reading format to that of EPUB but includes coding that restricts it to use only on iOS devices.

Design tools

Canva

Canva is the one-stop destination to create amazing graphics for your book. Its simple drag-and-drop feature and thousands of creative layouts make design simple for everyone. You can start designing instantly with millions of images to choose from, stunning fonts and easy-to-use photo filters. These practical designing tools can also be used to design social media posts, blog graphics, posters, menus, album covers, presentations, business cards and much more. Whether you are planning to print your work, or opt for an e-copy, this tool is extremely handy when it comes to design.

Adobe Creative Suite

The Adobe Creative Suite is the ultimate software suite used for graphic design and video editing. It comprises of well-known design applications such as Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign to name a few. Adobe Photoshop is the most common editing software used to retouch digital images, edit video frames and render content. Adobe Illustrator, on the other hand, is used to edit vector graphics, which are mostly used in print publications. Adobe InDesign is a desktop app used to design posters, magazines, newspapers and books. This powerful suite offers all the tools and software needed to design your book and is an important design resource to bank on.

If you are looking to a more list of design tools, read our blog on the top ten design resources for authors.  

Now that you have all the tools in place, start writing your best seller. When your manuscript is complete, approach Notion Press for a hassle-free publishing experience and help us help you make your novel an International bestseller.

Source: https://notionpress.com/academy/online-writing-tools/

[freewhispersmaker]

What are the strengths and weaknesses of the “sources” of Public International Law? Discuss how they differ from the sources of law used in Australia and in particular the common law?Question:

1)    What are the strengths and weaknesses of the “sources” of Public International Law? Discuss how they differ from the sources of law used in Australia and in particular the common law?

Instructions:

1.    Please write only 1500 words in total (references in footnotes not included). If you fail to comply with the 1500 word limit “the whole of the assessment item shall be marked” but then you will be “penalised according to the following formula”:

i.    0-10% excess: no penalty; ii.    11-30% excess: 15% of the total marks available; iii.    31-50% excess: 30% of the total marks available; and iv.    51% plus excess: 50% of the total marks available.

2.    You must adopt a particular standard for referencing the materials you use. You will need to cite these in the footnotes to your assignment. You should adopt theAustralian Guide for Legal Citations (AGLC) which is commonly used by legal scholars. You can access it online as a PdF document. We have included a brief guide to the AGLC,produced by some other institution, in the Research Essay folder on blackboard. You must include a bibliography at the end of the assignment. This can include materials that you have not used in your footnotes but which have influenced you in writing your paper.

Marking criteria and some helpful suggestions:

The detailed criteria sheet that we will use for this assessment item is attached as Annex 1 to this document. It contains guidelines in terms of how we plan to mark your essay. You will receive the criteria sheet in Annex 1 with our comments on it in addition to anything else we may write on your actual essay itself. Generally speaking, you will receive marks for: (1)    The quality of yourdiscussion and analysis, and the structure of your answer(15%). (2)    The quality of the research you have done to answer the question and how well you have integrated what you have found into your written answer (10%). (3)    How well you have written your assignment, checked your spelling and grammar and generally proofread your work. (5%).

(a)    This assignment is designed to add to your learning experiences in this course. During weeks 3 – 7 you will have had the chance to learn about the basic features of Public International Law (PIL). You need this knowledge to further develop your understanding of the role that PIL plays in the global community.This assignment asks you to explore how PIL is created and by whom and what are some of its strengths and weaknesses.

(b)    This assignment requires that you do extra research. You should have plenty of materials in your reading pack to get you started. However, the depth of your understanding and the originality of your answer will need to be shaped by the quality of the research that you do and how well you integrate what you find into your answer. In order to do so, you will need to find out what scholarly materials are out there, to select relevant materials from journal articles and books, to read them, take notes, and start constructing an answer by putting together what you find appealing. Spend some time searching for key words related to your topic, browsing the links you find on each page, and following their suggested/recommended reading sources. One way to start your research is to look through the bibliography of books, references in journals and book chapters. Amongst the lists you will find references to materials that you can look through and read.

Your paper should emerge from your research: once you have read, noted and synthesised the knowledge you had in front of you. Always keep in mind the question you have chosen to answer and structure your writing according to the main themes that you want to cover. If you have any troubles finding extra resources for your answer, please do ask librarians to assist you in finding and sourcing new and relevant materials.

(c)    It is important for us to see how well you have understood this assignment question as well as what we have prescribed for you to read in weeks 3 - 7. The question should make sense only if you have applied yourself during the early stages of the semester and have been reading the prescribed materials for this course.

(d)    You will notice that 15% of the marks allocated for this assignment arefor the quality of your analysis of the question, the prescribed readings materials, and the issues that you choose to evaluate. However, the other marks for this assignment will also be allocated on the basis of how well you have integrated your research into an answer that makes sense. Please avoiddescribing anything in so much detail that you leave yourself no room to engage in analysis.

What might a pass, credit, distinction and high distinction look like?

Pass •    Your summary of the researchyou read is the only part of your work that is cogent and reads well. •    Simply repeating what you have read from the textbook and combining this with some of your own thoughts. •    Only parts of your essay directly address the substance of the question and then it is mostly descriptive of the basic frameworks in international law. •    You place very heavy reliance on just a couple of research essays to answer the essay question. •    Your answer to the question reveals that you have not adequately understood what the questionwants from you. In some cases your description of key concepts and ideas is inaccurate or very undirected.

Credit •    Your answers to question make sense and it follows a structure that takes us to a conclusion or an argument that you are trying to make. •    You not only refer to ideas that come from reading the materials for 1028Law,and have thought about your reactions to them and have critically evaluated them in the essay. •    You articulate the issues that you want to discuss, and evaluate ideas and examples to address them. •    You use good examples that show you have not only understood the question(s) but also the materials that you have read. Sometimes these examples come from you or the research that you have done. •    Your essay answers the question. That is, wewill not have to think about whether parts of your essay are relevant to answering the question or not. •    You make references to a variety of different views (including yours) in responding to the question. These views might come from research papers, books, internet materials, etc. You research might be thorough but you do not use all of the materials that you find to substantiate your arguments or to shape your thinking on relevant issues.

Distinction. •    You have one or two main points and they are discussed and evaluated in much detail. •    You have read various journal articles and have thought about what they say. You draw on the readings to critically discuss ideas that might contradict what you want to say or argue in your essay. You may choose to combine your own ideas with those from the readings that are most relevant to the particular focus that you are seeking to develop in your answer to the essay question. •    Your examples are succinct and focus your reader on the main argument that you will be making in your essay. •    Your work is polished. This means that your statements are tightly developed without lots of unnecessary words. You do not say the same thing more than once. Importantly, your reader does not have to try and double guess what you are saying because of spelling mistakes and grammatical errors. •    You have found a lot of different materials (research papers, books and so on) to support your arguments and have employed them to answering the question. You do not just cite the research but actually make use of them in developing your arguments in a particular direction. •    Your views in response to the question(s) are analytically sharp because you have understood the question you have been asked.

High Distinction •    All of the above points made under the distinction heading. •    The focus and critical assessment in your arguments responding to the question are tightly developed and novel or original in some way. •    Your own ideas in response to the question are novel and contribute to the originality of how you frame your answer. Please note that this should not be confused with simply sharing your thoughts. Original or novel ideas rely on knowing what is already in the literature you are referring to. •    You have managed to see conceptual connections between the different research articles and books that you have found and have used them to frame your response and develop your critical engagement with the issues you raise in your work. Your research is very thorough (that is, you refer to a lot of materials that shed light on what you want to say). You have also managed to refer to writers whose views are cited more often than others and whose work carries weight. That is, you have shown some discretion in terms of whose work you have chosen to use and refer to in drafting your response to the question.

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