#--in every other sentence LIKE THANK YOU! Its one of my pet peeves i think i just dont like the implication that Gai is an dumb idiot

[wanyinchen-narts]

SUNFLOWER (CANON DIVERGENCE AU)

the absolute *chef's kiss*, depth, angst, and clownery of the kakagai dynamic this fic has is beyond insane and amazing and I am not ashamed to say that I have binged it at least 7 times

Now, my lovelies, please read "Sunflower" by cloudynebula and lapifors once more and bask in its utter perfection. But make sure you're in the right headspace for it because it's really heavy and dark tho! Please take care of yourself first <3

*more incoherent babbling in the tags lmaooo*

[majicmarker]

omg pls share ur other thoughts on chrissy’s tarot cards!! i loved that chapter it was so good 😭🥺💕✨

first of all, thank you so much!!!  🥰 🥰 cher willing, i'll have the next part up within the next few days!

(second of all, here's the fic in question for anyone who happens upon this)

THIRD OF ALL, onto the tarot reading i chose for chrissy (under the cut bc i get Very enthusiastic abt emotions so surely this explanation is going to get away from me):

most of her cards—whether the casually mentioned ones or her actual reading—are major arcana. again, as i state in the fic, these tend to speak to turning points in your life. and that's what i like to explore with chrissy, is this shift in how she feels about/treats herself, and how that positively affects the trajectory of her life.

her minor arcana cards indicate a person (eddie, in this case, for the ROMANCE), because with any romantic dynamic i write, i like to explore the effect they have on each other not just in their relationship, but as individuals. because, yk, whether we like it or not, for better or worse, we're all affected and shaped by the people in our lives. and personally when i do readings for ppl, i dig into the positive takeaways, bc otherwise i just don't see the point, plus this fic is first and foremost a romance, so that's the direction i went in here.

(man look at all those commas, run-on sentences my beloved)

SO ANYWAY.

the cards she happens to notice but aren't in her actual reading are the star, the devil, and the two of cups. they're similar-but-not-similar to her actual reading:

the star is generally pretty positive whether upright or reverse. essentially it speaks to your readiness for Full Self-Acceptance, Your Destiny, Your Soulmate, all that. (it's also my favorite and i'll name-drop it every chance i get. it's just. so affirming and romantic and a lot of things that i want for myself, and i think it's such an all-encompassing card for anyone who leans into the archetype of the romantic.)

the devil, in this case, would take its meaning from its reversed position: moving on from trauma or otherwise negative forces in your life. (i have. Very strong feelings about this card for chrissy's character overall, particularly in her relationship with her mom, the themes of which i'll explore more in-depth in my soon-to-be-posted multichapter.) ((it's also a super interesting card for eddie's character which, again, i'll probably dig a little deeper into in the multichap.))

the two of cups is one of the most positive cards for romance. it speaks to that sort of self-actualizing power achieved in a healthy relationship, the give-and-take, and foretells a deep bond that serves you as a couple and as individuals

now, as for her actual reading, i wanted to go as simple as possible for the sake of writing that scene concisely, without *too* much exposition that would make the dialogue unnatural (such a pet peeve for me), all that, so i went with a three-card.

there are. like. a thousand spreads out there. but generally (or the way i do it, anyway) three cards indicate a current issue, past influences, and what to do/future outcome. you really have to examine each card individually as well as how they play together.

for chrissy, we have:

the moon: pretty straightforward the way i wrote it in the fic. reversed means that your search for clarity, reason, whatever, will come to fruition so long as you keep honest with yourself and follow your heart. (it also encourages the strength/healing we find in female friendships, which is something that will become more prevalent in the next chapter.)

the hierophant: upright it means that you find comfort and a sense of self within tradition, in finding your people and building those traditions and community with them. reversed, as it is in chrissy's reading, it means you'll find those things when you ditch external expectations. in chrissy's case, i wanted it to indicate that she should keep the parts of herself that she genuinely likes, but that she can also find that authenticity by letting herself want things for herself, rather than only strictly doing what's expected of her.

the knight of cups: listen i usually hate person cards bc they can be tricky to suss out when i'm doing a reading for someone, but in this case it slaps. it speaks to chrissy's need for emotional support and just pure, i-like-you-because-you're-you adoration. personally i think we see that very much so in the canon forest scene, when eddie can Tell something's up and he does his best to, for all intents and purposes, be chrissy's knight in ripped jeans armor. he gives her the space to feel calm, because he's real with her—not in some bullshit tough love kind of way, but in this way where he's just like, "this is me being myself, you can be yourself, too." and, yk, even though i write no-upside-down aus, it's the ~essence~ of their relationship i want to dig into.

^ i also think the knight of cups really represents what chrissy Needs, and it's who eddie actually Is (whether blatantly or under the surface, depending on your take on him), so—much like the devil, funnily enough—this card works for them on a few levels.

......okay this took me perhaps an embarrassingly long time to whip up, so *sign of the cross, bc i was raised catholic and there's no gettin out* fingers crossed for an interesting read, but i'm gonna peace out now ✌️

[alfredosauce50]

The anatomy of the obsessed artist [2p! Italy x reader]

Synopsis: You have the golden opportunity to display your art at a newly opened gallery. Nobody stops to look at your work until an eccentric connoisseur praises it, even asking you if he can buy it. Touched and fascinated by his personality, you agree to meet him over coffee. Now that he’s no stranger, he keeps inviting you over to his lavish estate until he realizes it’s not the art he’s so obsessed with. It’s the artist. Wordcount: 3, 686 The reader is referred to as she/her. “Nihilism represented a crude form of positivism and materialism, a revolt against the established social order; it negated all authority exercised by the state, by the church, or by the family.” - Encyclopedia of Britannica

“It's hideous.” He murmured, his eyes narrowed with contempt. They were a hot magenta hue, quick-moving and critical of everything they fixed on. How much he wished to say he was standing back to admire a masterpiece. Tossing his paintbrush into the kitchen sink with a sigh, he sauntered to the couch and plummeted down on it.

A loud clang was heard, but it never fazed his companion, who barely dodged the trajectory of the brush. “Oh, really?” They snorted. “It looks the same as every other painting you've done.”

He whipped his head to him and glared.

“Like you'd have an eye for these things, Lutz.”

Said man gave a shrug. This was probably the hundredth time they had this conversation, so he could practically predict what Luciano was about to say—and how he would wind up listening unwillingly to his passionate spiels.

“Just listen to me speak for once.”

Lutz scoffed and poured himself a hot cup of coffee. “Here we go again...” He grumbled with a distinct droop to his features.

Rolling his head back to the pristine, white ceiling, Luciano threw his hands up in emphasis. “It's the only damn thing that gives this room some color. I need to do better, Lutz. Otherwise, I'll tear this whole place down!” Even then, his animated movements were minuscule compared to the tall walls that surrounded him.

The other sipped on his mug. “If you're so stuck—” He smacked his lips. “—how about going to the new art gallery downtown? Anything to get you to shut up.” Lutz grinned at that, half-expecting him to launch a few throwing knives his way. But he never did. Instead, he jumped up and extended an index to point at him accusingly.

“You think you're so smart, huh, cazzo? Well, I might just go. Just to prove you wrong.” Grabbing his coat hanging over the couch, he threw it on and marched downstairs. As the echoes of his footsteps faded, he gave one final reckoning. “You can't rush art, dumbass! I'll turn the place upside down, and I still won't find anything worth my time.”

The volume of his thoughts had never been so loud. It was the only thing he heard in this quiet institution during its downtime. Nobody was around, save for him, but that allowed him to ramble to himself--whatever he was staring at, it was everything he had been looking for.

“This was definitely worth my time.” He muttered with a pistol grip on his chin. As he scanned over the canvas to take in the brushstrokes, he shook his head. “I hate to think he said something smart for once.” They were so violent, yet so gentle. A unique balance of nihilism and faith. Reaching up to his dark maroon hair, he dug through it and laughed in awe. “This is magnificent. Bellisima!”

“I hope you mean what you say, sir. That means a lot to me.” He turned to the voice ended up gawking at a woman. As he processed the words, he was at a loss for his own.

“Oddio--you don't mean you painted this, do you, signorina?”

She nodded coyly, much to his delight.

“Mhm. The name on the label is mine.”

At the sound of that, he gleamed and took both her hands into his own. “How much?”

She blinked, unsure of whether she heard him correctly. Was he offering to buy her work? “Sorry?”

“How much do you want for your painting? I'll pay you handsomely. One grand. Ten grand. However much you desire! I just need this in my living room. Whatever you ask for, it's a done deal!”

In your short career, you never imagined capturing someone's attention so passionately with your work. Your initial impression of the man was a rich art collector of some kind--an eccentric enthusiast--and not a connoisseur by any means. He even dressed the part, having adorned himself in a loose, silky blouse with a coat tied around his waist. His fashion was flashy and exuded confidence, though nothing else could have suited his personality.

As you talked to him over a coffee, however, it became clear to you he was much more than that.

“I've never seen somebody use color like that! You must've done lots of practice to get that good, eh?” He mused, watching you light up at his praise. There was no denying the sincerity in his voice, so you couldn't help being drawn to him and his zeal. “I'll be honest with you, bella. I'm not letting you run off before we settle on something.”

He could tell from the way you leaned in so subtly, never once breaking your eye contact as you listened to him. And knowing this did wonders--he slowly found himself drawn to you.

“Thank you, Luciano. I'm really flattered, but I can't just sell it to you. It's part of the gallery now.” You smiled gently, curling your fingers around the cup handle. Even as you sipped on your beverage, your gaze on him never faltered. And before you could catch any disappointment on his part, you waved your hands at him.

“I don't mean anything by it, honestly. I'm glad that you understand what I'm trying to say--like, you could've interpreted it completely differently. I wouldn't be able to stop you, either. But the fact that you didn't...” He followed you attentively with those sharp and mysterious orbs, but you were strangely comfortable under his scrutiny.

“Maybe we have similar minds.”

The man had been studying you as you spoke. While he did, this one, singular thought occurred to him. There was nothing in the world he loved more in the world than being heard.

“Hearing you talk is the same as being listened to,” Luciano admitted with a small laugh. Deep inside, he knew Lutz always listened. Unwillingly, that was. But being heard and understood was another story. “You take the words right out of my mouth, bella. I don't know how you do it, but you have to stop reading my mind. It's invasive.” He darted his eyes over your expression that morphed into dumbfoundedness--which served as a prelude for embarrassment.

So he couldn't help but smile flirtatiously. “Take me out to dinner first. Only then will I let you finish my sentences.”

You furrowed your brows together, but his smile was far too contagious to be staved off. The end result was an endearingly stupid face that was a cross between a frown and a grin. “Does lunch count then, you impossible little man? I mean, it's around noon.”

He shook his head, amused. Luciano expected you to pull away, but it seemed like he bit off more than he could chew. You were a handful. He was never a fan of handfuls or really anything that required his energy, but he'd be damned if this was the last time he saw you.

“But seriously, (F/N). I need your paintings. And it doesn't have to be something you've already painted.” Standing up at that, he neared your side lowered himself to your level. He settled a hand on your shoulder, much to your surprise. But you never tried to pull away. “I want you to paint for me at my place. I'll do whatever it takes. I'll drink my weight in this mediocre coffee if I have to.”

With his intoxicating personality, all he needed was a few more espressos to do the convincing.

“I can tell from your taste that you're pretty nihilistic.” You commented with a hint of disbelief. “But this is just crazy! What do you even do for a living?” All the expensive decor and extravagance of his stupidly large mansion must have costed a fortune! Lifting your head to take in the sheer size and height of his living room, you then shot him an incredulous look. “Well? I'm curious.”

Luciano leaned against the couch and folded his arms. “Oh, you don't want to know, trust me.” He grinned devilishly.

“What, are you in the mafia or something?” You joked.

He craned his head from right to left.

“Eh. Something like that.”

You blinked, not expecting him to be so frank. Then, you laughed sheepishly, suddenly feeling as if you've walked right into a trap. “... Are you serious?” The man sensed your uneasiness and walked over promptly. Before you could react, he held your arm, but it was much too gentle to stir any panic.

“Don't worry. Nobody would go after an artist I hired.” He leaned in to keep you hostage to his piercing eyes. The close proximity only heightened the tension you didn't know existed. What he said next, however, would have you blushing like a bride. “To have a target on your head means you're a liability. So unless we were an item--”

He smiled contently at the sight of your reddening cheeks. “--nothing will happen.”

Fortunately, your mortification was short-lived as you remembered your circumstances. Giving him a light shove, you walked off to his hallway. While your back was turned to him, he bit back a sharp grin, but to no avail. Man, were you feisty.

“Stop being such a womanizer and show me your studio, Luciano.” You mused, pausing in the doorway to glance at him over your shoulder. Was that playfulness he saw in your eyes?

“It isn't very professional.”

He hung his head and threw his hands up. Being scolded and ordered around was his worst pet peeve. But when you did it, he was only more compelled to misbehave.

“Mi dispiace. But I was only kidding. If I was part of the mob, my windows wouldn't be this big. Nor this abundant.” Making his way to your side, he walked with you to the said studio.

“And Luciano is a bit of a mouthful, no? You call me Luci.”

Unbeknownst to the two of you, someone else had entered the kitchen to pour themselves a drink. And boy, were they in for a show.

“You got it, boss. You call the shots.” A voice spoke in a gravely-exaggerated mobster accent.

“You're milking it...”

“I'm just joking, Luci. Let me have this moment.”

“Fine. Maybe I should've kept pretending. That'll get you to be a little more obedient.”

“And where's the fun in that?”

“Hmph.”

Lutz narrowed his eyes once the voices faded into silence. And he thought he hated being called Luci.

A mischievous smirk plastered across his face.

“Looks like somebody's found their inspiration.”

A few hours later, he appeared in the studio with a canned beer in hand. Even in such a lavish estate, no form of entertainment could beat pestering an old friend. Waltzing inside like he owned the place, he grinned toothily at what he saw. You and Luciano were busy working on a painting. But rather than using brushes, you both used your fingers.

“Hey.”

Luciano glanced at him and immediately felt the beginnings of anger simmer inside. “What do you want?”

Lutz laughed breathily. “Heh. No knives today?”

“If you don't get out, there will be!” The other whisper-shouted.

You stopped painting and turned to the newcomer with nothing short of curiosity. “... Hi. Are you Luci's henchman?” The joke was probably long dead, but you couldn't resist. Not when the stranger was built on six feet of pure muscle. “Nice to meet you.”

So this was the mysterious artist who managed to tame the bastard, huh? Lutz flattened his lips thoughtfully. “... In a way.”

“No, he's not. Now, get out. Your presence is ruining the mood... And killing my brain cells.” At the sound of that, you exploded into a burst of hearty laughter. Seeing Luciano push him out and leave colorful handprints on his tank only intensified those laughs. Once he managed to get his henchman out of the room, he whipped his head to you with a flustered glare.

“What's so funny?” He frowned. For one, he was rather taken aback at how he wasn't annoyed at you. At all. If someone like Lutz pushed their luck by teasing him, there would be more than one scar marring that punchable face of his.

“Nothing, nothing. I just thought... Maybe we could ask for his top and sell it. That was definitely a masterpiece.” You sighed, catching him off guard yet again. “It's the best work you've done today...”

The blush on his face deepened. A comment like that should've ticked him off, but he only found himself thoroughly infatuated. But that was preposterous! He was only letting this slide because you weren't that German bastard of a bum. That had to be it. But no matter what you did, he didn't have a single mean bone in his body for you. And he was about to test that theory.

“If you thought that was a masterpiece, I'll make you some more.” Marching over and undoing your apron, he wiped his fingers all over your once crisp white shirt. Looking down with a gasp, you weren't prepared for him to clap your cheeks and leave two brown handprints.

“You bitch!”

In his whole life surrounded by the worst potty-mouths, himself included, he'd never heard somebody cuss with so much sincerity. So the most logical reaction was to return the favor, if not be a little annoyed. But even as you ruined his blouse, which happened to be more expensive than everything in the room, he was cackling hysterically.

By the time you both calmed down, he had settled his chin atop your head and wrapped two arms around your neck. The paint on his face was drying up, but he was in no hurry to wash it off. Giving you a squeeze, he leaned down and pressed his cheek to yours. “You're coming tomorrow, aren't you?”

“Mhm.”

“And the day after that?”

“I don't see why not.”

“Then what about the day after that?”

You faced him and pinched his cheek affectionately, but he never complained. “If I was, what's the point of leaving, hm? I have something on that day, but I'll update you.”

Standing up at that, you felt his arms slide off of your shoulders. Luciano pulled away reluctantly, and as you left his studio, he found himself trailing after you against his own will. As quiet as he was, inside, he was tearing himself apart, torn between asking you to stay in the guest room and driving you home. But in the end, he got in the car.

Once he arrived outside your house, his body acted out unexpectedly when he shot his hand out to grab yours. The sudden contact startled you, though you could only gleam at his paint-smeared face that stifled back a thousand words. “What, do you miss me that much already?” You chuckled, much to his pleasure.

“You're just missing me too less.” He closed his eyes for a satisfied look. When he opened them again, he added this. “I'll pick you up here. Same spot. 9 am. If you don't show up in five minutes, I'll break inside and pull you out of bed.” Only then did he let you go.

“You got it, boss.”

With that said, you waved at him and made your way inside. Once the door clicked shut, he returned his gaze to the dashboard and shook his head with a defeated smile. “Oh my god.”

When he climbed the flight of stairs to appear next to the kitchen, the hiss of an espresso machine was heard. Rolling his head to it absently, he dropped his keys on the island and dug his hands through his sticky hair. Without addressing the blonde, who took an obvious interest in his disheveled appearance, he sauntered to the couch and flopped down on it.

“... Luciano.”

“What do you want?” He muffled his voice into the cushion.

Lutz walked over with a mug in hand and sipped it. Pointing to his own face, he swirled his index in circles. “You have a little something there.” When the other rolled his head to him, so did their colorful face.

The next two days saw steady progress in the project he paid you to do. While the painting moved closer to completion, he cared less and less about the finished product. At the same time, his eagerness for you to come grew exponentially. He could never admit it, but that didn't mean Lutz couldn't see right through him.

A single glance at him working in the studio was more than enough to deduce the conclusion that he was hopelessly head over heels for you. For one, it wasn't right to say he was even working anymore. Instead, he was staring at you, and sometimes, for twenty minutes or more if you were particularly immersed in your art.

This was only confirmed in due time.

Trotting downstairs to the cellar, he discovered that over ten bottles of wine had disappeared. And the culprit promptly made an appearance when he returned to the living room. Luciano was holding an empty bottle when they bumped into each other, the contact on his shoulder causing him to drop it. When it shattered on the marble floor, so did his patience.

“What the fu--watch where you're going, you fucking idiot!” He hissed, giving the other a strong shove back.

Beer fizzed out of the can and splashed onto his white tank. Lutz couldn't care less about ruining his clothes, but wasting beer? He pulled back with a growl. “I could say the same for you. I'm not the stumbling drunk here cuz' I can actually hold my weight.”

Luciano rolled his eyes and inhaled a deep breath.

“You know what, just leave me alone.” He huffed, kicking the shards on the ground. Once he scattered the glass all over the hall, he stormed off to his studio. Letting out a frustrated string of colorful words, he tore through more canvases than he cared to count. Punching a hole in one, then using another as target practice, half of the artwork was completely destroyed by the time Lutz showed up.

“I don't get it! Why am I so angry? Why can't I paint something like this?” Luciano exasperated, gesturing forcefully to the painting you were working on. Then, he marched up to the man and gripped the front of his tank. “Am I just that shit? But that can't be!”

At this point, Lutz was done with arguing.

“... You know what I'm about to say.”

Luciano threw his hands up as they chorused the same line simultaneously. “It looks the same as every other painting you've done--yeah, I know! I didn't really expect you to give me any useful advice. I just wanted you to listen to me.”

“Don't I always listen to you?”

“No--”

“Wasn't it me who suggested for you to go to that art gallery?”

“Yeah, but it's not like--it's not like you knew she was gonna show up! (F/N) being there only happened once in a blue moon. You were just lucky, so don't think you're a genius or anything, ha!”

Lutz scoffed, but his unimpressed expression quickly morphed into a shrewd one. “Accept it, liebling. You're down bad. Down astronomically. Just invite her over, and when she comes, you'll know what I mean. It's not the paintings you're making a fuss over.” He watched Luciano's hair spike up like a cat, then him light up like a Christmas tree. That little man was many things, but an honest person was not one of them.

“You think you're so smart, huh, cazzo?” Luciano pointed at him accusingly. “Well, I might just do it. Just to prove you wrong.”

When he left, Lutz clicked his tongue with raised brows.

“That's what you said last time...”

And invite you over he did. When he spotted a silhouette on the other side of the blurry glass, he sprung up from the couch and swung open the door with great gusto. There you were, as effortlessly charming as he remembered, and a little startled. You never had the chance to knock, nor process his scruffy appearance.

“Luci--hey! You look... A little more tired than I remember.”

Without a shred of hesitation, he grabbed your hand and pulled you to his bedroom. Yet again, his body was acting against his will, but perhaps, this was what he wanted in the first place. He just never admitted it. As he slowly came to terms with it, his eyes widened to dinner plates, and his heart pounded obnoxiously in his chest.

“Hey, what're you--”

He pointed wordlessly to the bed.

You shook your head, unable to figure out what he meant. “What do you want me to do?”

Luciano glowered at you, but it served as a stark contrast to the softness in his voice. “I'll pay you. As much as you want. Just stay there.” Seeing that you had yet to go along with his requests, he marched over to you and laid you down. Before you could object, he threw the blanket over you and tucked you in.

Sliding himself in from the other side, he scooted in and coiled his arms around your stomach. “Now, sleep.”

Breathing out a soft sigh, you rolled to him and brushed his mussy bangs back. “For someone so straightforward, you're not very honest, are you?” Sitting up to unzip your jacket, you proceeded to take your shirt off. When you stripped down, blood rushed to flush his cheeks as he came to realize he was completely love-struck.

“... Holy shit.”

Climbing onto his lap, you laughed over his lips and squeezed his neck. “You're really bad at hiding things. But like you said, I can read your mind.”

Luciano knitted his brows together. Then, he leaned in and pressed a kiss to your mouth. “And it's very invasive. Please stop it.”

“Only if you promise to pay me in the morning.”

“... You're not a prostitute.”

“Oh, but you are one too. We're all whores, if you think about it. We just sell different parts of ourselves.”

“Go to sleep, idiota.”

“Yeah, yeah.”

[sorikkung]

Hey, so I read your post about including more gender neutral reader insert fics on writing blogs, and the only reason I haven't done so is because I have no idea how to write smut for a gender neutral reader. Because obviously they don't identify as either gender, but their body has either male or female genitalia, but if I write them as having female genitalia, then people will think it's a female reader insert fic. I was hoping you could help me out here.

i can absolutely help, thank you for reaching out to me! it's really nice to see people consciously making an effort to include everyone <3

so here's my comprehensive guide to writing gender neutral reader insert smut!

for the record, i invite people to add anything if you think i've missed something helpful! reblog to save a writer's life <3

smut is tricky to do gender neutral, so it is entirely acceptable to say gender neutral reader and specify their genitalia, as gender =/= sex. you'd want to label that at the start though, so like [member] x gn!afab!reader or gn!amab!reader depending on which parts you choose.

in case you don't know, afab means Assigned Female At Birth and amab means Assigned Male At Birth, so it specifies the biology without necessarily implying a gender identity. agab = Assigned Gender At Birth.

if you don't want to specify the reader's assigned gender at birth, that's doable too! it'll be a little more vague, but everyone has a hole and a part that's sensitive when touched, so it can be worked with. if the reader is bottoming, just maybe cut out the descriptors of being wet from being worked up and replace them with some actual prep with lube. instead of pressing circles on their clit, something vague like slipping a hand down or putting their mouth on their pants/between their legs works too. when the reader tops, you can just describe a dick and the reader can imagine if it's a real one or a strap-on, so long as you don't describe it hardening vs going soft or actually ejaculating.

that'd be my number one tip for writing gn smut without a specified agab - don't be afraid to leave it up to the reader's imagination! if they're old enough to be reading smut, they should be able to put two and two together. you don't need to specify the details of every individual action. something as simple as "he sank down between your legs and put his mouth to work, obscene sounds filling the air" or idk maybe less lame sounding than that but like point is. you can omit a lot of specific vocab by giving enough context clues.

alternatively, if everything is strictly anal that's always gender neutral. LMAO.

cleanup scenes are also important and imo not written enough tbh. if ur not specifying the readers agab its even More important bc if a reader was imagining it with a dick, there'd probably be cum somewhere, and even if not, there's always some kind of fluid alright just get a wet wipes in there or smth like it only needs to be a sentence or two but thats a personal pet peeve of mine, lmao.

other things to consider would be replacing any mentions of breasts or boobs with just chest - amab folk can still like their nipples played with, so that's safe and fine, but no bras or binders mentioned ideally as that can be implied when the reader undresses anyway. even if you are writing an afab reader, if they're still gender neutral, it's safer not to write abt boobs since most afab non-women get chest dysphoria and its not fun. lmao.

as for dialogue, this is the easy part. there's plenty of gender neutral pet names like baby, sweetheart, love, angel, kitten, etc, that you can utilise, but you'll want to be careful if you're going into the explicit dirty talk kind of dialogue. we'd want to avoid things like "you're so wet/hard for me" if you're not specifying an agab, alternatives could include "you're so sensitive/responsive for me" or if you want to be real vague, a simple "aww, all this, for me?" gets the job done as well.

if you are specifying their agab, it's still totally okay to include that in the dialogue, too, as its not inherently gendering them to talk about their parts. i'll reiterate that sex =/= gender, men and nb folk can have a pretty little pussy and women n nb folk can have a massive veiny cock too, or whatever else tickles your fancy. just avoid calling them a good girl/boy or anything like that, alternatives could be like... idk good pet, or just simply "that's my baby."

lmk if you guys want and i'll write up a gender-neutral smut dialogue prompt list for yall, that could be fun. or if you have any questions, whether that be for writing specific scenes you dont know how to word or if you want tips on writing gender neutral reader inserts outside of smut, my inbox/dms are always open for that too <3

[nejiraez]

Hii!! Sorry if this is super weird but I was wondering if u could do headcanons of maybe Bakugo, Todo and Kiri whose s/o is also their childhood best friend? If I can only request one tho I'd like Todo!! Anyway thanks so much pls have a great day!! 💕💕💕 (u rock!)

SORRY FOR HOW LONG BAKUGOU’S HCS ARE. the favouritism jumped out

Bakugou Katsuki

Whenever Bakugou’s S/O approaches him with the classic “Remember that time when you - ”, he doesn’t even let his S/O finish their sentence.

He’d immediately shut them down with a swift “Shut the fuck up”. Because he knows that his S/O was there to witness a majority of the embarrassing moments he experienced when he was a child.

Take it a step further by bringing up how odd he acted in that stage in your friendship when he had a HUGE crush on you and he would shut down right then and there.

Let him LIVE! He dies a little at the fact of being reminded that he chased you around the school playground in grade 4 all because he liked you or how you two almost kissed at the age of 14 when returning from a class trip on the bus.

Katsuki’s snapchat memories are filled with embarrassing videos and pictures of you both (but mainly you).

Including class photos, school trips, birthday parties, sleepovers, everything.

His grumpy scowl would be cancelled out due to how bright and heartwarming your smile was. 

Or how there was a picture of a content (Y/N) who’s arms were squeezed around Katsuki who looked “peeved” on their first day of high school.

Every photo was precious and held a story to it, which is why he never dared to delete them. Everything would either be physical, backed up on his computer, or on his phone.

Katsuki would send them to you with a text saying ‘Look at how fucking stupid you were, lol’.

Your families are well acquainted with each other and get along very well.

Your parents absolutely adore Bakugou (your mother especially) and always greet him with open arms whenever he visits your house.

And his parents also vibe with you, always making it known that you are welcome to come over whenever you want and how appreciative/amazed they are at the fact of how long you both stuck together for.

It’s almost as if you’re their second child~

The relationship is full of trust, sarcasm, and great communication. Katsuki’s S/O is someone he feels like he could put his guard down around and truly be himself without worrying about his pride.

He is forever grateful that he has met you when he did.

BONUS (because why not~)

Just because you two are dating doesn’t mean he gets romantic with his texts. He would still text you in the sassy/teasing, sarcastic way he always did when you guys were (and still are) best friends.

EXHIBIT A & B:

Todoroki Shouto

Sometimes whenever you’d bring Shouto home, he’d be wind up in a long conversation with your mother. Talking about school or how he’s finding the hero course.

Todoroki has gotten close to your parents to the point where he could call them by their government names. And yes, he does not feel embarrassed calling them by their first name whatsoever.

You two have known each other since you were both in the same private school at the age of 6.

Which was why it wasn’t as big as a deal as it might have been when his family discovered that he began to date you near the end of middle school.

Rei loves you with her whole being and is delighted whenever you come and visit her at the hospital with Todoroki. 

Natsuo considers you an additional younger sibling since you were his brother’s former playmate and current S/O. Fuyumi always presents you with pastries whenever she’s home.

And Endeavour? ... Well I mean he’s Endeavour. You assume you he doesn’t mind your presence since he hasn’t said shit... you think.

Believe it or not, Todoroki is the one in the relationship to remember the smallest of details that have transpired of the years of you two being friends AND while dating.

Like what you’re allergic to or that one specific order you always get at the eatery you both visit after school. He also remembers the people you dislike/steer clear of and pet peeves.

It’s quite endearing, to be honest!

Todoroki gets annoyed for whatever reason when people call him without a purpose. However, when it comes to his S/O if they were to call him because they want him to watch them do homework he will legit pick up on the first ring.

“Yes, my love, you called? What’s wrong?” He jumped onto the notion of pet names the two weeks after you two became official.

Shouto is your biggest fan and when he’s not posting about himself, he would be posting about you (on the spam page you persuaded him to make, of course).

So much so that some people would consider it spam and wonder if he has any other interests or hobbies. Trust me, he does... you just have to scroll down his page a bit a lot to see them!

If people aren’t aware that the two of you are dating, they will know either by his profile picture (a selca of you both) or how talkative/engaged he is whenever he’s around you.

Everyone knows of the deep history rooted between you both and they swoon because it was as if it were a relationship pulled out of a movie.

Kirishima Eijirou

Having Kirishima as a childhood best friend and a boyfriend is the definition of chaotic in its purest form.

He and his S/O probably have been friends since the early stages of middle school. Meaning that they’ve met in the budding years of the preteen stage - not even.

Kirishima saves all of the old photos of you two together and would be the type of boyfriend to post them all on your birthday.

He sometimes likes to flex on others at how close and strong your bound is. 

It definitely boosts his ego a whole bunch.

Ever since Kirishima had asked you, it gave him the overused excuse to be more affectionate. Claiming his reasons for smothering you to death was because “that’s what boyfriends do, babe!”

You two have too many inside jokes and history together, which may be a reason as to why the relationship is so healthy and fruitful.

He would be the type to have a calendar set for how long you two were friends and one for the amount of time you two have been dating.

Kirishima is the king of duality when it comes to managing his roles as a boyfriend and friend.

One minute he’d be texting you ‘I love you!’ and the next is a snap of the upper half of his face (showing only his eyes and beautiful forehead) all while he throws a peace sign with the caption as: ‘sitting on the toilet’. For which you have to scold him on sharing TMI

That’s the type of relationship you guys have. Romantic isn’t it~

BONUS!!

Kirishima is the type to send you shit like:

[4awny]

Crenny fluff from Chapter 19

Craig stood up from the bed when he heard the door open.

"Sorry, prolly shoulda' knocked, but I-" Kenny stopped in mid-sentence when he saw Craig standing before him in a fitted t-shirt and shorts. "-thought you'd be expecting me." He finished slowly, using his foot to kick the door behind him. There wasn't anything about the raven that should have stood out, but when Kenny took sight of his lean thighs, there was something about him that just made him stare in absolute awe.

"Hey." Craig greeted, rubbing the back of his neck. "Sorry for the mess."

Kenny looked around his surroundings. What mess? He thought when he saw absolutely nothing out of place. He watched as Craig picked up the empty can of Pepsi from the nightstand and throw it into the trash can. "Oh, that mess." He answered out loud and gave a chuckle. "That's your idea of mess?"

"I didn't have time to clean up. I thought you were gonna give me a heads up."

"You should see my room." Kenny muttered and then threw a thumb behind him. "Anyway, guess what? I just walked all the way from Kyle's. We counted the money. This is your half." He pulled the rucksack from his shoulder and extended his arm out.

Craig eyed the bag suspiciously, a little surprised that his friend had just carried a bunch of money on his own, in the cold. "You didn't have to walk all the way here, I would have just picked it up at a more convenient time."

Kenny had his own good reasoning. "You told me to come by. Plus, I feel bad for hitting you." He nodded to the small red mark on Craig's cheek.

"Don't worry about it." Craig shook his head like it was nothing and took the bag from Kenny's grasp. He didn't bother unzipping it to check. Instead, he dumped it to the floor and turned to his nightstand to pull out a folded piece of paper.

"Happy Birthday."

Kenny accepted the folded paper and as he opened it, his eyes lit up. It was a rough pencil drawing of Deadpool with a middle finger in the air and written in comic book font were the words, Happy 18th Birthday, McCormick. He couldn't stop the huge grin from splitting his face and he loved every detail of it, including the creases from where it had been folded multiple times.

"Wow, thank you so much, man. You really didn't have to do this." This feeling of surprise didn't falter and he pulled his eyes away from the gifted artwork to lock them onto Craig's. As if his body moved on its own, he stepped forward and on his tippy toes, he wrapped an arm around the taller male's neck, pulling him into a warm embrace.

The unusual contact came as a bit of a shock to Craig, but as he felt a second arm wrap around the other side of his neck, he found his arms snaking their way around Kenny's waist, pulling him in close.

It was usual behaviour for Kenny to give hugs, but it was not usual behaviour for it to last as long as it did. The way Craig's arm hugged tightly around his body, combined with how their torsos rested so intimately against each other, was a feeling neither of them could have ever comprehended from each other.

When Kenny pulled back, one of his hands fell to comfort against Craig's chest, with the other remaining where it was behind his neck. When Craig saw blue eyes flickering to his parted lips, he froze. He felt this nervous feeling in his chest and he wasn't sure how to recover from it. Their lips were that close to each other, Craig could feel the warm breath emitting from the blond's parted mouth. It looked as though he was waiting for something.

Is he waiting... for me? Craig wondered as he watched Kenny's eyelids lower into a mysterious, hooded gaze. His blue eyes not once leaving his lips. Craig felt this fixation, this temptation, this adoration... All of these sudden feelings swarmed his mind and it was almost like something else was taking over his entire consciousness. He had the sudden urge to pull his arms away and shove Kenny with force. The blond stumbled back, hitting the wall firmly behind him. Stunned by the abrupt push, Kenny's expression turned to panic, assuming he crossed the mark.

But as Craig stepped forward, the blond learnt that this new look in his friend's eyes was not anger. It was indeed, lust.

Kenny's eyes softened when he felt a set of fast hands cup around the sides of jaw, thumbs clenching at his cheeks. He allowed his back to push into the wall behind him and his mind fuzzled into a moment of sheer joy when Craig pressed his lips onto his.

It was a bold move to make for him, but it was leaf he had subconsciously taken from the Book of Kenny, because just for a split second, he felt himself living for the moment.

It felt right.

Kenny's idle arms found a way to move on their own and his fingers wrapped loosely around Craig's wrists. The blond always took pride in knowing how to take control in a relationship, but with Craig, he found himself lost in what to do with himself. It was easy with a woman, because the general consensus was for the male to be domineering and he had no problem with doing that. But it was Craig that appeared to be the dominating and although Kenny was totally down for it, it felt completely new to him.

Craig pulled back to see the blond's eyes flicker open. Their eyes connected for a brief second, before he leaned back in and kissed him again. One of his hands dropped to wrap around the side of his neck and the other hand slipped down to the blond's slender hip, pulling him in close enough for their lower abdomens to bump together.

"Mm, wait~" Kenny murmured into his mouth, but neither of them pulled away. "Craig, hang- hang on just a second."

Mumbling against his lips, Craig grew a little impatient. "What is it?"

"No, nothing. Ah, it's just~" A rough sound of arousal left Kenny's lips and a hand pushed at Craig's chest. "I need to tell you-"

"Spit it out, McCormick." He released the fingers that were clamped onto the blond's waist and dipped them under his flimsy jacket. When his fingers touched the small of Kenny's back, he flinched at how icy the skin was. "Fuck, what's wrong with you, why're you so cold?"

Kenny felt a sense of loss when the hands on his body abandoned their positions. "Hey, you try walking two and a half miles in the blistering winds and see how far it gets you."

"Take this off." Craig pulled on the zip of the blond's second hand jacket and backed away to the wardrobe. He shuffled through the neatly aligned and color coordinated items of clothing and stopped when he came across one of his favourite hoodies. He had to stop wearing it throughout senior year, because it was getting too small for him. Glancing over at his friend's small frame, he figured he may have found its new owner.

Kenny had already shrugged his jacket off and hung it up on the door handle by the time Craig came over with the new item of clothing. "Hm." He hummed in amusement when he saw the small NASA logo on the top left hand side. "I remember seeing you wearing that thing all the time last year."

"I miss wearing it." Craig confessed as the sweater was taken from his grasp. "It'll keep you warm, but you should really buy a coat or something. I don't wanna hear none of that I have no money bullshit, either. I don't care if you're saving it up, you've got more than enough to spend fifty bucks on a decent coat."

The blond slipped the hoodie over his head and straightened out the hem. "Yes, sir." He mocked playfully, shifting around in front of the mirror to check out his new outfit. He slicked his blond strands back and when he was satisfied with his look, he turned to face the man standing behind him. "What do you think?" He asked, extending out his arms.

Craig tilted his head to the side to study his look, but it was more of an excuse to admire his physique. Sure, he was a little malnourished, but it would only take a couple of decent meals to fill him out. But even so, he believed Kenny still looked perfect. He was clumsy, a little rough around the edges and filled with complete optimism, even on the worst of days. There was not one bad bone in the blond's body and Craig thought it was incredibly admirable.

Kenny was a good guy and only now, was he really starting to notice it.

"Looks better on you than it ever did on me." Craig admitted as he folded his arms.

"Well, you're not wrong." The blond agreed with a cheeky smile, before stepping forward. "Dayum. You weren't lying when you said it'll keep me warm, huh?" He fanned a hand in front of his neutral tempered face to pretend to cool down. "Whew, it sure is warm in here. What is that you got on, central heating or something?"

Craig rolled his eyes, but couldn't stop the smirk forming on his lips as he played into Kenny's little game. "If you're that hot, maybe you should take your sweater off."

"What? Oh, this thing?" The blond pulled at the collar. "Ah, what a great idea. I never even thought of that."

Just before he could grab at the hem, Craig's fingers got there first. "Here, let me help you."

Kenny lifted his arms in the air and when his head poked through the hole, their eyes immediately locked on to each other and the gray garment was discarded to the floor next to two pairs of socked feet. Having a floor littered with worn clothing, was always a pet peeve of Craig's. However, that thought didn't even cross his mind and if anything, it looked better on his bedroom floor anyway.

"You were saying?" Craig spoke, the comforting sound of his voice reeling the blond in with each word. "Just now, you were about to tell me something."

"I was?" Balancing on the balls of his feet and leaning in, Kenny's fixation on trying to search for whatever it was in those fair eyes had clouded his mind and he had to wait for Craig's words to catch up on him. He then remembered what he wanted to say. "Oh, I was."

"Tell me."

It wasn't that he didn't want to tell him, he just lost the nerve. Could he really just go ahead and unmask his online persona to Craig right here and now? I have to, right? No, wait. I can't. Not now. Bad time. Later. Promise. He concluded in the shortest argument in the world.

"Craig-" He whispered out, eyes darting between the left and right eye. It felt like he had been waiting for this day for an agonizingly long time. He never believed that this moment was ever going to be possible outside of his lasting daydreams and extensive fantasies. "Do you know how long I've been waiting for this?"

A twitch of confusion from the crease of his brow was a sign that Craig had been completely oblivious to these growing feelings Kenny had for him. Had it really been that long? How long was that long anyway? The thought of Kenny crushing over him while he was none the wiser was a little overwhelming. All of those times the blond would flirt with him and he would brush it off, thinking he was being mocked or played with and this whole time... it was a sign?

Have I really missed all of the signs? The thought passed through his mind as well as the memories of all of his past interactions with Kenny. It was surprising at how many memories came forth in a matter of seconds, but he didn't have the time to organize them and decipher each one, because that was going to take a couple of sleepless nights, at the very least.

"No, I really have no idea." He admitted and a small part of Kenny felt disappointed for not advancing on their friendship sooner. But then again, Craig was a confusing guy and had rejected almost every move Kenny tried to make on him, so maybe it was all to do with the right timing.

Kenny dropped his attention to the floor as his lips cracked into a bashful smile. "Nah, I didn't think you did."

Of course, Craig was insanely curious by this and was determined to know exactly how long Kenny had felt this way, but they had all the time in the world to talk about it and as of right now, he had other things on his mind.

"Alright, enough with the confessions." The taller male declared and smoothed a hand down Kenny's arm, before yanking him in close by the forearm.

Stumbling into an unexpected kiss, a soft sound of surprise escaping the blond's throat. He felt a second hand reach the side of his neck, the same way it did before and he leaned into the touch, like a purring cat.

With his body now warmed up, not only from the luxurious privilege of having quality central heating, but also from heat of Craig's hands, Kenny started to find his confidence again. He withdrew from the kiss only to grab at Craig's collar with both hands and pull his head down to his level to meet his lips. He took the parting of Craig's lips as an invitation and their tongues met in the middle. Light licking turned more ferocious with each breath they shared, silencing their thoughts and submitting to the intense arousal.

Having escaped the fierce cold from the piercing winds outside, Kenny was now facing a desperate escape from the radiating heat burning beneath his skin. He lightly pushed Craig to move back, but as the raven was too invested in his own lustful thoughts, he took the gesture as a form of rough play and gripped the hand he had on the side of Kenny's neck harder with a few of his fingernails digging into the back roots of blond hair.

"Argh." A pained hiss of pleasure escaped Kenny's lips and he could have sworn the guy had just glued razor blades to his fingers, because there was just no way anyone could have a grip that sharp.

Do that again. The words were about to slip from his mouth, but it seemed as though God was finally there to grant him his wish.

Craig's hand abandoned the neck completely after hearing that erotic sound leave Kenny's lips and snaked it into the growing length of blond hair. Still needs a haircut. He argued and made a valid point by tugging a fistful of hair back. Kenny couldn't read his thoughts, but he could feel the firm grip on the back of his head and it made him smirk with pleasure.

"I didn't think you'd be so... rough." Kenny admitted when he pulled away. He felt the firm hold on his head release and the tension was replaced with soft, inquisitive fingers.

"Your hair is soft." Craig noted as a second hand pushed back the falling strands from Kenny's forehead. "Would look better if it was short."

Kenny's attention bounced between the two eyes that were inspecting his mess of blond hair. The features on Craig's face were captivating him in every way possible. From the piercing gray eyes, to the sharp jawline, to the small horizontal scar sitting above his left eyebrow. It was barely noticeable and if he was any further away, he wouldn't have noticed it.

In the midst of wondering what kind of badass hustle Craig could have possibly gotten himself into to receive such a battle scar, he also took the comments about his hair into consideration. Kenny wasn't sentimental when it came to hairstyles and even if Craig preferred it fully shaved, he would have done just that. So with a sudden spark flashing through his mind of ideas, he came to a decision.

"Craig, can I ask- if you don't like something, what do you usually do about it?"

Still playing with Kenny's hair, he took a moment to think about it. "Give me an example, I need context."

"So like. Okay, let's say, you really wanted to go and see a local band. All your buddies are going, everyone's gonna be there, there's gonna be booze, drugs, sex. Y'know, the usual shit, right?"

"Right." Craig hesitated, wondering where the blond was about to take this.

"So one night, your ma's there. She's getting all menstrual with you, telling you, you can't go. You're all like, why the fuck not? My name's Craig Tucker, not Cuck Tucker, you get what I'm saying?" The gap Kenny left was meant for Craig to agree, but Craig didn't agree. He just halted his hand movements and watched his friend tell the story in silence. "So anyway, she starts yelling. Your dad comes home after a fourteen hour shift, he starts yelling. Your sister comes down the stairs, annoyed that her Disney Plus subscription has expired, so now she's yelling. Stripe leaves his bed for the first time that day to find no food in his bowl and guess what? He's now yelling too. Everyone's mad at each other and poor Craig is stuck in the middle. So you're all like, man! Fuck this shit, if I wanna go to a stupid party, I'm gonna go to a stupid party! Your dad turns to you and says if you leave this house, don't bother coming back! So. What do you do?"

Taking in the question, which felt more like another one of Kenny's monologues, Craig tried to express an answer in the best way he could. "Um. Well, first of all, I don't understand what relevance any of that had to do with each other. Why is Stripe getting involved?"

"Because you forgot to feed him, so he's mad?" Kenny's eyes narrowed and his eyebrows drew together, the answer being seemingly obvious to him. "I don't get how you're confused, I'd be mad too if my owner forgot to-" He quickly closed his mouth before letting the irony of what he was about to say leave his lips. "Look. This ain't about me right now. This is about you."

"You focus too much on little details." Craig noted, but it was not to criticize. He enjoyed listening to the minor details Kenny would come up with, even for the sake of a stupid story. It blossomed his creative mind, something Craig could express visually through pen and paper, but not verbally. To create color with words, he thought it was an admirable quality to have.

"Will you just answer the darn question?"

"I don't even know what the question was. Are you asking me to choose between staying home to avoid being... grounded? And miss out on the fun, or go to the party or band or whatever it was and just deal with the consequences afterwards?"

"Yeah." Kenny confirmed with a nod.

"It wouldn't matter if this is a realistic question or a hypothetical one, because you should already know the answer to this pointless question."

"There is a point to this, I swear." The blond assured.

"Okay." Craig sighed and decided to just play along. "Anyone that tells me I can't do something, I tell them to go fuck themselves and go ahead and do it anyway."

The attitude behind the words was amusing enough as it was and it was not an exaggeration. He was a man of his word.

"Interesting." Kenny mused, slipping away from the grasp and backing to the door behind him. "You know what? You, Craig Tucker, can not cut my hair. I will not allow it. There will be consequences if you decide to cut my hair." When Craig did nothing but blink at him, Kenny elaborated further. "Craig. I am refusing to let you cut my hair. Re-fu-sing. I do not consent, for reasons unknown. Get what I'm saying?"

It didn't take much longer for Craig to catch on to the silly game Kenny was playing. He couldn't understand why someone would waste so much breath for a simple question. It did not make sense to him and he should have known better, because he knew more than anyone that Kenny was a talker.

"You want me to give you a haircut?"

The grin on the blond's face dropped in an instant and he scratched a spot at the back of his head. "Yeah, we'll go with that."

Craig's lips broke into a soft smile as he sighed. "You talk too much. Would've been easier if you just asked."

"Yeah, I don't know if you're aware of this, but people usually, you know... play along?" He gestured his hands in a circular motion. "That's kinda how it works. Cartman's the worst for it, sometimes you can't tell if he's joking or being deadly serious."

"Doesn't that show you how different our friendship groups are?"

"Yeah and yours is yawn, boring. I got Kyle and Eric fighting all the time and do you know what that means for me?" He didn't even get time to respond before Kenny answered. "Front row seats, baby."

Craig rolled his eyes and found himself grateful for not having to put up with that much drama within his own squad. But then again, Clyde had already been a handful over the last few months, so maybe they were even with the drama. "Speaking of which, I presume you heard about what happened between Clyde and Cartman the other day?"

Kenny tilted his head, like a curious pup that had just learnt the command word for treat. "Something happened?"

Craig picked up the pair of scissors from the stationary cup that was on his desk and nodded his head to the door. "Come on, I'll tell you about it when I chop this goddamn mop from your head."

.Despite the negative opinions he had on Kenny's hairstyle, it would have been ironic to say that it actually started to grow on him.

The Chat Room Scandal - Chapter 19

Feel free to read the entire fic on AO3!

https://archiveofourown.org/works/31878976/chapters/82834027

[yumgrapejuice]

Hello there! I recently found your fic A is for accidental dimensional travel on ao3 and would first like to say good job! I am thoroughly enjoying the story so far. As an amateur writer, I wanted to ask if you have any writing tips?

First, I’m really happy to hear you’re enjoying it, thank you!! And second, of course!!!:D That’s very flattering haha, and it’s something I can talk about for hours, though I’ll try to keep it condensed:’D I’m an amateur writer myself, of course, but, hey, I think every writer has something valuable to offer in terms of advice, and I have been pretty obsessed over the topic for years I guess lol.

I will say, though, that writing is like any other skill, and certain advice fits certain levels (I’ve had someone come to me about writing tips who didn’t have a grasp on the most basic concepts, so I told them different things from what I’d tell someone who’s actually been writing for a while). I don’t know what level you’re at, anon, so I’ll try to keep it to tips that I personally use whenever I’m writing, just a few quick things:D However!! You can always directly dm me and I’d be more than happy to offer more personalized/specific advice if that’s something you’d like:))

(I’d also like to mention that, to me, fanfiction writing is different from original writing. In fanfics, I usually go with the first draft of any chapter and I focus more on the Fun stuff, whereas with original stuff I’d have multiple drafts and be more careful. I just don’t have the time nor the need to perfect my fics if I like them enough as is, and I don't expect anyone else to perfect them, either. But, hey, that’s just me)

(Also, also, don’t look at me for grammar lmao sorry)

Putting the rest under the cut!:D

Dialogue is my favorite part of writing, so I’d like to share a few things I keep in mind whenever I’m constructing it.

First, unless a character is monologuing, I try to keep each person’s lines to no more than 3-4 sentences at a time. That way the dialogue flows more naturally and feels like people are actually talking.

Second, people are rarely graceful with their words, especially if they’re flustered for any reason. Cutting off sentences is a good way to show that, but don’t overdo it, either. That goes for stuttering, too. A couple of cuts or stutters is more than enough. I tend to break this "rule" when someone is really struggling, but that's only on special occasions.

Third, not every line needs a dialogue tag!! You need to evaluate what’s actually important. If you’re using a dialogue tag, you’re drawing attention to it. Why? Is it unclear who’s speaking? Are they performing some action that adds to/reinforces/conflicts with what’s being said? Is it funny? If there isn’t a good reason, you can just leave it without a tag. (Also, dialogue without tags flows much quicker, so that’s something to keep in mind. That's good for a quippy exchange.)

Fourth, I try to always progress some aspect of the story with every line. Usually, that can be plot progression or character progression. They can chatter about their day, the weather, work, sure, but it needs to progress something. Maybe it’s used to showcase the tense/awkward atmosphere. Maybe they learn information that’ll be useful later. Maybe it’s a way to show personality. Just, have it have a purpose.

And last, ‘said’ is not dead. Our eyes when reading barely register the word, so if you don’t wanna draw attention to how something is being said, use… ‘said’ lol.

A few more general things:

I don’t switch POVs often, but when I do, I try to make each POV have its distinct voice, which is something you hear a lot about in writing classes and such. People far more advanced than me can explain it much better, but the way I go about it is similar to dialogue. Different people use different phrases, some go on long tangents, some introspect a lot, some would rather die than think for a second about what they’re feeling (doesn’t mean you shouldn’t describe their emotional responses; just that some may draw more attention to them and linger longer). Switching between more formal styles to looser and rambly is also an easy and quick way to distinguish different narrators.

If you focus a lot on a certain detail, that detail needs to be important. Listen, I didn't spend multiple paragraphs on Dream fawning over an ender chest for that to be trivial in the future lol. The more attention you draw to something, you more weight you put on it. I really recommend that you bring it back eventually.

What’s the worst that can happen? Make it happen, and make it worse lol.

Your readers aren’t stupid, don’t spoon-feed them information. They’re smart cookies, leave some clues and they’ll figure it out. Hopefully. Use your judgement lol. But that goes for descriptions, too. Help them paint the scene, don’t actually paint it for them. Use different senses to describe something, such as smell, touch, sound. Once again, draw attention only to what’s actually important. (I’ve really enjoyed the way descriptions were done in Path of Golden Green)

If you want a line to have a lot of weight, put it in a separate paragraph. That’s probably obvious, but good to have it in mind haha.

Decide what atmosphere you want your story to have. If you’re going for a lighter one, don’t focus too much on serious, dark things. Likewise, tragedies and comedy don’t mix well unless it’s a tragicomedy lol, but that’s a whole other thing. I usually like going for a nice middle, sometimes leaning more towards light stuff. It’s why in A is for Accidental I didn’t dwell too much on the possible effects the prison could have had on mh!Dream because I wanted to keep that storyline relatively light (at least, compared to dsmp!Dream’s storyline lol). Possible trauma just. wasn’t the point here lmao. I just slap on a “eh, not his first rodeo” and I’m done haha. Not everything needs to be heavy angst and not everything needs to be all funny and fluffy. Find what balance you wanna have. Basically, it’s usually not a good idea to betray your readers lol.

This is more of a pet peeve but I really dislike head-hopping lol. It's basically when one paragraph is from one character's POV, the next one is from another's. I guess there's the third-person omniscient POV where that can fly, I suppose, but I'm more of a third-person limited kind of person lol. If that's the POV you're going with, decide on your POV character and stick to it (until the change in POV, at least), pretty please <3

This is very unorganized but each aspect of writing has so much that could be said about it that I thought I should stop here lol. If there’s anything specific you’d like me to talk about or to elaborate on something, please, feel free to ask; again, I’d be more than happy to ramble more about writing lol. I could go on forever, honestly:’D

[thedevilliers]

Hey, I've been reading your story for a while, and I'm enjoying it very much. Following the De Villiers has been so fun, and you've inspired me to create my own royal Simblr!

Can you maybe share some tips about what to do with your royals? I'll be posting my family within the next few weeks, and I have already planned out several engagements + events, including visits to parks/schools/hospitals, parties, and news surrounding a royal pregnancy. I've also planned out the first arc. I don't know what else to do, and I've barely started! If you have any tips related to the beginning of your Simblr that you didn't cover in your other post, I would so appreciate them. I want to get all this nailed down *before* posting, so my blog is the best that it can be.

Also, if you have any advice on how to make things as efficient as possible (especially regarding posing sims, editing/writing posts, etc.), I would love that! I want to cut down on time wasted wherever I can.

Thank you!! :-)

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA 🥺🥺🥺🥺🥺 me?!!?!?! ME ??????? omg 🧍‍♀️ thank u for reading my story 🥺 and AAAAAAAAAAAA your own royal simblr !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

ill answer everythin under the cut !!!!! spoilers: it got long sorry

first of all, remember we ALL started somewhere. you can look at my first like... fifteen and even MORE posts and they are BAD. oh my gawd idk why i thought they were good, but hey! i learned things from them. you will more than likely change your mind about certain things from the beginning of your blog to who knows, four months from now. don’t focus and worry a lot on ‘perfection’ and setting up ‘high standards’ from the beginning. treat it like a learning curve! this is something we all do for fun, so don’t get stressed a lot on it. you can always change and adapt things and that’s no problem!

i love lists, so im gonna list a few things of advice/tips basing myself on what you said!!!

i personally don't do engagements anymore, so i can't really help you in this regard of even more activities you could do 🧍‍♀️ what i could recommend for people to get to know your characters' personalities and private lives and grow attached to them, add in BTS posts.

continuing on my BTS’ post thing, they are a GREAT way to show more than what the public sees for your royals. because from a press and public point of view, you don't really know 'what goes on behind closed doors'. they could be all happy in public, but in privatE??!??!!?!?

as i said in my starting out guide, i did have around ~15 drafts done before i started posting. just so i could not stress about “oh my god i dont have any posts for tomorrow”. a LOT of ppl do posts and queue them as they go, and they have MANY posts done and usually they start accumulating and they are MONTHS in advance compared to what they’re currently posting. if this method works for you, you can definitely use it!

please, please please read your dialogue OUT loud. is it possible to say a 2093023902 word sentence without a singular use of punctuation? do people in this age and era really talk this way? also please if possible use correct grammar. just a little pet peeve, it can take a reader out of the immersion your story gives them.

we all have our lil dialogue habits. mine is starting sentences with “oh” and the infamous dash “—”. others use ellipses. just make sure you aren’t overdoing it. for example, doing a sentence like “oh— there you are. i was uhm— looking for you. how—how are you? its—i mean where have you uhm— been? yes—ive—ive been fine. you? i mean— your mom” ....just no 😔 it doesnt read well at ALL

you can always do lil filler posts, dont tell anyone tell you otherwise. post a little simstagram post, a little family portrait, updated portraits post, family hanging out, kids hanging out, etc.

for posing sims, i do try and remember where MOST of my poses are in the ingame list. usually creators’ correctly naming the poses helps a lot. for example i need a Mel Bennet pose; hers are usually ALL in the same spot and have the same lil aqua bg so i can easily find them. sometimes, i dl pose packs VERY specifically for a certain scene. am i gonna use them again? no. so i open the .package file in sims4studio and rename them to “00 for emi scene [rest of the og name” so when i open my game, they are around the top of the list! no more scrolling and i easily know what i need it for.

dont be scared to plan things that are happening MONTHS from now or anything in detail. some ppl dont like planning things in detail, or even dont like planning things AT ALL or things that arent happening say, in over 2 weeks because idk, they get bored. i recommend at LEAST having a list of things that HAVE to happen so you have ‘goals’ and you slowly plan out how you’re gonna get there. at LEAST theres some level of planning there. if you’re posting and PLANNING as you go, there’s gonna be holes. and it’s gonna be obvious.

editing wise, i don’t do much. my reshade does most of the work, i just add in my psd, add text and done! this is easily the fastest thing you will ever do.

if you get inspired by someone else doing, idk, a certain layout for the portraits, them adding little things to their captions, a certain edit, etc. if you want to do something similar and you ARE very much aware you were inspired by them, credit them in the caption. i beg. its free, its the nice thing to do, bc if not its rude.

if you get inspired by a certain storyline someone else did and you notice yours is gonna be similar, go ahead and send them a message to let them know and if they have any tips or feel uncomfortable with you doing this. simply put, if you don’t, you’re gonna look bad. we are all bound to do same storylines, such as assassinations, shooty shooty’s, stalkers, first loves, accidental babies, etc. but what changes is how each person approaches it. no ones gonna do it the same way as you and others. if you CONSCIOUSLY start copying else, stop it. and you could even be unconsciously be inspired by someone else too. it happens! just make sure you are able to look at the bigger picture and realize “hey, i’m doing something wrong”

same thing with dialogue. you like a line someone else said in their story? don’t just... steal it and incorporate it into yours word BY WORD

OVERALL: you can be inspired. give credit where it’s due. and don’t copy because someone else is doing ‘something others like’ and you want others to like your story. no no no !

im adding this AFTER i posted it but, be yourself. in the way you interact with others and send questions, etc. don’t try and copy someone else’s personality because they are liked and essentially absorb them. be yourself and i’m sure a lot of ppl will like you the way you are : D

for my writing dialogue etc, this goes back to my point 8. i use milanote, its free and you get 200 free thingies to use, and i plan out how every single one of my posts is gonna go. so i just have to go ingame and i already know what im gonna do. no thoughts, just taking screenshots. for example, this is how a part of my part 2, chapter 3 posts layout looks like. every square is a post that has what is happening, who is in it, what is gonna be said very vaguely, etc:

11. and the most important tip! don’t compare yourself to others. i did it at the beginning. i think we all did at one point. its not good for you at all. please always remember we all are here for share our lil stories with each other and it’s not easy get a following. you’ll get there and its gonna take time. be patient, be nice!!! and i cant wait to see your story!!!!!!!!!!

[goatsandgangsters]

do you have any writing tips pls 🥺🥺

Ohhh big question! I’m flattered that you want my writing thoughts, anon!

So. Are we talking about tips on getting through writer’s block/sitting down and actually writing? The mechanics of writing itself, the individual sentences and word choices? Developing a plot? Characters or dialogue? Drafting and revising? If there’s a specific part of the process that’s angsting you, let me know, I’m happy to say more on that. For now I’ll try and touch on as much as broadly as I can.

Writing is a process, a craft, a practice. A joy and a trial. The act of hitting some keys with your fingers but also making something out of nothing. Which is to say—it comes with practice, it can be frustrating, it can be rewarding, and however you’re feeling about writing, you’re not the only one.

Inspiration/actually sitting down to write:

I find that writing is like exercise. Yes, in the sense that it takes practice to build up those muscles, but MORE IMPORTANTLY writing, like exercise, makes me groan and go “but that’s haaaaard I don’t wanna doooooo it, what if I just siiiit here insteaaaad.” And then I grudgingly get started. And I start to get into the rhythm. And then “oh goddammit. This DOES feel good.” I’ve still never experienced a runner’s high, but I have experienced “no I don’t wanna write. well I guess I’ll write. oh hey I’m writing. oH HEY!! I’M WRITING!!!” Sometimes you just need to push yourself through to start.

That said, sometimes you don’t need to push yourself to start. Sometimes it’s better to let something sit. It’s okay to pivot to another project if you’ve stalled out on one. I saw a post once that called this “crop rotation” and I think that’s true. Sometimes the challenge is getting started, but even when you can’t get started, the time away can be valuable, because it allows you to return with fresh ideas and fresh ideas.

I love using Fighter’s Block for when I can’t get started. It curbs my perfectionist tendency to write the same first sentence over and over again by forcing me to write consistently and quickly without refreshing tumblr between every sentence. Once I’ve got a paragraph, I’ve got enough of a rhythm going to keep writing on my own. You can use it for longer stretches of time, but I find a couple rounds of 200 word count goals is enough to get me through the inertia of getting started.

Read a lot:

Reading makes you a better writer. You will absorb aspects of the craft in the process—sentence structure, rhythm, plot beats.

Then think about what you read. Think about what works. Think about what doesn’t. Notice sentences that you love—not by meaning but by sound. Think about how the story is told, how the plot elements come together, how the themes operate, how the narrative is structured. Did the flashbacks works or were they superfluous? Did you love the metaphors and descriptive language, or did it feel vague and unhelpful? What parts grabbed you, what parts didn’t?

Being able to identify what does and doesn’t work in someone else’s writing will help you apply it to your own. It will also help you craft your own voice and style.

Use writing tips as a challenge, not a rule:

We’ve all seen those “writing rules” like don’t use adverbs, don’t say feels or thinks, don’t say said. Never listen to writing “rules”; instead, see them as a writing “challenge.” You don’t need to jettison every single adverb or permanently strike certain words from your writing. Sometimes, an adverb is the best word. And sometimes it isn’t.

These tips are useful, but not as hard-and-fast rules that must be obeyed every time under every circumstance. Instead, use them as tools to challenge you to think about your writing in new ways, to see if there’s a better way to say something (and maybe there is and maybe there isn’t), and to bring a freshness to the process.

I actually do really like to challenge myself to minimize feels and thinks. “He feels sick to his stomach” will pretty much always be less powerful than “His stomach lurches.” But sometimes feels and thinks work better, either because I need quick exposition or because it specifically emphasizes a thought or a feeling as perception. Again, it’s not about rules. It’s about challenging your habits to breathe new life into your writing. 

Revising tools:

if you’re a tactile person and you own a printer (which I am but I don’t), I like to print out a draft and sit on the floor with a pen and a highlighter and highlight anything that sounds clunky or that doesn’t quite fit. Then I massage those specific sentences, looking for other ways to say them, and narrow in on those parts rather than trying to edit everything overall.

The hemingway app method (as long as you know you’re allowed to disagree with it) can be good to catch certain things. Sometimes I use it and think “yeah that sentences IS too long and awkward, I should rephrase it” and sometimes I think “nah, that sentence is long but it’s controlled and it works.” Sometimes it’s useful in pointing out that I used the word just way too many times; sometimes I’ll keep my adverbs thanks.

Retyping the entire thing in another word document is another revising trick. So is reading the entire think out loud to yourself (your actual ear will catch awkward rhythms or typos that your inner voice glossed over).

(Note: I don’t do all of these all the time. I revise with whichever method I happen to be feeling at the moment)

Character interactions:

Overly expository character interactions are probably my #1 writing pet peeve. People don’t say what they mean. They don’t calmly and carefully and eloquently articulate exactly what they feel. If your characters are conversing in well-practiced monologues where they’re able to objectively analyze and express their exact feelings, it’s not believable. It’s also not fun for the reader, because Explanations of Emotions are being used as a stand-in for actual emotions.

Example: You don’t have a breakdown because you’re stressed about losing your job and you had a fight with your sister and you’re also the protagonist who has to save the entire world. You have a breakdown because you can’t find your fucking pen. It was here a moment ago, you know it was, you put it THERE because that’s where you PUT things but now it’s gone and the pen is gone and you can’t even find the fucking pen so how are you going to save the world and everything is going to SHIT because you can’t FIND your goddamn pEN.

Your character is probably not even an expert on their own feelings, let alone able to objectively explain them to someone else. There are things we can’t make ourselves say out loud. We deflect. We put all the big feelings into small things. We squeeze someone’s hand and say come on, let’s make dinner because you can’t say everything is going to be okay I promise you and I love you so much and one day you’ll see that it’ll all work out.

What are your characters saying with their body? What are they saying with what’s left unsaid? And when are they saying something Else that’s really about Them? (“You did what you had to do,” character A assures character B, because character A’s own guilt weighs on them. They’ll never say this out loud. They don’t even need to specifically think “just like my own guilt, which weighs on me.” We know it by what they say, about other people and about other things, because these are the times when you’re really talking about yourself)

Also, the size of the emotion displayed does not translate into the size of the emotional impact on the reader. A big sweeping declaration of I love you shouldn’t be used as a stand-in for real chemistry or a moment of love that is specific to those characters. An absolute sobbing breakdown isn’t inherently more tragic for its size. You don’t need torture porn to evoke angst. Emotions are a lot more subtle than that. Using a caricature of emotion in the extreme often cheapens the emotion for the reader, rather than enhancing it. 

Other assorted tips:

Write notes! Sit up at 3 AM and write down a snippet of dialogue in a note on your phone! Jot down the plot idea for later! Note the phrase you heard someone say that sounds like it would be a good title.

If you can’t figure out how to end your story or your section or your chapter, it might be because it’s already over and the story has finished telling itself. If the beginning doesn’t feel right, if it feels slow and clunky, it might be because your starting place is too early. If the character interaction feels wrong or the scene isn’t going right or you can’t make that line of dialogue work, the problem is probably about 5 or 10 lines up where you took a wrong turn.

An em dash—like the one I used here—separates out a part of the sentence that couldn’t be a sentence on its own. Semicolons join two independent sentences together; this is an example.

The dialogue tag is part of the sentence. Correct: “I love dogs,” he said. or “I love dogs.” Incorrect: “I love dogs.” he said. or “I love dogs,” He said.

That’s everything that comes to mind immediately. If there’s another part of the process that you want me to focus on, let me know! I’m happy to go more in-depth on specifics! 

[itswildwinters]

Ask for writers

Thank you @theisolatedlily and @soldouthaz for tagging me, I really appreciate it! This lovely tag was created by @soldouthaz, which I think is brilliant to get to know other writers!! I love it, so thank you Sarah!

This is quite long, but I still hope it’s entertaining!

1. describe how you first started writing and when you first posted: I’ve always wanted to write. I know that I only began publishing this year (January 2020) but years back, I always would open up a blank document and just... write. Lack of confidence and language barriers (I wanted to write in English, but it isn’t my first language and I only became fluent three years ago) have made it so that I would never finish a story. I think we all had our wattpad moment but even on there I would never really publish because the platform just wasn’t right. But then I discovered ao3, where I’d read fics and also improve my English. Then I found out about fests, and I decided to participate in one last year (2019 BLFF) and my first fic then came out! 

And ever since, I’ve been able to write and finish what I start. It’s as if the lock that had been put to block my creativity had been destroyed; posting my first completed fic has acted as a turning point. I was extremely nervous when I first posted, still am, but now I have this need to write and I love sharing what I write and ever since I became a writer, my life’s been a lot better!

2. which of your characters do you typically resonate most closely with? do you base any characters off of yourself?: I switch between Louis’ POV, or Harry’s POV depending on the story; I tend to sprinkle a bit of myself in the characters I write, but then again they’re also completely different from me! I’ve never based a character completely on myself, which I find quite boring (haha); sometime unconsciously, I’d write a character based on someone I knew. I think some examples on how my characters can look a bit like me, is Hamlet in a sea of mist which has gotten his clear-headedness from me; or in my Murder Mystery fic, the way I describe Louis’ fear is heavily based on how I feel whenever I’m faced with something that makes me uncomfortable.

3. where do you often find inspiration?: art (paintings, music), books, quotes, poems and movies!

4. has quarantine helped or hindered your writing process?: having so much free time on my hands has definitely helped; I would seek refuge within my stories, to spice up quarantine!

5. do you listen to music/noise while you write or do you prefer silence? I love love love playing classical music (Chopin, Saint-Saens, Debussy, Yiruma, Einaudi, Faulkner, Schumann, Tchaikovsky, Mozart to name a few) while writing. I can’t write when it’s anything else. But I can also write when there’s nothing; hearing the rhythmic clicking sound of the keyboard as I press over its keys can be relaxing to me.

6. what is your biggest writing pet peeve in your writing or in general?: hm in my writing I guess I tend to write very long sentences, and also I still do grammar mistakes. I hope to work on those points. I also find the way I space my fics very annoying (which is why I’ve begun making outlines!).

7. describe your ideal writing setup: in a couch or a bed with several pillows piled up behind my back, classical music in my ears and a steaming cup of tea next to me.

8. favorite time of day to write?: I love writing when it’s very early, usually after I’ve woken up and freshened up. I don’t like writing when it’s too late because I’m not a night owl; rather an early bird. I especially love when I write and it’s still dark outside, then slowly dawn breaks in and the sky becomes tainted in warm hues of orange, yellow and sometimes even purple and pink.

9. favorite genre to write + one you’d like to try writing in the future?: I love writing fantasy, horror, suspense, action, thrillers. Especially angst and hurt/comfort, as well as slow burn. I’d like in the future to explore sci-fi and magical realism!

10. do you struggle with writer’s block? how do you typically overcome it? I haven’t suffered from writer block so far, which I’m glad!!

11. what is the easiest part of your writing process and the most difficult? writing is the easiest, but outlining (as in, coming up with plot ideas) is quite difficult for me. Also dialogues can be a bit of a problem to me.

12. how do you come up with original characters? (if applicable): I just make them up in my mind, and create them when they’re necessary to the story, giving them personality traits that will help the story develop.

13. what is your favorite and least favorite word? it’s hard to choose cause I have several but favourite: petrichor and least favourite: big

14. what is one thing about your writing that you’re really proud of and one thing you hope to continue working at?: I am proud of the way I describe, which allows me to really settle the story in its verse. I love describing, giving importance to the ordinary. Also feelings; I love describing them and exploring how I can translate them into words, so that the reader can feel them. But I have to work on my dialogues methinks.

15. what work of yours has your favorite ‘verse/world building? how did you come up with it?: those who from the Pit of Hell, roam to seek their prey on earth. I’ve always wanted to begin writing thrillers/Murder mystery fics and with that one I think I managed to? I had read an article on forensic medicine back in the 19th century and it sparked this fic’s plot!

16. what font and size do you write in? single spaced or double?: Arial, 11pt, single spaced

17. what is a typo(s) you find yourself making consistently?: I don’t know if this can be considered as a typo but I tend to repeat, within a paragraph, A LOT my character’s name instead of using pronouns. This is because I’m afraid of confusion when another character arrives in the scene.

18. (if applicable) do you separate fic writing from fandom?: I don’t know if I understood the question properly, but yes? When I use Louis or Harry in my fics, they’re completely different from real-Louis or real-Harry; they’re my characters, they only have the same names, but their personality reflects in nothing real-life Harry and Louis. 

I think to answer this better: I do separate fic writing from fandom, but I still think that fanfics are important to a fandom; I haven’t heard of a fandom without fanfics! Fanfics spice up fandoms, I reckon, they’re important to bring people together.

19. what emotion is your favorite to write? which is the most difficult?: Angst is my favourite thing to write, as well as fear. And I struggle with writing humour, I’m not a funny person to be honest

20. what is one thing you hope readers always take away from your works?: I always hope they like my writing and the plot, also the way I portray my characters. I want my readers to feel the writing, and the story in general. I just want my readers to truly enjoy what they read from me <3

21. what is the best and worst writing advice you’ve ever received?: I was told to always write very specifically and to fit my writing into a mould — don’t write ‘he’s’ but ‘he is’, or write shorter sentences, or stop describing so much. But in the end, there isn’t one way of writing — write the way you want.

22. which one of your works would you most want to see turned into a film/television show?: only one? ahhh this is hard! But I’d love to see those who from the Pit of Hell, roam to seek their prey on earth be turned into a movie. There are also a couple of wips that I could see on-screen but I’ll stick to that!

23. do you write scenes chronologically or out of order?: chronologically. Haven’t explored anachronies (analepsis/prolepsis) at all, but I might soon!

24. how do you handle criticism?: really well!! As long as they’re constructive and not mean, I love hearing what people think. Criticism is the best way for me, a person whose first person is not English, to improve!

25. what is the advice you would give to someone who is looking to start writing?: DO IT!! Honestly, don’t tell yourself, ‘I’m not good enough’. Just do it. Open a blank document and write your heart away, even if it’s not a story; just begin it. Explore your writing style, then maybe try to mould it into a plot. Writing is not limited to a certain category of people; it’s not just for those who can write. Writing is for everyone, and like most things, one must begin before improving (practice makes perfect!!) <3

26. what kind of feedback on your work always makes your day?: anything!!! Just the fact someone clicked on my story, read it, and took time to leave a comment — just that is enough to make my heart bursts with joy. I am so so grateful to every single person who’s ever read something from me.

27. which fic ‘verse of your own would you most like to exist in? which fic’s characters would you most like to befriend?: The verse I’m talking about is still a wip, but the siren/mermaid one that I’m currently building! I’d love to live in it.

28. what do you always enjoy getting asks about/wish people would ask about more?: Anything, really, my inbox is open to anyone and for everything! I love discussing books, movies and poetry as well as quotes, and maybe I wish people would come forth to ask me more about my fics or my wips, if they have any inquiries! Or I’d love to write drabbles! 

29. what has writing added to your life? how has it changed you?: It has made my life so, so much better. Writing has stitched up a gaping hole in my chest. It’s permitted me to improve in English, has made me more confident and has allowed my creativity to flow. I just... I love writing so much. It has also allowed me to meet some incredible people on tumblr, which I’m very grateful for!!

30. why do you write?: for many reasons; to spice up my life, to help me develop my creativity, and because I love it. I’ve always wanted to be a writer.

boost yourself + tags!

1a. share the last sentence you wrote:

The words echo around his head and collide with his temples like truncheon blows.

2a. describe the wip you’re most excited about:

I’m excited for all of them, but I’ll go with my third BLFF fic. It’s very angsty, post-war, ABO, exes to lovers. It tackles heavy topics, it’s such an emotional fic. I’m so so excited for her (she comes out in January).

3a. share the piece of dialogue from one of your works you’re most proud of: 

This is hard. But I’ll go with one from in a sea of mist cause the way Louis answers Harry... I love it:

“I feel like you want to kill me,” he pants out, using his right arm to hold himself up while his other hand comes up to rub at his burning cheek and nose, where Louis had hit him with the sole of his shoe.

“Before our date? No, never,” Louis blinks sweetly, chuckling and climbing up as Harry smiles to himself.

4a. share the best first and last lines from your work(s): I will do only those that are already published:

best first lines are from the hope that warbles in my fluttering breast: There, against the window, was stuck millions of snowflakes, their see-through quality no more as they huddled together, pushed against hard surfaces by the merciless wind. 

best last lines are from in a sea of mist: It takes a while for Harry to go to sleep, elation pumping through his veins so fast that the previous tiredness he felt has flown out of the window. But when he finally focuses on Louis’ heavened out breathing, and when he breathes in Louis’ natural perfume that always acts as an ambrosia over him, he manages to close his eyes, and for the first time in a while, he dreams of a future that’s devoid of any darkness.

5a. link the last fic you read: currently reading sweet like honey by @falsegoodnight and Spoonful of Sugar by @zanniscaramouche and they’re absolutely amazing!

6a. link the last work you published: in a sea of mist

7a. link to your ao3 (if applicable): tomlinvelvet

8a. someone that inspires you: Louis <3 his music and just his personality overall leaves so much scope for the imagination. There are also so many writers (both non-fanfic writers and fanfic writers) that inspire me daily.

9a. a comfort fic/work that you’ve been grateful for this year: even the best laid plans and just a flicker in the dark both by @falsegoodnight as well as eyes off you by @soldouthaz ... these fics are just so amazing, everything about them is top tier

10a. other writers that you’d like to tag! @falsegoodnight @scrunchyharry @hadestyles @mercurial-madhouse @youreyesonlarry @raspberryoatss @jacaranda-bloom @soldouthaz @behisoneandonly @vintageumbroshirt @so-why-let-your-voice-be-tamed @lougendarey @quelquesetoiles <3 no pressure ofc!

[himboskywalker]

TAG! Goddess of light!Goddess of writing! You have inspired so many people in this fandom to write and you have inspired me to want to write even though I am scared and swore I never would post fanfiction!Do you have any writing advice or can you tell us about your own writing process?

Oh god-don’t tell me I inspire people I will cry, but thank you anon-so terribly much,and I can certainly offer some writing advice.

Let me preface this with the caveat that you will get different writing advice from every person,you will get different writing advice from every professional author,professor,editor,and hobbyist.So much of the writing process is tailored to the individual,and while there are certainly rules of writing and tips that make an author’s writing better,no rule is absolute.One of the funnest parts of writing,in fact,is breaking rules and playing with language and turning readers’ expectations because of it.

 But as far as general writing advice,the absolute number one thing that can sharpen up writing is to cut out passive voice.It’s my number one pet peeve in writing and I am certainly not alone.In fact,it’s the quickest way to get me to stop reading something,is if I immediately notice a lot of passive voice.What is passive voice?Put simply it is the passivity of verb usage, it is the have had’s and the was’s.It removes the immediacy of the action and the immersion for the reader and makes your writing feel distant. 

Example of Passive voice: In the summer two years before they had gathered berries. Or: Charles was in support of the rebels fighting the authorities.

The active voice versions of these sentences are: In the summer two years before they gathered berries. And: Charles supported the rebels fighting the authorities.

Some nuances of passive voice are harder to catch than others and I despise the sentiment you read in some hard line writing books that you should never use this. Some of the best authors in the world would scoff at that sentiment.Every rule of language can be broken,but the emphasis of that is you must be aware when you break a rule and it must be purposeful and for good reason. I use passive voice sometimes when my narrator is referring to something in the past as a subconscious way for my readers to be able to pick up that this thing is ‘distant’ and ‘removed’ because it is not in the immediacy of the action like my normal writing.It is always good to play with your sentence structures and diction and rhythm because it is the variation of writing that makes it good.

You want a combination of short sentences and long ones,of compounds and heavier descriptors with the perfunctory and succinct.One of the phrases you hear for writing advice is to “show don’t tell” and a lot of the time people hear this so much they roll their eyes,or they don’t quite know what this means,or they simply hear it so much it loses its usefulness entirely.But like any writing advice,it should come with the caveat of not all the time. Sure, show don’t tell,because your reader doesn’t want to read that the room is dirty,they want to read of the stale and musty smell ground into the carpet,of the thick and sticky layer of dust browning the shelves.You don’t want to read that a character is angry,you want to read the tense line of their shoulders,the thin press of their mouth.Showing an environment and a character’s body language is an immediate way to greatly improve writing.

But heavy descriptions can get just as boring and exhausting as dry writing lacking imagery.Try and always be mindful of playing with how much you rely on a type of writing.Variance is your ultimate friend in writing and let me tell you,one of the biggest parts of this is sentence length,rhythm and cadence. I wish I could force every fiction author to take advanced poetry courses,because I think it is one of the things that improved my writing the most.Prose authors have the tendency to not pay attention to the speed and rhythm and cadence of how their sentences read,when in fact,it is one of the easiest writing short-hands to control how someone reads your writing.

What does this mean? The length of your sentences and the length of the words used in the sentences plays into the speed that someone reads it.If you’re in the middle of a heavy and very emotional scene that you want to be weighted,you may want longer and more compound sentences with a play on melodic and clipped words so that is slows your reader down.If you’re in the middle of an action sequence,you want shorter and cleaner sentences with words that flow smoothly-to enhance the sense of speed and fluidity for the reader.

And be mindful of how your words sound in moments like these.I think prose writers have a tendency to not pay as much attention to the literal sounds of their words and how your mouth moves to make them.The human brain is a complex thing and we make a lot of associations and ties with these subconsciously. The very sounds and letters and way your mouth moves around words can play into the emotion and tone of a scene.Are two of your characters fighting?Try playing with shorter and abrupt sentences and words that have hard sounds to them like a hard ‘B’ or ‘K’ because what do those sounds tie too? Cut-kick-f**k-bare-bad- Do you want a tender moment that expresses love between two characters? Play with the ‘S’ or “L” sound.Think of the way your tongue moves for those sounds,curved and lifted? What do we associate to words with these noises? Luxurious-luscious-love-lyrical-soft-serendipitous-serenity-sanguine-syrup-slow

And that comes to my own personal writing process I suppose.I always recommend-and I do this for everything I write.Read.It.Out.Loud. You might be surprised at what you catch reading aloud.That sentence that sounded so great in your head?It trips you up every time you try to say it,and if it trips you up,it will certainly trip your readers up.Reading aloud,especially draws my attention to the rhythm of my writing,and lets me know if that paragraph actually reads smoothly or really choppy.It also gives you a better ear to how realistic your dialogue sounds.Is that actually something someone would say?Or does it sound like a high school Shakespeare play?

I also highly recommend outlining your story,believe me.I didn’t use to do this-and the improvement in pacing and the ties of my plots have improved so much since I started plotting with intent.If you have the patience for it,I recommend you do it for every chapter,even if it’s as basic as you saying, Chapter 1-Introduce narrator. Chapter 2-Character gets hit on the head. Chapter 3-Character doesn’t know who this person crying is.When I begin a story I map out my plot and then pace the plot points through every chapter.You want something important to your story/plot/character growth in every chapter,every scene really.If your action or dialogue is not driving your story or characters forward-than by default it is slowing your writing and putting drag on your story.This is one of the biggest problems I notice in fanfiction stories when you come upon a 200k story.The author will meander down side paths and through syrupy slow chapters where seemingly nothing happens.But you want to give your readers something every chapter,a stepping stone forward in your story.Give it through character development,or emotional fulfillment,or plot progression-but you always need forward movement even if the chapter is seemingly slow for your characters.

Prose writers should really take a nod from poets with their dedication that every word matters. And that also plays into what is called telephone dialogue.If it is polite and unneeded dialogue,like introductions on a phone, “Hello how are you?” “I’m good thank you,how are you?” That does nothing for your characters or your story.It’s,very simply,boring and unnecessary and puts drag on your writing.Think of your story like a race car trying to compete on a winding,dirt track.You don’t want boxes of bricks in your backseat putting extra weight in your vehicle.You don’t want flashy baubles on the car that look really cool from far away but only catch wind resistance.You want your race car sleek,nothing pushing against forward movement and creating drag.You want your mechanical structure finely tuned, and you want the car to be light-but not so light you catch wind underneath and take curves on two wheels. And you want the car not just steered by one driver,but a whole team that changes the tires,fills the gas,changes valves and gaskets,and pushes the car forward to the finish line.

[keyofjetwolf]

Bonus Question Answers! (anime heat 3)

I asked a silly question! You gave me incredible answers. SO VERY MANY INCREDIBLE ANSWERS. If yours is listed below, you’ve earned an entry in a random draw to win a GIFTENING liveblog OF YOUR CHOICE

SURPRISE EVERYONE WHO ANSWERED THIS ONE GETS AN ENTRY (with extra entry if you pulled a specific line). This has been such a struggle for me for the past ... you know, million years or something, and each of you made me feel so good, thank you. ♥

—

Q: This is reaching back into the memory a bit, I know, but what's your favourite of my fanfic? (BONUS BONUS ENTRY if you pull a specific line!)

*  i cannot remember a specific line off the top of my head but i remember the post-S series dealing with usagi's trauma from pharaoh 90 (sound of silence?) was a gut punch and a half --  anewconstellation

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* "Blue shirt. Pearl buttons." I think this was the first time I read you writing the Outers, particularly Neptune and Uranus, and, uh, holy shit. Absolutely note-perfect dialogue and dynamic, particularly for that period of Sailor Moon S when Michiru and Haruka used intimacy of speech and gesture as an instrument of distancing and obfuscation (of their goals to the Inners, of their hearts to themselves and to each other, of the heli-pad to the staff at Mugen Academy, etc). It was so clear, and so clearly *them* that I could actually hear the intonations of their respective seiyuu. And then to deploy such spot-on character elements in combination with the stakes and the maturity the anime never reached for, my WORD, are you trying to kill me??? The pacing, the restraint! What an absolute gift. You're a wonder. (also your drabbles are fuckin peerless, and the BTL concept is such a clever series framework)  -- @rasiqra-revulva​

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*  This was so hard to pick from, but I finally settled on "Cause and Affect" - it's such a heartbreaking story, but the juxtaposition between the clinical lines of information from the computer to the memories Ami is dealing with to the horror of the visuals around her... it's so bright and sharp and PRESENT.  It keeps me in the story, that mix of tones and feelings.  And the final line?  Perfection.  "Number of regrets: none"  What an amazing take on Ami and how she processes information and how she deals with the situation she is in.  I still get chills up my back when I read the story.  -- @amberlilly​

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*  I love your Between the Lines series, it's how I found your Tumblr and liveblogs back in the day -- @amboato​

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*  Author Alert.  “So never, ever, going to live this down.” -- @crunchbuttsteak​

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*  "Of her word" quote "But for all that, it remained sand. Rei erased it with one swipe."  -- Dei

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*  Between The Lines. Adding further character/emotional depth to canon is YES PLZ. I really liked the whole idea of Usagi having trauma post-Pharaoh 90 and all the chapters that hit on that. On a less serious note Chibs' circus-related PTSD and freaking out when Hotaru wants to go to the circus kills me every time. ("But your precious dreams Hotaru-chan!")  -- forgottenfae

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*  This is probably the obvious choice, but "The Sounds of The Silence" has haunted me in all the best ways since I first read it. The way you write Rei, Usagi, and Rei and Usagi hits me right in the heart every time. This particular fic, with Usagi so traumatized, and Rei being as soft and gentle as Usagi needs, will always stick with me. I pulled up the fic to try and narrow down a single line, and ultimately there's no real debate. "She would never stop trying to do more, but for now, she simply did this." That line is, at its core, the essence of Rei Hino. And it is perfection.  -- gatorsandglitter

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*  I don't expect this to win at all, just sharing,, but I just super fondly remembered the goggles and all the amazing content, meta, and fic those inspired, both from you and others  -- @goosebytrade

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*  "You Win or You Die"  my favorite line is "She and Rei WOULD have The Moment, they WOULD get their thousand years of bliss, and they WOULD be making out after all this was over. Like, SO HARD."  -- @i-needa-nap-please

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*  I'm always really bad at answering questions like this because my mind has pretty much become a goldfish in my old age and I have a hard time remembering specific fics; it all sort of starts to jumble up in my brain and things get lost. But I have always loved reading your writing, it's what got me onto this godforsaken website in the first place -- it was just before Crystal dropped, and we were all foolishly full of hope and excitement, and you were going through the Moon Pride video and waxing poetic about the FRIENDSHIPS and I was like, "YES! Finally! Someone who understands why I love this stupid kids' show!" I think I sent you an ask saying this before, (but who knows if you ever got it, Tumblrs being what they are - indifferent) but I tried reading fanfic and even published novels based on properties, like the Buffy novels and Star Trek and Star Wars novels, for a long time, and mostly found it frustrating and annoying and just... wrong. It always had this awkwardness and clunkiness to it that didn't do anything for me and just constantly screamed "THIS IS A FANFIC IT IS NOT REAL WRITING" at me. Didn't like it. But, I liked yours. Yours didn't feel awkward or clunky. You have never written any sentences like, "Rei watched the blonde stand up" where "the blonde" is Minako, and I don't know why fanfic writers think that calling characters "the blonde" or "the redhead" or whatever is sexy or cute but it ain't (sorry, pet peeve tangent). So, when you were writing stuff more, I would read it like it was going out of style, and you led me to Doc's writing, which had the same natural, "this is real writing" quality, and I loved hers, too. Anyway, my favorites of yours have always been the Between the Lines stuff. I just love the "hidden" moments that we didn't get to see. The Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead bits of Sailor Moon (speaking of fanfic that actually works) that bring so much depth to characters we know and love already or to characters we see only briefly. Also, the Shadow Senshi, because FUCK. Just... Kill Me. In any event, I know that writing has been difficult for you of late, and I know how that feels, so I hope that people who are actually able to answer this question have given you some places to go and draw strength from so that it can become part of your life again. TBH, I've been using the bonus questions on your Giftening surveys and Doc's 8 Days surveys as an excuse to try doing some small bits of quick, no pressure, nobody's gonna see it unless you or Doc actually LIKE it, don't think about it writing, and it has been helpful. I hope you can find something that gives you the same opportunity. Now that I've written you a novel that doesn't even answer the question you asked (goldfish, remember? *sigh*), have a gorgeous Tuesday!  -- @incorrecttact

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*  The one with Pluto and Queen Serenity, where Serenity is selfish in a very Usagi way, but her arrogance combined with that selfishness makes it a fatal flaw? I liked that one a lot. -- Jules

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*  the bit you wrote to 'fill in' a gap for why during r did mamoru act like a distant jerk. My favourite parts were Rei coming to see the same dream, and despite being the one to have the biggest reason to believe in these kinds of prophetic visions, Rei still doesn't believe fate is set in stone. -- just... a fan. a well-baked one

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*  Make It To New Year's -- @kaleidodreams

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*  ahhh, where is a link to all of your fanfic? It's the series you started after S, with Rei comforting Usagi, because like you I was let down by the fact that they never followed up on what Usagi saw, or even how she dealt, with the end of S. runner up: the one where Usagi is about to give birth because everything you write with Rei and Usagi is amazing. -- kari

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*  There was a drabble/draft/something that you used one of my prompts for, and I prompted you with Usagi and Rei, but you did it from Luna's perspective and THAT WAS SO UNEXPECTED and it turned out SO GOOD cause like!!!!!! You made Sailor Moon both someone Luna cares for, because still the legacy of the moon, and someone utterly discouraging for her because *this should not be*, and wow what a way to make it both about Usagi herself and about her powers.  -- katrani

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*  I love the btl fics, they fill in the missing gaps, add depth to the story, and sometimes smooth over things (SuperS) when canon is just...blah. One line I really liked was: “I was listening, at first, but then I started thinking about how hungry I was, and how a pork bun would be really good right now, and then I wondered what makes a thing a bun, and like, if you put ANYTHING in a bun, does it become a Thing-Bun, so could you make a bun out of another bun and would it be a Bun Bun, and wouldn’t that be the greatest thing to– Rei?” It's a great run-on, stream of thought sentence that just really catches Usagi's voice, is hilarious, and such a natural progression. -- @kumeko

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*  “HUG,” Usagi demanded again, because dammit, she’d been promised a hug and SOMEONE was going to deliver. (The one where Michiru has the hiccups. Because it's fun HaruMichi stuff, because it weaponises Usagi in a useful way, because it manages to (gently) make fun of both perfect!Michiru and saint!Usagi without being mean to either character, and also because I get hiccups a lot and I haaaaate them.) -- nerdy-flutterings

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*  I can't remember a specific fic, but I LOVE your Shadow Senshi headcanons and they're the main reason I started writing my own Shadow Senshi stories. -- @notesfromtheidiotbox

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*  The Figuarts saga is the Sailor Moon fic I never knew I needed -- Raye

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*  Special Delivery is a delight. So much Rei Certainty (that ends up being misplaced). So much Usagi being The Most Usagi About Pregnancy. So much Comedic Hijinks, because why the hell WOULDN’T ‘the Senshi get blindsided when Usagi goes into labor’ end up going full screwball? There’s a lot of great lines there (Rei’s theory about Chibs taking control of the Gate of Time and manipulating things is fantastic, as is the ending,) but my favorite is definitely “Rei Hino if I give birth to my daughter on the side of the road I swear I will go back in time and tear all the pages out of your favorite coloring book! [...] I’ll break the crayons too, Rei-chan!” Delightfully specific and childish, especially since Usagi sticks with it, and that particular brand of comic specificity is definitely a highlight of yours. -- Regalli

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*  Fire on Mountain!!! When I got to “Her voice was deeper than most expected when facing the certainty of her. It was rough, sandpaper running over cherry. She’d been a singer, once. Nobody would have believed her.” I was like oh. OH! -- Sasha

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*  My favorite of your fanfic, one one of the first I read is 'Hard to Break'. And my absolute favorite line is Usagi's panic when Minako tries to smoke: "Minako who was almost certainly dying, the cigarette had spread its evil and killed her instantly oh god."  -- @shavedjudomonkey

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*  Tonight Ami would grieve, and wish she understood why.'  This Between the Lines about Ami getting her mini computer both haunts me and brings tears to my eyes.  -- @shonasof

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*  I can't remember the title, but it's the one where Minako realizes that Rei's been writing Sailor V fanfic under the name Red Bow -- Somariel

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*  You would think Mako-chan's Happy Ending, but nope, this one goes to Hard to Break (although I had to look up the exact name.) This thing is filled with such great lines. How am I supposed to pick out one? "[Watch out, boys,]" Minako said in smooth and entirely unnecessary English. "[Lady Super Cool is on the prowl.]" -- Ultrace

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*  I forget the title, but it's the 'last senshi standing' fic where Ami is reflecting on the battle that took the others from her. Detatched and cold as she analyzes Rei Minako and Mako and finally Usagi's death with a medical efficiency, going through her Visors readout and then reflecting that the clinical words were nothing compared to what she'd actually seen. following up the method of death of the senshi with a statistic in relation to her friendship with the girl. Number of milkshakes shared, number of conversations lasting well into the night, number of hugs, number of smiles that brightened the darkest of moods. Describing how Rei's heart was pulped in a monster's grip, Minako's once beautiful face smashed against the rocks, Mako's lightning that outlived its mistress as she and Usagi ran off, and then finally that one last attempt to protect Usagi failing as 'Cervical Fracture' flashes on her visor. And From there she just... accepts death. sitting beside where Usagi had fallen and waiting for the end. it's dark af but it's the first one that always comes to mind when i think about ur fics :>  -- Vega

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*  I am extremely predictable here with two of my choices, as you know that I am obsessed with Fire on the Mountain and Blue Shirt, two things you wrote when you "definitely couldn't write" (Sidenote: My new year's resolution is to be harder on your about writing) We all know why I love blue shirt, it's basically an underhand pitch to the face for me, but Fire on the Mountain has a quality of regret and longing that I really connected with, something that really struck me in a way that was powerful. It's different from a lot of your inners work, and I think about Mina posing as Rei, in her disguise magic in the woods, and all the reasons why, fairly often. Something that MAY come as a surprise to you, is I really wish we got more ofyour overwatch stuff, and maybe I'll just keep asking for this for my birthday for the rest of our natural lives, but I think of like, the one you wrote on 7/14/20, with Pharah longing to have a man to shoot in the face because that would be easier than the emotions around whatever's going on with her, and I'm utterly tantalized. And I loved that hurt/comfort you wrote for me, where Pharah had this single minded drive to find out what had happened to Angela, and Tracer's trying to, well, comfort her, on some level, and the way you described Pharah's "animal cry" was FANTASTIC, and as always I am deeply jealous of your Tracer voice and IF YOU WOULD WRITE IT MORE IT WOULD HELP ME. -- WRITE, BITCH.

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*  The one were Hotaru confronted Michiru and Haruka about how they had tried to kill her in order to stop the Silence. Such a good little moment =w= -- zorrito

~~

AND THEN THESE WERE UNSIGNED SAD FACE

*  Chosen. I like your Overwatch stuff but Chosen was a goddamn masterpiece.

*  Operation: Heart Angels. Senshi going after Mamoru for his bullshit was something I didn't know I needed.

*  The entirety of Beggars Would Ride, including every single line of Anya's dialogue.

—

I’ll be drawing for the bonus liveblog around the start of THE GIFTENING 2020 (currently looking to be Monday, 11 January 2021). Each bonus question is another chance to earn an entry! I CAN ABSOLUTELY AND SHAMELESSLY BE BOUGHT.

[confusedinfj]

Story Writing Tips

@realentj gave me some writing tips I've been searching for my whole life. And since I never found them, I decided to articulate them for other people who - like me - are hacking their writing by following vague writing advice. Hopefully this helps at least one person 😊

Also, I'm not saying the examples I've given are good. I'm just trying to demonstrate mild improvement 😂

Common Advice Evils

Write what you know = vague. Write SOMETHING you know. Like emotions and feelings of the characters - that's the reason we can read Sci Fi and fantasy.

Show, don't tell = pages of wasted space. Maybe your character is a hypochondriac who can tell their heart is burning as tears run down their face, maybe they're an emotionally unaware person who just goes 'I was sad - idk why'. Say it like the character would.

More dialogue! = no. Dialogue is boring. More thoughts, thoughts about what people are saying. More thoughts than dialogue. NO: 'hi' 'how's it going?' 'good thanks, you?'. YES: 'hi.' She seemed flat today. I wondered why. 'How's it going?' Maybe she'd mention what was wrong.

Set the scene = too many pointless descriptions. Give us the character's thoughts - if they don't notice anything, don't mention it. NO: I walked into the big room. The walls were red, there were three chandeliers, the floor was shiny, there were people everywhere. The room was hot, there were 15 candles... ' YES: I walked into the room, immediately struck by the size. There were chandeliers on the roof, and I stood there, staring at them.

Avoid writing in the first person = terrible advice. I personally find writing in the first person easy - it helps me know what is and isn't important to include.

Keep it simple = good advice. Overcomlicating your plot will bore the reader. You can have a complicated plot, but you're gonna have to make it SEEM simple.

Let your character suffer = good, but don't make them suffer for the sake of it. Suffering looks different for everyone, there's a lot of wiggle room here. It could be as simple as offending a friend for a few days.

Just write = good advice! It doesn't need to be perfect, I needs to be done.

My tips

Write scenes like a movie. This way you'll have less pointless stuff, and something will always be happening for a reason.

Write images, not ideas. My brain seems to work like Brooklyn Nine-Nine or Scrubs, with all the cut scenes. Let your character think the same way if it's right! So instead of: I thought about standing up on the table, in the middle of the room, and screaming. Everyone would probably stare at me if I did that. Try: I pictured myself standing on the table in the middle of the room, screaming, everyone staring at me.

Format things well. It makes it easier to read. If you press tab on a new line it gives it professional looking indents, and it's much easier to read.

Get good at punctuation. This allows you to get the sound of real speech across while still being readable. So instead of: They were on the left and the right they were everywhere. Try: They were left, right - everywhere!

Don't use semicolons. You're probably not using them correctly, and they look obnoxious anyway. Use dashes instead. They're harder to misuse, and they look much more conversational.

Don't try. Just be honest. Writers who try tend to get bogged down in pointless metaphors and needless imagery. Just write.

Let the deeper meaning appear. Don't force it. If you sit down to write a story about x, y, and z you'll probably bore yourself to death.

Write about people. People like people. Even if you have the coolest plot in the world, no one will read it without people. All the best books almost sound boring when you describe them - they're just about people.

Thoughts and feelings. Not descriptions and dialogue. This is what people read stories for, try to get them right. So while you can do: She had blue eyes, blonde hair, and a blue dress. She had a small face. I was a little scared of her. This tells us more about your character: She had blue eyes - that was the first thing I noticed about her. They felt cold, so I looked away. It describes less, but ways more about the thoughts and feelings of the character.

Be honest. Pls don't sit down and try to skip straight to being Tolkien or Keats. Your writing will sound so forced and inflated.... Just be honest when you write.

Write casually. This is a good way to learn to write well, because you won't be distracted trying to sound smart.

Cut words. Any word you can cut, cut it. Pronouns, conjunctions, phrases that could be turned into one word.... Cut 'em. So instead of writing: He was running after me, and I needed to escape. I ran away quickly, breathing heavily. I didn't know where to go. Try: He ran after me - I needed to escape. Running, breathing heavily - I didn't know where to turn.

CONSISTENT CHARACTERS. Maybe it's totally believable your uptight character suddenly wants to do drugs - but you better make sure it is. Don't make your characters do things for the sake of it. If you want your uptight character to do drugs but can't think of a reason why they would, be more creative - maybe it could be an accident? People hate inconsistent characters, and saying 'they're not inconsistent because they're my characters' is just lazy. My biggest pet peeve: Characters ending up together when they really wouldn't. Don't do it.

Say it how the character would. This means you CAN tell, you don't ways have to show! You can totally just write: it was a big house. Didn't think much of the colour though.

Point out things the character cares about. Don't bother describing everything in the house if the character doesn't think it's important. Your character can walk into a mansion and literally be like: x-box. That's all I saw.

Explain your character's feelings. Sometimes having them cry and say they're sad isn't enough. If you do this well, the reader should feel something too. So instead of just: She was upset with me, so I began crying. I was sorry to let her down. You could try: I'd let her down - she was so upset, she was crying, all because of me. I began to cry too, angry that I couldn't be better, stronger. Obvs don't overdo it 😂

Let your character's thoughts ramble. You can even let them cut themselves off mid sentence. Instead of: I tried to figure it out. Was it possible that she flew? No, that seemed to be taking things a little too far. Try: I mean, I suppose it was possible that - no. No, that was a little too far.

Don't over explain things. Say it the simplest, most obvious way and move on. You can always fix it later if you have to. The best writing is simple and honest.

Write down stuff that feels embarrassing and hurts. I don't usually keep that stuff in its first form, but I do keep the essence. It's helpful to see it written down and realise what you're going for.

Let your character miss things. This works particularly well in first person. It means you don't have to explain or describe every single thing, it's very relieving.

Find your voice. Your character's voice that is. You don't need your voice, you need to hear your character. I like to pick a person and write as if they're talking. They can even have multiple voices, like a lot of people have when they're aeghong or talking to themself. If you can hear your character's voice, it will be harder to write them doing something they would never do - you just won't be able to see it.

Have fun! Write things you think are fun - play around with your writing.

Love your story. Even if you don't like the way you've done it, love the story. Learn to separate the story from the actual writing. That way you'll be motivated to go back and fix it later.

Take advice. If you can find it, and it can be hard to come by. Try out anything suggested, you never know what might work!

Ignore the haters. That is, people who insult you and your writing without giving any tips. They're just mean. So many famous authors weren't published until at least 35. Writing is a skill, keep working on it!

Bonus tip: Don't kill characters for the sake of it. It's annoying. Character death should have a point. Yes, that point can be death can seem pointles, but that point doesn't belong in every story, and it shouldn't be repeated multiple times. Then you just look like a psycho and you'll annoy the reader. Just - don't do anything to your characters for the sake of it. Forced tribulation is annoying to the reader.

Bonus bonus tip: pls don't write a story that hinges on a basic miscommunication. If it can be fixed in two minutes in a conversation, it's probably a cliche... Definitely overused in films!

[othiriel-corvire]

LAYER ONE—THE OUTSIDE • Name: Othiriel Corvire • Eye Colour: Blue, and startlingly so. • Hair Style/Colour: Black, above the shoulders, messy. • Height: Rather short for an elf. 5'1" if you only count to the top of her head and not her ears. 5'4" when she's wearing her "conference shoes." • Clothing Style: Professional but eclectic at work and "artfully dishevelled" at home, a look which takes far too much effort to perfect. • Best Physical Feature: "Is it crass to say my chest? It probably is, but I spend far too much time tailoring my clothes for them to just not mention it." LAYER TWO—THE INSIDE • Your Fears: "I fear being powerless to help those I care about." • Your Guilty Pleasure: "I feel I'm expected to talk about my romance novels here, but I'm don't feel guilty about those at all! Hm...perhaps my inordinate love for baths? Oh! Or mixing together the runoff from my alchemical classes and taste-testing it." • Your Biggest Pet Peeve: "Being ignored." • Your Ambition for the Future: "I would like to die shrouded in mystery, leaving behind a confusing but revered mess of research that many a generation of students will try, and fail, to crack the secrets of. Can you imagine how frustrated they'll be? Hah!" LAYER THREE—THOUGHTS • Your First Thoughts Waking Up: "Did I...leave a cauldron boiling overnight?" • What You Think About the Most:  "The best ways to aggravate Ophene Lacremont. It's shockingly easy, but I never grow tired of it." • What You Think About Before Bed: "Ophene and her silly little face. Also, the logistics of letting a cauldron boil overnight without causing terrible household damage." • You Think Your Best Quality Is: "I'm going to have to say my vast literary knowledge. The romance genre is certainly an elevated one, and it's simply the case that not everyone has the culture palate to be able to appreciate it. I, on the other hand, have spent many hundreds of years tirelessly studying every entry into the noble art I can get my hands on." LAYER FOUR—WHAT’S BETTER? • Single or Group Dates: "Single. Or group dates that rapidly turn into single dates." • To be Loved or Respected: "To be loved. Any old coot can get respect, but to be loved? That's a greater devotion." • Beauty or Brains: "Both, but one doesn't have to be academically smart to count as having a capital B Brain. I've come to appreciate other forms of intelligence." • Dogs or Cats: "Cats, without a doubt. And I'm not just saying that because Ophene acts like one." LAYER FIVE—DO YOU? • Lie: "When it suits me, though I make a habit of speaking the truth and just steamrolling through opposition. It works like a dream, and I don't have to lie!" • Believe in Yourself: "I am an exceptionally talented Archmage. Why wouldn't I believe in myself?" • Believe in Love: "Love is one of the strongest forces in the known world. It drives us all to do the silliest things, but...hm. I enjoy it." • Want Someone: "Of course I do. Luckily for me I can just go to the other room and bother her for attention if the desire gets too unbearable." LAYER SIX—EVER? • Been on Stage: "Once or twice as an undergrad. There was an impressive karaoke night in the Underbelly, every other Friday. I even won, once! The only other competitor was a Forsaken who hadn't regained full control of her voice box, granted, but still." • Done Drugs: "Is pure arcane energy really a drug? Oh, yes, apparently it is. Yes, then." • Changed Who You Were to Fit In: "My adamant refusal to do so never really earned me many friends." LAYER SEVEN—FAVOURITES • Favourite Colour: "Blue." • Favourite Animal: "Mana wyrms! Aren't they cute?" • Favourite Food: "If you asked me before my sabbatical I would have said 'anything I can conjure in under ten seconds.' I've since been treated to Ophene's cooking, though, and find myself favouring her honeyed toast." • Favourite Game: "Romance Novel Bingo." LAYER EIGHT—AGE • Day Your Next Birthday Will Be: November 27th • How Old Will You Be: 752 • Age You Lost Your Virginity: "It was rather late, as far as elves go. 100?" • Does Age Matter: "As long as they're genuinely of age and mature, it doesn't really matter to me. Clearly I have a penchant for older women." LAYER NINE—In A Partner • Best Personality: "Brusque, mysterious, lived in a tower. Huge snob about coffee. Secretly loves romance novels. That kind of thing." • Best Eye Colour: "Blue." • Best Hair Colour: "White." • Best Thing to Do With a Partner: "Writing a romance novel together, shortly followed by acting out the spiciest chapters." LAYER TEN—FINISH THE SENTENCE • I love: "...Ophene Lacremont." • I feel: "...at peace, for once." • I hide: "...the depths of my affections, lest I scare her off." • I miss: "...Quel'Thalas at its prime." • I wish: "...to stay with her forever."

((thank you @dratiniwearingawig for the tag!))

[dogfearing]

CHARACTER STUDY :

LAYER 001 :   THE OUTSIDE

NAME  :    carlos oscar de vil EYE   COLOUR  :      brown HAIR   STYLE   /   COLOUR  :      he  has  bleached  his  hair  since  he  was  on  the  isle ,   after  meeting  evie  and  occasionally  visiting  dizzy  at  curl  up  and  dye  during  their  closing  hours  with  her ,   and  would  usually  just  let  his  dark  roots  grow  in  until  the  next  time  they  stop  by.  in  auradon  he  eventually  decides  to  pay  more  attention  to  the  roots  and  decides  to  stick  to  the  two  tone  style  and  starts  to  have  it  styled  with  what  is  similar  to  low  lights ,   exept  the  streaks  are  just  his  natural  hair  colour  with  silver  highlights  and  semi  perm      -      he  experimented  with  straightening  it  but  usually  just  leaves  his  natural  curls  as  they  are ,   both  for  style  and  practicality.   HEIGHT  :    5′8″ CLOTHING   STYLE  :      while  he  knows  how  to  put  a  nice  outfit  together ,   and  has  a  fair  knowledge  of  fashion  through  listening  to  his  mother  and  evie ,   it  isn’t  a  big  priority  of  his  !!  he sticks  to  a colour pallet  of  blacks ,   reds ,   whites ,   and  greys ,   but  predominantly  black.  in  auradon  he  wears  lots  of  sweaters  and  hoodies ,   because  he  likes  to  dress  for  comfort ,   but  he  has  a  good  collection  of  leather  jackets  which  he  sometimes  wears  too.  he  almost  always  has  ripped  black  skinny  jeans ,   and  invested  in  a  pair  of  doc  martens  which  he  wears  almost  every  day.  layers  are  a  big  staple ,   especially  a  crisp  white  shirt  underneath  a  nice  sweater.       BEST   PHYSICAL   FEATURE  :      his�� smile  and  his  hair !!

LAYER 002 :   THE  INSIDE

FEARS  :      his  mother ,   dogs  that  he  isn’t  familiar  with  ( although he’s volunteering at a shelter and working hard on this ) ,   failure ,   losing  his  friends ,  small  enclosed  spaces ,   ending  up  alone  in  general !!   

BIGGEST   PET   PEEVE  :      when  people  cut  him  off  while  speaking  or  talk  over  him ,   or  being  ignored. also  people  being  cruel  to  animals ,   and  people  picking  on  those  smaller  /  weaker  than  them !! 

AMBITIONS   FOR   THE   FUTURE  :     it  might  seem  out  of  character  from  someone  with  as  much  motivation  to  succeed ,   but  he  really  just  hopes  to  be  able  to  slow  down  and  enjoy  the  smaller  things  in  life.  he  wants  to  find  peace  and  contentment ,   to  feel  truly  happy  with  his  life  and  to  be  surrounded  by  his  best  friends  ( who  are  hopefully  also  happy ). in  a  more  specific  sense ,   he  has  decided  to  become  a  vet  and  is  working  very  hard  towards  that ,   but  helping  people  wherever  possible  is  a  constant  goal  in  the  forefront  of  his  mind.  he  would  also  like  to  do  anything  he  can  to  see  a  better  standard  of  life  for  those  still  on  the  isle ,   starting  with  medical  care.    

LAYER 003 :   THOUGHTS

FIRST   THOUGHTS   WAKING   UP  :    between  recurring  nightmares ,   a  very  bad  sleeping  schedule ,   and  late  nights  studying ,   he  is  often  very  groggy  and  slow  in  the  morning.  his  first  thought  is  usually  along  the  lines  of  coffee.  now.   and  then  on  to  feeding  and  walking  dude ,   while  organizing  all  of  the  things  he  wants  to  get  done  that  day  in  his  head. WHAT   THEY   THINK   ABOUT   MOST  :    carlos  struggles  with  anxiety  and  his  mind  is  a  stressful  and  constant  flow.  however ,   at  the  forefront  of  his  mind  is  always  the  importance  of  being  kind  to  others. WHAT   THEY   THINK   ABOUT   BEFORE   BED  :    all  of  the  embarrassing  things  he  said  that  day ,   what  he  could  have  done  differently / better ,   what  he  needs  to  get  done  tomorrow. WHAT   THEY   THINK   THEIR   BEST   QUALITY   IS  :      for  a  long  time ,   his  kindness  and  the  depth  of  care  and  love  he  feels  has  been  a  weakness  or  a  vulnerability  to  carlos.  now  it  is  his  biggest  strength  and  the  things  he  likes  most  about  himself.

LAYER 004 :   WHAT’S BETTER ?

SINGLE   OR   GROUP   DATES  :    he  has  never  been  on  a  date ,   but  a  double  date  seems  like  something  he  would  feel  more  comfortable  with  being  able  to  handle  at  first !!   TO   BE   LOVED   OR   RESPECTED  :  respected.  he  often  has  to  remind  himself  that  the  people  he  cares  about  love  him  very  much ,   but  at  his  core  this  is  something  he  trusts.  he  would  really  like  for  more  people  to  respect  him. BEAUTY   OR   BRAINS  :      carlos  isn’t  very  vain.  he  appreciates  intelligence  in  others  and  finds  it  very  attractive  on  its  own ,   so  while  he  has  crushed  on  people  based  on  appearance  before ,    he  prefers  an  intellectual  person. DOGS   OR   CATS   :   both !!

LAYER 005 :   DO THEY...

LIE  :      he  tries  his  absolute  hardest  not  to  lie ,   even  to  himself ,   but  everyone  tells  the  odd  little  white  lie. BELIEVE   IN   THEMSELVES  :      not  as  much  as  he  should. BELIEVE   IN   LOVE  :      wholeheartedly. WANT   SOMEONE  :      he  hates  being  alone  but  he  is  learning  to  enjoy  his  own  company ,   and  he  would  rather  be  on  his  own  than  in  the  wrong  relationship  for  him.

LAYER 006 :   HAVE  THEY...

BEEN   ON   STAGE  :      no ,   and  he  would  not  look  forward  to  doing  so. DONE   DRUGS  :      no.   CHANGED   WHO   THEY   WERE   TO   FIT   IN  :      he has  tried ,   but  being  unauthentic  doesn’t  work  for  him.

LAYER 007 :   FAVOURITES

FAVOURITE   COLOURS  :      red. FAVOURITE   ANIMAL  :    even  tie  between  cats  and  dogs ,   but  anything  cuddly. FAVOURITE   BOOK  :     he really  loves  classics ,   and  also  a  good  murder  mystery. FAVOURITE   GAME  :      the  one  that  was  set  up  in  the  dorm  room  he  shared  with  jay ,   it  was  so  much  more  technologically  advanced  than  he  had  ever  dreamed  of. he  also  kicks  ass  at  mario  cart.

LAYER 008 :   FINISH  THE  SENTENCE

I LOVE  :     my  friends. I FEEL  :      tired. I HIDE  :    snacks. I MISS  :      my  friends. I WISH  :     i was  brave.

TAGGED   BY  :     @boycrowned  thank  you  <3 TAGGING   :   @griimhilde     @wiltedthrone     @tiderider​     @notgrumpy​     @malevlnt​     @chrmiing​  !!

[half-bloodcanons]

Pet peeves

Okay so if you follow me I wrote something like this a while ago as a rant which basically means I was annoyed/sleep deprived/hating people in my class/etc and it didn't do much good explaining why I don't like it. Note: PET PEEVES. I in no way expect them to be rules of writing. At the same time with I was annoyed writing it the first time, pet peeves still piss me off so it's going to be gentler no shit.

1. Overuse of names. Please, for the love of god, I get it after the first time yall say it that Fred and David are talking to each other. Use pronouns! Use a defining characteristic or title to explain whose talking! But ESPECIALLY in an only 2 person conversation, you can just move to a new line of dialogue without telling us whose talking once the pattern is established!

Bringing in a new character to the conversation? Tell us who it is, by all means, but that's because the pattern you made for the conversation is now broken and a new one needs to be established. 

Don't want to say "Mary said" after a new line? Make a character respond saying "Hey Mary, what's up?" It's also important to tell us why Mary is there with Fred and David. Why is the pattern disrupted? Was there a bomb? Is someone having a baby? Hell, is Mary just bored at the party and wants a friend?

2. This one is a little difficult to explain except via example: Sentence lengths. It kinda goes into run-on sentences, kinda goes into too short sentences. Basically, it amounts to paragraphs that don’t flow well when you read them. First off: I have issues with this. A lot. 

Honestly, this is the best way I can show you what I mean:

It’s just the flow of the sentences. Which sounds simple, really it can be if you get good at it. The issue is getting good at it.

3. On a similar note to flow: Stop starting every sentence with the same word. 

It gets boring to read “the... the... the... the” at the start of every sentence. For me, it gets weird after it happens 2x in a row. Yes, that is specific. Yes, I am aware that is specific. And, Yes, I know that's kinda anal. 

Are there exceptions? Of course! There always are! If it’s a purposeful repetition to drive a point home, sure, go ahead. If you really feel you can't get the sentences different enough, just keep writing and worry about if its an issue later. In the paragraph above I pretty much start 3 sentences in a row with Yes (yes I know there's an and in there).

4. Oddly specific character descriptions (that are crammed into one paragraph and then never mentioned again).

For the longest time, I had no idea what it was that annoyed me about it and I had no idea how to explain it (thanks, that one random guy in my literature class whom I fondly refer to as Kinky Boots). Think of it like this: no matter what pieces of information you tell a reader in the story, they are always going to assume the characters are wearing clothes. Unless you specify that they are naked, the reader won’t image that. 

Is the protagonist's eye color brown? Sure! Is that important to move the story? Probably not. Does the antagonist have this weird obsession with brown eyes, or does the love interest find their eyes beautiful? Sure, then it’s important, but unless it’s constantly relevant to the plot the description will probably be no more than a passing comment.

Do I really need to know that the antagonist has beautiful waist length hair that is constantly shimmering with the light spattering of sweat that contrasts her striking gray eyes? Probably not. Is it important to know that she’s been sweating because she has been slaving over a hot forge all day to finally complete her evil weapon of some kind? Yah, kinda. 

Are character descriptions important? Totally! It just isn’t really important to describe the exact shade of their baby blue top as anything other than a passing comment. Now, is there appearance in some way considered strange or different than the norm in day-to-day life (such as a different time period than today or perhaps they are eccentric in their choices)? Then tell us, because it’s important to the person’s personality or the world’s creation. Maybe the character’s brother likes to wear nothing but bedazzled booty shorts to work and button-up shirts to match (why the work would let him is beyond me. Maybe he’s a stripper? Maybe he works at Hooters? Maybe he’s his own boss? Maybe no one cares enough to tell him to stop?).