#I tend to make intros kinda wordy]

[bonvoyagenoona]

sorry for sounding rude, but im curious as to how you’re able to consistently write and post such long chapters/long one shots? like, how do you even find the time to do it in between your schedules, on top of all of the research and planning/outlining that goes into each story? (because your detail and accuracy is incredible)

Not rude at all! I'm so touched and grateful that you reached out! I ended up having a lot of really fun thoughts and shared them below! I could talk about writing all day. I just love it so much! Thanks again for prompting the conversation!

Consistency...?

I’m kinda floored that you think I’m consistent? I don’t think I am. I’m always blown away by writers who keep to a consistent writing and posting schedule, and they’re so great at cultivating collective excitement for new installments! I experimented with this for Like Butter, challenging myself to write a chapter a day leading up to Butter’s release. Experimenting with this for Kittenfishing, so we’ll see how it goes (and apologies in advance for the inevitable delays lol)! Otherwise, I kind of just write and post whenever I feel like it.

Structure

@mochilatae (hi Roomie!) and I talk about structure a ton! And it’s making me remember some things I thought about when answering this ask about how I started writing. I tend to read standalone novels, memoirs, and movie/TV/play scripts. I learned about writing within those structures. Novels certainly influenced my wordiness. Memoirs and scripts probably explain my approach to detail, as well as my dialogue- and internal monologue-heavy style. I imagine my preferences and tendencies would look quite different if I gravitated more toward poetry, short stories, or series. And now I’m curious! Are you a writer? What are your influences? Do you think their structures as well as their content have impacted your style?

I also did a LOT of academic writing in grad school. Publish or perish. My research training was in cognitive psychology, which follows APA formatting. Every psychology paper has the same core sections: Intro, Methods, Results, Discussion, and Conclusion. That, along with the A/B/C-plot script structure, are foundational to each of my stories, though I am trying to experiment with switching that up! Also, scientific writing hinges upon creating an argument based on a mix of theory and evidence (vs. pure philosophy or emotional persuasion). I think that’s impacted my style; I feel like I need to pepper in details like “data” throughout my stories so that by the time you get to the “conclusion”, you can see whether the “hypotheses” created in the premise hold up or not.

But I also want to say long and detailed aren’t always better! Regardless of the style, my favorite works are written in a way that best serves the story that is being told. Knowing my proclivities for wordiness and a quick pace, @mochilatae gave me some great nudges on staying present within a scene and fulfilling its potential. If you haven’t already, check her out! She’s an absolute QUEEN at this! I’m always aiming to stay honest in every moment that is created, and I’ve taken that particular feedback to heart whether I’m writing a drabble or a longfic! 

And I think that’s another strong point. Talking about writing with fellow writers and readers has given me the most joy. Being in this kind of creative communal space has sent me to places I never thought I’d travel to, so naturally, my writing has evolved because of it. Even this conversation is making me think about my structure, and in such a fun way!

Time

Ah, that definitely ebbs and flows. Sometimes, I feel like I’m super productive. Other times, I’m busy or just not feeling it. During the worst times, I get burned out. I definitely got burned out a couple of times over the past year. But with the help of all the positive people in this fanfic community, I’ve been kinder to myself. I’ve actually come to accept and appreciate the burn out! Sometimes I use that time to catch up on things I’m naturally interested in, and in more than a few instances, that has ended up being accidental research for my stories! It’s hard to see it when we’re in it, but slowing down often does wonders for us. After resting and taking care of myself, even indulging myself in other ways, I come out the other end of it bursting with new ideas for you! 

And I don’t know if you had this in mind when you asked, but as far as the speed of getting the ideas on the page, I have a purely anecdotal theory: I think knowing how to play a musical instrument helps? I play piano and a number of other instruments. I was taught how to channel thoughts and emotions into a physical medium that translated them into an auditory medium that then presented those thoughts and emotions to others for interpretation. I think about that process often, and I hope that comes across in my writing. I’ve also noticed that manual dexterity helps my fingers work quickly and fluidly. (I mean, this is why Yoongi’s hand kink is a thing, right??) So I feel like that skill has helped me build quite a natural connection between my brain and my hands. I communicate better through the written words; I type the way I think. 

Now, I wonder if my theory has been studied. It would be cool to run an experiment to see if seasoned musicians vs. non-musicians differ in typing speed and accuracy, communicativeness, or maybe even idea generation. You could even have musical subgroups, like piano vs. percussion vs. strings vs. winds to see if type of musical training and required muscle movements influences those possible relationships! It’s times like this I miss my lab lol.

I swear I’m done lol

Anyway, thank you so much for the ask! It wasn’t rude by any means. In fact, it was incredibly kind! I sometimes worry I'm too long-winded, too detailed, much like in real life and as evidenced by this post lol. And I worry that those traits make me inaccessible. But I guess this just goes to show you that the things that you think are flaws are just differences that others will appreciate. It’s a vast world; there are so many people out here who are waiting and excited to connect with you, and I’m one of them! 💜

[jvsmincs]

how  tf  do  ppl  even  start  intros  these  days  i  just  feel  like  some  youtuber  with  two  subscribers  whenever  i’m  like  ‘  hey  guys  !  ’  asfldjk  .  but  hi  ,  i’m  casey  and  i  decided  to  rp  again  on  a  whim  so  i’m  gonna  be  a  disorganized  mess  while  i  try  to  figure  this  b*tch  out  !  so  pls  enjoy  

chicago’s very own jasmine alvarado has been spotted on madison avenue driving a land rover , welcome ! your resemblance to alexa demie is unreal . according to tmz , you just had your twenty-third birthday bash  . your chance of surviving new york is uncertain because you’re capricious , but being personable might help you . i think being an aries explains that .  3 things that would paint  a  better picture of you would be repressed feelings slurred from a drunken mouth, unimpressed dark eyes hidden behind sunglasses, and lipstick smudged from the night before . ( i’ve been blackmailing my dad ever since i found out he cheated on my mom ) & ( cisfemale + she/her  ) +  (  casey , 22 , she/her , est)

STATISTICS  .

NAME  :  jasmine  grace  alvarado

NICKNAMES  :    jas  ,  jay

AGE  :  twenty - three

DATE  OF  BIRTH  :  april  17th 

ZODIAC  : aries

HOMETOWN  :  chicago  ,  illinois

GENDER  :  cisfemale

PRONOUNS  : she / her

ORIENTATION  :  bisexual / biromantic

PARENTS  :  natalie  &  adrian  alvarado 

SIBLINGS  :  jade  alvarado

TRAITS  :  chaotic  ,  apathetic  ,  charming  ,  impulsive  ,  confident  ,  loyal  ,  tempestuous  ,  entertaining  ,  perceptive  ,  clever  ,  witty  ,  sharp  ,  adaptable  

BACKSTORY  .

so  jasmine  grew  up  in  a  pretty  normal  &  boring  family

her  family  was  never  that  well  off  and  her  dad  ,  an  IT  worker  at  some  software  company  ,  worked  overtime  every  week  to  be  able  to  afford  his  families’  expenses 

her  mom  ,  a  graphic  design  artist  that  happened  to  be  thirteen  years  younger  than  her  husband  , often  spent  her  free  days  chasing  after  the  fun  of  her  twenties  that  she  missed  out  on  by  having  to  raise  children

so  when  jas  and  her  sister  were  home  ,  they  were  pretty  much  on  their  own

but  at  first  it  was  fine  ,  because  jas  had  her  sister  and  they  would  spend  their  days  playing  games  and  watching  movies  and  eating  junk  food  .  literally  lived  their  lives  like  kevin  from  home  alone  2  when  he  was  at  the  hotel

and  then  jasmine’s  sister  ,  five  years  older  than  her  ,  went  off  to  college  when  jas  was  thirteen  ,  and  suddenly  there  was  no  one  paying  attention  to  her

so  like  any  other  angsty  ,  moody  teenager  seeking  attention  --  she  decided  to  act  out

it  started  out  with  detentions  and  sneaking  out  and  hanging  out  with  boys  ,  but  then  in  high  school  it  turned  into  going  to  parties  every  night  and  trying  almost  every  drug  under  the  sun  and  running  from  the  cops  because  she  was  vandalizing  a  7  -  eleven  in  the  middle  of  the  night

but  unfortunately  it  ended  up  being  way  more  than  a  rebellious  teenage  phase  because  she  still  does  all  that  shit  to  this  day

and  although  she  was  a  bit  of  a  problem  child  ,  jas  always  had  dreams  of  making  something  for  herself  and  not  resigning  herself  to  settling  down  and  having  a  shitty  job  with  a  shitty  spouse

thankfully  there  was  a  modelling  agency  doing  some  scouting  at  her  local  mall  ,  and  so  when  she  was  17  she  decided  to  shoot  her  shot  and  go

and  obvs  she’s  hot  so  that’s  how  she  got  started  in  the  modelling  industry  ,  and  when  she  graduated  high  school  she  moved  to  nyc  with  the  money  she  saved  up

and  then  she  was  like  ‘  when  in  rome  ’  so  she  also  auditioned  for  some  movie  parts  and  then  decided  she  liked  acting  more  than  modelling  so  that  became  her  focus  (  i’m  still  trying  to  figure  out  if  i  want  a  career  claim  for  her  so  this  is  as  specific  as  i’m  gonna  get  baybees  but  just  imagine  her  with  like  em  rata’s  level  of  fame  )  

so  for  her  secret  ,  she  found  out  that  her  dad’s  ‘  overtime  ’  was  rly  him  cheating  on  her  mom  so  now  whenever  she  wants  him  to  do  smth  for  her  ,  she  threatens  to  tell  her  mom  about  it

and  of  course  he  doesn’t  want  that  to  happen  bc  ,  ya  know  ,  divorce  sucks

and  like  she  was  never  close  with  her  parents  and  is  pretty  sure  her  mom  has  also  cheated  on  her  dad  ,  so  yeah  she  doesn’t  feel  too  beat  up  about  it  lmao

PERSONAL  DEETS  .

so  jasmine  is  pretty  much  mid-2000′s  paris  and  lindsey  like  ...  this  bitch  doesn’t  stop  partying

what  started  as  just  wanting  to  have  a  fun  time  turned  into  a  real  problem  but  i  def  don’t  recommend  trying  to  tell  this  bitch  she  has  a  problem

if  she’s  not  going  to  a  party  ,  and  believe  me  she  knows  about  any  that  are  happening  in  a  twenty  mile  radius  ,  she’s  buying  a  bottle  of  wine  for  her  room  and  getting  stoned  while  watching  netflix

100%  the  type  to  bring  a  water  bottle  filled  with  vodka  to  an  event

this  girl  is  also  hella  impulsive  ,  will  literally  jump  off  the  roof  of  her  house  if  you  give  her  five  bucks

she  actually  probably  has  done  that  already

for  as  smart  as  she  is  this  girl  has  one  brain  cell

she  comes  off  as  a  very  fun  but  intense  person  ,  like  she  has  no  problem  saying  what  comes  to  her  mind  even  if  it’s  kinda  mean

like  a  typical  fire  sign  ,  she  can  come  off  as  hot-headed  and  apathetic  ...  because  she  is

this  bitch  refuses  to  admit  she  has  feelings  ,  but  she  honestly  feels  things  really  deeply

and  then  gets  fucked  up  to  pretend  it  never  happened

but  get  past  her  erratic  exterior  and  she’s  the  best  friend  you’ll  ever  have  ,  10/10  would  go  to  prison  for  you

i’m  sorry  this  is  hella  long  ,  i  tend  to  be  wordy  and  i  have  a  lot  of  muse  for  her  !   but  i’m  a  prisoner  to  the  plots  ,  i  even  have  a  plots  page  here  with  some super  basic  ideas  on  it  ,  so  if  you  give  this  a  like  i’ll  hop  in  to  your  dm’s  ! 😏

[yoong-i]

this was supposed to be a fav D-2 lyrics post but it just somehow turned into me rambling my thoughts about D-2 in regard to life and what he’s said in the interviews so far

So I started this and then my computer decided to restart and I lost all of it. And then when I finally finished it and hit save draft one last time, Tumblr stopped working. So if you see anything formatted weirdly, let me know. The universe was against me on this one.

As always, all translators are linked. Check them out and give them credit, they’re great at what they do. Sometimes they update things, so I really do recommend checking out the links to see if they’ve made any updates since I’ve posted.

I love Yoongi’s writing a lot, so I tend to get a bit wordy. I’d say I’m sorry but really, me doing these lyric posts is entirely self-indulgent so, I’m not.

(OK. I wrote that part before I finished and YIKES this ended up being SO LONG I am SORRY)

I want to point out some of the obvious references first that I know everyone on the internet has already figured out, but as I’ve said, idc. I like to have things in one place so I can look back at it. These ones don’t need much explanation, I feel, so I’m just gonna leave them here. Credits for these are with their songs down below.

“If you think you’re gonna crash, accelerate even harder, you idiot” 

From Moonlight, but also Intro: Never Mind, which is just so Yoongi to me. I think that song gives you an accurate picture of him.

“I got a big house big car big ring, bring anything over, I’ll give it to you” 

From What do you think?, and then No More Dream, Home, and Interlude: Shadow. This gif set breaks the references down nicely. It’s interesting to see the different tones he takes when referencing this line. I think Interlude: Shadow is my favorite, but really, I’m just biased to that song and they’re all truly great.

“I’m a king, I’i m a boss” 

Daechwita to Interlude: Shadow (I am sorry that this song is all I ever talk about all the time). I can’t remember if he references wanting to be the king/top in other songs, and I’m too lazy to check right now. So I’m going to go with no unless someone would like to correct me, I don’t mind.

There’s also the Burn It/Outro: Tear references that are just too much to copy and paste, really. I’m sure an argument can be made that it’s the whole song being referenced, but to me, this is the obvious part being referenced from Outro: Tear:

“Right, it’s there, what are you hesitating for? This is the end you wanted I hope you kill quickly without hesitation Woo yeah yeah burn it, woo yeah yeah yeah burn it, woo yeah yeah yeah burn it So that not even ashes are left. This is the real you and this is the real me We’ve now seen the end and there are not even resentments left Awake now from sweet dreams, I close my eyes This is the real you and this is the real me“

~~

While I didn’t list a lyric from Interlude: Set Me Free, I just want to say that I do really love this song, but there just aren’t many lyrics in it. Additionally, I’m not sure what exactly he’s saying he wants to be set free from, and so it doesn’t feel right to make an assumption about the lyrics. (Which is kinda bothering me, not in an annoyed way, but more or less just nagging at me.) But really, I love any interlude from Yoongi. Set Me Free sounds so beautiful and so calming and I wish the bird chirping didn’t drive my cat so crazy so I could enjoy it more.

~~

“Changes are fated to happen to everyone, perhaps, how we change is what our undertaking is about.”

Moonlight. I’ve said this before, but I really do love a good lyric about growing and changing and this mixtape definitely has a lot of it. I think it is interesting that he talks about change like this in the opening song, and then he talks about change in Dear my friend, which is much different given the tone of that whole song. Here, in the very first song, he poses the idea of “change is good, depending how you change” and then delves into a mixtape that discusses “the present” of his life (he tells Billboard in this article that this mixtape is about the present), which I find interesting. I’ll try to touch on it more in Dear my friend.

//

“What’s after this?  Feeling a strong feeling of reality check, a situation where there’s no higher. I had only looked up, now I just wanna look down and gently land.”

Daechwita. Yes, Interlude: Shadow AGAIN (as your local Shadow enthusiast, it only makes sense I pick a lyric that connects.) Although he says don’t let me down in Shadow, in that song I take it more as “I want to come down but I’m terrified of what’s gonna happen.” Where Shadow is more desperate, the tone of Daechwita is definitely more confident. Plus he has that whole mad king thing going for him (and then the whole killing the mad king thing) which Muish discusses wonderfully in the translation I linked.

This is another thing I love about Yoongi and his lyrics. He’s discussing the same thing in the lines of these different songs, but you get to witness these two battling personas when it comes to the topic. And I guess that is the point of there being a difference between Suga and Agust D, but I do wonder where Yoongi falls between these two. He lets you see his struggle and that’s why I love his writing. (I also love that for this song he says focus more on the visual and auditory enjoyment than the lyrics. The video really does tell a good story.)

//

“Crazy that you’d think that my success has a connection to your failure.”

“I have no fucking interest in those who ask whether idol music is music.”

What do you think? The idol lyric may seem like a weird choice, but as a long time boyband stan I’m so over the way artists who were/are in boybands get disregarded for their talent. I’ve come to realize I just need to stop caring whether or not they are socially accepted by “others” and just enjoy what music they are choosing to share with me and those who support them.

I don’t have much to say about the success lyric. It’s just Yoongi being his usual self and I love it.

//

“Capital injects morphine called hope with dream as collateral“

The first time I read this I did a double take. Much to unpack here, but I think that is even beyond me. Interpret it as you please.

“The one who has his eyes open in the world that has its eyes closed — now they make him blind, isn’t it strange.” 

Namjoon has a similar lyric later, but rather than the second half of Yoongi’s lyric, Joon says “that he has his eyes open alone is so much more strange for me” and I love the contrast between the two. Very on brand too.

“But still, life goes on, somehow, just like this, everyone, in their own chicken coop, says they’re okay.”

Strange. I had to stop myself because it is very hard to just not copy and paste the whole freakin song. I love anything these two create together as they are two of the most wonderful lyricists I have ever seen. Going off of that, this song is very reminiscent of Respect for me. Do yourself a favor and just sit down and read through these lyrics (Strange, but also I always recommend Respect). Songs like these make me wish I was a fly on the wall for conversations between these two.

//

“People change, just as I have, there’s nothing eternal about life, they’re all happenings that pass by”

“Did someone say humans are the animals of wisdom? The way I see it, humans are the animals of regret”

People. I love this song a lot (and NOT just because he sounds like an angel in it...) Despite that, I’m not sure why but I found myself stuck on what he was trying to say with this song as a whole. I enlisted my best friend for help and she gave me some good insight and one of the things she said was “good can come out of living each day like it means something.” While I didn’t see this song as inherently negative, I don’t think I was viewing the song in a way that would have allowed me to see this silver lining. I saw it as more cynical I guess?

//

“Tomorrow will come and go once again, this kind of me, that kind of you are both simply enduring the day, I guess.”

Honsool. Time isn’t real. Am I writing this at 2 o’clock in the morning when I should be asleep? Maybe so. But time isn’t real and the days come and go and we’re all just enduring. I like the word choice there. Not surviving, or getting by, or living. We’re enduring.

//

“I grow older and become to know the world, and yet, would it have been better to not know the world?”

Ignorance is bliss. Kinda. This lyric actually reminded me of Nightmare by Halsey, one part specifically: “'Cause kindness is weakness, or worse, you're complacent, I could play nice or I could be a bully, I'm tired and angry, but somebody should be” And like. Yeah. Would I rather be ignorant to all the world’s problems and not give a shit about anything just to be happy, or should I let myself succumb to believing in cynicism for the sake of the world and caring about things? I used a different translation for this lyric than I did for the other two lyrics in 28.

“To live, live, live just one day without any worries, just one day without any concerns.” 

“I thought it’d change when I turned twenty, I thought it’d change when I graduated, Shit, if I’m thirty like this, this, And so, so, what’s changed with me?”

28. This was another one of those where I had to stop and tell myself, Ahna, please do not copy every lyric. But, just know that I wanted to. We spend so many of our days looking forward because we are so displeased with where we are currently at (reminder: this mixtape is about the present.) There’s the constant thought of “once I achieve this thing, it’ll be better!” We’ve all done it, I’ve done it, and I truly hate it. The difference here is you have someone like Yoongi, who is at the top, who has it “all” and he is still stuck in this mindset. Oh, also, hi he’s talking about change again. 

//

“[Always], the choice and decision is yours to make. I hope you don’t forget that giving up decisively also counts as courage.”

Burn It. It is now 4am and Burn It just came on shuffle and I’ve been staring at this lyric for a bit too long, hating my 2pm fully conscious self for choosing this one and leaving writing about it for last. This lyric is existential crisis content. I don’t think I’ve ever in my life heard someone talk about giving up in this way. Giving up can be so powerless, but thinking about giving up in this way not only restores power, but also praises you for being able to make such a decision bold decision for yourself. Makes you think a lot about Yoongi and how he turned out the way he has.

Yoongi reiterated a similar thought in the interview with TIME: “It’s good to know that it’s fine when things go in an unintended direction, because you can always start over again. Keep calm, take the next-best option and move forward.” And this translator also points out another instance, just a month before he dropped his mixtape, of him saying basically the same thing again to one of the listeners on his Live who said they gave up their dream: “I don’t know what circumstances you were in, but I think you must have had tremendous courage. Giving something up decisively takes lots of courage. And, you’ve worked hard.” Like, is he trying to make me cry? 

//

“Was it you who changed? Or was it me? I hate this flowing time, it's us who changed.”

Dear my friend. First, in regard to the lyric itself, there are so many friendships we look back on, ruined or not, and wonder whose fault it was. Maybe even blame them if it’s easier. While it does vary by friendship, I do think it’s important to step back and question our place in it all going wrong, and how we have changed as well. The “I hate this flowing time, it's us who changed” reminds me of how sometimes there truly is nothing you can do when it comes to changing and growing apart from people. It’s not your fault, it’s not my fault, we have changed in ways we both needed to and we are not compatible anymore. I do think the overarching theme in Dear my friend is different from this, however.

I was not expecting this song at all. I think a lot of stuff Yoongi writes is very open and vulnerable, but this song really took me by surprise because it’s a different kind of open. This song will make you miss friendships and people that went downhill, wondering what more you could have done for them. Why he gotta do me like this.

Going back to the thought I posed in Moonlight, in Dear my friend we witness a change that just... isn’t good. Aside from that, on an album which is supposedly all about the present of his life, this song is not. Maybe it is present because it is something that still clearly bothers him, and something, or rather someone, he thinks about a lot, but I still find it interesting. Maybe it was just a sentiment he felt he really needed to get out. 

He talks about change a lot on this album, yet when they ask him in the D-2 interviews (TIME/Billboard) about how he feels things have changed since the last mixtape, he says he doesn’t feel his life really changed.

If you listen to Intro: Never Mind, he says the only thing he feels that’s different about him is his height, and that he’s mature compared to people his age. That must be very grounding, feeling that despite the whirlwind of his life and fame he is still the same person he’s always been. And then again, 5 years later in 2020, the only change he mentions about himself is that he’s matured. I guess “matured” can be taken different ways, especially in regard to the way he talks about growth on this album. But I respect and admire him talking about himself like this. I appreciate the introspection and I take maturing in this context as a positive thing. I take it as him growing in good ways, becoming better versions of himself, which I feel shows in the art he produces. 

One more thought, and it goes back to the interviews. Yoongi told TIME “what’s good is good” is his philosophy. I think back to 28 and People, and the drastic difference between his life and mine, or as he would say, the difference between our ordinaries and extraordinaries, yet we both have the same bad habits and worries about the future.  

Yoongi seems like a walking hazard sign for wanting more or too much, warning of it not being better and it being lonely to have “everything” you want. Considering how simple the phrase “what’s good is good” is, I have spent too long thinking about it in relation to all of this. He uses it in People when talking about the average ordinary life. In the new Break the Silence docu-series, he talks about not being able to do ordinary things like go out for a coffee or to the movies. It is once again his reminder, things are not better up there. You will still struggle. Be content with what you have. If it’s good, its good, and what’s good is good. Let it be. 

~~

This felt like a good ending note, and then I remembered Billboard asked him, “What is a line or thought you share on D-2 you want listeners to be left thinking about?“ And this was his answer:

“So what, if we live like that, so what My distinction is your ordinary My ordinary is your distinction”

I thought it was funny that I somehow ended this by talking about the one thing he wanted to leave us thinking about. Mission accomplished Yoongi.

~~

In regard to raising questions about norms and how we live, Yoongi said he just merely wanted to raise the question mark - not provide the answers - and boy did he here. I will be thinking about this all for a while. This took me so much longer to write than intended, mostly just because I wasn’t expecting to feel so strongly about all the songs.  Thank you for the art honey my dude.

[comicteaparty]

August 24th-August 30th, 2019 Creator Babble Archive

The archive for the Creator Babble chat that occurred from August 24th, 2019 to August 30th, 2019.  The chat focused on the following question:

What is your favorite aspect when writing character dialogue?  What is your least favorite aspect?

HiddenElephant

My favorite aspect when writing character dialogue is when characters get into arguing or other verbal conflict; this stuff writes itself! My least favorite aspect is remembering to put in all the minor character verbal tics, such as no sharkfolk using contractions. Oh, and the obligatory link: http://thewideocean.thecomicseries.com/

spacerocketbunny

I love writing personal or emotional dialogue for characters, it's fun to see how they all express themselves differently in these situations and how they handle it! One thing I struggle with is adding bits of different languages in character dialogue if they're bi/multilingual. I'm not bilingual myself and I don't have the best resources or references to turn to when writing dialogue, so I worry if it comes off a bit silly(edited)

keii4ii

@spacerocketbunny I'm bilingual and know a lot of multilingual folks IRL. I don't know if this is universal, but it seems to be the case among the people I know: if someone is fluent in both languages, they won't switch between languages while talking to someone not fluent in both languages. (This ruined the character Mako for me, in her intro scene in the Pacific Rim movie...)

Someone who's only fluent in one language might very well be different. Also could be different if the two languages share a lot of similarities, e.g. two Latinate languages. Most of the bi/multilingual people I know speak Korean/English, so it's hard to mix them up unintentionally.

deo101

I am also bilingual, though it is in ASL so it would be incredibly difficult for me to even "accidentally" switch between languages. Though, I can attest that all my multilingual friends (usually spanish/english) don't really switch either. I can think of one time a friend yelled angrily in spanish at a videogame which was an accident, but that's it.

spacerocketbunny

In any instances that I have written parts with a bit of different languages it's always been intentional on the character's part, so none of them have been "accidental slips" and whatnot, Thank you for your insight though, that's very helpful!

kayotics

As per the question: dialogue is my favorite part to write, in all honesty. Probably why comics are fun for me. I think my favorite part about dialogue is figuring out how to weave exposition into natural character interactions. Sometimes it doesn’t make sense to do that (like someone explaining a problem), but for things that the characters would naturally know (like how the world works or relationships between other characters) I enjoy trying to tie in exposition for the reader while still making it seem natural. Least favorite is probably just keeping things trimmed down, I tend to get carried away. I also find remembering character voice a little difficult to implement, like one character using specific words or ways of speaking. And the comic plug: https://www.ingress-comic.com/

mariah currey

Lol same X') sometimes it feels more like the plot is directed more by conversations I want the characters to have than anything else. That's kind of an exaggeration, but the most fun part for me is thinking about the emotional exchabge between characters. And yeah my least favorite part is editing the dialogue down. I tend to write long so a lot of the time it's like a puzzle of trying to figure out how to still communicate what I'm trying to get across in half the words I originally wrote it to be. Link: http://rainydaydreams.mariahcurrey.com/

AntiBunny

I don't so much write dialogue, as I do let it play out in my head. The characters of AntiBunny http://antibunny.net/ sort of just write their own. Each has their own mannerisms from Piago's unexplained southern accent, that none of her family shows, to Pooky's use of British slang picked up from watching too many Britcoms. So my favorite part is just playing the scenes out in my head, and letting them form organically. Least favorite part is when it comes to the final draft, and cutting it down to what will fit on the page and flow well with the action. A lot has to go in the name of flow, just like a realistic organic conversation can't really be depicted in fiction and tell a cohesive story. So it has to be distilled down to the message that needs to be delivered, and then that needs to be balanced for what will display properly in sequential art.

FeatherNotes

As far as the bilingual tibit goes- my family has a lot of french /english speaking people and phrases often go in and out of each language when speaking to each other. The sentence doesn't straight up go into another language mid thought, rather its peppered in. Often when the point can't be articulated in the speaking language, in my example, french would be used to emphasize a feeling. And it's something I've done and seen a lot- i think it depends on where the speakers are in these situations. There are specific bilingual provinces and states that show people doing the same (im from quebec and the way the pepper in both languages is very much how they speak.) So, when writing characters, having a sense of environment and placement of culture is something to consider to flesh them out with dialogue. My least fave part of writing is trimming as well to fit the pages and not sound too wordy haha

Tuyetnhi

For me, I have fun writing dialogue when there's conflict and tension between two characters, like a situation where another has to decieve through their words or confessing their feelings. It does play a bit of foreshadowing but I also want it to appear as contingent as possible lol. About the bilingual thing, I'm also bilingual but i often struggle trying to say the right words either in english or vietnamese (such as describing a certain word in english to a Vietnamese speaker and I end up saying the english word of the thing I want to describe lmao. It happens a lot). I think that situation is common with a lot of folks who grown up in a bilingual household (such as both of your parents speak 2 languages, and you end up assorbing most of that native language of the country your in instead your parents native tongue). I'm planning to incorpate this through my MC's dialogue for that kind of naturalism (plus other factors too lmao).(edited)

least fav part is also trying not to be wordy as well. lmao. i do like trimming dialogue just to make it feel kinda punchy in a way depending on the character.(edited)

snuffysam

For Super Galaxy Knights http://sgkdr.thecomicseries.com/, I just love writing dialogue in general. Figuring out how different characters should react in different situations, figuring out a way for it to all sound natural... it's all fun. The one thing I dislike is when I have to explain some concept to the readers in a character's voice. Taci explaining energy usage to Mizuki was fun because he's the type to lord over his knowledge of something. And Pejiba explaining magic abilities to Mizuki made sense, though that dialogue still feels a bit lacking to me. But there's this one upcoming scene in book 3 where I HATE the dialogue, just because there's no other way to explain stuff other than "as you know, only one in every million people can survive the radstream" and it's annoying.

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

I love finding moments to slip in random quirky character-building dialogue bits in Phantomarine (http://www.phantomarine.com/). The phenomenon of having a character say one thing - funny, heart-wrenching, relatable, or otherwise - and have the audience immediately fall in love with them (or hate them intensely!) is something I like trying, because I’ve experienced a similar phenomenon many times, both with fictional characters and in real life. Sometimes, all it takes is a single sentence for me to go “Ooh, you’re a unique one. I like you. I want to know more about you. What’s your deal?” My gold standard is the introduction of Lilo in “Lilo and Stitch.” She’s instantly memorable and relatable in her weirdness. My instinct is to streamline dialogue to convey information as clearly and quickly as possible, but adding those non-essential characterization moments is so important - it makes the characters so real, and breaks up the pacing nicely, especially in a story that’s generally pretty serious. Those quirky bits make the experience so much more fun.

Steph (@grandpaseawitch)

I absolutely love writing dialogue for http://oldmanandtheseawitch.tumblr.com/. I think it's really where a lot of characterization shines, especially if you know how to use speech bubbles fluently to do so. Every character has a different beat, a different musicality. Ains (and most of the Pub Lads) tend to have dialects a bit like dropping a rock into a puddle. A sudden beat with few ripples--they're laymen, fishermen, you have to get across a lot in only a short time span. "Yep," "nope," and for Ains, he's especially prone to this. Witchy, comparatively, when he finally talks (minor spoiler but not that surprising), has a purring, flowing, flowery sort of language. Ains is very upfront and forward. Witchy's comes across as having an ulterior motive. Dialogue becomes another means of illustrating their individual personalities. My least favorite part is purely technical: formatting and consolidation. Having to pick where you sacrifice legibility for character and character for legibility. Blurbs don't always fit nicely into bubbles, or I have to add a word so as to not break the rules of bubble formatting too much.