#at any time for any character

[jessepinwheel]

not to be the guy whose writing advice always boils down to "pay attention to character motivations" but something I feel is frequently overlooked is immediate intent

every so often I read a book where Protagonist Man goes into a situation that immediately goes to shit and I have to put the book down and ask what the hell was the plan?

I don't think there's anything wrong with everything going to shit immediately, but when a character who I've been told is competent at their job goes into a situation they have a reasonably good grasp on and does something that makes absolutely no sense so that Things Can Happen, I have a hard time taking the story seriously.

which is to say: if your character is going into a situation, you should probably have a sense of what they're trying to accomplish and how they expect things to go should everything go according to their expectations. sometimes characters don't have a plan at all (they're dumb, or didn't have time to come up with one, or any other reason) but if they do have a plan it should look like it

immediate intent doesn't always have to be a big thing, and it often isn't. sometimes it's something as simple as "trying to annoy someone" or "trying to get someone out of the room" or "trying to make things less boring". but pretty much anything a character does should have some amount of intent behind it

also important to note, this doesn't just apply to actions, it also heavily applies to dialogue. it's really helpful to keep in mind not just what characters are saying, but what they're trying to find out from the other characters, and what they mean that they might not be saying.

I know this is basically the same writing advice I always give, but having a good understanding of what characters are trying to do at any given moment (even if they're not succeeding) really does go a long way to making characters seem more like people and not just dolls being moved around by the author

[butchfalin]

the funniest meltdown ive ever had was in college when i got so overstimulated that i could Not speak, including over text. one of my friends was trying to talk me through it but i was solely using emojis because they were easier than trying to come up with words so he started using primarily emojis as well just to make things feel balanced. this was not the Most effective strategy... until. he tried to ask me "you okay?" but the way he chose to do that was by sending "👉🏼👌🏼❓" and i was so shocked by suddenly being asked if i was dtf that i was like WHAT???? WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY TO ME?????????? and thus was verbal again

[vasquez-rocks]

Ok to be clear, this whole time what Daniel Molloy thought happened was:

He hooked up with Louis in 1973

Then listened to him rant about his ex for 8 hours

After which Louis tried to kill him

He woke up in a second location and was like wow my craziest trip yet!

He didn't hear from Louis for 50 years

Until he gets an email like hey bb sorry about the murder attempt do u wanna come to Dubai? u can interview me again i probably won't kill you :)

And he's like yeah sure

And then he still spent the whole time bullying him

Self-preservation skills at a 0. That imaginary dick must have been something else

[entnoot]

Olwen, the Unicorn 👑

[so-you-read-the-usernames]

Female characters who are the sole voice of reason <<<<<<< Female characters who think of themselves as the sole voice of reason but who are actually just as insane as those around them

[starii-void]

going to chb must be crazy like imagine sharing a camp with

-one of the strongest demigods ever who's saved the world like at least 3 times, fought multiple gods & titans and WON (and is a tartarus survivor)

-the literal main architect of OLYMPUS who's also saved the world multiple times (also tartarus survivor)

-THE lord of the wild who's also close friends with the first two (and has helped save the world multiple times)

-an emo kid from the 1930s who again helped save the world and is also a tartarus survivor (TWICE)

-a son of apollo who survived tartarus with nothing but cargo shorts and sheer will (pun intended)

-the main designer and builder for the argo II, also the first hephaestus kid to have fire powers since hundreds of years ago (did i mention killed gaea? no? yeah he did that too)

-a girl who somehow charmspeak-ed gaea into falling back asleep (also side note daughter of super famous actor because why not)

-pretty much everybody is a two-time war veteran

-THE GOD APOLLO who just sometimes comes down to visit in the form of a teenage boy

-did i mention dionysus, god of wine madness and theatre

-also chiron, trainer of pretty much every greek hero ever

[hollow-head]

Responses to the most frequent comments on my Dungeon Meshi/TAZ crossover doodle

Laios and fair food

2. Taako cooking for real

3. Encounters with plants

(hello, in the manga, the pollen comes out the mouths)

bonus

[poorly-drawn-mdzs]

HOT, SINGLE, UNSTUDIED SPONGES. 3000 NAUTICAL MILES AWAY. Come sail the distance and read Tiger Tiger!

[veveisveryuncool]

when The Character looks like this:

[bixels]

Scary Sunset.

I'm concepting things way outta order in this story, but I'm sure you can piece things together. Context is for a storybeat where, after defeating and capturing Adagio (thus having all three sirens in her possession), Sunset enacts her revenge plot to release the sirens on Canterlot as Thea discovers she's been manipulated. In a confrontation, the two scuffle and fight over the siren orbs while Sunset struggles with her conflicting wants and emotions.

[biggest-gaudiest-patronuses]

i vote that next year instead of reading Dracula we do a Jeeves & Wooster Book Club. those two never got the rabid tumblr shipping fandom they deserved (disqualified for the sheer technicality of being published a century too soon). we must correct this injustice

[lucabyte]

On autonomy, and what it means to be Obliged to Help.

Bonus:

[poorlydrawninstarsandtime]

really specific hangups

[ids in alt]

[colorful-horses]

instantly elevate your male character designs with these easy steps!

- give him long hair

[bunnygirllover45]

totally not overworked older brothers talking about their little sisters. Sunday and Ayato are pretty similar aren't they? I think they would get along great.

[lepidjester]

in which gangle causes psychic damage to the entire cast