#authors in conversation

[iamnmbr3]

Really wish people could learn the difference between a plot hole and a character making a mistake. Just because the character messed up doesn’t mean the author did.

[wellesleybooks]

Don’t miss these two wonderful authors in conversation Wednesday, April 25th, at 7pm.

[thatsbelievable]

[elegantmarigold]

Gwen said "Lena won't be as laid back as I am about this" with so much confidence and then left the room thinking she handled that so well, completely oblivious to the atmosphere of the room. this woman has never read a social cue a day in her life and I sincerely hope it stays that way.

[pygmi-says-hi]

writing tips - banter

I LOVE BANTER WE ALL LOVE BANTER HIP HIP HOORAYYYY!!

Banter is a lovely addition to dialogue between characters. It means a lot of different things - sass, genuine insults, flirting....all sorts of options.

But overusing banter can make conversations sound circular. It's a fun 'fluffy' piece of dialogue, but doesn't do the best job conveying plot.

Pedantry vs teasing

Pedantic speech is basically nit-picking. Somebody who can't bear to let anything slide, no matter how small. This is an interesting character trait and one that adds depth, but if it's unintentional it sounds frustrating. Sassy characters are fun, especially when they go off in an inner monologue.

If a character has a quip for everything, it adds a layer of whiny-ness. Sarcasm is a fun way to tease and complain. Constant complaining gets on a reader's nerves after a while. Soon there becomes so much commentary it's hard to dissect what is actually being described.

Unless your OC has no sense of social boundaries, there's usually a break in between jokes to read the room.

How do I know when enough is enough?

Think about the character. If they have that wonderfully sardonic rapport with their peers, that's great! Why do they act like that? Is it a sense of humor? Is there a running joke? When you incorporate the banter, keep it in the confines of those parameters. It'll still enrich the conversation without overwhelming it.

It's a learning curve!!!!!

I like to do it this way:

write the dialogue as banter-y and indulgent as possible. When the scene is finished, I reread and pick out the really funny bits and discard the rest or move it to a different scene.

Sometimes those indulgent character moments help the really good stuff push to the front of your mind. Go for it! You know your story better than anybody else; if it's telling your story the way you want, that's all that matters.

[morganbritton132]

Eddie posts a Tiktok that starts with him wedging himself between Steve and Wayne on the couch. He gives Steve a smile that all mischief as he says, “You know what being in Wayne trailer reminds me of?”

Steve, who knows what that kind of smile means: Don’t

Eddie: Remember before Wayne knew we were dating-

Wayne: *scoffs at the notion that there was a time before he knew they were dating*

Eddie, rolling his eyes: Okay, fine. Wayne always knew because we were super obvious, whatever. He has excellent gaydar. Before we told Wayne.

Eddie: Steve would stay over a lot and if a Wayne wasn’t working, he’s sleep on the couch so he didn’t suspect nothin.’ That was the arrangement until Wayne said…

Eddie, in his Wayne-ist voice: Eddie, get your boy in your room so I can hear myself think at night.

Eddie: ‘Cause you know, Steve snores and it was keeping Wayne up.

Steve: I didn’t snore back then!

Eddie: You definitely did, but my point is. Talk about the quietest blow-

Steve, smacking Eddie’s arm: Shut up! That’s not- We did not! Ever. Not where - So, just be quiet.

There’s a beat of silence and Wayne turns the page in the newspaper he was reading. Then he says completely straight-faced “Sure was a squeaky bed” and Eddie busts out laughing.

Steve just leaves.

[my-autism-adhd-blog]

In Conversation, What Can Trip Up an Autistic Person?

Pete Wharmby, Autistic Author

[coldemergency]

Ron: Wow, get a load of this guy lol

Tom: He already has

Harry: …Tom… don’t

Tom: Multiple times in fact. Sometimes more than once if you get my drift

Harry: omg

Ron:

Ron: I regret everything that has led to this moment in time

[overthinkinglotr]

Inspired by the trash homophobic conservative poll that was going around recently:

[randomshyperson]

Do you even get burned out writing for Wanda?

Naah, I get fucking sad and angry she isn't written with the same amount of love and appreciation through canon stuff.

Have you see the what if new game? She's a villain in there again. Now I don't know who tf decided that the manipulative physco who destroys universe on daily bases was Wanda's real motto but I was so mad at this crap! Ever since Multiverse of Madness and the sexist arc they wrote for her, there's a common and mistaken understanding that Wanda will go nuts now and then and kill people just to get what she wants. Marvel really went with the crazy woman trope and I fucking hate it. Wanda is a selflessness good hearted Avenger. She goes from traumatic event to traumatic event but even when she mess things up she always make amends. She's too powerful for her own sake and because she keep losing everyone sometimes her grief takes the better our of her. But she is never this evil manipulative person Marvel male writers/producers seems determined to make out of her.

I'm really hoping that if Wanda comes back, they either change those misogynistics arcs, or the character should just stay dead. I feel like the reverse thing happened to Natasha, she was over sexualized all years, barely had any screen time and when it was time to say goodbye to Scarlet, we got Black Widow Solo Movie which gave us the best version of Natasha. Wanda was already pretty incredible (even with the lack of development or screen time) then got the best Marvel show only for the producers to destroy her character for the sake of the male lead story. I'm tired of this shit, happens with almost every female character and it's so exhausting.

[disastergenius]

by far the worst take i've seen so far post-ep19 of Junior Year is that having a week-by-week live play would have allowed fans to essentially influence the direction of the story in the way they want it to go and that would have resulted in the cast being more sympathetic to the Ratgrinders (ie getting them a redemption arc)

why do you feel the need to try and control this story? YOU ARE NOT THE ONE TELLING IT. if you want to tell a story please go write your own, or go write fanfiction to cope or whatever but you don't get to say that the players are telling the story wrong when it's their story they are telling

[to-be-a-dreamer]

Junior Year might actually be the scariest D20 season my fight-or-flight instincts were INSTANTLY activated the second Brennan said the word "MCAT" because that's the name of the actual real-life American medical school admissions exam and hearing that with absolutely no warning did not mix well with my "grew up with parents who view getting into medical school by 22 as the bare minimum of academic achievement" brain

[thatsbelievable]

[counterfictional]

Speaking of which. Alterhumans who experience delusions of any kind, I'd like to know your experiences with them - or at least, if you have any essays or resources you could share, I would like them.

My gut reaction when delusions are brought up as a reason why fiction/otherkin/etc are invalid or harmful is "this... doesn't feel right", but I don't have enough experience or knowledge to say why. In my opinion, I feel like psychotic experiences are treated unfairly in plural and alterhuman spaces. I don't know if this is always the case, it just. Feels like it is a trend. and i dont like it.

[benveydraws]

i can't love you in this skin

[nightswatchdisbandmentera]

It’s the way fantasy is broken down and built back up through a rather tenuous connection between Jon and Sansa. Two characters who are fantasy, when you really think about it, and are at the heart of GRRM’s deconstruction and reconstruction of common fantasy tropes.

There’s Sansa, the fantasy princess in every sense of the word. She’s breathtakingly beautiful and polite. She’s got her magic pet and her penchant for singing sweet songs. She wishes to explore outside her father’s magic castle and then boom, the king visits and now she’s betrothed to the most handsome prince who’s destined to be king. And he promises that he will take her out of that tower. She will get to live the grand romantic performance of a prince rescuing his maiden and marrying her and living happily ever after. And he does….only it’s the worst outcome imaginable. Out of one tower into another (and the tower is gender!). The handsome prince is a sadistic freak who abuses her and controls her. The beautiful queen is actually quite evil and perpetuates her abuse. The knights at court ignore her or are active participants in her dehumanization. Her family is either dead or far away from her. And as all pretty princesses are, she’s brutally orphaned. There’s no one to protect her. There are no valiant heroes and there are no true knights…..or maybe there are? In her disillusionment, she wishes for a hero to chop off ugly Janos Slynt’s head. Then in comes Jon Snow - a bastard black knight who is ironically (and unknowingly) the heroic prince Sansa dreams of but has come to think doesn’t exist. Sansa, a princess in a tower who is losing all hope. And Jon, a prince in hiding who is her hope. Huh…I thought fairytales didn’t exist? Maybe they do, actually. You just have to open your eyes and see.