#discussion guide

[ocshowandtell]

thought it might help to have a starting point for anyone who isn't sure how to begin! (these are just suggestions, and not required by any means!) use these as a guide for submissions if you like, or for your personal use!

Short OC show and tell template

[Image of character]

Name of character:

What’s their story’s setting/context?

What do they do with most of their time?

What do they want? Why?

How do they plan to get it?

Who do they know? How do they feel about them?

Favorite bit about character:

Longer OC show and tell template

[image of character]

Name of character:

Gender, sexuality, age, general vibe, species (if relevant):

Favorite bit about character:

What’s their story’s setting/context? What’s the general plot?

What do they do with most of their time? What do they do for fun?

What do they want? Why? What’s stopping them?

How do they plan to get it? Do they plan to get it? 

Who do they know? How do they feel about them? Which/what sort of relationships matter the most to them?

How will/have those people changed their life, for the better or worse?

What’s their biggest flaw?

What do other people think of them?

What genre is their story? What genre do they think it is?

How do things work out for them?

if you would like more character questions to think on, check out @characterbabble!

[edhelwen1]

Discussion Guide for Assassins! Accidental Matchmakers

Have you read Assassins! Accidental Matchmakers? Are you still on the fence about it? Is your book club reading it?

Check out these discussion questions to see if this is the right book for you! (also, the printable looks super awesome, if I do say so myself. 😉 )

We tried to keep them spoiler-free. 😇

Read more at our website! (The Discussion Guide is a downloadable PDF on our website as well.)

Art by @pinkpiggy93

[tahbhie]

Creating Emotionally Devastating Scenes.

Crafting a scene that earns the total sympathy of your readers can be challenging, but it's not impossible. Most emotionally devastating scenes fail at two things, but when these are done right, the results can be powerful.

⚪ The Important Concepts for Writing an Emotionally Devastating Scene

1. The Build-Up,

2. Breaking the Dam.

Before I explain these concepts, let me share a case study.

⚫ Case Study

I wrote a story about a young orphan named Jackie and her younger brother. Their village was burned down, leaving them as the only survivors.

For the next few chapters, readers followed their painful journey and their struggle to survive. The younger brother had a heart problem, and Jackie vowed to become a cardiologist to save him.

She was very ambitious about it, but at the time, it was very ironic. Later in the story, when they encountered a tragic living condition with a family, the brother died while telling his sister how much he missed their parents.

When her brother was fighting for his life, she was sent out of the room, only to be let in again to see his cold, lifeless body.

⚪ Explanation of Concepts

1. The Build-Up

The build-up is extremely important when you aim to convey strong emotions. Here's a secret: if you plan for a scene with strong emotions, start leaving breadcrumbs from the very beginning of the story.

Take the previous case study. I carefully built up their journey so people could easily relate and feel the pain of the older sister during her brother's sudden death.

You need to give the situation enough reason to feel utterly hopeless and devastating. Gradually cultivate the tension until it's ready to let loose.

⚫ Understanding the Use of Breadcrumbs.

Breadcrumbs in stories ensure you utilize the time you have to build up certain emotions around your characters.

At the beginning of my story, Jackie’s fate was already pitiable, but she survived every hurdle. This gave the readers enough to feel for her while still leaning away from the outcome. When I built enough, I introduced her brother's sudden death.

Hence, leave your breadcrumbs while leaning away from the outcome.

⚪ How to Properly Leave Breadcrumbs

When building up your story, consider these elements:

☞⁠ Character Relatability: The characters need to be realistic to draw readers into the story. This helps readers invest themselves in your story.

☞⁠ Realistic Emotional Pain: Just as characters need to be relatable, their emotions need to be realistic and not appear forced.

☞⁠ Create a Strong Emotional Attachment: Give them something they care about or that has the power to ruin their lives in any way. It could be something that makes them happy or something their happiness relies on. When it's time, snatch it away without remorse.

☞⁠ Have a Backstage Struggle: This struggle keeps readers occupied, so they won't see the outcome coming. For example, Jackie’s constant struggle to find food and shelter keeps readers engaged while the impending tragedy looms in the background.

☞⁠ Attach Believable Elements: For a realistic character, emotion, and struggle, attach believable elements. It could be death, ailments, sickness, disorder, disappointment, failure, etc.

Now that we've covered the build-up, let's move on to the next crucial part.

2. Breaking the Dam

This is when you make your readers feel the strong emotions alongside your characters. All the tension you’ve been building up is released, making all emotions come into play.

☞⁠ Break Your Strong Attachment: Cut off your strong attachment from your character when they least expect it or at a point when they couldn't use more struggles (i.e when they are helpless).

This will not only evoke readers’ emotions but also pique their curiosity as they wonder how the character will survive the situation.

☞⁠ Description of Sensory Details to Invoke Emotions: The advice of "show, don't tell" will be really helpful here. It's crucial to ensure that the final execution matches the build-up.

A well-crafted build-up can fall flat if the emotional release isn't handled effectively. To avoid this, blend the climax seamlessly into the narrative, making it feel natural and impactful.

Reblog to save for reference! 💜

[wolfythoughts]

5 Short LGBT Book Club Books

So, you want to bring an LGBTQIA+ book to your book club. But Pride month is already upon us, so it needs to be short! Or maybe reading an LGBTQIA+ book will be a bit of a stretch for your group so you want to entice them into it by promising a short read. Never fear, your friendly queer and bisexual book blogger has your back with 5 books all under 300 pages. Plus, I have discussion guides…

[forthefictionallesbians]

kudzu affini who doesn't understand personal space or why "into you" is not a valid direction to grow

kudzu affini who wakes you up with a feeler already moving down your throat

kudzu affini who breathes for you because they're in your lungs and up your nose

kudzu affini who loves to restrict that airflow just to tease you, to get you nice and desperate for them

kudzu affini whose haustoric implant spreads through your entire nervous system and pops leaves out of your arms

kudzu affini who is never going to let you go because you're a part of them now, petal, and isn't that so lovely?

[afterthelambs]

i adore Maruki as a character because he's simultaneously the most relatable depressing character that will make you cry with empathy, and the goofiest wettest cat loser in the game like what do you mean youre a licensed therapist and your first response to trauma is to brainwash a girl, project ur relationship issues onto a 17 yr old boy, and then rule the world in a golden leotard? bro went from 0 to 100 so fast??? anyway he's like 30% of the reason why p5r works as well as it does

[sforzesco]

I got. thoughts. about valens and voices in imperial roman history. but I also got a lot of thoughts about uhhhhhh choosing your brother for co ruling the Fratricide Foundation Story Empire. many thoughts about themistius' oration too

Brotherly Love, Themistius (trans. Peter Heather & David Moncur)

⭐ places I’m at! bsky / pixiv / pillowfort /cohost / cara.app / insta

[mothmanavenue]

can i confess something else that will absolutely get me stoned in the town square since im dropping my unpopular opinions. I don’t like altean broadsword Lance. i already disliked red paladin Lance. the broadsword was like rubbing salt in the wound. why couldn’t he have his own niche. why was his character development just making him keith. i understand that it was like “he accepts that he doesn’t have to be a leader and excels as a co-leader and you can find happiness that way yada yada yada”. but you could’ve done that without making him keith. also now give him something unique, cool, that falls in line with his sniper bit. i’m not saying just give him another gun, im saying give him something quiet and lethal. like a garotte. yeah i want garotte lance.

i yap a lot more in my notes by the way if you were interested in other unpopular opinions. don’t send me hate messages or comments i won’t read it and will block viciously i also will not be debating this this is my hill to die on <3

[swordscleric]

I can't stop thinking about the post from a few days ago about how Critical Role has been great at doing personal faith but didn't put the necessary work in to discuss the religious/god angle of c3 in-depth. Like the fact that Cardinal Respa was linked to both the Dawnfather and the Chained Oblivion is, on a personal level, very interesting (fallen/corrupted priest goes hard) but like does that mean that there's a Papacy somewhere in Exandria dedicated to the Dawnfather? If so, are there more cardinals who ordain the bishops of the Dawnfather? Are there Conclave-level intrigues going on in the Dawnfather's Sistine Chapel? Why is the Dawnfather so Christianity-coded in vibes alone if there's no actual outline of his religious organisations? With Downfall the Dawnchild/Dawnfather thing makes the allusions to Christ as Son of God co-existing with the Father textual - was there a Dawnfather Schism around whether the Dawnchild was a separate mortal? Was there a Reformation about how the Dawnfather's Pope kept selling indulgences? Is that why the priest of the Dawnfather Grog & Pike offer a drink to doesn't partake because of a cultural shift between Protestant-Temperance-League-coded and Catholic-coded Dawnfather congregations? Why do I have so many questions about the religious organisation of one of the most important Prime Deities in Exandria and to Critical Role's 3 campaigns? How on earth were the cast (and us as the viewers!) meant to care about the gods if all they had were "really tall kings" instead of interrogating how religious organisations provide both a place of healing and community to a wide range of people and also a place of horrific harm and abuse for a wide range of people?

[watercraver]

Two of my friends just read the original HDG in a discord VC.

They seemed to enjoy the world building but were kinda put-off by Elvira and Miss Nele’s dynamic.

They commented on how Elvira was constantly unhappy and how the concept of domestication is sorta framed as a negative, at least if you’re not already into it.

I sent them both Dog of War, since I think it’s just… better than the original, especially when it comes to how it frames and executes being a pet and I think they might enjoy it more, even if it has ‘weirder’ kinks and explicit sex scenes.

They’ve said they won’t be reading it in-call (primarily due to the aforementioned sex scenes) but I think it’s generally a better read.

Yeah so TLDR; I accidentally got my friends interested, even if morbidly, in the HDG setting.

[pioneer-over-c]

blorbo from my prison break

[bogkeep]

idk how relatable this is but there's times where i've wanted to experience a piece of media that has been deemed Cringe or Pretentious, but i need to experience it With someone, so that someone must be non-judgemental and equally interested in accepting sincerity into their heart, and sometimes a particular friend becomes a repeat designated driver for that particular ride. anyway call that partner in cringe

[tahbhie]

Effective Ways of Creating Relatable and Realistic Conflicts

As a writer, whether you're a beginner, intermediate, or expert, you've likely heard about the importance of creating "relatable and realistic conflicts." This advice appears in almost every writing guide. Yes, it's crucial.

However, this recurring statement might seem vague. Let's break down what these terms mean. We'll discuss how to create conflicts in your style that work, and what can lead to the opposite results.

✧✧✧✧

This is a flexible guide, not a strict set of rules. Let's begin.

✧✧✧✧

First, relatability is different from realism, at least in this context.

Relatability offers an experience that people have gone through before. They can easily identify it as something that happens.

Realism, on the other hand, can be a fresh experience or something entirely fantastical. Here's the catch: it must stay true to your setting and plot. For example, in a fantasy setting, your conflict could be the protagonist's dragon falling sick on the eve of a big race.

In the real world, we have no dragons. But in your setting, your situation with this creature feels real. Now consider an instance where we have intelligent insects with no apparent reason or explanation. This is an example of an unrealistic conflict that doesn't align with its setting. It's either you adjust a few things in the settings or adjust the conflict that stems from their intelligence or is solved by it.

Now that we've established that, let's consider what to keep in mind when writing conflicts.

Conflicts can be resolved instantly or extend further. They can begin your story, occur during it, or happen after a sweet moment.

Before writing a conflict, think about:

1. The Setting:

Where is your world set? This matters a lot! You can use our real-life world but still create your own rules, as long as you make that clear. Your conflict could come off as both realistic and relatable. However, where you have a total no is when your world is the normal world we know, with no changes, and your conflicts are unrealistic and unrelated.

You have such examples in some Bollywood movies. No offense to anyone in love with these movies. This is just a case study for clarification purposes.

Think of the fight scenes. The physical conflicts often stem from a grander conflict. You'll understand where I'm coming from.

2. Duration:

How long will this conflict last in your story? Earlier, I mentioned lasting conflict and fleeting conflict. The former helps create more meaning for your plot. The latter adds excitement that drives the plot forward.

3. Solvability:

Sometimes, the resolution to your conflict can render it meaningless, even after you've nailed the creation. Resolve your conflict in agreement with your plot.

4. Interesting Premise:

Conflict ideas sometimes come naturally as you write your story. I remember when I wrote high school stories, conflicts came to me as I wrote, but this doesn't happen every time. Sometimes, I knew I needed something more exciting and less predictable.

For example, it's common for a new female student to be rivaled by the school's most popular girl. This is usually because of the love interest—the most popular guy in school. But what if they become best friends, and the love interest turns out to be the popular girl's brother?

She mistakes the protagonist's friendship with a different guy as cheating, and the feeling of betrayal turns them against each other. This twist offers a fresh take on the usual antagonizing characters. It could make your story more interesting. This time the antagonist is doing what she feels is in her brother's favour not herself.

5. Character's Involvement:

This is slightly similar to the above. The difference is that it deals directly with the characters themselves, not just the conflict they face. The actions towards the conflict give the situation meaning.

6. Aim and Goals:

What do you aim to achieve with your conflict? Do you wish to entertain, hook the readers, drive the plot forward, or introduce a new object or character? It's best to aim for two at a time. Trying to achieve all in a single conflict could lead to complications.

Which conflict have you read in a book that made you wish you wrote it?

Aiming for a powerful plot? Check out this plot progression planner that helps you plan the aspects you often overlook. You get a free gift!

If you love what I do, support my work to enable more content production.

[bug-in-a-cage]

Occasionally the Culture and the Affini Compact bump into each other in deep space. For the most part, the Culture is...intrigued, albeit not repulsed, by the Affini Compact's whole deal, but prefers to maintain a delineation between the two societies.

Following a few misunderstandings (involving high-powered weaponry that would make most civilisations roll over and crawl back into the sea), the GCU Shameless Exhibitionist presided over the signing of an accord amounting to "It takes all sorts to make a universe, Kumbaya, and all that", with the solemn promise that neither civilisation would try to annex the other, provided the parties follow certain stipulations.

It turns out that a small, but significant percentage of Culture citizens rather like being kept as pets, and the Affini Compact is endeared by the novelty of a spacefaring society with a standing army and a commitment to doing right by people.

Bless their hearts.

[chaztalk]

This is for the anime that aren’t officially shoujo/josei, but they likely could pass as one.