#take this writing advice with a grain of salt because I am not a professional

[ask-the-rag-dolly]

Genuine question, how does one deal with someone being so insistent on their lack of (self-)worth? Not to vent too much, but I grew up with someone who was at least as bad, if not worse than Ragatha. I developed similar habits (this comic is a painful reminder of that) and my friends also tend to struggle with these feelings. But I never know how to deal with these issues, and it just leaves me feeling helpless.

I believe you‘re not a psychologist and it‘s fine if you don‘t want to answer this. But if you do have some advice or resources on this topic, I‘d love to know about it.

hi !

you're right , i am Not a psychologist ! my only credential is pretty much having it as my special interest of many years , so ... ! obligatory ' take this with a grain of salt ' disclaimer

i'm only answering this ask because i do like talking about these kinds of stuff ( in fact i'm in the middle of writing another psychology infographic with ragatha because of Course i am , ) and it's Relevant right now ... but for the most part i am literally just a stranger on the internet and thus i'll only be giving out general advice !! any specifics of the situation are stuff you'll need to figure out yourself

number one thing is that you should Always Take Care Of Yourself . it may be hard to admit , but these types of people can actually be Emotionally Draining - and i'm saying that as someone who had to deal with those people myself . and well you don't want to accidentally say things that make them feel worse

second thing is that a lot of it is ... really the other person's effort . all you can do is be supportive and gently encourage them . what took me so long to accept is that no amount of words or compliments will lift someone's self-esteem up - while it helps , it really has to come from Within , and that's something that'll take months or Years to build up . you can't force someone to start loving themself - and that's a hard pill to swallow

and the third thing is that ... well . there's a possibility that it could be a symptom of a mental disorder and thus you should encourage them to seek professional help . i am aware that the option is not available for everyone though , but i think recognizing that it might be a mental problem might take the burden off of you a little - as they're not really things a non-professional should handle .

as for resources , this article was extensive about this topic , including recognizing where the low self-esteem comes from , what Not to say to someone with low self-esteem , and tips that'll help the person ! very wonderful to read .

this article is for partners but i think it applies to people you're close with in general . what i like about it is how it Encourages open communication and listening . something you'll realize is that it's Different for everybody and it's good to learn more about the problem than jumping to a hasty solution or making assumptions . also it encourages them to talk more about their Feelings and talking about your feelings is what Very Cool And Hot People Do !

oh God sorry for the long post this should be enough to give me a diagnosis -

[blommp717]

I try to follow what you are saying, but I find your content confusing, and based on some of your repeat asks, I’m not the only one. The way you explain ND could use improvement, in my opinion. Maybe it’s because English isn’t your first language or because your understanding of ND is more theoretical than experiential—it seems like both. This is fine, but have you considered improving your English (or teaching in your mother tongue and paying a professional translation service?) and actually living in the ND state of being (not just reading or watching videos about it) before attempting to teach in a language you seem to struggle with? You could be more successful and less misleading.

There’s a lot of misunderstanding and inaccuracies in your writings, and your pinned post gives the impression that you aren’t the type of person to humbly take advice and cultivate self-awareness. Which in and of itself doesn't really reflect what one would expect from a guru or someone who has reached a profoundly deep nondualistic understanding and wishes to guide others. You seem bothered by critique or questions that you haven't already read the answer to. Maybe you could sincerely cultivate Self-awareness of how you are appearing to people who have genuinely experienced the ND state of being, not just an intellectual understanding, and those who have not. Maybe I’m wrong (I very well could be), but it seems like you read about it but haven’t actually had experiences beyond reading and thinking about it. It feels shallow and without real rooting in experience, not just theoretical knowledge. This is just a humble observation from another seeker on the path, so take it with many grains of salt. May you find equanimity and authentic awakening and be of genuine assistance to others. Peace.

I most definitely think you’re coming from a space of aggression instead of actually trying to inquire firstly, moving forward. I don’t really get how people asking questions is an indicator of me not knowing what I’m really talking about as opposed to people learning to accept how easy it is. Allot of these people come from LOA so they think there’s a process, they think there’s work to do, so having such a drastic shift will obviously not feel easy at first 🤭and secondly I’m baffled about the language comment, I have zero clue what makes you think that kind of stuff is okay to say to anyone, regardless of if it’s true or not, please seek some humanity and get it together. You don’t want to be saying all of that b.s to the wrong person. I reallllyy hope you don’t act like this in person with anyone.

Alright so, to what the actual focus of your text should have been.

If you notice, my pinned post was allot more recent than when I started posting, it was more of a response to someone claiming I’m giving false hope and that explaining the idea of “manifestation” alongside non-duality is wrong. Which I’m literally not, im not sure if your truly following up on what I’ve posted because I make it very very clear since the beginning and almost in every post with a long ask that I. Am. Not. Teaching. You. How. To. Manifest. There’s absolutely no such thing, it might look like it and feel like it but it’s not. I even have a post where the entire thing is me talking about why there’s no such thing as manifestation. And I have zero clue where you got any of that information about who I am as a person from that post alone when all I’m stating is how I’m not going to stop helping people? 😭😭

I think another confusion people who “enter” NonDualism have is they think awakening is real. You told me to reach a state of ND being or the State of ND which I’m not really sure what you mean by that because it doesn’t exist. It’s sadly time to burst the bubble. There is no awakening, if you truly understand nonduality, there is no journey, there’s no goal, there nothing that you can do to achieve enlightenment because it doesn’t exist, these are concepts and ideas self realized to give the “self” and “I” a reason to exist. I perfectly well understand what nonduality at its core is and have hundreds of what I’m sure people would call “succes stories” with it. My old posts have plenty of explaining as to what, just, no duality states regardless of getting what you want. How can there be a journey? There is no self thst has a journey, just ideas and thoughts spinning together in a flurry and naming it “self”. You don’t exist.

And for you, you want to understand no duality? I’m going to try not to be cryptic but here we go. You can’t and neither can I , no one can understand and seek, you’re not a seeker and there is no path, this is the truth. And no one can have a journey because there is no identity in any of this, there is no self as a person, there is no “me” on a “path”, there is no “one” here who understands anything. It’s all self actualizing thoughts making it seem like there is a journey, the “I” or what people call ego, needs purpose to exist. It feels like a threat when everything is dissolved. The idea that there is more to do, will be true for as long as you pretend it is. And without the false idea of a journey this “self”or “me” loses its purpose. It can be “hard” to accept but truly it doesn’t matter because the nature of existence will not change. Think about it why does the idea of something higher, a bigger step, some grand moment seem so enticing? And for who does it seem so enticing for? The false identity, the “me” the “self”. It’s just another story. You might sit and be, it may lead you deeper into sensations in the body and most likely a “profound” sense of understanding, but quite honestly if your looking for a tiny spark of magic to keep you going on and thinking there’s even more and even more to experience, it would be absolutely useless.

You are already all, whats there to find

Understanding nonduslity is realizing, how can any of this be more grand if there is only one, how can more be achieve if there is a constant state of nonduality? How can the illusion reach a higher state… the higher state is also just illusory, the self, body and world is just illusory. You as everything are pretending to be a person pretending a self and pretending that this person is also self and needs to understand and reach more profound states of being.

This is how “manifestation” is possible. There is no one and nothing “happening” all there appears to be is what you appear as, it’s hollow, almost like a projection. This can’t be turned off, you appear as all there is and as long as the body is here thoughts will appear, ideas will appear, visualizations will appear, you take it as just thinking or talking to yourself or daydreaming or predicting what might happen next, but that’s all what “manifesting” is. In every timeless moment (instant is not fast enough so I say timeless) stories are realized, you take it effortlessly as how your life is. Simple things like how you expect your parents to respond to you not picking up their phone, or what kind of day at your gonna have at school to literally everything, it’s constant, it’s everything, it’s always “on”. Your luck, the compliments you receive, how things work or don’t work out for you, all of it. This is not just life as it is but the entire “manifestation” it’s an experience of what “it” (you) appears as. And if all is what you are and the appearance relies on the perception of the appearance, then perceiving any type of story like, having brown eyes but you want blue. Okay, “I have blue eyes” this is not an affirmation, this is a truth, this is what “ “ (you) now appear as, timelessly, and needing proof or evidence is useless as it puts the attention back at “has it changed it”. If you understand its all you, you also know needing evidence or proof is truly completely useless. “But I checked the mirror and my eyes are still brown” with what understanding did you move to the mirror with. An expectancy of brown eyes? Hmm.

Well I think this is getting long winded, I’m not gonna make this even longer than it is, hopefully you find some clarity in this and I strongly urge you, before making random comments or being just rude, ask yourself with what state of mind am I moving forward. Do I really need to say it this way? Because truly, I’ll remain here doing what I do, I’m incredibly grateful that I can be able to help so many people so it brings me a sense of joy (though unreal 🤭). But I hope you understand there is a proper way to question and criticize, and well, your claims feel like they were based off reading 2 posts and calling it a day 😭😭. Anyways I actually will thank you regardless, I’m sure many people can learn from what you’ve initiated me to explain, have a great life, I hope to see you come again in future posts 🫶🫀🪷🪷☀️

[qoldenskies]

Do you have any writing tips? Especially for characterization/dialogue :>

uhhhh i am not a professional so take this with a grain of salt. here are things i think about a lot at least

i dont have any solid ideas on how i get my prose to be Like That, i am not super confident in it, but a thing ive tried to focus on it rhythm. this goes for dialogue too; if it sounds clunky in your mouth, unless its supposed to, it might be a sign to change it up and rephrase a little.

really long paragraphs are really, really, really really hard to read. fics that consistently have paragraphs that go beyond like 6 lines are borderline unreadable to me. i stick it out sometimes but a lot of the time the sight of a fat fucking Block will just make me click out immediately

its also always good to be punchy imo. i mean it depends on what style you're going for but i notice some of the best lines from my writing are just simple, single sentence-paragraph statements lmao

false starts and filler words are what i notice the most when it comes to stuttering, which is a thing pretty much everyone does unless they're speaking very intentionally (i keep it in mind for characters who are motormouths especially because our brains move faster than our mouths do sometimes). especially when people are stressed, they'll usually start with a sentence fragment and then say something completely different because they just found a better way to rephrase it <- its probably the thing i utilize the most. in general though people repeat words more than they t-t-talk l-like t-t-this, and even when i write more dirrect stuttering dialogue i try to make it. idk consonants i guess? sorry idk if this is helpful

i script a lot of my scenes before i write them out, which usually helps me keep things well-paced. i really only include action in the scripts when its in the midst of an action scene or if its relevant to the conversation in some way (or if i just have an idea and want to keep it in mind)

TAKE NOTES WHEN YOU GET IDEAS

save all your cool ideas for your active in progress story instead of storing them away for later. got a line of dialogue or an interaction that you want to put SOMEWHERE? see if you can fit it into your multichapter first, it might help you with ideas. more will come to you in the future with your later projects!!!

you dont need to plan everything out meticulously, most parallels in cw came to me in the midst of me writing them. the motif with raph and donnie and doors was a complete accident, as a good example. it fucks hard though lmao

also when plotting out multichapters i think in what i want to progress before anything else, so there's a sense of direction. with cw it was mostly what parts of cl i wanted to address, although i originally planned to make note of shelldon in like chapter fucking three and then it didnt happen until seventeen LMFAOOOOOOOO

okay thats all i got. im not a good advice giver .... im sowwy

[iwriteasfotini]

My favorite thing about Ao3 is the ability to go back and edit my published works. I don't think everyone does this, but I do! And it is tedious and time consuming (mostly because I keep a master google doc of each work so BOTH have to be edited), but the part of me which recognizes I can always do better gets excited every time I make an "improvement" edit. Even if it is just fixing a typo.

Maybe some people feel embarrassed thinking about editing their work. They think doing so waves a huge red flag to the wider community that there was something wrong with their writing to begin with. There was not! We are all human and make mistakes. Small mistakes like typos, or bigger mistakes like poor characterization or a line of dialogue which doesn't sit right or too much foreign language text for other readers to find the work readable. ;-)

And of course you should own your story. Just because one person says they don't like something you did or they didn't understand a passage doesn't necessarily mean you should rush out to change it! It is your story and you get to write it exactly as you want to. But I am writing fanfiction because I am working super hard to get better at writing in general. So that feedback, while it is always taken with a grain of salt, is meaningful. It is so hard to judge and analyze your own work. Call it author bias. And being able to process feedback is part of being a writer. By posting to a public platform you are letting the world know you are ok with some level of feedback. Otherwise you could have kept that story for yourself on your google drive, or your word document, or your spiral notebook.

It takes bravery to share. As does admitting something could have been written better or differently. The great thing is, there is no reason to be embarrassed for making changes or corrections to your writing. First, hardly anyone has read it. Sorry but this is just the cold hard truth. Second, with every change or correction you make, you get a tiny bit better as a writer. And to become a master at something it takes millions of repetitions through which you move from being ok at something to being fantastic at it. This applies to every skill you are seeking to improve on. Writing words is fabulous practice for becoming a better writer. You literally cannot get better without doing so. Editing and changing and improving something you have already written is the next step.

So know that if you are a perfectionist (like me) who gets an unwanted surge of adrenaline when I realize I have made a mistake in my work you are not alone! I take a deep breath. Remind myself this is a good thing. And work to improve.

NO ONE JUDGES YOU HARSHER THAN YOURSELF.

Be gentle with yourself. Give yourself grace. Laugh it off. Enjoy the feeling of getting better.

There is also a point at which you should move forward with your works instead of spending your precious time constantly going back and making changes on old ones. And that choice is a personal one.

But as a novice I say a huge "hell yes!" for being able to edit my published works.

PS Trust your gut when it comes to beta readers. Not every beta reader is created equal. And as novices giving each other advice, overwhelming harsh criticism which endures and feels personal indicates you and your beta reader might not jive professionally. I have not had this experience. My beta reader(s) have been fantastic! But I know it happens. Don't let it discourage you if you are on the receiving end... don't give up on writing. Find yourself a new beta reader!

[blueisquitetired]

When you got time, do you have any tips on writing Ingo and Emmets dialogue? I really like how you write them but I can't seem to get their speech down. It's mainly Ingos which is annoying since he canonical has more dialogue than Emmet.

Oh thank you!! I’m glad you enjoy- writing these boys dialogue is one of my favorite parts of writing and has made me seriously consider how I write speech for every character I do. It’s been great practice!

Okay, actual advice time lol.

HOW TO WRITE INGO AND EMMET

(According to me, Blue)

(Now, keep in mind that there isn’t one true way to write the boys, and this is just how I personally write them. Take this with a grain of salt)

When you’re first starting out writing the boys I recommend writing dialogue in your own voice and then submasifying it.

For example, let’s take this dialogue and transform it:

“Sorry I’m late for work! My dog chewed through my nice pants so I had to find some new ones! It’s been a bit of a rough day today, not gonna lie.”

So starting with Ingo-

Ingo talks extremely formally and is super long winded. When writing dialogue for him, try to imagine a fancy British butler who uses long words and long sentences. Replace normal words with more “fancy” ones and use more words then you really need to. (A thesaurus can be extremely useful for this)

“My sincerest apologies for my tardy arrival!”

Then, pepper in train terms as much as possible. If he goes three sentences without saying something train related, find a way to stick one in. If you’re stuck, look up a list of train words and take inspiration (I’ll include a list of train expressions I commonly pull from at the bottom of the post) (Make sure to use “Bravo!” and “All aboard!” whenever applicable as well)

“I awoke to the unpleasant surprise of joltik holes in my trousers this morning- which delayed my cab significantly as I was forced to find an undamaged pair!”

I personally strive to use consonants (stuff like I’d, we’ll, don’t) as little as possible with the boys. For Emmet it’s to add to the choppiness of his dialogue and for Ingo it’s because that man would rather use fifty words when one will do. (It also makes them sound more professional!)

“Honestly, after a morning like this one, I pray that the remainder of today’s tracks prove to be much smoother.”

Another thing to keep in mind is that Ingo is extremely polite while Emmet is a bit more blunt. Try to use titles like “sir” and “miss” when writing Ingo- and then just don’t bother with Emmet.

Next up is Emmet, who I personally find much harder then Ingo! Unlike Ingo who’s dialogue you need to add words to, Emmet you need to subtract and simplify! This is the post I originally read to kinda get the jive of things, but here’s my pointers!

First off, figure out what concepts the are being expressed in your sentence, and split those apart.

“Sorry I’m late for work!” has two parts- an apology and an acknowledgment that the person is late. For Emmet we would want to split this single sentence into two.

“I am Emmet! I am late! Sorry!”

Next is vocal ticks! Emmet has several, and they should ideally be sprinkled in sparingly through his dialogue. (You can see that I used ‘I am Emmet’ in the previous section)

‘I am Emmet’ should be used when he is joining a conversation or when he’s about to say something about himself. It CAN be used more then once in a single conversation- but try not to overdo it.

‘Verrrrrrrry’ is another one! Other submas authors have him roll the r on other words as well, but I stick with verrrrrry. This one is easy to use- just extend the word very with extra Rs and use very whenever naturally applicable.

‘Yup’ is one as well- and one I admittedly don’t use often. It rarely jives with the way I write Emmet so I usually don’t bother- but you should definitely keep it in mind!

And of course, train terms! Less often then Ingo of course (since he says less words in general) but if you can find a way to fit it in, go for it.

“The joltiks chewed holes in my pants! Verrrrry naughty. Had to find new pants. Holey pants do not pass safety checks! Yup!”

Finally, the man likes his patterns! When writing Emmet it’s a good idea to have his Blubapedia page open nearby so you can just steal chunks of his script from that. (You can, and should do this for Ingo too!)

“Bad morning. Oh well. Follow the schedule! Everybody smile! All aboard!”

Of course, the man is perfectly capable of speaking longer sentences- but when and where he does so is up to the author.

All that being said, it’s important to remember that you’ll likely have to attempt their dialogue a few times before getting a sentence to flow right. Even for these examples I had to do a couple takes until I found one that really worked!

Here’s a couple of other notes for writing Pokémon characters in general:

Watch out for expressions and words that use animals. (like beeline or ‘in the dog house’) Try to replace those words with their Pokémon counterparts- (such as combeeline [which I’ve typed so many times I’ve started using internally in my day to day life]) or something that sounds close enough (like if your censoring f***, ducklett doesn’t work nearly as good as duck. So try muk instead!)

Do your best to replace religious swears with Pokémon religion! Instead of heavens, or the big G word, use words like, ‘Dragons!’ Or ‘Sweet Swords of Justice!’ (Of course, these are Unovan swears. For Hisui you should be using things like ‘Sinnoh’ and ‘great Time!’. Other regions have their own legendaries as well)

And finally, my list of train terms I pull from regularly!

Cab (or car): To refer to one’s body

“I am afraid my cab is in need of repairs.”

Tracks: A plan or intended route

“Very well! I will follow the tracks you have set!”

Destination: The goal or like, the actual destination

“Bravo! Your talent has brought you to the destination called victory!”

Station (or terminal): A location

“Very well! Let us set our tracks to the Pearl Clan’s station!”

Two Car Train (or three or four or whatever number you need): Friends or a team

“Emmet and I are a two car train!”

Couple (opposite being uncoupled): To join together

“I must ask that you couple your car to mine as we make our way through here. It can get quite dangerous!”

Engine: Another term for your body, but more specifically in regards to energy or drive

“I’m afraid I must rest my engine.”

Refuel: Eat.

“It is getting quite late- let us take a break to refuel.”

Conducting: Guiding

“I look forward to conducting you on this endeavor!”

Derailment (or collision, wreck, trainwreck): Something that has gone wrong.

“Apologies. It appears I have been derailed.”

Unscheduled (opposite being scheduled): Something unexpected

“Ah! A cave in! It appears we must make an unscheduled stop.”

Passenger: Person (or Pokémon)

“It appears we have picked up some unexpected passengers!”

Conductor: Ingo sometimes uses this to refer to himself (works especially well in Hisui)

“Passenger, please refrain from stabbing the conductor”

Delay: Something happening later then scheduled

“Apologies for the delay! Let us begin!”

Sidetracked: put off course

“Ah, but now I have sidetracked us with this talk.”

All aboard!: Good conversation ender 💙

“ALL ABOARD!!!”

[fushitoru]

Hellooo! You inspired me with your writing, and so I am about to write fanfic, something with plot (ooh scary). How do you plan out your stories? Do you use a program or anything? I'd love to get tips and tricks. Thank you and bye bye 👋

heyyyy pookayyyyyyy. im definitely not a complex writer like a lot of people seem to be on here or ao3, so take my advice with a grain of salt. like i've said before, i had to work on college apps last year so i became really good at writing stories/seeing plots in a very objective way for my pea sized brain to handle. but writing advice below the cut!

warning: maybe light bridgerton!gojo spoilers?

Q: How do you plan out your stories?

A: Sometimes, it's okay not to have a plan. You've probably seen this before, but writing is a nonlinear process where you write things that don't necessarily happen next in your story but you feel a strong urge to write them. Art doesn't need to have a concrete plan, you can let yourself free with how you write it. I get my best ideas for scenes at 3am.

But regardless, my answer to this would be that I make a checklist of "scenes" for myself. You have to address all characters' conflicts and keep track of them, and I can't do that easily unless I make a concrete plan for every scene. I also really like checklists, because I probably have undiagnosed ADHD and can't function without that dopamine hit. Same reason why I never like having a lot of asks unanswered in my inbox, so all the pending requests are kinda driving me crazy right now LOL.

If it helps, write out each character's "plotline" and how they're going to grow, then think of scenes that make that growth tangible to the reader. I have a LOT of trouble with this in bridgerton!gojo, which is the most plot filled. gojo is a complex character, so i have to keep reminding myself of his issues right now. for example, gojo currently is someone who has a lot of responsibility on him, and he has been conditioned to think that he can't love to stay on the grind. reader infuriates him because she's the first one who's really posed a challenge for him. he's going to realize that he enjoys spending time with reader BECAUSE of that challenge and how it simulates him, which simulataneously making him panic because he forgets who he is and the vow to himself to never engage with a woman/prospective match that could lead to animosity at home. since he doesn't want to have unecessary fights or feelings that could distract him from his duty.

however, he's actively fighting the happiness/weird feeling in his heart whenever he sees reader, especially if he sees her with another man (after this whole gojo manor arc). he's going to be extremely irrational and threatening any man who chooses to actively court her, and this makes him realize that he does deserve love, that there can be space for love while prioritizing your responsibilities.

now, im just going to make this into scenes, writing something similar for reader and any other character that may need to show character growth. and boom! series planned.

Q: Do you use a program or anything?

A: I write on Google Docs because it automatically saves and I can write from my phone or laptop, whichever one I have on hand. Particularly useful when I get an idea at 3AM. It's also useful to share with beta readers. I wouldn't say I use anything else, but I know notion is sometimes helpful. There exist resrouces for (professional) romance writers, so I would check those out since they're also applicable!

Some other things:

If English is your second language/not your native language, or you get stuck on how to write things, read. Read fanfics on ao3, read real books, read the newspaper, read political critique, read essays, watch video essays. I learned English using Harry Potter (and having to wake up at 5am to go to school early to do Rosetta Stone in elementary school). Develop your own writing style. Ever get stuck on scene? Read how someone else did it/how they wrote. Doesn't even have to be a similar scene

Writing a character for the first time is HARD. Gojo was so hard for me to write for, and you can deffo see that in my eariler fics. Keep writing, and keep writing. I'm not going to be able to write Choso or Nanami well as the main lead in my stories yet, because I've never written them. I promise practice is the only thing that helps you improve.

[ironcy]

Just read butterflies and hurricanes. I’m sure it’s been said many times before - but the way you depict spiralling and panic feels so genuine. It’s perfectly described, you write beautifully. Also thank you so so much for the Vi and Jayce interactions, I’d never realised just how much their post-canon selves would have in common. Will have to add your stuff to my list of jayvik drawings I want to do.

I’ve just finished yr12 and am trying to get back into writing, any tips on how to start and pace stories? I certainly haven’t mastered the art of planning, I always just write what comes to mind.

Oh man I'm getting so much love on this story it's kind of making me emotional ;w; Thank you so much I wish I could express in words how much it means to me. I will do it in an artistic rendition: AJDNSKDNSJDND!??

I've been having a lot of fun writing it and also writing Jayce and Vi interacting. Apes together strong.

I will ALWAYS advocate for more people getting into writing YES this is awesome!!

Also take all of my advice with a grain of salt because I'm a science girlie and there's actual professionals out there who know what they're doing. I can tell you what I do though.

Honestly if you master the art of planning then let me know - because I certainly haven't. Usually I start writing a story because I have one scene in mind that I can picture pretty vividly. Like for butterflies and hurricanes I wanted to write Jayce having a panic attack and disassociative flashbacks. And then I start thinking about how I can get to that point - what needs to happen for him to end up there? And what are the repercussions of that?

Because stories are the core a string of action -> consequence -> leads to another action -> and another consequence.

That's where pacing kind of comes in to play. Pacing is hard. I honestly really struggle with it. I try think about how I want people to feel when they read the scene - do I want them to feel panicked and on edge? Then I'd make a lot happen in a short amount of time. I'd use short words. Quick pace. Lots of sentences. Nothing long.

If I want their skin to crawl I slow it down a lot, way more than I would during the meat of the story. Excessive detailing really helps with that. That can also be good for emotional stuff.

This was a very long and winded reply and I'll cut it short but thank you for the ask and please write, please create!!!

[bg-brainrot]

Sooooo curious as to your writing process. What is it like ? How do you come up with plot points ? Or how do you decide one idea is better than another ? Where do you find inspiration ? Sorry for so many questions !

Hello Anon! No need to apologize, these are all awesome questions ✨✨ thanks for asking them!

This is going to be a long one, so a quick read more...

I'm actually going to answer them out of order, so I hope you don't mind!

A quick disclaimer: this is just how my brain approaches it, but everyone is different! Also I'm a fanfic writer doing this in my free time, none of this is professional advice or anything so take it with a grain of salt.

Where do you find inspiration?

I am one of those people who cannot stop reading, writing, watching, listening, etc. because if I'm left alone with my thoughts for too long nothing good will come of it lol. So I am constantly, constantly doing something, usually two things if I can (writing and listening to music, working out and reading webtoons, playing games and listening to audio books, playing D&D and doodling, embroidery and watching TV, the list goes on). So, to answer your question: everywhere!

Every thing I do, even if I ended up hated it, is such great inspiration to draw from. If I were to give a few things extra props, I would say D&D is phenomenal experience in putting yourself in various characters shoes and learning how to react, and webtoons are great for tropes/subverting them as well as pacing (both good and bad hah). Edit to add: Anime. I've mentioned I based my fic's arcs on anime arcs and completely forgot to list it-- very key to my inspiration!

Also lots and lots of hobbies and I will always try anything once. I've rock climbed, I've crocheted, I've done pottery, I've lockpicked (for real), I've danced, I've metal worked, I've done martial arts, etc. ADHD helps with this one 😅

Real life experiences are super helpful, but it's kind of harder to pinpoint how those are inspirational, they just kind of are.

How do you come up with plot points?

I think I once vaguely mentioned that writing BG3 fanfic feels like playing solo D&D. And that's basically how I approach plot points!

So rather than like, this happens then this happens, I look at it as if I have a framework of what I would like to happen, with certain beats that need to be met, but then I just kind of let the characters roleplay that out. Sometimes it leads to things I wasn't expecting, sometimes I need to pivot like a DM with an unruly party lol. But, since I'm working with a framework, it's usually really easy to write around the characters' choices.

For the framework itself, I usually just have a vague idea that I try to poke holes into until it turns into something bigger. So like, "reincarnation story" -> how long are they dead? Is that long enough to be impactful? Why do they care about their previous life? In what ways can they pick up from where they left off and in what ways can't they?

I do the same with one-shots to be honest: "proposing to Astarion" -> who would be involved and how? How would Tav's behavior change? How would Astarion interpret that? How would Tav react to him and pivot?

It's just a lot of questions 😂

How do you decide one idea is better than another?

This is kind of tough to do, and not always a conscious choice I'd say, but roughly two factors:

1. Is this true to the character? Which idea am I more likely to go 'oh yes, he would absolutely do that'? And if they both seem equally likely, which idea would lead to the character experiencing more growth or more actual challenge?

2. Do I like it? Honestly, the most important one for someone like me with ADHD. Because if I don't like it, it won't get written lol. If I like two ideas, but one of them is pulling me toward it with half written dialogue and full on scenes playing in my head, I know which one I'll pick every time.

What is your writing process like?

With all of the above said, my writing process is kind of all over the place. But a very, very rough outline, using one of the one-shots rotting in my drafts as an example...

First comes the idea. Ex: 'Tav and Astarion sparring early game'

Then comes a rough framework. Ex: you're sparring with a party member -> Astarion is watching, amused -> you convince him to spar you somehow -> sparring happens -> Astarion is impressed, intrigued

Then usually comes dialogue (though admittedly sometimes this comes first hah), because I like to build around the decisions they make. Ex: "Oh my dear, surely you can do better than that!" -> first thing I wrote for the fic. Kind of sets the mood, the tone.

Then I kind of write whichever scenes either need to be added to help me understand where the story is going or I add the scenes I want to write (knowing that's a dangerous game, since I might lose interest if all the fun is done upfront).

Once I'm done writing, I reread it once for typos, flow issues, inconsistencies and the like. If I read it too many times I start to overanalyze it, so I try to just release it into the world before that happens lol.

A few added steps that don't always happen:

If I get stuck on a scene: I read the sections leading up to it out loud, hoping my mouth will just fill in the rest (works out a lot of the time 😂)

If I don't like the way the dialogue sounds: I put on my best Astarion and Tav accents and act it out. Usually helps me figure it out or at least catch where it's snagging.

If I think something a character does just isn't making sense: 'ugh, that's ridiculous, why would you do that?' -> usually it means I either didn't set the scene up right, didn't give it enough background or context, or I'm not understanding the motivations enough-- all of which I need to go back and flesh out more.

If I don't like what I'm writing anymore: deadly for a brain like mine, really, but I've found ways around it pretty well. First, reread the fic! I usually want to know what happens next and my brain will kick back into high gear. Then listen to a song that evokes the feel I want from the fic. Sometimes I'll listen to it on repeat as I'm driving, doing dishes, playing a game. Like it's infusing into me lol. And if neither of those work, I try to give myself a challenge. Like, write a sentence and see if I can make it fit into the fic -- it doesn't actually need to go into the final version, but the challenge is what gets me up and going.

Anyway! That was a whole lot. I hope some of it was helpful, and most of it made sense hah. Again, thanks so much for the question anon! I love answering these ❤️

[dmbakura]

Hello! First I would like to say I ADORE your art and the story building around your character and how they interact with Astarion it makes me feel so inspired to keep writing my own stuff!

I did have a couple of questions about your writing process Do you outline, plot, and plan your chapters or do you just write as you go? How do you personally get better at describing within your stories?

I have been struggling not to compare myself to others' writing, but it feels so hard when I look at my own writing, and it feels inadequate in comparison. I wonder if you ever felt like this and how you overcame it.

Thank you so much :)

Thank you! My writing process depends. For the bg3 fics I'm doing, I kind of have a general idea of certain beats I want to hit so I'm kind of just generally following that. The reason I haven't done a proper multichapter for bg3 and am just doing a series of loosely connected one-shots is because the game is so big and I haven't wanted to commit to anything and I'm still developing my oc so it's subject to change (I kinda wanna rewrite some of my earlier oneshots too lol)

For other fics I've written (like the multichap fics I have for dmc) I've gone in for most of them with a general outline, so like a Google doc where i just have shittily written bullet points of the plot beats i want to hit. Even if i don't quite know how it's going to go or if I haven't figured out the ending yet, I generally start from an emotional "hook" I know will be the kernel of the story that i will eventually end up resolving. This is just my approach but I actually don't really like going in with every little detail planned out. I find it really overwhelming and restricting, especially when a lot of really good plot points actually tend to reveal themselves WHILE I'm writing. I know you can risk writing yourself into a corner this way, but I find if i trust my "hook" I can usually have plot holes to resolve themselves. A lot of times I've actually written foreshadowing into my work without even realizing it.

As for descriptions... i feel like my prose still tends to drag out as much as i try to keep things concise... hence why I'm always complaining I end up with an 8k word fics when i mean to write something half that length. Idk it's mostly just preference when it comes to prose. You just kind of develop your own voice for it as you go. I do end up comparing my writing to others too, it's just a thing that happens with any art form i feel. I wouldn't worry about it.

Uhhh im also not a professional writer or anything, I just do it for fun, so take this all with a grain of salt idk if it's good advice lol

[theweirdhybrid]

Quick question, do you have any visual guides to your future Donnie from „Just this once, everybody lives“ aside from the description in chapter 3?

Cause I love the story and I want to draw him

I unfortunately haven't gotten the chance to make a ref sheet for F!Donnie yet! But @somerandomdudelmao (sorry for the ping) has made some absolutely wonderful art of him you can find here, here, and here!

Thank you anon! I'm honestly blown away by how well my silly little fic has been received, I genuinely didn't expect that this many people would like it haha

As for writing tips, the first thing I want to say is to try and avoid reusing words or phrases in the same sentence or paragraph. Adding variety to how you describe a scene, a setting, or a thought process can help captivate your reader and keep them interested in what you have to say. Avoiding run-on sentences is a must too, unless you're trying to amplify or highlight a character's distress. When humans are reading something in their head, they tend to take "breaths" while reading, and placing a comma or period gives them the break they need to catch their breath again. Let me give you an example:

Run on sentences like this can be used to exaggerate or highlight when a character is having a moment of distress or they're experiencing adrenaline and or having one long thought in a moment of panic or they're having some kind of mental break due to stress or some other outside factor because your brain will read this without taking a moment to stop because you the writer have not provided a comma or period or some kind of sentence break for the brain to slow down and stop. See what I mean? Your mental voice may not need to breathe, but it still acts like it does. This can be used to a writer's advantage, but it can also be their downfall if used incorrectly.

Doing a lot of reading will also help you tremendously. I was one of those kids who always had a book in class, and I remember my teacher confiscating one of my books only for me to pull another out of my desk. It helps you expand your vocabulary and see real world examples of how a book can be formatted. But, and this is important, be careful not to use POVs wrong. A POV (or Point of View) can make or break a book or fanfiction. Remember, when you're writing a fanfiction, you're narrating what the characters are doing, you are NOT the character.

First Person ("I went down the road to the bookstore."), for example, is best suited for original works, essays, or a retelling of something. It doesn't tend to work well for fanfictions because it's too intimate - for lack of a better word - for most people. People who read fanfiction are looking to read about the characters, not to be them. It also makes describing things a LOT harder, because you won't be able to point out things the person you're writing from the POV of has missed. HOWEVER, you CAN succeed in using First Person in a fanfiction if done correctly, but it's a tricky thing to do.

Similarly, Second Person ("You went down the road to the bookstore.") also isn't suited for fanfictions. Second Person is predominantly exclusive to quizzes, questionnaires, or choose-your-own-adventure stories. (And sometimes original works, if executed correctly.) Again, people read fanfictions to read ABOUT the characters, not be them.

Third person ("Charlie went down the road to the bookstore.") is your best friend when writing a fanfiction. It lets you describe what's happening from either one character's perspective and multiple at the same time, AND you can "pan the camera" away to show something else that the characters haven't witnessed but is important for the readers to know about to build suspense and or give answers.

I WILL say that I am by no means a professional writer, so take my advice with a grain of salt, but I do have many years of writing experience under my belt and I've learned a thing or two. Don't be afraid to experiment with different POVs when writing anything, you may find that you can use multiple POVs in the same work (original or fan) and doing so enhances the readers experience to a degree simply sticking with one POV would never have been able to do. Writing is all about experimenting and learning as you go!

If you have any specific writing questions just let me know and I'll do my best to answer them!

[helenvader]

23, 27, and 29 for the Get to Know Your Writer ask game, if you are interested in answering those.

Thanks for sharing this game. Love hearing about other writers' approaches.

Thanks for the ask! These were difficult, especially 23.

23.

Best writing advice for other writers?

I’d divide it into two categories. Personal and technical.

Also: I do not consider myself the ultimate authority on writing, so the technical part is to be taken with a grain of salt.

Personal:

PLEASE do not compare yourself to others. Admire other people’s work, but write like you. You are good, cast those doubts into a black hole!

If you are only beginning, do not be discouraged if you feel like your writing is not as good as you’d like. Most of us wrote crap when we started. It will get better! 

Do not be discouraged if you do not have many comments or kudos. My best story has very few, and while it can be frustrating, that is the story I wanted to write, and I wrote it the way I wanted, fully knowing it will never get popular.

Answer the people who commented on your fic. They are to be treasured like diamonds.

Some writers pull off writing a story/chapter in a couple of days, some might take several weeks/months. There is no better or worse. Take all the time you need.

Do not despair if you have a writer’s block. It shall pass!

Technical (this is my personal opinion, not general rules - everybody writes differently, after all):

Avoid exposition if possible.

Show-don't-tell is your friend. It seems like a horrid cliché, but it is true.

Sometimes less is more. There is no causal relationship between quality and word count.

Read your work checking for mistakes (grammar, punctuation, typos) before you post, especially if you do not have a beta reader (and I know good ones are hard to find).

27. What is your most and least favorite part of writing?

Most favourite: when I manage to write something that I feel is really good.

Least favourite: When I have time and mood to write, but whatever I write is not worth anything. Which brings us to writer’s blocks. Not a favourite of anyone! Right now I am in a middle of a huge one. Boo.

29.

What’s your revision or editing process like?

I edit during the writing process, and also mark words/passages that I think might be better expressed (I am not a native speaker of English). Before I give my work to my editor, I thoroughly read the story at least once. My editor does several things: a) checks the grammar, b) tries to give suggestions on passages that are still marked, c) gives me an honest opinion about what needs re-writing (she is always right). Once, with a one-shot, she gave it back and told me, you can do better. I made a complete rewrite and yes, she was right again. The story turned out to be 500% better than the first version. Also, we discuss every story together. This is why I call her an editor rather than beta-reader, because that’s exactly how professional editors work.

She doesn’t edit poetry, though. That one's on me! :-)

[rafesvalentine]

discussion rules

i would absolutely love to talk to y'all about anything and everything. if you go to my about me page and found that you and i have something in common, please feel free to reach out! i love connecting with people and making new friends. if you need to vent, i am also free to offer some advice (however, please note that i am just some random girl on the internet. please take what i say with a grain of salt and seek professional help if you need it!). and please, do not trauma dump.

i am very open about my interests and the things that have shaped my personality but will not discuss personal details about myself for the sake of privacy.

bullying, racism, homophobia, ableism, transphobia, or hatred of any kind will not be tolerated on my blog and will result in you getting blocked IMMEDIATELY.

request guidelines

thank you for coming to me and trusting me with your idea! if after reading the following guidelines you still find yourself unsure of whether or not to send in your request, simply just reach out to me and ask :)

⭑.ᐟ while i cannot honor every request and can only dedicate myself to writing what inspires me, please know that i do see and consider every request that comes into my inbox.

⭑.ᐟ please know that i am a real-life person with a full-time job and a life outside of tumblr. even though i try to upload as frequently as possible, life gets in the way sometimes and updates may take a little bit longer.

⭑.ᐟ please do not flood my inbox asking me when the next update will be because unfortunately, the answer will always be "i don't know."

⭑.ᐟ any requests for smut or dark content must be made OFF ANON or by messaging me privately so i can verify your age.

WHAT I WILL WRITE:

⭑.ᐟ currently only writing for rafe cameron and jj maybank. will definitely expand to more characters and shows in the future. please feel free to send the request anyway and i may even write it if i feel really inspired to do so! :)

WHAT I WILL NOT WRITE:

⭑.ᐟ for smut my limits include (but are not limited to) age play, animal role play, foot fetish, anal, fisting of any kind, bodily fluids or fecal matter (spit is okay), pedophilia, incest (step-family is okay)

⭑.ᐟ self-harm, suicide, eating disorders, mental illnesses. i may mention these things from time to time but will never write a full-blown fic about these topics.

⭑.ᐟ anything regarding the reader that is so specific to the point where it's no longer a reader insert fic but instead an original character.

⭑.ᐟ john b. lmao sorry but he just doesn't do it for me y'all.

[fuzzy-dee-anonymous]

Welcome to my blog. This is probably the only actual text post I’m gonna make, because this is all about excerpts from my journal.

Warning: This is my personal journal, filled with my personal thoughts, feelings, and opinions. Therefore, you might not like what you read. You don’t have to. It’s not your journal.

Second warning: I write in cursive a lot because it’s a lot quicker for me when the think-juices are really flowing. If you can’t read cursive, maybe don’t proceed.

Disclaimer: Things I say when pissed off don’t necessarily reflect how I generally feel about the topic. Venting is healthy, and once those thoughts and feelings are down on paper, I find my head is more clear. Getting the bad thoughts out makes things better within. So take my rants with a grain of salt.

Second disclaimer: I am not a doctor or a professional of any kind. Occasionally, I write advice and self-help entries. I don’t claim that my advice is the gospel, nor do I honestly expect anyone to take it. But if it helps even one person, it’s worth writing it down. :)

[witflitmanict]

Part 1: Rules and an explanation

Hello and welcome to my writing space. Here’s the deal. Three-ish nights ago I was laying in bed wide awake at a time when I should have been asleep with a thousand voices reverberating off my head and making it nigh impossible. (My NIGHTS are often NIGH). This happens a lot. Right off the bat - I’ve got ADHD and Bi-Polar II (so I am told anyways) so things like circulating thoughts that one cannot grasp onto long enough to actually look into are a common occurrence for me. And like many people with this sort of thing it most commonly strikes at night, when I am trying to get myself to settle in for the big dark. 

When this happens I try to solve it with a couple of neat tricks. Trick 1: Get up and Do A Thing. Usually this thing is dishes but my current roommate likes to do the dishes before she goes to bed so that one isn’t working out great these days. Trick 2: Distract your brain with something banal. The podcast Mysteries Abound was great for this. I loved the stories, but his calming voice and continuous change in stories kept me from getting too invested. But now it’s gone and I haven’t found a great replacement yet. Music can have a similar effect…or it can drive me up the wall because I get really, really, into the lyrics. Trick 3: Yoga. Breathing exercises. An attempt at mediation. Always a good one. And finally, Trick 5: Take some meds and lay on the floor while trying to get ahold of a single idea and then tease that single idea out as much as you can before you lose it, until you find yourself settling into a single pattern and then sleep. 

I am not a medical professional (actually I am an EMT but we don’t usually dole out sleeping advice) so take it all with a grain of salt. But the point is this: On said night when I could not sleep I thought to myself; “What else could I do to get my brain quiet?” And that led me to think about all the things that make my brain loud to begin with and to sum it all up I hit upon this: Maybe I should try writing things out more. 

Writing, you see, is something that comes naturally to me. At least, I feel it does. I’ve loved writing about as long as I’ve loved reading. And part of the reason I love writing is because somewhere between the neuron flashes in my brain and the sentences on the page, things have a way of sorting themselves out a bit. On paper it puts itself into an order that I cannot often get in my own mind. Ideas, thoughts, stories, the ever present monologue…they form into an orderly line and flow out onto the paper (or computer as the case may be). I mean sometimes it’s not that easy, sometimes I feel like I am doing the writing equivalent of splashing paint haphazardly onto a canvas. But even that creates something pretty pleasant. 

So, based on all that, I had this idea: For the month of October I will try to write each day. Something. Anything. Just get out some of what is pressing against my skull onto paper (the digital kind) and see if that does anything to quell some of what is in me. 

Now I know from past experiences of trying to stick to things like this that if I make too many rules then I simply won’t do it. I don’t like rules, especially ones that I cannot see the logic of. I like them even less when they are rules I impose on myself because I know that consequence for breaking them is going to be nothing because punishing yourself does nothing and also I am not one for lingering too long on guilt. In fact I usually rail against it. 

So, after some careful consideration, here are the rules I set out for myself:

Write each day

Write at least 1000 wordsish

Write anything - a diary entry, an expose, a short story, a poem…whatever

If you can’t think of what to write, then just find a prompt somewhere or ask someone for a prompt and then write to that

If you miss a day you have to make it up the next day, but if you write more than 1000 words one day it does not count towards the next day

Five rules seems like something I can follow. But then again, that was 3 days ago and this is the first time writing so…well, seems about right. 

Regardless, let’s give it a try, yeah? Who knows, maybe I’ll actually get through this one. 

Word Count: 798 (like I said, 1000ISH)

[notfinancialadvice]

ETF funds are a very popular, extremely prominent (and growing more prominent) thing to invest in.

You buy into it like a stock, and do so with most (if not all) brokerages -- either retail (Robinhood, WeBull, etc.) or institutional (Schwab, Fidelity, etc.)

It is a bundle, usually huge, of stocks, bonds, etc. You are buying 1 share of this bundle. They are called "low cost" because the fees they charge -- I'll explain this in a second -- are often extremely low in comparison to other, similar items.

You can buy 1 share of Coca-Cola (ticker symbol, KO, price is $60.64 at time of writing, this is how much it will cost you). You now have 1 share of Coca-Cola. You will receive dividends, if paid out. You can sell this share. It will go up, or down, in value over time. Or it may stay the same.

You can buy 1 share of SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (ticker symbol, SPY, price is $400.59 at time of writing, this is how much it will cost you). You now have a fraction of a share of 500+ companies. You will receive dividends, if paid out. You can sell this share. It will go up, or down, in value over time. Or it may stay the same.

As the blog name implies this is not financial advice, I am not telling you to buy either, or sell either, or hold either, I am using them as a convenient example.

The benefit of SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (and the ocean of similar) is that they, as an institution, go out and buy a lot of stock from a lot of companies (and various other securities) after doing a ton, just so much, of research.

And they do this constantly.

There are people in the world researching for SPDR "what should we buy, what should we sell, what should we hold, and on what timeframe" right now. I don't care what day, or time, you are reading it. Someone is thinking about it. A lot. Lots of people.

So when you buy one of these things, you're essentially buying into a team (for good and/or bad).

The benefit is you, as a non-professional financial market maker, would (with almost infinite certainty) not be able to access, analyze, and act upon the data the traders can, and do, 24/7/365, across dozens to thousands of people.

It means you get A LOT of expertise, working hard, fast, constantly, for a very low fee.

The cost (AS MENTIONED ABOVE -- THE LOW COST!) is the fees built into the fund.

This is priced in. It is common to say "everything is priced in."

Using the numbers from above, 1 share of SPDR is $400.59. If you dig through the 500+ securities they represent, the value is 0.1% higher (each ETF, etc., has a different fee structure. As of this writing, SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust has a fee of 0.1%).

Okay. So, for easy math, let's round down the share price of $400.59 to $400. That means out of the $400 you are paying for 1 share, $0.40 is kept internally for the management/organization/admin/internal profit, etc. to keep SPDR running.

This is a fairly simplified comment, so take with a giant grain of salt. I want to iterate that yes, that is forty cents, out of $400, because the fee is 0.1%. It's a fraction of a percent.

You do not pay this on top of the stock price.

You do not pay this when you sell it.

You do not pay this annually, or monthly, etc.

This fee is baked into the stock price as part of the equation that says "1 share = $X"

Now.

You may think.

"How the hell are they making money on $0.40/share, adjusted for share price"?

There are nearly a trillion shares in existence, currently. All identical, all sharing the exact same risks, rewards, etc., all generating that 0.1% fee.

Here is a lot more information written by people who know what they are talking about.

As always this is not financial advice. I'm not telling you to buy this fund. If you're interested in this concept, then look into it, but also look into ETFs in general, and similar products.

There are hundreds, if not thousands, of versions, by countless people, operating in the same basic fashion, with varying degrees of specific builds.

[babsvibes]

Any tips on how to write good banter between characters?

Ohhhhh the trouble you have just found yourself in, my love. Buckle up! You’re about to see how much of a one trick pony I am.

Welcome to: Writing Banter with Babs

Covered here are: tips and tricks, troubleshooting, rule breaking, and an example of banter that works. Surprising no one, it’s Bob’s Burgers and louigan related lol

The key takeaway today will be that banter is character and relationship defining, so that should inform the dialogue. 

Establish your character’s goal for banter. Don’t get me wrong, it can be as simple as “they are argumentative” or “they like to win,” but people (and characters) are fueled by reason AND motivation. They are motivated to banter because they enjoy the challenge, but why on this day, why about this subject, and why with this person? You’ll find when you know your character’s goal that it informs a lot of what they’re saying. Through this medium, it’s a way to explore what MATTERS to a character and who they are. 

Characters have to be able to play off each other. Building chemistry helps with banter because it explains how their traits coincide with each other. Character A is passionate and Character B is stubborn. Together they seem explosive, but when dealing with external circumstances as a team they balance each other by bringing their individual strengths and weaknesses to the table. Characters that are too far in the extreme of similar or dissimilar are going to be harder to work with unless given a unique goal for banter (in reference to the first point).

Establish the level of intimacy between characters. Banter is inherently intimate. One of the reasons I love enemies-to-lovers dynamic is because you have to know your enemy to really get on their nerves. Characters aren’t going to engage each other if they don’t care, so give them a reason to care through personal history. Another way to build chemistry is through understanding the other, and banter’s a great tool for learning more about each other or proving they already know how to provoke the other.

To know each other is to also know what is too far. If you want to keep the banter fun, have your characters be aware of what The Line is. In my Neighbors AU, Louise can never tell Logan he’s unloved whereas Logan can never call Louise weak. If they do, the story becomes very different from whatever I set out to be.

Banter Troubleshooting:

If you are struggling to keep banter fun, see if maybe their reasons for arguing are too personal (or, and I've done this several times, boring).

If you are struggling to keep banter lighthearted, see if a character is actually (either knowingly or unknowingly) crossing a boundary.

If you are struggling to keep banter from ending too soon, see if they need a stronger external drive that would keep them apart.

If you are struggling to get banter going, see if the characters are too similar or dissimilar in their views to care. 

If you are struggling to make the banter sound natural, record yourself saying what you want the characters to say then write it the way you hear it. Ex: “Stop, I could have dropped my croissant.” becomes “Stooop! I could’ve dropped my croissant!” If it still sounds wrong, then the line (and probably the line before it) unfortunately might need to change to be something more in character (relating to their established goals) and natural to your ears.

If you are struggling with what the other character would say in response, research and argue with yourself! I prefer pie, but I needed to write a character defending cake. I asked people who prefer cake why, took those responses and came up with my own rebuttals, then I defended their points against me. It’s a great way to learn how to broaden your perspective!

Of course, break the rules! All of these tips and tricks are meant to be broken if you want to utilize a different kind of banter for your story. Have characters with no intimacy go at each other’s throats right off the bat, make the banter for no reason, have your character cross a line. Becaaauuuseee… what does it say about that character and that story that someone was willing to go there or do that? 

Let’s put all of this together with Louise and Logan’s first episode.

They banter off the bat, and I know what you’re thinking. You’re thinking “Babs didn’t you say there needs to be a level of intimacy for good banter” and hot damn you are correct and thank you for listening. However, Louise and Logan’s first interaction is strong character definition.

Logan, through hearsay, is said to pick on kids. Louise chooses to ignore this and knowingly acts in a way that will provoke him. He takes the bait without fail. What did we learn?

Louise: brave, sarcastic, strong self-advocate, witty/quick with comebacks

Logan: stubborn, immature, protective of space, and is the type of dumbass to have beef with a toddler and lose 

They also play off each other by balancing each other's traits and by utilizing sentence mirroring. Neither character acts their age. Louise is incredibly intelligent for nine, whereas Logan is incredibly immature for a mid-teen boy. They are on each other’s level despite what the audience would see as an obvious power imbalance. We can see examples of this with how they throw repetitive phrases back and forth. Every line matters because, without one line, the next one wouldn’t make sense.

On the second interaction when Louise continues to ignore Logan’s declarations, we establish motivation.

Logan: “I just want no little kids around me when I'm decompressing after school. I'm trying to create a relaxed environment, I'm making my friends feel comfortable, and then you come by with all this attitude!” 

Louise: (through Tina) “Hey, you don't want to mess with my sister. She'll wear down your self-esteem over a period of years.” = Louise prefers to be in a position of power and will not be pushed around.

They even break banter rules and cross a boundary by not knowing each other. Logan doesn’t know Louise well enough to know how far she’ll go after her hat, a firm boundary for her, is taken. All he knows is that she’s worn it at least twice and she’s annoying him. This rule-breaking is why he ultimately faces consequences for his actions (having an adult grab him by the neck and hold a knife up to his ears).

It all comes together to form this super interesting dynamic that I can’t get enough of!

I hope this is helpful and that you’ve enjoyed reading through this nonsense (because I’ve definitely enjoyed writing it). Thank you for the ask!