#writing discussion

[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! 💜

[polling-sonic-fans]

Is Sonic trans?

- Yes, trans man

- Yes, trans woman

- Yes, nonbinary

- Yes, genderfluid

- Yes, some other identity

- No, he is not

- I’ve never considered this before

Thanks anon! Polls for the Sonic fandom on just about anything. Share polls you like to get more data. Asks and submissions always open.

[twst-hottest-takes]

Idk if this has been brought up before but I hate book 7

Like I love the bits and pieces of lore they feed us but they just don’t work jammed together, esp since it feels like the plot has stretched on for far too long.

Also a lot of character relationships were under utilised in the main story, like you thought it’d make sense for the light music club to be worried about kalim in book 4 (his change in attitude was big news around school) or Jack to show up in book 5 cus he’s vil’s friend right? But I guess twst has to stick to the one-dorm-over-two-chapters plot beat because screen time really IS an issue

Thank you for sticking through the rant (if you’ve made it through) but I really enjoy your content and want to know your thoughts on this

Not an uncommon sentiment around here, for better and for worse.

I find a lot of solidarity in the fact that so many people can acknowledge that Twisted Wonderland has some great ideas and characters but the writing quality is awfully inconsistent. I don't know what Book 7 is planning to hit us with post-dream-hopping, but it had better shake me to my core for all the time I feel was wasted lollygagging on stuff that didn't need to be touched on here (ironic, right?).

The character relationships is one that definitely falls flat the most in terms of the main story. There's so much extra content in the vignettes and events but it's kind of hard to put stock in those when how the characters interact with each other there isn't reflected in the main story. Now, that's not to say that EVERYTHING needs to be covered in the main story in a game like this, but more than one person has pointed out now that certain relationships (Jack and Vil, and the Pop Music Club most commonly) should really shine through more because they are absolutely relevant and could add much needed depth to the story and characters.

Thank you for your take.

[did-i-do-this-write]

Hey writeblr, I'm curious about something. You know what that means!

*"shared with others" means like sent in a discord or group chat. You may or may not be aware that the reader did this.

[bibliophilesince2003]

Strong Female Characters

Too many times I pick up a new book to read, but I am immediately met with the female protagonist whose personality is "toughness" and/or "meanness." The equivalent is making a "bad boy" character and calling it a personality. Male or female author, anyone could fall victim to this trap.

Skills and tropes are not personality.

Sure, it's easy to mold a character to snap at everyone in an arrogant manner at every dialogue opportunity and call it a day, but the character remains shallow. Especially for your main character, you should have multiple "words" to describe them. This will bring ease to your writing, too.

For example, for one character of mine... I've put down 18 personality traits in her character chart, and I could likely put down more if given enough time.

When I'm met with a "tough" female protagonist, I'm always expecting more details. What sort of people or what kind of environment makes her stiffen, and - this is as equally as important - what sort of people or what kind of environment makes her relaxed? Being "tough" is more about mood than personality, because surroundings could easily change it.

Is she driven or shy? Is she humorous or serious? Is she observant or a free spirit? Is she clumsy or graceful? Is she friendly or cautious?

Notice how I said "or" and separated the two extremes. You cannot have clumsy and graceful... you must pick one side of the spectrum. A person will naturally lean one way or the other.

Some people make the mistake of choosing the other "extreme" to create weaknesses. "She's driven, but she's shy." Being shy is not a weakness... some people are naturally this way, and there are benefits to being shy.

Find weaknesses within the "extreme" you've chosen.

For example, if one is driven... the weakness is impulsiveness. She may get in trouble, or trouble will find her. Being over-zealous is fine... in doses. Let your character make those mistakes to better represent their personality.

If you're struggling, observe the people in your life. Personality will shine through how a person acts, treats others, talks, etc.

Here's what I do... write down multiple personality traits, decide how extroverted/introverted he/she is, and settle on a single word that wraps up his/her whole character, or most of it, to help refer to something simple during the writing process.

And no, that "single word" better not be a skill or trope.

I want complicated female protagonists again, ones that are more than just mood swings or their environment.

[miraculouslbcnreactions]

Can anyone yoink the 5 uses of Miraculous instead of 5-minute timer rule? Because that is a really good idea.

Any idea I bring up on this blog is free for the taking. I have the same policy for my fanfics, too (which often overlap with this blog, btw. Unsurprisingly, I like my own ideas and use them). I don't care if a million people do their own version of my basic ideas because they're just ideas. The unique execution of those ideas is what makes them interesting and truly mine.

It's why we can can have a million retellings of a specific fairytale and still want more. Or, to be more Miraculous-based, a million fanfics with identity reveals. Originality is great and all, but a unique and well-done execution is a thousand times more important than total originality.

It's why I'm not afraid of using tropes and encourage others to embrace them, too. They're just basic ideas. What matters is how you use them. Miraculous is a great example of why tropes and writing rules are good things that you shouldn't totally ignore. A lot of the show's issues come from ignoring basic techniques like setup and payoff.

Story telling is an art that we've been perfecting for millenia. There is always room to improve, but you're not a bad writer if you embrace all that knowledge and use it to your advantage any more than a painter is a bad painter for embracing the knowledge of their craft. Perspective and color theory aren't bad just because everyone uses them.

Improvement comes from understanding the tools and techniques of your trade and then purposefully doing something different because you see a new way to do things. Ignoring knowledge and blindly fumbling your way through an established trade rarely leads to anything impressive. It's usually just embarrassing because those tools and techniques existed for a reason.

[imbecominggayer]

Writing Advice: Writing Disabled People

I thought about doing some more posts about writing different kinds of people after my last post that somehow managed to get on @cripplecharacters blew up. So this is for you :D

I'm going to give you one piece of advice that you need to carry with you for all your life.

There are different definitions of a fulfilling life.

Oftentimes, through entertainment, watching our parents, and just existing we pick up different dreams. And those dreams often exclude disabled people.

Today, this topic is going to be centered on tragedy and joy that disabled people/characters have. And what a fullfilling life can be.

Obviously, someone whose definition of a fulfilling life includes "I want to have all of my limbs" would not be able to have an enjoyable life if they somehow lost a limb.

That's where change comes in!

You adapt to your circumstances. You change your idea of what a fulfilling life means. You include what you are always going to be inside your definition of what a fulfilling life means.

Oftentimes, people are going to given the idea of a fulfilling life. Maybe it's a nuclear family. Maybe it's unlimited freedom. Maybe it's a high paying job. Maybe it's a certain creative passion. Maybe it's just having all your limbs

You probably have your own idea of what a fulfilling life looks like. And if you aren't disabled or don't share the same disability as your character, you might impart your own subjective experience on this character.

It's this reason that authors often make disabled characters tragic or insane. They can't imagine having a fulfilling life if they didn't have intelligence, conventional beauty, independence, traditional social structures, certain physical capabilities, and other aspects that could be impacted by disability.

I certainly struggle with this. And you probably do to.

But when you open your mind, you realize that humans are purely adapting creatures. No matter what happens in your character or even your life, you can find fulfillment.

Allow your character to live a life that others and maybe even you would call tragic, or boring, or maddening, or pathetic. Give them the right to be seperate from you. And then give them happy days. Give them moments where regardless of what their life is, they are fulfilled.

Stories often center on the question "after tragedy, can we find happiness?". After death, is there a second chance for the living? After loss, can we gain something new?

Why shouldn't that be the same for a character who was born disabled or developed disability?

Yes, they lost the chance to dream about your fulfilling dream. But that doesn't mean it's impossible for your characters and your fellow humans to develop their own fulfilling life.

When you learn this, life becomes a lot less scarier. While I haven't totally internalized the advice, I have picked up some of the benefits. I don't fear losing my sight. If I do live to be old, I can learn to grow into my body. No matter what happens, I can be happy.

Tagging: @differentnighttale, @melda0m3, @12-cluh, @ravennova7, @madmadhuman, @drivingmebonkas, @fanwriting93, @startheoverseer

[seaglasswrites]

Writers,

[dove-tears]

there are a PLETHORA of things about the httyd franchise canon that i have my gripes for but one little nitpick in particular that's always irked me even when i was younger was the way naming the species of a dragon worked.

like the 1st movie already established that the dragons were named the way they were by the berkian tribe because to them they were a deadly force to be reckoned with, driving home the idea that they were "extremely dangerous and to kill on sight", the whole point of the movie turning that notion around and proving that they are incredibly misunderstood creatures that are deserving of respect and thrive off of love and companionship.

and afaik the berkians (at least during the time of the 1st movie) were confirmed to be an isolated tribe before they befriended dragons, the book of dragons was never cowritten by anyone else and any outsiders are clearly shown as foreign and new to the tribe, the later installments pretty much retcon this and dragons are still called by what the berkians call them by outsiders, like for example why does eret, an outsider, call toothless a night fury and why did nobody ever question him for that lmao, i have this exact same frustration with the tv shows.

i feel like it'd be much more better worldbuilding if people outside the berkian tribe actually referred to dragons differently to show their different perspectives on them. like how the berkians once viewed the monstrous nightmare as quite literally what they call them another tribe may view them as an reincarnation of a benevolent sun god deserving to be revered or something along those lines and the way they refer to them being reflective of that, ik the shows kinda sorta already touched on this but i feel like it could've been handled better imo. i hope i made some sort of sense here idk that concludes my babbles for tonight

[eldritchtouched]

Actually, I'm still bothered by this, now, with regard to Marika and the Shattering.

The main quest in the base game now shouldn't have happened at all, if you try to incorporate the DLC information and that this is supposed to be an answer related to Marika.

Because there are four possibilities now about the nature of the Elden Ring:

The Elden Ring makes you a god.

The Elden Ring is being used as a leash by the Greater Will/Elden Beast.

It both grants you godhood and makes you beholden to the Greater Will/Elden Beast.

The Elden Ring isn't actually either of those things. It is just a powerful magic ring and its pieces are pieces of its power.

The Elden Ring does have power- the Great Runes all have magical effects. You can muck with it and add and subtract runes from it to alter the state of the world itself and everyone in it. It's a plot point that Marika removed the Rune of Death and how this affected the world and how she got her Golden Order.

If it's a leash, it makes no sense for it to do that, to give Marika more power when you want to keep her under your control.

On top of that, after the Elden Beast is slain and the connection to the Greater Will severed, it still has power enough to grant Ranni's Age of Stars and the various Mending Rune endings. Meaning it doesn't really work as a 'leash.'

But if godhood is granted by going through the Divine Gate and the ritual involving a lord and vessel and god, Marika shattering the Elden Ring is pointless. It isn't where her divinity comes from. It doesn't stop her from being a god. Her divinity is now intrinsic to herself after she did the ritual. Radagon attempting to repair it is nonsense, too, as he would know their divinity doesn't come from a magic ring. It would only work if it's a leash/connection to the Greater Will, then.

And if Miquella is basically supposed to be her repeated, then their process makes no sense in relation to the Shattering. The Story Trailer also makes this clear that Marika did this process.

But Miquella's stuff would mean that Marika shouldn't be in conflict about her own divinity enough to want to stop being a god. It undercuts the theme the game tries to set up with Miquella, that becoming a god involves stripping away all your humanity and you're utterly unrecognizable. But Marika was in conflict about her divinity and humanity with her situation with Radagon. It's a pretty important plot point in the base game's story.

If it's both, both problems remain, though. If the Elden Ring is both power and leash, then it still doesn't change that the Divine Gate stuff happened and Marika is a divinity still, so shattering the Elden Ring doesn't actually change her being a god. And giving someone power if they're supposed to be leashed is also stupid.

But if it's none of that, if the Elden Ring is just a magic ring of great power, then it raises its own questions. Why would Marika having it matter at all? Why bother shattering it, if that's not going to stop you from being a god? Why would the Greater Will's vassal punish Marika for shattering it and the Order's "leal hound" try to repair it? Radagon and the Elden Beast and Marika all would know this is utterly irrelevant.

[sunnywalnut]

Hello writers of Tumblr! I've got a quick question for you

Background for said question for those that want to give an informed answer: I myself am white and on a quest to find enjoyable and inoffensive language to describe wide ranges of people, specifically nonwhite folks and have come across the term while reading through a Tumblr post about a king and his group of concubines with various government backgrounds.

The description piqued my interest and I immediately liked it, looked it up, and loved it even more, since from what I know, foxes are pretty much the one animal nobody has a problem with being compared to. Silver foxes, vixens, or just regular old "you're a total fox" comments. But now that I've thought about it a bit more, I'm curious.

I've looked into it. On Google, on the handful of blogs dedicated to writing poc correctly such as @writingwithcolor, and even a reddit post or two. But very few were actually about what I was looking for, and even fewer had anything to say other than "it means a person with high cheek bones and narrow eyes"

So before I do any writing with it, I'd like to know what you guys think.

Thank you

[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.

[polling-sonic-fans]

Thanks for the poll anon! Polls for the Sonic fandom on just about anything. Share polls you like to get more data. Asks and submissions always open.

[scareuary]

Writing Question #4

What are some ways in which you can take a well-known love story and turn it into a horror story?

Consider any love story that you know of - a fairytale, a romantic movie, etc., and share how you might turn it into a scary experience for either one or more of the characters.

SCAREUARY 2025 - TWISTED HEARTS

[did-i-do-this-write]

Taglist Reminder

Send an ask to me or reply to this post if you want to be added to the taglist for the discussions started for Writer's Round Table for 2025!