#writing ideas

[literaryvein-reblogs]

I'm trying to work on my 'show don't tell' but struggle with describing smells when tackling senses. Do you have any smelly word resources? :)

Some Words to Describe Smell

Acrid - strong, biting (e.g., something on fire)

Ambrosial - fragrant; having a pleasant smell

Antiseptic - a clean scent

Aromatic - having a strong or distinctive smell

Aura - smell surrounding something

Balm - soothing scent

Bouquet - blend of floral scents

Briny - salty

Burnt - unpleasant, smoky, sharp scent

Clean - very light scent, clean and natural

Earthy - recently dug or tilled soil

Essence - basic, natural scent

Fetid - decaying or rotting smell

Fishy - smelling of fish; pungent, strong, unpleasant

Flowery - fragrance similar to flowers

Foul - being odorous and impure

Fragrant - things, such as flowers or spices, with sweet or agreeable odors

Fresh - natural smelling, rather than artificial

Gamy - having the flavor of game; smelly

Gaseous - a chemical odorant, similar to the smell of rotten eggs

Heady - very strong aroma

Lemony - tart, piquant citrus notes

Lilac - rich floral scent combining rose with vanilla

Mildewed - soaked in wetness that has gone stale

Minty - menthol-like smell

Misty - mild fragrance, not overpowering

Moldy - damp, fungus-like odor

Musty - damp, earthy, or stale odor

Odorous - emitting a scent that has a strong distinctive smell whether pleasant or unpleasant

Overpowering - too strong of a smell

Perfumed - artificial fragrance, not natural-smelling

Pheromone - natural scents

Piney - crisp, refreshing evergreen smell

Piquant - pleasantly pungent, sharp, or spicy taste

Plastic - artificial chemical polymer odor

Pungent - strong fragrance

Putrid - stench of decay

Rancid - spoiled; food that has gone bad

Reeking - a strong or disagreeable fume or odor

Rotten - spoiled, rancid, unpalatable

Scented - having a perfumed smell

Sharp - a strong scent

Skunky - noxious smell that lingers; sulfuric (like rotten eggs) odor

Smoky - scent of burning wood

Spoiled - an unpleasant, rotten smell

Stagnant - a stale smell

Stench - stink; a characteristic repugnant quality

Sterile - a sense of cleanliness; the scent of cleaning products

Sweet - sugary smell

Tart - sharp fragrance

Tempting - having an appeal; enticing

Trace - a tiny amount of fragrance

Whiff - a fleeting scent

Wispy - hint of fragrance in the air

Woodsy - characteristic or suggestive of woods; forest-like smell

Olfactory imagery engages the sense of smell. Scent is one of the most direct triggers of memory and emotion, but can be difficult to write about. Since taste and smell are so closely linked, you’ll sometimes find the same words (such as “sweet”) used to describe both. Simile is common in olfactory imagery, because it allows writers to compare a particular scent to common smells like dirt, grass, manure, or roses.

The above are excerpts from this previous post & added definitions from Merriam-Webster and YourDictionary. More related posts you might find useful:

Some Perfumery Vocabulary

100 Sensory Words ⚜ Word Alternatives: Olfactory

Writing Notes: Fragrance ⚜ Scent ⚜ Fragrance Notes

More: Notes & References ⚜ Word Lists ⚜ Writing Resources PDFs

All the best in your search for the right smelly words in your writing :)

[me-writes-prompts]

:-"I've found my other half" Two introverts in love with each other prompts-:

(I looooooove this trope, so thank you anon for this request! Tag me if you write these, pleaseeee!!!!)

By @me-writes-promtps

Going to the same bookstore, and they notice the other one is checking out the same book as them

^^"I love that book. It's my 7th re-read." "No way. I'm also doing a re-read :)"

The classic bumping into each other in a coffee shop, except they're both a little awkward and don't know what to say

"It's crowded in here, isn't it?" "Yeah. I hate having to take the subway every day." "Really? me too!"

"I hope you don't mind the silence." "It's alright when it's with the right person."

Exchanging shy smiles across the room <3333

Noticing little details about them

^^"How do you know this is my favorite food?" "You're always eating it." "Well, not always!" "Oh yes, always."

When they both love museums>>>

"This place is my favorite getaway." "Mine too. It's quiet and peaceful here."

They can communicate through their eyes alone

Sitting next to each other in an empty theater and finding out they both love the not-so-popular movie

[ehnonymousse]

So imagine you're on a vacation with Sukuna and you're both carrying backpacks.

He suddenly takes it off your shoulder, your gaze following his hand in wonder

"It's light. I can carry it"

"I know you can." there's more to it as you find some reassurance even in his signature smirk.

"I can carry you too. Walk for a little while though I wanna keep holding your hand"

You melt away instantly, leaning against his arm, smiling ear to ear which he responds with his own as he looks down at you and the red in his eyes sparkle like rubbies.

Thick fingers intertwine with yours, with his strength he locks your bond in an ironclad hold.

[varda-star-queen]

that's all I'm saying...

I want to read a story where one character says, "ok, weird way to propose, but yes," while the other one most definitely did not intend to propose.

[celestialwrites]

angsty (romantic + platonic) dialogue prompts

@celestialwrites for more!!

♡ "it took you almost 4 years to fully trust me, and it took you all of one minute to stop."

♡ "do not waste your breath with lies, for once tell me the damned truth."

♡ "i have always wanted the good, the bad, and the ugly from you! i never wanted you to hide."

♡ "do you not get it? we don't ever get a happy ending, we don't ever go home!"

♡ "tell me you didn't, i do not care if it's a lie, just tell me you didn't."

♡ "you are a part of me and i cannot stand it."

♡ "don't waste away a life that was never yours. it was always hers."

♡ "every second i spend in pain without (s/o) is better than any day i spent not knowing them."

♡ "your tears will not bring him back." "fuck you."

♡ "that may just happen to be your gravest mistake, you thought you could fix her."

♡ "look me in the eye and say it. say it! say they're dead!"

♡ "i will be the greatest loss of your life."

REBLOG TO SUPPORT YOUR LOCAL WRITERS<3

[thewriteadviceforwriters]

Hello!! Hope you're having a lovely day.

I've been following you for a while and found your advice super insightful. I was wondering if you have any advice for intimate/shy/emotionally intense hand-holding? How to make it sound natural/immersive?

Thank you for your time.

How To Write Hand-Holding Scenes

Hey there,

Thank you for reaching out. I love chatting about how to breathe life into those delicate hand-holding moments. I’ve been noodling over this concept for a while, and here’s what I’ve learned through my own experiments with writing YA fantasy.

Capture the Sensation Instead of just saying they held hands, let the touch speak for itself. Try describing the slight tremor in a finger, the mingling of warmth and a cool breeze, or how a hesitant touch sends ripples through the character’s inner world. Small details, like the texture of their skin or the subtle pressure of a grasp, can make all the difference.

Infuse It with Symbolism To me, every touch is loaded with meaning. It might represent a secret promise, a silent rebellion, or even an ancient rite woven into the fabric of your world. Consider framing hand-holding as more than a physical act. think of it as a quiet bond that mirrors the deeper connection between your characters.

Embrace the Vulnerability Sometimes the beauty lies in the uncertainty. A tentative grip can reveal as much about a character’s hopes and insecurities as any grand declaration of passion. When you write about this quiet hesitance, remember that vulnerability can be its own kind of strength. A powerful window into what your characters are truly feeling.

Set the Scene The backdrop can amplify that moment of intimacy. Even if it’s a moonlit forest or the soft glow of an enchanted hall, use your setting to reflect the mood. Let the surroundings echo the internal shifts of your characters, turning the environment into an almost sentient part of the moment.

Play with Rhythm and Pacing Don’t be afraid to mix short, sharp sentences with languid, thoughtful ones. This varied rhythm can mimic the heartbeat of the moment. sometimes quick and electrifying, other times slow and contemplative. Experiment until you find a flow that makes your readers feel each touch as if they’re experiencing it first-hand.

I hope these ideas fire up your creativity. Keep experimenting with your unique voice.

All the best, Rin T.

[starryslyii]

Every time I sit down to work on my current WIP, a new idea appears out of nowhere, looking at me like it’s the most important thing in the world.

*sigh*

[the-lady-in-progress]

This is really good for high school / teenage characters who are going to do at least half of these in the first half of the day.

Miscommunication Prompts

A character avoids eye contact because they’re nervous, making the other believe they’re hiding something.

A character mistakes someone’s distraction for boredom, assuming they’re not interesting enough.

A character misinterprets kindness as pity, making them defensive.

A character uses a phrase that has multiple interpretations, and the listener takes it in the worst possible way. (“I took care of him.” “You WHAT?”)

A character pulls a harmless prank that spirals out of control until it’s too late to take it back.

The audience knows that two characters are talking about completely different things, but neither of them realises it (dramatic irony).

A character gives a vague or hesitant response out of nervousness, and the other person takes it as rejection.

A text or letter meant for one person gets sent to the absolute worst possible recipient.

A character asks another to do something simple, but their interpretation is wildly different.

Two characters remember an event completely differently, leading to an argument where both are convinced they’re right, but what actually happened is something neither of them recall correctly.

Someone shrinks away from a touch due to past trauma, but the other person assumes it means rejection.

Previous

[prompts-and-circumstance]

"Are you okay?"

"I don't get the option not to be."

[restless-demon34]

I love being 25k words into writing my books first draft and then suddenly my brain going "make the main character trans." Like thank you brain- it won't be a major change to any of the plots but it does throw a lot more off than I thought it would.

[literaryvein-reblogs]

Writing a "Highly Sensitive" Character

Sensitivity - awareness of and responsiveness to the feelings of others; susceptibility to being easily hurt or offended

Highly sensitive people (HSPs) - often show heightened sensitivity to stimuli such as loud sounds, bright lights, or strong smells. They also tend to experience deep emotional reactions, empathy for others, and may need more time to recharge after social interactions or stimulating environments.

Traits of Sensitive People

HSPs have distinct traits that could be mistaken as symptoms but do not indicate a disorder. They can include the following (Aron, 2010):

HSPs feel everything deeply and more intensely than others, whether joy or sadness, pleasure, or pain.

HSPs' high sensitivity means they take great joy in the simple pleasures in life, making them low maintenance and easy to please.

Need a lot more downtime than others, thrive in silence, and need a slower pace of life. This means taking the time to relax and process experiences is essential for their wellbeing.

Take longer to make decisions than others due to the depth of information processing involved, including conducting a thorough risk assessment and proceeding with caution.

Change can pose problems for HSPs. Even positive change may result in high levels of excitement and anxiety simultaneously due to the overstimulation caused by new experiences.

Can find handling conflict and criticism challenging, as they tend to have very high expectations of themselves and are hard on themselves when falling short. Others’ additional criticism can feel overwhelming.

Tend to have a rich inner life, being more self-aware, creative, and insightful than less sensitive people. This is likely to draw them into exploring a spiritual path in life, especially contemplative practices like meditation. They also enjoy a deep appreciation of the arts such as painting, dance, and music.

Tend to avoid the negative overarousal caused by violent films and news coverage, which almost hurts them physically.

HSPs' vulnerability to overstimulation can lead to a tendency to withdraw in new or tense situations. This can lead to them being seen as shy or unsociable when many are extroverts who just need extra time alone to process things.

Prefer a small social circle full of love and support, which they return in abundance due to their high levels of empathy. Letting another person in takes time, but when an HSP becomes your friend, they are loyal and supportive through thick and thin.

A highly sensitive person is someone who processes sensory input and emotions more deeply than the average person. This heightened awareness makes them more reactive to both external stimuli and emotional experiences.

This is a trait characterized by sensory processing sensitivity (SPS), which identifies a highly sensitive person/personality (HSP).

The term HSP was first coined by the psychologist Elaine Aron (1996), who is herself an HSP. She and her husband devised the Highly Sensitive Person Scale (HSPS), which spawned further research into the trait, including its neurobiological origins (Aron & Aron, 1997).

Before that, Carl Jung was the first to recognize the importance of sensitivity and believed that it played a more important role than sexuality in an individual’s susceptibility to neurosis (Aron, 2004).

The terms HSP and SPS are often used interchangeably. In later research, Aron (2010) differentiated the HSP trait into 4 categories.

Depth of processing. HSPs process all types of information more deeply than others, are more reflective, and take longer to make decisions (Aron, 2010). Depth of processing occurs both consciously, through analysis of information conveyed by communication in relationships, and unconsciously, through gut feelings or hunches.

Overarousability. HSPs notice a lot more than others in the same situation or environment, including other people’s emotions (although they may remain unexpressed), noise levels, smells, and other aspects of the environment (Aron, 2010). This can be advantageous but can also lead to overarousal and chronic stress.

Emotional intensity or empathy. HSPs experience strong positive and negative emotions in response to a range of pleasurable and painful stimuli (Aron, 2010). This increases their sensitivity to others’ feelings, making them very empathetic.

Sensory sensitivity. HSPs notice subtle environmental stimuli that other people miss. This can help protect them and others in their social group from unforeseen dangers but can also lead to problematic levels of sensitivity to foods, medicines, pain, noise, and light (Aron & Aron, 1997).

The combined effects of the trait result in empathic, conscientious, cautious individuals, who may also be sensation seeking and relish novelty (Aron, 2010).

There is no correlation between the HSP trait and extroversion or introversion (Aron, 2010). However, an HSP will always carefully evaluate the risks before proceeding with an adventure, as their sensitivity counters impulsivity (Aron, 2010). HSPs tend to plan ahead and are excellent strategists.

From an evolutionary perspective, HSPs may have an oracular function in social groups due to heightened intuition and sensitivity to environmental cues (Acevedo, Jagiellowicz, Aron, Marhenke, & Aron, 2017). Highly sensitive members of around 100 animal species have been identified and often warn their group of dangers undetected by others, helping to keep them safe (Aron, Aron, & Jagiellowicz, 2012).

The HSP trait is not aligned with giftedness, which comprises only 3% of the population (Aron, 1996). However, research conducted by psychologist Elke van Hoof found that 87% of gifted people are highly sensitive (Koolhof, 2020).

HSPs also have a heightened aesthetic sense, being highly sensitive to beauty in nature and the arts (Aron, 2010).

HSPs are also more disturbed by ugly or coarse stimuli than less sensitive people and avoid violent action films and news coverage (Aron, 2010). They are also more likely to have vivid dreams and have a rich inner life (Aron, 1996).

While HSPs are more distressed by negative environments than less sensitive people, they also benefit more from positive, supportive, and nurturing environments (Aron, 2010). This is especially true during childhood, but HSPs also benefit greatly from counseling and psychotherapy to overcome childhood difficulties, leading to low self-esteem (Aron, 2002).

There are cultural differences in their experiences, too. HSPs are highly valued members of societies that value reserved, cautious behavior such as China, Japan, and Sweden, but less so in bolder, competitive cultures such as Anglo-American and some European societies (Ketay et al., 2007).

Smolewska, McCabe, and Woody (2006) conducted a factor analysis of the HSPS and found it comprises 3 distinct factors:

Awareness of aesthetics (AES)

Low sensory threshold (LST)

Ease of excitation (EOE)

Further analysis from Smolewska et al. (2006) found that higher AES indicators bestow more positive outcomes of the trait, including a more intense perception of subtleties and empathy, while higher LST and EOE scores tend to indicate more neurotic outcomes, such as anxiety, social withdrawal, hypervigilance, and overarousal. 

Sources: 1 2 ⚜ More: Writing Notes & References ⚜ Writing Resources PDFs

[sunkissedliterarylightofchrist]

WRITE A FIC WRITE A FIC WRITE A FIC-

Rise of the Guardians doesn’t lend itself to a sequel.

But if they made one, the villain should be The Pied Piper. And instead of endangering kids’ childhood using fear, like the Boogeyman, The Piper would endanger childhood by causing strife with the parents, making the kids feel like they don’t belong in their own homes.

Plus he’s enticing kids with wanderlust, which sounds fun, so he starts to feel like the photo-negative of Jack Frost and definitely tries to outdo him in terms of style and flamboyant charm. And maybe because he knows “memories of childhood” would be a big threat to his work on the parents, the Piper straight-up kidnaps Tooth Fairy (since kidnapping the fairies themselves didn’t work out for Pitch)

And then you can have Bunnymund and Jack Frost fighting armies of super rats and Sandman trying to hold his sand-constructs together as the Pied Piper’s musical vibrations destabilize them, and then North seems to be the only one who’s a match for the Piper in group showdowns, until the Piper summons his chief hench-rat and it’s the Mouse King from the Nutcracker

I know Rise of the Guardians can’t have sequels

but in this pitch I will—

[out-of-jams]

REVERSE TROPE WRITING PROMPTS

Too many beds

Accidentally kidnapping a mafia boss

Really nice guy who hates only you

Academic rivals except it’s two teachers who compete to have the best class

Divorce of convenience

Too much communication

True hate’s kiss (only kissing your enemy can break a curse)

Dating your enemy’s sibling

Lovers to enemies

Hate at first sight

Love triangle where the two love interests get together instead

Fake amnesia

Soulmates who are fated to kill each other

Strangers to enemies

Instead of fake dating, everyone is convinced that you aren’t actually dating

Too hot to cuddle

Love interest CEO is a himbo/bimbo who runs their company into the ground

Nursing home au

[prompt-heaven]

a list of 100+ buildings to put in your fantasy town

academy

adventurer's guild

alchemist

apiary

apothecary

aquarium

armory

art gallery

bakery

bank

barber

barracks

bathhouse

blacksmith

boathouse

book store

bookbinder

botanical garden

brothel

butcher

carpenter

cartographer

casino

castle

cobbler

coffee shop

council chamber

court house

crypt for the noble family

dentist

distillery

docks

dovecot

dyer

embassy

farmer's market

fighting pit

fishmonger

fortune teller

gallows

gatehouse

general store

graveyard

greenhouses

guard post

guildhall

gymnasium

haberdashery

haunted house

hedge maze

herbalist

hospice

hospital

house for sale

inn

jail

jeweller

kindergarten

leatherworker

library

locksmith

mail courier

manor house

market

mayor's house

monastery

morgue

museum

music shop

observatory

orchard

orphanage

outhouse

paper maker

pawnshop

pet shop

potion shop

potter

printmaker

quest board

residence

restricted zone

sawmill

school

scribe

sewer entrance

sheriff's office

shrine

silversmith

spa

speakeasy

spice merchant

sports stadium

stables

street market

tailor

tannery

tavern

tax collector

tea house

temple

textile shop

theatre

thieves guild

thrift store

tinker's workshop

town crier post

town square

townhall

toy store

trinket shop

warehouse

watchtower

water mill

weaver

well

windmill

wishing well

wizard tower

[writing-chats]

the look of love (for writers)

"it's all in the eyes i was once told"

catching the stare of someone across a crowded room

subtle furrowing of eyebrows beyond a blank facade

coldness easing into warmth

a fond mothering gaze

corner of the lip nudged upward

forced glower/glare as they break underneath

batting their lashes, playful

a boisterous laugh

intrigue piercing the stoic

proud smugness at the other's success

lingering glances

a childish joy bursting through

pupils dilate

eyelids shut in a look of peace, calm and trust

look of longing/betrayal

"there was once a time when they were mine"

terseness

features fold into a scowl

an urgent flinching back

coldness returns (as though the warmth had never come)

lips part then purse

invasion of shock

slow stare at the floor

the ripple effect of a swallow

frustrated breath/sigh

bitter laugh in reminiscence

dread tearing through the seams of their composure

look of hatred

"darkness"

mean smirk- teeth bared grimace- scowl

dismissive gaze

gaze of contempt/impatience

threat lowering the voice

sardonic goading grins verging on manic

rolling one's eyes

flicker of irritation in the eyes

stares stubbornly ahead despite distraction

gritted teeth, clenched jaw

fierce biting remarks

even measured complexions betraying no thought

strangling oneself back from violence

utter apathy

murderous silence hanging in the stare

snobbish laughter

smiling at another's downfall