#writing wise

[snowstories]

My biggest tip for fanfic writers is this: if you get a character's mannerisms and speech pattern down, you can make them do pretty much whatever you want and it'll feel in character.

Logic: Characters, just like real people, are mallable. There is typically very little that's so truly, heinously out of character that you absolutely cannot make it work under any circumstance. In addition, most fans are also willing to accept characterization stretches if it makes the fic work. Yeah, we all know the villain and the hero wouldn't cuddle for warmth in canon. But if they did do that, how would they do it?

What counts is often not so much 'would the character do this?' and more 'if the character did do this, how would they do it?' If you get 'how' part right, your readers will probably be willing to buy the rest, because it will still feel like their favourite character. But if it doesn't feel like the character anymore, why are they even reading the fic?

Worry less about whether a character would do something, and more about how they'd sound while doing it.

[raspberry-pastries]

Just read Batman the black mirror and oh?? My god??

James Gordon Jr is SUCH a good villain his monologue and thought process is fascinating and he’s quickly risen to my top 3 Gotham villains. Like as a babs and dick villain he works so well as a contrast and something to challenge them emotionally and mentally. The whole reveal that everything that had happened before this point had been orchestrated by him?? I was on the edge of my seat did not see it coming in the slightest. I love how he is so unapologetically but realistically evil; he was so disconcerting the entire comic they captured that atmosphere perfectly!

Also glad to see Dick is following in Bruce’s footsteps and has an enemy with a homoerotic one-sided obsession with him. Alongside being a childhood friend too like Harvey so it’s two-in-one lmao. Imagine monologuing as your sister is bleeding out behind you that you came back to Gotham for the first time in like a decade because a guy you’ve been thinking about since childhood became Batman and you wanted to break him down because you see yourself as his reflection, his opposite.

This whole scene was basically a love confession like?? This bitch is gay and evil good for him!

AND THE ART!! It’s so expressive, genuinely my favourite use of colour I’ve seen in a comic so far, the way every scene captures the emotion and tone perfectly it’s amazing!! It’s so soft but intense! Babs looks amazing as always and dick is there I guess…

One of the biggest gripes I have with nightwing stories is that they don’t establish recurring rogues or enemies very well,,, like bring James to Blud he’d love it there with the crime, brutality and corruption. It’s Gotham without the supervillains and flair.

Let Dick be a detective again and track him down, possibly as James is leaving a blockbuster-esque line of bodies of people Dick cares about. Maybe even frame him for murder like in the current TT run and make Dick try to outsmart him.

Basically please read this run!!

[snowstories]

[Image: meme of a person saying "We have the range, darling." End description.]

"Let's Have a Talk, First"- Stereotypes, pt 1

Come sit down. You and I, before we get into any of the things I'm sure you're impatient to know: we need to have a come to Jesus talk, first.

There are some things that I've been asked and seen that strengthens my belief that we need to have a reframing of the conversation on stereotypes in media away from something as simple as "how do I find the checklist of stereotypes to avoid". Because race- and therefore racial stereotypes- is a complex construct! Stands to reason then, that seeing, understanding, and avoiding it won't be that simple! I'm going to give you a couple pointers to (hopefully) help you rethink your approach to this topic, and therefore how to apply it when you're writing Black characters- and even when thinking about Black people!

Point #1: DEVELOP THE CHARACTER!! WRITE!!

Excuse my crude language, but let me be blunt: Black people- and therefore Black characters- will get angry at things, and occasionally make bad choices in the heat of the moment. Some of us like to fuck real nasty, some might be dominant in the bedroom, they may even be incredibly experienced! Others of us succumb to circumstance and make poor decisions that lead to crime.

None of those things inherently makes any of us angry Black women and threatening Black men, Jezebels and BBC Mandingos, and gangsters and thugs!

Black people are PEOPLE! Write us as such!

If all Black characters ever did was go outside, say "hi neighbor!" and walk back in the house, we'd be as boring as racist fans often accuse.

I say this because I feel I've seen advice that I feel makes people think writing a Black character that… Emotes negatively, or gets hurt by life and circumstance, or really enjoys hard sex, or really any scenario where they might "look bad" is the issue. I can tell many people think "well if I write that, then it's a stereotype" and to avoid the difficulty, they'll probably end up writing a flat Black character or not writing them at all. Or- and I've seen this too- they'll overcompensate in the other direction, which reveals that they 'wrote a different sort of Black person!' and it comes off just as awkwardly because it means you think that the Black people that do these things are 'bad'. And I hate that, because we're capable of depth, nuance, good, evil, adventure, world domination, all of it!

My point is, if you write your character like the human being they are, while taking care to recognize that you as the writer are not buying into stereotypes with your OWN messaging, you're fine. We have emotions, we have motivations and goals, we make decisions, and we make mistakes, just like anybody else. Write that! Develop your character!

POINT #2: YOU CAN'T CONTROL THE READERS!!

Okay. You can write the GREATEST Black character ever, full of depth, love, nuance, emotional range, all those things…. And people are still going to be racist about them. Sorry. There is absolutely nothing you can do to control a reader coming from that place of bias you sought to avoid. If it's not there, TRUST AND BELIEVE, it'll be projected onto them.

That passionate young Black woman who told the MC to get her head out of her ass? Yeah she's an angry Black bitch now, and bully to the sweet white MC. Maybe a lesbian mommy figure if they like her enough to "redeem" her. That Black gay male lead that treats his partner like he worships the ground he walks on? Yeah he's an abusive thug that needs to die now because he disagreed One Time with his white partner. That Black trans woman who happened to be competing against the white MC, in a story where the white MC makes comparable choices? Ohhhh they're gonna be VILE about that poor woman.

It really hurts- most especially as a Black fan and writer- knowing that you have something amazing to offer (as a person and creative) and people are gonna spit on that and call it "preference". That they can project themselves onto white characters no matter what, but if you project your experiences onto black characters, it's "pandering", "self insert", "woke", "annoying", "boring", and other foul things we've all gotten comments of.

But expect that it's gonna happen when you write a Black character, again, especially if you're a Black writer. If you're not Black, it won't hurt as personally, but it will probably come as a shock when you put so much effort in to create a lovely character and people are just ass about them. Unfortunately, that is the climate of fandom we currently exist in.

My favorite example is of Louis De Pointe Du Lac from AMC's Interview With The Vampire. Louis is actually one of the best depictions of the existential horror that is being Black in a racist White world I have ever seen written by mostly nonblack people. It was timeless; I related to every single source of racist pain he experienced.

People were HORRIFIC about Louis.

It didn't matter that he was well written and what he symbolized; many white viewers did NOT LIKE this man. There's a level of empathy and understanding that Black characters in particular don't receive in comparison to white counterparts, and that's due to many of those stereotypes and systemic biases I'm going to talk about.

My point is, recognize that while yes, you as the author have a duty to write a character thoughtfully as you can, it's not going to stop the response of the ignorant. Writing seeking to get everyone to understand what you were trying to do… Sisyphean effort. It's better to focus on knowing that YOU wrote something good, that YOU did not write the stereotype that those people are determined to see.

POINT #3: WHY is something a stereotype?

While there are lists of stereotypes against Black people in media and life that can be found, I would appreciate if people stopped approaching it as just a list of things you can check off to avoid. You can know what the stereotypes are, sure, but if you don't understand WHY they're a problem and how they play into perception of us, you'll either end up writing a flat character trying to avoid that list, or you're going to write other things related to that stereotype because "oh its not item #1"... and it'll still be racist.

For example: if you wrote a "sassy Black woman" that does a z formation neck rotation just because a store manager asked her something… that's probably stereotype. If you thought of a character that needed to be "loudmouthed", "sassy", and "strong" and a dark-skinned black woman was automatically what fit the profile in your mind, ding ding ding! THAT'S where you need to catch your racist biases.

But a dark-skinned Black woman character cursing out a store manager because she's had a really bad, stressful day and their attitude towards her pushed her over the edge may be in the wrong, but she's not an "angry Black woman". She's a Black woman that's angry! And if you wrote the day she had to be as bad as would drive anyone to overstimulation and anxiety, the blow up will make sense! The development and writing behind her led to this logical point (which connects to point #1!)

I'm not going to provide a truly exhaustive list of Black stereotypes in media because that would ACTUALLY be worth a college credited class and I do this for free lmao. But I am going to provide some classic examples that can get y'all started on your own research.

POINT #4: WATCH BLACK NARRATIVES!

As always, I'm gonna push supporting Black creators, because that's the best way to see the range of what you'd like. You want to see Black villains? We got those! Black heroes? Black antiheroes? Assholes, lovers, comedians, depressed, criminals, kings, and more? They exist! You can get inspired by watching those movies and reading those books, see how WE depict us!

I've seen mixed reviews on it, BUT- I personally really enjoyed Swarm, because it was one of the first times I'd ever seen that "unhinged obsessed murderous Black fan girl" concept. Tumblr usually loves that shit lmao. Even the "bites you bites you bites you [thing I love]" thing was there. And she liked girls, too. Just saying. I thought it was a fun idea that I'd love to see more of. Y'all gotta give us a chance to be in these roles, to tell these tales. We can do it too, and you'd enjoy it if you tried to understand it!

POINT#5: You are NOT Black!

This is obvious lmao, but if you're not Black, there's no need to pretend. There's no need to think "oh well I have to get a 100% perfect depiction of the Black person's mind". That's… That's gonna look cringe, at its best. You don't have to do that in order to avoid stereotypes. You're not going to be able to catch every nuance because it's not your lived experience, nor is it the societally enforced culture. Just… Do what you can, and if you feel like it's coming off hokey… Maybe consider if you want to continue this way lol. If you know of any Black beta readers or sensitivity reviewers, that'd be a good time to check in!

For example, if your Black character is talking about "what's good my homie" and there's absolutely no reason for him to be speaking that way other than to indicate that he's Black… 😬 I can't stop you but… Are you sure?

An egregious example of a TERRIBLE way to write a Black character is the "What If: Miles Morales/Thor" comic. I want to emphasize the lack of good Black character design involved in some of these PROFESSIONAL art spaces, because that MARVEL comic PASSED QA!! That comic went past NUMEROUS sets of eyes and was APPROVED!! IT GOT RELEASED!! NO ONE STOPPED IT!!

I'm sorry, it was just so racist-ly bad that it was hilarious. Like you couldn't make that shit up.

Anyway, unfortunately that's how some of y'all sound trying to write AAVE. I promise that we speak the Queen's English too lmao. If you're worried you won't get it right, just use the standard form of English. It's fine! Personally, I'd much rather you do that than try to 'decode AAVE' if you don't know how to use it.

My point is, if you're actively "forcing" yourself to "think Black"… maybe you need to stand down and reconsider your approach lmao. This is why understanding the stereotypes and social environment behind them will help you write better, because you can incorporate that Blackness- without having to verbally "emphasize how Black this is"- into their character, motivations, and actions.

Conclusion

We need to reconsider how we approach the concepts of stereotypes when writing our Black characters. The goal is not to cross off a checklist of things to avoid per se, but to understand WHY we have to develop our Black characters well enough to avoid incorporating them into our writing. Give your Black characters substance- we're human beings! We have motivations and fears and desires! We're not perfect, but we're not inherently flawed because of our race. That's what makes the difference!

And as always, and really in particular for this topic, it's the thought that counts, but the action that delivers!

[airs-headspace]

I really made Abiteth's dad way too powerful HAHASDOUFADSFAHOU

[thetruearchmagos]

I feel, thoroughly washed up

[minimalist-quotes]

Don't make the mistake of being so understanding and forgiving that you overlook the fact that you're being disrespected.

[astrowarr]

after watching several povs, there's something so striking about the way mumbo died.

he dies at home, first of all, which is notable in its own right because so much of his time was spent running about, usually in pursuit of kills. he dies with grian, too— to a thing grian created, no less, but it isn't actually grian's fault for once.

mumbo dies in that tall tower and when lightning strikes, from all across the server, everyone looks. their eyes land on that tower, and everyone is watching. even in grian's perspective, you can see everyone at renwood mound, lined up and staring. those at the bamlands looked on too.

they didn't see mumbo die, but they saw grian's grief. grian, who, throughout this season, has seemed cruel and untouchable to those outside of his circle due to his involvement with and knowledge of the wild cards. they watch grian immediately crumble under the weight of mumbo's death; several of them even explicitly comment, "look at grian, he's grieving, he's in mourning."

i like to think that, until that moment, grian was almost god-like in their minds; now, though, he's the quintessential concept of humanity. grief can be religious if you do it right, after all. even beyond the grian aspect though, isn't this just the most despairing omen of what's to come?

i mean, there's something about this image of a man fallen from grace, crying out as he holds the mangled corpse of his friend in the home they made together, high in the sky, on display for all the world to bear witness to. and the world did bear witness, be it with pity, horror, joy... it doesn't matter, because they saw.

the canary curse has been broken, but this was a fittingly foreboding, tone-setting image that did a stunning job filling its shoes

[snowstories]

Anyway, here are my extended thoughts on fanfic characterization. I believe there are essentially three aspects to fanfic characterization: what would they think, what would they do, and what would they say.

'What would they think' is about a character's worldview. Different people see the world in different ways, and this also goes for fictional people. When writing from a limited POV, which most fanfiction does, this determines the very way the narration is shaped. Worldview is the foundation of a character; if you do not understand how a character thinks, everything else falls apart really quickly. This is the 'why'.

'What would they do' naturally flows from 'what would they think'. Once you understand how a character sees the world, it'll become a lot easier to understand how they would act. This is the practical level of characterization, the one to keep in mind when plotting out your story, because if they would not do that, it would not happen. This is the 'what'.

'What would they say' are the speech patterns and mannerisms. This is the surface level characterization, and the most shallow; it's the impression a character makes. Their vibes, if you will. This is the least substantial part of characterization, but the impression a character makes is absolutely paramount to getting their characterization right. If you don't, your character will never feel in character no matter what they do or think. This is the 'how'.

All of these aspects are important for the characterization, and getting one of them wrong will result in OOC behaviour. However, the 'why' and 'what' are significantly more mallable than the 'how'.

The way characters think and what choices they make are heavily influenced by their circumstances; if you change those circumstances, you can change how they think and act. Of course, there is a limit to how much you can change this before they just become completely different characters, but you'll be surprised just how far you can push this. If you figure out what makes a character tick (i.e. how they think), you can use that knowledge to justify some absolutely insane character changes while still having them feel in character, by correctly identifying the circumstances under which they would change. This is how AUs work. This is also how character development works.

You have much less leeway when it comes to speech patterns and mannerisms. Yes, those are also determined by backstory and circumstance, but this is the first way everyone is going to judge your characterization. If a character does not pass the vibe check, they will never feel in character. You can stretch it a little bit depending on circumstance, but you must tread very carefully, because changing them too much will result in a character that fundamentally does not act like themselves. This is why characters may start talking in slightly different ways due to character development, but rarely develop a whole entire different speech pattern as part of said development. Because they wouldn't feel like the same character anymore. If Zelda (Breath of the Wild) talks like a surfer dude, nothing you do or say will make her feel in character, regardless of how justifiable the change is in your surfer AU. The vibes are the most superficial element of characterization, but also the least malleable.

And there is a secret fourth metric: their character core.

This one is a little difficult to explain. Essentially: characters aren't people. They act like people, they feel like people, but they are not people: they are parts of a narrative. Everything they are is molded to fit their role in the narrative. There is a reason I specified that these are the pillars of fanfic characterization; when it comes to original fiction, more nebulous factors such as 'how are the narrative's themes reflected in the character' and 'what purpose does this character serve in the narrative' start becoming much more important than speech patterns or actions or whatever. But with fanfic, all that stuff has already been figured out for you; all you have to do is identify and play with it.

But you do kinda need to identify it. I'm not saying you need to have a PhD in media analysis in order to write a 2k fluff fic; not all fanfic is the same and you do not always need to think about narrative role and theme if you understand how they think, act, and talk. But if you're going to change a character from how they are in canon (most commonly this would be while writing an AU), you have to understand what you absolutely cannot change. Having an understanding of how narratives function and how story role affects characterization at the very least makes this a lot easier.

So: what is a character core? There is no real straightforward answer to that question. It can include a lot of things, ranging from speech pattern to personality traits to thematic purpose. Often, it's a combination of several of these things, because different aspects of a character are an interconnected web that is not neatly separated. But at its most basic level, a character's core is the whole point of their character, the thing they are designed to do, be, and/or represent.

And the thing is: you can usually change this core. You can create circumstances so different from canon that a character's core changes entirely, for very logical reasons. You can do this. But you shouldn't, because a character's core is the whole entire point of their character. Once you change it, they become fundamentally different characters, and you might as well make an OC.

Example: if you made an AU where Zelda (Breath of the Wild) is a prodigy who unlocked all her powers when she was expected to, you would be justified in making her confident and comfortable in her role as the princess. That would be a logical character change. It would also completely and utterly miss the point of her entire character. Zelda's whole entire character is structured around her conflict with her assigned role; removing this conflict changes her so radically that she will no longer be Zelda. So although you could justify the change to Zelda the person, you cannot justify it to Zelda the character.

There are few things that you really, truly cannot make a character do, or change about a character. But they do exist, and identifying them is crucial if you are writing AUs or other premises that innately stretch characterization. Obviously, there is no exact science to this, and people are bound to disagree on what is or is not the core of someone's character. But this very much is the most important part of characterization.

And the second most important part is making sure they would fucking say that, because if they fail the vibe check it's all over for you. Thanks for coming to my TED Talk.

[aleclightofmylifewoodbane]

SO IM NOT THE ONLY ONE. Op i thank you for your bravery..

Going to be honest I feel the same…Don’t get me wrong I LOVE Will Jem and Tessa (TRUST I be talking about Jem all day everyday) but other than them I don’t find TID as interesting. I like the characters a lot more than I like the series as a whole yk? I was never able to finish rereading TID because the plot didn’t hold my attention.

But with TDA? About to be on my third reread. The characters feel much more relatable and hit close to home, and they all are so interesting and I really enjoy the plot and the antagonists and all of the character dynamics a LOT more. I LOVE the Blackthorns they are hands down my favorite family unit and they’re very personal to me…Maybe it’s because it’s a wider cast and we have TMI interacting with TDA and it sets up TWP, but I find it infinitely more interesting. I just love them so much.

UNPOPULAR OPINION

I actually like TDA much more than TID, I relate to the characters a lot more, i think the plot is more interesting and I re-read it every couple months, but i've only read TID twice and i'm fine with it.

(also i like Will Herondale, i think he's funny and i'm sad he died but he's not my fav Herondale)

+ the Blackthorns are my fav family, i LOVE Emma, and i love Jem, Kit is introduced, Ash is also introduced, i really like all the relationships developing (blackstairs, Kierarktina, KiTty) and the other characters making an appearance, i love it, KIT AND JACE PLEASE, MALEC AND THEIR KIDS.

you get my point, that's it, thankssss

[theemporium]

are you gonna write for andrei ?

i love that man

i go feral

I want to but I’m also lowkey terrified to write for him🫠I just don’t wanna mess up his personality

[y2kaee]

[thesituationship]

I actually do need all the angsty artists and writers to remember, ford is an optimistic person. This man is full of enthusiasm and whimsy. His love of all things weird is infectious. It's why he gets along with Mabel so well. Hell, it's why his autistic rizz manages to pull two bitches. His manic pixie dream girl energy is off the charts.

Think about how lucky we are. As a mad scientist, with a giant ego, who found it hard to connect with people emotionally, it would have been soo easy to write ford as cold, crude, cynical. Rick Sanchez or Dr House coded. I beg you, don't squander the whimsy.

[wordsofasarcast]

headcanon

So you know how it's canon that Will listens to true crime podcasts?

What if that's how he finds out that Nico is from the 1940s?!

Like he's listening to the latest episode about 'the death of Maria di Angelo and the disappearance and supposed kidnapping of her missing children, Niccolò and Bianca di Angelo'.

And it's not all that strange for demigods to pop up in conspiracy blogs or podcasts - Percy had a four part series about him, and Will listened to the whole thing during a nightshift at the infirmary.

So yeah, Will starts listens to the di Angelo episode thinking nothing of it, maybe he's just hoping to have a laugh about what the mortals thought happened to Nico or maybe he's more than a little curious about Nico's mysterious past.

And the hosts, in crackling stereo voices because they desperately need a better mic, are talking about lightning striking the hotel, how "the storm popped up out of nowhere" and the "strange seismic activity reported in the area at the time"...and then the date drops...

The hosts say something along the lines of, "The di Angelo siblings were reported missing by their family back in Italy after no word had been received of their safe passage to America. The police report states they were last seen by an anonymous witness entering the Lotus Hotel & Casino with an unknown third party in December of 1942."

And Will's just sat there, gaping at the infirmary bed he'd been stripping of its sheets. Because everything is adding up now, and Will's not quite sure how he missed it...

[clockwayswrites]

5 Times the JL Learned Batman was Married and the 1 Time They Met the Spouse.

One. Two.

J’onn floated down the hallway of the Watchtower, keeping pace with Batman. The mission had been without injury or death thanks only to the man that J’onn followed.

“May I ask a question?”

Batman gave a noise of soft agreement as they entered the room where the device would be kept for further study. They would need a way to disable such things if Batman and his skills were not there for future battles.

“The question is likely both cultural and personal,” J’onn clarified.

There was a pause from Batman as he settled the device and then a nod. “Go ahead.”

J’onn dipped his head in appreciation. Batman was often one that J’onn went to when he wished to better understand the humanity he found himself surrounded by. Of all the human members, of which there were not actually many, J’onn trusted Batman the most to give him a clear and honest answer.

“There was something that I noticed when you took off your gauntlet in aim to use the HUD to disable the device. On your forth finger, starting with the thumb, there was a black band embedded into your skin. What is the purpose of this?”

Batman’s lips twitched into what J’onn was coming to understand as Batman’s version of a smile.

“It is a mark made of ink that has been embedded into the skin with a needle. Mine was done with a machine, but the practice is thousands of years old. It is called a tattoo. Black is traditional, though the ink come in many colors. The finger it is on is called the ring finger. Thumb, index or pointer, middle, ring, pinkie,” Batman said, pointing to each finger as he spoke the word.

J’onn tilted his head curiously.

Batman gave him the time to think.

“Does the mark have any association to the rings of marriage that people wear? It is, after all, encircling your ring finger.”

“They’re called wedding rings and it does,” Batman admitted. “A ring would be dangerous for me to wear while acting as Batman. The wrong hit to my finger would risk breaking bone or tearing ligament. The tattoo is a way for me to have that physical reminder of the bond without the risk of an actual ring.”

“I see. Thank you for explaining,” J’onn said. As Batman turned to leave the room, J’onn asked, “Are the others aware of your marriage?”

Batman hesitated uncharacteristically. “Only one other in the League.”

“Then I will keep the matter to myself.”

“Thank you,” Batman said with a little nod before he swept out of the room.

[snowstories]

[Image: photo of the book 'Once Upon a Murder' by Robert J. Randisi and Kevin D. Randle. The cover is a pulp illustration of a stereotypical 1940s detective lying on the ground in a medieval battlefield, an arrow through his chest. He clutches the arrow with his hand and looks down at a dead knight before him, a shocked expression on his face. End description.]

got a book about a 1940s detective getting portal fantasied, which is objectively better than a normal guy (gender neutral) from the writer's period getting portal fantasied

[cozylittleartblog]

lil columbo sticker design i made for my etsy :) i'm not sure what the market is for columbo merch but if the demand is high enough i'd like to make an enamel pin in the future!