Like Father Like Daughter

When writing emotionally reserved characters:

Show your character's struggles with holding in emotions. Just because your character won't let themself go in public, doesn't mean they don't struggle holding everything in.

Find a motive. Pride and/or consideration for those around them can make emotionally reserved people hold back more than would be considered good for them. There are other reasons too, perhaps the initial cause and the reason now are different, but try to give them a reason.

Show side-effects. Everything you bottled up shows itself in another way, whether it's physical or mental. This can be long- and short-term, depending on the severity of the emotions.

Give them coping mechanisms. Everyone who wishes not to show certain emotions has a trick or two to keep themselves in check. Taking a sip of water, not looking people in the eyes, clenching their fists, breathing just a bit too deeply.

Write subconscious signs that they give off, which close friends or family might pick on. Just because these characters want to keep their emotions to themselves, doesn't mean they don't give off signs. Some manage to keep said signs well hidden from those closest to them, but it's more common for environment to pick up on something at the very least.

What is that…thing? I was hoping you’d be able to tell me. Because I certainly can’t.

Bai Zhan Peak disciple Shen Yuan and Zui Xian disciple Shen Jiu—mostly for Battle Twink/Drunkard-by-Necessity-Asshole-by-Choice shenanigans

Jiuyuan Week Day 3: QJPL SJ/other peak SY (in which I yet again ignore half the prompt and say they’re both from different peaks)

Xianle Quartet being besties on the adult bluesky acct.

This is maybe the prettiest Xie Lian I've done. And it's...in this ridiculous porn thing lmao ; ; I like them all getting along :)

(You have to adjust your filters in your bluesky acct on desktop in order to see adult stuff, btw).

My not-adult acct is here, btw.

Sound on 🐾🤍

Writing Character Accents in Fiction

Hey there, thanks for the question! I speak English as a second language; most English speakers I encounter aren’t native (yes, including fictional people); thus, this is a concern I’ve explored personally when I write. 

I think the core principle regarding accent writing is this: it shouldn’t be distracting. 

For the same reasons why Stephen King prescribes the basic dialogue tag “said” rather than fancier alternatives like “whispered”, “shouted” or “screeched”, dialogue must be first and foremost easy to read. It must flow like a real conversation – the pace and tone are a lot more important than how specific words are being pronounced by the character. 

Focus on what effect the accent has:

Using adjectives to describe their voice in general. Different types of English (American, British, Australian, etc.) will give off a different vibe, also partly dependent on how your character speaks in general:

Lilting: Having a smooth rise and falling quality; sing-song like. Welsh accent is often described as singing. 

Posh: from a high social class. This is the term generally used to describe the upper-class British accent.

Nasal: this happens when the sound goes through somebody’s nose when they’re speaking. North American accents are more nasal than, say, British pronunciations. 

Brash: harsh, loud, indicative of sounding a little rude. 

Slur: speaking indistinctly; words merging into one another.

Using metaphors.

Her voice was cotton and fluffy clouds. 

When he spoke, the ‘r’s scratched the insides of his throat. 

Mentioning their accent with a brief example(s). 

“Would you like to drink some wine?” she said, though her Indian accent gave extra vibration to her ‘w’s and ‘r’s, making the words sound more like ‘vould you like to drrrink some vine’.

“I want some chocolate.” His syllables were choppy and ‘l’s rather flat, saying ‘cho-ko-lit’. 

Some Tips:

Don’t phonically spell out everything. Perhaps give a few examples in the beginning, but stick to standard English spellings. 

Pay attention to word choice, slang, and colloquialisms. 

An Australian person would say “tram”, not “trolley; “runners” instead of “sneakers”

A Canadian may refer to a “fire hall” – what Americans call a firehouse or fire station

If your character comes from a non-Enligsh background:

Use vocabulary from other languages. 

“What time was the exam, ah? Two o’clock? Jiayou!” → putting “ah” or “la” at the end of sentences + Jiayou means “break a leg” in Singlish. 

“I can’t believe that 4-year-olds have their own SNS accounts now.” → “SNS” is short for “social networking service”, a term used to refer to social media in Korea. This would a subtle difference – even though it isn’t technically Korean at all!

Transpose grammar from different languages. 

For example, in French, plural nouns take plural adjectives (whereas in English, you would speak of ‘white cars’, not ‘whites cars’).

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* . ───

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Cool people I follow: A guide for my friend

The Great Storytellers: (stories from their lives)

@gallusrostromegalus I feel like this person has lived their own version of the Odyssey. They have LORE, their parents have LORE, their DOGS HAVE LORE.

@thebibliosphere a romance novelist who lives in a cursed body in a cursed home.

@biggest-gaudiest-patronuses how am I supposed to describe this blob of pink slop? Amazing cursed writings and stories.

@bunjywunjy CURSED BIOLOGY!

@hellenhighwater a rare ADHD goblin who has no (evident) executive disfunction. Names all her pets after crimes.

@hedgehog-moss the adventures of the great escaping llama Pampe.

@tkingfisher Author of Digger, and so many other magical stories.

Wizard Roleplayers:

@wizard-council-bureaucrat

@evilwizard

@the-unseelie-court-official

Cool comics:

@yamujiburo writes a really cute and sweet Jessie/Delia comic! Featuring Ash's face-blindness.

@skycowboys so many kinds of pegasi !

@lxgentlefolkcomic the league of extraordinary gentlefolk! Cryptid Jonathan, slightly vampire Mina, Irene Norton (nee Adler) and her trophy husband, and Quincy Lives!

@linkeduniverse All the Links! what more could you ask?

@eldritch-anthology the DND adventures of an EXTREMELY NORMAL AND HUMAN teen as he searches for info on what who he is.

@pocketss goblin-core goblins

@fishtrouts Baby Dragons!

@pterribledinosaurdrawings self evident!

@thepigeongazette fun autobiographical comics!

@foxes-in-love So cute!

@figmentforms A Zelda/Ganon comic! Featuring Queen Zelda's adopted daughter Rinku (Link).

@thesuperheroesnetwork texts from superheroes!

Cool people (that have awesome advice that pertains to writing):

@blumineck archery guy!!

@howtofightwrite writing help for fights and so cool!

Writers: (stories not from their lives) (I hope)

@the-modern-typewriter writes really good stories about the dynamics between heroes and villains. Also wrote a lot of prompts before stopping and you can find them in the archive!

@microsff short but cool stories

@elsewhereuniversity so many cool stories and ideas, plus the adventures of the Archivist!

@unpretty Accountant by day, Certified Dick Wizard by night. Writing a really fun BOTW ~adjacent~ web novel, and has written many, many unhinged Batman fanfics. Highly recommend looking them up.

@caffeinewitchcraft Amazing short stories based on prompts!

@elidyce Also amazing short stories!

@marlynnofmany many Humans Are Space Orcs stories! and starting a novel on teachers at a magical school!

@yourheartonfire superhero stories!

@gingerly-writing more superhero stories!

@dduane THE Diane Duane.

how do you go on to drawing character interactions without them looking stiff or awkward?? whenever u draw characters like hugging and stuff they always feel so warm and natural n like they have weight!

FIRST THINGS FIRST: if you want characters to feel like they have weight, they gotta have balance.

The second thing is to use references!! Use a mirror or photos when you can, but I often use duckduckgo and just google stock images. I don't use pinterest, but I suppose that works. I find it way more helpful to look at lots of images of the same pose at all different angles than to try to reference one specific image.

I love these pictures as Snape. First one give me unhinged vibe, which fits his persona so well. Second would be a stretch because many think Snape is ugly. All he needed was good food. I suppose the 3rd one is snape 💀

Showing 'Exhaustion' in Writing

Heavy eyelids, struggling to stay open.

Slumping shoulders, barely able to hold themselves up.

Dragging feet with each step.

Speaking in a slow, slurred manner.

Dark circles under the eyes.

Yawning frequently and deeply.

Head nodding forward, trying to stay awake.

Leaning heavily against walls or furniture.

Rubbing eyes and face with hands.

Deep, weary sighs escaping lips.

Wincing at bright lights or loud sounds.

Staring blankly ahead, unable to focus.

Weak, unsteady movements.

Muttering incoherently to themselves.

Falling asleep in unusual places.

Lack of response or delayed reactions.

Propping their head up with their hand.

Collapsing onto the nearest available surface.

Swaying slightly on their feet.

Barely lifting their head to speak or listen.

Maybe not that sort of reaction but there could be a infiltration arc for the heros where they learn about Amity Park. They could find about the GIW, the portal, Pirah Dark, Fenton Works, and about Danny himself.

Like a slow build up with small pieces of information first and then, bam! Sudden high stakes for everyone involved. After all, the show is still going on. That is most likely not going to stop and I can see a influx of ghost media in Amity Park's future. That is what they are going to be known for.

Ghost themed every thing. From TV shows to Books to Music. Maybe they look in cold cases or the other ghosts past? Like with the Ghost Writer, Youngblood, or Spectra? That would be fun.

To cover up the happenings of amity park, Danny comes up with a GENIUS idea (shut up Sam).

The small videos and pictures of him and the ghosts that managed to escape their city were dangerous if a hero were to look into their business.

With Tucker and Sam, they created a 'behind the scenes'.

(The video starts with Phantom. He's chasing something– someone, building's sweep past as the two duke it out midair.

That is, until someone yells.

"CUT!"

The background is taken away, leaving behind a green screen. Phantom and the ghost, now recognised as Ember Mclain, hang midair, dangling.

The camera zooms in on Phantom, as he slips off his white wig and scratches his scalp.

"Danny! Stop taking off the wig!" Someone yells off screen, to which Damny rolls his eyes to, screaming back a "but it's scratchy!".

The video stops there.)

They did NOT expect the amount of views this would get.