To All My Writer Friends Out There.

the sexual tension between me and wasting time on tumblr instead of writing like i should be

Rewatching "The Boiler Room Job" and they really did just give Eliot a machete and set him loose in the jungle with an asshole conman ceo huh

Lookin’ for Writeblrs 👀

So I have a lot of lovely mutuals, but I always love finding new writeblrs so here goes! Feel free to interact with this post if you’re a writeblr, and tell me a bit about yourself and your WIPs if you like so I can follow you!! I’m an especially big fan of:

Sci-fi/fantasy/contemporary genres (although I like most genres! these are just my faves!!)

Found family!!

Funky diverse casts

Preferably nothing too NSFW as that stuff makes me uncomfortable :/

Anything with cool imagery and/or symbolism!!!!

I can’t write these scenes bro I just can’t

How to write about Grief:

There is no right or wrong way to experience grief. Just as there is no right or wrong way to write it. Everyone is different, each set of circumstances are different. 

The point of this post is to show you how different people react in different ways, and give points on how you might write that, depending on your character and story.

Reactions to Grief

Numbness: Your character may go into auto-pilot and be unable to process the events that have unfolded.

Anger: This can be aimed at other people, at a Higher Being, or at nothing in particular.

Unsteady: Your characters may be unsteady. For example, unable to stop their voice from shaking or they may find it difficult to stand.

Focusing on Others: Your character may disregard their own feelings because they are so overwhelmed and instead concentrate on someone else’s well-being. 

Seek out routines: Amid upheavals, your character may seek comfort in tasks that are familiar and “safe,” such as working, cleaning, making their bed, making absurd amounts of tea or taking a morning walk.

Pretending that Everything Is Okay: Grief is viewed as an emotion that should cease or be concealed once the funeral is over. So people mention the news in an offhand comment, then talk and laugh as if all is right with the world.

Denial: Some people deny the reality of death and convince themselves that the news is a joke or can’t be true.

Reactions from people surrounding your character:

People may avoid your character as they do not know what to say or simply can’t find the right words.

Some may even go as far as to cross the street when they notice your character approaching.

Even people that the character has known for years may act strange or standoff-ish, simply because they don’t know what to say.

On the other side of that, some people may be overly helpful and friendly.

It is not uncommon for estranged friends, family or others to suddenly reappear in a person’s life after they have experienced grief. 

Either because those people want to offer their support and love  or because they’re being nosy and they want to be kept up to date on the “drama”.

Most people will move on from the event fairly quickly if they weren’t emotionally invested. 

Some people may even get annoyed at your character for still being upset weeks or months later.

When talking about the person they have lost:

Your character may recall a memory or tell a story about their loved one, these are possible reactions. (I have encountered all of them.)

Your character may being to cry or get upset at the thought of the person they have lost. 

The person they are talking to may become awkward and avert eye contact when your character brings up the person they have lost. 

Others may ask or tell your character to stop talking about the person they have lost. They may roll their eyes, cough awkwardly, or cut off your character mid sentences so that they can change the subject.

Some people may ask inappropriate questions about the circumstances in which the character’s loved one passed away. Depending on the personality of your character then may react differently. 

Other things to note:

Grief is not constrained by time. 

One of the main problems with grief in fiction is that a character is typically heartbroken for a couple scenes and then happy again. But grief does not evaporate because the world needs saving. 

Allow your character to wrestle with their grief. 

Your character may feel guilty. Your character may feel a twinge of guilt when they laugh or have a good time with someone else; when they do something to remind them that they’re alive, and their loved one isn’t. 

Grief is a game changer. A previously outgoing character may withdraw and isolate themselves. Some people may take grief and/or bereavement as a sign that life is too short; they may make big decisions in an attempt to make themselves feel better and grow away from their pain.

Sometimes grief can help you find your purpose.

At first grief can be all consuming. It hurts and you can’t really control it. It may seem unrelenting. Eventually the grief will become easier to deal with, your character may find the days to be better, but that doesn’t mean that when the grief hits it doesn’t hurt any less.

For most people, grief never really goes away. “Sometimes you have to accept the fact that certain things will never go back to how they used to be.”

It is rare that a person will ever give a long speech about their feelings, a lot of people struggle to even find the words. But that’s okay. Show the reader how your character feels, rather than just telling them.

Don’t pause the plot to deal with the aspect of grief. This could overwhelm the readers and drag the pace down. In reality, life doesn’t just stop due to grief, the world keeps spinning and things still need to be done. Use the character’s grief as a backdrop for the story’s events.  

Yes, grief affects the character’s day-to-day life, goals, and relationships. But it shouldn’t drive readers away or stagnate the story. Instead, should engage readers and produce empathy that keeps them turning pages.

You don’t need to tell your readers that everything will be fine. You don’t need to provide all of the answers.

“Skirting grief and treating it lightly is easy. But by realistically portraying it through a variety of responses and its lasting effects on the character’s life, readers will form a connection with your characters.“

Pizza toppings are an opinion “women should be forced to endure unwanted pregnancy’s” isn’t. You can’t shovel shit and demand people don’t react to the smell

Opinions differ. Just trying to say opinions are reserved for nonsensical things like pizza in a world that is controversial all the time is a very naive thing to say.

No one is saying what Bee said shouldn't have been called out but there's a way to do certain things.

If you feel like someone saying something ignorant means they should be shamed and never forgiven because they said something you didn't agree with, that's a you problem. (I'm using you generally here)

Thinking that there is some golden, perfect person in the world that has never said anything to offend anyone ever in their life or believed in something bigot is an extremist ideology. Nobody is perfect. Yes we've all been tainted in different ways by our culture. If you're on this earth today of 2020 or were here before, congratulations. you've been tainted.

People who are progressive all around, learn from experience meaning all their lives they bettered themself. Even activist have at some point believed in a bigot thing. They don't go on social media and act as if they're above someone else because they have "the better opinion". The argument is about making the world a better place, not outing an individual that has fallen into the trap of society.

If you think you cannot teach a person who has a politically indifferent stance to you, you're no better than an extremist on the opposing side. People who think differently than us will not just die from disease or something. They will go on to raise generations of people who share their ideology and so will we. All berating will do is cause a civil war. There is a difference between someone saying something slightly problematic and someone acting out on being problematic and interfering with an opposing side.

Bee has the right to her opinion of contraception. Hell, I don't agree with it but she was not attacking anyone with her views. She didn't say abortion clinics should be taken down, she actually said she thinks they should be up and women should have access to better healthcare. So contraception in this scenario is basically a pizza topic opinion because it interferes with no one. It's her own belief and she says women don't have to follow it. She simply made a comment stating how condoms and birth control pills helps with preventing pregnancy, she never said women MUST use contraception and abortion clinics should be closed down. Tobey took it amongst herself to screen shot the comment and reblog it.

Was what Bee said shit? Yes. Was she going through an understandably hard time? Yes. Did she learn from it and apologize? Yes.

Bee is not Donald Trump. Bee is not Ben Shapiro. People can forgive Joe Biden and vote for him as president even though he's acted against people of color starting laws to put poc in jail, but you can't forgive a misguided, woman of color who said something slightly controversial on the internet???

Tag yourself I’m Aled’s iPad

i cant talk right now im doing hot girl shit *crawls down a castle wall in lizard fashion*

Writers who have had works spawn from one sentence or image... share that line here!

Hispanic= Spanish speaking

Latino= From latinamerica

A peruvian is latino and hispanic, a Colombian is latino and hispanic.

Someone from Brazil is latino but not hispanic

Someone from spain is hispanic but not latino