Mods Better STAY Asleep Cuz This Is GOOD SHIT

Me: *hasnt finished my WIP*

Also me: *already planning a sequel*

Credit: Ashley McMinn

EXCUSE ME???

Werewolf Boyfriend: Max

I woman hope for a new start, a new recovery, moves to Hearthway Hollow to help someone else recover.

Female Reader x Male Monster

I’ve always had to be careful in life. I took ballet to learn to be graceful and thoughtful with my movements. I decided to study for a job that would allow me to avoid any accident or peril. But life is hard to control, and you don’t get to pick and choose when you bump into things, fall over, or get a nosebleed.

I got my first nosebleed when I was still an infant. It sent my parents into such a panic, they still talk about it like it happened not too long ago. Hemophilia was common on my dad’s side, they just never realized what it was. Ever since my grandfather’s time, they called themselves heavy bleeders. I got the worst of it. Any time I got a nick or cut, I bled like I was in a horror movie with an massive special-effects budget. Even worse, my nosebleeds happened regularly. I would get too dry, and bam! I stopped wearing anything other than black to keep from staining my clothes.

I had to give up ballet because my teachers were worried I would start bleeding on the stage. I hated that because I really did love dancing. I graduated high school early, and learned that even if I was the ‘kid with a bloody nose’ during college, that was fine with people. I changed the focus of my studies and became an art restorer. I learned to wear gloves and a mask when I did the work; it would catch the blood, and I would have very little worries. Studying art history seemed like the safest thing in the world for me.

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How new WIPs are born:

someone straight : u can’t make all the characters queer !

me :

Your character is driven by 3 emotional motives. See? I even made a graphic.

(I’m proud of the graphic, too.)

Mood: The immediate (and temporary) emotions of your character. A feeling of joy after kissing the girl they like; frustration after a busy day working a summer job at the fair; despair after somebody eats the last Oreo.

Situation: The plot and relationship contexts of your character. The apprehension they feel with a friend in the weeks following a nasty fight; the nerves felt in the week leading up to their big championship game; the frustration and boredom of being grounded after crashing the family car into the county creek.

Struggle: The core, deepfelt pain of your character, which often emerges from their background. The fear of failure from overly demanding parents; a deep longing for a family they never knew; a desperate need to be accepted after spending years as an outcast.

How these 3 motives influence your character

The above emotional motives all play an important role in driving your character’s actions, muddying or even overriding their more logical intentions — just as it happens to the rest of us. (We’re all human, after all.)

That being said, while your character’s mood and situation will shift throughout the story, their struggle will remain constant: their true north, emotionally speaking. This struggle will always be at the root of their actions, even as you swap in new situations and moods.

Take Bethany as an example

Let’s say your character’s name is Bethany, and her struggle is this: a deep fear of failure, stemming from her parents’ impossible academic expectations, which conflicts with her own desire to finally experience the life she sees passing her by.

Her actions, while primarily driven by that struggle, are going to vary quite a bit depending on her situation and mood. For example, if it’s the night before a big test, she might blow off a friend’s invitation to a party so she can study.

But if the party is a week before the big test, and she finds a handwritten invitation in her notebook from Emma (the girl on the lacrosse team she has a crush on), Bethany might act differently. Maybe she feels a lightness and warmth in her cheeks as she reads Emma’s note. Maybe she puts those textbooks away, and maybe, just maybe, she sneaks out the window and goes to the party.

But if Bethany finds the note after her parents just chewed her out for being ungrateful and not studying hard enough? Maybe Bethany doesn’t go to the party. Instead, maybe she reads Emma’s note, trembles, then rips it in two, knowing she can’t disappoint her parents like that. Then she spends the rest of the evening studying. Alone.

Mood. Situation. Struggle.

All three kinds of emotional motives are important. Your character’s struggle is the anchor, but their mood and situation are the ever-shifting masks you use to express their struggle in fresh ways. 

And by the end of the story, hopefully your character will overcome their struggle — putting away the textbooks, sneaking out the window, and meeting their crush at a party. Maybe even having their first kiss.

Whatever the character, and whatever their struggle, I’m sure you’ll do great. 

So good luck! And good writing.

— — —

Your stories are worth telling. For tips on how to craft meaning, build character-driven plots, and grow as a writer, follow my blog.

Nano project? Nano project!! 

I’m gonna focus on Dressage Dragons this November, so prepare for a relentless onslaught of Hot Rich Barn Bitch rivalry!

Or, y’know, radio silence until December. Depending on my spoons.

Some deets about DD!

YA queer urban fantasy - real world with added dragons

Queer rivals-to-friends-to-maybe-more

Dragon riding is basically equestrianism 

The sport has a reputation for being populated by spoilt, wealthy young white women (obvs a whole range of folks ride horses IRL, but… there’s a reason for the stereotype, and we’re gonna acknowledge elitism where it exists)

Plot revolves around a competition to gain entry to the most prestigious Draconic Dressage Academy in the world

And a developing wlw relationship between a cruel ambitious heiress and a resentful, ruthless stablehand

No soft lovable MCs here guys sorry Except Fareed, he’s perfect

But lots of character growth all around!

Plenty-o diversity

Set in the UK

Vicious rivalries!

Pranks that get WAY OUT OF HAND!!

Dragons!!! Did I mention the dragons??

Basically: Obnoxious young women teach giant fire-breathing carnivores to dance!!!

[Transcript under cut - warning for First Draft Quality (or lack thereof)]

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