Xanxus: Tell Him About The Birds And The Bees.

miscommunication as a plot device makes me angry

if you just talked to each other but no

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Actually

The question I get the most is how I write characters that feel like real people. 

Generally when I’m designing a human being, I deconstruct them into 7 major categories:

1. Primary Drive 2. Fear: Major and Secondary 3. Physical Desires 4. Style of self expression 5. How they express affection 6. What controls them (what they are weak for) 7. What part of them will change.

1. Primary Drive: This is generally related to the plot. What are their plot related goals? How are they pulling the plot forward? how do they make decisions? What do they think they’re doing and how do they justify doing it. 2. Fear: First, what is their deep fear? Abandonment? being consumed by power? etc. Second: tiny fears. Spiders. someone licking their neck. Small things that bother them. At least 4. 3. Physical desires. How they feel about touch. What is their perceived sexual/romantic orientation. Do their physical desires match up with their psychological desires.

4. Style of self expression: How they talk. Are they shy? Do they like to joke around and if so, how? Are they anxious or confident internally and how do they express that externally. What do words mean to them? More or less than actions? Does their socioeconomic background affect the way they present themselves socially?  5. How they express affection: Do they express affection through actions or words. Is expressing affection easy for them or not. How quickly do they open up to someone they like. Does their affection match up with their physical desires. how does the way they show their friends that they love them differ from how they show a potential love interest that they love them. is affection something they struggle with?

6. What controls them (what they are weak for): what are they almost entirely helpless against. What is something that influences them regardless of their own moral code. What– if driven to the end of the wire— would they reject sacrificing. What/who would they cut off their own finger for.  What would they kill for, if pushed. What makes them want to curl up and never go outside again from pain. What makes them sink to their knees from weakness or relief. What would make them weep tears of joy regardless where they were and who they were in front of. 

7. WHAT PART OF THEM WILL CHANGE: people develop over time. At least two of the above six categories will be altered by the storyline–either to an extreme or whittled down to nothing. When a person experiences trauma, their primary fear may change, or how they express affection may change, etc. By the time your book is over, they should have developed. And its important to decide which parts of them will be the ones that slowly get altered so you can work on monitoring it as you write. making it congruent with the plot instead of just a reaction to the plot. 

That’s it.

But most of all, you have to treat this like you’re developing a human being. Not a “character” a living breathing person. When you talk, you use their voice. If you want them to say something and it doesn’t seem like (based on the seven characteristics above) that they would say it, what would they say instead?

If they must do something that’s forced by the plot, that they wouldn’t do based on their seven options, they can still do the thing, but how would they feel internally about doing it?

How do their seven characteristics meet/ meld with someone else’s seven and how will they change each other?

Once you can come up with all the answers to all of these questions, you begin to know your character like you’d know one of your friends. When you can place them in any AU and know how they would react.

They start to breathe.

it’s already starting to get uncomfortably warm where I live, so here are some hot weather survival tips to help y’all keep looking effortlessly flawless even when your face feels like it’s melting off

You want sweatproof foundation? Add a primer and a setting spray to your makeup routine. e.l.f. has pretty decent ones for really great prices (the primer is like $3-5 depending on the store you go to, and the setting spray is like $3-7), and they’re cruelty-free!

You wanna wear a skirt/dress, but your thighs are all chafe-y? Rub some deodorant on the inside of your thighs to help eliminate friction. It may sound weird but it really does help.

If you live somewhere that has really humid summers, you can keep your hair from getting too crazy frizzy by using a serum (I use Designline’s Silk Drops, but that one’s a little pricey – OGX has a good one that’s way cheaper and smells like coconut). Squeeze a dime-sized amount into your hand, rub your fingers together, and run it through the length of your hair. If you want to go a step further, you can spray some hairspray into your hand, rub your hands together, and then run your hands over your hair to smooth it down. 

BB cream is generally lighter and less cake-y than foundation, and in hot weather it’s less likely to melt off. I haven’t found a good cruelty-free one that’s pale enough for me yet, but Maybelline has a decent one that I used to use.

Liquid eyeliner is sweatproof, and the really good ones are even pool-proof. You should also make sure your mascara is waterproof so it won’t run when you sweat.

DO NOT SHAVE EVERY DAY. Shaving too often will give you dry skin and razor burn, which is super uncomfortable. You should be shaving every 2-3 days AT THE MOST. Also, use conditioner instead of shaving cream (it’s cheaper and works way better) and apply lotion as soon as you finish shaving.

If you’re struggling with sweaty skin and summer acne, try using a face wash, scrub, or mask with activated charcoal in it. It sounds weird, but it really works and is gentle enough for sensitive skin.

If your face gets all shiny over the course of the day, you might want to look into getting some blotting sheets (or “oil-absorbing sheets,” as they’re sometimes labeled) to keep in your backpack or purse. You just pat them on your face, and they absorb all the extra oil and help you look more matte and less shiny. You don’t even have to buy special blotting sheets – I had a friend who made her own by just cutting some tissue paper into little squares, and they worked really well! 

Dry shampoo is a lifesaver, especially if your hair gets greasy and sweaty during the day. You can buy a cute lil bottle to keep in your purse, and use as needed throughout the day. 

Every March/April, Walmart starts selling cheap flip flops for like a dollar a pair. I highly recommend going and buying a pair or two, because it’s honestly never a bad idea to have some cheap flip flops on hand, especially if you go swimming a lot.

Coconut oil is your best friend. You can put it on your lips to keep them soft and plump, you can put it in your hair as a deep conditioning treatment, you can use it to soften dry, rough skin like on your elbows and the soles of your feet – just do whatever. You can also substitute it for vegetable oil when you bake cookies or brownies; it tastes better and is better for you. 10/10

If you’re insecure about wearing revealing clothing because you have scars/stretch marks/ect., Vitamin E oil is really great for helping them fade. I am very clumsy and scar very easily, and this stuff is a life saver. (And of course, scars and stretch marks are nothing to be ashamed of – I personally think stretch marks are extremely adorable and love mine a lot – but if yours make you uncomfortable you have every right to use a treatment like this to make them less noticeable.)

I know you’ve probably already heard this a million times, but YOU NEED TO DRINK WATER. ESPECIALLY WHEN IT’S HOT AND YOU’RE SWEATING. Trust me, dehydration and heat stroke are not fun, you do not wanna go there. Drink whenever you have the chance. And yes, it does have to be water. Soda literally just makes you more dehydrated.

If you’re going to go to the beach or pool, go in the late afternoon/evening (like 4:00 p.m. or later). It’ll be way, way less crowded, and the sun will already be starting to chill out, so you have way less of a chance of getting burned.

If you DO get sunburned, aloe vera gel can save the day. When I was fourteen I got a sunburn so bad that I couldn’t sleep (because my soft, silky sheets were hurting me when they rubbed my skin) and almost had permanent scarring. My friend brought me some of this stuff and not only did it provide instant pain relief, but my burns healed completely and didn’t scar! 

If you are out in the sun and start to feel dizzy, lightheaded, or nauseous, or if you develop a headache, get yourself to a cool, shady place (preferably inside an air-conditioned building) IMMEDIATELY. 

DON’T WEAR SANDALS TO A CONCERT, FESTIVAL, OR OTHER OUTDOORS EVENT. TRUST ME. YOUR FEET WILL GET SO DIRTY AND GROSS, IT’S NOT WORTH IT.

You can make a really good body scrub by combining sugar, olive oil or honey, and a few drops of lemon juice. You can use it to exfoliate your body or even your face, especially if your skin gets kind of rough during the summer. 

I probably sound like such a mom right now, but please don’t forget to sleep this summer. Teens and adults need AT LEAST eight hours a night to function normally, and lack of sleep can lead to heightened anxiety and lack of focus, and can even make you gain or retain weight.

Eating is important, too. I know I, for one, sometimes forget to feed myself if someone doesn’t remind me, but it’s important to make sure you’re getting 1200-1600 calories a day at the very least. And obviously you’ll need to eat more on days that you’re walking or exercising a lot, like if you go to a festival or on a hike.  

THESE TWO PHOTOS EMIT THE SAME ENERGY

Do you have any voice tips to offer???

OH MY GOD SOMEONE IS REALLY ASKING ME THIS SOMEONE IS REALLY ASKING ME THIS GYAAAAAAAAAAAAAH! 

Okay, composure Emily…composure! 

1.) A common problem that people have when singing is that they think raising their head up when they can’t reach a note will help. Let me tell ya, it really won’t. In fact, it will cause vocal problems down the road and really strain your voice. Tipping your chin down and level to the floor not only works better but sounds better.

2.) Stop using Glottal Attacks. It’s what happens when the edges of your vocal cords strike against each other in over closure. A good way to stop using them is to put soft “h’s” in front of words that begin with vowels. For example: everyone –> hh-everyone, I –> hh-I and always –> hh-always.

3.) VERY IMPORTANT TIP THAT PLAGUED ME FOR MOST OF MY CHILDHOOD: DO NOT I repeat DO NOT BREATHE WITH YOUR SHOULDERS! It used to make me shake while I sang and despite what you think, no it will not give you more air. Instead of breathing like that (vertically) you need to breathe from your chest area (I mean like around your ribs, diaphragm, etc.)  

Cup your hands around your ribs til the point where your fingers are touching. Slowly, and without moving your shoulders, breath from your abdomen. Imagine you are like a balloon being inflated. When you exhale your stomach should go IN and when your inhale your stomach should go OUT despite what cartoons depict. 

This reply is getting really long so I’ll finish it up with how you START up. Warm ups!

4.) Warm Ups. Doing warm ups before you sing is healthy for your voice and makes it easy to sing higher or lower without strain. 

This first one is called Lip Trills but I like to call it the Jean Kirschstein exercise. You know how a horse flubs it’s lips? Like BRRRRR! That’s how this works. We all do it when we’re bored but here is an example of it:

Yes, you look like a catfish, but it helps so it doesn’t matter. While you do this you hum different pitches. I do 1-2-3-4-5-4-3-2-1 which is basically like sliding up to the third and back. This may sound complicated so I’ll record a clip of it on vocaroo.

The next one is 1-5-1-9-1. We can sing this using various vowels but I use Ee-Ah-Ee-Ah-Ee.

LAST TIP! YOU NEED YOUR MOUTH TO LOOK LIKE A FISH…somewhat. When you sing things with vowels like “ee” or “ie” you tend to make your mouth wide like your smiling. DO NOT DO THAT. Instead, do this. 

Imagine that painting the Scream? Isn’t that what it’s called? Anyways, the painting of the guy that’s screaming. He holds his hands near his mouth in shock. For the time being until you can break that habit of smiling on those ie and ee words try doing this and see if it helps. 

If you have anymore questions feel free to ask! This is pretty much what I’ve learned from 10 years of singing lessons. 

Once again, I apologize that this post is really long. Thank you for asking! I love talking about singing in general! 

Here is a 30 Minute At-Home Butt Lifting Workout