Posting Again Because This Is So Important And It Has Helped Me Out So Much!

Writer's Guide: Hand to Hand Combat

Your character is unarmed and all they have left to fight with is their bare hands. If they hope for the enemy to catch their hands, you will have to write an effective scene. So how can we write a good hand to hand combat scene?

Most Common Moves

Now, I'm not going to list 30+ martial arts moves. Most of your characters will not be masters of kung fu or mixed martial arts. Most people who get into fights are novices.

Punch: a punch is probably to go to strike. Try not punch anybody in the face because one, they will expect it and two, it will hurt your hand. If you can aim for the soft parts of an opponent, kidneys or gut.

Kick: Kicking isn't pretty but it is effective. A good swift kick to the back of somebody's knee will fold them like a lawnchair.

Go for the groin: Man or woman getting kicked in the nether regions is no picnic. A good swift kick with your foot or your knee can incapacitate your opponent. Its not the most honourable of moves but it works.

An Elbow strike is effective: The elbow is your strongest point of attack. Drive it in to a windpipe or a gut and you can but yourself valuable time to retreat or stall your opponent from answering back.

Eyes: they are weak points. Jab somebody in the eyes with a thumb and they will stop in their tracks.

Throat: You can end any fight by going straight for the throat either grasping it in a headlock or jabbing it with a fist which can collapse the windpipe.

Bite: If you are unable to snack your opponent, use your teeth. The human bite is perhaps not as strong as a hyena's but it is strong enough to shorten your opponent by a finger or two.

How to Escape from Grips and Holds

Pinned from behind with your arms pinned: You have to stop your opponent from getting to a headlock. Move your hips to one side and strike backwards toward the groin or gut. This should weaken the hold of your opponent. Once the grip is loosened, turn toward your opponent and snack them into the nose with the heel of your hand.

Held from behind: Bend forward as far as you can making it more difficult for your opponent to lift you. Jab with your elbows back into your opponent's chest or face. Turn toward your opponent once the grip loosens and strike at the face or the groin again to subdue your opponent.

Headlock: If your opponent has you in a headlock, DON'T STRUGGLE. You could break your own neck. Turn into your opponent's side as close as possible. With your hand that is furthest away, hit your opponent into the groin or gut.

Pinned down on the ground: Most likely your opponent is using their own hands and weight to keep you down. If you can move your knees, try to jab them in the side or the groin to unbalanced them.

Things to Remember

1. The whole 6-10 minute bout only happens in films or controlled sporting events. Fights are usually over within a few minutes. (when writing effective fights, keep the pace short.)

2. Girls are vicious. I've worked in nightclubs and broke up a fair few fights. Boys will knock the shit out of each other but girls will tear shreds out of each other. I have known grown men to break up fights between guys but nobody wants to break up a catfight.

3. One wants the fight to end quickly. If you keep slugging at each other, you'll get tired pretty fast. Have your character try end the fight as soon as possible.

4. Nobody emerges from fights unscathed. Even winners may come out with black eyes, broken noses or at very least a broken lip. If you punch someone, you will likely bruise your knuckles if not split them.

5. If your character is fighting to survive, they don't have to stick to etiquette. They will have to do anything to survive even if it means doing something unpleasant like fishhooking or hairpulling.

The Kids Pt. 2

Prompt: Don’t Let Them See You Cry

Fandom: Original Work

@badthingshappenbingo

Part 1

The past week had been hell.

Liv paced around her room massaging her sore shoulder.

The tests had been impossible. Yesterday Liv was told to climb the rock wall for hours. If she tried to stop she was met with an electric shock. So, she kept going. When they finally let her go back to her room, she was too exhausted to resist.

She was not looking forward to today’s test.

When the door slid open, she turned towards the people entering the room.

“Hands.” They said sharply.

Not having the energy she held out her arms.

They stepped forward and locked a pair of handcuffs around her arms. They pulled her forward, and she followed them down the hallway.

When they reached the gym, they unlocked her handcuffs and pushed her into the room.

The door slammed shut behind her.

Liv expecting to be the only one in the room was surprised when saw another figure standing in the corridor.

“Conner. What are you doing here?”

Conner turned to face her. His eyes were bloodshot. He probably hadn’t slept in the past few days. That was his teachers favorite “assignment.” With lights that stayed on and noises that would sound every hour, Conner could be kept awake for days.

“Liv, why are you here?”

“This is my class time. Why are you here?”

Conner’s eyes started darting around the room. “I-I don’t know.” He started walking back and forth. His hands running through his hair.

“Hey. Hey, it’s ok.” Liv stepped forward, motioning for Conner to come closer.

He glanced at her and took a few steps forward.

Suddenly a shock sent them both flying away from each other.

Conner hit the wall behind him and crumpled to the floor.

Liv slid across the floor until her head hit the wall.

Blinking back tears, she jumped to her feet and ran towards Conner. He hadn’t moved since he hit the wall. She knelt and shook his shoulders.

“Conner, you’ve got to wake up.”

He let out a small grunt, and his eyes fluttered open. “What happened?”

“Just the teachers being rude. Try and sleep.”

Conner didn’t argue and closed his eyes again.

Liv pushed his messy hair out of his face. Conner had been the strongest person she knew. The fact that they had reduced him to this mess made her angry.

Tears started to form in her eyes.

No. She would not let them see her cry. That’s what they wanted. They were trying to break her, and the others, and she was not going to let it happen.

She turned towards the camera in the corner of the room. “What do you want from us?” She yelled still holding back her tears.

There wasn’t a response. She grunted in frustration and started to pace the room again. After a few minutes, the door slid open. The Principal strolled in followed by a guard. The door slid shut behind them.

“What do you want with us?” Liv said through gritted teeth.

The Principal let out a soft laugh. “We want you to start trusting us.”

Liv couldn’t help but let out a sarcastic laugh. “And you think the best way to do that is to put us through hell?”

He shrugged, “If that is what it takes.”

The tears started to well up in her eyes again. Pushing them back she pointed at Conner. “Does that look like someone who trusts you?”

“Yes. The next time we ask him to do something, he will.”

“Because you’ve broken him,” Liv yelled. “That is not the same as trust.”

“Maybe not, but he will do what I want, without questions.”

Liv stood, stunned, staring at him.

The Principal stared back with a wide grin on his face. “Now you get it.”

He motioned to the guard, and he stepped forward and grabbed her arm.

Liv didn’t struggle as they walked back to her cell.

“Don’t worry. You will start to trust me just like Conner does.” The Principal’s words echoed down the hall, and Liv shuddered.

Sometimes you just gotta draw some Percabeth, as a treat, you know. (I also really like drawing cool shoes.)

IF YOURE EGYPTIAN AND LGBTQ+ GET OFF ANY QUEER DATING SITES, THE POLICE ARE TRACKING AND HUNTING PEOPLE DOWN AGAIN. DELETE YOUR ACCOUNTS.

How I Wrote A Novel.

This, in a nutshell, is what I did to get a book with my name on it.

NOTE: This is just my personal way of making the words go. Other people have different ways to make their words go. In the world of words, there are no right answers. There’s just lots and lots of tea/coffee/tear stains.

1). The Idea

When I get an idea for a story, I open up a document, label it “Brainstorming,” and start making a bullet list of events that consist of the plot.

It has to be an idea with tangible weight. A stray bit of dialogue or something vague like Halloween, that doesn’t give me much to work off of. Halloween creatures living on the same street where it’s Autumn every day- now that’s something I can build from.

What kinds of creatures are they? What do they do? What do their houses look like? The best ideas are the ones that spark more.

2). First Draft

This is the easy part- and the most challenging. Easy, because there’s literally no bar. I just sat there and typed. But it’s a huge mental challenge.

When I was in first draft mode, I wanted that story out. I thought that by making it such a rough, far-away version from the concept in my head, I was only delaying the day where I’d hold it in my hands. Turns out, that’s what got it to take on physical form in the first place. So I quieted down, grabbed my laptop and some hot tea, and typed.

3). Dissecting the First Draft

After I finished draft one, I printed it all off and highlighted the scant amounts that were passable for the next phase. Dialogue, descriptions, setting- anything that didn’t look like it was up to par was scratched out and omitted.

I call the above pictures A Slow Descent Into Madness.

4). The Second Draft

On a fresh document, I rewrote the story altogether- and it make a difference. I was coming up with things I hadn’t even thought of previously. And it was surprising how much better the plot was than the first time around. But it was still rough.

5). Draft Three

My method was to start with the bigger, more obvious issues and work my way down. Any plot holes I found were noted, and my outline was constantly under revision. I cut out entire scenes and made mental notes on ways they could be fixed/replaced.

This is where I started cutting chapters in half to make the story flow better- but I didn’t bother writing in usable chapter titles. Instead, I improvised:

6). Drafts Four and Five

These were dedicated to correcting the smaller, less obvious plot holes. This was the point where the story finally started to look close to what would become the final version.

7). Drafts Seven Onward

With the story line looking how I wanted, I then moved on to sentence structure. That one song that looked terrible? Rewritten. Over-the-top descriptions and excessive prose? Gone.

8). Editing and Proofing

This is where I had outside help. Besides this useful tool, I had two people check for spelling issues and the overall story. Once it was in decent shape to be made public, I asked for some additional help.

9). Betas

My betas were in the age range that my novel was geared toward, along with a couple of teachers and parents (as it was middle grade). I gave them the full manuscript, along with seven basic questions like “Which characters were your favorite/least favorite and why?” and “Was there a part of the story that didn’t make sense?”

I gave my betas three months to read a 42,590 word story, and by the end they gave me back the review sheets.

10). Final Adjustments

After I read over the reviews, I let the comments sit for three days so that I could proceed with a clear head. I smoothed out any flaws, scanned over the MS twice to make sure everything was right, and that is how I got to the end of writing my first novel.

Next comes publishing- which is a different beast entirely.

Anti anxiety.

Ruby Pt. 3

@badthingshappenbingo​

Prompt: Blindfolded

Fandom: Original Work

Part 1 | Part 2

Ruby’s memories started to come back in pieces.  Curled up in her small cell she began to remember the day she went missing.

The day had started out just fine. She was walking to school when she noticed a homeless guy following her down the road. She crossed the street, and the guy followed her. Feeling nervous she started to walk faster.

Only a block till she got to the college.

She glanced behind her, and at that moment the guy started to run towards her. Startled she started running down the street.

The guy caught up to her quickly and grabbed her arm, pulling her back.

Not knowing what to do she started screaming.

In response he tightened his grip on her arm, and covered her mouth with his hand, cutting off her screams. Using her free arm, Ruby pulled at his hand over her mouth.

“Stop struggling.” He snarled pulling her back down the road towards a black car.

The driver’s door opened, and a tall man got out of the car.

“Doctor Myers, I’ve watched her for a few days, and I think she will be the best for your experiment.”

Doctor Myers stayed silent staring at Ruby. Then he nodded and motioned to the car.

The homeless guy pushed her into the back seat. Ruby scrambled to the other door and tried the handle. It was locked. Looking around for the lock her heart dropped when the homeless guy got in the car and pulled her to the middle seat. Doctor Myers got in, started the car, and they took off down the road.

“Who are you guys?” Ruby asked with a shaky voice.

Neither one answered her as they continued down the road.

Breaking the silence Ruby tried again. “Who are you guys, and where are you taking me?”

Doctor Myers glanced in the rearview mirror, and the guy sitting next to her nodded.

He reached down by his feet and pulled out a black cloth. Letting go of her arm, he quickly tied the fabric around her head covering her eyes.

Panicking she tried to reach up and take the blindfold off, but he grabbed her wrists and pulled them behind her back. Something cold wrapped around her wrists, and her heart sank. She was now blindfolded and handcuffed in the back of a car going to a place she didn’t know.

She struggled until her wrists started to hurt. She choked back a sob and sank into the seat.

They rode in silence for a long time before the car slowed to a stop, and she could hear the front door open. The guy sitting next to her pulled her out of the car and pulled the blindfold off.

She blinked in the sunlight and found that she was standing in front of a large building. Doctor Myers nodded at the homeless man, and he let go of her arm and got into the car. The car started, and he drove away.

Doctor Myers stepped closer and grabbed her arm.

“Let’s go inside. I can show you your room.”

Ruby started walking with him towards the doors. “Who are you?” she asked again.

He started laughing. The laugh that would haunt her nightmares. “My name is Doctor Myers, and I am very excited for our experiment.”

Then nothing.

Ruby sat up in her cell trying to remember what happened next. She hugged her knees and hung her head. She couldn’t remember past that point.

All she knew was Doctor Myers gave her her powers.

And it was not a pleasant experience.

And being back in his custody scared her.

Game-Changing Sites for Writers

A recent search for a specific type of site to help me build new characters led me down a rabbit hole. Normally, that would make me much less productive, but I have found a treasure trove of websites for writers.

Bring Characters/Places to Life

There are a few different places you can use to create a picture of something entirely new. I love this site for making character pictures as references, instead of stock photos or whatever pops up on Google Images.

thispersondoesnotexist: every time you reload the page, this site generates a headshot of someone who doesn't exist. This is great if you're thinking about a character's personality or age and don't have specifics for their facial features yet.

Night Cafe: this is an AI art generator that takes your text prompt and generates an image for it. I tried it for various scenery, like "forest" or "cottage." It takes a minute for your requested photo to load, but no more than maybe five for the program to finish the picture.

Art Breeder: this website has endless images of people, places, and general things. Users can blend photos to create something new and curious visitors can browse/download those images without creating an account. (But if you do want to make an account to create your own, it's free!)

Find Random Places on Earth

You might prefer to set a story in a real-life environment so you can reference that place's weather, seasons, small-town vibe, or whatever you like. If that's the case, try:

MapCrunch: the homepage generates a new location each day and gives the location/GPS info in the top left of the screen. To see more images from previous days, hit "Gallery" in the top left.

Atlas Obscura: hover over or tap the "Places" tab, then hit "Random Place." A new page will load with a randomly generated location on the planet, provide a Google Maps link, and tell you a little bit about the place.

Random World Cities: this site makes randomly selected lists of global cities. Six appear for each search, although you'll have to look them up to find more information about each place. You can also use the site to have it select countries, US cities or US states too.

Vary Your Wording

Thesauruses are great, but these websites have some pretty cool perspectives on finding just the right words for stories.

Describing Words: tell this website which word you want to stop repeating and it will give you tons of alternative words that mean the same thing. It typically has way more options than other sites I use.

Reverse Dictionary: type what you need a word for in Reverse Dictionary's search box and it will give you tons of words that closely match what you want. It also lists the words in order of relevancy, starting with a word that most accurately describes what you typed. (There's also an option to get definitions for search results!)

Tip of My Tongue: this website is phenomenal. It lets you search for that word you can't quite place by a letter in it, the definition, what it sounds like, or even its scrambled letters. A long list of potential options will appear on the right side of the screen for every search.

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Hope this helps when you need a hand during next writing session 💛

i honestly don’t think authors grasp the effect dark haired, morally grey characters have on their readers. like i mean they can literally kill a man and most of us will still be here like

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