How To Write Devastating Betrayals (Pt. 1)

Toxic standards in the writing community

Sacrificing sleep for writing. I notice this joke a lot, and I know a good number of people do it. I would do it too, just for the sake of fitting the joke because I thought it would “make me a real writer.” Please value your health, words and your stories can wait until you’ve taken care of yourself!

We compare ourselves. A lot. Often, I see a lot of people say things such as “I wish I could write as well as ——!” Or “I wish I had your writing style, mine is so bad!” Loves, your words are your words. Find the beauty in what comes from your mind, not what you hope could come from your mind in the voice of somebody else. Your hands place words in a specific way because that is the unique language they were tailored to, and there is no need to replace it for somebody else’s. Be proud of what you create!

“Call out posts” aimed to writers that spend a lot of time making Pinterest boards/playlists etc, when really, it’s something that we should enjoy and appreciate just as much as the writing itself. Not everything has to be productive, we can create just for enjoyment. Spend hours figuring out which songs would fit that scene in your WIP, or which would be the best theme song if it ever became a show. Spend days scouring Pinterest for what reminds you of the fiction living in your head. Let it come to life in different forms of art than the words you build them from.

Writing everyday and completing books at a fast speed. No. Not everybody works at the same pace, and not everybody can manage to write every day. It isn’t a race to see who can write the most, which is what it feels like it’s become sometimes. Let’s slow down and just enjoy the ride :) whether it takes you 10 years or 10 weeks to write a book, it’s a masterpiece all the same.

having a meltdown over what i’m gonna do when i’m not seventeen and songs don’t mention me

Advice on Writing Banter

1. Don’t prolong the humor

As a reader, you’ve most likely seen this happen before. It happens when an author takes it upon themselves to make absolutely sure you understand that a character said something funny. This breaks the widely accepted First Commandment of Humor: if you have to explain a joke, said joke loses some of its humor. (Unless explaining the joke would make the scene funnier, etc. in which case you should keep that in! There's always more than one exception to a rule.) When this happens, the scene often slows down--way too much--and the humor quickly fades into annoyance for the reader. Yeah, the joke was fun at first, but it’s pretty much fulfilled its maximum humor.

How can you avoid this? As a reader, remember that you never want the author to patronize you. As a writer, just trust your readers. Tell a joke and just let it stand. Trust that the reader will notice. Don’t drag it out longer than necessary: that kills all the pacing and humor of the scene.

2. Diversify the delivery

Everyone has their own way of telling jokes and reacting to jokes told by others. Some people tell jokes with a deadpan, almost serious delivery. Others can barely get through a joke without laughing to the point of tears. Whatever the case may be, no two people will be the same!

Another way to write good banter is to mix up the types of humor present.  For example, if one of your characters responds to everything with a sarcastic quip, don’t make the rest of your characters aggressively caustic towards one another. 

Also, try mixing up what forms of comedy each character uses. Have a character laugh exclusively at bad puns and nothing else. Maybe another character takes themself way too seriously and refuses to find any humor in ridiculous situations. Or maybe a character can’t tell a knock-knock joke to save their life. Plus, a bonus of diversifying the comedy you use in your banter is that it’s a great way to flesh out your characters!

3. Pacing

The best way to create natural dialogue is make sure it sounds natural, and one way to check that is to look at the pacing. If the banter sounds stilted and awkward, no one is going to laugh. As you read it, listen for awkward pauses or lulls in the dialogue that might slow it down. Sometimes, you should ask yourself: do the responses sound realistic? Because let’s be honest: when you’re bantering with someone, you usually don’t have much time to think of very clever and specific comebacks on the spot. (Actually, I usually find that I come up with said comebacks hours later, when it’s way too late to use them.) I choose to only apply this rule to awkward or forced-sounding dialogue, though. As a banter lover, I never limit myself in writing banter! If I don't like how it sounds later, I can always cut it. I encourage you to do the same. If writing banter makes you happy, then write as much as you want and don't let me tell you what to do!

4. Tone

True banter should always be lighthearted or mischievous, but it should never be malicious or one-sided. There’s a thin line between bantering and bickering, in my opinion. Banter is a teasing, fun, and lighthearted argument between people. Bickering is banter but with often malicious undertones, and it may be one-sided. 

For example, Banter would not be Character A pointing out all of Character B’s flaws. Banter would be A “criticizing” B clearly as a joke, and B defending themselves good-naturedly!

people are really out here saying "yeah, i could survive in a fantasy world" when they can't even k*ll a spider without help

(by AlThorStormblessed)

when you’re out at a restaurant or a coffee shop or a target or whatever with your friends and you overhear/eavesdrop the same snippet of some stranger’s conversation, and you look at each other for a second to check that you both heard this stranger say the same weird/funny/baffling thing and just break out in knowing grins and quiet laughter… that’s a love language

character i’m writing: is smart

me: *sighs* *opens wikipedia page*

“we were lovers in a past life” trope but the current incarnations are enemy-to-lovers trope. when. 

Death of the author: Treating the author’s stated interpretation of their own work as merely one opinion among many, rather than the authoritative Word of God.

Disappearance of the author: Treating the context and circumstances of the work’s authorship as entirely irrelevant with respect to its interpretation, as though the work had popped into existence fully formed just moments ago.

Taxidermy of the author: Working backwards from a particular interpretation of the work to draw conclusions about what the context and circumstances of its authorship must have been.

Undeath of the author: Holding the author personally responsible for every possible reading of their work, even ones they could not reasonably have anticipated at the time of its authorship.

Frankenstein’s Monster of the author: Drawing conclusions about authorial intent based on elements that are present only in subsequent adaptations by other authors.

Weekend at Bernie’s of the author: Insisting that the author would personally endorse your interpretation of the work if they happened to be present.