I see the bad moon a-rising đș
The early morning breeze swept around Remus as he found himself back at the cemetery in Godricâs Hollow, he held a small flat stone along with an old picture. He had dark circles under his eyes from the stress of the upcoming war but he knew he needed to do this before things got worse.
Remus sat himself down in front of James and Lilyâs grave, feeling lonelier and emptier now than ever. He slowly picked up the flat stone he had brought, written across the top
Here lies the memory of Padfoot
Beloved friend, brother, and godfather
Remus dragged his thumb across the letters, tear drops splattering on the small stone before he placed it in the middle of James and Lilyâs own.
âThought pads should be with you twoâ Remus muttered, picking up the picture on his lap he looked down at it and laughed quietly at the five of them across it
âYou expect me take this picture but none of you are cooperatingâ Marlene grumbled as she tried ordering the boys and Lily around
âBlame Potter, we would have had this picture hours ago if he hadnât insisted on fixing his hairâ Lily muttered âIt doesnât just look like this lily, itâs artistically messyâ She mimicked her boyfriendâs voice while James grumbled on about Lily being a horribly rude girlfriend
âItâs not only you two, itâs also Sirius and Remus who have been snogging in the corner for the past fucking fifteen minutes!â Marlene yelled causing the two mentioned to break apart from each other
âHe started it!â âHe started it!â They both yelled out at the same time
âWill you all just fucking get over here and do something or else Iâm leavingâ Marlene warned
âAlright McKinnon, donât get your knickers in a twistâ Sirius teased, yelping when Marlene flicked him across the forehead
James stood in the front with his right arm slung over Peterâs shoulder and his left arm around Lilyâs waist, Remus was beside Lily teasingly leaning his arm on top of her head before she pinched him
âWhereâs Black? Iâm taking this photo in ten seconds whether heâs in it or not!â Marlene barked, her forefinger hovering over the shutter
Seconds before she pressed the button Sirius came running behind James, jumping on his back he leaned over to press a kiss to Remusâs cheek as the shutter went off. The impact of Siriusâs jump caused James to tumble over pulling Peter and Lily along with him as Sirius pulled Remus down with him.
They found themselves all laughing loudly sprawled across each other on the floor, elbows and knees digging into place they did not belong
âSomeoneâs elbow is on my crotchâ
âDo you want the picture taken again or not?â Marlene groaned
They all crowded around her looking at the picture before quickly agreeing it was perfectÂ
That day passed over Remus like it was yesterday, their seventh year together. Remus looked back up from the picture to James, Lily and Sirius
âMarlene was not happy with us that dayâ Remus chuckled
âI wanted to leave this here to remind us all of the good days you knowâ Remusâs voice was trembling slightly, his hand shaking as he placed the photo below Siriusâs stone
âBecause now everything is gone, youâre all goneâ Remus mumbled, tears streaking his cheeks âThe second war is here and Iâm afraid I wonât make itâ His vision was blurring from the amount of tears now leaving his eyes
âTonks is pregnant, Iâm going to be a dadâ Remus couldnât help but laugh
âCan you believe it? Me a dad, I canât though because Iâm a fucking monsterâ Remus sobbed out
âGod I can already hear you guys all yelling at me now for saying that, but what if I hurt him? I know youâll say I wonât but I could. Iâm trying thoughâ Remus promised, wiping his face with the back of his hands.
âOne thing I needed to leave with you though padsâ Remus muttered quietly, pulling a necklace chain from his pocket with a silver ring looped through it
Remus shrieked as Sirius tried carrying him bridal style towards the black lake Â
âYou idiot, youâre going to drop me because youâre tinyâ Remus laughed so hard tears filled his eyes
âI am not tinyâ Sirius huffed, placing Remus on the ground again
âNot tiny?â Remus asked while looking down at the smaller boy in front of him âSo tinyâ
âI brought you out here for a reasonâ Sirius groaned
âPlease tell me itâs not because you want to shag-â Sirius cut Remus off by dropping down to one knee âOhâ
âIâm not proposing yet, more pre proposingâ Sirius chuckled before looking back up at Remus who was looking down at him with fond written across his face
âMoons, I love you so much. Youâre the brightness to my darkness, I want to ask you if youâll marry me in a few years. After we win this warâ Sirius finished, holding up the necklace with the silver ring on it
âWill you marry me one day?â Sirius asked
âYes, I will always want to marry you, my tiny future Sirius Lupinâ Remus grinned as Sirius wrapped the necklace around his neck, the silver ring dangling across his collarbones.Â
Remus placed the necklace and ring on top of Siriusâs stone
âI never got rid of it, now this is to show you I will never stop loving you. You were my starâ
â-
âIâll see you guys again one dayâ
With one final look to his friends Remus left, not knowing he would see them sooner than thought.
If youâre planning on publishing traditionally, chances are you keep a sharp eye on your word count. Literary agents and publishing houses are on the hunt for the best quality stories that they can print for the cheapest price (using the least paper and ink), so you have a higher chance of gaining representation if you can crank your novel out in the least words possible.
However, filler words and phrases arenât only the enemies of aspiring traditional authors; every writerâfanfic, novelist, journalist, you name it!âshould try to eliminate filler from their stories to assure more concise and high-quality writing. Oftentimes, filler contributes nothing but clutter, and without it, your narrative can flow smoother and in a more sophisticated manner.
But how do you know whatâs filler and whatâs not? Here are some tips on how to Ctrl+F and kick this narrative botox to the curb!
I compiled these lists with the help of Infusionmedia, BDR Publishing, and ResetEra !
A writerâs worst enemy, and the bane of my manuscriptsâ existences. Eliminating all the âjustâs can cut down your word count by hundreds.
Itâs an unnecessary addition to a sentence, which will be more streamlined without it.
Example: âHe said that he wouldnât do it again.â
Revised: âHe said he wouldnât do it again.â
âNowâ is essential if youâre talking about the past and present, but when youâre using it to draw attention to a particular statement or point.
Example: âNow, I didnât think itâd get so out of hand.â
Revised: âI didnât think itâd get so out of hand.â
These adverbs serve no purpose because the verbs theyâre describing already imply the way the action is performed.
Whispering softly
Yelling loudly
Crying sadly
Laughing happily
These words are redundant, especially when using first person, because in describing an event, we can already assume that the characters are experiencing it.
Seeing/saw
Feeling/felt
Hearing/heard
Smelling/smelled
Although these are meant to help out the readers get their bearings on a situation, all they do is come across as wishy-washy! Be concise and sure of yourself!
About
Absolutely
Accordingly
Actually
Almost
Basically
Certainly
Clearly
Completely
Entirely
Even
Exactly
Fairly
Highly
Hopefully
Literally
Maybe
Only
Often
Oftentimes
Perhaps
Possibly
Probably
Quite
Rather
Really
Reasonably
Relatively
Seem
Seriously
Simply
Slightly
Some
Somehow
Sometimes
Totally
Very
Use the verb instead!
Example: âHe let out a sigh.â
Revised: âHe sighed.â
Passive voice inflates your word count by including various âto beâ verbs into the prose. Passive voice involves actions happening to a subject rather than the subject performing an action, and as a result isnât as riveting to the reader as active voice; even if it wasnât a matter of word count, youâd still want to get rid of it anyway!
Still donât know what Iâm talking about? Check out this article from Grammarly.
Example: âThe boy was bitten by the dog on his arm.â
Revised: âThe dog bit the boy on his arm.â
Many writers will be as specific as possible about what âthingâ is affected by the event theyâre describing, when itâs much simpler to take a step back and write about something more general.
Example: âThe level of water rose.â
Revised: âThe water rose.â
Phrasal verbs are the combination of two or three words from different grammatical categoriesâa verb and an adverb or a prepositionâto form a single action. Usually, these phrasal verbs can be replaced by a single-word verb.
âAsk forâ can be replaced with ârequestâ
âBring downâ can be replaced with âreduceâ
âCome acrossâ can be replaced with âfindâ
Etc.
Same reason as clarifying words. Get to the point!
A bit
A little
A lot
In a sense
Kind of
Sort of
Even if your story takes place in olden times, I can guarantee that if you never use any contractions ever, your storyâs gonna be a clunky mess. But sometimes youâre in the moment, consumed by the poetic power of the muses, and forget that this isnât a soap opera; so make sure you check that youâve been using your contractions!
It is, it was, it would, she is, would not, should not, is not, does not etc.
These phrases can be replaced with more concise words.
Along the lines of (shorten to: like)
As a matter of fact (in fact)
As to whether (whether)
At all times (always)
At the present (now or currently)
At this point in time (now or currently)
Be able to/would(nât) be able to (could or couldnât)
Because of the fact that (because)
By means of (by)
Due to the fact that (because)
Even though (though or although)
For the purpose of (for)
For the reason that (because)
Have the ability to (could)
In light of the fact that (because)
In order to (to)
In regards to (on or about)
In spite of the fact that (though or although)
In the event that (if)
In the nature of (like)
In the neighborhood of (about)
On the occasion of (when)
On one/two separate occasions (Once/twice)
The/A majority of (most)
There is no doubt that (No doubt)
Wasn(nât) capable of (could or couldnât)
kit connor absolutely NAILING nicks confusion mixed with attraction in the first couple of episodes is so special to me. like itâs so clear- especially in eps 2&3 that he is so confused but likes charlie so much he doesnât know what to do with himself. and that culminated brilliantly at the start of episode four with âiâm just so so confusedâ (and when his voice broke </3) it was so realistic and SO well done like i was floored
After all this time? Always.
â
1. DRACONIAN by hepburnettes
â
2. HARRY POTTER AND THE GUARDIAN by LVQOfficial
â
3. TO DWELL ON DREAMS by HelenJay
â
4. TO BE LUMINOUS by icallringbearer
â
5. THE HOAX by escapism-
Even urban dictionary is bitter
go write three sentences on your current writing project.
what really gets to me is just how earnest nick is about his feelings for charlie, despite how confused he is about himself at first. he immediately goes to charlie the next day after their first kiss because he wants charlie to understand he doesn't regret the kiss, he's just really conflicted about himself. he doesn't ignore or shut charlie out while figuring out his sexuality and wanting to keep quiet about it at first, unlike ben. he makes it clear to charlie that he really likes him and doesn't want to go on dates with anyone else despite not being official yet. he gets really emotional when he wants charlie to realize how amazing and wonderful he really is and that he's changed nick's life for the better, and that he doesn't regret a single second with him. nick just communicating with charlie throughout the whole process is such a refreshing change from some of the shows we've gotten with lgbt+ representation in the past, and i'm so glad that lgbt+ youth and the community in general have a show like this to watch.