Writing Tips - Blog Posts
Little tips and tricks for improving descriptions
Full disclaimer that my advice is never gospel. These are just things that have helped me improve my descriptions and so I thought I'd share if other people want to as well. I also think these can be employed regardless of writing style.
Be intentional with your word choice. Know when you want to use red or scarlet or carmine and don't be afraid to use unconventional words if you think they fit. Sometimes saying "the blood is red" is all that's needed and perfectly acceptable. But carmine might provoke a clearer image. You can also use word choice to show off character and setting. One character might pay particular attention to the family crest on someone's cufflinks while another might gloss over such details.
Expand on your premise. If we're meant to be in an opulent manor then referencing the intricate iron balustrade on the grand staircase gives the house much more character than simply saying "the manor was opulent." You can do the latter but the former gives us something a little extra to chew on and, in my opinion, brings us much more into the scene.
If you don't know how to describe something, look it up. I do this often with clothes, objects, and architecture. For example, I search up "vases" on websites like 1stdibs and study the descriptions and word choices used and employ them in my own words to make sure I'm using the correct terminology. Also searching "anatomy of the...." is another good way to bridge the terminology gap. Obviously not everyone is going to know what ribbed vs embossed vs chased means but they can always look it up themselves and they might learn something new!
Study art and images for inspiration. If you're someone who has a lot of trouble visualising things yourself then using aids is perfectly fine. Try a trick of finding an image you like and placing it by your word doc or simply pasting it inside while you're typing so you have something to refer to. I like to call this "word tracing". If I want to conjure the image of a pretty garden then studying the image of a garden and seeing what makes it pretty helps. Perhaps there's an elegant copse of willow trees or tumbling garlands of wisteria, etc.
To avoid static descriptions, be dynamic. General rule of thumb is don't just write paragraphs and paragraphs of descriptions as it'll cause the eyes to gloss over. But try to make descriptions come alive as much as possible to bring people into a scene. If someone is taking a seat on the chair then how does the chair feel? Is it upholstered in silk or velvet or leather? Does it creak from age? Does it smell of varnish? Is there a notable pattern of the fabric or engraving on the wood?
Employ the five senses. I touch on this a little in the previous point but try not to just focus on what the characters are seeing but also what they're tasting, smelling, hearing and touching. If there's fire crackling in a hearth then they'll be able to feel the heat, they might be able to smell fragrant smoke. Do they like the smell or is it too pungent? Can they hear the embers spitting? These are things you can also weave through conversations between characters to keep these scenes from being too bare bones.
ISN’T WHISPERING AND STROKING SOMEONE’S CHEEK BOTH ACTIONS..?
ok im aorry for wording it as actions!! it seems easier for me to explain that way but:
“You are beautiful,” he said. — a dialogue tag is composed of quotations so there should be a comma unlike when it shows action or action beats. quotation > dialogue > period > quotation > action verb if such was the case.
remember:
dialogue tag — specifies who is speaking
action beat — specifies the action that is being done
switch up your verbs (part one) ~
walked - hiked - moved - shuffled - toddled - sauntered - ambled - tiptoed - meandered - strolled
laughed - chortled - chuckled - giggled - snorted - guffawed - howled - snickered - shrieked
wanted - ached for - wished - craved - coveted - fancied - pined - aspired
ran - sprinted - galloped - scampered - bolted - trotted - dashed - raced - jogged
jumped - bounced - hopped - leapt - hurtled - vaulted - barged - bounded
show, don't tell:
anticipation - bouncing legs - darting eyes - breathing deeply - useless / mindless tasks - eyes on the clock - checking and re-checking
frustration - grumbling - heavy footsteps - hot flush - narrowed eyes - pointing fingers - pacing / stomping
sadness - eyes filling up with tears - blinking quickly - hiccuped breaths - face turned away - red / burning cheeks - short sentences with gulps
happiness - smiling / cheeks hurting - animated - chest hurts from laughing - rapid movements - eye contact - quick speaking
boredom - complaining - sighing - grumbling - pacing - leg bouncing - picking at nails
fear - quick heartbeat - shaking / clammy hands - pinching self - tuck away - closing eyes - clenched hands
disappointment - no eye contact - hard swallow - clenched hands - tears, occasionally - mhm-hmm
tiredness - spacing out - eyes closing - nodding head absently - long sighs - no eye contact - grim smile
confidence - prolonged eye contact - appreciates instead of apologizing - active listening - shoulders back - micro reactions
50 WORDS TO USE INSTEAD OF “SAID”
Do you ever find yourself over-using the word “said” in your writing? Try using these words/phrases instead:
stated
commented
declared
spoke
responded
voiced
noted
uttered
iterated
explained
remarked
acknowledged
mentioned
announced
shouted
expressed
articulated
exclaimed
proclaimed
whispered
babbled
observed
deadpanned
joked
hinted
informed
coaxed
offered
cried
affirmed
vocalized
laughed
ordered
suggested
admitted
verbalized
indicated
confirmed
apologized
muttered
proposed
chatted
lied
rambled
talked
pointed out
blurted out
chimed in
brought up
wondered aloud
(NOTE: Keep in mind that all of these words have slightly different meanings and are associated with different emotions/scenarios.)
Writing Tips
Punctuating Dialogue
✧
➸ “This is a sentence.”
➸ “This is a sentence with a dialogue tag at the end,” she said.
➸ “This,” he said, “is a sentence split by a dialogue tag.”
➸ “This is a sentence,” she said. “This is a new sentence. New sentences are capitalized.”
➸ “This is a sentence followed by an action.” He stood. “They are separate sentences because he did not speak by standing.”
➸ She said, “Use a comma to introduce dialogue. The quote is capitalized when the dialogue tag is at the beginning.”
➸ “Use a comma when a dialogue tag follows a quote,” he said.
“Unless there is a question mark?” she asked.
“Or an exclamation point!” he answered. “The dialogue tag still remains uncapitalized because it’s not truly the end of the sentence.”
➸ “Periods and commas should be inside closing quotations.”
➸ “Hey!” she shouted, “Sometimes exclamation points are inside quotations.”
However, if it’s not dialogue exclamation points can also be “outside”!
➸ “Does this apply to question marks too?” he asked.
If it’s not dialogue, can question marks be “outside”? (Yes, they can.)
➸ “This applies to dashes too. Inside quotations dashes typically express—“
“Interruption” — but there are situations dashes may be outside.
➸ “You’ll notice that exclamation marks, question marks, and dashes do not have a comma after them. Ellipses don’t have a comma after them either…” she said.
➸ “My teacher said, ‘Use single quotation marks when quoting within dialogue.’”
➸ “Use paragraph breaks to indicate a new speaker,” he said.
“The readers will know it’s someone else speaking.”
➸ “If it’s the same speaker but different paragraph, keep the closing quotation off.
“This shows it’s the same character continuing to speak.”
deadass need this cause I cant write dialogue to save my life
Apparently a lot of people get dialogue punctuation wrong despite having an otherwise solid grasp of grammar, possibly because they’re used to writing essays rather than prose. I don’t wanna be the asshole who complains about writing errors and then doesn’t offer to help, so here are the basics summarized as simply as I could manage on my phone (“dialogue tag” just refers to phrases like “he said,” “she whispered,” “they asked”):
“For most dialogue, use a comma after the sentence and don’t capitalize the next word after the quotation mark,” she said.
“But what if you’re using a question mark rather than a period?” they asked.
“When using a dialogue tag, you never capitalize the word after the quotation mark unless it’s a proper noun!” she snapped.
“When breaking up a single sentence with a dialogue tag,” she said, “use commas.”
“This is a single sentence,” she said. “Now, this is a second stand-alone sentence, so there’s no comma after ‘she said.’”
“There’s no dialogue tag after this sentence, so end it with a period rather than a comma.” She frowned, suddenly concerned that the entire post was as unasked for as it was sanctimonious.
some fucking resources for all ur writing fuckin needs
* body language masterlist
* a translator that doesn’t eat ass like google translate does
* a reverse dictionary for when ur brain freezes
* 550 words to say instead of fuckin said
* 638 character traits for when ur brain freezes again
* some more body language help
(hope this helps some ppl)
Tips for fight scenes
If you get punched in the nose your eyes will water, a lot, even if it didn’t really hurt
Your body follows your head, your head gets pushed one way and your body will want to go that way
Getting hit in the stomach isn’t good, it hurts, getting hit in the diaphragm is worse. Causes your lungs to kinda spasm and make it hard to breathe (diaphragm is between stomach and chest)
When fighting a larger person they will have an easier time forcing you back
The jaw is the knockout button. Hit it hard enough and down for the count
Back of the head is very vulnerable, can cause serious damage if hit there
Kidney punches. They hurt. A lot.
People with experience will try to be where they are comfortable. A wrestler will try to get their opponent on the ground, a boxer will stay on their feet, etc.
Easiest counter to a kick is to get closer to whoever is throwing it, then they won’t have enough room for it to be effective
If you want realism, avoid fancy, flashy moves. They’re less practical and easier to counter.
Words related to “afraid”:
jittery
jumpy
fearful
scared
rattled
shaken
startled
panicky
anxious
worried
terrified
hesitant
alarmed
agitated
shocked
petrified
spooked
timorous
unnerved
distraught
lily-livered
frightened
distressed
concerned
intimidated
fainthearted
yellowbellied
apprehensive
disconcerted
panic-stricken
discourse about redemption arcs would vastly improve if instead of always asking “is this character redeemable?” people started asking “what message would it send to redeem this character?” and “would it be logical or satisfying on a narrative level to redeem this character?”
Always reblog tips for writing good representation.
Tips on writing sign language
Disclaimers: while I have been learning ASL (American Sign Language, I am not yet fluent. Also, I am not deaf. Both of these things being said, I have been learning ASL for nearly a year and I’ve been doing independant research about the language itself and the Deaf community. What I’ve listed below are things that I have learned from my own personal experience signing, what I’ve learned in my ASL class, and what I’ve learned from my independant research.
1) When you write signed dialogue, use quotation marks and everything else you would use for any other type of dialogue. Yes, I know they didn’t do that in the Magnus Chase series, but many Deaf readers were made uncomfortable at the choice to depict sign language as not speech. Establish early on that the character signs and then use tags such as “xe signed,” or “hir motions were snappy with irritation.”
2) Without facial expressions, someone’s signs are going to be almost meaningless. All of the grammar is in the face, as are some descriptors. For example, if you can’t see a character’s face, and you’re only looking at their hands, the signs would be the same for the statement “Xe doesn’t have dogs.” and the question “Does xe have dogs?”
3) There is no such thing as fluent lipreading. The best lipreaders in the world can only understand about 70% of what’s being said, and factors such as darkness, the presence of mustaches, lack of context, and a bunch of other common things can easily lower that ability. If someone’s lipreading, they’re taking little pieces of what they can lipread, and stitching together context and other details to get a general picture of what’s going on, but there’s still always going to be holes.
4) If you’re writing a character who can’t hear, know the difference between deaf (lowercase d) and Deaf (uppercase D). The medical term for not being able to hear anything is deaf. People who use their deafness as part of their identity are referred to, and refer to themselves as Deaf. They are part of the Deaf community.
(more tips below cut)
Keep reading
WRITING TIP!!!
if you're struggling to connect paragraphs, or if something doesn't feel right, or there is something that is bothering you about the way the story doesn't seem to be aligning - READ IT OUT LOUD!!!
read the entire paragraph. over and over. hell, read the whole draft, from the first page to the page you're stuck at. until you figure out what you want to happen in the paragraph, how you want it to happen, and how to word it. honest to god, it has been such a helpful little thing for me.
it also is extremely useful if the narrator has an accent or an eccentric way of speaking.
In a visual medium especially, a large part of a character is how they look. Like, looks can be deceiving and aren’t everything about a character, obviously, but ALSO: by making a character look a certain way (especially in the character’s daily life) the creator is (whether they know it or not) saying that that character is (usually) choosing to look a certain way.
Clothes, accessories, make-up, and hair can suggest any number of things about a person’s character. It can be a very useful tool in any story. Personal presentation can suggest things about a character’s gender, profession, religion, sexuality, personal wealth, native culture, and personality (and more).
Which is, I think, why a lot of female characters are sort of… I don’t want to say “broken”… but their execution has ruined their concept? (This isn’t exclusive to female characters, male characters can also suffer from unsupported unrealistic appearances, but female characters definitely suffer more.)
You have these female characters who are supposed to be relatable, realistic women, right? But you look at their perfectly curled-and-styled, super long hair and you see hours of hair-care. And you look at their perfectly made-up faces and you see at least a dozen different make-up products and at least a half-hour in the bathroom every morning. And you look at their figures and you see a strict diet and hours in the gym every week, and you see shaving or waxing, and you see well-maintained mani-pedis. And you look at their outfits and you see designer names and special tailoring, and an enormous closet somewhere in their apartment to store all this, and someone who has the time and energy for perfectly done, sorted, and ironed laundry (and is obviously not doing anything remotely physical or dangerous in those heels).
Which would be fine if that was an intentional visual statement about the character! There are women who put that sort of time/energy/money into their appearance! There are magical and non-human characters (male and female and neither) who can just snap their fingers to look perfect, and I buy it no problem! I get that!
But this gets done even with female characters who are supposed to be absent-minded workaholics, poor working single mothers, nerdy shut-ins, take-no-shit tomboys, post-apocalyptic survivors, and even faux-medieval warriors who shouldn’t have the time or resources for that level of personal grooming! And even with aliens and non-humans who shouldn’t know to decide to care!
So you have these “everyday” women with busy lives, but who somehow manage to keep an unrealistic level of personal grooming in absurd situations, and they… become visually unreal. Especially when (even if they are canonically said to care about maintaining a certain appearance) they’re often never shown putting in ANY of the time or effort it would take to manage their appearance (show me their skincare routine, show me them at the gym, show me them doing laundry)! They look like they stepped out of a magazine (often so “perfect” that they’re frankly bland, actually), but it’s not factored into their personality or background or their lives?
“I don’t wear make-up,” says the female character who is played by an actress very obviously done-up with eyeliner. “I don’t wear make-up,” says the female character who is drawn as though she is permanently wearing lipstick. There are no bad hair days and no laundry days and no moments of imperfection. What the character might be saying is immediately invalidated by the visuals.
These female characters don’t feel like women so much as they feel like impossible creatures the creator has pretending to be pretty women. They feel fake. They feel like their purpose by the creator is to pander to pervs and unrealistic beauty standards. Especially when they’re sent into combat situations with skintight/revealing outfits with no support and loose hair that’s a blatant liability (and the creators even make them bleed prettily sometimes which is related but different conversation). It’s a stark announcement (intentional or not, knowingly done or not) of the creator’s ignorance and apathy towards women and the choices involved in female self-presentation.
And it makes it… difficult… for me personally to relate to certain female characters sometimes, even when I care about these female characters and WANT to care about these female characters. Their character design is, by their visual appearance and lack of narrative support for that appearance, broken. They’re not grounded in any reality. The suspension of disbelief required can be… a lot.
How to Kick a Reader in the Gut
Disrupt the reader’s sense of justice.
This generally means setting a character up to deserve one thing and then giving them the exact opposite.
Kill a character off before they can achieve their goal.
Let the bad guy get an extremely important win.
Set up a coup against a tyrannical king. The coup fails miserably.
Don’t always give characters closure.
(Excluding the end of the book, obviously)
A beloved friend dies in battle and there’s no time to mourn him.
A random tryst between two main characters is not (or cannot be) brought up again.
A character suddenly loses their job or can otherwise no longer keep up their old routine
Make it the main character’s fault sometimes.
And not in an “imposter syndrome” way. Make your MC do something bad, and make the blame they shoulder for it heavy and tangible.
MC must choose the lesser of two evils.
MC kills someone they believe to be a bad guy, only to later discover the bad guy was a different person altogether.
Rejection is a powerful tool.
People generally want to be understood, and if you can make a character think they are Known, and then rip that away from them with a rejection (romantic or platonic) people will empathize with it.
MC is finally accepting the Thing They Must Do/Become, and their love interest decides that that’s not a path they want to be on and breaks up with them
MC makes a decision they believe is right, everyone around them thinks they chose wrong.
MC finds kinship with someone Like Them, at long last, but that person later discovers that there is some inherent aspect of MC that they wholly reject. (Perhaps it was MC’s fault that their family member died, they have important religious differences, or WERE THE BAD GUY ALL ALONG!)
On the flipside, make your main character keep going.
Push them beyond what they are capable of, and then push them farther. Make them want something so deeply that they are willing to do literally anything to get it. Give them passion and drive and grit and more of that than they have fear.
“But what if my MC is quiet and meek?” Even better. They want something so deeply that every single moment they push themselves toward it is a moment spent outside their comfort zone. What must that do to a person?
Obviously, don’t do all of these things, or the story can begin to feel tedious or overly dramatic, and make sure that every decision you make is informed by your plot first and foremost.
Also remember that the things that make us sad, angry, or otherwise emotional as readers are the same things that make us feel that way in our day-to-day lives. Creating an empathetic main character is the foundation for all of the above tips.
story outlining methods, pt. 1:
take off your pants!! (“take off your pants!: outline your books for faster, better writing” by libbie hawker)
this outline starts with a character — specifically their biggest flaw — and leads to five points that will make up the core of your story. it’s best for plots and subplots that focus on overcoming the flaw!
this outline doesn’t just have to be used for coming of age novels. it is just as important in your dystopian, fantasy, or thriller novels that the main character learns something or has changed by the end.
STEP ONE: think about your character
your main character — what is their name, and what are their important features?
what are your character’s flaws? what about their FATAL flaw? ex: hubris, overconfidence, stubbornness, etc.
STEP TWO: think about the end of the story
the story (whether the main plot, a subplot, or a facet of the main plot) is the journey lead to overcome the flaw. now that you know the character’s flaw, you know what lesson they need to learn.
the end of the story = the flaw mastered, the lesson learned.
STEP THREE: think about the external goal
the external goal is the plot, the outer motivation to push the character to the end of the story where the goal is mastered. if you remember my post on quests, you know that a quest has two reasons to be there: the external factor (shrek saving fiona for his swamp), and the real reason (the lesson learned)
the external goal should provide a chance for the character to recognize their flaw and begin to change. how does your plot tie into their character development?
STEP FOUR: think about the antagonist
thinking about the external goal should reveal who the antagonist is. the antagonist should want to achieve the same goal or a goal that impedes with the protagonist’s goal. the antagonist should be the biggest obstacle to the character.
STEP FIVE: think about the ally/allies
the character(s) that is capable of forcing the protagonist down the correct path. where your protagonist most likely will resist changing and confronting their flaw, the ally will help force them to do so anyway.
STEP SIX: think about the theme
so what’s the point of your book? if you are struggling to boil it down to one sentence, you might want to think about it a little longer. this is what keeps the story feeling coherent. what are you trying to tell us?
STEP SEVEN: think about the plot
each main plot element should somehow relate to the core of the book, aka the character’s development in overcoming their flaw
OPENING SCENE - set the stage. address the flaw or the theme
INCITING EVENT - what forces the character out of their everyday life and into the story?
REALIZING EXTERNAL GOAL - what makes the character begin seeking their goal?
DISPLAY OF FLAW - if the character’s flaw hasn’t been made blatantly clear, now is the time. make it known to the reader.
DRIVE FOR GOAL - what is your character’s first attempt to reach their goal?
ANTAGONIST REVEAL - how do you first show your antagonist’s opposition to your character?
FIRST THWART - what happens to your character that keeps them from reaching their goal?
REVISIT FLAW - show the character’s flaw again, even if they themselves aren’t aware of it yet.
ANTAGONIST ATTACKS - what does the antagonist do that makes things worse?
SECOND THWART - where your character fails most likely due to the attack
CHANGED GOAL - the character finds a new goal or focuses on the external goal in a different way
ALLY ATTACKS - what does the ally do to force the character to see the flaw?
AWAKENING - the character knows what they must do to reach the external goal. how will you show that the character has also awakened to their flaw? how will you show them changing?
BATTLE - the final showdown with the antagonist!
DEATH - the character’s flaw dies here. how will you show that the character truly is different now?
OUTCOME - show whether the character won or lost the external goal, reveal the theme of the story.
naturally, you don’t have to follow that outline exactly, but it can be a good place to start ;)
Writing Tips
Punctuating Dialogue
✧
➸ “This is a sentence.”
➸ “This is a sentence with a dialogue tag at the end,” she said.
➸ “This,” he said, “is a sentence split by a dialogue tag.”
➸ “This is a sentence,” she said. “This is a new sentence. New sentences are capitalized.”
➸ “This is a sentence followed by an action.” He stood. “They are separate sentences because he did not speak by standing.”
➸ She said, “Use a comma to introduce dialogue. The quote is capitalized when the dialogue tag is at the beginning.”
➸ “Use a comma when a dialogue tag follows a quote,” he said.
“Unless there is a question mark?” she asked.
“Or an exclamation point!” he answered. “The dialogue tag still remains uncapitalized because it’s not truly the end of the sentence.”
➸ “Periods and commas should be inside closing quotations.”
➸ “Hey!” she shouted, “Sometimes exclamation points are inside quotations.”
However, if it’s not dialogue exclamation points can also be “outside”!
➸ “Does this apply to question marks too?” he asked.
If it’s not dialogue, can question marks be “outside”? (Yes, they can.)
➸ “This applies to dashes too. Inside quotations dashes typically express—“
“Interruption” — but there are situations dashes may be outside.
➸ “You’ll notice that exclamation marks, question marks, and dashes do not have a comma after them. Ellipses don’t have a comma after them either…” she said.
➸ “My teacher said, ‘Use single quotation marks when quoting within dialogue.’”
➸ “Use paragraph breaks to indicate a new speaker,” he said.
“The readers will know it’s someone else speaking.”
➸ “If it’s the same speaker but different paragraph, keep the closing quotation off.
“This shows it’s the same character continuing to speak.”
Novels are not movies.
Visual media has taken on the world by storm. It’s the next big thing in the evolution of humanity, maybe. It’s quite certainly changed the way we entertain ourselves. And with the recent spread of short-form content, visual media has also become cheap, disposable, and easily accessible to the masses—perfect recipe to make a product famous.
Alright, I’ve been a little too dramatic, lol. But for real, I’m one of those who’s severely addicted to Instagram Reels. Whenever I’m done scrolling, I feel like I’ve completely wasted my time—I could have read a novel, watched a movie, or caught up with my favorite mangas. But instead of all those ways to relax—and believe me (pwlease) that I only open Insta to relax, when I’m free—I just waste my time.
I love my novels and manga, mind ya, so when I catch myself wasting precious time that I could have instead used to consume them, I cuss myself. And then I go scroll some more Insta, because I’m an absolute idiot.
Anyway, back to the topic. Visual media has absolutely taken over our lives. I won’t go into the debate of whether this is a good thing or not, but we all can agree that it’s an undeniable fact. Video is everywhere.
Because—and lemme repeat myself—it’s cheap, disposable, and easily accessible today.
And because of such exposure to video storytelling, beginning authors forget that novels are not a visual medium. Yep, here goes my rant.
***
#01 - The Problem
The problem is simple—these kids have too much access to their smartphones. And these smartphones are filled with videos, like a dustbin with its lid hanging on because of all that garbage overfilling it. (Damn, I sound like a boomer.)
And therefore, when these new authors begin writing, they can’t help but imagine a sort of movie or a TV show as their story. And that’s where the problem is—novels are not supposed to be movies.
Movies are a visual media. That means they’re composed of pictures. Images. But guess what novels are composed of?
Text. Words.
It seems pretty basic. I mean, everybody knows this distinction. But what they don't know, however, are the implications of this distinction.
Personally, I began writing with film-novels too. And those novels are bad. Genuinely. I cringe at the fact that I could even mail editors and believe they’d accept them. Good thing they never did.
What’s a film-novel, though? Well, the idea is pretty clear—it’s a novel, but imagined in the form of a film. So, it’s like a film, but in text.
It’s like you’ve written the film as a novel, instead of writing it as a screenplay or something, maybe.
But you’d ask me—why? Why is it even a mistake? Everybody has a different writing style. And to that, I’d tell you one thing—the audience. The audience is different. The media is different. You can’t expect a cinephile to read your book. And since it’s not like a professional novel, a (Googles the correct term) bibliophile certainly won't.
So, who’s gonna read your story?
No one—because it’s neither a film, nor a novel. It’s a film-novel, an illogical mix of the two.
Everyone drinks water, and everyone likes ice-cream. But you can't… No, I’m not even completing that sentence. Ew.
Anyway, you get the idea, lol.
***
#02 - Identify
So, what does a film-novel even look like?
And for that, ladies and gentlemen, I present to you,
The lean figure was standing on the other side of the railing three floors up on the ground of the school building where children below were shouting and kicking football upon each other, wearing white football jerseys. The figures, as they ran all over the ground, seemed very small as I looked at them. The goalkeeper of the right side, who was just beneath my white shoe, kicked the ball so hard that it flew in air and went directly to the other foot of mine. The other players shouted “Whoaaa!” as they saw the ball flying. But suddenly, two of them looked upwards and saw me. One of them pointed towards me and then shouted, “Hey, who’s he?!” All the other players started walking towards that boy who was in the middle of the field with their heads tilted up above on me. Another one shouted, “Hey! What’cha doin’, eh?!” My narrow eyes, which had dark spots beneath them, looked at the boys from behind my spectacles. I then moved my head a little up and saw my shiny gakuran jacket fluttered by my shiny yellow colored buttons as the wind started blowing from my left side. I was able to feel the wind dancing upon my soft skin as I closed my eyes and turned my head upwards. I took a deep breath, and then exhaled it out with my mouth. I then again took a breath. This time, when I exhaled it out with my mouth, I was able to feel the saliva of my mouth upon my lips. I tilted my head and turned towards my arm, which was trembling a little. Both of my hands were still holding the railing of the school’s rooftop. I then turned left and then looked on my other arm. “Hey! Get down!” One of the persons from beneath shouted. I turned my narrowed eyes towards the ground, the teachers, a large gang of footballers and students, and some even workers had gathered in a circle. I turned my head towards the front. I looked at a couple of brown colored and blue-green colored houses in front of me, which stood high and mighty. Beneath them was the clear blue sky.
A wall of text!
Warning: you don’t really need to read all of it. But you probably did, lol.
Anyway, it’s the opening scene from one of my first novels. And, as much as I hate to say this—it’s pretty sh*t. It has a lot of problems—no paragraph divisions, for example, as well as a lot of grammatical mistakes too. But the biggest problem with the text is that it’s just images.
Reading this text, I dare you to highlight one single sentence that might tell you anything about the narrator.
The narrator is narrating the motions, not the emotions.
(Damn, that was a dope line to say, man.)
The narrator is only telling you about the images and actions and dialogues and thoughts. Even though it’s in first-person POV, you feel distant from the narrator. And, even in third-person POV, authors are supposed to make sure the distance between the narrator and the reader remains at a minimum.
That’s how you get a film-novel—that’s filled with scene-descriptions, actions, and dialogues. There’s no narrations in it. The readers don’t know the thoughts of these characters.
***
#03 - Is it really a problem, though?
Well, you might ask me—is it really such a big problem?
Heck yeah.
The reason is pretty simple, actually—no one wants to read a film-novel. These novels are filled with only descriptions and actions—that’s too much of mental effort. these novels make their readers keep on imagining stuff, and no reader wants to do that.
Because it’s easier to look at pictures than to imagine them based on text. And that’s why your film-novels won’t work.
See, you need to understand this—novels are different than film. Sure, novels are a form of storytelling too, and they do include visual effort, such as descriptions, action, and all that. But, all that is not the main selling point of a novel.
The main selling point of a novel is the emotions. Emotions captured in words, in situations—caught in context like a butterfly in a child’s hand. Films can display emotions, but novels put those emotions into words.
Narration is what forms the greatest part of a novel. Narration is where a novel actually shines. Narration is what the readers come to read.
And, as you could guess, films don’t narrate. Consider this,
And rain made him feel like crying. He gulped down, trying to keep the lump of his throat in check. He couldn’t cry in the middle of so many other kids. They’ll ask questions, and what will he say to them, huh?
He was sorry.
For what?
For everything he did. And for everything he didn’t.
The day had just begun. It’d be long before it ends, y’know. He just couldn't wait for it to end. There was no lifting up his mood. Not until tomorrow.
How do you display this in a film? The answer—you can't. However hard you try, you can't.
Such narrations are where the art of novels shine. Such narrations are what differentiates a novel from a visual media.
***
#04 - Is it really a problem, though? (pt.ii)
All this talk constantly reminds me of Cormac McCarthy’s The Road. It’s a literary achievement and really experimental in a lot of stuff that it does. For example, the novel has no dashes or apostrophes—and it’s not like these punctuation marks were not needed, they’re just not used. So, you’d find a lot of grammatical mistakes throughout the text.
And also, one thing that McCarthy ignored—and that’s relevant to the discussion we’re having—is that there’s literally zero narration. Zero.
McCarthy adopts a style that’s similar to a third-person POV, and is kinda like how I used to write when I was little—just with paragraphs and better scene-descriptions and action-descriptions. A lot better, as you can observe if you read his work.
Anyway, he didn’t have any narrative elements in his text. So the readers don’t really know what these characters are thinking or planning to do. They just know that these characters are somehow surviving.
I don’t wanna give away most of the plot of the novel, but the basic premise of the novel is that there’s a father-son duo who’s been caught in this apocalypse-type situation, and are traveling down the road to the south part of the country to escape the harsh winters that the north experiences. The novel doesn’t reveal a lot—the readers don’t know the names of these characters, the thoughts of the characters are hidden most of the time, and you don’t know what actually happened that most of humanity is dead and society is completely gone.
Now, McCarthy did it for a reason. A scarcity of punctuation marks reflects a form of scarcity in the scenery around them. Because most of it is, well, gone. Humanity is gone, and stuff is decaying. You don’t find fresh food anymore. Scavenge all you want—one day, all the canned food will expire, and there will be nothing to eat. Except fruits and veggies, that need to be grown somewhere. And nobody likes the latter, honestly.
And the scene-descriptions are so tough to read. They’re an actual pain. I have had a really hard time deciphering most of it, because the vocab is too high, and probably the sentences do not flow into each other easily. I can’t say anything about the sentences if I don’t understand them, y’know.
But, man, maybe that’s how it’s supposed to be. Maybe that’s why McCarthy wrote the descriptions in this way—to symbolize the mental stress that the characters go through as they experience this world, this form of reality that they were not meant to be in.
And maybe the novel is so lacking in narrations because the characters’ minds have gone numb. They’re forgetting language. With almost zero human interaction most of the time, they are forgetting how to think and interact in words. You lose the skills you don’t really use anymore, y’know. And these guys are so obviously depressed, so they don’t think about the world. They are used to the sad reality they live in. No point in complaining how bad the food is if that’s all you’re gonna eat all your life.
So, a scarcity of narrations tell you a lot about the story and its characters. It reflects something, it symbolizes something. The Road is a masterfully crafted piece of prose, please don’t get inspired to write in this style just because. This style won’t work on most of the stories.
Yeah, just because he wrote like this means you can too. Let me tell you, dear reader, that all of what we call rules are meant to be broken. Nothing is absolute. But here’s the catch—you can’t break the rules just because you don’t know how to apply them.
Authors need to learn these rules, because that’s what constitutes most of the written prose. That’s what forms the basics of the craft. So, learn them, understand them, and know how to use them. And then make a conscious decision not to use them.
See, these rules are like tools or weapons in your arsenal. And you need to keep your arsenal ready for everything. And then, you can decide which weapon to use, when to use it, and how to use it. Because you don’t know what sort of idea hits your head next and you’d suddenly need some of them.
***
#04 - Solution
So, how to make sure your novel actually comes off as a novel and not a film-novel? Unfortunately, the answer to that question… is that I don't know.
I know this sounds so absurd, but it is what it is. As someone who’s so recently started studying prose, I know this problem exists, but I still don’t know how to fix it. You could say I know my novels are film-novels, and I’m trying to fix it. But I, personally, am having a lot of trouble with it.
However, one way I can recommend is to write from your character’s POV, not your POV. You probably imagined your story as a film, but that’s now how you’re supposed to write it. Get into your characters’ head, see what they’re seeing, and write that.
But it’s tough. For me, at least. I always find myself going back to my old ways, and I think I need to re-write almost all of my scene-descriptions and actions because of it.
Lol, how ironic.
***
Conclusion
Yeah, and that’s it. I hope you liked this blog. Sorry I hadn’t posted in along while, I was going through a writers’ block. Stuff is happening these days, y’know.
Anyway, I’ll see you again in a couple of days, with something new. Bye-byee!
if you're trying to get into the head of your story's antagonist, try writing an "Am I the Asshole" reddit post from their perspective, explaining their problems and their plans for solving them. Let the voice and logic come through.
50 Character Personality Traits + Meanings (For writers, worldbuilders, and artists) Part 1
Adventurous - Enjoys trying new experiences and exploring the unknown.
Ambitious - Driven to succeed and achieve their goals.
Analytical - Tends to think critically and examine things in-depth.
Artistic - Highly creative and expresses themselves through artistic mediums.
Assertive - Confident in expressing their thoughts and feelings.
Caring - Shows compassion and concern for the well-being of others.
Charismatic - Has a natural charm and appeal that draws people in.
Clever - Able to come up with creative solutions and make astute observations.
Compassionate - Displays empathy and a desire to help those in need.
Confident - Believes in their own abilities and is self-assured.
Conscientious - Reliable, responsible, and attentive to detail.
Curious - Eager to learn new things and explore the world around them.
Cynical - Tends to be skeptical and distrustful of others' motives.
Dependable - Can be counted on to follow through on their commitments.
Determined - Persistent in pursuing their goals and overcoming challenges.
Diplomatic - Skilled at navigating social situations and resolving conflicts.
Eccentric - Displays unconventional or unusual behaviors and interests.
Empathetic - Able to understand and share the feelings of others.
Ethical - Guided by a strong moral compass and a sense of right and wrong.
Extraverted - Enjoys being around people and draws energy from social interactions.
Flexible - Adaptable to changes and open to trying new approaches.
Forgiving - Willing to let go of past hurts and give people second chances.
Friendly - Approachable and enjoys building positive relationships with others.
Grounded - Practical, down-to-earth, and focused on the present.
Hardworking - Diligent and dedicated in their efforts to achieve their goals.
Honest - Values truthfulness and integrity in their words and actions.
Idealistic - Driven by a vision of how the world should be and a desire to make a difference.
Imaginative - Possesses a rich inner world and creative problem-solving abilities.
Independent - Prefers to think and act for themselves without relying on others.
Indecisive - Struggles with making decisions and often second-guesses themselves.
Introverted - Finds energy and fulfillment in solitary activities and introspection.
Jealous - Experiences feelings of resentment or insecurity towards others.
Kind - Gentle, considerate, and thoughtful in their treatment of others.
Leaders - Able to inspire and guide others towards a common goal.
Logical - Approaches problems and decisions through a rational, analytical lens.
Materialistic - Highly values the acquisition of possessions and wealth.
Organized - Maintains order and efficiency in their personal and professional life.
Perfectionistic - Strives for flawlessness and can be overly critical of themselves and others.
Pessimistic - Tends to focus on the negative aspects of situations and expect the worst.
Resilient - Able to bounce back from setbacks and adapt to changes.
Risk-taker - Willing to take chances and step outside of their comfort zone.
Sarcastic - Uses irony and witty remarks to convey their thoughts and feelings.
Sensitive - Deeply affected by the emotions and experiences of themselves and others.
Stubborn - Unwilling to change their mind or compromise on their beliefs and opinions.
Suspicious - Inclined to doubt the motives and intentions of others.
Thoughtful - Considerate of the impact their words and actions have on others.
Timid - Shy, reserved, and hesitant to take risks or assert themselves.
Trustworthy - Reliable, honest, and worthy of confidence.
Unpredictable - Displays an element of surprise and spontaneity in their behavior.
Witty - Possesses a quick, clever, and humorous way of expressing themselves.
Hey fellow writers! I'm super excited to share that I've just launched a Tumblr community. I'm inviting all of you to join my community. All you have to do is fill out this Google form, and I'll personally send you an invitation to join the Write Right Society on Tumblr! Can't wait to see your posts!
20 Compelling Positive-Negative Trait Pairs
Here are 20 positive and negative trait pairs that can create compelling character dynamics in storytelling:
1. Bravery - Recklessness: A character is courageous in the face of danger but often takes unnecessary risks.
2. Intelligence - Arrogance: A character is exceptionally smart but looks down on others.
3. Compassion - Naivety: A character is deeply caring but easily deceived due to their trusting nature.
4. Determination - Stubbornness: A character is persistent in their goals but unwilling to adapt or compromise.
5. Charisma - Manipulativeness: A character is charming and persuasive but often uses these traits to exploit others.
6. Resourcefulness - Opportunism: A character is adept at finding solutions but is also quick to exploit situations for personal gain.
7. Loyalty - Blind Obedience: A character is fiercely loyal but follows orders without question, even when they're wrong.
8. Optimism - Denial: A character remains hopeful in difficult times but often ignores harsh realities.
9. Humor - Inappropriateness: A character lightens the mood with jokes but often crosses the line with their humor.
10. Generosity - Lack of Boundaries: A character is giving and selfless but often neglects their own needs and well-being.
11. Patience - Passivity: A character is calm and tolerant but sometimes fails to take action when needed.
12. Wisdom - Cynicism: A character has deep understanding and insight but is often pessimistic about the world.
13. Confidence - Overconfidence: A character believes in their abilities but sometimes underestimates challenges.
14. Honesty - Bluntness: A character is truthful and straightforward but often insensitive in their delivery.
15. Self-discipline - Rigidity: A character maintains strong control over their actions but is inflexible and resistant to change.
16. Adventurousness - Impulsiveness: A character loves exploring and trying new things but often acts without thinking.
17. Empathy - Overwhelm: A character deeply understands and feels others' emotions but can become overwhelmed by them.
18. Ambition - Ruthlessness: A character is driven to achieve great things but willing to do anything, even unethical, to succeed.
19. Resilience - Emotional Detachment: A character can endure hardships without breaking but often seems emotionally distant.
20. Strategic - Calculative: A character excels at planning and foresight but can be cold and overly pragmatic in their decisions.
These pairs create complex, multi-dimensional characters that can drive rich, dynamic storytelling.
Foreshadowing is so fun! Even though I'm still on draft one of my novel, I may list which of these elements I've incorporated so far below.
Lozerief knows stuff she shouldn't. How did she know Izi's dad? If she knew his dad, did she know his mom? (Spoilers, yes, she did, duh.)
Colors. Everywhere. Lozerief wears black, foreshadowing her role as Hero of Earth. Izi wears white, foreshadowing his role as Hero of Cognition and her antithesis. Hota wears teal for their role as Hero of Mind.
I (mostly) know how this will end.
Not a Checkhov's gun but I repeatedly bring up Izi's old home for more reasons than just trauma.
I keep track of what I put in languages that I create so that only I (and the characters who speak those languages) know what they're saying. (I foreshadow the rise of the White Army this way.)
Names with meanings is a big one for Lozerief...
I realize only now that Lozerief is the character who hides the most, and it's amazing she doesn't spoil it all right away. Maybe she's bound by some old agreement...?
subtle ways to include foreshadowing
one character knowing something offhandedly that they shouldn't, isn't addressed until later
the crow rhyme
colours!! esp if like, blue is evil in your world and the mc's best friend is always noted to wear blue...betrayal?
write with the ending in mind
use patterns from tragic past events to warn of the future
keep the characters distracted! run it in the background until the grand reveal
WEATHER.
do some research into Chekhov's gun
mention something that the mc dismisses over and over
KEEP TRACK OF WHAT YOU PUT. don't leave things hanging.
unreliable characters giving information that turn out to be true
flowers and names with meanings
anything with meanings actually
metaphors. if one character describes another as "a real demon" and the other turns out to be the bad guy, you're kind of like...ohhh yeahhh
anyways add anything else in the tags
Realistic Procrastination Tips
Intro
Ah, procrastination, also known as the bane of writers everywhere. It’s the easiest trap to fall into as a writer. You don’t feel like writing, so you just...don’t. Or maybe you completely forget about it when you’re watching TV or scrolling through social media, and by the time you remember you’re like, “Eh, it’s too late to write anyway.”
Procrastination is most likely always going to be an issue for all writers in some way. However, there are ways to counteract it. Today I’ll be sharing some realistic tips for procrastination that have actually helped me!
1. Make writing a habit
When I say to make writing a habit, I don’t mean you have to write every day. You can write every other day, every two days--whatever works for your schedule. What I mean is that you have to get used to the idea of writing.
A lot of the time, we hesitate to write because we get into the mindset that writing is an arduous task. But in reality? When you just sit down and start writing, you’re more likely to continue than you are to stop. Starting is the hardest part of writing. Once you begin, you’ll find it’s much easier to keep going. Train yourself out of that “writing = hard” mindset and in the words of a certain shoe company, just do it. And if you’re having trouble disciplining yourself, have someone else to hold you accountable. It’ll make you more likely to finish your goals.
One thing I do to form a writing habit is to write in my spare time. Usually, that means I write during school, in the earliest hours of the day (when my classes are easier and I have less homework). Tip: little things accumulate. If you can spare even half an hour or so to write--or think about writing--every single day, it adds up!
2. The “Room Rule”
Okay, so I just made this up, but it still applies. Basically, it means that you should keep as many unneeded electronic devices as possible at least one room away from you--whether that means moving yourself away from your phone, or putting your phone somewhere that you can’t see it. Pretend you’re in a classroom where if the teacher catches you with your phone, it’ll immediately be confiscated and you’ll be kept after school (which honestly, is probably pretty realistic for some of my followers who are students). Seriously, though. Social media is one of the best ways to procrastinate, so the best solution is to just get it out of sight. Once you start scrolling, it takes a really long time to stop.
If you still have distractions on whatever device you write on, you can clear your distracting tabs. Alternatively, you can put them in another window out of sight or do all your research before you start writing. Another option is to use an app to restrict what sites you can access, like Forest.
3. You have time
I’ve mentioned many times already that writers often think that they don’t have time to write. Well, I've got good news for you: you definitely do still have time to write. Every word counts! Even if you don't have enough time today, you'll have more chances tomorrow.
A similar trap procrastinating writers fall into is convincing themselves that they can't make the time to write. For example, I'm a student, and for the longest time I would tell myself I had too much homework to write. But then when I finished my homework, I would have plenty of free time...which I spent on my phone. Yeah, I know. Eventually I figured out that if I was going to make any progress at all in my WIPs, I was going to have to make myself do it.
If you really want to write, you should carve out the time to write in your schedule. Don't give yourself an excuse! Obviously, this doesn't apply to people who genuinely don't have time to write--you shouldn't burn yourself out trying to juggle a busy schedule and your WIPs.
Honestly, the best way to deal with procrastination is to deal with yourself. Examining your feelings toward writing and finding time to write are steps toward figuring out your own best method of productivity. It's a very personal journey that I wish you luck on. Finally, to all of the procrastinating writers reading this post...go write! I believe in you!
How I Outline My Characters
Intro
Hey guys! Today I’m going to be talking about how I outline and build my characters. I used to be so uninspired when I was building characters, because to me it just felt like I was filling in blanks, and I couldn’t really connect to the character. So I just decided to take a bare-bones character profile (specifically Reedsy’s, which I highly recommend) and cut and add things as I saw fit. I want to stress that it’s in no way comprehensive--in fact, I’m always adding new things--but it does cover quite a bit, and so far, it’s worked well for me!
1. Identity and appearance
This section involves all the fundamental parts of a character. First, I begin with names: the character’s name in English (or in another language, if applicable) and their nickname(s). Then, I go through all the details of birth, location, age, etc. etc. Next, I dive into nationality and heritage, the languages the character understands, and their gender and pronouns (I know there's a difference between the two, I just group them together because it's easier to keep track of). Finally, I go into all the statistics of appearance and health, along with a description of what they look like in the text!
2. Personality and psychology
In the second section of my character profile, I nail down the basic personality and psychology of the character. "General” includes their normal temperament, preferences, moral compass, and more. The second subsection delves into “plot-significant” elements of the character’s mind, such as the heart’s desire, weaknesses, insecurities, and fears. “Classifications,” the third subsection, is just about categorizations like zodiac signs and personality types. Last is a list of miscellaneous “favorites” of the character. I pay a lot of attention to the first two parts of this section, as they are essential for me to figure out the story!
3. Communication and mannerisms
Next, I delve into the communications and mannerisms of the character, whether that’s vocal, physical, or emotional. Most of this is pretty self-explanatory, so I’ll just elaborate on a few. A swear word can tell you a lot about a character, surprisingly enough--whether it’s religious or not, whether the character whispers it or yells it, etc.
Under the “physical” subsection, “gestures” refers to the level of gesturing that a character does, as well as what kind of gestures they make--e.g. big and sweeping gestures, or small and confined ones? In the “emotions” subsection, "humor” refers to what the character finds funny, e.g. dark humor. “Smile” refers to what the character’s smile looks like, which can be very telling. For example, do they have a close-lipped smile or a wide, toothy grin? Do they have both but show one of them more often, and if so, why?
4. Social media and related
Here, I decide what social media platforms the character would use if they had them, and if so, what type of content they would post. This is a fun character exercise and it can be taken further by actually creating social media profiles for your characters on certain websites!
I also make a miniature playlist of what songs I think they would listen to, specifically songs that would be on their all-time most played Spotify playlist. Making playlists is one of my favorite ways to flesh out characters!
5. Backstory
Probably the most important part of the profile plot-wise, “Backstory” covers the entire background of a character--their childhood, memories, aspirations, abstract details, and everything to do with the past and what their life and mind was like prior to the story. Under “Description,” I simply write out a longer summary of the character’s backstory.
6. Family
Here, I just build the character’s family, noting their names, ages, birth/death, history, their relationship with the character, etc. This is pretty self-explanatory. After going into immediate family, I mention extended family. Both can reveal insights into the character--are they closer to one side of their family than to the other? Why? Is there any conflict that may be shown between the character and their family in the story?
7. Relationships
This section is all about relationships; familial, platonic or romantic. This helps me figure out the dynamics between characters. I also include a “Perception” section, which allows me to view the character from multiple angles. If this character is involved in romance, I note what qualities they want in a relationship or in their ideal partner(s).
8. Story elements
Finally, I figure out the current situation of the character: where are they right now and where do they want to be? What’s their goal? What motivates them? These questions let me build a plot. Lastly, I plan out their character arc--how they change and develop during the course of the story.
Do you have any tips for writing enemies to lovers?
Hi, love! Thanks for your question and your patience<3 I’m currently writing somethingsimilar to this, so I hope my experience can help you here!
Enemies-to-lovers is a popular trope, but it’s often treatedcarelessly by writers – especially TV/movie writers who rush through thetransition to fit a single movie or episode arc. There’s nothing worseyou can do in this situation than to rush your arc. Falling in love isalready a time-consuming plotline – but transitioning from enemies, who arealready shutting each other out, to lovers? The quicker it happens, theless believable it becomes.
I have a lot of notes on how to write enemies to lovers, sobear with me as I list them out.
Writing Enemies to Lovers: The Basic Ingredients
1. Give them some similar traits.
No matter what, two people can’t fall in love if they don’trelate on some level. The first step to creating possible love interestsis to find where they’ll connect. Are they a hero and a villain? Evil and good? Night and day? I bet they both love animals. Maybe they’re both way into politics. Maybe they share a commonenemy. Maybe they’re both neat freaks or a bit sassy or super gay or lovethe same music. It can be a few important things or a bunch of superficialthings – just make sure they have something that can tie themtogether.
2. Put them on the same side of something.
When two people are mortal foes, it can be hard for them tosee each other in any other light. Bringing in a common enemy (ananti-hero, a natural disaster, a person in power), or a common interest (amutual friend, a school play, a moral cause), can land foes on a teamtogether. This forces them to become aware of each other’s strengths, andto consider (and worry about) each other’s weaknesses. This is perfectfodder for an eyebrows-raised, “Hey, they don’t suck at this particularthing,” moment.
3. Get them alone.
With other people watching (especiallyfriends/coworkers/allies), little groundwork can be made for your twohate-lovers. If you get your characters alone together, you’re given abounty of opportunities to bond them, including but not limited to: actualconversations, accidental (or faux-accidental) physical contact, the sneakymoment of checking each other out, etc. etc. etc. People are differentwhen you get them away from their friends – less extreme, less rowdy, lessunreachable. If you have to trap your characters in an elevator theold-fashioned way, damn it, you’re the only one who can do it.
4. Let them fight their feelings.
If these two are truly enemies, there isn’t going to be amoment of, “Oh, I like them. Huh. Neato.” Oh, no. There will be internal backlash – they will beat their emotions back with abroom, and deny them to anyone who asks. There will be extra hatefulglares, more middle fingers, and basically anything they can do to remindthemselves that they don’t like this person. If you show thisinternal conflict, it both (a) makes the feelings seem real, organic, and (b)creates a more realistic transition from hate to love.
5. Love can sound like hate.
There’s a reason people say indifference is the trueopposite of love. When your two enemies start to feel things foreach other, this will probably spark a lot of ranting, arguing, anddoor-slamming. It creates a fixation – you sit there and you stew andyou tell your friends, “Remember when they did thatstupid thing? Yeah. Screw them.” Your friends roll theireyes. When will you stop talking about this person? Just kiss themalready.
6. Sexual tension is a powerful tool.
If your characters experience sexual attraction, this is agreat way to accelerate their relationship against their will. It’s theage-old, “My mind says no but my body says yes,” dilemma. Yourcharacters can’t stand each other, or the image they have of each other, butthey’re attracted like magnets and can’t shake it. This can make for somepretty hot – or pretty hilarious – scenes.
7. Give them a moment of horrified realization.
Eventually, the feelings will grow strong enough that one orboth of them will have to sit there, probably on the bathroom floor a littlebit drunk with one sock on, and realize: “I love that f*cker.” It’llbe a scary moment for them. It’s not that they haven’t known it – theyjust have yet to accept that it’s something to deal with, until now. Thiscan be prompted by a dangerous situation, a shared activity, or a failed attemptat another romance – so when they really sit and think about it, theyknow. Then it becomes a question of either “how do I get rid of this?”or “how do I pursue this?”.
8. Try their hand at flirting.
Whether one or both characters have come to accept theirfeelings, someone’s gotta start flirting. A glancing touch across thearm; a small comment that could kind of be construed as amicable; a lingeringglance; that first peek at their enemy’s smile. Something cute and quickand immediately followed by an existential crisis will do in a pinch. Without this water-testing, readers won’t have any image of what thisrelationship will look like – and if it can succeed.
9. Craft the perfect kiss/hug/confession.
When the time is right, create an undeniable display ofattraction to transition into a new phase of their relationship:the “welp-we-both-like-each-other” phase, which comes right beforethe “we-decided-to-(stay-platonic/start-romancin’)” phase. The BigKiss/Confession is the most iconic climactic love scene, in which the twocharacters take a chance and become vulnerable with each other – and kiss, orsay, “I love you,” or do anything that can’t be construed in any otherway. Want to extend the drama? Interrupt them, or have it beone-sided, or let it turn into a fight until they decide, “Forget it, thiswas stupid.” Readers will swoon.
10. Finish up with an awkward adjustment period.
If and when your characters do enter a relationship, makesure it’s a little tentative at the beginning, to keep it realistic. Yourcharacters have made a huge shift in their dynamic – there will be somelingering arguments and love-hate, and maybe a bit of discomfort going publicwith their romance. Then come the usual growing pains of a new relationshipgetting serious – figuring out how to navigate each other’s flaws, learning tobe open with their feelings, dealing with unresolved fights from before theirrelationship. It won’t be perfect right away. That’s the beauty of it.
I hope this helps you, love! I adore love-haterelationships, and I hope you enjoy crafting your own enemies-to-lovers as muchas we’ll all love reading them :) Good luck!
– Mod Joanna ♥️
Ifyou need advice on general writing or fanfiction, you should maybe ask us!
How to show emotions
Part V
How to show grief
a vacant look
slack facial expressions
shaky hands
trembling lips
swallowing
struggling to breathe
tears rolling down their cheeks
How to show fondness
smiling with their mouth and their eyes
softening their features
cannot keep their eyes off of the object of their fondness
sometimes pouting the lips a bit
reaching out, wanting to touch them
How to show envy
narrowing their eyes
rolling their eyes
raising their eyebrows
grinding their teeth
tightening jaw
chin poking out
pouting their lips
forced smiling
crossing arms
shifting their gaze
clenching their fists
tensing their muscles
then becoming restless/fidgeting
swallowing hard
stiffening
holding their breath
blinking rapidly
exhaling sharply
How to show regret
scrubbing a hand over the face
sighing heavily
downturned mouth
slightly bending over
shoulders hanging low
hands falling to the sides
a pained expression
heavy eyes
staring down at their feet
Part I + Part II + Part III + Part IV + Part VI
If you like my blog and want to support me, you can buy me a coffee or become a member! And check out my Instagram! 🥰
How to show emotions
Part VI
How to show insecurity
not holding/breaking eye contact
fidgeting
crossing their arms
trying to cover up their body
making themself seem smaller
playing with their hands
hiding their hands in their pockets
holding their head down
blushing
clearing their throat
biting their nails
biting their lips
nervous laughter
stuttering
How to show being offended
stiffening up
hard line around the lips
frozen stare
narrowing of the eyes
turning their head to the side
quickening heartbeat
turning red
making themself bigger, ready to fight
How to show compassion
gentle and soft smile
relaxed facial features
softening of their eyes
openly showing how they feel
leaning towards the other one
nodding along, not directly interjecting, but encouraging
deep breaths inbetween
gentle touches to comfort
How to show being pleased
big smile/grinning
laying head slightly to the side
moving one shoulder up
pursing their lips while smiling
very open body language
leaning back
Part I + Part II + Part III + Part IV + Part V
If you like my blog and want to support me, you can buy me a coffee or become a member! And check out my Instagram! 🥰
How to show emotions
Part III
How to show disappointment
swallowing hard
low, monotone voice
clucking their tongue
rubbing their face
shaking head
clenching hands
sighing
frowning
pursing of the lips
slumped shoulders
looking away
scowling
How to show relief
exhaling deeply
tension in their face going away
closing eyes for a moment
tentative smile
eyes brightening up
small giddy laughter
putting hand on their breast
joyfully tearing up
looking up
How to show desire
gaze dropping down to the other's lips
opening mouth slightly
small smile around the eyes
eyes widening
pupils dilating
biting lips
following them with their eyes
inhaling deeply
licking lips
How to show tiredness
closing eyes
slowly opening them again
long sighs
yawning
no eye contact
head lolling to the side
closed mouth, neither smile nor scowl
not moving a lot
doing everything slower
staring off into the near distance
How to show confidence
prolonged eye contact
nodding to show they are listening
putting their shoulders back
holding head high
leaning forward
standing tall
smiling openly
Part I + Part II + Part IV + Part V + Part VI
If you like my blog and want to support me, you can buy me a coffee or become a member! And check out my Instagram! 🥰