Latest Posts by ainesseyspiegel - Page 6
Forging Friendships
Creating believable relationships between two characters is not just important for romance. If you want people to believe that your characters are best friends, you have to work just as hard at it. There must be good reasons why they’re so close and why they’re working together toward a common goal. In real life, there’s usually some sort of event that bonds two people together and makes them closer than they were before. I met my best friend when we were forced to play kick ball during middle school gym and we were both TERRIBLE AT IT. It might seem like a simple event, but considering our ages, it was the most pressing issue during that time. The point is, there should be some sort of bonding event or a reason why two people are friends. Make a point to explain some of it and not just say, “they’ve been friends forever”
Here are some more general tips when describing friendships:
-If your characters have been thrust into some terrible situation together, be sure to explain why they’ve bonded more than other characters. Maybe they both fight well together or understand each other in a way no one else does. There has to be that moment when they both realize they can benefit or enjoy each other company more than any one else.
-The two best friends share some common ground. Is there an event from their pasts that allows them to bond easier than others? Maybe they both share a traumatic childhood OR it could be just as simple as them both sucking at Math. This is something you can play with.
-When the friendship has already been established, make sure you explain what they normally do with their time together. Do they have rituals that only they do together? What are their favorite activities? How do they interact with their other friends? These actions dictate why they’re still friends and how they’ve been friends for so long, so they’re just as important.
Obviously, there’s a lot of depth to friendship and it shouldn’t be taken lightly. Building these relationships are important, not only for understanding the characters you’ve created, but exposing the personality and motivations of the protagonist. Make each character and relationship count.
-Kris Noel
My book: http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/15764908-lionhead
My page: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6447379.Kris_Noel
“Writing is not necessarily something to be ashamed of, but do it in private and wash your hands afterwards.”
— Robert Heinlein (1907 - 1988)
“Writing is something you do alone. Its a profession for introverts who want to tell you a story but don’t want to make eye contact while doing it.”
— John Green (via mytreasure-thouart)
5 Character Points You May be Ignoring
You don’t need to describe your character down to the finest detail; let your reader do some imagining of their own (they seem to enjoy that!) But there are a few character points that affect how they interact with their world which you can reveal through action.
Height: Do they need to duck through doorways, or bend to speak to their friends? Do they struggle to reach the top shelf in the supermarket? The way they cope with these things reveal how they feel about their height. Do they compensate by wearing heels or by slouching?
Weight: Do they easily slip through small spaces and crowds? Or do they avoid sitting on flimsy-looking furniture? Do they suffer backache from pulling their stomach in all day, or do they wear layers to try and look bulkier?
Eyesight: How well can they see distances or read small print? Do they proudly wear glasses, do they go more subtle with contact lenses, or are they in complete denial?
Smell: Do they douse themselves in perfume or do people shy away from their sweaty smell? Do they realise what they smell like, or are they oblivious?
Walk: Does the way they walk make them stand out, or blend in with the crowd? Do they look ahead or walk looking at their feet? How big is their stride, how big are their feet, and how does this affect the way they move around their world?
These are all things that can be used to reveal character, impact plot and affect the setting.
Think about how happy your character is with their physical attributes. Do they hide them because they’ve suffered years of bullying, or are they proud of who they are and have little care for what others think?
““If ever there is tomorrow when we’re not together.. there is something you must always remember. You are braver than you believe, stronger than you seem, and smarter than you think. But the most important thing is, even if we’re apart.. I’ll always be with you.””
— Christopher Robin (via must-love-larry)
They Called It Puppy Love
Asher:
It was easy enough to notice. Everybody but him could tell there was something more going on with the two of them. To be fair, I don’t think many thought it was something beyond a strong friendship. They were, after all, just kids. They didn’t know about love or the many aspects of relationships. Not really anyway. How could they?
Ben, full name Benjamin Reynolds, was a ten year old soccer star in the making. He had these big green eyes, deep brown hair, and cocky little smile that was everything boyish charm was defined for. He was the kind of kid you knew would grow up to be someone you wanted in your life. The type of guy who was loyal, dependable, and just unpredictable enough to be the ace up your sleeve. A best friend for the ages.
He was also kind of adorable, I thought upon initially meeting him when his family moved in down the street. My little brother thought so too, and he didn’t appreciate the fact that I looked highly upon little Ben, if the initial stomping on my sandal clad foot with heavy steal toe boots was anything to go by.
Jeremy, my supposedly adorable eleven year old little brother, grew attached to Ben pretty quickly. I want to say that he was abnormally clingy, though he would argue with the use of the word, within the first few minutes. I had never seen love at first sight, but I knew it must have been something awfully similar to what I was seeing when Jay held onto Ben’s outstretched hand a little longer than he should have.
It surprised my parents just as much as it surprised me. Jay never took to anyone easily. Hell, he didn't even like me when we first met. He peed on me the first time I tried to hold him, and it had taken us the better part of four years to get along with each other. His friends went through a similar time grueling process, though without any bodily fluids being released onto them. To like someone so quickly was something new and almost extremely out of character for my baby brother.
I could see why, especially when I laid eyes on Ben’s older brother. Shawn, he said his name was, was an eighteen year old god. At least, he was in my humble but ever important opinion. Good build, not overly muscular, brilliant brown hair, apparently strenuously kept, and the most gorgeous pair of blue eyes I had ever seen. He was smooth talker, a sincere conversationalist, and I could tell he was a good guy within the few minutes of meeting him.
It was a breath of fresh air. The guys around my small town had all lost their appeal rather quickly. They grew out of manners and class, and you really needed to work at any kind of decent relationship. To their credit, they did shape up when they fell hard enough, as I had seen over the past few years of casual dating, but it was still hard work pretending to like them. The girls were the same. They lost themselves long ago, and had no intention of trying to individualize themselves unless a man was involved. Who wanted that kind of pressure?
It didn’t look like any of those tiring difficulties applied to Shawn, my new real life version of Adonis.
They didn’t apply to Ben either, if I was completely honest with myself. He seemed to take after his brother’s example in just about everything that counted. The both played soccer, had a lot of friends back in their old town, good encouraging personalities, and never did anything halfway.
I was absolutely smitten that first night when my parents invited Shawn, Ben, and their single father Michael, over for dinner. In my defense, it was hard not to be. Shawn was something I had only ever heard about in hushed whispers across the hall. He was the complete package. The looks, the personality, the sense of responsibility, he had it all. And his family wasn't half bad either.
They were a close knit group, and despite not having a mom, they seemed complete. Jay was amazed that Ben could get by without that female presence in his life. He had always been such a mama’s boy, and not having my mom around was nearly suffocating to him. The fact that Ben could even breathe without one seemed like a miracle to my blunt and seemingly tactless little brother.
Little Ben was strong throughout the rough questions Jay could not stop himself from asking. I was a bit surprised. Jay was a smart, but sometimes cruel little brat when he wanted to be. Even when he didn’t mean to be, the things he said could wound terribly. And the effects would last for months on end. I thought Ben would have broken down crying after the fourth overly intrusive question.
The kid was a tough one. He answered everything with a smile and a laugh. He then was able to ask Jay about the things he liked.
I winced, and mom and dad tried to hides their coughs behind their glasses. Jay did not talk about himself. Never. Ever. He never saw the point in it. For such a young kid, he was so picky about the things he did and did not do. If it was never going to do anything for him, he simply did not want to do it. Too much work for so little gain, I guess.
But that night at dinner, Jay suddenly wanted to talk about anything Ben wanted to talk about. His favorite food was hamburgers, his favorite color was red, and he was a member of the local baseball team. Anything Ben wanted to know, Jay was willing to speak about. Michael and Shawn couldn’t quite figure out why the rest of us were gawking so freely.
Shawn started asking me questions, I guess feeling awkward about letting two preteens take hold of the dinner conversation. Michael started doing the same with my parents. All throughout the night we all traded information and laughed over new private jokes, all the while finding it completely normal to seem so at ease with basic strangers. We had so much fun that the time just flew by without us noticing. It was nearly ten when we finally had enough sense to look at a nearby clock.
By then, Jay had already looked so head over heels that I could have laughed. I would have too, if I wasn’t sure that I had the exact same look on my face at the moment.
When the Reynolds finally headed home, nearly an hour after we all agreed to part ways, Jay was smiling like a loon. He then proudly proclaimed, before he went to bed,
“He will be my new best friend.”
I didn't think to tell him that he already had a best friend. One that was always vying for the attention that Jay obliviously refused to give him. I also didn't think it was wise to tell him that what he wanted from Ben was something more than friendship. He still had those boots on after all, and I was too heavy a sleeper to feel comfortable enough to say what I wanted to. I have to watch the merchandise, you understand.
So I only smirked and told him,
“Go for it.”
I knew it to be fact. If I, after years of breaking hearts of all ages, was smitten this quickly, my brother was in for a long ride. He was only a kid, and he didn’t understand the emotional and possibly physical loop that emotions could take you through. A part of me thought that perhaps I should have done the big brother thing and tried to talk him out of it.
The more rational part of my mind told me it was pointless. Jay would be in denial. Even if he did admit to what he was feeling, again, he wouldn’t understand the big picture. He would never get what any of this meant. Not at 11. Puppy love was never something that permitted logic, and this was an extreme case if I ever saw one.
Lord knows if it’ll end well or not. But hey, it could be a good show.
Disappear
I’m going to take a big leap of faith here by placing this short piece out where I know someone can easily read and access it, and I’m going to do so riddled with fear because of what this may share about me. Yes, this was written by me, and I’m going to finally admit that I know exactly where this group of words was pulled from, and I’m going to spare you all the bull about how I’m fine and this came out of nowhere and this in no way has ever had anything to do with me. I would be lying, and I’m getting a little tired of that. This writing was composed during a difficult time in my life, and the thoughts are going to pretty accurately depict my very muddled thought process at the time. Because I’m not sure what this might do to the moods of others out in the world, I’m going to put this behind a read more and I will understand completely if any of my followers decide to ignore it. That said, I guess I’m taking the plunge here and now. No more pretending that this was never me because once upon a time, all of this made perfect sense to the girl I once was.
~*~
Keep reading
Five Senses
I have come to the conclusion
That down here on this Earth
The five senses that I posses
Are not for my benifit alone
~*~
These two eyes of mine
Humble in color and shape
Are here to see you smile
To look upon your lovely face
~*~
There two ears of mine
Deaf to most in the world
Are present to hear your voice
A song of heavens symphony
~*~
This one nose of mine
That works hard through the days
It’s main purpose in my life
Is to reconize your natural scent
~*~
This sense of taste I have
One of my favorite to this day
Is to catch the taboo sweetness
Your lips posses when they are on mine
~*~
And finally this sense of touch
That allows me to feel pain
Is only to ensure that I can tell
When your hand is resting in mine
~*~
There is no other way to explain
This new discovery of mine
Except just to let you know that
These five senses belong to you
““There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.””
— Maya Angelou (via the-inking-pendragon)
“You’re a great writer. Not an aspiring writer, a mediocre writer, or a someday, somehow, almost writer. You’re a great writer, right now. People are going to line up ten deep to tell you that you aren’t good enough. Don’t do their work for them. Maybe you aren’t published. Maybe you aren’t successful. You definitely aren’t perfect. But you’re a great writer. Being great doesn’t mean you won’t continue to improve, or be excited and passionate. My awesome takes nothing away from your awesome; your awesome takes nothing away from my awesome. Awesome is not a finite resource. So say it. Out loud. Every day. “I’m a great writer!””
— storywonk.com (via tenthweasley)
I Once Dated A Writer and
Writers are forgetful, but they remember everything. They forget appointments and anniversaries, but remember what you wore, how you smelled, on your first date… They remember every story you’ve ever told them - like ever, but forget what you’ve just said. They don’t remember to water the plants or take out the trash, but they don’t forget how to make you laugh. . Writers are forgetful because they’re busy remembering the important things.
