I Dont Get It

On the Shelves in Oxford this week we have two books focusing on two of our favourite things- literature and happiness!

Thinking with Literature offers a new perspective for mainstream literary criticism and the value of close reading, and demonstrates viability of cognitive analysis of all kinds of literature.

Happiness Explained shows how a wide range of factors can contribute to better and happier lives and how, together, they provide a new blueprint for assessing progress in terms of personal wellbeing.

Photos by Yasmin Coonjah for Oxford University Press.

Writing Character Relationships

Character relationships are important to add dimension to the characters and can help make them and the plot more realistic. This isn’t just for romantic relationships because building the characters’ platonic and familial relationships are important as well. So here are a few tips on creating believable and endearing relationships your readers will love.

Don’t rush into it. This goes for platonic relationships as well as romantic ones. A big cliché complaint with romance stories is that the two characters tend to meet and fall head over heels in love with each other after two conversations or one loving glance across the room (sorry Romeo and Juliet). While romantic connections can begin on the first date, the characters probably shouldn’t be professing undying love and devotion to each other an hour after meeting. The problem isn’t so much the length of time that they’ve known each other as it is how well they know each other, which is why character friendships need time too. If your characters spend two full days together where they really get to know each other deeply and we can see the progression from strangers to people who understand each other, great. If their relationship spans a year but all they do is check each other out then you have a problem. Make them know each other and interact in meaningful ways to create the relationship and show how it came to be.

Show their history. Not every relationship your characters have is going to be created in the span of time in which the story takes place. Your character might have a best friend they’ve known for ten years or three older siblings. Just because these predate the beginning of the story doesn’t mean you don’t have to show what kind of relationship they have. You can say that so-and-so is the best friend but you have to make us believe it. Are they the kind of friends that tell each other everything, like even what they probably shouldn’t? Or are they more the kind that have fun and leave the drama when they go out? Show what kind of relationship the characters have rather than just telling.

Give the reader a sense of why the relationship fits. In some stories you read about the guy and the girl who are just so cute together and they’re falling in love but…why? Why does this pairing work? Having things in common is important, particularly in things that are important to the character, like values. But they can and should also have differences, some of which serve to make the other better. Together they should push each other and support each other. If you make them connect in this way it makes the connection much stronger to the reader and that makes them want to cheer them on more. If it’s all about the smooching it can get rather boring quite quickly.

Make them complete without the other(s). I know I just said that making the characters push each other is a good thing, but they still need to be complete characters on their own. If the only real thing you can say about the character is that they are X’s soulmate or best friend, then they’re not a character. It’s more interesting to see how people interact with each other than Love Interests™ following each other around.  

It's nice to know even the unbelievably attractive people have these moments

This made my day. 

how can i make my characters empathetic?

Hey there, anon! Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of others. I have two different ways to answer this: how to make your characters be empathetic and how to make people empathetic towards your characters.

HOW TO MAKE CHARACTERS BE EMPATHETIC 

This one is pretty self-spoken for. There is really only one way that I know of to make a character to be empathetic and it’s to put them in a situation that the character feels sympathy for another or have them care about something and to, eventually, share the feelings of the other character.

This could be just about anything - get creative with it! For example, have someone be treated unjustly, someone be thrust into grief or danger, facing an inner struggle, etc.

HOW TO MAKE PEOPLE EMPATHETIC TOWARDS CHARACTERS

This is actually pretty easy and you can also just repeat the above tips and tricks if you’d like!

However, different examples - and remember to get creative with it - are having your character display a valuable trait (though this is typically more rewarding if done a little before they make a choice that has a negative impact).

In addition, people love to watch real talent. Have your character be particularly good at something but don’t just tell how good someone is with a knife; show us. Show us how long it took, how many hours of pain and getting injured they had to withstand. Show them caring for their knives as if they were children. Show not tell is a very important part here.

Have them wish for a universal change or show them caring for people. For example, wishing for world hunger to go away and helping starving people go hand in hand together. Wishing for equality and going to rallies for pride, black lives matter, etc, go hand in hand. 

Give them something unique about them. Something that will make the reader grow some sort of attachment to them. 

I hope this helped, anon, and if you have any additional questions, please come ask! Happy writings! x

- Mod Lilly

If you need advice on general writing or fanfiction, you should maybe ask us!

I’m sorry, apparently I have no impulse control.

Cleaning

clean bathroom tips

organize your closet

how to fix a leaky faucet

how to keep a clean kitchen

removing stains from your carpet

Money

how to coupon

what to do when you can’t pay your bills

see if you’re paying too much for your cell phone bill

how to save money

How to Balance a Check Book

How to do Your Own Taxes

Health

how to take care of yourself when you’re sick

things to bring to a doctor’s appointment

what to expect from your first gynecologist appointment

how to make a doctor’s appointment

how to pick a health insurance plan

a list of stress relievers

how to get free therapy

how to remove a splinter

how to avoid a hangover

Emergency

what to do if you get pulled over by a cop

a list of hotlines in a crisis

things to keep in your car in case of an emergency

how to do the heimlich maneuver

Food

recipes that take 30 minutes or less

Yummy apple thing

Brownie in a cup

Cookie in a cup

French bread pizza

Egg tacos

panera mac n cheese recipe

different salad recipes

harry potter recipes

healthy recipes

various cookie recipes

chocolate cupcakes w/ eggless cookie dough topping

s’mores pie 

nutella hot chocolate

peanut butter nutella swirl cookies

cookie in a mug

starbucks holiday drinks

fruit leathers 

brownie in a mug

how to make ramen 1000x better

eggless cookie dough (not to bake, just to eat)

make recipes using things you already have

how to put together a very fancy cheese plate 

make different flavored lemonades

various desert recipes

make tiny chocolate chip cookies

20 dishes every cook should know

learn how to make your own tea

Macaroni and cheese in a mug

Study snacks (2)

40 on-the-go breakfast recipes

Home

what the hell is a mortgage?

first apartment essentials checklist

how to care for cacti and succulents

the care and keeping of plants 

Getting an apartment

Job

time management

create a resume

find the right career

how to pick a major

how to avoid a hangover

how to interview for a job

how to stop procrastinating

How to write cover letters

Travel

ULTIMATE PACKING LIST

Traveling for Cheap 

Travel Accessories

The Best Way to Pack a Suitcase

How To Read A Map

How to Apply For A Passport

How to Make A Travel Budget

Better You

read the news

leave your childhood traumas behind

how to quit smoking

how to get a book published

how to knit

how to use a polaroid camera

how to solve a rubik’s cube

how to stop biting your nails

how to stop procrastinating

how to stop skipping breakfast

how to stop micromanaging

how to stop avoiding asking for help

how to stop swearing constantly

how to stop being a pushover

learn another language

how to improve your self-esteem

how to sew

learn how to embroider

how to love yourself

learn how to do yoga

100 tips for life

learn how to make your own cards

How can I get faster at drawing? I want to start a comic series but I take too long to draw the strips.

Hi anon! This is a great question!

I would recommend not getting hung up during the sketching process. Sketching quickly without over editing will speed up your workflow a lot, and allow your work to flow more easily. 

Practicing quick gesture drawing and composition thumbnails will be especially helpful for you, and hopefully help you gain both speed and confidence. Also study storyboarding concepts, as that might help you draw strips more quickly. A ruler might be helpful if going traditional, and digital will allow for faster and easier edits to strips. 

Further Reading/Other Resources

How to Draw Faster - video

Speed Comicking – Artist Advice – Medium 

Draw more Accurately - helpful because consistency in comics is good

Resources for Comickers

Hope this helped! Please consider giving this post a reblog/like if you enjoyed it! It helps @art-res reach more people! 

More Helpful links: Ask a Question/Request a Tut |Submit a Tutorial | Promote Your Art Commissions to +15 K Dashes | Support my art on DeviantArt / Tumblr ( @astrikos ) 

As requested! A tutorial on faces will be coming soon as well.

Hand Tutorial -Tips+Reference- by =Qinni

Great hand tips by =Qinni! ^.^

Hello! How would you write a dialogue in which a character is freaking out about something? I generally have them word vomit but I don't really like that style. If its too much could you show me an example as well?

Hi!

You could definitely word vomit – especially if your character is hysterical – but that’s not the only way to do it by any means. I know a few other ways.

1. Calmly.This is strange, considering your character is freaking out, but the freak-out is internal – they’re shutting themselves off due to shock. In this case, they would be quiet, sane, and even if what they’re saying is illogical, it would probably sound reasonable.

“I was right there when she shot him. He dropped like a sack of flour. I figured he was gone as soon as the bullet hit his chest. So now I’ve decided I’m gonna go after her. Right now. And I’m gonna kill her.”“What? You can’t do that!”“Sure I can. She killed him, so I kill her. It’s called justice.”“But- With just your bare hands?”“The way I feel right now, my bare hands are more than enough.”

Notice how the character who just watched their friend die in front of them isn’t yelling, isn’t stuttering, isn’t getting angry or crying – they’re perfectly calm, almost to the point of complete emotional shutdown.

2. Angrily.Some people get angry when they lose control and freak out – it scares them, and the fear manifests itself as anger. This type particularly happens when they’re upset about something and other characters aren’t taking it seriously or are shrugging off their concerns.

“No! It’s happening tonight! We don’t have time to think, or weigh things, we need to fucking leave! Now!”“We can’t. You know that, and you’d remember that, if you were thinking straight-”“I am thinking straight! It’s you who’s fucked in the head. I don’t give a damn what you think we can and can’t do, we need to clear out of here, right this second.”

As you can see, this character is freaking out – their concerns may or may not have a firm foundation, but obviously they are concerned, and that concern is manifesting itself as fury.

3. By stuttering.For some people, it’s hard to talk when they panic, because their minds race forward ahead of their mouths and they get tongue-tied. I typically see/use this with more anxious characters, or with characters who aren’t typically good at speaking anyways (in other words, who are uncomfortable talking).

There are a couple of different ways to stutter:a. Repeat the beginning of each word.

“I tr-tried to s-save him, but he wuh-wouldn’t l-let me … he knew it was g-going to happen. It’s my f-fault!”

(However, keep in mind that this kind of stuttering is more as if your character is crying and trying to talk through sobs and hiccups. Please use it sparingly – it can get old fast.)

b. Repeat words.

“No. No, I don’t know what’s going on, Ricky. Ricky, why would I have any idea? Don’t fucking look at me like that, Ricky. Don’t look at me like I’m lying.”

c. Insert filler sounds: “ah”, “uh”, “um”, and/or curse words.

“I, uh, I- fuck. I, ummm, I think maybe, ah, maybe we should leave?”

For more on stuttering – it can be hard to peg correctly – check out this post.

I hope this helps! If you need anything else, please feel free to ask. - @authors-haven