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help two Gaza genocide survivors resume their education

with the help of your donations, my friend Mohammed @mohammedhaboubsblog and his twin sister Farah were able to evacuate to Egypt. but their living situation is still precarious as they need to pay university registration fees by October 14th (edit: deadline extended to October 17th). Mohammed and Farah's first year of university was cut short by the genocide, and they have endured a year of waking nightmares with the goal of resuming their studies in mind. we know that the genocidal zionist occupation specifically targets education, and in the face of that depravity, something as simple as studying becomes a powerful act of resistance. please help Mohammed and Farah reclaim their right to education by sharing and donating:

Donate here conversion rate: $5 USD = kr52 SEK vetted: 1, 2

the enrollment fees are $2120 USD per person, $4240 total; to cover them the campaign needs to reach 296,438 SEK.

October 7th: 256,067 / 296,438 SEK ($24,721 / $28,619 USD); $3898 USD to go

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 ;)

Sick sick sick of possibility of being fucking recorded every waking second by tiktok obsessed quasi celebs. Video titled something like "Caught him thinking he's the main character" but it was just a kid wearing headphones, looking out the bus window. Of course it was posted without his knowledge. Stop recording strangers and everything you see, nobody gives a shit and not everyone is happy to be on tiktok or youtube because of a moron with no braincells and an account. What could be a forgettable awkward moment is now permanently there for the victim of lackabrainis infested idiot to get anxious about forever.

a writing guide to rivals (or enemies) to lovers + writing prompts

note: these are more rivals to lovers than anything, but you can use them for enemies to lovers as well. 

oh, you’re walking through this door? let me just ~politely~ slam the door in your face on the way out

i know we’re technically supposed to be fighting each other with swords, but you ended up on the ground and i fell on top of you, and woah… i never noticed how attractive you are until now, so let me just appreciate for a moment – wHY THE HELL DID YOU JUST SHOVE ME 

you’ve got me pinned against the wall and i’m not sure if i want to kiss you, or kill you. probably both 

‘’i know we’re, like… friends now, or whatever, but… i’d still kick your ass.’’ ‘‘like you could ever beat me.’‘ but they do, in fact, beat them.

so you’re just… not going to respect my take on this whole thing and go against everything i just said? that’s fine. i’ll just do the same thing and – oh, you didn’t like that? okay. O K A Y . and obviously, they’re doing it out of spite 

character A says ‘‘i’m going to kill you.’‘ and character B takes a step close, they’re so close now, if character B bends their head, they’d be kissing, and character B’s intensely staring into character A’s eyes, and character A’s like… shit . THIS DID NOT GO AS PLANNED ABORT MISSION ABORT ABORT ABOR —– 

OH NO – my love interest has said that they don’t care if anything happens to me, but now i’m about to die, and they’re risking their own life by running into a burning building to save me!!!!! also, did they just scream my name before bursting into the building??? god why do they sound so,,, worried???? 

okay, so… did we… did we just hug… dude. let, let go of me. let’s just. let’s just pretend this didn’t happen. *cough* i’m going to walk away now. okay. BYE 

‘‘is that a smile?’‘ ‘‘if you tell anyone about this, i swear to god, i’ll kill you.’’ 

so somebody ends up on somebody’s lap and holy shit maybe the tension is… unbearable 

when they share an intimate moment, or maybe even a kiss, and they’re both so confused by it, they completely derail. like, they just… stop working. because what the HELL just happened and then they just stare  at each other and nobody says a word until one of them turns around and SPRINTS out of the room 

‘‘go ahead, do it. if you’re so convinced you’ll kill me, do it.’‘ faster than a bullet, character A grabs a knife, handing it over to character B, who, of course, despite having spent the last couple of months claiming they would kill their love interest, and leave them for dead, can’t bring themselves to grab the knife, and actually do it

you ever just get so annoyed by a person, and what they have to say, that you snatch hold of knife and throw it into the wall behind them with all of your strength yeah me neither but maybe this fictional couple would

using seduction to try and throw each other off balance, usually by taking their clothes off in front of the other person, and it’s working

you just took a friend of mine hostage, and your crew’s been torturing them… i just found out about it, and i’m so disappointed, and there’s tears in my eyes, and the other character’s like, holy hell it fucking hurts seeing you like that… and knowing that my crew did that, that i did that to you… that i’m responsible… 

when character A is really sad, and just… out of nowhere, wraps themselves into character B’s arms and starts crying… and character B’s just like… what the hell…? we hate each other? but ok i’ll let it slide this time

there’s only one bed, but this time they’re arguing over who has to sleep on the floor, in which nobody agrees to do, so they end up in the same bed, incredibly annoyed that they have to share their space (it’s not like friends to lovers, in which they both awkwardly get into bed and laughs it off. this is straight up just. i will set this bed on fire if you don’t stay over on your side)

do these two do anything other than be at each other’s throats. like. can they hold oNE conversation without arguing over something

so you’re just. you’re just going to chain me up against this tree. okay. that’s fine. that’s totally fine. i’m fine. 

when one of them realizes that they’ve gone too far, and they show up at their love interest’s door to apologize, but the following conversation happens; ‘‘why are you here?’‘ ‘‘i’m here because i want to apologize.’‘ ‘‘well, i don’t want you here, so go away.’’ followed by the character getting the door slammed in their face.

THE FIRST KISS – and total denial after it happened, and they’re convincing themselves that there’s nothing going on between them… and they pull away from the kiss, and look at each other, and they’re just like… yeah. just realized i’m head over heels in love with this person but if i speak i will die

when they’re having a moment, and one of the characters says ‘’you hate me.’’ and the other character replies with ‘’maybe i don’t hate you entirely’’

when character A’s crew has taken character B hostage, and character A finds out they’re to be executed, and suddenly it’s this race against the clock to try and save character B’s life, while also trying to not reveal to their crew that they’re head over heels in love with the enemy

it’s not enemies to lovers if the characters hasn’t tried to kill each other at least once, or betrayed each other, or put a friend or a loved one of the other person in danger 

literally, how much do i have to stress this, enemies to lovers, they’ve got to raise hell in each other’s lives, enemies to lovers is not about sitting around a campfire and singing kumbaya, enemies to lovers means i’m covered in blood, and if you’re not careful, it’s soon be yours

and rivals to lovers is, you’re covered in blood, but since you’re here, i’ll help you clean it up, but if you get blood on my carpet, you better run 

IF THERE WAS EVER A TIME TO SLOW BURN, IT’S RIVALS OR TO LOVERS. IT’S ALL!!!!! ABOUT!!!!! THE YEArning!!!!!! THESE ASSHOLES ARE FILLED WITH TOO MUCH PRIDE TO ADMIT THEY’RE IN LOVE WITH EACH OTHER!!!!!!

Fiction Writing Advice Posts

Hey all, Some of you know that in addition to this Tumblr blog I also keep a blog on my website. A lot of the posts overlap, but not all of them, so I’ve made this list for your reading pleasure:

How to Control Your Pacing

How to Write During a Pandemic

How to Read Like a Writer

What if Your First Draft DOESN’T Suck?

How to Do World-Building Research

How to Properly Format a Manuscript for Submission

10 Questions to Ask an Editor Before Hiring Them

Creating Character Arcs with the DCAST Method

How to Choose the Right Point of View for Your Story

A Beginner’s Guide to Multiple Point of View

Show Don’t Tell? Not Always. Here’s When to Use Summary

8 Ways to Improve Your Fiction Writing

How to Spot Bad Writing Advice: 6 Red Flags to Look For

5 Reasons to Kill Your Critique Group

Are You Using Too Much Stage Direction?

Why Nobody Cares About Your Plot

How to Use Adverbs Like a Pro

How to Activate Your Passive Characters, One Verb at a Time

3 Easy Ways to Transform Boring Descriptions

3 Ways to Increase Conflict in Your Dialogue

A Step-by-Step Guide to Getting Killer Feedback from Beta Readers

How to Know What Kind of Editing You Need

10 Best Books About Fiction Writing

How to Spot an Info Dump

Dealing With Procrastination

Want to make sure you never miss a new blog post? Sign up for my writing advice emails and get a new blog post sent straight to your inbox about once a month.

xoxo

I SUPER LOVE TIM AND CASSANDRA BECAUSE:

they went from stranger (hell yeah Timothy avoid Cass because he felt intimidated by Cass’ assassin background) to friends 

Cass is always ready to rescue help Timothy

she took care of Tim and worried about him, not only because the big brood Bat told her so but she did it on her own accord too

while Tim took care of her too, they took care of each other and I love it so much

CASSANDRA IS TIM’S FAMILY. I REPEAT CASSANDRA IS ONE OF TIM’S PRECIOUS FAMILY

TIM WON’T LET GO, HE WON’T LET CASS GO. SHE’S FAMILY.

AND TIM IS A DEAR PERSON FOR CASSANDRA TOO. SHE EVEN ASKED TIM TO JOIN HER BECAUSE IT WAS HER DREAM. CASS WON’T LET TIM UNDER THE BAT BECAUSE SHE THOUGHT THE BAT WILL USE HIM LIKE HOW CAIN USED HER. CASSANDRA WILL MISS TIM

AND TIM WILL MISS HER TOO.

EVEN WHEN CASS BEING A VILLAIN (brainwashed by Deathstroke), TIM WON’T LET ANYONE HURT HER

AND AFTER SHE CAME BACK, TIM IS THE ONE WHO STILL TRUSTS HER AND DEFENDS HER, WHEN NIGHTWING CLEARLY SHOWS HIS DISTRUST.

EVEN THE BIG (A**HOLE) BROODING BAT DOUBTS HER WHEN SHE WENT MISSING, TIM STILL TRUSTS AND DEFENDS HER. TIM BELIEVE HER.

HAVE I SAID THAT TIM ALWAYS BELIEVE HER AND DEFEND HER? YES, I HAVE AND HE DOES. 

LAST BUT NOT LEAST, THE PEAK OF IT: CASS LEFT GOTHAM BUT TIM STILL REMINDS HER THAT SHE WILL ALWAYS BE HIS FAMILY, THAT HE ALWAYS GOT CASS’ BACK. HE GIVES HER HER NEW PERSONA (which the main reason I love Black Bat so much, because there is a beautiful history behind it).

THIS IS THE END OF MY ESSAY, PLEASE LOVE THEM.

so can we start hunting down white liberals now or what

i can’t stop drawing liu qingge sfhds

Kind of obsessed with the tumblr Twitter account