Latest Posts by rulingtheworldistoomuchwork - Page 6
Books That Will Ruin Your Life
(trigger warnings under the cut)
A Little Life, by Hanya Yanagihara
This book, which is about 800 pages long, is one of the best pieces of literature I have ever read. It follows four friends after they move to New York City and pursue their goals, but most of the story focuses on one of the men: Jude St. Francis, who has a mysterious past that has wrecked him emotionally and physically. But despite the darkness of the subject matter (and it gets DARK) the acts of love and kindness and friendship from the people in Jude’s life will bring you to tears. It’s a gorgeous study of trauma, human relationships, and the marriage of joy and pain that inevitably comes with living. I read it two months ago and have thought about it every day since. It’s one of those books you want everyone to read and no one to read. (DEFINITELY check out the trigger warnings for this one.)
The Traitor Baru Cormorant, by Seth Dickinson
This book is a sprawling political fantasy, packed with detail and diversity and some of the best, most complex worldbuilding I’ve ever seen. Baru grows up under the shadow of imperialism and eventually joins a rebellion to break free of the empire that has begun to take over the world. She’s also a lesbian, which is forbidden in the new empire, but against herself is drawn to the enigmatic Duchess Tain Hu. There are devastating twists, loves, and heartbreaks that will break your heart along with Baru’s. To say anything else would be a spoiler, but if you like complex, morally ambiguous fantasy, check this one out.
As Meat Loves Salt, by Maria McCan
This book follows a man named Jacob as he slowly falls in love with a fellow soldier during the seventeenth century English Revolution. After the war, they attempt to establish a utopian farming commune and keep their relationship together. This book is a really interesting foray into 17th century England, but it is ultimately a dark, passionate tale of obsession and vindication that will leave you as sick with the actions of the protagonist as he is with himself.
The People in the Trees, by Hanya Yanagihara
This book is written as a memoir of a disgraced scientist, who discovers a hidden tribe in a small Pacific island that he believes holds the key to a longer (and even immortal) life. You almost forget that the events of the book are fiction and not a real memoir–everything described seems meticulously researched and vividly real. As always, Yanagihara’s writing is gorgeous, absorbing, and well-paced. It’s a haunting tale of how science, hubris, and greed can lead to someone’s personal downfall, as well as colonialism and cultural genocide.
The Goldfinch, by Donna Tartt
You might have already heard of this one, but I had to put it on the list anyway! After a traumatic accident kills Theo Decker’s mother, his life is thrown into turbulence and eventual crime, all stemming from a stolen painting. The story is tense, beautifully written, and will make you root for yet another morally gray narrator. For fans of dark thrillers, art history, homoerotic friendship, and/or coming-of-age stories, this one is for you.
Daytripper, by Fàbio Moon and Gabriel Bà
Although Daytripper is a graphic novel, it deserves a spot on this list. It follows Bràs, a Brazilian writer, and his journey through specific turning points in his life, each represented as a “death.” The art is gorgeous and the story flows impeccably, capturing the beautiful mundanities and joys of life. This book will leave you touched, inspired, and deeply affected.
The Vintner’s Luck, by Elizabeth Knox
After a vintner saves his life, an angel named Xas visits him every year for a single night. As the vintner grows, so does their relationship, just like a fine vintage. It’s difficult to say too much about the plot without spoiling the story, but I can say that this book explores the nuances of human relationships and the love we feel for each other, as well as the hate and fear that can pervade those relationships.
Beloved, by Toni Morrison
Toni Morrison is one of the greatest American novelists and Beloved is my favorite of her works. The book follows Sethe, an ex-slave, and her daughter Denver as they reckon with a ghost from Sethe’s past that begins to haunt them more literally than metaphorically. The story is both captivating and difficult to read, but Morrison’s writing is gorgeous and the characters come to life on the page. It superbly explores the depth of trauma and motherhood, as well as depicting the horrors of slavery in a way that doesn’t feel cartoonish or exploitative.
Everything I Never Told You, by Celeste Ng
Celeste Ng’s work has gotten a lot of hype recently, and for good reason. This book follows a family after the middle child, Lydia, drowns. We see the buildup to Lydia’s death and its brutal aftermath, as relationships are challenged within the family. It’s a brilliant look at familial dysfunction, generational curses, and interracial marriage in 1970s America, and a deeply haunting portrayal of how these issues can tear apart a family.
Keep reading
Studying in Undergrad
I started University in September of 2014. I was in the faculty of sciences and was undeclared because I knew I was not smart enough to get a high paying job doing research. Thankfully whether I was declared or undeclared it didn’t matter. First year sciences is the same for everyone.
This was how I studied for the first 2 years of uni.
1.) Study in a Comfortable Location
Most people find libraries to be a good place to study, however I do urge you to try unconventional places. For example inside a car or laundromats. The place that is chosen does not have to be aesthetically pleasing as long it works to keep you comfortable and focused. You might be pleasantly surprised where you find you concentrate the best.
The place I am most comfortable studying is in the living room while my family was watching TV. I got yelled at all the time to study elsewhere, but it was the living room that I found the most comfortable and where I concentrated the best.
2.) Set Deadlines
Most people know how to set deadlines or so they think. It’s important to know when everything is due and keep that in mind at all times to have a certain level of baseline tension (If that makes any sense). Most people don’t like to get stressed on a daily base, but it’s better to have a low level of daily stress than a high level of stress for a few days.
I am a very anxious person, so once I know something is due I will do/start it that day even if the due date is 2 months away. I understand that this was very extreme and requires a lot of discipline, but this will prevent or lower the chances of part 3 from happening.
3.) Have Breakdowns (When due)
It’s normal to be overwhelmed by all the deadlines that are coming up, the bad grades, the uncertainty and everything that comes with being a student. It’s okay to be stressed to the point to having a breakdown, as long as you can recover.
How I prepared for the impending feeling of doom was to have a good cry session. Set a time limit and only breakdown during specific circumstances. This is a good way to release all the negative emotions that has built up.
4.) Study Hard
I’m not a naturally smart person, so there is no such thing as “studying smart.” I got through the first 2 years of undergrad by studying hard. This requires a lot of work and sacrifices. It’s not fun nor is it pretty.
Being a full time student requires dedication, motivation and perseverance. Studying and getting good grades is one aspect of getting an education, however it is not the main. It’s important to study hard for the end goal of how you want your life to go.
“I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears and sweat”
- Sir Winston Churchill
i can’t stop drawing liu qingge sfhds
Liushen week day 3 prompt: AU
The AU here is not only that LQG dies but the fact that he got to spend his life with SQQ in the first place ayyyy
i see a lot of questions asking about how to write dialogue or plot points or characters, but i personally really struggle with the other parts of writing (trying to describe action, or movement from one place to another, or locations through the eyes of the character.) I've tried searching for help but it seems like it's a very niche struggle. I can do plot outlines, i can do characters, I can do dialogue, but I can't do anything else. any advice/places to look?
Struggling with Description and Action
I wouldn't say those are niche struggles. They're actually pretty common, especially among newer writers. They're just prickly terms to search.
As far as describing movement from one place to another, let me just answer that here because it's a quick one. You don't have to describe every movement your character makes, or every movement from one place to another. For example, if your character is sitting in a chair sipping a mug of tea, you don't have to tell us she picked up the mug, raised it to her lips, put her lips on the mug, tilted her head back, and took a sip. That's all unnecessary detail because everyone knows how to drink a cup of tea. If you have already established that the tea is there, all you have to tell us is, "She took a sip of the tea." If you want to illustrate that the tea is still hot, she could blow on it. If you want to illustrate that she's not a fan of tea, you could have her scrunch her nose after she sips it. Those details are telling the reader something they need to know about the character or situation, so they're okay to add.
Likewise, if the character leaves the chair to look out the window, you don't have to tell us she set down the mug, stood up, walked to the window, opened the curtain, and looked out. We've all gotten up from a chair before, and we've all looked out a window before. We know how it works. You can just say, "Lanie stood and went to the window, annoyed to see that snow had stared to fall." As for locations through the eyes of the character, once again, you don't need to go into a lot of detail when it's not important. Your goal is to give the reader a sense of place without bogging them down with a lot of unnecessary details. It's enough to say that your character stepped into the cold, vast throne room. Any details beyond that should tell us something the reader needs to know. Also, it helps a lot to look for inspiration images when you're trying to describe a place. If you need to describe a cozy den, look up pictures of cozy dens and find some you like. Again, you're not looking to describe every or even many details from the picture. You're looking for a way to boil the picture down to a few important points.
Here are some previous posts that might help, and definitely take a spin through my master list of posts (divided into subcategories like description) to look for additional helpful posts:
Adding Description to Your Writing How to Make Your Description More Vivid The 3 Fundamental Truths of Description (And 5 Tips for Cutting Back) Five Things to Help You Describe Fictional Locations Worried About Cutting Too Much From Story
I hope that helps! ♥
Nuts and Bolts: “Thought” Verbs
In six seconds, you’ll hate me.
But in six months, you’ll be a better writer.
From this point forward – at least for the next half year – you may not use “thought” verbs. These include: Thinks, Knows, Understands, Realizes, Believes, Wants, Remembers, Imagines, Desires, and a hundred others you love to use.
The list should also include: Loves and Hates.
And it should include: Is and Has, but we’ll get to those, later.
Until some time around Christmas, you can’t write: Kenny wondered if Monica didn’t like him going out at night…”
Instead, you’ll have to Un-pack that to something like: “The mornings after Kenny had stayed out, beyond the last bus, until he’d had to bum a ride or pay for a cab and got home to find Monica faking sleep, faking because she never slept that quiet, those mornings, she’d only put her own cup of coffee in the microwave. Never his.”
Instead of characters knowing anything, you must now present the details that allow the reader to know them. Instead of a character wanting something, you must now describe the thing so that the reader wants it.
Instead of saying: “Adam knew Gwen liked him.”
You’ll have to say: “Between classes, Gwen was always leaned on his locker when he’d go to open it. She’d roll her eyes and shove off with one foot, leaving a black-heel mark on the painted metal, but she also left the smell of her perfume. The combination lock would still be warm from her ass. And the next break, Gwen would be leaned there, again.”
In short, no more short-cuts. Only specific sensory detail: action, smell, taste, sound, and feeling.
Typically, writers use these “thought” verbs at the beginning of a paragraph (In this form, you can call them “Thesis Statements” and I’ll rail against those, later) In a way, they state the intention of the paragraph. And what follows, illustrates them.
For example:
“Brenda knew she’d never make the deadline. Traffic was backed up from the bridge, past the first eight or nine exits. Her cell phone battery was dead. At home, the dogs would need to go out, or there would be a mess to clean up. Plus, she’d promised to water the plants for her neighbor…”
Do you see how the opening “thesis statement” steals the thunder of what follows? Don’t do it.
If nothing else, cut the opening sentence and place it after all the others. Better yet, transplant it and change it to: Brenda would never make the deadline.
Thinking is abstract. Knowing and believing are intangible. Your story will always be stronger if you just show the physical actions and details of your characters and allow your reader to do the thinking and knowing. And loving and hating.
Don’t tell your reader: “Lisa hated Tom.”
Instead, make your case like a lawyer in court, detail by detail. Present each piece of evidence. For example:
“During role call, in the breath after the teacher said Tom’s name, in that moment before he could answer, right then, Lisa would whisper-shout: ‘Butt Wipe,” just as Tom was saying, ‘Here’.”
One of the most-common mistakes that beginning writers make is leaving their characters alone. Writing, you may be alone. Reading, your audience may be alone. But your character should spend very, very little time alone. Because a solitary character starts thinking or worrying or wondering.
For example: Waiting for the bus, Mark started to worry about how long the trip would take..”
A better break-down might be: “The schedule said the bus would come by at noon, but Mark’s watch said it was already 11:57. You could see all the way down the road, as far as the Mall, and not see a bus. No doubt, the driver was parked at the turn-around, the far end of the line, taking a nap. The driver was kicked back, asleep, and Mark was going to be late. Or worse, the driver was drinking, and he’d pull up drunk and charge Mark seventy-five cents for death in a fiery traffic accident…”
A character alone must lapse into fantasy or memory, but even then you can’t use “thought” verbs or any of their abstract relatives.
Oh, and you can just forget about using the verbs forget and remember.
No more transitions such as: “Wanda remember how Nelson used to brush her hair.”
Instead: “Back in their sophomore year, Nelson used to brush her hair with smooth, long strokes of his hand.”
Again, Un-pack. Don’t take short-cuts.
Better yet, get your character with another character, fast. Get them together and get the action started. Let their actions and words show their thoughts. You – stay out of their heads.
And while you’re avoiding “thought” verbs, be very wary about using the bland verbs “is” and “have.”
For example:
“Ann’s eyes are blue.”
“Ann has blue eyes.”
Versus:
“Ann coughed and waved one hand past her face, clearing the cigarette smoke from her eyes, blue eyes, before she smiled…”
Instead of bland “is” and “has” statements, try burying your details of what a character has or is, in actions or gestures. At its most basic, this is showing your story instead of telling it.
And forever after, once you’ve learned to Un-pack your characters, you’ll hate the lazy writer who settles for: “Jim sat beside the telephone, wondering why Amanda didn’t call.”
Please. For now, hate me all you want, but don’t use “thought” verbs. After Christmas, go crazy, but I’d bet money you won’t.
[ Essay by Chuck Palahniuk on August 12, 2013]
I feel like zyx and shen yuan could have interesting conversations about the weird things people sometimes say to them and in reality its the flirting theyre missing.
more like, the two of them would notice the weird things that happened to each other, but zero self-awareness
(let's say they'd have these interactions in modern au with all mxtx cast kicking around city neighborhood/college/local hangout/etc)
(it's gotta be college bc zyx is a fucking nerd, and they met in a general education course. and then they kept taking courses that overlapped each other's majors as out-of-major requirements for funsies)
(let's throw sqh in there too bc it's not like he notices mobei-jun's anything beyond angery)
(lucky for you, anon, i had some ideas rattling in my head)
mainly zyx and sy chill during lunch or after classes, under a tree next to one of the sequestered coffee shops on campus. it's their bi-weekly bitch session:
zyx, while laying in the dirt w coffee next to her head "dude why are the guys in the seminar so fckin sweaty"
sy, scrolling through phone "who?"
"take your pick; the guy that prob runs a campus fight club, or... huh. they both look like that."
"... liu qingge? that's just his face. i think i accidentally stepped on his pen once when i was trying to give it back, and he's never forgiven me since."
zyx shrugs. made sense - it explained the nearly murderous stare he had every time something fell off of sy's desk in lqg's vicinity (can't help it with those ridiculously tiny lecture seat/desks), and lqg picks the stuff up and thrusts them back at sy like he'd rather that motion stab sy instead.
"who's the other one?"
"uh, i think that freshman - bing something - always looks like i coughed in his face or some shit."
"oh, luo binghe. he's a nice guy; looks like what???"
"ok, he looks at you like he thinks your organs would fetch a premium on the black market"
"joke's on him - the black market would pay to never touch my organs"
"just don't follow him into an alleyway. either of them."
the two of them eventually get up and walk to the library to meet sqh, who is working with a classmate that's friends with the over-eager freshman luo binghe.
sy and zyx are sitting aside, waiting for sqh to squirm through his project. his partner, mobei-jun ('as his year calls him for some sport-ball reason, wtf' thinks zyx) is trying to set their work on fire through glares alone. he keeps pulling the papers from sqh, treating their poor (but sometimes deserving) friend like a non-entity. zero respect for personal space.
and instead of staying on his side of the friendship line, lbh spends a good ten minutes boring holes into zyx's head via his stare, and then saunters over to (...start a fight?) incongruously ask sy about last week's lecture. sy's sweating bc he was too busy getting into a twitter war over his latest trashfire webnovel obsession - he knows jack shit about last lecture.
zyx is about to speak up to help out (she was playing on her 3ds but at least she took notes and looked at the board), and lbh turns his eerie not-glare glare with 'i will kill you, sweetie' smile and she just decides to let sy waffle.
not her fucking fight.
=
sometimes zyx can convince the wimp wonder duo sy and sqh to gym w her:
zyx "it'll at least stop your posture from regressing into a crustacean"
sqh "i'm dying"
sy "i can sue her... i don't know for what, but i have a family lawyer..." *wheeze*
murderface lqg walks by while zyx is trying to help the boys with their form. "that's wrong," he barks at them
before zyx could "mcfucking excuse you mate; they're trying" sy, irate and near death snaps back "oh? what would you know?"
without asking, lqg steps up and immediately hands-on starts correcting sy. zyx looks and sees he's not completely out his own ass (nor should he be, with delts like that; and he seems to respect leg day) and she turns to focus on sqh.
when she looks back, sy is actually doing the lift properly, lqg spotting and saying words of ... encouragement? in that curt, no-nonsense way of his.
"you're not completely hopeless," lqg comments. "come back on monday. i'll teach you more."
sy, face down like a limp noodle "buy me dinner first if you're going to do me like this"
lqg looks like he's about to blow a blood vessel from anger. "... fine!" and stomps away.
zyx and sqh stare at him stomping away. both pairs of eyes look down at that supremely tight ass of his, and then look at each other. ('nice,' they both think).
eventually "... does anyone find it unfair that the richest asshole between us three is the one that gets free dinner?" sqh complains.
=
or the time that zyx is helping sy with an intro to programming assignment at the mech engineering dept computer lab:
sy, shifting around and losing focus every few minutes
zyx, losing patience, trying to do some homework at the same time "bro we'll leave when you finish. i'm not helping you this weekend - i have my own shit to procrastinate"
"how tf you work in here? everyone's so distracting!"
for the nth time, the printer near their corner goes off. the owner of the print bounces over to grab the paper, and turns to yell at his teammates
"okay guys! this one's the final CAD drawing! probably!"
zyx, unable to hold a grimace back. "fucking wei wuxian," she grumbles.
sy rolls his eyes. "that guy's been printing his crap for the last hour."
"i was hoping that he'd meet his team at usual fucking time and we'd get some peace and quiet in the lab, for once," she says, almost carving her derivations into her notebook with how strongly she's writing. "if i didn't already commit years, blood, sweat, and tears to this degree, i'd change majors to never take a class with him again."
"... i think he heard you," sy says awkwardly.
a hand, clutching a paper of 2d cross-sections, taps down next to zyx's workspace. "yunxun! hey, didn't see you working there!"
zyx's dead fish stare "... mhm. hi."
"is that the controls homework? i have mine, too - let's go over it in a bit! can't believe i got marked down one for the last homework -"
zyx is trying not to seethe. is this motherfucker mocking her? she got marked down three. he fucking saw that, with how nosy he was and sitting behind her in the lecture hall.
fuck. off.
wwx's still talking "did you finish the designs for mechanical design yet (zyx: "my team is iterating on it")? prof's given us hints with some of the load cases - i can help you out so you don't waste your time-"
"-thanks, but i already have the relevant load cases for my team's design."
(sy thinks that zyx's teeth might break if she grits them any tighter)
"oh! well, there's this torsion analysis that everyone keeps missing -"
"we chose a different design so we could ignore that case."
wwx laughs. "haha, i bet you're the one that thought of the new design, just to cheat past that!"
zyx "... hey, i'm sorry - i need to help my friend out with his work -"
wwx walks away cheerfully. "yeah, ok, see ya yunxun! we can check the controls homework in class!"
sy "... he seems nice."
zyx "i want him dead."
=
zyx and sy sometimes dicking around in the music dept and using their practice rooms (because sy got them kicked out of the library with his loud rant on the latest sin committed by the subject of his hate-reading):
sy "when was the last time you had lessons?"
zyx "shut up rich boy - i have the right to play shitty anime covers whenever i want"
a knock on the door.
zyx "ah, fuck, it's that pretty boy"
"oh, pretty boy, huh?" sy teases
"pretty boy, derogatory" and she opens the door. "can i help you?"
said pretty boy is glaring into the room, a violin and bow in hand. "... if not practicing, you should not occupy the rooms."
zyx "yeah, we're done." goes to pack up, sy getting up and moving past the guy
as zyx leaves, the guy stops her with a curt 'hm'.
"for the piece i'm practicing - it requires an accompanist." the guy flicks his judgmental stare between zyx and the piano she was messing around with for the last hour.
"ah - I... sorry; your timing was good, i'm actually late for class." and she grabs sy and leaves before the guy can call her back.
sy starts wheezing when they exit the music building. "you?! accompany what? you haven't played since middle school orchestra!" he cackles. "'hey, i can't actually play formally, my guy', just say that!"
"shut the fuck up!" zyx drags him further from the building "look, that fucker keeps getting on my case since three weeks ago - my dance group was practicing nearby and we were 'uncouth and too loud', and i'll be damned if i let that uptight fuckwad sneer at me for being a weeb pianist"
"so if we want to keep hanging out here, like we've been for the past two years -"
"i will dig out every excuse i got. bitch has to sleep sometime. or just buy a piano for your apartment. for me."
"... no, i think this is funnier."
"fuck you, man"
Why did shen jiu hate lbh so much? Was it really just because of what Liu Qingge said? Shen jiu throws tea on binghe because he hated the way that binghe smiled while thinking of his mother. Makes me think there was something else to it.
Hello Anon!
When it comes to Shen Jiu’s hatred, it really boils down mainly to his jealousy against Luo Binghe. On a meta-level, this is to be expected since Luo Binghe is designed to be the mega-OP, golden-fingered protagonist while Shen Jiu is the titular scum villain deliberately made out to be as despicable as possible to make readers cheer for Bing-Ge, especially when he delivers comeuppance upon Shen Jiu for all that he’s done against him.
On the level of the characters themselves, these lines sum it up:
This was just looking for death. The thing the original goods cared the most about in life was his cultivation. He couldn’t tolerate anyone being better than him, and especially couldn’t tolerate others saying half a bad sentence about him. Or else, he wouldn’t have been driven into such a deranged state out of resentment for Luo Binghe. And this guy dared to out and say he had no prospects!
~~~~~~~
Shen Qingqiu could see three words on the original goods’ face.
Envy, envy, and more envy.
He envied Luo Binghe’s “mother who was best to me in the world,” envied Luo Binghe’s innate talent, envied that Luo Binghe was accepted into Cang Qiong Mountain Sect at the optimal age. To have an indignant heart full of envy for a small child, he really was this type of person.
As I’ve examined before here and here, we know from the extras in his POV that Shen Jiu’s twisted way of thinking stems from his poverty-filled, abusive past in which his self-worth was beaten down repeatedly. While he has objectively achieved a respectable position in the cultivation world, he’s too affected by his experiences as a slave for that to do anything for his self-esteem. Instead, he sees everything and everyone through cynical eyes, and hides his crippling inferiority complex underneath a caustic attitude so that he does not seem weak.
From the little bit Shen Jiu knew of Luo Binghe, he seemingly had everything Shen Jiu wanted for himself: a loving home, innate talent and starting cultivation on the right path, at the right age. The hate he feels for Luo Binghe is similar to what he feels for his even more successful, respected arch-enemy Liu Qingge. But the difference is that Luo Binghe, as a young child, is in a more vulnerable position than Liu Qingge. He’s an easier target to take out his jealousy and resentment against without facing any consequences. Shen Jiu’s instinct was to dehumanize Luo Binghe in the same he was dehumanized by the Qiu family to feel a sense of power and superiority over the boy he felt threatened by.
Of course, what Shen Jiu does not know is that Luo Binghe is actually a lot more similar to him than he is to Liu Qingge, having also had a difficult poor life and struggling with profound self-esteem problems due to thinking himself unwanted by his biological parents. Shen Jiu was technically in a position where he could have genuinely empathized with Luo Binghe, but his jealousy over the surface image he had of his disciple lead him to ruin Luo Binghe instead of guiding him like the mentor he was supposed to be :(
I saw your meta on Shen Jiu and Yue Qingyuan's relationship - it was fantastic, by the way - and was wondering if you'd read the Shen Jiu and Yue Qingyuan extras and what you thought about them.
Hi!
I actually didn’t know there were extras on them until you mentioned them…I wish I had known about them before writing my initial response on their relationship. Thank you for your compliment about my meta btw!
Overall, after reading those extras, there’s only a few major tweaks I would make to my thoughts on Shen Jiu and Yue Qingyuan’s relationship. Delving more deeply into Shen Jiu’s perspective was essential to gain a keener sense of just how cynical and self-loathing he is…and just how attached he actually was to Yue Qingyuan until the very end.
For starters, when it comes to Shen Jiu himself, what’s emphasized throughout his origin story, is that he arguably hates himself most of all. Be it as “Shen Jiu” or as “Shen Qingqiu”, his hatred of both his names is symbolic of his deep-seated self-loathing. He hates his past as Shen Jiu because he was a poor, abused slave. And he hates his present as Shen Qingqiu because he wound up inheriting both a name that’s the same as the family who caused him so much pain AND a disposition that’s similar to Qiu Jianluo’s, the man he hated most.
Shen Jiu’s experiences made him see everything through jade-coloured glasses. The few occasions he tried to do something positive, he always wound up suffering. He tried to help Yue Qingyuan save Shi Wu, but only got betrayed and captured. He put all his hopes into being rescued by Qi-Ge to the point of enduring abuse for years, but that came too late and with no explanation. And here’s where we get to the part from the extra that changes a bit what was presented in the main story. Initially, from what was shown to Shen Yuan, Shen Jiu’s attachment to Yue Qingyuan seemed severed after he burned down the Qiu household and left with Wu Yanzi. But we see that’s not true here. Shen Jiu obviously still cared for Yue Qingyuan and tried to think of excuses for him not being able to save him until the latter’s inability to communicate honestly when they met again made him think that he was simply abandoned.
Keep reading
tbh the idea of immortal character's personal growth is interesting and doesn't seem to be explored enough
I mean, how many times have we seen an immortal character drop the whole "actually I'm several hundred years old" bombshell, and they still act like the exact same person they were at age 20 or whatever. how many people do you know who are still the same as they were even just 10 or 20 years ago? yet somehow eight lifetimes came and went and had no impact on this dude?
Give me immortal life stages. Give me
millenia old characters poking gentle fun at someone who's 200yrs old and in their edgy 'brooding' phase.
midlife crisis immortals who just got bit with the 'what am I doing with my life?' bug, who suddenly feel like they're wasting their gift and they need to be making the most if it right now
you know what, I want an immortal who keeps having weird skills/knowledge, and everybody assumes they've got this big elaborate backstory because of it, but no, it's just all from that one fifty-year span where they decided they needed to learn how to everything or else they were wasting their potential
immortals who have changed their stances and opinions on issues but now there's callout posts for things they said in letters to their friends a hundred and fifty years ago, like yes @cumberbatchcockdongle, I am sorry I said transphobic things about the bearded lady at that circus in 1872, please kindly forgive me and/or fuck off
characters going through the eternal cycle of whether loving mortals is worth the inevitable grief. the answer always depends on how recently they've been bereaved. just a merry-go-round of 'better to have loved ans lost' versus 'shitfuck grieving hurts I'm never doing this again'
super laid back immortals who have lived through so much nothing phases them, and sometimes they have to be politely reminded that things do not always 'work themselves out' for mortals
How to make a character's death sadder
Don’t have them die of old age after a long, fulfilling life. Many people don’t even think of this as sad (note that this can still work if you have enough of the other factors).
Leave one of their major goals unfinished. The more enthusiastic they are about completing the goal, the sadder.
Give them strong relationships with other characters.
Make them fight against whatever is causing their death. Their ultimate loss is sadder if they struggle.
Kill them in the middle of their character arc.
Don’t describe their funeral in detail. Maybe it’s just me, but I find that long descriptions of funerals kill the sadness.
Character Development: Speech
Finding your character’s voice is one of the most important things you can do to make your character more fully developed. It can often be the thing that sets your character apart and makes the reader easily able to identify them. Creating your character’s voice breathes life into them.
What to think about:
Formal or informal
Can be shown with:
sentence structure/complexity (shorter vs. longer sentences, number of clauses, etc.)
contractions (e.g. y’all versus you guys, I am vs. I’m)
word choice (simple or advanced; more poetic vs. more practical, blunt vs. subtle)
word order/syntax (can indicate dialect and/or formality)
Things to ask yourself:
- If my character speaks formally/informally, is there a reason?
- Does it indicate their status?
- Or is it a rejection of their status? (e.g. does your highborn character prefer to speak informally because they hate their position in life, or does your lower class character speak more formally to make themselves appear higher class?)
- Is the way they speak normal for their society? In other words, if your character is, say, an alien from a highly formal culture, they won’t think of themselves as speaking abnormally. But if they visit another, less cultured planet, they’ll stick out like a sore thumb.
Catchphrases
When done well, this can be amazing. When done awfully, it makes the reader sigh and roll their eyes in exasperation. So, be careful not to overdo it!
Catchphrases can include:
slang (e.g. wicked, if your character is from Boston, like Faith Lehane from Buffy: the Vampire Slayer)
exclamations/swears (”Hell’s bells!” - Harry Dresden, “Zoinks!” - Shaggy, “Holy ___, Batman!” - Robin at various times)
automatic responses (such as in response to how they are, e.g. “Five by five.” - Faith Lehane, or in response to a question they don’t want to answer, e.g. “Spoilers!” - River Song)
greetings/goodbyes (”Hello, sweetie.” - River Song, “What’s up, Doc?” - Bugs Bunny)
introducing themselves ( “The name’s Bond. James Bond.” - James Bond, “Trust me. I’m the Doctor.” - the Doctor, “Denny Crane,” said repeatedly by Denny Crane)
an explanation/repeat phrase of some other classification (”Dammit, Jim, I’m a doctor, not a ________.” - Bones, “Your mission, should you choose to accept it…” - Mission Impossible, “Live long and prosper.” - Spock, “Same thing we do every night, Pinky! Try to take over the world!” - the Brain)
A lot of times, these catchphrases can become inside jokes, and merely referencing them is enough (think: “It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s Superman!” or “Holy _______, Batman!”).
But sometimes, it can feel a little forced (like Miss Martian’s constant use of “Hello, Megan!” all the time in Young Justice). You want to use these catchphrases sparingly, and when they make sense. While you and I might say “fudge” or another such exclamation any time we trip, the reader does not want to read that twenty times in the same chapter because your character is a klutz. This is the art of writing, not the hyperrealism of writing. You want it to mean something, so use it only when needed.
Things to ask yourself:
- Does this character really need a catchphrase? How will this help establish character?
- Does the catchphrase come from the type of place they live or things they do? For instance, Harry Dresden is a wizard, so when he swears he says, “Hell’s bells,” which reminds us of his job and difference from those around him. This wouldn’t be the same if he simply said, “Dang it,” any time he swore.
- Is there a reason they have a catchphrase? Is it deliberate or unconscious on their part?
- Is there a way you can flip the catchphrase and use it to signal a shift in the story or an unexpected twist (e.g. signifying that somehow your character as switched bodies with another person, like Faith from Buffy: the Vampire Slayer; alternatively, that something isn’t right with the character, because of certain events, and they’re not saying their usual catchphrase)?
Verbal Tics*
Verbal tics are sounds that are not really words, more like filler, that get used almost unconsciously in everyday speech. Words like “ehm,” “uh,” and so on are all verbal tics. (Various internet sites assure me that throat clearing and sniffing can also be included here, but I leave that up to you.) For this section, however, I am also including words, but only those words that are filler. I am also including alterations to the text that represent how someone is speaking.
Now, I know that in any writing guide you read, they want you to NOT, NOT, NOT use regular tics like these in dialogue. It’s annoying, repetitive, annoying, serves no purpose, annoying, and so on. In a sense, they are very much right. Don’t use verbal tics for every character! But using them to distinguish one character (or a couple, in different ways) can work very well if done right.
Verbal tics can be:
words (examples: “You don’t wanna mess with us, see, ‘cause we’re dangerous, see,” or “So, I went to the mall yesterday, and there was this dress, so I bought it, so…” or even “Like, I’m not even sure what Vanessa was, like, wearing at that party last night?”)
filler sounds (e.g. “eh,” “um,” “uh,” “er,” “hrrgh,” “urk,” and so on)
messing with the letters and format of the sentence (e.g. dragging out the letter, making every word separated for a slow speaker, running words together to indicate speed, etc.)
Examples of verbal tics (this is a section in which examples are very helpful, so here you go):
Damian Wayne, the current Robin at DC Comics: uses the distinctive sound “tt” in his appearances to express his emotions, even - tt - other comic series that he guest-stars in
Asmodeus from the Redwall series: drawsss out the letter ssss becaussse he isss a ssssnake
The Flash, at various points in DC Comics: speakswithallthewordstogetherbecausehe’stalkingsofast!!!
Canada, from the Hetalia anime: ending every sentence like a true Canadian, eh?
Things to ask yourself:
- What purpose would a verbal tic have for my character? Do they really need one?
- Is the verbal tic connected to an emotion, or is it involuntary? (Generally, in real life, it is involuntary, but once again, this is art, and so it can have meaning, if you so choose!) What emotion might it be connected to?
- Are they aware of it? Are they embarrassed by it? Do people make fun of them for it?
- Is it part of their dialect/culture?
- Is it a recent thing or have they always done it?
- Where is the balance between making it seem like a realistic tic and annoying my reader with the repetitiveness?
*I am not referring to any medical diagnoses here, although if you want to go right ahead and use medically diagnosed tics for a character, please feel free to! However, this section does not deal with those, as I am not an expert, although I understand there might be some confusion due to the terminology I have used. Please let me know if there is a different term I should be using instead, as I couldn’t find one anywhere. Thanks!
Ways of addressing others
The way that your character addresses other characters says a lot about how they view and respect those around them, in addition to their personality. In addition, if you establish a character addresses others in a certain way (say, by last name only), then when they break this pattern, the reader knows it is important.
Different ways of addressing others:
nicknames (either a shortening of someone’s name, even if it’s not usually shortened, or a name reflecting some characteristic of theirs - e.g. “Jane” to “Janie,” or “Shorty,” or Tony Stark’s brand of nicknames, like “Capsicle” or “Rock of Ages”)
titles (similar to nicknames, but more formal - e.g. a character referring to people by their rank, job, familial relations, etc.)
last name only
full name only (never shortened, includes first, last, and middle names)
no nicknames (never refers to a character by anything other than what’s printed on their birth certificate, can be combined with others on these lists, especially the previous two)
familial referencing (e.g. Aragorn, son of Arathorn)
insults (ranging from harmless to aggressive, can be combined with the first one on this list, not always swears)
by physical/personal characteristics [epithets]** (e.g. by gender, hair color, eye color, traits - for instance, “boy,” “you, redhead!” or “the only one of you with any spine”)
** This one tends to work best in stories set in older times or in sci-fi/fantasy. Epithets can be insults, but the epithets I am thinking of are more Homeric in nature.
Things to ask yourself:
- Is there a reason behind my character’s decision to address people in this way? Does it indicate a lack of trust? A need to crack jokes?
- What does this say about my character’s background? Is this the normal way to address people where they come from? Is it abnormal to do so in the place they are now?
- Does my character evolve from speaking this way? Do they start speaking in a different way, either deliberately or unconsciously? Why?
Accents
Accents are tricky. There are several different ways to write accents (I’m currently working on a post that explains them further), but basically no matter how you write an accent, there are a few things you can do to portray the accent.
slang (e.g. barbie = barbecue in Australian slang)
word order/syntax (e.g. “I’m after going to Mary’s” = “I just went down to Mary’s” in Hiberno-English)
contractions (I’ve versus I have, or y’all versus ye vs youse vs you and so on)
idioms (words or phrases that do not have equivalents in other dialects/languages/places)
diction (words meaning different things, like “chips” in American English and in British English)
verbs (e.g. “ain’t,” “be,” “runnin,” or mixing up tenses)
Keep in mind:
- be RESPECTFUL of whatever accent you’re trying to portray, especially if it’s not your accent
- don’t overdo the accent because it might end up sounding stereotypical (and that is not respectful - see above)
- you should get a feel for the accent you’re trying to write. Listen to the music, read something in that accent, watch/listen people talk in the accent until you hear the rhythm and way people with that accent talk.
Things to ask yourself:
- Is the way I am portraying this accent as accurate as it is within my power to make it? (In other words, have I done my research?)
- How does my character feel about their accent? Are they in a place where their accent is normal? Are they in a place where they stand out because of their accent?
- Continuing on that thought, how noticeable is their accent? Is it the equivalent of someone from, say, Boston going somewhere else in Massachusetts, or the equivalent of that person from Boston going to California, or the equivalent of that same person going to London? Each one becomes more and more noticeable the farther the person goes from their home.
- Has my character made an attempt to hide their accent? Deliberately intensify it? Or do they just not care?
- Does it get stronger or weaker based on their emotional state?
Emotion
The emotions your character normally expresses when they’re speaking say a lot about their general emotional state. In addition, if there is a change in their emotional state, readers will be able to know that just from the way they talk (though context and body language are always useful!)
You can show emotion in speech through:
speed (if they’re easily excited, they might talk fast! and with a lot of exclamation points! But if they’re sad a lot…well, they might talk a bit more slowly and take their time…kind of like Eeyore.)
word choice (is it generally positive? negative? Or somewhere in between?)
reactions to other characters’ dialogue (are they generally patient and wait for the other person to finish? Or do they jump in because they’re so excited about something the other person has said?)
volume (are they loud? Quiet? Are they normally quiet but get loud when they’re angry? Or vice versa?)
understandability (not necessarily stuttering or stumbling over words, but can be; are their procession of thoughts/logic easy to understand? Is their conclusion sensible? Are they understanding others easily or do they need clarification? For instance, if your character is easily excited, maybe their dialogue comes in a jumble of words that is hard to understand. Maybe they’re so angry they’re not listening to anything the other person is saying, and their dialogue reflects that.)
punctuation/capitalization (are they unsure of themselves and what they’re saying a lot, so they use a lot of question marks like this? Are they aggressive in their emotions and so THEY SHOUT LIKE THIS!!! Are they…kind of thoughtful and take the time to…express themselves correctly…or are they - well - I mean are they - like - the kind of people who - you know, backtrack and correct themselves a lot?)***
***Again, you want to be careful not to overdo this, as it can get annoying AND lose the effect it has on the reader. If one of your characters SHOUTS. EVERYTHING. THEY. SAY. THEN WHEN SOMETHING REALLY IMPORTANT HAPPENS TO THE CHARACTER AND THEY GET VERY EMOTIONAL AND SHOUT, IT’S LOST A TON OF EMOTIONAL IMPACT ON THE READER. Like the end of that sentence. Did it make a big impact on you? It should - it was the entire point of the sentence. But it was lost amidst all of the other capitalized words. The same thing goes for any type of repeated punctuation/capitalization for a character - you want to make sure it counts.
Things to ask yourself:
- Why does my character express this emotion generally?
- What does it say about their outlook on life?
- What does that say about how they view other people?
- Does their dialogue rely on these techniques too much when trying to show their emotions? How can I combine these with their body language?
Focus/Fixations
This is a pretty simple one. Focus can be organization of thoughts - basically, what idea(s) can they or want to focus on. A character that is very focused might be a practical person who is focused on the here and now, and their plans for whatever situation they’re in. A character that is less focused might be someone who thinks of several things at once, which reflects in their dialogue.
Fixations are the things that their minds keep coming back to. So for example, if a character is worried about how they did on a test, throughout the story their dialogue might keep returning to that subject or referencing it. For instance: “Hey, when do you think we’re getting that test back?” or “Wow, this is pretty hard. Almost as hard as that test we took.” You want to make it less obvious than this, of course! (A good example is Anya from Buffy: the Vampire Slayer and her obsession with making money.)
Ways to show focus/fixation:
number of ideas/topics in their dialogue at a time
relevance of topics to the present
relevance of topics to the past/future
how they react to people who do not share their focus/fixation (e.g. a focused person finds it annoying when a person who is not focused keeps interrupting them, or a person who is less focused finds it annoying that a person who is focused is paying too much attention to one thing)
Things to ask yourself:
- How focused are they when talking?
- Do they think of a million things at once, or just one at a time?
- What are some short-term fixations they might have? Some long-term?
- Why might they be focused/not focused? Why might they have these fixations? What do these fixations say about their character?
- Do the focus/fixations change over time? How? Why? Does it reflect a change in their character?
- Am I making my character too focused/fixated on something? Is it detracting from or adding to the story or the character arc?
How others see them vs. how they see themselves
This one is probably the broadest one on the list. There aren’t specific things you can do to get this across (it’s more of a general thing), but it’s a cycle that you should keep in mind.
Your character sees themselves in a certain way. For instance, they might think of themselves as helpful, or kind.
The way that they see themselves can influence why they do things (e.g. if they see themselves as a person who doesn’t go on adventures, like Bilbo Baggins, they will refuse to go on an adventure.)
The actions that they take influences how other characters see them, but the other characters do not necessarily see your character’s perception of themselves (e.g. in the Hobbit, Bilbo sees himself as helpful and averting war by giving the Arkenstone to the Elves. He thinks he is being a good friend. However, Thorin sees it as a betrayal and thinks Bilbo is disloyal and not a good friend. Both of them at the time of their actions think they are right.)
How other characters see your character influences how they treat your character (e.g. Because Thorin thinks Bilbo has betrayed him, he threatens Bilbo and rejects him as a friend. Bilbo escapes with his life, but only through the help of the other dwarves. Again, to each character, their own actions are justified and so their dialogue reflects their belief that they are right. So, when they talk to each other, both of them think that they are right and the other is wrong, and you can see this in their dialogue.)
How they treat your character influences how your character sees and reacts to these people, and can influence your character’s perception of themselves (e.g. Because Thorin rejected Bilbo and called him a traitor, Bilbo is bewildered and believes for a time that Thorin cannot be saved, and he feels like he failed).
The cycle continues.
All of this is reflected in their dialogue to each other.
Knowing how each of your characters see each other and themselves will influence their dialogue and reactions to each other. Characters can misunderstand each other, underestimate someone, or help someone feel better about themselves, just to name a few things.
Things to ask yourself:
- How does my character see themselves? Why? Are they one hundred percent correct?
- How do other characters see my character? Why? Are they one hundred percent correct?
- Does my character have any idea of other people’s perceptions of them? If so, do they care? Is my character correct about what they think other people think about them?
- Will my character’s perspective of themselves/other people change? Why and how? Will other characters’ perspectives of my characters change? Why and how?
- How do all these reactions to each other influence the story?
Hope this helped! Let me know if there are any questions.
- Riona
Character Development : A Collection of Resources
Patreon || Ko-Fi || Masterlist || Work In Progress
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Resources
Resources For Creating Characters
Resources For Describing Characters
Resources For Writing The Mafia
Resources For Writing Royalty
Commentary on Social Issues In Writing
General Tips
Guide to Character Development
How To Fit Character Development Into Your Story
Tips on Character Consistency
Designing A Character From Scratch
Making characters for your world
Characters First, Story Second Method
Understanding Your Character
Tips on Character Motivations
31 Days of Character Development : May 2018 Writing Challenge
How To Analyze A Character
Alternative Method of Character Creation
Connecting To Your Own Characters
Interview As Your Characters
Flipping Character Traits On Their Head
Character Driven vs. Plot Driven Stories
Traits
Tips On Writing About Mental Illness
Giving Your Protagonists Negative Traits
Giving Characters Distinct Voices in Dialogue
Giving Characters Flaws
Making Characters More Unique
Keeping Characters Realistic
Archetypes
Writing Good Villains
Creating Villains
Guide to Writing The Hero
Positive Character Development Without Romanticizing Toxic Behavior
Tips on Writing Cold & Distant Characters
Balancing Multiple Main Characters
Creating Diverse Otherworld Characters
Foreshadowing The Villain
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Masterlist | WIP Blog
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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!!!!!!
WORDS TO USE INSTEAD OF: CRY / CRIED / CRYING
Do you ever find yourself over-using the word “cry” (or “cried” or “crying”) in your writing? Try using these words instead:
sob / sobbed / sobbing
wail / wailed / wailing
weep / wept / weeping
bawl / bawled / bawling
whimper / whimpered / whimpering
howl / howled / howling
blubber / blubbered / blubbering
snivel / sniveled / sniveling
squall / squalled / squalling
yelp / yelped / yelping
whine / whined / whining
shed tears / shed tears / shedding tears
burst into tears / burst into tears / bursting into tears
tear up / teared up / tearing up
choke up / choked up / choking up
well up / welled up / welling up
break down / broke down / breaking down
let it out / let it out / letting it out
turn on the waterworks / turned on the waterworks / turning on the waterworks
open the floodgates / opened the floodgates / opening the floodgates
How to get back into a WIP when inspiration is lacking
1. Character exploration
You may be feeling uninspired because you find it difficult to enter your characters' minds.
A great way to dive into a character's point of view is writing a paragraph from their perspective on a topic like death, the meaning of life, loss etc.
I usually do this before I start a project, but it can be a great way to get back into the swing of things in the middle of a book.
2. Character songs/playlist
A lot of people write with music, curating playlists for their WIP.
I don't write with music, but it can be great to listen to a song or two before writing a specific scene or character's POV.
Curate a Playlist for your POV characters and listen to it when inspiration is running low.
3. Fake promotional material
This may just be a weird thing I do, but I love it.
When I really need a motivation boost, I create fake promotional material or swag designs for my WIP. Mock covers, bookmarks, posters, ads etc.
It reminds me what I'm working towards and that can help a lot.
4. Moodboards
Creating physical mood boards for your WIP or specific characters/locations and putting them up int your work space can do wonders for inspiration.
Every time you look at the moddboard, you're taken back to the moment when the idea first got into your head - a moment when you had oodles of inspiration.
You can also add to those mood boards whenever you need an extra shot of inspiration.
5. YouTube
Every time I watch an Authortube vlog, I feel motivated to work on my own writing.
Pick an Authortuber who resonates with you and has the life you hope to build. Watch one or two of their vlogs and that should light a fire under you.
Reblog if you found these tips useful. Comment with your own ideas. Follow me for similar content.
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
tricky words I always see misspelled in fics: a guide
Viscous/vicious – Viscous is generally used to describe the consistency of blood or other thick liquids. Vicious is used to describe something or someone who is violent.
Piqued/Peaked/Peeked – To pique someone’s interest is to catch or tease their attention. When something peaks, it reaches its total height or intensity. To peek (at) something is to look briefly, or glance.
Discrete/Discreet – this is a tough one. Discrete means to be separate, or distinct, i.e., two discrete theories. Conversely, when someone is discreet, they are being secretive or cautious to avoid attention.
Segue/Segway – one is a transition between things, the other is a thing you can ride at the park and definitely fall off of.
Conscious/Conscience/Conscientious – to be conscious is to be awake, i.e., not unconscious, or to be aware of something. Your conscience is the little voice in your head telling you not to eat the entire pint of ice cream. Finally, to be conscientious is to be good, to do things thoroughly, to be ruled by an inner moral code.
Hope this helped! Please add more if you think of them!
Resources for Writing Injuries
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General Resources
Guide to Story Researching
A Writer’s Thesaurus
Words To Describe Body Types and How They Move
Words To Describe…
Writing Intense Scenes
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Here’s something nuanced that people might miss if they’re not familiar with formal bows in Chinese period drama. The juxtaposition of the former and present Chief Cultivators alongside their better halves isn’t a coincidence.
Why did NHS take three steps back before giving that bow? He was including WWX as a recipient, thereby gauging where WWX stood with His (newly-minted) Excellency.
Whether it’s Xiao Zhan’s acting choice or the director’s frame composition, there’s no mistake that his half-turn was a deliberate invitation for the audience to read between the lines. WWX didn’t need to look at LWJ; his sidestep actually conveyed something.
Making a formal bow might look like an art form to those unfamiliar with the practice, but not everyone knows that accepting a bow is just as tricky. Bows can mean more than a simple greeting or a wave goodbye.
Withstanding or enduring a formal bow takes several prerequisites: seniority, meritorious deed, virtue – those lacking in the proper category might lose a few years off their lifespan; such is Heaven’s way of punishing one for their hubris.
A line from Confucius’ commentary on the I-Ching points out that those unworthy of their title (or the tribute paid to them) will draw disaster unto themselves. So, not just anyone can stand there and take it when someone of import presents a formal bow.
You bow to someone (1) in recognition of their rank, (2) in gratitude for something they’ve done, or (3) when making a formal request.
If they accept or return the bow without fuss, then it’s as good as saying (1) “Yes, I am s/he who rightfully holds the title.” (2) “You’re welcome.” (3) “Leave it to me; you can trust me with it.”
To avoid the inherent obligations in receiving a particular bow from someone, you can: -dodge sideways or turn away from the “front and center” position. -brace them up with your palms under their elbows so they can’t complete the bow or get down on their knees. -if all else fails and dignity is no object, kneel as quickly as they do so you’re not the last wo/man standing.
Coming back to the very interesting cinematic direction:
Although Qin Su is adjacent to JGY, she is not her own – she’s barely an auxiliary. Those who bow to her do it because of whom she’s with, not who she is.
You probably won’t find a well-matched power couple in a similar state. Take for example, Jiang Fengmian of the Yunmeng Jiang clan and Yu Ziyuan of the Meishan Yu clan.
On the other hand, WWX isn’t shoulder-to-shoulder with LWJ. One could even say, in this particular scene, WWX was safeguarding him. Not someone under the Chief Cultivator’s aegis, but rather, someone who precedes him.
In turning aside the reverence accorded to the new Chief Cultivator, WWX likely also signaled that he would not be bound by the limitations of what His Excellency should and shouldn’t do.
“WWX, a Strong & Independent Woman” jokes aside, this cold shoulder is extra delicious considering the other two layers – an ironic reminder that by all rights he should be receiving NHS’s belated gratitude for avenging NMJ’s murder (albeit under duress via MXY’s curse), and that a proper request for his aid (while he was still compos mentis) was never made in the first place.
Judging by how this scene was kept in the last 10 minutes of the finale according to the original editor’s intent, the textured play highlights the undertow among the three friends, and is a preview of the future of the cultivation world.
It perfectly captured their emotional dynamics: LWJ’s reserved gratitude toward the mastermind who schemed for his lover’s comeback and WWX’s refreshed circumspection and optimism dovetailed with MXTX’s barebones outline at the novel’s end – a foreshadow of things to come. In other words, the rise of the House of Nie under the stewardship of NHS.
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Footnotes - an example of bows used in different ways:
Keep reading
10 Prompts to Make Your Story More Exciting:
Set someone on fire. Twice.
Pause a chase sequence for a karaoke competition. Make the song choice key to the climax.
Give the villain a parrot whose mocking repetition undermines them at the most inconvenient moments.
Add a dragon.
Set your romantic confession scene on a fast-moving vehicle.
Make readers think a beloved character dies, only to reveal them alive and ready for action later. You get all of the angst and none of the hate mail!
Make the power go out at the worst time.
Snow your heroes in with the villain. Do they kill each other or break out monopoly?
Force your characters to act as other characters (disguises, body swapping, go wild with this one).
Add another dragon.
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 ;)
You've heard of the fan bros
But have you ever heard of
The traumatised bros
*Distant sobbing*
“Gusu Lan Sect, Lan Wangji.”
“Wei Ying.”
“Emperor’s Smile, I’ll share one with you, can you pretend you didn’t see me?”
“Why would I not dare to turn up here? I’ve faced 3000 people myself before.”
“Ah Xian.”
“I’d like to see just what minor and small evil spirits dare to create trouble here.”
“Becoming strong… this is something that is within my expectations.”
“Being hardworking in studies and practice is a priority for all Lan disciples.”
“How boring, where’s Fairy?”
“Walking quickly is forbidden in Cloud Recesses!”
“Who has summoned me? It sounds so familiar…”
“How did I end up meeting him again?”
陈情令 The Untamed Game Official PV 1
And we have a bonus character who literally has no character card because he’s that extra:
