Tips For Writing Those Gala Scenes, From Someone Who Goes To Them Occasionally:

Tips for writing those gala scenes, from someone who goes to them occasionally:

Generally you unbutton and re-button a suit coat when you sit down and stand up.

You’re supposed to hold wine or champagne glasses by the stem to avoid warming up the liquid inside. A character out of their depth might hold the glass around the sides instead.

When rich/important people forget your name and they’re drunk, they usually just tell you that they don’t remember or completely skip over any opportunity to use your name so they don’t look silly.

A good way to indicate you don’t want to shake someone’s hand at an event is to hold a drink in your right hand (and if you’re a woman, a purse in the other so you definitely can’t shift the glass to another hand and then shake)

Americans who still kiss cheeks as a welcome generally don’t press lips to cheeks, it’s more of a touch of cheek to cheek or even a hover (these days, mostly to avoid smudging a woman’s makeup)

The distinctions between dress codes (black tie, cocktail, etc) are very intricate but obvious to those who know how to look. If you wear a short skirt to a black tie event for example, people would clock that instantly even if the dress itself was very formal. Same thing goes for certain articles of men’s clothing.

Open bars / cash bars at events usually carry limited options. They’re meant to serve lots of people very quickly, so nobody is getting a cosmo or a Manhattan etc.

Members of the press generally aren’t allowed to freely circulate at nicer galas/events without a very good reason. When they do, they need to identify themselves before talking with someone.

The most frustrating experience as a writer is having a clear vision in your mind of the story you want to tell but being too afraid to put pen to paper for fear of failing to do the story justice. I’m so scared that my actual execution will fail to meet my expectations that I’m paralysed to even start.

What I want most in all the world is there to be someone who loves me STUPID. Like someone where they tell me that they love me, and I tell them they are stupid for that and they say, "yeah, so?"

Maybe I don't love them back immediately, but I eventually I learn to love them more too, and we both stupidly love each other. That's all I want, Santa.

The main point here is that I want someone to teach me how to love. Please please please please.

What I want most in all the world is there to be someone who loves me STUPID. Like someone where they tell me that they love me, and I tell them they are stupid for that and they say, "yeah, so?"

Maybe I don't love them back immediately, but I eventually I learn to love them more too, and we both stupidly love each other. That's all I want, Santa.

Stop trying to be productive