How Can I Imply A Relationship Between Two Characters Without Making It Too Explicit? To Make Everybody

How can I imply a relationship between two characters without making it too explicit? To make everybody suspect they are together bit never confirming it?

Use subtext and maybe red herrings.

The publishing industry puts a lot of emphasis on the first lines of works being as attention-grabbing, unique, and, well, perfect as possible. The first impression of your work will always be the most important moment in the entire piece, followed very closely by the last lines and the climax scene. This pressure often makes starting one of the hardest things for a writer. It seems to be especially difficult when the work is projected to be at one of the two extremes: long or short.

The shorter the length, the less wiggle-room you have, and the sooner you need to make an impact, for the sake of the story.

The longer the length, the more wiggle-room you have, but you still need to make your impact and hook soon—early, and I mean as early as possible. I mean, first sentence early. This is less for the sake of the story and more for the sake of the reader.

Your first lines—first paragraph or two, really—create a contract between the book and the reader. Either it’s going to be a binding or non-binding contract. Either you’ve hooked them and they’re with the story until the end (of this book or the series), or you haven’t and they may shirk the story at any time, shaking it off like water on an exceptionally wet dog.

If you haven’t hooked them, what’s the point of them continuing?

It’s a lot of pressure for a writer. Even the most seasoned writers can be stymied by a blank page and how to begin a new project. Luckily, the pressure’s off!

The most important thing to keep in mind as you’re setting out on a new project is that you don’t have to keep it that way. Your first draft, especially, is just you feeling your way through the dark. In that lies your freedom. Pick a scene close to the planned beginning of your story and write.

Here are some ideas for starting:

In the middle of a conversation

In the middle of a car chase

In the middle of an arrest

In the middle of a heated argument

In the middle of an exchange of nefarious goods

In the middle of … anything. You get the drift?

Starting in the middle of things is one of the best and easiest ways to hook a reader in because they’re curious. Who is this person? Why are they saying those things? What are they doing? Where are they going? These sorts of situations work to our natural human personalities to draw the reader in. Once you have them, don’t leave them hanging. The surest way to set someone off the work is to not give them something for their investment. Start in the middle of something, yes, but make sure you explain setting and a little bit of what’s going on through the eyes of your  narrator within the first page (or second, if your first page starts 3/4 of the way down). If you don’t clue them in soon, the reader will become frustrated, confused, and may quit the piece.

Can I start with description? Yes, as long as it’s well-written. Here’s a tip: Don’t worry about the quality. I subscribe most to the “start in the middle and figure it out later in the scene” method, but that doesn’t make it right for all situations. If it’s easier for you to start with a description, then do it. Just do it well. But not yet! You don’t have to have the perfect form as soon as you put ink to page, digitally or traditionally. That’s what the editing stage is for.

Very few published works are published with the same beginning as when they were written. This sounds horrific! What do you mean none of this angst and worry I’m pouring into these few lines won’t matter? Don’t worry, it’s great news. There’s no need to panic. Start wherever and however you want. Just get something down. Often times, no matter how well we think we have our story figured out, it will always show us new facets of itself as we’re writing. There may be a theme or a character arc you didn’t realize was as important as it became. What’s that phrase? Hindsight is always 20/20? The most glorious thing about writing in our current era is that nothing we write is set in stone (unless you’re doing some sort of magnificent historical testing, in which case, more power to you). We can write and rewrite and move things all we want.

As you go back once you’ve completed the work, you may decide to rework the first scene. This is totally acceptable and 99.9% expected. Work with what you have. Try rearranging it to see how the flow changes. Figure out what sort of a pace you want at the front of the book and tweak things to fit that pace. Your first pass isn’t going to be perfect. That comes later. Just get something on the page to start with. 

(a side note: your “something” that you get on the page doesn’t have to be story or plot-related. Sometimes just talking about anything on the page helps alleviate the blank-page terrors. You can go back and remove the ramble when you’re done. Doing that will allow you to ease into the story, which may feel less abrupt and clunky for some writers.)

You know what I love?  Names.  You know what I love more than just names?  Geographically accurate names.

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(Current popular names all over the world)

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The following information was found here

Names From The Ancient World

Eastern

Egypt

Greece

Rome

Africa

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Medieval European Names Medieval English Names

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Anglo-Saxon/Old English Names

Dithematic Names (Name with two elements)

Monothematic Names (Single element names & bynames)

Religion (Gods; Goddesses; Calendar)

Rulers

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CELTIC

Ireland  [Celtic-Male Origin | Celtic-Female Origin | More]

Scotland  [Naming Patterns | Celtic Origin | Biblical Origin | More]

Wales  [Naming Practices | Biblical Origin | Welsh Surnames | More]

Brittany  [Male | Female | Surnames | More]

Old Celtic  [Male | Female | Religion | Cornwall | Isle of Man | More]

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Modern English First Names

The Central Stock of English First Names

Linknames (feminine forms of Biblical, Celtic, germanic, Greek, Latin and Modern male names)

Saints (calendar of saints, patron saints)

Modern Coinages Placenames | Blended | Combined | Borrowed Words | Unisex

Surname Adaptations (English, Scottish, Irish, Welsh and Foreign surnames used as first names)

Themed Names (twins, mulit-births, colors, creatures dates, etc)

More

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Western European Names

France | Naming Practices | Medieval | More

Italy | Latin | Medieval | More

Germany | Naming Practices | Medieval | More

Austria | First Names | Surnames | Rulers

Switzerland | First Names | Surnames

Netherlands | Naming Practices | Friesland | More

Belgium | Naming Practices | Walloon | More

Spain | Catalonia | Aragon | Asturias | Galicia | More

Portugal | Biblical Origin | Latin Origin | More

Basque | Male | Female | Surnames

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Eastern European Names

Poland | Slavonic Origin | Various | More

Hungary | Pronunciation etc | Names | More

Czech-Slovak | Czech | Slovak | Czechoslovakia | More

Albania | Male | Female | Surnames

Bulgaria | First Names | Surnames | More

Romania | Male | Female | Surnames

Former Yugoslavia Former Yugoslavia | Bosnia-Hercegovina | Croatia | Macedonia | Montenegro | Serbia | Slovenia

Greece | Greek Origin | Latin Origin | Surnames | More

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Scandinavian Names

Old Norse | Male | Female | Name Elements | More

Norway | Norse Origin | Germanic Origin | Surnames | More

Sweden | Norse Origin | Germanic Origin | Surnames | More

Denmark | Norse Origin | Various Origin | Surnames | More

Iceland | Norse Origin | Various Origin | Surnames | More

Faroe Islands | Norse Origin | Foreign Origin | Surnames

Finland | Pronunciation | Religion | Finnish | Compounds | More

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Former Soviet Union Names

Russia | Naming Practices | Slavic Origin | Surnames | More

Europe and the Caucasus  Ukraine | Belarus | Moldavia | Georgia | Armenia | Azerbaijan | Caucasus

Baltic States Estonia | Latvia | Lithuania | Finland

Asian Republics Kazakhstan | Tajikistan | Turkmenistan | Uzbekistan | Kirghizistan 

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African Names

Northern Africa | Gen. Names Morocco | Algeria | Tunisia | Libya | Egypt | Western Sahara 

Eastern Africa | Gen. Names Sudan | Ethiopia | Eritrea | Somalia | Djibouti | Uganda | Burundi | Rwanda | Kenya | Tanzania | Swahili 

Central Africa | Gen. Names Chad | Central African Republic | Cameroon | Equatorial Guinea | Gabon | Congo | Democratic Republic of Congo 

Western Africa | Gen. Names Mauritania | Mali | Burkina Fasu | Senegal | Gambia | Guinea-Bissau | Guinea | Sierra Leone | Liberia | Ivory Coast | Ghana | Togo | Benin | Niger | Nigeria 

Southern Africa | Gen. Names Angola | Zambia | Zimbabwe | Malawi | Mozambique | Namibia | Botswana | South Africa | Lesotho | Swaziland

African Islands Madagascar | Comoro Islands | Mauritius | Cape Verde Islands | Seychelles | Sao Tome and Principe 

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Northern Native American Names

Native names used in modern America

Various Native American Nations

Algonquin [Cheyenne, Shawnee, Mohican/Mahican]

Apache [Mimbreno, Warm Springs, White Mountain, Bedonkohe, Chiricahua]

Iroquois [Cayuga, Mohawk, Oneida, Onundagas, Seneca, Tuscaroa]

Ojibwa [Ojibway, Potawatomi, Chippewa]

Cherokee | Choctaw | Creek | Crow | Hopi | Kiowa | Miwok | Navajo | Nez Perce | Omaha | Osage | Seminole | Sioux | Yakima

Inuit

Southern and Central Native American Names

Aztec [History, Male, Female, Religion, Calendars, Rulers]

Inca [Male, Female, Religion, Calendars]

Maya [History, Male, Female, Religion, Calendars]

Amazonian [Names from tribes living in the rain forests]

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India

Hindu Names Male Names [A | B | C - K | L- Z] | Female | More

Hindu Gods

Sikh

Others

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Middle and Near Eastern 

Arab/Muslim Male | Female | More

East Iran | Turkey | Kurds | Pakistan | Bangladesh | Afghanistan

Jewish Names Biblical | Yiddish | Modern | Various | Surnames

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China  Info | Male | Female  

Japan  Info | Male | Female

Korea  Info | Male | Female

Mongolia

Himalayan  Nepal | Bhutan | Tibet

Indochina  Burma | Thailand | Vietnam | Cambodia | Laos

South East Asia  Indonesia | Malaysia | Brunei | The Philippines

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Pacific 

Polynesia Maori | Samoa | Tonga | French Polynesia | Fiji | Cook Islands | Easter Island | Hawai’i | Australia

Micronesia Federated States of Micronesia | Kirbati | Marashall Islands | Marianas Islands and Guam | Nauru | Belau

Melanesia Soloman Islands | Papua New Guinea | Vanuatu | Tuvalu

Things I’d like to see more of in media

characters wearing medical alert bracelets

characters taking medication with their meals

characters mentioning that they have a therapy appointment

characters with reminders to eat in their phones/calendars/planners

characters using stim toys

characters asking if an event is accessible

characters using noise cancelling headphones

characters who are disabled all the time, not just when the plot “calls for it”

characters who are disabled all the time, not just when the plot “calls for it”

I’m all in for those ships where one is really cute and looks so innocent but can cut your neck if you piss them off and the other seems all rough and tragic past and all but it’s a big cute puppy who will follow the other to the ends of the earth.

Alchemy