Me: *creates Fictional Characters*also Me: *gets Overly Attached To Them*plot: *requires Putting Them

me: *creates fictional characters* also me: *gets overly attached to them* plot: *requires putting them through emotional and physical turmoil* me: i’m sorry my sweet babies, but this is going to hurt me more than it hurts you

okay…gonna resend my joy about tsats2. So a lot of people making really good points that this could very well be a cash grab, especially because solangelo is such a loved ship. However. I disagree that the book is going to be all bad. For one, not all character arcs are closed (like some people are saying) Will, guys. WILL. Will had NOT been given justice. Nico might finally be finding peace and acceptance and love, but Will? What do we really even know about him other than the bits and pieces we were gifted with? I, for one, would LOVE to see Will struggle and battle and finally reveal all the shit he’s been carrying around, wouldn’t you? Again, I do see why people are calling this out as a cash grab, and I totally see the reasoning, but y’all. This is Uncle Rick. THE Uncle Rick. The man who braved the waters of writing accurate queer rep, disability rep, mental disorders rep, and so much other stuff. I sincerely doubt he’s doing this for money. I might be an optimist, but I’m really excited, y’all. Very. Very. VERY. Excited.

alright, alright!

Here’s Alystyr then!

“Death Wish Love” Benson Boone

“Naked in Manhattan” Chappell Roan

“HOT TO GO!” Chappell Roan

“Missing Piece” Vance Joy

“Beautiful Thins” Benson Boone

“Numb Little Bug” Em Beihold

“Seventeen” Marina and The Diamonds

“Poison” Blake Roman

“love is embarrassing” Olivia Rodrigo

“S.L.U.T.” Bea Miller

“Love You Like That” Dagny

“How Far I’ll Go” Alesia Cara

“boys beware” Mad Tsai

“Take A Hint” Victorious Cast

“good 4 u” Olivia Rodrigo

“teenage dream” Olivia Rodrigo

“Riptide” Vance Joy

“Teenagers” My Chemical Romance

“Wild as Her” Corey Kent

“Mi Gente” Willy William

WOO. YIKES THATS A LOT- and there’s more I my fingers hurt TwT

HAVE FUN @half-shadowgalra

If anyone wants to get to know my ocs better im happy to drop songs that describe them 😃

How to Write Strong Dialogue

(from a writer of ten years)

So you’re back in the writing trenches. You’re staring at your computer, or your phone, or your tablet, or your journal, and trying not to lose your mind. Because what comes after the first quotation mark? Nothing feels good.

Don’t worry, friend. I’m your friendly tumblr writing guide and I’m here to help you climb out of the pit of writing despair.

I’ve created a character specifically for this exercise. His name is Amos Alejandro III, but for now we’ll just call him Amos. He’s a thirty-something construction worker with a cat who hates him, and he’s just found out he has to go on a quest across the world to save his mother’s diner.

1.) Consider the Attitude and Characteristics of Your Character

One of the biggest struggles writers face when writing dialogue is keeping characters’ dialogue “in-character”.

You’re probably thinking, “but Sparrow, I’m the creator! None of the dialogue I write can be out of character because they’re my original characters!”

WRONG. (I’m hitting the very loud ‘incorrect’ buzzer in your head right now).

Yes, you created your characters. But you created them with specific characteristics and attitudes. For example, Amos lives alone, doesn’t enjoy talking too much, and isn’t a very scholarly person. So he’s probably not going to say something like “I suggest that we pursue the path of least resistance for this upcoming quest.” He’d most likely say, “I mean, I think the easiest route is pretty self-explanatory.”

Another example is a six-year-old girl saying, “Hi, Mr. Ice Cream Man, do you have chocolate sundaes?” instead of “Hewwo, Ice Cweam Man— Chocowate Sundaes?”

Please don’t put ‘w’s in the middle of your dialogue unless you have a very good and very specific reason. I will cry.

Yes, the girl is young, but she’s not going to talk like that. Most children know how to ask questions correctly, and the ‘w’ sound, while sometimes found in a young child’s speech, does not need to be written out. Children are human.

So, consider the attitude, characteristics, and age of your character when writing dialogue!

2.) Break Up Dialogue Length

If I’m reading a novel and I see an entire page of dialogue without any breaks, I’m sobbing. You’re not a 17th century author with endless punctuation. You’re in the 21st century and people don’t read in the same way they used to.

Break up your dialogue. Use long sentences. Use one word. Use commas, use paragraph breaks. Show a character throwing a chair out a window in between sentences.

For example:

“So, you’re telling me the only way to save my Ma’s diner is to travel across five different continents, find the only remaining secret receipt card, and bring it back before she goes out of business? She didn’t have any other copies? Do I have to leave my cat behind?”

vs.

Amos ran a hand over his face. “So, you’re telling me the only way to save my Ma’s diner is to travel across five different continents, find the only remaining secret recipe card, and bring it back before she goes out of business?”

He couldn’t believe his luck. That was sarcastic, of course. This was ironically horrible.

“She didn’t have any other copies?” He leaned forward over the table and frowned. “Do I have to leave my cat behind?”

The second version is easier to digest, and I got to add some fun description of thought and action into the scene! Readers get a taste of Amos’ character in the second scene, whereas in the first scene they only got what felt like a million words of dialogue.

3.) Don’t Overuse Dialogue Tags.

DON’T OVERUSE DIALOGUE TAGS. DON’T. DON’T DON’T DON’T.

If you don’t know what a dialogue tag is, it’s a word after a sentence of dialogue that attributes that dialogue to a specific character.

For example:

“Orange juice and chicken ramen are good,” he said.

‘Said’ functions as the dialogue tag in this sentence.

Dialogue tags are good. You don’t want to completely avoid them. (I used to pride myself on how I could write stories without any dialogue tags. Don’t do that.) Readers need to know who’s speaking. But overusing them, or overusing weird or unique tags, should be avoided.

Examples:

“I’m gonna have to close my diner,” Amos’ mother said.

“Why?” Amos growled. “It’s been in the family forever.”

“I’ve lost the secret recipe card, and I can’t keep the diner open without it!” she cried.

“The Bacon Burger Extreme recipe card?” Amos questioned.

“Yes!” Amos’ mother screamed.

“Well, that’s not good,” Amos complained.

vs.

“I’m gonna have to close my diner,” Amos’ mother said, taking her son’s hand and leading him over to one of the old, grease-stained tabletops with the ripped-fabric booths.

Amos simply stared at her as they moved. “Why? It’s been in the family forever.”

“I’ve—” she looked away for a moment, then took in a breath. “I’ve lost the secret recipe card. And I can’t keep the diner open without it.”

“The Bacon Burger Extreme recipe card?”

“Yes!” She still wouldn’t meet his eyes, and her shoulders were shaking. “Yes.”

Amos sat down heavily in the booth. “Well, that’s not good.”

The first scene only gives character names and dialogue tags. There are no actions and no descriptions. The second scene, however, gives these things. It gives the reader descriptions of the diner, the characters’ actions, and attitudes. Overusing dialogue tags gets boring fast, so add interest into your writing!

So! When you’re writing, consider the attitude of your character, vary dialogue length, and don’t overuse dialogue tags.

Now climb out of the pit of writing despair. Pick up your pen or computer. And write some good dialogue!

Best,

Sparrow

Sometime I miss younger me. If she met me now, she’d probably be confused as hell, and maybe a little traumatized. Younger me was not a normal kid- it was pretty obvious that I had autism and ADHD looking back. I hated eating foods with ‘weird textures’. As a five year old, I refused to eat white meat chicken because it was too dry and it made me want to gag. My mother would ignore this and blamed it on pickiness. There’s a few other instances, but I’m not gonna rant lmao basic gist is…I miss her, but I’m glad to not be her anymore. I’m glad to have stopped following my parent’s every belief and found my own. The anxiety and minor depression sucks, sure, but it was worth it to get where I am now.

Open tags :]

@errornameunkown

Picrew tag game!- Create yourself now vs how you looked when you were a kid

Link

I was tagged by @cutebisexualmess for this but the chain was too long so I'm restarting!

If only that little girl could see me now (she'd probably think I was cool tbh)

uhm tagging: @b3achfagz (ik you dont do tag games so u can just ignore this but i though u might find it cool) @cassiecryptic @viktheviking1 @depressedgremlinbitch @ramencat12 @inkyslimee @the-horrifying-digital-circus @patipati @cute--thing @musicalsiphonophore @tastetherainbow290 @disenchantedwarlock @bookishcatcafe and anyone else who sees this and thinks it looks cool!!

going to the GA aquarium >:)

time to drop random moa dialogue 🥰🥰

(I NEED TO SEE SHARKOS)