Mariewritcs - WRITING RESOURCES - Tumblr Blog

Tips on Character Consistency

Patreon  for early access & exclusives || Ko-Fi

Masterlist || Work In Progress || Studyblr || Studygram

–

Have A “Get Into Character” Routine

If you’re having an unusual amount of trouble keeping a character and their behaviors and thought process consistent in your writing, it might just be that you’re not used to being in their head. This is especially common with first person POV stories, and I recommend surrounding yourself with things that embody them as a person, make a playlist of songs that you know they’d enjoy and listen to it before you write (or during, if you listen to music while you draft), and do what is necessary to make their actions and thoughts create a distinct, unmistakeable person. 

Have A Short List of Details To Pay Attention To

Characters and people are both complex, and therefore it’s difficult to reduce them down to a few key things that set them apart from others. However, when you’re writing, it can help with getting their tendencies down if you focus on 4-5 things you can emphasize in their actions and (inner or outer) monologue. Be holistic in the way you summarize them by picking vastly different aspects of their personality. Focus on one of their fatal flaws, one of their most admirable traits, one of their habits and how it can be good and bad for them, their attitude (outward and inward), etc. 

Know Their Mindset

Everybody has a unique way that they think about the world that is formed by their environment, experiences, and motivations. If you’re having trouble conjuring this mindset as you develop them in your writing, it may be a sign that you just have to sit down and map it out. Pick 3-5 moments in their life that shape their very thought process. Analyze their background and speculate about the many ways this might affect their thoughts and actions in various situations that might present themselves. Randomly choose five situations that may come up in your story and really think hard about how they would want that situation to go and why. 

Know Their Values

Nobody has the same definition of right, nor wrong. This is key to the way people live their lives, and it’s imperative that you know your character’s definitions and how they were formed. It’s also important to know your character’s limits outside of these definitions. What would make them do something they see as wrong? What would it take to convince them that what they believe is wrong is okay? You’d be surprised how relevant this is in any kind of story.

Know Their Motivations

As I previously mentioned, it’s important to know what they want. However, it’s important to look deeper than simply what they’re after. What do they think they want? What to they actually want? What do they need? How does this affect the conflict and other characters day-to-day?

–

Support Wordsnstuff!

FIND MORE ON WORDSNSTUFFBLOG.COM

If you enjoy my blog and wish for it to continue being updated frequently and for me to continue putting my energy toward answering your questions, please consider Buying Me A Coffee, or pledging your support on Patreon.

Request Resources, Tips, Playlists, or Prompt Lists

Instagram // Twitter //Facebook //#wordsnstuff

FAQ //monthly writing challenges // Masterlist

MY CURRENT WORK IN PROGRESS (Check it out, it’s pretty cool. At least I think it is.)

do you have any writing exercises for describing locations? :)

Use all the senses. What does the place look, sound, smell, and feel like? What kind of props, furniture, color, scheme, or plant life is there? How does it make you or your character feel/react? After you’ve done this, trim the details that only clutter your story.

Describe a place you’ve been that you remember well. For me it’s a section of country road I found breathtaking as a kid and have never stopped loving.

Look around you and find something, or several things, to focus on. Describe them down to their finest detail; the water stains on a steel drinking fountain, the uneven grain of a faux wood door, the alien-looking stereo system, or the dust bunny hanging from a wall vent.

In any location, ask yourself “If was kidnapped and held captive here but found a phone, how would I describe where I was to the police?” Look for exits, objects you could use to break windows or pick locks, survival supplies, and information that would tell you where you are.

In any location, ask yourself “If I was on the run from the police or Big Brother, what in this area would get me caught?” Look for cameras, spies, sensors, and anything on you personally that could be tracking you (same rules apply if you’re planning to hypothetically commit a crime).

In any location, imagine you’re answering questions for a space alien, time traveler, or foreign immigrant about your surroundings.

In your home/bedroom, imagine you’re an investigator or that you have amnesia and must learn about yourself from your personnal belongings. Describe what you see and what it might say about you to someone who doesn’t have you there to explain it.

These are all the exercises I’ve practiced personally that I can remember. Hope you find them useful!

+ HEY, Writers! other social media: Wattpad - Pinterest - Goodreads

+ Support HEY, Writers! and Buy Me A Coffee?

Hi! Your blog is amazing and really helpful! The Master List has helped me so much! Anyways, I was wondering if you had any tips on writing “the almost scene” (non-sexual). Like, ways to build up to it and such. Thanks!

Writing the “Almost Sex but Not Quite” Scene

First, I’m so glad you’re enjoying the blog and have found the master list to be helpful. I hope this post will be helpful, too, but I’m not 100% I’m interpreting your question correctly, so if I missed the mark, please feel free to re-submit a clarification. :)

Here goes!

1) The Long-Term Build Up

Building up to an “Almost Sex but Not Quite” scene is much the same as building up to a sex scene. You need to build up the sexual tension between the two characters ahead of the moment where they actually start making out. These posts will help with that:

The Subtle Signs of Romantic Interest and LoveGuide: Characters Falling in LoveTransitioning Through Levels of Affection

2) The Short-Term Build Up

When the moment arrives that they’re finally making out for the first time, you want to give the scene as much emotional, sensual impact as you can without them actually engaging in intercourse. To do that, try the following:

Build lots of sexual tension into whatever they’re doing prior to making out. Whether they’re having a suggestive/flirtatious conversation, laughing and romping through a flower-filled field, or on a tenderly romantic date, there are lots of opportunities to push some of that long-term build up from above to the brink.

Explore what both characters are thinking and feeling (emotionally) in the moments leading up to making out and during those first moments. Are they nervous? Excited? Embarrassed? Aching for more? Letting your reader know what’s going through the character’s minds can add a lot of impact to that moment.

Use the five senses to ramp up the description of what’s happening. What does your character hear? See? Smell? Taste? Touch? All of these things play a role in ramping up the anticipation of each subsequent touch, kiss, utterance of love and/or desire, etc.

Remember to touch on internal sensations being felt by the characters. 

3) The Cessation

If you don’t want your characters to go through with intercourse, you’ll need to figure out how to stop their make out session. There are lots of ways you can do this, so choose something that works best for the story. Some possibilities:

One or both characters puts on the brakes, saying they’re not ready to go any further at that moment.

The more fervent making out slows down and turns into a session of cuddling and conversation, maybe even blissful sleep.

The make out session is interrupted. This could be a family member or roommate arriving home unexpectedly, a text message/phone call, the doorbell ringing, a strange noise in the house, noticing the time and realizing they’re late for something.

One participant suddenly becomes angry about something, perhaps recalling an unresolved argument or the other person said something upsetting.

4) The Fade to Black

If you want your characters to go through with intercourse, but you just don’t want to show it happening, you can make use of something known as the “fade to black.” The name comes from TV shows and movies when two characters are about to have sex or starting to have sex, so the scene would literally fade to black and open on a new scene where something else was happening. The best way to write a “fade to black” is to leave off with something that implies what’s going to happen in a way that is interesting without being cheesy. Something along the lines of “we spent the rest of the night exploring our love for each other” but less cheesy and more poetic.

5) The Cut to After

Whether you cease the make out scene before it gets to sex, or let your characters have sex behind closed doors, you may want to consider how you’re going to handle the “after” scene. That may be immediately after they stop making out (or after they’re done in a “fade to black” scenario), or it could be hours later, the next day, days later… whatever. But making sure to explore what that moment meant to your character and their relationship is an important part of doing it well. Did it change anything? Did it make them closer? Did it make things awkward? Are they excited to go again? Do they feel ready for more? These are all issues worth exploring, unless, of course, it was a one night stand.

Best of luck writing your “almost” scene! :)

————————————————————————————————-Have a question? My inbox is always open, but please make sure to check my FAQ and post master lists first to make sure I haven’t already answered a similar question. :)

Grammar Tip #7: Spoke vs. Said

An expansion on this post from the other day.

In my work as an editor, I come across the use of spoke as a dialogue tag somewhat regularly, with a noticeably higher use within certain demographics, which include first-time novelists and ESL writers.

“I don’t see what the problem is,” she spoke.

Caveat: As with all creative writing, there is obviously a certain amount of leeway and freedom for the author to do whatever they want. If you really want to use spoke as a dialogue tag, I personally cannot stop you. (Your editor and publishing house are other matters entirely.) That said, what if we try changing it to present tense?

“Still not sure I see the problem,” she speaks.

Does that seem awkward?

Spoke is the past-tense form of speak. Despite both being verbs, neither is traditionally used as a dialogue tag; instead, both tend to function as action tags (thus taking periods), while said/says act as dialogue tags (thus taking commas).

Past tense:

He spoke quietly. “I’ll see you later.”

vs.

He said quietly, “I’ll see you later.”

Present tense:

“I’ll see you later.” He speaks quietly.

vs.

“I’ll see you later,” he says quietly.

It’s possible most readers won’t consciously discern these differences, but best practice is to treat spoke/speaks is an action tag and said/says as a dialogue tag.

Keep The Words Flowing

After reading and viewing dozens of posts about which words to cut while revising fiction, I am making a master list. This does not mean all of these words will or should be completely eradicated from all fiction. Rather, they should be used sparingly, and when they best work in context. Obviously more vibrant verbiage remains recommended, but sometimes, simple is best.

FILTERING WORDS: Separate reader from the MC’s mind or senses: 

saw

looked

heard

felt

touch/ed

knew

think/thought

smelled

tasted

believe

noticed

reminded

watched

decided

wondered

seemed

realized

decide

remembered

hoped/hoping

gave

CONDITIONAL WORDS: Filter POV by adding condition/judgement to it.

only

almost

somehow

something

actually

even

now

could

mostly

had

also

CLOGGING WORDS: Basically aren’t needed. Use in small amounts.

Really

Actually

Just

So

A lot

A bit

Always

Never

Very

That

Then

Got

Often

Like

Literally

Virtually

Completely

Suddenly

Entirely

Back (honestly can’t believe how many times I delete this word)

VAGUE WORDS

There

Stuff

Some

Thing

MISLEADING PHRASES

In order to,

For some reason,

As if

One of

How The Chronicler Does Villains

Step 1: Classic Villain. Zero redeeming qualities. No recognizable morals or ethics. Wants to destroy good things just cuz. Wants full control of everything ever. “Evil” is their defining trait. Their motives have a thin veil of justice with a permafrost of self-righteousness.

Step 2: Classic Villain Pro. Okay, maybe they need a better motive and some realistic traits.

Step 3: Angsty Villain. Add a hint of Tragic Backstory that does not excuse the villain’s terrible personality.

Step 4: Misunderstood Villain. Realize that there is a greater villain that the original villain is trying to stop, taking the blame for, is being framed by, etc. Much of all blame is removed from the original villain. Some terrible acts may still happen, but they happen through the villain, by their hands but not by their will. The villain is a victim of a larger scheme.

Step 5: Wronged Villain. Improve villain’s motives, values, ideals. Give them good hopes and dreams. Shatter these hopes and dreams and have this lead to the misunderstood villainy.

Step 6: Broken Villain. Accidentally spill the entire rest of the Tragic Backstory into this character’s life. Break them. Destroy them. Grind them to a powder and run them through a coffee filter and incinerate the remains. Knit the ashes together with denial and desperate hope. Keep this hope just out of reach. Instill positive traits/values that will survive the continual evisceration of this character. After all of this, still allow the them to be cast out, attacked, hated, blamed, demonized, and seen as the Classic Villain.

Essentially, break every wicked bone in their body until they are no longer a villain. Assign villainy to another character, potentially repeating the process. The hero will often not realize the true nature of the “villain” until it’s too late. Bribe them with a happy ending that does not excuse the author’s terrible treatment.

Writing Relationships: Hate to Love.

These types of relationships can be some of the most interesting and enjoyable, both to read and write, because they show us many sides of the same characters and the growth from a hatred to mixed feelings and finally to genuine love and acceptance is often heartwarming to experience. But relationships like also require finesse to portray in a believable, healthy manner.

Before we begin, some ground rules: 

1. Stay away from abuse.

A hate to love relationship is not an “abuse to love” relationship, and none of these tips are aimed toward writing such a thing. Check this list for things to keep out of your healthy end-game relationships.

2. These characters need to be ‘ship-able’ already!

If your character would not naturally end up in the end-game relationship, you’ve got a problem. The character’s ability to be friends – shared interests, enjoyment of each other’s company, comparability in communication – is crucial for the transition from hate to love.

Now then, how do we set up this hate to love relationship? 

1. Examine why the characters hate each other.

There’s a slew of different reasons two characters might start out hating each other, including (but certainly not limited to):

They come from opposing sides of a war, feud, or have some other group-oriented dislike.

They have very bad first impressions of each other.

They already hold distasteful misconceptions about each other based on what trusted companions have told them.

One (or both) of them are acting or believing something the other has good reason to hate. 

In order to pull off the first part of the relationship – the hate – you have to both have a reason for the characters to hate each other and convince the reader that the reason is a good reason. 

Unless you’re writing in omnipresent, you’re telling the story through your character’s eyes. No matter how good their current ‘enemy’ may be on the inside, the pov character won’t be looking for that goodness. They’ll see all the flaws and turn offs they anticipate the character to have, and this will likely (hopefully) effect them on an emotional level the reader can connect with.

2. What needs to change for this hate to be repealed?

Keep reading

The 5 "Bones" of Characterization

So in my English class we’ve been talking about the different elements of different parts of a story. My professor referred to the elements of characterization as bones. I don’t know why, but that’s just what he did. 

He’s talked about these 5 “bones” a few times already and actually uses them to talk about characters in readings we’re doing along with our usual workshops.  He says if you can get these bones out of a character then it’s a well built character. So don’t take these lightly as figuring these 5 bones out for your character will make writing your story much easier.

Desire: There are two types: Long and short. Essentially it’s what do they want in 5 years and what do they want tomorrow? Think of desire as their goals, both long term and short term.

Strength: This is their ability. How do they handle stress and other emotions? What makes them strong? 

Weakness: What makes them hide in fear? What will they run away from?

Deals: Also referred to as “Alway’s and Never’s”. What will they always do? What will they never do? (I’m sure there is more to this, but my notes are hard to follow.XD)

Action: What are they doing? This is also relevant to your plot.

The last thing in my notes that I have written is this: Characters come to us already formed.

Now that’s a weird thought because there’s tons of character development stuff out there as we always see making a new character as a hard task that takes forever. Except that isn’t how it works and having the above said to me actually made everything easier.

Your characters are already full fledged people. Do you ever have that time where you’re writing and you say “My characters just kinda took over and this happened”. Well your characters are already completely formed and know how they’ll react to certain situations. You’re the one who doesn’t know that. So take some time to get to know your character. Stop working on your book and write other random stories. Find a prompt and just write. Or do as my professor says and “sit on the couch with them for a couple hours”. Think of them as another friend that you’re trying to get to know. Don’t force out their secrets.

dreamwidth update: The Dreaded Homonymn List

Homonyms are words that sound the same but mean different things (and are usually spelled differently).  They are the bane of writers, ESPECIALLY in the modern era, because spellcheck often doesn’t catch them.  So if you aren’t sure which one is which, or just make a mistake … your first line of defense isn’t going to help.  (Also, ironically, I misspelled “homonym” and had to go back and fix it.) Anyway!  Here is a list of common homonym fails.  If you aren’t sure of something, you can check it here. Accept / except.  To accept something is to receive it, and often to receive it with approval.  You accept someone’s apology, for example.  To except something is to exclude it.  “I like all chocolate except for ones with citrus flavor like those chocolate oranges.“  Remembering that “ex” means not or out may help you remember which is which. Allude / elude.  Allude means to suggest or call attention to indirectly; hint at.  “He alluded to her past indiscretions.“  Elude means to evade or escape from, or to fail to grasp something.  "The thief could not escape the great Sherlock Holmes for long."  This one you can actually remember phonetically; allude is pronounced "uh-lood” (short “a” sound) and elude is pronounced “ee-lood” or “eh-lood” (long or short “e” sound).  See also “elusive” vs. “illusive” below. Altar / alter.  An altar is a religious table or pedestal around which worship is centered.  In most Christian churches, the altar is the big piece of furniture at the front of the sanctuary.  When a wedding happens in a church, it happens in front of the altar, so sometimes “going to the altar” with someone is slang for marrying them.  If you have a fantasy setting and someone or something is getting sacrificed, they are being sacrificed on an altar.  To alter something is to change it or make a difference.  You alter garments to fit better, or alter a ship’s course.  Superman is Clark Kent’s alter ego, his different self. Bare / bear.  Bare means uncovered or unclothed or empty.  Naked people bare their bodies; stores with nothing in stock have bare shelves.  Bear has many meanings.  A bear is an animal.  To bear can also mean to carry something, as in “the right to bear arms” which doesn’t mean Americans have the right to sleeveless shirts, but rather the right to carry weapons.  To bear something can also mean to endure it, as in “he could hardly bear to think about ____” or “how are you bearing up under the stress?"  Basically, English has a lot of different meanings for "bear,” but only one meaning for “bare."  So if you don’t mean "uncovered or empty,” you mean bear. Bated / baited.  Bated means in great suspense; very anxiously or excitedly.  Baited is to deliberately annoy or taunt someone, or prepare a trap.  If you are talking about a military ambush, or putting a worm on a hook while fishing, you mean baited.  If you’re describing someone who can barely sit still because of anticipation, you mean bated.  Especially if you’re using the phrase “bated breath.” Bath / bathe.  Bath is a noun, bathe is a verb.  A bath is what you bathe in.  A bath is the tub filled with water.  “Bath” rhymes with “path” and “math."  "Bathe” is pronounced like “baythe,” it has the same vowel as “mail.” Bread / bred.  Bread is the thing you make sandwiches with.  Bred is the past tense of breed.  Border collies have been bred to herd animals,  they haven’t been bread anything. Breath / breathe.  Breath is a noun, breathe is a verb.  A breath is the air in your lungs, or the air you have just expelled from your lungs.  The vowel sound in “breath” is the same sound in “bread."  "Breathe,” on the other hand, rhymes with “teethe” and has the same vowel as “me."  Breathe becomes breathing.  If you are breathing, you are taking air in and out.  Breathing is the act of doing it; a breath is the stuff that you are doing it with. Cloth / clothe.  Cloth is a noun, clothe is a verb.  Cloth is another word for fabric (and where the word "clothing” comes from, as clothing is made from cloth).  To clothe someone means to put clothing on them.  I am clothed in a dress made out of cotton cloth.  “Cloth” rhymes with “Hoth” and “clothe” rhymes with “loathe”. Compliment / complement.  A compliment means to politely praise someone.  Something that goes perfectly with something else complements it.  “You look wonderful!” is a compliment.  “That hat matches your shoes perfectly!” describes how two accessories complement one another and is ALSO a compliment. Conscience / conscious. Your conscience (kon-shehns) is your sense of right and wrong, your internal measuring stick which you use to judge your actions.  If you are conscious (kon-shuhs), you are awake or alert or aware of something.  If you know what your ethical code would think of your actions, you are conscious of your conscience. Cue / Queue.  A cue is a hint, or stage directions in a play, or something that helps you figure out timing.  It’s also the name of the stick used to play pool or billiards or shuffleboard.  A queue is a line you wait in, or when you have your hair in a low ponytail or single braid down your back. Defiantly / definitely.  Defiantly is doing something with open resistance or bold disobedience.  Definitely means without doubt or clearly. Dibs / dips.  Dibs are a claim or right.  A dip is a sauce to dip things into.  You dip something by letting it drop briefly downward (possibly into something). Discreet / discrete.  Discreet is a form of discretion, it describes someone who is careful and inconspicuous.  Discrete describes things that are individually separated. Disillusion / Dissolution.  Disillusion is to take away an illusion.  Dissolution comes from the same root as dissolve, and means dissolving a whole into its component parts.  If you’re talking about the legal ending of a marriage, you mean dissolution (although the spouses might have become disillusioned about one another). Elusive / illusive / allusive.  Elusive refers to something that is hard to pin down, that keeps getting away or evading or hiding.  Illusive refers to something that is an illusion, and it’s a very rare word.  Allusive means working by suggestion rather than explicit mention, and again is very rare (the cognate ‘allusion’ is much more common).  Elusive is the one you probably meant, unless you’re talking about art (in which case you might mean illusive) or having a literary discussion (in which you probably mean allusive). Hoard / horde.  A hoard is a carefully-guarded collection of things, like a dragon’s hoard, or the action of building such a collection.  A horde is a large crowd, often unorganized, often moving or in action.  The word originated as a description of Eurasian nomadic bands, such as the Mongols but can now refer to anything from tourists to reporters to, well, any large group of people. Gauge / gouge.  When used as a noun, gauge is the thickness, size, or capacity of something, or a device used for measuring.  When used as a verb, it means estimating the amount or volume of something.  It’s pronounced “gayj."  Gouge, on the other hand, means to make a hole  or groove, often with a sharp object.  In slang use, it means to swindle or overcharge someone.  Gouge is pronounced "gowje.” Lose / loose.  You probably mean lose.  “I lost her in the crowd."  "I’m losing my mind."  "You can win the battle but still lose the war."  Loose, on the other hand, means untied/unbound/unfastened.  A screw that is almost coming out is loose.  When you rescue someone and you undo their manacles, you are loosing them. Manner / manor.  Your manner is the way you act.  It can also mean the characteristic or customary way of doing, making, or saying things in a region or era.  A manor is the house or hall of an estate. Marshal / marital / martial.  A marshal is a person in charge in certain specific contexts.  The fire marshal is in charge of the fire department, a field marshal is an officer of high military rank.  To marshal something is to place it in proper order, or to bring it together in an effective way.  Martial is an adjective used to describe military or war things: a court-martial, for instance, is a military court.  It comes from the same root, but the difference is that a marshal is a person’s rank or title (a noun!) and martial is a description (an adjective!).  To confuse things, a person can be described as "martial” (meaning they are very much a warrior or soldier).  A marshal can be martial! Marital, on the other hand, is COMPLETELY different.  It’s an adjective, too, but it relates to marriage: the marital bed, for instance, is a married couples’ bed.  The wedding vows are marital vows.  You can remember the difference by looking for the “i."  In "marriage” the i comes right after the r, just like it does in “marital.” Palette / pallet / palate.  A palette is a range of colors or the board an artist uses to hold paints on.  A pallet is either a crude bed, like a straw-filled mattress on bare ground, or a platform for moving things (a pallet of supplies).  A palate is the roof of your mouth, or the taste of something. Peers / pears / pairs.  A pear is a fruit; something can go “pear-shaped” if it is all going wrong.  Your peer is your equal, someone from your own social rank; a peer of the realm is a nobleman.  Pair means two. Per say / per se.  Per se means in itself, or intrinsically.  For example: “This candidate is not a pacifist per se, but he is in favor of peaceful solutions when practicable."  It comes from Latin.  "Per say” is simply wrong, used when you’ve heard it said but never seen it written. Poring / pouring.  Poring is “be absorbed in the reading or study of."  Pouring is (especially of a liquid) to flow rapidly in a steady stream.  You pore over a text, you don’t pour over it (unless you are dribbling a liquid on the book for a magic ritual or something like that). Property / propriety.  Property is something you own.  Propriety means how proper you are.  Like, picture a Victorian lady who’s fulfilling all the social rules, she is acting with propriety. Rogue / rouge.  Rogue means scoundrel, villain, defiantly independent (think "Rogue Squadron”).  Rouge is another word for makeup blush, it’s pronounced “roozh” because it comes from the French word for red (think “Moulin Rouge”). Recon / reckon.  Recon is short for reconnaisence, the scouting run before an attack.  To reckon is to calculate or estimate, or to have an opinion. Sew / sow.  To sew is to use needle and thread to attach two pieces of cloth together.  To sow is to plant.  You do not “sew [chaos/destruction/suspicion/etc.],” you “sow [chaos/destruction/suspicion/etc.]” because it’s a contraction of a longer metaphor: “sow the seeds of [chaos/destruction/suspicion/etc.]."  Alternately, a sow is a mother pig.  Confusingly, unless you are talking about pigs, sew and sow are both pronounced the same (and both pronounced like the conjunction "so”).  When you are talking about a mother pig, “sow” is pronounced like it looks, so that it rhymes with “ow” and “how.” Stake / steak.  A stake can be a pointed piece of wood or other material driven or to be driven into the ground as a marker or support or method of execution (being “burned at the stake”).  Or a stake can be something you are gambling about or with.  A high stakes poker game is one where people are betting a lot of money.  A steak is a cut of meat. Straight / strait.  Straight is the one you probably want.  It means direct, a line that does not bend, heterosexual, a continuous sequence of five cards in a poker hand, and many other things–it has a lot of meanings both literal and colloquial.  Strait has two possible meanings: a narrow passage of water connecting two seas or two large areas of water, or something that is narrow, cramped, difficult.  The only metaphorical use is “dire straits."  If you do not mean a geographical feature, or are not talking about a dire situation, you mean straight. Undo / undue.  Undo means to open or loose by releasing a fastening, or to reverse or disturb something.  Undo is the present tense, undone is the past tense.  Undue means something is excessive.  Undue violence is more violence than necessary.  If there is an act of undue violence, a sci-fi character might travel back in time to undo the wrong. Viral / virile.  Viral means it has to do with viruses, or spreading rapidly and organically.  Things on the internet that spread rapidly go viral.  Virile means having strength, energy, and a strong sex drive (used almost exclusively to describe men). Viscous / vicious.  Viscous is a description of stuff that is stiff but flows, like syrup or lava.  ("VIS-kas”)  Vicious means cruel or violent in an immoral way.  (“VISH-as”) Volition / violation.  This one is a bad one to get mixed up.  Volition is your will, and more specifically your exercise of that will.  Volition is the ability to choose and make it stick.  If you do something of your own volition, you are not being coerced in any way.  Violation is the opposite.  Violation is breaking the rules, violation is a deliberate harming of another.  It’s a common euphemism for rape.  If you have been violated, it was against your volition.  So please, please do not get these two words mixed up. Wanton / wonton.  Wanton means being sexy, without restraint, seductive, obsessed with sex.  A wonton is a Chinese dumpling. Wretched / retched.  Wretched describes something that is poor quality or uniformly bad.  Retched is the past tense form of the verb to retch, which means to vomit. Along a similar vein, here are some phrases that commonly get misspelled because a word or two gets misheard: It’s not “could of” it’s “Could have” (also “should have” and “would have”)  Can be abbreviated “Could’ve” It’s not “all intensive purposes” it’s “all intents and purposes” It’s not “anti-room” it’s “anteroom” (meaning, an outer room that opens into another, often used as a waiting room–literally, it means the “before-room”). It’s not “make due” it’s “make do”, because you are “making [something] do [well enough to serve your purpose]” comments Comment? https://ift.tt/3g9argT

the essentials of writing FIGHT SCENES!

I realized that there weren’t a lot of fight scene tutorials on here that addressed a lot of the common mistakes of fight scenes. I have a non-zero amount of experience with Krav Maga and have been told I’m very good with fight scenes so I thought I might as well write out a little advice 

Keep in mind that this is best suited to “nasty hand to hand street fighting” and even then there are probably better people to ask about it. But here goes. 

What’s the One Important Thing I’d have you remember? 

Best piece of fight scene advice I’ve ever heard: Violence is fast. Whenever people are involved in some kind of accident or tragedy, what they say is “It happened so fast!” So no matter what, think fast. The main mistake I see with fight scenes is unrealistic description, and it comes from a lack of understanding of a fight being a very altered state of consciousness, where your character is at the limits of their ability to process shit. So: 

How to Describe a Fight Scene! 

The Language: Go for the strongest verbs you can find and use them. Think slam, crash, smash, pound, grind, shove, ram, claw, rip, gouge, bash…You want very verb driven writing. This is the time to pull out that thesaurus and that list of 500 verbs to use in writing or whatever. Don’t let adjectives and adverbs carry the weight. “She punched him hard in the gut” needs to be “She slammed a fist into his gut.” Or better, let the fist be the subject: “Her fist slammed in his gut.”  If there’s any time to adhere hardcore to active voice, it’s now. Also notice that I shortened “into” to “in”- it’s best to go with language that’s as short and well, punchy, grammar be damned. This is also why I go with “gut” rather than “stomach.” Sentence fragments and em-dashes and such are your friends. Cut out articles and conjunctions wherever you can. And try to keep the subject and verb of every action close together–it’s much more direct and better able to connote that intense aggression that you want. 

So, you might have something like this: “As she tried to throw a punch at his face, he dodged aside, moving in, his body twisting, to kick her in the ribs.” 

You might notice the following issues: The verbs are fairly weak- tried, moving. “Dodged” is good but the others fall flat. There are a lot of extraneous words. And the clause at the beginning makes the sentence feel too indirect. 

So these are the changes I would make: “Her fist darted for his face. He dodged aside. Slipped closer, twisted–his heel crashed into ribcage.” 

That’s the technical stuff out of the way. Now for some more general advice on fights:

In a fight, you really don’t think. There are two things your brain can do: percieve and respond. In such an adrenaline-fueled survival situation, you’re a bundle of instinctive reaction and OHFUCKOHFUCKOHFUCK. A skilled fighter doesn’t mentally remember techniques, the techniques are just the first response that springs out at an attack because they’re second nature. And the thing is, you CAN’T remember techniques in the fight. Adrenaline makes you big stupid. Brain is a faraway land, but body is here, in danger, and trying to stay alive. This is what I mean by your character being at the limits of their processing—they have very little room to think because they’re in survival mode.

That’s why you practice techniques One Fuckthousand Times in martial arts. It’s actually wild how little conscious thought there is to it. I’m always going to remember the time when I, a smol orange belt, was sparring with a larger guy and his fist was flying at my face and I just…wove underneath it. Without even thinking. Pure instinct. I had two guys like, beaming at me and pounding me on the back at the breakthrough but I was confused at the time because it felt like a complete accident. So what you should get out of this is—yeah, no internal monologue! Write what your character perceives and write what they respond.

Description of any kind, but especially visual description, will be highly fragmented. If your character is in a fight with another character, they’re not going to be extensively perceiving their surroundings and noticing the thick curtains of ivy on the walls or whatever. Their focus will be. On the fight. Part of the reason for this is that adrenaline makes you focus hard on threats and kind of cancels out irrelevant data. I want to point out visual description specifically as an area of concern though because for one thing, your field of view is going to be limited as you try to protect your head and face, you’re going to need to pay attention to your aggressor and anticipate their next move, and finally, if you get punched in the face or have anything come close to hitting you there you’re going to be blinded temporarily because you’ll instinctively shut your eyes. NO SCENERY! If your character’s getting pummeled in the face they’re probably not noticing the vicious gleam in their adversary’s eyes outside of a quick glimpse. Imagine the whole thing is being filmed through a panicking amateur’s shaky camera.

Hone in hard on your character’s body in your descriptions. They’re inhabiting their body in a super intense way and most of your description will probably lean toward the tactile. This not only includes the awareness of pain or of being hit, but also the movement and coordination of their muscles and how they are working together, their breathing, potentially exhaustion or fatigue. Martial arts allows you to experience how your body produces force—to percieve the flow of power through your entire torso that culminates in a punch. This feeling can add a lot to a description of a fight. A punch or a kick’s power doesn’t come from muscular strength of your limbs, but originates throughout your body and the ability to coordinate that and draw it together into a single hard point of power involves a lot of consciousness of your body, which also becomes second nature.

Almost the entirety of your character’s focus will be firmly in their body. They are perceiving their adversary’s movements, but that is sharply edged with their own reactions to them.

I feel like people often don’t realize how intense taking a hit in a fight can be. A punch to the face or head is blinding and dizzying; taking a hit to the temple will snap your head aside and put you completely out of it for a second. Descriptions of these things need to be very grounded and intense to feel right. Getting hit in the chest hard enough can knock the wind out of you. Getting hit in the gut WILL make you retch or throw up. A hard kick to the gut is like instant vomit. (There’s another post with really excellent descriptions about what certain blows feel like so I’ll leave this at that.)

Your character will perceive pain, both the force of the blow they take and a sense of the scale or breadth of the pain, but adrenaline will keep them going through it to a degree that isn’t possible when not pumped full of adrenaline. Your character will probably know that they’ve been injured (oh fuck, that was a nasty hit to the side) but AFTER the fight, expect the real pain to suddenly hit (oh fuck, there’s a giant bruise over my side and it’s aching so deep I can barely move).

Adrenaline makes you straight up loopy sometimes. Y’all know how much I hate anecdotal evidence, but one of my former instructors told a story about how he was mugged, got slammed against the sidewalk and briefly blacked out, fought back, and then just…decided to go to work. He thought he was fine. A few hours later, paramedics were asking him questions and he was completely incoherent. He had a severe concussion but the adrenaline rush had caused a delay in the damage really hitting, to the point that he was just like “heh, I can go straight to work, I’m fine!”

Some general facts:

A fight is probably going to be over pretty quickly: Movies are deceptive about this but it’s not super realistic to have two characters tangling with each other for like…ten minutes straight. You get tired. You get sloppy. And there’s only so much damage you can take.

Fancy kicks not recommended: They look nice on screen, sure. But having your leg above your waist for any length of time is one hell of a risk when your opponent can grab it and slam you to the floor like a sack of concrete mix. HOWEVER, kicks can be fight enders. A heel kick will break ribs easily.

Dirty fighting: This is the Kravist in me, but knees to the groin are valid and will completely immobilize a testicle-having attacker. Elbows are also highly destructive, but you tend not to see them in movie fights much. Biting is valid and bites can be very nasty. Gouging eyes is very effective. It’s also easier than you would think to rip the skin off someone’s face with your nails if you’re already going feral. A good punch to the throat might end a fight.

Blocking or dodging blows: Your character can deflect a punch or a knife attack to the upper body with forearms, and your arms will cushion a blow to the head as well. You can also duck your head around an attempted blow to the face. It’s important, though, to think of your two characters’ actions as interlocking rather than alternating—a character going in for a hit will at least briefly have one of their limbs extended instead of protecting the body, and the other character will be taking that opening. Have them dodge the blow and slide into their own opportunity in a single movement.

Shit Happens: A fight is not an equation where you plug in the size and weight of both adversaries and get the result. Again, this is the Kravist in me, but the only law is Murphy’s law. An attempt to land a blow can go sour and break somebody’s wrist. An attacker can trip and fall. Puddles and improvised weapons and getting blood or sweat in your eyes can all be wild cards. An experienced fighter can get fucked up by someone smaller and less experienced than they because of luck. That said, though, experience is what helps you adapt to the Murphy’s-law-ness of everything.

Yeah that’s what I’ve got, enjoy ur violence

123 Ideas for Character Flaws

Absent-minded - Preoccupied to the extent of being unaware of one’s immediate surroundings. Abstracted, daydreaming, inattentive, oblivious, forgetful.

Abusive - Characterized by improper infliction of physical or psychological maltreatment towards another.

Addict - One who is addicted to a compulsive activity. Examples: gambling, drugs, sex.

Aimless - Devoid of direction or purpose.

Alcoholic - A person who drinks alcoholic substances habitually and to excess.

Anxious - Full of mental distress or uneasiness because of fear of danger or misfortune; greatly worried; solicitous.

Arrogant - Having or displaying a sense of overbearing self-worth or self-importance. Inclined to social exclusiveness and who rebuff the advances of people considered inferior. Snobbish.

Audacious - Recklessly bold in defiance of convention, propriety, law, or the like; insolent; braze, disobedient.

Bad Habit - A revolting personal habit. Examples: picks nose, spits tobacco, drools, bad body odour.

Bigmouth - A loud-mouthed or gossipy person.

Bigot - One who is strongly partial to one’s own group, religion, race, or politics and is intolerant of those who differ.

Blunt - Characterized by directness in manner or speech; without subtlety or evasion. Frank, callous, insensitive, brusque.

Bold - In a bad sense, too forward; taking undue liberties; over assuming or confident; lacking proper modesty or restraint; rude; impudent. Abrupt, brazen, cheeky, brassy, audacious.

Callous - They are hardened to emotions, rarely showing any form of it in expression. Unfeeling. Cold.

Childish - Marked by or indicating a lack of maturity; puerile.

Complex - An exaggerated or obsessive concern or fear. (List specific complex.)

Cruel - Mean to anyone or anything, without care or regard to consequences and feelings.

Cursed - A person who has befallen a prayer for evil or misfortune, placed under a spell, or borne into an evil circumstance, and suffers for it. Damned.

Dependent - Unable to exist, sustain oneself, or act appropriately or normally without the assistance or direction of another.

Deranged - Mentally decayed. Insane. Crazy. Mad. Psychotic.

Dishonest – Given to or using fraud, cheating; deceitful, deceptive, crooked, underhanded.

Disloyal - Lacking loyalty. Unfaithful, perfidious, traitorous, treasonable

Disorder - An ailment that affects the function of mind or body. (List the disorders name if they have one.) See the Mental Disorder List.

Disturbed - Showing some or a few signs or symptoms of mental or emotional illness. Confused, disordered, neurotic, troubled.

Dubious - Fraught with uncertainty or doubt. Undecided, doubtful, unsure.

Dyslexic - Affected by dyslexia, a learning disorder marked by impairment of the ability to recognize and comprehend written words.

Egotistical - Characteristic of those having an inflated idea of their own importance. Boastful, pompous.

Envious - Showing extreme cupidity; painfully desirous of another’s advantages; covetous, jealous.

Erratic - Deviating from the customary course in conduct or opinion; eccentric: erratic behaviour. Eccentric, bizarre, outlandish, strange.

Fanatical - Fanatic outlook or behaviour especially as exhibited by excessive enthusiasm, unreasoning zeal, or wild and extravagant notions on some subject.

Fickle – Erratic, changeable, unstable - especially with regard to affections or attachments; capricious.

Fierce - Marked by extreme intensity of emotions or convictions; inclined to react violently; fervid.

Finicky - Excessively particular or fastidious; difficult to please; fussy. Too much concerned with detail. Meticulous, fastidious, choosy, critical, picky, prissy, pernickety.

Fixated - In psychoanalytic theory, a strong attachment to a person or thing, especially such an attachment formed in childhood or infancy and manifested in immature or neurotic behaviour that persists throughout life. Fetish, quirk, obsession, infatuation.

Flirt -To make playfully romantic or sexual overtures; behaviour intended to arouse sexual interest. Minx. Tease.

Gluttonous - Given to excess in consumption of especially food or drink. Voracious, ravenous, wolfish, piggish, insatiable.

Gruff - Brusque or stern in manner or appearance. Crusty, rough, surly.

Gullible - Will believe any information given, regardless of how valid or truthful it is, easily deceived or duped.

Hard - A person who is difficult to deal with, manage, control, overcome, or understand. Hard emotions, hard hearted.

Hedonistic - Pursuit of or devotion to pleasure, especially to the pleasures of the senses.

Hoity-toity- Given to flights of fancy; capricious; frivolous. Prone to giddy behaviour, flighty.

Humourless - The inability to find humour in things, and most certainly in themselves.

Hypocritical - One who is always contradicting their own beliefs, actions or sayings. A person who professes beliefs and opinions for others that he does not hold. Being a hypocrite.

Idealist - One whose conduct is influenced by ideals that often conflict with practical considerations. One who is unrealistic and impractical, guided more by ideals than by practical considerations.

Idiotic - Marked by a lack of intelligence or care; foolish or careless.

Ignorant - Lacking knowledge or information as to a particular subject or fact. Showing or arising from a lack of education or knowledge.

Illiterate - Unable to read and write.

Immature - Emotionally undeveloped; juvenile; childish.

Impatient - Unable to wait patiently or tolerate delay; restless. Unable to endure irritation or opposition; intolerant.

Impious - Lacking piety and reverence for a god/gods and their followers.

Impish - Naughtily or annoyingly playful.

Incompetent - Unable to execute tasks, no matter how the size or difficulty.

Indecisive - Characterized by lack of decision and firmness, especially under pressure.

Indifferent - The trait of lacking enthusiasm for or interest in things generally, remaining calm and seeming not to care; a casual lack of concern. Having or showing little or no interest in anything; languid; spiritless.

Infamy - Having an extremely bad reputation, public reproach, or strong condemnation as the result of a shameful, criminal, or outrageous act that affects how others view them.

Intolerant - Unwilling to tolerate difference of opinion and narrow-minded about cherished opinions.

Judgemental - Inclined to make and form judgements, especially moral or personal ones, based on one’s own opinions or impressions towards others/practices/groups/religions based on appearance, reputation, occupation, etc.

Klutz - Clumsy. Blunderer.

Lazy - Resistant to work or exertion; disposed to idleness.

Lewd - Inclined to, characterized by, or inciting to lust or lechery; lascivious. Obscene or indecent, as language or songs; salacious.

Liar - Compulsively and purposefully tells false truths more often than not. A person who has lied or who lies repeatedly.

Lustful - Driven by lust; preoccupied with or exhibiting lustful desires.

Masochist - The deriving of sexual gratification, or the tendency to derive sexual gratification, from being physically or emotionally abused. A willingness or tendency to subject oneself to unpleasant or trying experiences.

Meddlesome - Intrusive in a meddling or offensive manner, given to meddling; interfering.

Meek - Evidencing little spirit or courage; overly submissive or compliant; humble in spirit or manner; suggesting retiring mildness or even cowed submissiveness.

Megalomaniac - A psycho pathological condition characterized by delusional fantasies of wealth, power, or omnipotence.

Naïve - Lacking worldly experience and understanding, simple and guileless; showing or characterized by a lack of sophistication and critical judgement.

Nervous - Easily agitated or distressed; high-strung or jumpy.

Non-violent - Abstaining from the use of violence.

Nosey - Given to prying into the affairs of others; snoopy. Offensively curious or inquisitive.

Obsessive - An unhealthy and compulsive preoccupation with something or someone.

Oppressor - A person of authority who subjects others to undue pressures, to keep down by severe and unjust use of force or authority.

Overambitious - Having a strong excessive desire for success or achievement.

Overconfident - Excessively confident; presumptuous.

Overemotional - Excessively or abnormally emotional. Sensitive about themselves and others, more so than the average person.

Overprotective - To protect too much; coddle.

Overzealous - Marked by excessive enthusiasm for and intense devotion to a cause or idea.

Pacifist - Opposition to war or violence as a means of resolving disputes. (Can double as a merit in certain cases)

Paranoid - Exhibiting or characterized by extreme and irrational fear or distrust of others.

Peevish - Expressing fretfulness and discontent, or unjustifiable dissatisfaction. Cantankerous, cross, ill-tempered, testy, captious, discontented, crotchety, cranky, ornery.

Perfectionist - A propensity for being displeased with anything that is not perfect or does not meet extremely high standards.

Pessimist - A tendency to stress the negative or unfavourable or to take the gloomiest possible view.

Pest - One that pesters or annoys, with or without realizing it. Nuisance. Annoying. Nag.

Phobic – They have a severe form of fear when it comes to this one thing. Examples: Dark, Spiders, Cats

Practical - Level-headed, efficient, and unspeculative. No-nonsense.

Predictable - Easily seen through and assessable, where almost anyone can predict reactions and actions of said person by having met or known them even for a short time.

Proud - Filled with or showing excessive self-esteem and will often shirk help from others for the sake of pride.

Rebellious - Defying or resisting some established authority, government, or tradition; insubordinate; inclined to rebel.

Reckless - Heedless. Headstrong. Foolhardy. Unthinking boldness, wild carelessness and disregard for consequences.

Remorseless - Without remorse; merciless; pitiless; relentless.

Rigorous - Rigidly accurate; allowing no deviation from a standard; demanding strict attention to rules and procedures.

Sadist - The deriving of sexual gratification or the tendency to derive sexual gratification from inflicting pain or emotional abuse on others. Deriving of pleasure, or the tendency to derive pleasure, from cruelty.

Sadomasochist - Both sadist and masochist combined.

Sarcastic - A subtle form of mockery in which an intended meaning is conveyed obliquely.

Sceptic - One who instinctively or habitually doubts, questions, or disagrees with assertions or generally accepted conclusions.

Seducer - To lead others astray, as from duty, rectitude, or the like; corrupt. To attempt to lead or draw someone away, as from principles, faith, or allegiance.

Selfish - Concerned chiefly or only with oneself.

Self-Martyr - One who purposely makes a great show of suffering in order to arouse sympathy from others, as a form of manipulation, and always for a selfish cause or reason.

Self-righteous - Piously sure of one’s own righteousness; moralistic. Exhibiting pious self-assurance. Holier-than-thou, sanctimonious.

Senile - Showing a decline or deterioration of physical strength or mental functioning, esp. short-term memory and alertness, as a result of old age or disease.

Shallow - Lacking depth of intellect or knowledge; concerned only with what is obvious.

Smart Ass - Thinks they know it all, and in some ways they may, but they can be greatly annoying and difficult to deal with at times, especially in arguments.

Soft-hearted - Having softness or tenderness of heart that can lead them into trouble; susceptible of pity or other kindly affection. They cannot resist helping someone they see in trouble, suffering or in need, and often don’t think of the repercussions or situation before doing so.

Solemn - Deeply earnest, serious, and sober.

Spineless - Lacking courage. Cowardly, wimp, lily-livered, gutless.

Spiteful - Showing malicious ill will and a desire to hurt; motivated by spite; vindictive person who will look for occasions for resentment. Vengeful.

Spoiled - Treated with excessive indulgence and pampering from earliest childhood, and has no notion of hard work, self-care or money management; coddled, pampered. Having the character or disposition harmed by pampering or over-solicitous attention.

Squeamish - Excessively fastidious and easily disgusted.

Stubborn - Unreasonably, often perversely unyielding; bull-headed. Firmly resolved or determined; resolute.

Superstitious - An irrational belief arising from ignorance or fear from an irrational belief that an object, action, or circumstance not logically related to a course of events influences its outcome.

Tactless - Lacking or showing a lack of what is fitting and considerate in dealing with others.

Temperamental - Moody, irritable, or sensitive. Excitable, volatile, emotional.

Theatrical - Having a flair for over dramatizing situations, doing things in a ‘big way’ and love to be ‘centre stage’.

Timid -Tends to be shy and/or quiet, shrinking away from offering opinions or from strangers and newcomers, fearing confrontations and violence.

Tongue-tied - Speechless or confused in expression, as from shyness, embarrassment, or astonishment.

Troublemaker - Someone who deliberately stirs up trouble, intentionally or unintentionally.

Unlucky - Marked by or causing misfortune; ill-fated. Destined for misfortune; doomed.

Unpredictable - Difficult to foretell or foresee, their actions are so chaotic it’s impossible to know what they are going to do next.

Untrustworthy - Not worthy of trust or belief. Backstabber.

Vain - Holding or characterized by an unduly high opinion of their physical appearance. Lovers of themselves. Conceited, egotistic, narcissistic.

Weak-willed - Lacking willpower, strength of will to carry out one’s decisions, wishes, or plans. Easily swayed.

Withdrawn - Not friendly or Sociable. Aloof.

Zealous - A fanatic.

Alright.

Instead of whispered, consider:

murmured

mumbled

muttered

breathed

sighed

hissed

mouthed

uttered

intoned

susurrated

purred

said in an undertone

gasped

hinted

said low

said into someone’s ear

said softly

said under one’s breath

said in hushed tones

insinuated

Grammar Tip #8: Frequently Confused Words

Homophones are the most common spelling errors. Three mistakes I see constantly are who’s/whose, it’s/its, and let’s/lets, so here are some explanations.

Who’s is a contraction of who is/has/was, hence the apostrophe.

The man who’s (who is) singing has a good voice.

Whose is either an adjective or a pronoun.

Whose Line Is It Anyway?

It’s is a contraction of it is/was.

“It’s (it is) lovely to see you again.”

Its is the possessive form.

The dog wagged its tail.

Let’s is a contraction of let us.

“Let’s (let us) go for a walk.”

Lets is either a verb or a noun, though the latter is rare and a nonissue here.

He lets go of the dog’s leash.

In all these cases, try inserting the expanded contraction form into the sentence. If it clearly doesn’t work (Who Is Line Is It Anyway is nonsense), the form without the apostrophe is always the one you want to use.

Helpful things for action writers to remember

Sticking a landing will royally fuck up your joints and possibly shatter your ankles, depending on how high you’re jumping/falling from. There’s a very good reason free-runners dive and roll. 

Hand-to-hand fights usually only last a matter of seconds, sometimes a few minutes. It’s exhausting work and unless you have a lot of training and history with hand-to-hand combat, you’re going to tire out really fast. 

Arrows are very effective and you can’t just yank them out without doing a lot of damage. Most of the time the head of the arrow will break off inside the body if you try pulling it out, and arrows are built to pierce deep. An arrow wound demands medical attention. 

Throwing your opponent across the room is really not all that smart. You’re giving them the chance to get up and run away. Unless you’re trying to put distance between you so you can shoot them or something, don’t throw them. 

Everyone has something called a “flinch response” when they fight. This is pretty much the brain’s way of telling you “get the fuck out of here or we’re gonna die.” Experienced fighters have trained to suppress this. Think about how long your character has been fighting. A character in a fist fight for the first time is going to take a few hits before their survival instinct kicks in and they start hitting back. A character in a fist fight for the eighth time that week is going to respond a little differently. 

ADRENALINE WORKS AGAINST YOU WHEN YOU FIGHT. THIS IS IMPORTANT. A lot of times people think that adrenaline will kick in and give you some badass fighting skills, but it’s actually the opposite. Adrenaline is what tires you out in a battle and it also affects the fighter’s efficacy - meaning it makes them shaky and inaccurate, and overall they lose about 60% of their fighting skill because their brain is focusing on not dying. Adrenaline keeps you alive, it doesn’t give you the skill to pull off a perfect roundhouse kick to the opponent’s face. 

Swords WILL bend or break if you hit something hard enough. They also dull easily and take a lot of maintenance. In reality, someone who fights with a sword would have to have to repair or replace it constantly.

Fights get messy. There’s blood and sweat everywhere, and that will make it hard to hold your weapon or get a good grip on someone. 

A serious battle also smells horrible. There’s lots of sweat, but also the smell of urine and feces. After someone dies, their bowels and bladder empty. There might also be some questionable things on the ground which can be very psychologically traumatizing. Remember to think about all of the character’s senses when they’re in a fight. Everything WILL affect them in some way. 

If your sword is sharpened down to a fine edge, the rest of the blade can’t go through the cut you make. You’ll just end up putting a tiny, shallow scratch in the surface of whatever you strike, and you could probably break your sword. 

ARCHERS ARE STRONG TOO. Have you ever drawn a bow? It takes a lot of strength, especially when you’re shooting a bow with a higher draw weight. Draw weight basically means “the amount of force you have to use to pull this sucker back enough to fire it.” To give you an idea of how that works, here’s a helpful link to tell you about finding bow sizes and draw weights for your characters.  (CLICK ME)

If an archer has to use a bow they’re not used to, it will probably throw them off a little until they’ve done a few practice shots with it and figured out its draw weight and stability. 

People bleed. If they get punched in the face, they’ll probably get a bloody nose. If they get stabbed or cut somehow, they’ll bleed accordingly. And if they’ve been fighting for a while, they’ve got a LOT of blood rushing around to provide them with oxygen. They’re going to bleed a lot. 

Here’s a link to a chart to show you how much blood a person can lose without dying. (CLICK ME) 

If you want a more in-depth medical chart, try this one. (CLICK ME)

Hopefully this helps someone out there. If you reblog, feel free to add more tips for writers or correct anything I’ve gotten wrong here. 

WHAT DEVELOPS THE STORY WORLD?

1. TRAVEL – journeying from one location to another not only gives you opportunities to describe different places, it also allows you to develop:

Relative distances

Relative locations

Roads or ways

Modes of transport

Methods of navigation

The status of travellers/foreigners

The state of the home world

2. VIEWPOINTS – using a variety of different characters as lenses through which to view the world helps you develop greater depth and breadth.

3. GROUPS vs. INDIVIDUALS – cultures are created by the interaction between groups and individuals. Although dealing with larger groups of characters may lead you to make generalisations, it’s helpful for developing the “big picture” and contrasting it to the private and specific.

4. INTERNAL vs. EXTERNAL – the counterchange between the character’s internal and external worlds, and how the perception of one influences the other (for example, through symbols, metaphors, projection, manifestation, and bias) is a rich vein of material for developing your story world.

5. HOME – a character’s home or “ordinary world” is often an essential component of the story world, allowing you to create contrast and determine the character’s (and reader’s) perception of new cultures. And of course, it makes the return journey possible.

6. REVISITING – if you’ve never studied the worldbuilding of your favourite novels, you might be surprised to find how often characters revisit locations. This kind of repetition really cements the importance of a particular place in the character’s life.

7. TIME – placing the world in a timeline has many uses:

Develop history

Emphasise mortality

Describe (degenerative or regenerative) cycles

Show repetition

Show how things are forgotten or lost

Describe slower, long-term change

Give events varying degrees of temporal (and narrative) weight

15 Awesome Words That You Should Include in Your Writing:

41 Emotions as Expressed through Body Language

Found Here x

41 Emotions as Expressed through Body Language Unique 

This list, while exhausting, is soooo not exhaustive; it barely scratches the surface. And each entry could easily become cliché (if it isn’t already). But, it should be enough to get you started. Want more? Start watching people (not in a creepy way), and take notes of what they seem to do when expressing different emotions. Your repertoire of expression will double in no time. PS—do not use these for actual, real-life body language reading; you will fail. These are strictly novelistic.

Awed  -Slack -jawed, raised eyebrows, staring  -Frozen, slack body language (Self? What self? There is only Zuul.)  -Take a step back and put a hand to his heart

Amused  -Smiling and throwing back her head laughing  -Slapping her thighs, stamping her feet, clapping her hands  -Shaking her head (That’s so wrong!)

Angry/Aggressive  -Sharp movements, like shaking a fist, pointing, slashing, or slamming a fist on a table  -Flushed face, patchy red blotches  -Tension in neck—chords standing out, veins throbbing—and jutting or tucked chin  -Arms akimbo, or clenching fists  -Entering someone else’s space and forcing them out  -Poofing up with a wide stance (I am big! Very big!), arms wide (Bring it!)  -Lowered eyebrows, squinting eyes  -Teeth bared, jaw clenched, snarling

Annoyed  -Pressing lips together into a thin line  -Narrowing eyes sometimes with slight head tilt (Why do you still exist?)  -Rolling eyes, often paired with a long-suffering sigh

Anxious  -Fidgeting, such as tearing grass into little pieces, playing with a ring, or chewing on a pencil  -Biting lower lip, swallowing unnecessarily  -Quickened breathing or holding breath  -Darting eyes  -Pallor, sweating, clammy palms  -Unusually high-pitched, “nervous” laughter  -Hunched shoulders  -Pacing

Attentive  -Slow head nodding with a furrowed brow  -Leaning forward, toward the speaker, and sitting up  -Taking notes  -Looking over the top of her glasses

Bored  -Resting his head on his palm, peeking out between the fingers, maybe even slipping so his head “accidentally” hits the table  -Tapping toes, twirling pencil, doodling, and otherwise fidgeting  -Staring out a window, or at anything remotely more interesting (Which is everything …)

Confident  -Arms clasped behind body  -Head lifted, chest out, standing tall  -Walking briskly and making firm, precise movements

Confused  -Tilting head with narrowed eyes  -A furrowed brow  -Shrugging

Contempt/Superiority  -Lifted chin (The better to look down the nose.)  -Pursed lips, sneering, slight frown  -Circling a shoulder, stretching her neck, turning away—anything to indicate she doesn’t see the person as a threat or worthy of her attention  -Grabbing her lapels, or tucking her thumbs in her waistcoat (See this clothing? It is much nicer than yours.)  -Dismissive hand-waving

Cynical/Sarcastic/Bitter  -Twisted lips or a half-smile  -Sneering, sometimes with shaking the head and other defensive body language  -Pressed lips with a slight frown  -Eye rolling

Defensive  -Crossed arms, legs, crossed anything, really (Well, maybe not fingers … or eyes …)  -Arms out, palms forward (Stop!)  -Placing anything (sword, shield, book, backpack) in front of her body

Disgusted  -Crinkling his nose  -Curling his lip and/or showing the tip of his tongue briefly  -Flinching back and interposing a shoulder or turning away  -Covering his nose, gagging, and squinting his eyes shut—hard—for a moment. (It assaults all the senses.)

Displeased  -A plastered-on fake smile (You suck; but I can’t tell you that. So here: a fake smile! Enjoy.)  -Pouting or frowning (I’ll cry if you don’t give me what I want—don’t test me, I will!)  -Crossed arms and other defensive/frustrated body language (I will not let that terrible idea influence me!)

Distressed  -Wide eyes and shallow, rapid breathing  -Beating the walls, or huddling into a corner  -Clasping hands over his head protectively  -Rocking himself  -Handwringing  -Running his hands through his hair

Earnest/Passionate  -Leaning forward, nodding, wide eyes with strong eye contact and raised eyebrows  -Hand on heart, or presented palms-up, or otherwise visible  -A double-handed handshake (I really want to make sure you understand me!)

Embarrassment  -Blushing  -Stammering  -Covering her face with her hands or bowing her head (I’m so embarrassed, I can’t look!)  -Difficulty maintaining eye contact, looking down and away

Excited/Anticipation  -Rubbing hands together (I can’t wait to get my hands on it!)  -Licking lips (It’s so close I can taste it!)  -A vigorous, pumping handshake (I can’t wait to get started!)  -Jumping up and down (Look at me being literal here! I am jumping for joy.)  -A wide and easy grin

Flirty  -Eye play, like winking, looking up through the lashes, over the shoulder glances, and eye catching   -Preening, like hair flipping or smooth, clothing straightening, spine straightening, etc.  -Striking a cowboy pose, with his thumbs gripping his belt tight

Frustrated  -Shaking his head (You are so wrong!)  -Massaging temples (My brain—it hurts.)  -Clasping his wrist in his opposite hand, behind his back (Bad arm! No biscuit.)  -Running his hands through his hair (All this frustration is making my hair mussy. I can feel it.)  -Grabbing onto something like armrests, or white-knuckled interdigitation (Restrain yourself!)

Happy  -Smiling and laughing  -Eyes and nose crinkling  -Swinging her arms, spinning loosely, dancing, jumping

Impatience  -Quick head nodding (Get on with it!)  -Toe/finger tapping (Hear this? These are seconds. Wasted. Listening to you.)  -Sighing, checking the clock/sundial/freckles (Time. It is moving so slowly.)

Jealous  -Tight lips, or a sour expression  -Narrow eyes locked on the perpetrator, to the point of a stare down  -Crossed arms, and additional frustrated, angry, possessive, or bitter body language

Lying  -Scratching their nose, ear, neck, miscellaneous part of face  -Sudden change in behavior or demeanor, including shifty eye contact, lots of long blinking, shrugging -Ill-timed smiles or laughter (This is how I normally smile, right? Right???)  -Additional anxiety body language  -Shaking head no while saying “yes” (I can’t believe I just lied.)  -Licking lips, covering mouth, touching mouth, etc.

Overwhelmed  -Both palms to forehead, fingers splayed (This gives me a headache.)  -Covering eyes with one hand (If I can’t see the world, it can’t see me …)  -Eyes wide and staring into space, hands gripping the table in front of her (… Woah.)

Playful/Friendly  -Winking  -Waggling eyebrows  -Tiny shoves or nudge

Pleasure  -Head tilted back, lips parted slightly, eyes wide or closed  -Slow, languorous movements, stretching (such as arching her neck or back)  -Slight flush, quickened breath and pulse

Possessive  -Handshake with arm clasp  -Putting hands on or around someone’s shoulders, neck, waist, back, or even just the wall near them  -Standing in someone’s personal space, body positioned toward that person  -Any one-sided act of intimacy, like running a knuckle down someone’s cheek  -Staring down any who get too close

Proud/Dominant  -Chin up, chest out, shoulders back  -A painfully hard handshake that not only squishes the bones, but also forces his hand on top  -Leaning back with his hands behind his head, and his feet up  -Strong, unblinking, focused eye contact

Reluctance/Resistance  -Arms crossed, sometimes with fists (Not happening.)  -Dragging feet (But I don’t wanna!)  -Pinching nose (You want me to do what now?)  -Clamping hands over ears (La la la la!)

Sad/Upset  -Droopy body (and anything held, like a sword), bowed in shoulders, wrapping arms around self  -Slow movements with hesitation  -Bottom lip jutting out and/or quivering  -Crying, sobbing, body shaking, sniffling, wet eyes

Secretive  -A tight-lipped smile (My lips are zipped.)  -Hiding her hands in her pockets (What has it got in its nasty little pocket?)  -Looking away

Scared  -Hunched shoulders, shrinking back from others (Don’t hurt me!)  -Wide eyes and lifted eyebrows (The better to see them coming.)  -Shaking, trembling, or freezing  -Rocking from side to side, sometimes holding self (It’ll all be okay, self, it’ll all be okay.)

Shame  -Slumped shoulders (Don’t look at me.)  -Trouble meeting your gaze, looking down and away  -Burying her face in her hands or bowing her head (I can’t face the world right now.)

Shocked  -Hands covering her mouth, or mouth hanging open, sometimes with a gasp (If I had words, I would be saying them.) -Freezing and staring with wide eyes and eyebrows raised (Diverting all resources toward staring.)  -Smacking a palm into his forehead (Clearly, my head isn’t working right, or I wouldn’t have seen that)

Shy  -Avoids eye contact, or has only fleeting eye contact (Eye contact means you might speak to me.)  -Keeps a fair distance from everyone, and will back away if someone steps closer (Space invaders!)  -Folded arms, head down, and other defensive body language (If I make myself small, they can’t see me.)

Smug  -Slight, close-lipped smile (occasionally one-sided) and sometimes one raised eyebrow (I know something you don’t know.)  -Chin slightly tucked, Mona Lisa smile, raised eyebrows (I know better.)  -Finger steepling (I am so smaaaht.)

Suspicious/Skeptical/Disbelief  -Narrowed eyes, sometimes with a sidelong glance or raised eyebrow (Perhaps if I look at it out of the corner of my eye, I will catch it unawares.)  -Rubbing his eyes (I can’t believe what I’m metaphorically or literally seeing!)  -Shaking his head (I—I don’t believe it.)  -Blowing out cheeks (Well , I don’t know …)

Tired  -Rubbing his eyes, eyes staring into space, raised eyebrows (Raising my eyebrows helps keep my eyes open.)  -Yawning and/or stretching (I am tired—see? Tired! Too tired to care!)  -Almost nodding off and jerking awake (Cannot. Stay. Awa—snnnnurzzzz.)  -Gritting teeth to stay awake (Cannot—yawn—dang it!)

Thoughtfulness/Thinking  -Steepling fingers (I will think better if I center myself and focus.)  -Pinching nose, sometimes with closed eyes (Focus, focus—I just need to focus.)  -Tugging on an ear (This will help me remember!)  -Stroking a real or imaginary beard (People with beards look smart.)  -Furrowed brow, narrowed eyes, sometimes tilted head and pressing lips together (I can’t see it—I will try harder!)  -Resting his chin on his hand (Thinking makes my head heavy.)

Triumphant  -Hands clenched and held above head while grimacing (She is invincible!)  -Head tilted back with a yell (She is fierce!)  -Arm pumping in the air, jumping (Woohoo!)

Advanced English Vocabulary

jubilant (adj.) - extremely joyful, happy (The crowd was jubilant when the firefighter carried the woman from the flaming building.)

knell (n.) - the solemn sound of a bell, often indicating a death (Echoing throughout our village, the funeral knell made the grey day even more grim.)

lithe (adj.) - graceful, flexible, supple (Although the dancers were all outstanding, Joanna’s control of her lithe body was particularly impressive.)

lurid (adj.) - ghastly, sensational (Barry’s story, in which he described a character torturing his neighbour’s tortoise, was judged too lurid to be published on the English Library’s website.)

maverick (n.) - an independent, nonconformist person (John is a real maverick and always does things his own way.)

maxim (n.) - a common saying expressing a principle of conduct (Ms. Stone’s etiquette maxims are both entertaining and instructional.)

meticulous (adj.) - extremely careful with details (The ornate needlework in the bride’s gown was a product of meticulous handiwork.)

modicum (n.) - a small amount of something (Refusing to display even a modicum of sensitivity, Magda announced her boss’s affair to the entire office.)

morose (adj.) - gloomy or sullen (David’s morose nature made him very unpleasant to talk to.)

myriad (adj.) - consisting of a very great number (It was difficult to decide what to do on Saturday night because the city presented us with myriad possibilities for fun.)

nadir (n.) - the lowest point of something (My day was boring, but the nadir came when my new car was stolen.)

nominal (adj.) - trifling, insignificant (Because he was moving the following week and needed to get rid of his furniture more than he needed money, Kim sold everything for anominal price.)

novice (n.) - a beginner, someone without training or experience (Because we were allnovices at archery, our instructor decided to begin with the basics

nuance (n.) - a slight variation in meaning, tone, expression (The nuances of the poem were not obvious to the casual reader, but the teacher was able to point them out.)

oblivious (adj.) - lacking consciousness or awareness of something (Oblivious to the burning smell emanating from the kitchen, my father did not notice that the rolls in the oven were burned until much too late.)

obsequious (adj.) - excessively compliant or submissive (Donald acted like Susan’s servant, obeying her every request in an obsequious manner.)

obtuse (adj.) - lacking quickness of sensibility or intellect (Political opponents warned that the prime minister’s obtuse approach to foreign policy would embroil the nation in mindless war.)

panacea (n.) - a remedy for all ills or difficulties (Doctors wish there was a single panacea for every disease, but sadly there is not.)

parody (n.) - a satirical imitation (A hush fell over the classroom when the teacher returned to find Magdalena acting out a parody of his teaching style.)

penchant (n.) - a tendency, partiality, preference (Fiona’s dinner parties quickly became monotonous on account of her penchant for Indian dishes.)

perusal (n.) - a careful examination, review (The actor agreed to accept the role after a three-month perusal of the movie script.)

plethora (n.) - an abundance, excess (The wedding banquet included a plethora of oysters piled almost three feet high.)

predilection  (n.) - a preference or inclination for something (James has a predilection for eating toad in the whole with tomato ketchup.)

quaint (adj.) - charmingly old-fashioned (Mary was delighted by the quaint bonnets she saw in Romania.)

rash (adj.) - hasty, incautious (It’s best to think things over calmly and thoroughly, rather than make rash decisions.)

refurbish (v.) - to restore, clean up (After being refurbished the old Triumph motorcycle commanded the handsome price of $6000.)

repudiate (v.) - to reject, refuse to accept (Tom made a strong case for an extension of his curfew, but his mother repudiated it with a few biting words.)

rife (adj.) - abundant (Surprisingly, the teacher’s writing was rife with spelling errors.)

salient (adj.) - significant, conspicuous (One of the salient differences between Alison and Helen is that Alison is a couple of kilos heavier.)

serendipity (n.) - luck, finding good things without looking for them (In an amazing bit of serendipity, penniless Mark found a $50 bill on the back seat of the bus.)

staid (adj.) - sedate, serious, self-restrained (The staid butler never changed his expression no matter what happened.)

superfluous (adj.) - exceeding what is necessary (Samantha had already won the campaign so her constant flattery of others was superfluous.)

sycophant (n.) - one who flatters for self-gain (Some see the people in the cabinet as the Prime Minister’s closest advisors, but others see them as sycophants.)

taciturn (adj.) - not inclined to talk (Though Magda never seems to stop talking, her brother is quite taciturn.)

truculent (adj.) - ready to fight, cruel (This club doesn’t really attract the dangerous types, so why was that bouncer being so truculent?)

umbrage (n.) - resentment, offence (He called me a lily-livered coward, and I took umbrage at the insult.)

venerable (adj.) - deserving of respect because of age or achievement (The venerable High Court judge had made several key rulings in landmark cases throughout the years.)

vex (v.) - to confuse or annoy (My boyfriend vexes me by pinching my bottom for hours on end.)

vociferous (adj.) - loud, boisterous (I’m tired of his vociferous whining so I’m breaking up with him.)

wanton (adj.) - undisciplined, lewd, lustful (Joanna’s wanton demeanor often made the frat guys next door very excited.)

zenith (n.) - the highest point, culminating point (I was too nice to tell Emily that she had reached the absolute zenith of her career with that one top 10 hit of hers.)

Words to replace said, except this actually helps

I got pretty fed up with looking for words to replace said because they weren’t sorted in a way I could easily use/find them for the right time. So I did some myself.

IN RESPONSE TO Acknowledged Answered Protested

INPUT/JOIN CONVERSATION/ASK Added Implored Inquired Insisted Proposed Queried Questioned Recommended Testified

GUILTY/RELUCTANCE/SORRY Admitted Apologized Conceded Confessed Professed

FOR SOMEONE ELSE Advised Criticized Suggested

JUST CHECKING Affirmed Agreed Alleged Confirmed

LOUD Announced Chanted Crowed

LEWD/CUTE/SECRET SPY FEEL Appealed Disclosed Moaned

ANGRY FUCK OFF MATE WANNA FIGHT Argued Barked Challenged Cursed Fumed Growled Hissed Roared Swore

SMARTASS Articulated Asserted Assured Avowed Claimed Commanded Cross-examined Demanded Digressed Directed Foretold Instructed Interrupted Predicted Proclaimed Quoted Theorized

ASSHOLE Bellowed Boasted Bragged

NERVOUS TRAINWRECK Babbled Bawled Mumbled Sputtered Stammered Stuttered

SUAVE MOTHERFUCKER Bargained Divulged Disclosed Exhorted

FIRST OFF Began

LASTLY Concluded Concurred

WEAK PUSY Begged Blurted Complained Cried Faltered Fretted

HAPPY/LOL Cajoled Exclaimed Gushed Jested Joked Laughed

WEIRDLY HAPPY/EXCITED Extolled Jabbered Raved

BRUH, CHILL Cautioned Warned

ACTUALLY, YOU’RE WRONG Chided Contended Corrected Countered Debated Elaborated Objected Ranted Retorted

CHILL SAVAGE Commented Continued Observed Surmised

LISTEN BUDDY Enunciated Explained Elaborated Hinted Implied Lectured Reiterated Recited Reminded Stressed

BRUH I NEED U AND U NEED ME Confided Offered Urged

FINE Consented Decided

TOO EMO FULL OF EMOTIONS Croaked Lamented Pledged Sobbed Sympathized Wailed Whimpered

JUST SAYING Declared Decreed Mentioned Noted Pointed out Postulated Speculated Stated Told Vouched

WASN’T ME Denied Lied

EVIL SMARTASS Dictated Equivocated Ordered Reprimanded Threatened

BORED Droned Sighed

SHHHH IT’S QUIET TIME Echoed Mumbled Murmured Muttered Uttered Whispered

DRAMA QUEEN Exaggerated Panted Pleaded Prayed Preached

OH SHIT Gasped Marveled Screamed Screeched Shouted Shrieked Yelped Yelled

ANNOYED Grumbled Grunted Jeered Quipped Scolded Snapped Snarled Sneered

ANNOYING Nagged

I DON’T REALLY CARE BUT WHATEVER Guessed Ventured

I’M DRUNK OR JUST BEING WEIRDLY EXPRESSIVE FOR A POINT/SARCASM Hooted Howled Yowled

I WONDER Pondered Voiced Wondered

OH, YEAH, WHOOPS Recalled Recited Remembered

SURPRISE BITCH Revealed

IT SEEMS FAKE BUT OKAY/HA ACTUALLY FUNNY BUT I DON’T WANT TO LAUGH OUT LOUD Scoffed Snickered Snorted

BITCHY Tattled Taunted Teased

here are some traits you can give your characters to make them ‘dark and edgy’ without making them racist/homophobic/transphobic/islamophobic/etc.

abrasive, arrogant, cantankerous, careless, conceited, crass, deceitful, destructive, devious, dishonest, dogmatic, egocentric, fraudulent, greedy, hostile, inconsiderate, irascible, malicious, manipulative, mannerless, misguided, monstrous, obsessive, outrageous, possessive, power-hungry, sadistic, selfish, sordid, tactless, treacherous, unappreciative, unfriendly, venomous, etc. 

How to write a kiss

Rebloggable version, as requested by davrosbro. :)

Oooh!  Yes!  I love kisses.  Kisses are where it all starts ;).

Okay, first, remember that a kiss is much, much more than just lips.  It is lips, but also tongues, teeth, eyes, faces, hands, noses, bodies, heartbeats,  breath, voice- and most importantly, a kiss is emotions.  A kiss without emotion is just wet mushy lips stuck together.  Ew.  Gross.  The most important part of a kiss isn’t the how, but the who- because of the emotions between the two people.

Okay so:

lips- Lips can slide, glide over each other smoothly, or they can be chapped and rough and dry and get stuck on each other.  They can match, top-to-top and bottom-to-bottom, or they can overlap, with one person’s top or bottom lip captured between the other person’s lips (yummy).  If there is lipstick or chapstick there is lipstick or chapstick flavor, otherwise, lips don’t have a taste (can you taste yours?).  Lips also can smack- the sound of two of them coming together or pulling apart, because they’re wet and warm and soft.

tongue- Tongues are always wet, and always warm.  They’re very versatile.  They can trace over lips, teeth, or another tongue.  They can be smooth and graceful or teasing and flicking.  When tongues are involved, there is drool.  It’s only sexy when you like the person you’re kissing, or else it’s kinda gross. :P

teeth- teeth can clack together awkwardly, or teeth can bite down sensually.  A person biting their own lip is cute, a person biting another’s lips is sexy.  A person biting gently is sensual, a person biting roughly is sexual.

eyes- Eyes can be wide open with surprise, half-lidded with desire, fully closed with pleasure.  Eyes can gaze lovingly, lustfully, wistfully, hungrily, seductively- it all depends upon the emotions of your characters.  Have them do whatever you like, but don’t leave them out- give them at least a mention!

faces- Faces are what the lips are attached to.  Noses bump, cheeks flush, ears turn red, foreheads either wrinkle or relax.  Kisses can leave lips, quite easily, and become kisses on chins, cheeks, noses, foreheads, ears, necks, throats.  Kisses on noses or foreheads are cute and adorable, kisses on cheeks are sweet, kisses on chins, ears, and throats are very sexual.  And a kiss on the lips can be all of those! <3

hands- Hands are super-important.  In order to describe a kiss, usually you want to also describe the hands.  Where are they?  Does one character have their hand behind the other’s head or back, holding them close?  Are they on someone’s shoulders pulling them near, or pushing them away?  Fingers brushing someone’s cheek or palms grabbing someone’s ass convey two very different kinds of situations, even if the kiss itself is exactly the same.

noses- Noses are annoying.  They easily get in the way, especially for first kisses!  People have to tilt their head to one side or the other, and if they don’t, noses bump.  I’d only mention noses if a kiss is supposed to be awkward or uncertain or nervous.

bodies- bodies are either close together, or far away.  Someone can be surrounded comfortingly by someone’s arms, or terrifyingly trapped by them.  Bodies are warm or hot, they are calm or nervous, relaxed or tense.  Body language says a lot.  Is your character pulling away, or moving closer?

heartbeat- Hearts can beat fast or slow, and that’s about all they can do- but there are lots of reasons why they do!  A heart can beat fast with fear or excitement or nervousness; a heart can pound with lust or race with terror or sing with joy.  Hearts can glow, cower, or shatter.  When you really want to drive the emotions of a character home, mention the heart.

breath- To me, the most consuming part of a kiss is the breath.  The air that someone else has just breathed going deep into your lungs is very intimate.  Lips and tongues don’t have a taste, but breath does.  Each person’s breath tastes different, smells different, and surrounds a person differently than anyone else’s breath.  Breath can be warm and sweet, breath can be hot and sexy, breath can be hot and frightening.  It is something that is very present and should not be left out.  A lot of writers leave breath out.  And it’s so important; it’s the most intimate part of a kiss.  Someone else is breathing into your lungs, and it’s either heaven or it’s hell.

voice- Voice conveys much, even without words.  A voice can groan, whimper, gasp, moan, catch, whine, scream, sigh.  Voice can convey emotion powerfully, and while some kisses are silent, usually they’re not.

emotion-  Emotion is the most important- and the thing you try not to say.  You want to describe it, through all of the things above, so that it’s perfectly clear what your characters are feeling, without you ever using the “feelings words”.  If they’re in love, their bodies will lean close, their eyes will smile, their voices will giggle softly.  If they’re nervous, their palms will sweat, their noses will bump, their voices will shudder.  If they’re afraid, their muscles will be tense, their faces will grimace, their lips will not open.  Emotion is the color that you keep inside your mind as you write; it’s the base line that drives the description behind everything else you say.

Wow, that was a lot!  Gosh I hope it wasn’t too much!  Keep in mind not every kiss has all these things- this is just a list of things to consider when writing a kiss, and based on how long of a kiss you want to make.  Keep in mind that typing “they kissed for a long time”…that’s six words, it takes half a second to read, so that’s a short kiss!  If you want a long kiss, you need long sentences that make the reader linger.

So maybe to start off, pick three things on the list to describe in your first kiss.  Don’t try to do it all- that would be too much for even the most epic kiss.  Just pick what’s most important to this particular scene, to these particular characters, and describe those parts along with the lips, and you’ve got yourself an awesome, emotional kiss. <3

Identifying Harmful Repetition in Your Writing

Something I’ve encountered ad nauseam over the last few projects I’ve edited is a relentless repetition of words, phrases, and ideas. One of the most frustrating and confidence-destroying issues a reader can encounter is poorly executed repetition, which can stem from different problems, including:

Too much reliance on your natural stock phrases.

Limited vocabulary.

Not proofreading close enough or editing thoroughly enough.

Lack of confidence.

Not writing with the reader in mind.

I want to preface this with the fact that obviously certain types of repetition aren’t bad. Repetition is an incredibly powerful tool when used effectively, and what’s effective is subjective per book and per reader. That’s a massive topic for another time. This post is specifically about egregious uses of repetition, the types that any good editor or beta reader will point out as in need of fixing.

Keep reading

Synonyms For Very

This masterlist is a masterlist of words that you may use alongside the word very, very being one of the most common words that are used when writing. I hope this helps you as much as it helps me in our writing seem more sophisticated and unique. 

A:

Very accurate - exact Very afraid - fearful Very angry - furious Very annoying - exasperating

B:

Very bad - atrocious Very beautiful - exquisite Very big - immense Very boring - dull Very bright - luminous Very busy - swamped

C:

Very calm - serene Very careful - cautious Very cheap - stingy Very clean - spotless Very clear - obvious Very clever - intelligent Very cold - freezing Very colourful - vibrant Very competitive - cutthroat Very complete - comprehensive Very confused - perplexed Very conventional - conservative Very creative - innovative Very crowded - bustling Very cute - adorable

D:

Very dangerous - perilous Very dear - cherished Very deep - profound Very depressed - despondent Very detailed - meticulous Very different - disparate Very difficult - arduous Very dirty - filthy Very dry - arid Very dull - tedious

E:

Very eager - keen Very easy - effortless Very empty - desolate Very excited - thrilled Very exciting - exhilarating Very expensive - costly

F:

Very fancy - lavish Very fast - swift Very fat - obese Very friendly - amiable Very frightened - alarmed Very frightening - terrifying Very funny - hilarious

G:

Very glad - overjoyed Very good - excellent Very great - terrific

H:

Very happy - ecstatic Very hard - difficult Very hard-to-find - rare Very heavy - leaden Very high - soaring Very hot - sweltering Very huge - colossal Very hungry - ravenous Very hurt - battered

I:

Very important - crucial Very intelligent - brilliant Very interesting - captivating

J:

K:

L:

Very large - huge Very lazy - indolent Very little - tiny Very lively - vivacious Very long - extensive Very long-term - enduring Very loose - slack Very loud - thunderous Very loved - adored

M:

Very mean - cruel Very messy - slovenly

N:

Very neat - immaculate Very necessary - essential Very nervous - apprehensive Very nice - kind Very noisy - deafening

O:

Very often - frequently Very old - ancient Very old-fashioned - archaic Very open - transparent

P:

Very painful - excruciating Very pale - ashen Very perfect - flawless Very poor - destitute Very powerful - compelling Very pretty - beautiful

Q:

Very quick - rapid Very quiet - hushed

R:

Very rainy - pouring Very rich - wealthy

S:

Very sad - sorrowful Very scared - petrified Very scary - chilling Very serious - grave Very sharp - keen Very shiny - gleaming Very short - brief Very shy - timid Very simple - basic Very skinny - skeletal Very slow - sluggish Very small - petite Very smart - intelligent Very smelly - pungent Very smooth - sleek Very soft - downy Very sorry - apologetic Very special - exceptional Very strong - forceful Very stupid - idiotic Very sure - certain Very sweet - thoughtful

T:

Very talented - gifted Very tall - towering Very tasty - delicious Very thirsty - parched Very tight - constricting Very tiny - minuscule Very tired - exhausted

U:

Very ugly - hideous Very unhappy - miserable Very upset - distraught

V:

W:

Very warm - hot Very weak - frail Very well-to-do - wealthy Very wet - soaked Very wide - expansive Very willing - eager Very windy - blustery Very wise - sage Very worried - distressed

X:

Y:

Z:

A/N: If you know of anymore words I can add please message me.