crow twenty-five. she/him. hi there! this blog is run by an oft confused young adult. consider it a home for writing and art.
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the woman who holds the moon
prints available here. my cover for this month's issue of baffling magazine.
“how did you get into writing” girl nobody gets into writing. writing shows up one day at your door and gets into you
Tips for writing those gala scenes, from someone who goes to them occasionally:
Generally you unbutton and re-button a suit coat when you sit down and stand up.
You’re supposed to hold wine or champagne glasses by the stem to avoid warming up the liquid inside. A character out of their depth might hold the glass around the sides instead.
When rich/important people forget your name and they’re drunk, they usually just tell you that they don’t remember or completely skip over any opportunity to use your name so they don’t look silly.
A good way to indicate you don’t want to shake someone’s hand at an event is to hold a drink in your right hand (and if you’re a woman, a purse in the other so you definitely can’t shift the glass to another hand and then shake)
Americans who still kiss cheeks as a welcome generally don’t press lips to cheeks, it’s more of a touch of cheek to cheek or even a hover (these days, mostly to avoid smudging a woman’s makeup)
The distinctions between dress codes (black tie, cocktail, etc) are very intricate but obvious to those who know how to look. If you wear a short skirt to a black tie event for example, people would clock that instantly even if the dress itself was very formal. Same thing goes for certain articles of men’s clothing.
Open bars / cash bars at events usually carry limited options. They’re meant to serve lots of people very quickly, so nobody is getting a cosmo or a Manhattan etc.
Members of the press generally aren’t allowed to freely circulate at nicer galas/events without a very good reason. When they do, they need to identify themselves before talking with someone.
Not all consequences in storytelling must be negative
A consequence is simply something that happens because of an action or event.
So long as an action or event means something within the story, then there is no reason a consequence can’t be something good for your characters. As much as it can be tempting, we don't always need to torture them.
dykes of all body types i love you i love you i love you ESPECIALLY dykes of color. You Are The World
Every word written is a victory. No matter how shitty. No matter how painful to write. No matter if you immediately deleted them, or if you know you will delete them later.
If you wrote - if you tried - I'm proud of you.
Body language cues for a few emotions
Happiness:
Smiling genuinely, with crinkles around the eyes.
Open body posture, with relaxed arms and shoulders.
Leaning forward slightly towards the person or object of interest.
Making eye contact with a warm and engaged expression.
Anger:
Tightened jaw and clenched fists.
Furrowed brows and narrowed eyes.
Standing or sitting with a rigid and tense posture.
Pointing fingers or aggressive gestures.
Raised voice or speaking through gritted teeth.
Sadness:
Downcast eyes and a drooping posture.
Slumped shoulders and shallow breathing.
Avoiding eye contact and withdrawing from social interaction.
Sighing or a subdued tone of voice.
Tearfulness, with watery or red eyes.
Fear:
Widened eyes with dilated pupils.
Raised eyebrows and a tense facial expression.
Frozen or rigid body posture.
Backing away or seeking physical distance from the perceived threat.
Trembling or shaking, especially in the hands or legs.
Surprise:
Raised eyebrows and widened eyes.
Mouth slightly agape or forming an "O" shape.
Leaning forward or recoiling backward in response to the surprise.
Quick inhalation or gasp of breath.
Rapid blinking or blinking more than usual.
Disgust:
Curling the upper lip or wrinkling the nose.
Narrowing the eyes and raising the upper eyelids.
Turning the head away or physically distancing oneself from the source of disgust.
Covering the mouth or nose with the hand or a tissue.
Expressing verbal disgust through phrases like "ew" or "yuck."
These are just some examples, and individuals may display variations in their body language based on their personality, cultural background, and the specific context of the situation.
How to show emotions
Part V
How to show grief
a vacant look
slack facial expressions
shaky hands
trembling lips
swallowing
struggling to breathe
tears rolling down their cheeks
How to show fondness
smiling with their mouth and their eyes
softening their features
cannot keep their eyes off of the object of their fondness
sometimes pouting the lips a bit
reaching out, wanting to touch them
How to show envy
narrowing their eyes
rolling their eyes
raising their eyebrows
grinding their teeth
tightening jaw
chin poking out
pouting their lips
forced smiling
crossing arms
shifting their gaze
clenching their fists
tensing their muscles
then becoming restless/fidgeting
swallowing hard
stiffening
holding their breath
blinking rapidly
exhaling sharply
How to show regret
scrubbing a hand over the face
sighing heavily
downturned mouth
slightly bending over
shoulders hanging low
hands falling to the sides
a pained expression
heavy eyes
staring down at their feet
Part I + Part II + Part III + Part IV
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basic things you should know about your main characters
how is their relationship with their family
what are their beliefs, if they have any
what is their motivation (preferably something unrelated to their love interest/romantic feelings)
who were they raised to be vs. who they became/are becoming
what are their plans for the future, if they have any
how they feel about themselves and how it affects their behaviour
how do they feel about things they cannot control
and last but not least: Why is This Character the Protagonist??
Andrea Gibson, Lord of the Butterflies
Put some meat on the bones of your story
Here’s a response to a suggestion from duskborne wondering how to flesh out a story idea.
Figure out what’s important in your story
I can hear the questions now-“I know my story idea, why are you asking that kind of a question in a post about fleshing out a story?”
It’s simple. If you don’t know what’s important in your story, how are you going to know where to focus? Consider all the directions your story could go. (Let’s take a simple boy meets girl story, but feel free to adapt the question for your own particular story.)
Directions you could go with boy meets girl story (abridged)
Boy is hired to kill girl, but falls in love.(or the reverse)
Girl meets boy who tries to save her life.
Boy meets girl and falls in love with her brother
Girl meets boy and helps him discover his true calling as a pop star in a boy band.
Boy meets girl and takes her on an adventure in time and space.
(You get the idea hopefully)
Those are all directions you could go with just one simple idea so you can see why it’s important to know what you are trying to accomplish. You have a month, so there isn’t time to play around with ideas.
Here are some questions to help you get a grasp of what is important in your story
What goal are your main characters trying to accomplish in this story?
What are the obstacles?
What are some ideas you have that aren’t really important in this particular story?
Let do some weeding
Now that you have a clearer idea of what your story is about, it is time to get rid of the clutter. Sure there are some great ideas in that clutter, but now is the time to find them, put them on your list of great ideas, and save them for later.
You are going to need some side plots and maybe some “filler” but no matter what you put in your story, it should add to the whole of the story and move the plot forward. If it doesn’t, it should probably get out of your story.
Let’s add some stuff
Now that you have whittled your story down to the essence, it’s time to figure out what you need to add to your story. Here are some questions to help you with that process:
Who are your characters going to be by the end of the story?
What do your characters need to do/accomplish in order to be where they need to be by then?
What minor characters do you need in your story?
Where does your story need to end? (location)
How are your characters going to get there?
Hopefully that gives you some ideas on how to flesh out your story. November and National Novel Writing Month are quickly approaching so get ready. If you have more questions, let us know.
A couple notes on eye color descriptions:
First, eyes are small. If someone is more than a few feet away, there’s very little chance they will notice someone else’s eye color. Same is true if it’s dark or if they’re wearing glasses.
Second, people don’t pay that much attention to eye color. Most people don’t think of others (I don’t think) in terms of eye color. I’m not actually sure of the eye color of most of my relatives or friends
Third, this is in no way a useful descriptor unless it plays an important role in the story. Harry Potter’s eye color mattered because of his mother. Hermione’s eye color didn’t.
I know eye-color hair-color skin-color is a common descriptor for people when they’re first being introduced, but try something else, and stop relying on a thing that doesn’t matter. And, especially if the story is in first person or close third person, stop having people be able to tell eye colors from unrealistic distances or in unrealistic situations, or when they wouldn’t have any reason to pay attention to them.
I've been trying to write a Deaf character but my dialogue is coming out kind of ... flat. Should I use "said" or "signed" when I'm attributing the dialogue to the Deaf character? How do you even describe someone's tone if they're not speaking? Do hands even have a tone? Help????
Hey anon! So, let’s go over some tips for writing Deaf and Hard of Hearing characters, shall we?
Said or Signed?
Either! “Said” is one of those words that readers don’t even notice, which is a good thing. You know when you’re reading and everything is “moaned Kate” “uttered Chance” “grumbled Lacie”? That’s annoying, and every writing blog will telly you to use those words sparingly. “Said” is just from the verb “to say,” which doesn’t specify whether you’re speaking or signing. Using “signed” can be really useful, especially when you have hearing characters along with the Deaf character. A hearing character may sign something when the Deaf person is in the room, but speak something when they leave, or the Deaf character may use spoken language primarily but sometimes sign. Don’t overuse “signed” though, because that can be just as distracting as “grumbled.” If your Deaf character is signing, you can just say “Alex said.”
ASL Tone
Yes, inflection and tone do exist in ASL! I love it so much it’s so awesome ok here we go.
Facial expressions are used for grammar in ASL for some signs, but are also used for tone. You can easily tell if someone’s angry by their facial expressions, and Deaf people are no exception.
Also, you’ll DEAFinitely (I’m so hilarious) be able to tell someone’s tone by their hand movements. I knew it was possible to yell in ASL, but I didn’t really know how until I was talking about an episode of Grey’s Anatomy with my ASL professor, and it went somewhat like this.
Me: Remember last class, when you told us about that Grey’s Anatomy episode with Deaf characters?
Shannon: Yeah, that was such a good episode! Did you watch it?
Me: I did, it was so good!
Shannon: IT WAS SO GOOD I WAS SO EXCITED APRIL PAYS SO MUCH ATTENTION TO WHAT THE DEAF COMMUNITY ACTUALLY WANTS AND JACKSON IS A JERK
Shannon really yelled, and there was no question about it. Her face absolutely lit up, eyes wide, beaming smile about to crack her face in half, and she actually leaned into her signing with her whole body. When she was praising April, she leaned forward. During the transition to her next point, she sort of returned to leaning back normally. When judging Jackson, she leaned forward again on the word “jerk.” Her signing was still very legible but it was forceful, flowing very smooth and fast. The stress was really put on “pays attention” because that was praise and it was very important, and she really snapped the sign “jerk” and gave it a negative, sharp tone.
In short: yes, signers do very much have tones and inflections – they’re just not communicated via voice. Actually, sometimes they are; my Deaf camp counselor vocalized some signs when she got really excited (which was all the time). She didn’t speak, but she did vocalize a bit.
Writing ASL Grammar
Please please please do not write in ASL gloss!!!!!!!! ASL gloss, if you don’t know, is pretty much a written English form of ASL. If I was to sign “I went to the store yesterday,” the gloss version would be YESTERDAY STORE I GO. That is not something you’re going to want your readers to sift through, as it is neither English nor ASL anymore. It’s jarring to read. Don’t use the grammar of ASL while you’re writing in English. Also, because ASL has expressions that English does not, people may get confused (I highly doubt a non-signer would understand when a Deaf character gets in a sticky situation and the dialog reads “DO-DO-DO”).
Writing A Non-Signer/Beginning Signer
If you’ve got a character who is hearing/raised orally/LDA (Late Deafened Adult) or for whatever other reason is learning ASL later in life and is trying to use it, they’re probably going to get a little stuck. It happens! But how do you write that?
The answer is still not to gloss it. You can use other tips and tricks to make the reader understand that this character is grasping for the right word or expression, or just has completely blanked out! Just remember not to overuse ellipses.
Writing Deaf Characters Interacting
Really, if you’re writing any Deaf/HoH character, it’s important that you are knowledgeable about Deaf culture, mannerisms, etc. Deaf culture is very different from hearing culture. For instance, Deaf people share a lot more information than hearing people do. If a hearing person is late to a meeting, they’ll just say “Sorry I’m late, car trouble.” A Deaf person will say “Sorry I’m late, my car made this weird knocking feeling and then totally died on the highway! I had to call Triple A – what a hassle with VRS, right? – and it took an hour for them to come!”
Another example is my relationship with one of my Deaf professors. Most hearing student/professor relationships are very professional with not a lot of (if any) friend elements. Our relationship is very professional, but she emails me links to articles she thinks I might like, rec’d me a movie about a transgender porn star, and told the entire class the story of her first period. Information sharing is very important in Deaf culture, and conversations within that culture will look different than similar conversations between members of hearing culture.
Also, be sure you’re not having Deaf characters facing away from each other when they’re chatting, or in different rooms. With hearing characters, they can chat while doing the dishes or shout from upstairs to someone downstairs. Deaf characters can still do the dishes and sign at the same time, but it just has different dynamics. Like hearing people can talk with their mouth full, it’s possible to multitask with hand use. Just remember what your characters are up to when it’s time for dialog; if someone’s still in the bathroom with the door shut, now is not the time to ask him where he wants to go to dinner tonight.
All in all, just remember that Deaf people have the same conversations hearing people do – we still talk about how shitty our jobs are and how hot it is outside. We just sign about it. And just like two hearing people are going to have difficulty having a spoken conversation from across a football field, two Deaf characters are going to have difficulty having a signed conversation if someone’s glasses are off or if someone’s juggling their coworkers’ coffees in one hand while fishing for their car keys in the other.
Hello! I was wondering how could one write romance relevant to the plot. I don't want random ships in my novel and I haven't got a clue as to how I could make it significant to the story.
This might help: Taking the “Unnecessary” Out of “Romantic Subplot”
Some more specific tips are:
- This might be pretty obvious, but make sure both characters are major plot players. If one of them is erased, the plot should fall apart or be forced to go in a very different direction.
- Their romance, how it starts and develops, needs to make sense with their backstories and personalities. Creating Romantic Feelings Between Characters and Different Ways Characters Can Show Love cover a form of this.
- There doesn’t have to be intense drama over potential for breakup, but real-life couples do have disagreements and argue. Let disagreements affect how the plot plays out.
- Make sure they’re each unique individuals, are well-developed in their own way, and contribute to each other’s development over the course of the story.
The way romance fits into stories can be really unique when you get down to the details. You also have the option to write the characters as a pre-established romance, and then plot-relevance is not quite as important (but still matters).
Good luck with your romance!
Writing: The Villain
In most stories, there is a tangible villain that works at every opportunity to stop your hero from reaching their goal. They are oftentimes the epitome of evil and hatred, depending on how extremely their villainy runs. In many ways, they are almost as important as the main character, so here are some tips on developing them well.
Villains should be handled with the same deep thought as heroes.
Just because they’re the villain doesn’t mean they aren’t a very major character, and complex characters are always more favorable than simple, boring characters. Develop their appearance and personality in detail. Formulate a backstory. Understand the motivations behind what they do, and let their actions reflect their internal desires.
Find ways to make your villain stand out from other villains.
Most villains are maniacal. They are almost all willing to do terrible things in order to get what they want. A lot of villains are related to their character in some way, and sometimes this relationship is revealed in a plot twist. These are all well and good, but trying to make these ideas seem fresh and interesting is difficult nowadays. Play with your ideas and tweak these tropes, or maybe even disregard them all together. Do what you can to make your villain not sound like another Voldemort or Darth Vader. (Reading your work and/or having others read your work is a good way to see if your villain (and other characters, too) are interesting and unique enough.)
Consider that your villain is (probably) still human.
Even if they aren’t human in the technical sense, they probably still have human emotions. Give your character depth by exploring their sense of morality and where they came from. Why do they think what they’re doing is acceptable. Do they think it’s acceptable? What happened that lead them up to this point of villainy?
Explore your villain’s relationship with the other characters.
Are they closely connected with your hero and the hero’s friends? Are they in no way related? What did the good characters do to get on the villain’s bad side? How deep does your villain’s anger or hatred for your hero run? Do they hate them at all, or are they doing what they’re doing for another reason? Are the things that your villain is doing a direct result of the hero’s actions, or was there another cause?
Decide what the end result of the villain’s actions will be.
You have one of two very basic routes this can take: your villain can either defeat or be defeated by the hero. The hero also has one of two routes (if they defeat the villain): they can defeat them by force and kill/imprison/etc. them, or they can “convert” them to the good side. How will this decision affect your villain? How will it affect the overall story? How will it affect the other characters? What will the long-term effects be?
Their motivations must be believable.
Too often the villain comes off as cheesy or unsatisfying because there doesn’t seem to be a good reason for them to be acting against the main character. Their actions and motivations should be just as definitive and interesting as any other character’s. Try to avoid falling into the trap of “sworn revenge” for no good reason–or, even worse, copping out by saying the villain is “just crazy”.
How to Make Your Villain Domestic but Still Evil
It’s the oxymoron that attracts us. Billowing black cape, terrifying worldviews, a willingness to make the streets run red with blood – and you know what would be hilarious? Them trying and failing to make morning pancakes. You know what would really hit us in the feels? Watching them show tenderness around a special someone.
Having a villain with a domestic side is lassoing a black hole, and it’s a tantalizing thing to watch. However, anyone who’s indulged in these daydreams with their own villains has probably encountered one very specific issue: it makes them less evil. They lose their edge.
For example, look at Crowley from CW’s Supernatural. This was a guy to be feared at one point; arriving out of nowhere at unexpected times, always playing both sides of the conflict, and you could be certain he would skin anyone necessary to get what he wanted – usually without getting a single drop of blood on his impeccable suit.
Flash forward to recent seasons, and we’ve seen Crowley cry and whimper more times than Dean has died –which is saying something. At first, it was fascinating to discover this powerful character actually had a tender side; and now, when Crowley makes a threat, we’re about as afraid as when any low-level demon makes one. This is because his evil was too compromised. He let himself go.
How can we avoid this mistake with our villains? The answer isn’t making them crush puppies and hate butterflies at every turn; it’s in balancing their core scariness with their softer side – giving them complexity, giving us a bit of “aww,” and making their eventual whiplash back into ‘terrifying’ all the more wonderful.
For this, we’re going to use Epic of Lilith by Ivars Ozols as an example. This book centers on arguably the original female villain – Lilith, the first woman of the Garden of Eden, who got on the “good guys’” bad side by refusing to submit to someone who was clearly her equal. There won’t be any spoilers below, but if you give the book a read (it’s an easy page turner), the points will be driven home stronger.
Plus it’s a book with a great female villain who isn’t objectified (don’t let the cover fool you, seriously) and prose that isn’t full of sexual over- or undertones. Talk about a win, eh?
Here we go.
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Calling a Character by Their Title
Would you refer to your best friend as “the redhead” or “Kristen”? Is your favorite teacher “the teacher” or “Mr. Small”? Referring to a character by a trait or their title is called an “amateur mistake” when used incorrectly, but “good perspective writing” when used well. What makes it a mistake is when it creates a sense of distance that doesn’t make sense given the narrator’s perspective.
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