I have a couple pet peeves in fantasy novels, but nothing gets me more riled up than how authors treat arrows. People seem to think that arrows were nuisances rather than deadly weapons, when, no they were one of the most strategically useful weapons in all of history. You could kill people from far away without getting hit yourself, until of course in the later medieval eras, plate armor was produced. Then arrows evolved into bullets that could pierce through armor, and it was all over for both sides. I wanted to give you guys a couple of facts I’ve learned about arrows because they’re a lot cooler than people think.
-Arrowheads usually require surgery, with functioning tools, to remove. This is because of the arrowhead’s shape:
On the left, we see the most painful, and what I argue to be the most deadly, types. See how the bottom of the arrowheads prods out below them? Imagine pulling that backward, the way it came, and pulling the flesh with it. Hence the “tearing flesh” statement. Of course, not all arrowheads are like this, with some with thinner shapes (seen on the right) are designed to puncture armor more effectively. Some of these are from traditional arrows while others are from bolts from crossbows. When writing fantasy, try to be familiar with the potential time period you are referencing the armor from, since that’ll change the types of arrowheads that were used by the enemy, and when one of your characters are wounded from these, it’s a great way to show your immersion when you use the proper arrowhead. With the arrowheads on the far left, removing them simply with your hands is risky because there’s still a high chance that you will still tear the flesh out with it. Having tools that can easier part the flesh out of the way to proud it out is a better option. Doctors were sometimes forced to push arrowheads deeper into the body until it went out the other side since there was more damage done pushing it in than pulling it out.
- Doctor Joseph Howland Bill, a Civil War doctor who wrote a book called “Notes on Arrow Wounds,” gives a comprehensive list on the damage of arrow wounds.
Bill states that arrows “ inflict wounds with a fatality greater than that produced by any other weapons — particularly when surgical assistance cannot be obtained.”
Arrows were designed very well in his day, where the arrowhead would loosen from the shaft when connected to anything wet –*cough* blood *cough* – so if anyone grasped onto the shaft and tried to pull it out, the arrowhead would be left in the body and the doctor would be forced to search for it. I don’t know if this was used in medieval times, but certainly it was used in the 18th century.
He also stated that arrows were sometimes deadlier than bullet wounds, which is a feat since bullets were often made of lead in the 18th century and poisoned a soldier’s bloodstream
The tissue around an arrowhead will not be able to heal and will cause infection if not removed quickly. This would often lead to fatal amputations.
He also states that when lodged in bone – and they often were, hurtling at intense speeds when shot by a 100lb bow – surgeons had to use “great force,” as well as tools, to pry the arrowhead out.
Now for their ability to heal:
- If the arrow went through a limb, they were easier to heal since they only made a small incision. Bill stated he would apply “cold or evaporating lotions” to the wounds and, providing there was no infection, the wound would heal in a mere week. If the wound WAS infected, then he would apply bandages, compresses, and “an early evacuation” of any drainage.
- If the arrow severed an artery, good luck. Doctors, especially in those times, were not able to staunch the bleeding before the patient died from blood loss.
- Arrows also caused severed nerves, broken bones, and fractures. These often weren’t fatal, but they often affected the soldier’s range of motion thereafter.
- Another interesting occurance is when an arrowhead scrapes NEAR a bone, the muscles will contract to such an extend it will bend the arrowhead, making it resemble a fishhook. If this is the case, pulling out the arrowhead would cause even more damage because, as I said, it would tear flesh. Bill had to practice a specific tactic, which you can read at the bottom of this post.
-If the arrow hits the trunk of the person, good luck once again. Bill states that arrowheads are more dangerous than bullets for three main reasons: bloodloss, infection, and emphysema.
Arrows cut clean slits in someone’s flesh, which provide clearer passage for blood to flow out of.
Arrows usually stay in their targets, which result in infection until a surgeon can successfully remove it.
Emphysema is more of a nuisance than a fatality, but it is caused by irregular breathing from the lungs when struck.
- For this reason, if the arrow hits the LUNGS or any other vital organ, they’re almost always gone. Surgeons cannot staunch the blood at this point, especially on a battlefield, so they often bleed out. As Bill states: “Arrow wounds of the abdomen are generally fatal. An arrow can scarcely pass through the abdomen and fail to open a vessel or wound an intestine.”
This is very useful! It would explain why a character might, if shot by an arrow that’s lodged quite deep, attempt to PUSH THE ARROW ALL THE WAY THROUGH to the other side, until it exits their body, rather than pull it out. Pushing it through obviously makes the wound deeper, but it prevents further shredding by the “prods” at the base of the arrow. Once the arrow head is through, you could use a sharp tool to saw or clip the shaft apart, and then pull it out a little more “cleanly.” I’m not sure where I saw this, but I remember my first reaction being “AHHHH don’t push the arrow deeper??” But that’s the point, it’s the only way sometimes, particularly with very broad arrows, and it must be done ASAP.
Obviously this would also work only if the arrow was lodged in flesh (not bone) and NOT in a vital organ of any kind. Like you can’t do this with an arrow to the chest, but maybe to the arm/shoulder/calf and POSSIBLY the abdomen if, in the words of Buffy Summers, “no major organs were kabob’ed.” Pulling out an arrow is bad, just like if you get a huge piece of glass in your hand, you’re advised to leave it in and go immediately to the hospital. Pulling it out will cause more damage, more bleeding, etc. You need to get it surgically removed. And if a character gets an arrow in the lungs/stomach/etc., this post explains it extremely well: it is very unlikely they will survive.
Thanks for this!! Grisly but very useful for writers.
This is something that happens every day in your life. A shift of your eyebrow in skepticism, or the way your lip may twitch to a half smile cause you’re trying not to laugh. These behaviors are vital for writing in character, because not only do the allow you to visually see what is happening but it is also reaffirming whatever emotion your character is showing.
So why should you write it?
Much of human communication is non-verbal which means you need to also translate this non-verbal reaction in a post. It allows you to greatly enhance the emotions of another character and always another person to ‘visually’ see how they feel in a post. Most of all, this will add depth and volume to your post to make it feel more real. IT will make your character feel like a human instead of just another fictional person you look at from above.
Below you will find a list different type of emotions and what sort of body language can be exhibited to them.
Three ways to accent an action.
When writing about emotions, there are different ways to verbally write them out. Each one is unique in their own way, allowing you to show more about the emotion.
Emphasize the Emotion.
But doing this, you are expressing both the emotion and the body language. We’ll use a simple example. It’s short and simple yet you can sense he is happy.
John felt so happy that he was humming a tune while walking down the hall.
Complicate the Emotion.
Sometimes, even when you are feeling one emotion, deep down rooted underneath the facade of it all, there is actually an underlining emotion they feel. This is something you have to truly express otherwise no one will know.
John felt so happy that he was humming a tune while walking down the hall. However, it was obvious by the way his nose crinkled that he was disgusted by the actions beforehand. Instead, John covered it up by appearing pleased today.
Contradict the Emotion.
This is a little different than complicate. Contradicting means that you are claiming one thing when in fact its the other. In many ways, this has a variety of uses, from inner depth of the truth to what you see in person, or someone creating a wall. It could be considered a lie, but when is anything that easy?
John felt so happy that he was humming a tune while walking down the hall. In truth, once he was in the classroom, his shoulders slumped and a pout crossed his lips when no one was around, showing just how displeased he was with the situation.
Remember that you do not always have to contradict or complicate anything. Sometimes all you need to do is emphasize and that will be just fine. You don’t always have to have an underlining complicated for an emotion to make it more enhanced.
Do be afraid to use the Thesaurus to also improve an emotion. Such things as “happy” is a nice emotional word, but think of how much more powerful it is when you heard some is “overjoyed” or “content.” She how these emotions matched up with a body language can give two different styles of happiness? Mix and match to find what works best for your character at the time.
More In Depth Information
What I’ve stated above is more of a simplistic overview. IF you truly want to improve yourself, go to this
To see just how much body language can reveal about a person. You will find things such as how a person lies, how the eyes reaction, the positioning of a person in personal space, mouth, and head body language and so much more.
Use these resources to greatly increase the reactions of your character to another and create a more life-like world.
My advice when folks are struggling with writing in the third-person omniscient is to Lemony Snicket it up. Give your omniscient narrator strong opinions about what’s going on. Don’t fall into the trap of assuming that the third-person omniscient perspective must also use the objective voice; those are two separate things, and many of the most popular and successful writers who’ve written in the third-person omniscient do not, in fact, use the objective voice.
“Willingness to admit the narrative has a voice” is, I think, a big part of what makes young adult literature so much more engaging than a lot of books marketed at adults, particularly adult men.
“Lemony Snicket it up” is a very good phrase and very good advice
I just appreciate seeing third-person omniscient recognized as an actual POV, because people are often dismissive of it (and yes, this is good)
suzanne collins killing prim after everything katniss did to save her………. THATS how you write a story about the brutality and futility of war ma'am thats what we call a compelling and fucked up narrative yessums thats storytelling babes!!!!
“That was one of the first questions I asked her when we sat down: ‘Did you always know that [Prim] was going to die?’ And she said, 'Oh yeah, of course, that’s the whole point.'” (x)
If u want to write a story about a character that’s just you but hotter with a dark twisted backstory and magical powers and a pet falcon or something, I think u should just go ahead and do that. Who’s gonna stop you? The government?? Fuck the police.
What if someone barges in, points at said character and scream, “Mary Sue!”
Tell them to come back with a warrant
This post came across my dash again and now I am having an absolute blast with self insert hotter me that gets the girls and guys everywhere.
im about to be kind of petty but i just saw a book (one i read, enjoyed, and would recommend) recced as follows:
Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse. Super cool worldbuilding with indigenous influence, queer characters and a character with neopronouns, pirates and sirens and crows, what more do you need?
(the reclist was “non-YA dark/gritty queer + minimal romance)
and its like. well one thing i might need is any kind of actual indication of the kind of plot. lol.
like. please tell me that: 1. it’s the first book in a series. (i had only ever seen it recced as stand-alone) 2. any information about the plot or setting AT ALL other than “it has indigenous-inspired worldbuilding and a character with neopronouns” that’s like telling me a dish has cinnamon in it without telling me whether it is a snickerdoodle or, like, lamb tagine.
for instance: “it’s an ensemble cast story about the various factors and factions contributing to - and attempting to prevent - the inevitable implosion of an empire already on the verge of collapse.” that’s not much of a rec but it’s enough that you can then tell me about. the cinnamon. and have it mean something.
Actually, can we talk about how Garbage a lot of ubiquitous writing advice in the late 2000’s was?
Like “you have to begin in the middle of the action! your first line has to be a ‘hook’ that draws the reader further into the story!”
This is the bullshit responsible for the amount of books that begin in the middle of some sort of pointless fucking action scene that I care nothing about because I just got here.
Like I guess this makes books easier to “sell” or whatever on some level of the process, but it’s garbage storytelling advice because setup and establishment of the Way Things Are is almost always necessary.
On some level I don’t think it’s actually possible to begin a story right on top of the “inciting incident” because…you don’t have the raw materials to “incite” anything with. If you have to set up basic things about the characters and world after the “inciting incident,” it’s not really the inciting incident anymore, is it?
The event that “launches” a character into their plot line is something that follows from the character’s established situation, desires, traits etc. It’s a follow-up to a situation that makes a Story of some kind inevitable.
It is, by definition, an event that makes no senseanddoes not matter to the reader at all unless the “setup” already exists.
If you try to begin right in the middle of the event that “sparks” the plot, you’re going to end up including a second, “real” event that actually does the job, because you can’t do the job if the character, the stakes, the rules, etc. are not there yet.
Now the action scene you stuck to the beginning of your story is probably dead weight that is getting in the way of the setup.
I just realized that a lot of writing advice assumes the reader has no pre-existing knowledge of what a story is, and everything suddenly makes so much sense.
Good stories assume you know what a story is.You don’t need something to explode or someone to get killed on page one to Make The Reader Pay Attention. That’s stupid. Stop talking.
I used to read SO MANY articles, books etc. talking about beginning a story and how a good “hook” works, and all of them talked about, like, introducing something so weird or exciting sounding or inexplicable that the reader is curious about the rest, and it’s so stupid thinking back on it that I want to cry, because literally none of them seemed to take into account that readers know that they’re reading a story.
When you start reading a book you’re automatically paying attention to specific things—interesting characters to connect with, hints of the kinds of things that might happen. You are not an idiot and you know that there is more book after the first page. You will be looking for stuff that looks like it will grow into something exciting, things that set up an interesting plot.
Your reader is already capable of projecting in their head the kinds of things that might happen in your story. It’s actually kind of fundamental to being a reader. Start with the bomb, not the explosion!
No one is opening a book like “Hmm, there is no extraordinary, dramatic event happening in the first sentence…I think I can safely conclude that nothing exciting happens in the entire book!” Like. Readers know how plots work. Dumbass.
I’ve said before that good first lines are the ones that have that “sit down, I’m telling you a story” effect, and I haven’t been able to explain it until now. A good beginning to a story is something that provides the “ingredients” for something cool.
Start with the bomb, not the explosion! READERS KNOW THAT BOMBS EXPLODE!
Perfect example of “start with the bomb:”
Mr. and Mrs. Dursley of number four, Privet Drive, were proud to say that they were perfectly normal, thank you very much.
This is a very good beginning. Readers instinctively recognize that “they were perfectly normal” isn’t, like, telling us the whole book is going to be boring. It’s the bomb.
We get a feeling that something very not normal is about to happen to the Dursleys, and we’re right.
the first line of the Hunger Games is also as perfect as the beginning of a story can be, imho.
When I wake up, the other side of the bed is cold.
We begin chapter 1 with Prim’s missing-ness. That’s the bomb.
And we end chapter one with Prim’s name being called at the reaping. There’s the explosion. BOOM.
Finding where the story begins is one of those things you fine tune as you write more and more and hone your editing skills. What I’ve learned over time where the story begins is either the part of the story where the character is thrust into personal emotional stakes (or at least acknowledges them,) or where the character actually starts taking action instead of letting events happen to them.
(While Murphy’s Law is a thing and a good writing tool if you get stuck or think your protags or antagonists are too competent, it is not a tool you should use through the entire book. Let the characters take charge and accomplish something, please! Because that’s the only way things will be resolved, In your HP example, a lot of things just happen to Harry, but eventually he takes matters into his own hands and with the help of his friends, solves things. It’s called movement.)
In Media Res is bad advice in the way it’s been interpreted to mean “start with an action scene” rather than “start where the action either internal or external for your book type begins.”
If your book has a lot of action, then it’s probably going to start with an action scene. But if you don’t have an action style set of characters, don’t twist your book into a pretzel trying to start it with a fight! If your book has more modern day rather than paranormal romance, it probably starts with the couple meeting or being opposed to each other in some way and asking the question of “Why can’t they be together now?” Or if your book is a mystery, it starts when the investigator starts taking action on trying to solve the crime. (Whether or not the reader sees the crime is up to you, the author.) A Suspense or Thriller novel starts when the main character realizes something is wrong and they need to stop it TM. Adventure books get to have as much set up as you want most the time because “we are on an adventure!” (Eyes Hobbit and Lord of the Rings.)
Where in the story does things get personal, and the character meets opposition and what can they lose if they fail? Where do they start doing things versus letting themselves be acted upon. And if you MUST use your first chapter like HP to set up the whole normal versus not normal of your book, set the stage/scene if you will, you get ONE chapter. One. And HP only worked because it showed us these things after telling us the Dursleys were normal. Instead of telling us. (Which is another piece of advice that gets maligned. Sigh.)
And finding the right openings for 2nd and 3rd and 4th books in a series is a completely different matter. Because if they aren’t supposed to be strung along stand alones in the same universe (most romance) then it is expected for the reader to have read previous books.
I hope that makes sense. bless, and happy writing!
“The prince just fell in love with Cinderella because of her looks!”
Wrong. Okay, picture this–
So there’s the prince, okay? He’s like, smack dab in the center of the ballroom, and he is like, horrifically aware that this whole ball thing is a result of his dad falling into a panic about the royal lineage or whatever and he’s stuck listening to highborn girl after highborn girl, all lined up, introducing themselves like, “Oh yeah my family’s been a longtime supporter of the crown, and I think you’re cute, *cough* I’ve been told I have child-bearing hips *cough* Who said that? Anyway–” and Princey boy is just smiling through it, he has been the center of attention for entirely too long, he misses his emotional support horse, and is just internally like “Someone please kill me now.” And then… he sees her–This isn’t a love at first sight thing, this is a ‘what the hell is going on over there’ thing, because this girl has not gotten into the Debutante line for a solid 45 minutes.
She’s just at the hors d’oeuvres table going HAM on the prosciutto-wrapped asparagus, and like, she’s polite about it, she’s happy to move aside for other people grabbing punch and canapes (and she’s really so sweet with the wait staff, it’s kind of cute because they’re like… definitely not used to being acknowledged) but it’s like, “Damn girl, did you not eat today?” and then the prince is kind of stuck with the uncomfortable thought of ‘how many girls starved themselves to fit into a corset for this.’ And then the Prince realizes he’s missed the past 4 Debutante introductions because he’s watching Mystery girl hork down crab rangoons. So he’s like, “Excuse me” and manages to break free from the never-ending parade of girls who will hop on his dick for status.
And as he’s approaching Mystery Girl, it’s kind of hitting him that something’s not quite natural about her. Not fake, but not quite real. But at the same time this whole evening’s been just a whole circus of people acting fake as hell, so like, someone seeming a little off doesn’t seem bad, necessarily. And he sidles up to her like, “Hi,” and she’s like, “Oh–hey, have you tried the tapenade?” and she points to one of the plates, and at this point, he could hit her with the “You don’t know who I am, do you?” deal or the “Very funny, I see your play” deal, but at this point it occurs to him that, no, he hasn’t had anything to eat throughout this whole damn ball, partially because of being stuck in the debutante parade, partially because of nerves, and there’s something so disarming about the question that he grabs a crostini and she still seems so food-focused that it doesn’t seem possible that this is a play. So they both grab little plates and ditch the party.
She pretty much clears her plate in under two minutes and then has half of his plate, he’s cool with it, mostly he’s just absolutely fascinated listening to her.
See here’s the thing about Cinderella:
1. She doesn’t know he’s the prince. Like yeah, he’s been at the center of the room, but she’s kind of spent half the party eagerly looking around everywhere she’s allowed to go (”Have you seen rose garden? Have you seen the solarium??” further confirmation that she doesn’t know who she’s talking to) and the other half stuffing her face with food.
2. She assumes she’s never going to see anyone here tonight again, and no one recognizes her, so she has no filter.
So she’s just talking about whatever with this guy. He seems cool. She talks about her friends, who are rats. She makes little outfits for them. Sometimes they bring her little gifts. She is already the coolest person the prince has ever met because of this. She pretty much offhandedly talks about whatever is fucked up about the kingdom that would take his advisors two hours of hemming and hawing and watering down to address. She just says it like it’s nothing, just funky little things she’s observed, and again, she’s not aware that he’s the prince, but it’s still pretty damn bold to bring up at a literal royal ball.
She…seems to have the majority of graces that lots of girls from Respectable Families™ have, but there’s something strange about it, something simultaneously broken and hardened, like the way you can see where ice has thawed and re-frozen. Also the way she talks about her family, and the way she avoids talking about her family– is raising several red flags, not in the “Oh this is another person trying to take advantage of me” sense, but in the “Oh fuck, something’s gone really wrong and you need help” sense and also lowkey a ‘damn is she even getting fed?’ sense. But he can’t say, ‘Hey, that’s not fucking normal for people to say that to you or treat you that way. We need to get you out of there,’ without sounding crazy himself, so for now, he’s just going to chill, make sure she’s comfortable, and keep enjoying the evening. She’s somehow befriended like 4 of the waitstaff so they’re willing to cover for them while they disappear for a little bit, and they get plenty of time to talk, but eventually it hits her that she hasn’t danced yet and she’s like “Come on! I bet we can make the prince jealous!” and he just bursts out laughing at that like “hell yeah, let’s make the prince jealous. He’s a real asshole.” Like clearly she’s having a good time, so who is he to make it weird? So they head back to the ballroom and they dance. And our girl, Mystery Girl, Cinderella, while they’re dancing, becomes acutely aware that everyone is staring. That doesn’t seem quite right. Like, yeah she’s hot, she knows she’s hot, but at least a good third of the party should still be focused on the prince, right? Where is that guy, anyway?
Oh.
Oh wait.
Ohshit.
And Princey Boy actually picks up on her realization and they whisper argue for like 3 minutes. “Why didn’t you tell me?! Now I feel like a goddamn idiot!” “I dunno it was nice being treated like a normal person” “Well metreatingyou like a normal person makes me a goddamn felon or something did you consider that?!” “Hey–Hey–it’s cool–you’re cool–I think you’re amazing, and if anyone says shit about you, I can shut it down.” “Well I don’t like that! That’s fucked up!” “I agree. It is fucked up, but I believe in you, and I think you should have a chance, and I’m here to back you up. I know power is fucked up right now. I know. But are you cool with working with me to change that?” And our girl Cindy pauses on that for a couple seconds, because.. she’s just spent hours with this guy and like.. she knows he’s a good guy, she knows he means well, so she’s like, “I don’t know how long I can actually work with you.” and the prince is like “Look, I know your home situation is complicated right now, but I really think we can–”
And then the bell starts ringing.
It’s midnight.
And then she takes off in a panic, and our prince just met the coolest person ever, and like, he’s pretty sure whatever situation they’re headed back to is fucked up, and all he’s got going to find her is a shoe. A shoe.
Hey btw, another worldbuilding thing: You can, and actually shouldhave weird and impractical cultural things. They’re not inherently unrealistic, for as long as you address the realistic consequences as well.
Let’s say you’ve got a city where there’s tame white doves everywhere. They’re not pests, they’re regarded as sacred, holy protectors of the city, and the whole city cares for them and feeds them like they’re pets. They’re so tame because it’s a social taboo to hurt or scare one. Nice pretty doves :)
Then someone points out that even if they’re not seen as pests, doesn’t having a completely unchecked feral pigeon population - that not only isn’t being culled, but actively fedand cared for - mean that there would be bird shit absolutely all over the place?
A part of you wants to say no, because these are your nice, pretty doves. To explain that there’s a reason why they’re notshitting all over the place, maybe they’re super-intelligent and specifically bred and trained to not shit all over the place. The logistics of how, exactly, could anyone breed and train a flock of feral birds go unaddressed.
An even worse solution would be to nothave those birds, editing them out of the world. No, they spark joy, you can’t just toss them out!
Now, consider: Yes, yes they would, but the city alsohas an extensive public sanitation service that’s occupied 90% of the time by cleaning bird shit off of everything. One of the most common last names in the area actually translates to “one who scrapes off dove shit”, and it’s a highly respected occupation. And thanks to the sheer necessityof constantly regularly cleaning everything, the city enjoys a much higher standard of cleanliness, and less public health issues caused by poor public sanitation.
The doves doprotect the city. By shitting fucking everywhere.
TOP 10 MOST SATISFYING THINGS ABOUT EDITING YOUR NOVEL
10.Taking a passage that was already pretty good and then making it even better.
9. Looking at a passage, saying “yeah I don’t need any of this” and slamming the delete key
8. Adding just the right amount of foreshadowing during that seemingly innocent scene
7.Taking[that one line] from earlier in the book and putting it in the final chapter.
6.Spotting a plot-hole and fixing it!
5. Realizing that nobody will ever know that there’s a word you can’t, for the life of you, ever spell right when you’re writing (mine is apartment, I always seem to put two p’s in there don’t ask me why)
4. Reading a passage and knowing that it is *just* right~
3. Fleshing out my character/location descriptions! It’s so much easier once you actually know the characters and locales of your story.
2. Finding little gems in the writing that I didn’t notice before and making them the spotlight of a chapter!
And, number one…
1.Knowing that no one will ever, ever, see the mess that this book was before! It’s so satisfying to work at it, polishing and polishing, until it’s practically unrecognizable from the first draft.
When writing couples, I like to use the Kiss Rule:
If they have to kiss for you to know they’re in love, you’re not writing a romance right.
I couldn’t agree more with this. As someone who has been married for 7 years (together for 9), kissing hardly proves anything of love, at least on its own. The starry-eyed lover type of intimacy is cute, but using it exclusively is like eating fondant off a cake. It’s sweet, looks polished and pretty, but lacks robust the flavour of combined elements — fillings, frosting, toppings, and the cake itself.
It’s gestures often overlooked, silent acts of respect without calling attention to them. Subtleties mixed with the obvious.
grooming, restraighten clothing, touch up hair, brush off crumbs
singing and dancing together
understanding your partner’s hurt rather than just apologising
trust and respect
knowing how to cheer the other up, how to piss them off, humour them
reassurance (e.g. I’m here to talk, you’re doing a great job, your insecurities don’t define you)
associating sights, smells, touches, songs, phrasing, etc with them (e.g. “I saw a pigeon today and thought ‘is this my partner?’”
hating dumb things they do, but finding them hard to live without and secretly loving them
compromising, sacrificing, reciprocation
Love is unspoken, tolerant, and a spectrum of emotions.
It’s accepting that you’ll fuckin’ hate their entire being at times, exclaim with vitriol, “god, you’re so fucking annoying” while you smile and know that it’s trivial in the grand scheme.
It’s real. It’s healthy. It’s fun. That’s what I try to encapsulate in my sappy romantic fiction because realistic fluff is so much more gratifying.
‘Hey bastard this store is already closed oh wait you’re hot never mind please do come in’ AU
‘I’m on the verge of tears because of a rude customer and you step in and stand up for me’ AU
‘I can feel you silently judging me as you ring up my purchases I swear I’m not using these for their intended purpose’ au
‘Why does this cost TEN DOLLARS THIS IS AN OUTRAGE’ AU
Hairdresser AU
‘You’re my regular customer and I’m in love with the feel of your hair’ AU
“Rumor has it that you’re a hairdresser with magic fingers and you can fix any bad hair day so that’s why I’m here’ AU
Gift store AU
‘Why the fuck are you choosing that for a gift to your crush’ AU
‘You walk in and offer to pay me to wrap your gifts’ AU
Florist AU
‘I work as a florist and every day you walk in, buy one flower and give it to me’ AU
‘I work part-time in a flower shop and you keep asking me about what this flower means in flower language and I honestly don’t know so you end up giving me a lesson’ AU
Jewellery shop AU
‘You walk in and ask for the most expensive piece are you loaded to the gills what the fuck man’ AU
‘I’m the employee and this is the first time ever I’ve met you but you buy me a necklace saying the gem compliments my eyes’ AU
Coffee Shop AU
I write a bad pick up line on your cup every time I’m your barista’ AU
‘You’re the customer and you get back at me for all the times I’ve spelt your name wrong by mispronouncing my name in increasingly horrible ways’ AU
‘You’re really short and cute and you buy a cup of black coffee every morning but you make weird faces as you sip it and you never finish your drink are you trying to look mature or something’ AU
‘Should I be concerned about how much caffeine you’re taking in’ AU
Bakery AU
‘Your love of strawberry shortcake really doesn’t match your appearance but i still think that’s really cute’ AU
‘Every morning you walk in and inhale deeply then walk back out seriously just buy something already’ AU
Drug Store/Chemist AU
‘You embarrassedly place your items into the counter so I call a price check just to make you feel more awkward, but it turns out one of your items were actually overpriced’ AU
Bartender AU
‘You’re the bartender and you catch someone slipping something into my drink’ AU
‘I ask you to concoct something from all the ingredients on the list i gave you and it ends up tasting so horrible and wrong that i can’t stop laughing’ AU
Teacher AU
We’re both teachers and at the end of the year we compare how many gifts we’ve received from students and you’ve won for the past three years’ AU
‘Romeo and Juliet of the math and english dept. in school’ AU
Writer AU
I’m a writer and when it gets close to my deadlines I neglect taking care of myself so you’ll pop in my house every so often to make sure I’m doing okay’ AU
Fast food Chain AU
‘You just ordered a smile and I look at you like you’re batshit insane before bursting out into laughter’ AU
‘You’re an employee and I have a crush on you so when you hand me the soft serve I accidentally grab it by the ice cream instead of the cone’ AU
‘We have a free refill policy for soft drink and you’ve prepared several empty bottles what the fuck’ AU
Corner Shop AU
‘I see you come in here every day to buy the same drink and one day I leave a message on the bottle’ AU
‘You run in looking really panicked and you ask for 6 gallons of milk why’ AU
Restaurant AU
‘You’re a famous critique and I’m a server and I get so nervous that I trip and spill the dish all over you’ AU
‘You’ve always been a good cook so I encouraged your start your own restaurant and seven years down the track you own one of the most successful businesses’ AU
Idol/Manger AU
‘I’m your manager and holy shit you have crazy fans’ AU
‘You’re an idol and you got the lead role in a romance drama and you practice at my expense’ AU
‘Can you please act appropriately do you know just how many of your fuck ups I’ve had to cover up last week’ AU
Firefighter AU
‘You’ve just been saved from a burning building and you’re begging to go back in to save your pet cat’ AU
“No that’s impossible how the fuck did you manage to get it to catch fire?!”AU
Sex Line Operator AU
‘I called you because I was curious and wow you have a very soothing voice can you please sing me to sleep’ AU
‘I have a very cute neighbour and verythin walls and one day I call you and err your moans are verysynchronised with my neighbour’s’ AU
And Finally:
You’re a drug lord and I think I’ve just walked into your drug den’ AU
where an international spy gets the wrong intel and strikes up a conversation with an informant but it turns out the other person is just normal. they aren’t a spy, they’re just having a coffee when this well dressed stranger quoted some pop culture reference and they couldn’t help but answer because like, it was so obvious
now the spy weekly talks shop while the normal person relates
“almost died last week”
“tell me about it, the new management is terrible”
Literally none of my story ideas come with a plot, ever. WITHOUT FAIL, it’s always just an Aesthetic, like two and a half characters, some very, very vivid settings, and a weird concept. Never plot. Not even an inkling of a plot. My brain tosses me this cool stuff and is like welp i’ll be back in 4-5 business months
Don’t look for plots, look for problems.
Examples:
crippling debt
lonliness
a building is on fire
the world is going to end
failure
a broken heart
guilt
noises they can only hear
seperation
lack of strength
lack of wit
someone has too much pride
forbidden love
encouraged love?
Pick a problem, give it to a character, and let them try and solve it.
Very interesting to me that T. S. Eliot is often quoted as saying “Good poets borrow. Great poets steal.” When in fact what he actually said was “One of the surest of tests is the way in which a poet borrows. Immature poets imitate; mature poets steal; bad poets deface what they take, and good poets make it into something better, or at least something different. The good poet welds his theft into a whole of feeling which is unique, utterly different from that from which it was torn; the bad poet throws it into something which has no cohesion. A good poet will usually borrow from authors remote in time, or alien in language, or diverse in interest.” Which of course has a completely different meaning, less “All the greats plagiarize,” and more “Completely original ideas are a fantasy; the originality lies in how you weave an idea that has been previously woven differently.”
i am not immune to the “character’s eyes glow when they use their powers” trope
i have this disease that makes me find it hot as fuck when a character’s eyes glow as a warning when they’re really angry or upset and about to use every last shred their power to absolutely waste the shit out of the target of their rage it’s called having excellent taste
im sorry but writing enemies to lovers on ao3 is so fucking funny. one of them will go a whole paragraph saying how much they hate, absolutely despise, have genuine burning contempt for the other and we’re all here knowing damn well that enemies to lovers tag is just sat there. like we already know what’s coming bro you’re just embarrassing yourself
the appeal of enemies to lovers though is less “oh will they ever get together?” and more “at what exact point does he go from wanting to kill the bitch to the oh in italics?”
Reread your old writing, especially those scenes you’re most proud of
Write something silly. It doesn’t need to be logical, consistent or included in your story. Write something dumb
Compare your old writing to your new writing. Seeing how much you’ve improved can be very motivating
Explore different storylines, those type of storylines that would never make it into your story, but you’d still like to play around with
Choose one of your least favorite scenes and rewrite it
Read old comments from people praising your work
Create a playlist that reminds you of your wip
Draw your ocs
Don’t push yourself to get back into writing the thing that made you stop writing in the first place. Write something else
Write what you wanna write, no matter how cliché it might be. It doesn’t matter, if you want to write it, write it
Take a break, focus on another hobby of yours. Consume other pieces of media, take a walk to clear your head
You don’t have to write in chronological order from the very beginning if it isn’t working for you! Sometimes a scene you aren’t interested in writing can become interesting after you’ve explored other scenes that is connected to that one
Read one star reviews of “awful” books. You’ll unlock a new sort of appreciation for your own writing
Create a new storyline, or a new character! Anything that helps bring something fresh into your story. Could even be a completely new wip!
Not writing everyday doesn’t make you a bad writer. Take a break if you feel like you need one
Remind yourself to have fun. Start writing and don’t focus all your attention on following “the rules.” You can get into the nitty-gritty when you’ve familiarized yourself with writing as an art. Or don’t. It’s fiction, you make your own rules
Go to sleep, or take a nap. Sleep deprivation and writing does not go hand in hand (trust me)
Listen to music that reminds you of your characters/wip
Remember why you started. Know that you deserve to tell the story you want to tell regardless of the skill you possess
I started keeping a notebook with me at work because I kept coming up with good dialog or scenes for the current fic I’m writing. And so far it’s been working out really well.
Except when I was driving home today and came up with a really solid dialog between two characters leading to a solid segue into introducing another character and the next scene. I pulled into the driveway, walked into the house AND PROMPTLY FORGOT IT ALL!
I remember vaguely the gist of it. But it’s not the same!
