Blaise Haddow

Writer. Bookworm. Thinker. Student. Blogger @ The Book Boulevard

[nathalieemmanuelsource]

A Love Affair with Nathalie Emmanuel & Isaac Carew for Dune London

[shaelinwrites]

if you could only give the same 10 writing/drafting tips for the rest of your life, what would they be?

Ohh wow the pressure is on.

If I think about these more I’ll probably change them, but here’s off the top of my head.

1. Use a thesaurus, just don’t overuse it.

2. Stronger verbs and cutting weasel words are the quickest way to amp up your prose and make it sound polished and punchy. 

3. The question you should be asking yourself for every element of your writing (character, plot, prose, relationships, etc.) is “How can I make this more interesting?”

4. Specificity is always more interesting than vagueness. 

5. You won’t be able to apply all the feedback you get to your writing. The key is learning which feedback resonates with you and your vision of the story, even when it’s critical and means a lot of work for you. Be honest with yourself.

6. Whenever you read a book, take the ten minutes to write out what you thought worked and what didn’t. It’ll do much more for you than just thinking about what you read. Actively engage with what you read. This is why critiquing for other writers will teach you more about writing than anything else.

7. If you find a specific type of writing you enjoy, whether it’s genre or form, that’s awesome. But, don’t be afraid to write something out of your usual story-type if the inspiration hits you. 

8. Don’t assume you’re a good enough writer to break the rules until you can follow them correctly. Writing rules have some flexibility, but pushing your writing within their bounds will, in most cases, lead to stronger writing than ignoring them completely. 

9. Pushing yourself to be productive is great, but allowing yourself time to breathe and rest is also important. Not many people can sustain writing every day for a long period of time. It’s alright to give yourself time to rest and thinking every so often. 

10. No matter how experienced you are, never stop learning, and never stop listening to new points of view. Confidence is great, but there’s a point between overconfidence and humility that you need to find to keep yourself striving for betterment. 

[creepylittleworld]

[franksinatra420-remade-blog]

During the Bubonic Plague, doctors wore these bird-like masks to avoid becoming sick. They would fill the beaks with spices and rose petals, so they wouldn’t have to smell the rotting bodies.

A theory during the Bubonic Plague was that the plague was caused by evil spirits. To scare the spirits away, the masks were intentionally designed to be creepy.

[twinkletwinkleyoulittlefuck-dea]

Mission fucking accomplished

[cellarspider]

Okay so I love this but it doesn’t cover the half of why the design is awesome and actually borders on making sense.

It wasn’t just that they didn’t want to smell the infected and dead, they thought it was crucial to protecting themselves. They had no way of knowing about what actually caused the plague, and so one of the other theories was that the smell of the infected all by itself was evil and could transmit the plague. So not only would they fill their masks with aromatic herbs and flowers, they would also burn fires in public areas, so that the smell of the smoke would “clear the air”. This all related to the miasma theory of contagion, which was one of the major theories out there until the 19th century. And it makes sense, in a way. Plague victims smelled awful, and there’s a general correlation between horrible septic smells and getting horribly sick if you’re around what causes them for too long.

You can see now that we’ve got two different theories as to what caused the plague that were worked into the design. That’s because the whole thing was an attempt by the doctors to cover as many bases as they could think of, and we’re still not done.

The glass eyepieces. They were either darkened or red, not something you generally want to have to contend with when examining patients. But the plague might be spread by eye contact via the evil eye, so best to ward that off too.

The illustration shows a doctor holding a stick. This was an examination tool, that helped the doctors keep some distance between themselves and the infected. They already had gloves on, but the extra level of separation was apparently deemed necessary. You could even take a pulse with it. Or keep people the fuck away from you, which was apparently a documented use.

Finally, the robe. It’s not just to look fancy, the cloth was waxed, as were all of the rest of their clothes. What’s one of the properties of wax? Water-based fluids aren’t absorbed by it. This was the closest you could get to a sterile, fully protecting garment back then. Because at least one person along the line was smart enough to think “Gee, I’d really rather not have the stuff coming out of those weeping sores anywhere on my person”.

So between all of these there’s a real sense that a lot of real thought was put into making sure the doctors were protected, even if they couldn’t exactly be sure from what. They worked with what information they had. And frankly, it’s a great design given what was available! You limit exposure to aspirated liquids, limit exposure to contaminated liquids already present, you limit contact with the infected. You also don’t give fleas any really good place to hop onto. That’s actually useful.

Beyond that, there were contracts the doctors would sign before they even got near a patient. They were to be under quarantine themselves, they wouldn’t treat patients without a custodian monitoring them and helping when something had to be physically contacted, and they would not treat non-plague patients for the duration. There was an actual system in place by the time the plague doctors really became a thing to make sure they didn’t infect anyone either.

These guys were the product of the scientific process at work, and the scientific process made a bitchin’ proto-hazmat suit. And containment protocols!

[zacharielaughingalonewithsalad]

reblogging for the sweet history lesson

[crooked-antler-man]

Reblogging because of the History lesson and because the masks, the masks are cool

[scriptmedic]

Humans, you all know historical medicine ain’t my Thang™, but if any of you have any interest about plague times or just want to understand these bitchin’ get ups, this post is for you!

[koiotchka]

What a great lesson :D

[skasse]

ALL HALLOWS WRITE – THE HALLOWEEN WRITERS TAG

Here’s a little something to celebrate the Halloween season.

Welcome to the the ALL HALLOWS WRITE tag!

The Rules:

#1 – Provide a BRIEF description of your novel before starting.

#2 – Don’t use the same character for more than 3 answers.

The Questions:

It’s Halloween night! What is your protagonist dressed up as?   

Who in your cast refuses to dress up and shows up at the Halloween party without a costume?  

Which character wears the most outrageous costume, and what would it be?  

On Halloween, werewolves, vampires, and zombies are on the prowl. Which of your characters gets caught in their clutches, and which creature do they subsequently turn into?  

Who wins the contest for best costume?  

Who hands out toothbrushes to the trick and treaters? 

Which two of your characters decide to pair up and do an angel/devil costume together? 

Someone is too scared to even attend the Halloween party. Who is it?

 Who overdoses on Halloween candy and ends up sick? 

Which character is most likely to place a curse/hex on someone and who would they curse?

Don’t forget to tag your writer friends and use ‘all hallows write’ in your tags so other writers can easily find your answers. 

[jennamoreci-deactivated20260404]

I am DEFINITELY doing a vlog for this!! This is SO SO good!

@skasse tag me, my body is ready!!!

All my fellow writers - DO THIS TAG, the questions are sooooooooo good and I wanna see your silly answers!!! <3

[blaisehaddow-blog]

I have a feeling @shaelinwrites would have a blast with this

[dangerbabegang]

What to do if you suddenly find yourself homeless

FOOD

Find your nearest food bank or mission, for food

grocery stores with free samples, bakeries + stores with day-old bread

different fast food outlets have cheaper food and will generally let you hang out for a while.

some dollar stores carry food like cans of beans or fruit

SHELTER

Sleeping at beaches during the day is a good way to avoid suspicion and harassment

sleep with your bag strapped to you, so someone can’t steal it

Some churches offer short term residence

Find your nearest homeless shelter

Look for places that are open to the public

A large dumpster near a wall can often be moved so that flipping up the lids creates an angled shelter to stay dry

HYGIENE

A membership to the YMCA is usually only 10$, which has a shower, and sometimes laundry machines and lockers.

Public libraries have bathrooms you can use

Dollar stores carry low-end soaps and deodorant etc.

Wet wipes are all purpose and a life saver

Local beaches, go for a quick swim

Some truck stops have showers you can pay for

Staying clean is the best way to prevent disease, and potentially get a job to get back on your feet

Pack 7 pairs of socks/undies, 2 outfits, and one hooded rain jacket

OTHER

first aid kit

 sunscreen

 a travel alarm clock or watch

 mylar emergency blanket

 a backpack is a must

 downgrade your cellphone to a pay as you go with top-up cards

 sleeping bag

 travel kit of toothbrush, hair brush/comb, mirror

 swiss army knife

 can opener

[spork-of-humanity]

Reblog to literally save a life

[hipsandheartbreak]

if there is a Dollar Tree near you, they have entire food aisles

Planet Fitness also has $10 memberships. you can shower and they have free food days! pizza night 1st monday every month, bagel tuesday the 2nd tuesday every month.

[himynameisrollin-deactivated201]

Save a life reblog

[kukachoosays]

i am so glad that i renblogged this however so long ago. i saw this post and shared it with others in mind, but now i am the one who really needs this. id like to think of this as good karma i guess

[naturalhairqueens]

Bwhatyouwant

[samswritingtips-deactivated2016]

A breakdown of medieval armor, since a lot of pieces are required to create a full suit.

[kuropii]

Ref

[writingtipsandtricks]

For all of use writing medieval historical fiction/fantasy/fight scenes with armor/etc

[shaelinwrites]

Do you feel that a lot of the "authortubing" (self-published or unpublished novelists still early in learning their craft) trying to create a brand as writing authorities first, authors second is necessarily ethical? Particularly when a lot of the advice (whether on your channel or others) is, at best, fairly generic and skewed by their own lack of experience as is? Isn't this harmful to general artistic integrity when you're an expert with a fanbase before your books are really out there?

Okay, there is a lot to say here, so I need to start with a disclaimer. I’m speaking for myself here, not any other authortubers. Like any community, we’re not a hive mind. We’re all different, we all run our channels differently, we all have different mindsets and values. I’m speaking for me and only me. I don’t know if you’re only referring to me, or the community as a whole, or specific members of the community in your ask, but I can only answer for myself. 

I understand where your claim is coming from here, but for me it’s not ringing accurate. First of all, I never started my channel nor has it ever been an attempt to create a brand or act as an authority. I started my channel because I loved writing and I wanted to talk about it with other writers. As well, I also do not present myself as an authority on writing. I’m not an authority on writing, I know that, and I don’t think I come across that way. Giving advice on a topic doesn’t mean you think you’re an authority. If my friend asks for some advice on a personal situation, am I suddenly an authority on dating? No. Throwing in your two cents doesn’t make you an authority, it makes you part of a discussion. 

I also want to point out that on my channel, I can break my videos into two general categories: advice or personal. Anything personal is about my writing progress or journey. For anything that is advice, the majority of it is information I am passing on from school, or is coming from my research on the topic. I’m passing along information I learned from educational resources not everyone has access too. That’s a key part of this equation that is often overlooked: if advice is good and well-researched, even if the person giving the advice has less experience, they didn’t write that advice themselves. They’re sharing what they’ve learned from people who are very credible.

I find it funny there’s so much heat around authortube and ‘qualifications’ and such, because I’ve never seen this around bloggers (maybe it exists, but I haven’t seen it). Writing bloggers have been common for a while, but I’ve not seen this kind of controversy. There aren’t a ton of authortubers with larger platforms, and we may seem like we’ve emerged from nowhere and think of ourselves as authorities, but for me that’s not true. There are fewer of us and so our voices are louder. But we’re not doing anything different from someone who wrote an article and posted it on their blog, but we’re getting a lot of scrutiny because we’re sharing that same information under a different medium. 

Finally, I want to talk about qualifications. Am I qualified to give advice? Well, that’s up to each individual viewer to decide for themselves. If you deem me, or anyone you watch, not qualified, then unsubscribe and stop watching. Simple. No one is forcing you to watch any authortuber, and no one is forcing you to take their advice. Not to mention, being able to determine what advice is helpful for you and what isn’t is an important skill of any craft. When I started out, was I qualified? Probably not, but I was pretty much only sharing personal progress at that point. Now, I personally think I am qualified, but as I touched on above, my advice comes from people who are definitely qualified and I’m only here to relay it. I can list my qualifications for you, if they mean anything, because you’re kind of implying that I’m lacking experience in your phrasing. I have three years of formal, university level instruction in writing from the best writing program in Canada, I’ve had my short fiction published, been chosen for an award in fiction writing from my department, and I’ve written eight novels plus many other short works. Maybe that’s enough for you, maybe that’s not. However, that’s all somewhat moot, because I’m giving you researched advice that I learned from other people, from articles written by published authors, from my university professors. I’m just doing the research for you. And on top of that, if you want to judge if I’m qualified, you can go to my website and read my work to decide for yourself. If it’s not up to your standard, then simple: don’t watch, or don’t follow my advice. 

I just want to make it clear, and in this case I can speak for all authortubers, none of us are the most qualified writers in the world so it’s unfair to expect that of us. The most qualified writers aren’t making youtube videos for free, they’re doing fancy lectures, TED talks, teaching at the post-secondary level, or just not teaching at all because they’re successful writers who support themselves on that. We authortubers provide you free resources and you can choose to take them or you can choose to leave them. Personally, I’m completely open about the state and history of my work, the state of my education, and pretty much everything that would allow you to decide if I’m qualified or not. But we give these resources for free, and I’m here not asking anything in return, so it’s take it or leave it and I’m not harming anyone.

I’m not claiming to be an expert, nor have I ever. I’m just someone who has some decent writing experience, some writing education, and good writing instincts, and wants to share my side of the discussion. I want to be helpful, to provide resources to people who don’t have access to the resources I have. Saying that’s unethical, to me, is fairly ridiculous. It’s not damaging artistic integrity, it’s part of a larger discussion on writing and what it means to be a writer. Anyone can contribute to that discussion, but don’t act like because you’re a viewer and haven’t chosen to speak you’re just a sheep following a shepherd blindly–you choose to watch, and if you choose to listen and act on what I say, you are also making that choice. 

[runawaymuse1996-deactivated2019]

I love when characters have interesting/odd flaws :) It makes everything so much more interesting. 

[moirakatson]

The Color Thesaurus

All from Ingrid’s Notes on Wordpress, direct link here.

[tangyowl]

thank the lord oh my

[osmosisjones]

[tanglewood-queen-blog]

any writing blogs out there?

I’m creating this blog to reblog other writers and post updates and such from my own novel I’m writing or some poetry. I’d really just love to find other writers out there!

(If I follow it’ll say lostnoblivion-4, my main blog)

[mcubed35]

I’m a writing blog! Also, I’m the admin for a writeblr networking blog, @writeblrconnections !

[blaisehaddow-blog]

Hi! Nice to meet you!

[wizardshark]

GIVE ME LESBIANS IN LITERATURE

SPACE PIRATE LESBIANS

HOCKEY LESBIANS

HACKER LESBIANS

MOBSTER LESBIANS

CIA LESBIANS

DRAGON SLAYER LESBIANS

WIZARD LESBIANS

FARMER LESBIANS

MERCENARY LESBIANS

KUNG FU LESBIANS

GAMER RIVAL LESBIANS

BOXER LESBIANS

SPEAKEASY 1920S CHICAGO LESBIANS

JUST GIVE ME!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! LESBIANS WITH THE SAME VARIETY OF STORIES THAT CISHETS GET

[jamjarsthebook-blog]

MY BOOK HAS BODYGUARD LESBIANS

[thesesummersonspoet]

I RAISE YOU WITCH LESBIANS! 

[marcellahartwell-deactivated201]

Ok.. ok. I’m no lez-fiction expert like Dannika at the @lesbrary but I am totally here for wlw fiction visibility.

To google we go!

SPACE PIRATE LESBIANS

Hmm, striking out on the first prompt. Shit.

Ok, what about sea monsters and pirates? The Abyss Surrounds Us

Or just regular old pirates? The Sublime and Spirited Voyage of Original Sin

HOCKEY LESBIANS

Lesbian Fiction with Sports Theme

HACKER LESBIANS

NSA agents and hackers! Counting to Zero

MOBSTER LESBIANS

Ok.. mobster adjacent but Megan Casey Writes about the Top 20 Lesbian Mystery Novels 

Something with dockside gangsters in the 1950s: Tarnished Gold

See also: SPEAKEASY 1920S CHICAGO LESBIANS below

CIA LESBIANS

Secret Service lesbians! The Honor Series by Radclyffe

DRAGON SLAYER LESBIANS

Shira Glassman’s Mangoverse series features dragons, but I think they are friendly. 

Lady lesbian knight slays giant monster beast terrorizing Boston: A Knight to Remember

WIZARD LESBIANS

Popular Lesbian Fantasy Novels

FARMER LESBIANS

Nonfiction but that title tho: Garden Variety Dykes: Lesbian Traditions in Gardening

MERCENARY LESBIANS

Lesbian Spy/Military/Cop list

KUNG FU LESBIANS

Action and adventure. Definitely some kicking and punching. Maybe not kung-fu per se:  This is Devin Jones

GAMER RIVAL LESBIANS

A gamer lesbian and werewolves: The Better to Kiss You With

BOXER LESBIANS

See HOCKEY LESBIAN for sports themed books above

SPEAKEASY 1920S CHICAGO LESBIANS

Also features mafia themes! May not be set in Chicago! Speakeasy 

[theinkstainsblog]

Bless your soul and this post you beautiful person! 

Also not exactly SPACE PIRATE LESBIANS but for SPACE LESBIANS try: 

The Long Way To A Small Angry Planet by Becky Chambers

Between your PIRATE LESBIANS and my SPACE LESBIANS we kinda did it right?

[shaelinwrites]

As someone who reads, I think every person who wants to be an author needs to read Fahrenheit 451. I mean the story should intrigue you. Future American society who don't read books and firemen who burn them. Burning not only the books, but the author's lives themselves. Did they not have you read this in canada?

I’ve heard of Fahrenheit 451, I don’t live under a rock. In my Grade 10 English glass we were divided into two groups, half read Fahrenheit 451 and the other half read The Chrysalids. I was in The Chrysalids group.

That said, I don’t think there are any books every writer needs to read. That’s quite an over simplification. Personal tastes in reading exist regardless of whether you want to be a writer. I’m sure it’s an excellent book, but I don’t feel it’s required readings for all writers, nothing is.

[blaisehaddow-blog]

Totally seconding Shaelin on this. To elaborate (because that's what you all asked for):

There is no write way. There is no book that will suit everyone, no universal strategic or technique or skill. Every popular book has ciritcs and haters, every unpopular book has scholars and fans. Some people won't touch love "triangles," while others adore them. Not all writers will find the book educational nor even interesting.

IMO, the anon mistakes an interesting premise for an educational moment. The anon never mentions why writers need to read the book, in their opinion.

If you're going to make an argument, maybe back it up with evidence or logic.

[jennamoreci-deactivated20260404]

I get that it makes it more realistic when there are some LGBT characters in some storylines. But it is also unrealistic to have too many LGBT characters. I've noticed sometimes it seems like every other person in a storyline is LGBT and that's not realistic. There has to be a happy medium. I don't often have opinions on LGBT stuff, but do you also notice this sometimes?

Maybe under that rock of yours, that would be unrealistic. But here above ground with the rest of the human population, not so much. 

To everyone else: friendly reminder that it’s #TSCTuesday, not lets-revert-back-to-the-1950s-Tuesday. 

[blaisehaddow-blog]

To the anon: fiendly reminder that a) queers are hella common and their expression mostly only suppressed by heternormativity, and b) queers seek out queers, and c) saying it's unrealistic to have ALL THE QUEERS is definitely an opinion on the subject.

To Jenna: You rock. Don't forget to be awesome. Keep slaying dragons. Can't wait for TSC ^^

[hklunethewriter]

I think it’s safe to say around 90% of writers would love for you to ask them about their writing, be it OCs or plot or whatever. As for the other 10%, I think it’s safe to say they probably would not mind you asking.

So go ahead and do either of those things.

[blaisehaddow-blog]

Um, hi.

[sunderlorn]

FINALLY 👏 SOMEONE 👏 SAID 👏 IT. 👏 ALL OF IT.  👏ALL AT ONCE. 👏

(Thank you @fallingawkwardly​ for bringing this to my attention.)

[hsavinien]

A+ world-building challenges.

[indi-flying-with-dragons]

Might I interest the OP of the marvelous twitter rant in a book they may know (but just in case they don’t I’m recommending it to them and everybody else <3)?

It’s called “The Tough Guide to Fantasyland” by Diana Wynne Jones.

It tackles things like this and more within it’s pages, set up like a snarky travelogue guide to touristy places, and assume that all bad fantasy all takes place in the same nebulous land called “Fantasyland” and that this is your tour guide to surviving there. xD

Funny hint: It suggests horses are bred by pollination and therefore vegetables and that’s why they don’t need much food or water and can keep on going without fatigue. And why they don’t go into heat either. XD

I think y'all would get a GOOD laugh out of that. <3

[blaisehaddow-blog]

That book is golden. Just saying.

[thewritershandbook]

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.

[slitheringink]

I had an anon asking about how to make their character not so perfect. Well, here’s a great list of some flaws you can try to use to balance out his good traits.

-Morgan