FandomsInmyMind

[writerlydays]

hi! a while ago i saw you posted tips on writing kissing scenes and I can't find it ;(

Okay, i’m not sure which one you’re referring to, so here’s some different ones!

How Kissing Works

Some Kiss Things

Kiss Scenes 101

How To Write A Kiss

[snazzycookies-blog]

How to write a kiss

Rebloggable version, as requested by davrosbro. :)

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

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

Okay so:

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

[bowies-thighs]

David Bowie is…so pretty….like..really really pretty.. no matter what age, that man was pretty his whole damn life he lived and died looking absolutely beautiful

[spaceformybones-deactivated2019]

I painted a Trench one finally! I think I timed at 6 hours again 👌😂

[fandomsinmymind]

Freaking perfection right here!  Sweet and talented...  I am ever proud!

[harrypotterconfessions]

Please forgive the anonymous nature of this confession. I’ve been too stressed about other things in my life to also deal with people sending me hate over this. I sincerely hope you don’t get any fallout.

I have to unload about the Nagini thing before I explode. I’m sick and tired already of people calling Rowling a racist (have you SEEN her Twitter, people? She’s no more racist than I am a Victoria’s Secret supermodel.) over it. 

First of all, the movie hasn’t come out yet. You don’t know the whole story. Nagini could be a very willing participant. Just because someone isn’t white doesn’t mean they can’t be racist. I had a coworker who was half Chinese, half Vietnamese, and she often told me how badly her own family members treated her for being “mixed.” Let alone strangers.

Second, hasn’t anyone stopped to think that this is just another way Rowling is showing how evil Voldemort is? Yes, he’s magical Hitler, that’s kind of her point. Her books have from the beginning shown that those who are racist, anti-Semitic, etc are evil and should be reviled. Umbridge was a racist too. The Golden Trio were disgusted at the statue in the Ministry Of Magic that showed all these other sentient “non-human” species looking up at a witch and wizard as if they were gods. 

Voldemort has a lot more in common with Hitler than just his racism. Hitler is rumored to have Jewish ancestry on his mother’s side. Voldemort was half muggle on his father’s. They were both dark haired men. Both were rejected at their chosen profession - Voldemort wanted to teach Defense Against The Dark Arts, Hitler wanted to be a painter. 

Hitler’s sexual relationship with his underage cousin also shows he was a incestual pedophile. He spent a great deal of time grooming her. Haven’t you all seen that creepy video where he’s openly flirting with her while she’s filming him? 

Which brings up another subject - if you don’t think Nazis didn’t keep women (and boys) as sex slaves, especially the high ranking officers, then you’re delusional. And most likely most if not all eventually developed what we would think of as Stockholm Syndrome. 

So, if Nagini wasn’t already evil herself, then how do we know she’s not a victim of that and, again, Rowling is using this as yet another example of how evil Voldemort is. 

He was a handsome dude once. How do you know he didn’t seduce Nagini? Tell her he can break her blood curse and help her become fully human again? She has to be desperate to not remain a snake for life. (And if anything, Neville Longbottom freed her from this curse by killing her. Much like the trope in vampire novels and movies where the vampire hunter frees the vampire from their “curse” when staking them.) Manipulate her the way VILLAINS do?

And that’s the important thing to keep in mind - Voldemort is a VILLAIN. He’s a bad guy. He has to be ultimately unforgivable. He’s meant to be hated. Not seen as a sex god who should be shipped with Bellatrix (even though she’s a disgusting monster too) or Hermonine Granger. (Yes, some people ship the Dark Lord with Hermonine!) You’re supposed to hate him. He’s not a sympathetic villain like The Phantom Of The Opera. He’s not even a dumb villain like Phoebus from the novel The Hunchback Of Notre Dame. (Real quick for those who are only familiar with the Disney adaptation - Phoebus is a vain, money hungry a*****e who only wants to bang Esmeralda, he doesn’t love her at all. He leaves her to die and marries another woman for her money. He’s not a dashing hero, he’s a blond bimbo and a villain.) No, Voldemort is Frollo. He is to be hated. He is to be reviled. And Rowling is just giving us more reasons to hate him and teach us that racism is 100 BILLION percent wrong.  

Anyway, maybe see the movie first before going off on Rowling? Even my millennial coworkers agree that too many people their age are grasping at straws and looking to be offended at things they know nothing about, especially when it comes to Harry Potter and Rowling. 

[catchymemes]

[zeppelliot]

Jumpscare warning

[websandwhiskers]

So, because people writing inaccurate kid!fic bothers me, a quick reference to kids (Disclaimer:  I have no professional background in child development, and no offspring of my own - this is all based on other people’s kids.):

Newborn:  Person-larva.  Cannot do much but eat, sleep, cuddle, cry, poop.  Cannot hold their own head up.  May pick up on the mood of the person holding them, but response to it is going to consists of either contentment or complaining.  Those are pretty much the two states of a newborn: happily cuddly or expressing displeasure. 

2 - 6 months:  Somewhat more aware of surroundings, own appendages, etc.  Will recognize people, like some better than others.  Smiles, laughs, babbles.  Somewhere in here rolling over commences, and possibly crawling.  Starts teething. 

6 -12 months: Lots of babbling, but no actual talking.  Crawls, pulls self up to standing while holding onto things, may start wobbly independent walking.  Some kids are climbers (may heaven help their parents).  Eating some solid food (as in, mashed up stuff), but still nursing / drinking formula too.  This is the beginning of the exploratory, everything-goes-in-the-mouth stage.  Still teething.

1 year old: Has teeth, eats solid food.  Many parents wean at this age, but it’s not unusual to continue breastfeeding.  Talks, but probably not very clearly - pronunciation will be interesting, and vocabulary very limited.  May repeat a new word incessantly.  Points at things they want.  Physical coordination and verbal skills increase as child gets older.  Maybe develop utterly random phobias, usually of things that are new or unpredictable.  Interested in other children, may mimic older children.  Still sticks everything in their mouth.

2 years old: Speaks well enough to be understood by those who know them, but not necessarily strangers.  Uses simple phrases.  May mash words together to express a concept for which they don’t yet know the word, or make a word up.  Is learning labels for things, though they may not be accurate (i.e. all old men are grandpa, all round objects are a ball, etc.)  Knows colors, parts of the body, types of animals, etc.  Walks, runs, dances, etc - basically the full range of physical stuff, just all of it is kinda awkward.  Can roll a ball or throw it in a clumsy way.  May have a favorite toy, security blanket, etc.  May play pretend games or make up stories, but they’re likely to be fair inscrutable to adults.  Wants to do things independently, but is likely to be easily frustrated.  Has tantrums.  Plays with other children, but not terribly good at sharing or being nice.  Asks questions; the ‘why?’ stage has begun.  Toilet training begins around this age; girls tend to get the hang of it quicker than boys. 

3 years old - pretty much the same as 2, only a bit better at all of it.  Asks a LOT of questions.  Has friends.  Plays pretend.  Understands rules (though is unlikely to obey them very well).  Can count, though not very far.  Speaks well enough to be understood by strangers; you know that so-cute-you-could-die kid-speak people love to write?  This is the appropriate age for it (up through about age 5). 

4 to 5 - cutesy kid-speak is age appropriate.  May still have tantrums, still not the best at sharing, but should be starting to get socially functional.  Can throw or kick a ball, jump, stand on one foot, all that.  Can count, recite alphabet.  Some kids start learning to read and write arond this age, though it wouldn’t yet be abnormal for them not to be able to.   Lots of pretend play.  Emotionally intense; everything is dire.  Learning to be self-maintaining, i.e. may bathe independently but needs an adult to wash their hair.

6 - 10 - speaks like an emotionally immature adult; the things they have to say are still kid-like, but they should be easing out of kid-speak.  Reads, writes, can do math - these skills increase with age.  Understands and (usually) obeys rules, has a concept of fairness, kindness vs. cruelty, etc.  Forms tight friendships, keeps secrets, wants to fit in and be liked; having a best friend or a group of friends is the most important thing in their world.  Wants to be good at things; has definite interests and academic strengths and weaknesses.  May bully or be bullied; kids this age can be mean.  As in horrifyingly so.  Has crushes (though probably still finds it acutely embarrassing).  Understands death.  Kids this age will curse, though hilariously badly.  Still wants parental affection, but probably not in public. 

11 - 12 - mini-teen, which is to say emotionally vulnerable, short-sighted mini-adult.  Naive still, but not terribly so - has a basic understanding of human nature, events around them, etc.  Begins to form political / ideological / religious opinions.  May begin reciprocal romantic attachments.  Strongly focused on collective identity, what ‘niche’ or ‘crowd’ they identify with.  Some girls start puberty.  This is also the age of things going badly wrong; kids know which other kids are the sociopaths at this stage.  While everybody else is learning how to not be a mean little shit to everybody unlike themselves (or a bitter perpetual victim), those few who aren’t developing in a good direction become downright terrifying. 

13 - 15 - somewhere in here, kids will start either facing major adult-scale decisions and problems themselves, or seeing peers doing so.  Shit gets real.  This is why teenagers think they know everything; the rose-colored glasses of childhood fall off, and they are suddenly So Very Jaded and cannot imagine there being more to the world than what they can suddenly perceive now, because it is overwhelming.  Likely to be angry at the world, likely to gravitate toward ideological extremes.  Takes risks.  Forms romantic attachments; may experiment sexually, may not, maturity levels here very A LOT. 

16 - 21 - moody adult with far more curiosity than common sense.  Does thing in grand and dramatic fashion.  Experiments with different identities.  Wants total independence.  Many develop greater social maturity around this time; stop seeing others in terms of cliques, develop greater empathy and ability to see things from multiple perspectives.  Forms romantic attachments that may be serious or even life-long. 

[s-leary]

This is pretty accurate IME, and if you want more detail for the first few years, try Touchpoints.

[halfbloodlycan]

@plsfeedthewriter

[oldplsfeedthewriter]

Very useful!

[shetriestoohard]

Physical Signs Of Fear

- Wide Eyes - Raised Eyebrows - Flared Nostrils - Clenched Mouth - Larger personal space - Slouching or hunching to minimize their exposure - Taller or squared shoulders as in an aggressive response - Feet may be pointed to locate a way out of the situation - Crossed arms and hands - Drumming of fingers - Fidgeting - Rapid Breathing - Shaking or tapping legs - Breathing more rapid and shallow - Increase in blood pressure - Increase in pulse rate - Dilated Pupils - Dry Mouth - Body hair standing on end - Tense and energized muscles - Increased perspiration - Digestive and Immune systems slow down - Trembling and shaking - Peristalsis reduced - Increased glycogen to glucose conversion - Norepinephrine and epinephrine secreted - Sweaty Palms - Nervous Ticks - Increase in thoughts and Mind Racing - Screaming, yelling or inability to do these things - Immobility or paralysis - Hives or skin rashes, skin conditions

[ocqotd]

Would your OC consider themself “organized”?

[yes-this-is-groot]

[deepwaterfiction]

Text: It was the annual meeting of the ancient gods, and everyone was antsy. When you lived forever, meeting every year seemed like overkill. 

[thescriptorium]

novels should start holding a “deleted scenes” section in last book of the series like movies do, just funny useless scenes where the characters mess up or joke around or a silly secret is let out. cute stuff to keep us not so sad after the book ends ☺️

[writebruh]

I always said I would tell people where I planned for the story to head originally!!!

[jade-island-lives]

I want to do this XD

And if Merlia ever becomes a movie, I’m bringing back cartoon bloopers. Like the kind from Monster’s Inc XD

[creativepromptsforwriting]

Prompt #415: Quotes (55)

“I’d love to change the world. But I don’t know what to do.”

[worshipgifs]

Recommended Resource: The Names of God by Ken Hemphill

[givethispromptatry]

He once would pray only for forgiveness, but now he found himself praying for sanity as well.

[theliteraryarchitect]

How to Spot an “Info-dump”

I got a great question in my Ask recently from someone wanting to know how to identify an info-dump in their writing. Here’s my response!

For those who don’t know, an info-dump refers to areas of a story where a writer gives a long expository description, either in narrative or in dialogue, where they are basically “dumping” a bunch of information on the reader all at once, as opposed to revealing it naturally throughout the story.

Signs of an info-dump:

Read your passage out loud. Do you get bored? You might be info-dumping.

Has all conflict in your story come to a screeching halt while you spend more than 1-2 paragraphs explaining something to the reader? You might be info-dumping.

Are two characters telling each other things they already know for, like, a long time? You might be info-dumping.

If invited to read your work publicly, would you definitely NOT read that passage, because “nothing really happens” and you worry the audience would get bored listening to it? It could be an info-dump.

Signs that you are probably not info-dumping:

Have you woven in necessary backstory and information in 1-3 sentence bursts throughout your story? Not an info dump.

Does a character spend a short paragraph or two explaining something to another character that they didn’t already know, for a good story reason? Not an info dump.

Do you keep the story going and keep conflict and tension alive while you gradually show your reader what’s going on? Not an info dump.

Do you have just a few sections where you spend 200-300 words or less explaining something to the reader? As long as your story is on the longer side, you’re probably not doing too much info-dumping.

Again, these are just general guidelines. After you finish your story, though, you might want to give it to a friend or fellow writer to give you feedback and let you know if they spot any areas that are too thick with exposition.

Also keep in mind that whether or not a writer is info-dumping can be subjective as well as genre-sensitive: Not everyone will agree about what makes a passage an info-dump or not, and if you’re writing a complicated fantasy with a lot of world-building and history, giving your reader a ton of info can be necessary at some stages. Also, readers of fantasy tend to be more tolerant of it because it comes with the territory sometimes. But these general guidelines should help.