Whenever people want to relitigate the discourse on whether or not conflict is necessary for a narrative, they always bring up kishoutenketsu, and they always frame it as this sort of staid and mature counterpoint to the western three-act structure.
Anyway, I’m chuckling as I’m reading Araki’s guide to making manga, where he gleefully and effusively introduces the reader to the concept of kishoutenketsu, which he considers a great framework for injecting conflict and exciting twists into his battle shounen.
Prev post: please share what is it that you learned
I think what I personally found most valuable was a review of basic story structure. there are many kinds of story structure out there, but this old thing that most people have seen in their english class is often overlooked and surprisingly useful when you intentionally try to apply it:
to me the key point is the tension on the Y-axis. in a short story, where you don't have a ton of real estate in word count (which is important when you write fanfic on social media, since the attention economy is hell nowadays so it's actually really helpful to be concise with your words lol), so every single scene without exception needs to escalate the tension in a story. this doesn't mean things need to get darker or that the conflict needs to get violent: I think of tension more as the story getting more interesting, with the characters making decisions that push them toward some kind of climax (or things are happening to them that push toward this climax). the stakes must get higher with each scene.
the climax, by this type of structure, involves the character taking some kind of decisive action. funnily enough I always write pwp so the climax of my fics tend to be built-in with a literal, sexual climax: the romantic (or psychological) tension peaks and the characters take decisive action to fuck nasty. less smutty writers may find that the climax is two characters taking action to talk about their feelings, or finally kissing, etc.
another thing that a lot of fanfic writers intuitively do, which is really useful, is the ABCDE structure:
you open with a hook, a scene that drops the reader far enough along into the story that you get a sense of the conflict. you make the audience get invested in the story and characters - you make them care enough to keep learning about them. (huge on social media tbh 😭)
then, for the next scene, you pause to give some background and context to the characters and situation. this works well because now the readers interested enough in the characters/situation to read all this background info. then you continue with your rising tension curve from before.
some other interesting tips:
in the first scene of the story, toward the end, you should set up an expectation of where the story/characters will go. by the end of the story, you should violate this expectation. this generally makes the story more interesting: when events go as promised, it is predictable, which tends to be boring.
with a short story, the general recommendation is not to spend too much time showing the daily life of a character - cut to the inciting incident ASAP in a short story
most intriguing tip I've seen and try to apply: after finishing the first draft of a story (or outline), try throwing out the first page and also its very last paragraph - usually you don't need either of them
give yourself a 3k word limit and try to stick to it - this is the word count that most literary mags prefer but I also think it's a useful exercise to learn how to condense your story into its most fundamental form
important to note that these are all tips, not rules. there are a ton of exceptions and many stories that follow completely different structures (eg, petal structure). but I do think taking all this advice and just giving an earnest try in my story writing did make my writing way stronger, and it's worth attempting all this to see what makes your writing tick better and what makes it worse.
another thing to do is studying short stories to pick out the story structure. I think as readers we inherently pick out the writing styles (i.e., voice) of different authors, but it takes a more intentional reading to dissect story structure. you may notice some tricks that really help! I recommend lady and the dog by chekhov if you want to get a grasp on ABCDE structure, and how it applies to stories that are not necessarily dark in content but still involve rising tension in their development - something that is valuable for a lot of fanfic writers who just wanna write about two people falling in love and having great sex.
honestly like any trope, when it's well executed it really works and when it's executed poorly it's icky . but I just find it's rarely executed well.
the worst way this trope has been executed is when you have characters that are emotionally cheating on their partners, usually for a ridiculously long time. idk who needs to hear this but it is not sweet or cute for someone to get engaged and than leave their fiancée for someone who they assured their partner multiple times was just a (best) friend. its not sweet or cute for someone you are friends with who is in a relationship to be jealous of your partners or to be flirty and play with your feelings! if your friend is only talking to you when their partner isn't around, that's not romantic! if you want your happiness to come at the expense of someone else's that's not romantic! i get that this is fictional but still.
another horrible way this trope is often played out, is with the implication of becoming friends with someone but the characters want to have sex with each other the whole time. like character one hits on character 2 and they get rejected, so they stay friends with character 2 for the hope that they'll change their mind. so beyond creepy. only being friends with someone because you have a crush on them is weird. imagine being friends with someone for ten years and thinking its a genuine like wholesome friendship and then one day they kiss you and are like "i've waited so long for this" . yikes.
lastly i just feel like it devalues platonic love a lot. its as if relationships can't be emotionally rich and deep and meaningful unless they're romantic, which is super shitty. like" oh they're such good friends why don't they just date already" makes me kinda sad for people who think being/having good friends isn't enough and i think its kinda weird to assume just because people are good as friends that means they should bang/be romantically involved.
don't get me started on the heteronormativity of it all. despite the fact that most of the LGBTQ+ friendgroups and communities I'm part of have some form of friendcest, most rom-coms are still like "look a man and a woman can't be friends isn't that sweet?" ( i love when harry met sally but I just have to point out that that's a horrible message).
the thing is, it is so important and romantic for your partner to also be your friend. so its a bit complicated as a trope because yes idealistically having a couple where they just work very well as friends and as lovers is like good.
so what makes a rom-com with a friends to lovers trope romantic? what does this trope look like when its well executed? in my opinion:
instead of approaching it from this "the romantic feelings were there the whole time secretly they just wouldn't/couldn't act on them until this point in the story" perspective it's better to like actually see them being friends. as in just friends, no pretext/subtext, no assumptions, i hate to say it but no yearning, just whole hearted innocent platonic love. and than as friends they grow and learn together, as they become their own independent people, as they figure out what they want in life for themselves, their feelings change, their relationships change, and its learning together to navigate these changing feelings and this new relationship that makes it romantic. tbh if there's something that separates them for a period of time and than they wind up being in the same place again in a new context, even better.
tldr: if the romantic feelings were (implied to be) there the whole time, the friends to lovers trope is bad, if the feelings develop along with the character development/relationship growth, the friends to lovers trope is good. bonus points if the context changes significantly.
hi daddy tonyyy i love your writing so much MUAHHH
i have a question. when you write in second person pov how do you avoid writing “y/n” ? any tips?
AHHH tysm for reading ml <33 And ohhh yes so what I do is wherever you feel the compuIsion to use 'y/n' just use 'you' ☝🏽 Additionally use nicknames in place of 'y/n' and names, if you want the character to say your name then just say it in passive as in 'they called out your name' instead of having them use 'y/n' ☝🏽☝🏽 I hope this makes sense ddjhsd happy writing ml <33
This sentence has five words. Here are five more words. Five-word sentences are fine. But several together become monotonous. Listen to what is happening. The writing is getting boring. The sound of it drones. It's like a stuck record. The ear demands some variety.
Now listen. I vary the sentence length, and I create music. Music. The writing sings. It has a pleasant rhythm, a lilt, a harmony. I use short sentences. And I use sentences of medium length. And sometimes, when I am certain the reader is rested, I will engage him with a sentence of considerable length, a sentence that burns with energy and builds with all the impetus of a crescendo, the roll of the drums, the crash of the cymbals—sounds that say listen to this, it is important.
So write with a combination of short, medium, and long sentences. Create a sound that pleases the reader's ear. Don't just write words. Write music.
Surprise installment of my series of educational posts about writing!
Again, I'm no professional writer, but I've been doing this for a while and this is what works for me. I mostly write fanfiction, but I have plotted a few original books I will absolutely finish one day haha 😅
Disclaimer: I'm what you'd call a "plotter". I like to have a solid structure before sitting down and writing. I have learned that not everyone likes this, so if your thing is more just spitting words on paper and see where it goes, great! But this is for everyone who really wants to plan their story and doesn't know where to even begin.
Here we go!
Short version of my process?
Write the beginning.
Write the ending.
Make up everything in between on the go.
Yes. That simple. It can get more or less complicated depending on what exactly do you want to write, but the gist of it is those simple steps.
What to do before even thinking about planning your story
Decide some vital things before even sitting down and writing anything.
How long do you want this to be?
What's the focus of the story?
How are you going to tell the story?
And my favorite: What do you want your readers to take from your story?
Let's break them down:
How long will be your story?
Important, because how many words you have to work with will determine how much planning you are investing, how much time, and most importantly how deep are you going to go.
You don't do the same amount of worldbuilding for a 1k one shot than a 120k epic multichapter. Basically, the shorter the story is, the less you should lose your mind about details.
Yes, you don't need to know every little detail about your world's magic system if you don't need to. Or find out when exactly fingerprints started to be used as standard identification method (I did this one 😆).
I promise is not a crime to keep it short and brief. Not every story will serve the same purpose, and shorter stories have a place the same way that a longer story does.
What's the focus of the story?
Plot-driven or Character-driven? Are you telling about a story where characters play a part, or about characters that experience a story?
Character driven:
In short, a character-driven story is one where the focus will be more on character development than on the plot. (source)
These are the stories where exactly what happens in the world doesn't matter that much, and the focus is on what the character do or feel or experience. Sure, external events happen, but they serve the purpose to explore the characters.
You'd need to have a vague list of things you want to happen, but doesn't need to make that much sense or go too deep in any way. Characterization and exploration of your characters' relationships will be what keeps people reading.
Some examples would be slice of life stories, or romance.
(Gif is from K-ON, a slice of life anime about a bunch of girls that start a music club)
Plot driven:
In plot-driven writing, the story will be more focused on action, with a developed and exciting plot. (source)
In this type of story, you really need to have a clear understanding of the plot, how it goes from point A to point B, and craft an interesting succession of events that keeps the audience engaged. In this type, the character serve the plot.
This is where the fun begins. Get ready to PLOT, because you'd need to know what is going on and where are we going.
Some examples would be epic adventure movies. Star Wars, for example.
How are you going to tell the story?
One character POV? Multiple POV? Omniscient narrator?
I'm not talking about if you want first, second or third person; or what tense the verbs are going to be.
How much will your readers have to know?
If you are telling the story from the perspective of someone who doesn't know anything, then you don't need to go insane about lore and worldbuilding from the get go.
Basically: Do your readers have to know certain information to understand the story? Because if they don't need to know about the specific mathematics of quantum physics, then you don't have to plot for it.
On the other hand, if you have plot reasons to include more complex understanding of your world or the plot, then I have bad news: get sidetracked with wikipedia articles for hours. Yes, it's necessary. I'm so sorry.
But Gil, maybe my characters don't need to know the details about my cool magic system, but I need to establish rules that make sense.
HELL YEAH. Now we talkin'
There's some worldbuilding and plotting that requires background legwork but only serves the purpose to make the world make sense.
The longer the story, the more you need it to be solid, and the more you need to plan for it.
It could feel like wasted effort, but it's my opinion that it creates a safety net for the writer — the more solid your world is, the easier it will be to understand how the characters exists in it, and less blanks you draw when doing the step 2: making things up on the go.
But how do you know what worldbuilding is relevant and what will be more "background rules"?
What do you want your readers to take from your story?
What's the point of your story? What do you want to tell?
What brings you joy?
Everything hinges on what exactly do you want to do. Write a long epic? A short fluffy oneshot? A horror AU?
Even if you are more the type of "let's see where the story takes me" you should take a moment to think what exactly are you looking for in that piece of writing.
Once you do, BAM!, you have your ending, your POV, how long it's going to be, everything.
But I suck at endings!!!
I'm grabbing you by the shoulders and shaking you.
Think.
It doesn't matter how silly haha the idea is. Think what do you want from it, and end the story with that thing.
Then, write the starting point, and go ham with writing everything in between.
Let's have some examples
"I was listening to a song and I had this epic fight between two characters in my mind"
Okay, what are you going to do with this? Why are they fighting? Are they friends? Enemies? Who wins? Someone dies? Gets hurt?
Do you like the action or want to talk more about what the fight means for the characters. (plot driven or character driven)
"I don't want to deal much on the lore, I just like cool fights" -> okay then is going to be short.
If it's short, don't deal much on the worldbuilding; and if you do, sprinkle it between action scenes, for example, the motivations behind the fight or onmiscient viewpoint reader exploring how the fight affects the world around them.
What do you want from the audience? -> "I want them to feel the tragedy of how two friends have to fight each other to death" -> okay your ending will be the death of one of them, and exploring how it impacts the winner.
Starting point -> they are best friends. The closest of friends. Nothing can get between them. UNTIL ONE DAY-
"I love my blorbos and I want them to kiss, but it's an epic royalty!au where character A is poor and character B is a prince/princess"
Okay, what do you want? -> "I want to explore the forbidden romance and how the king and queen are against it, and maybe there's an assassination attempt? Also i want identity shenanigans, and—" -> Ok but what exactly you want your readers to experience? -> "I want them to feel fluffy and giggle and kick their feet" -> okay you have a good ending where love wins against all odds.
How much do you want to develop the society and royalty? Want to make it realistic, you say? I'm sorry here's a thousand wikipedia articles to check. Take notes.
This one probably would be a long ride. If you want to explore the forbidden romance then you need to make the romance credible (plug of my Romance post) and that takes time.
"But I want to keep it short!" -> okay then scale down. Establish things "off screen" and add them to characters' thoughts and motivations, maybe short flashbacks here and there.
Don't go too deep in the socioeconomic environment of the world if your main point is to make blorbos kiss and your audience have a good time.
Starting point -> Character A was poor Character B was royalty, they don't know each other, UNTIL ONE DAY-
---
In Conclusion
Not everything is going to be an epic. That's the reality. Some stories will be short and sweet and others will require brainwork. The question is how much are you willing to work on it?
The story should always, always, be for you and make you happy; so choose wisely what exactly are you looking for by writing that piece, and go from there.
I find easier to write my starting point then my ending point and then between those two items, create a rough timeline of events i want to happen.
Then, outside the timeline i write random scenes or concepts that i think could be cool in the story but I'm not sure yet where do they go. Maybe I'll find a place, maybe I won't; but I wrote them down to not forget about them.
That's it for now! I may come back to this but we'll see!
Hello! I was recently inspired to write a series of educational posts so I thought maybe it would be useful for someone.
I want to preface this that there is no criticism intended. I understand that female characters in general have been neglected in media, and I don't blame fandom for not understanding how to write a woman if there hasn't been a good reference in their lives.
My objective is that you, the reader, finish this post with a basic structure and few questions to ask yourself when writing a female character; and with the terms and curiosity to research more if you'd like to expand.
I'm no professional writer, but I've been writing for more than 20 years at this point, and I specialize in writing female protagonists and writing organic romantic storylines.
Here we go.
I want to write a woman, where do I start?
Writing women, at the end of the day, is no different than writing a man. Really, that's the trick.
Disappointed I'm not giving some kind of hot takes about this?
Good.
Because it should be that simple, but to get to that point we should unravel some baseline thought process that can and will get in the way even if you try to write a good female character.
A few questions to ask yourself are:
Why am I writing this character?
Does she have agency in her own story?
Does she have her own goals and aspirations?
Let's break them down:
Why am I writing this character?
What do I like about her? Is she annoying? Is she a hero? A villain? An antagonist? What thing do I like about her canon characteristics (for fanfic writers)? What would I change?
As mentioned at the beginning, female characters usually are not very well written. They are usually fridged or used only as a reminder that MC (usually a man) has emotions and vulnerabilities.
Take a moment to think about it. Think about the feelings her character gives you, and what are the things you do know about her. Think about wasted potential, or unanswered questions about her actions and plot lines that left you wanting more.
If you find her annoying, wonder why — usually, a female character being "annoying" or "not interesting" is tied to her not being developed enough, and pushed into a one-dimensional role. Pay attention at how many speaking lines she has, that usually gives you a clue of how much her character is developed.
Once you have decided who you want to write, this is where it gets interesting.
What kind of story do you want to tell? What role does she play in it?
When making the structure of the story and developing the plot, wonder about how exactly the female character(s) add to the table. Again, female characters can fulfill any role in a story, but watch out!
Bitchy mean girl lesbian
Motherly mommy mom/sister/friend that takes care of everyone
The "healer" of the team
These 3 roles have been used as boxes to fit female characters for ages. Be careful if you think you are pushing her into one of these.
But how can you avoid the tropes?
Does she have agency in her own story?
Or: if you remove her from the story, nothing changes?
Go into your mind palace, and remove the interactions and scenes the female character is in. Does the story still work? Could her lines be easily delivered by someone else?
If the answer is yes, then she doesn't have any agency.
It doesn't matter if she is a main character or a supporting character — she should have a say on the events or some kind of influence in the development of the plot.
Maybe she has a skill that is needed multiple times during the story, or maybe she has past experiences that are a mystery and unraveling her secrets reveals a plot twist, or maybe turns out she was the traitor all along. Make her MATTER.
Does she have her own goals and aspirations?
Or: Is she existing for someone else's sake?
This one is useful for the "mommy" character or the "healer" character.
Go into your mind palace again and think if you remove the female character's loved ones from the equation, does she have something to do?
If the answer is no, then she doesn't exist for herself.
She could still love and take care of others, but she has to exist for something else than that. Make her dream and yearn, and make mistakes, and sacrifice thing for selfish reasons.
Romance is usually a goal given for female characters (and that's a whole other topic I hope to write another post about), and it's a good one! Just be careful with falling for the trap of swapping the people (usually men) she exists for.
Give her hidden agendas, convoluted selfish secret reasons, make her want to destroy the world! Make her want to pursue the truth, chase someone for revenge, be a thrill seeker. Make her HUMAN.
In Conclusion
A quick trick I use when I write female characters is: If I swap her gender, nothing changes?
Of course there's nuance, but that keeps me grounded when even the questions I went over in this post are not enough for me.
Again, writing female characters should not be that different from writing men. If it feels different, ask yourself why and try to understand where the thought comes from.
NOTE: If the point of the story is to discuss the problem of codependency, or portray a toxic relationship, by all means skip checking about agency or her having goals. Rules are there to break them, but first you have to understand them.
I hope this helps someone and I will add and edit this post as needed, maybe to add useful links.
I was scrolling through tumblr and stumbled upon yet another post about m/f ships and even though they had a point, it didn't sit well with me that they said the only reason a m/f ship works is because is bisexual.
They recommended checking out the Addams Family, and they are so correct. Gomez and Morticia Addams are a clear example of a m/f ship that works, and it got me thinking about why it's such an universal example of good m/f representation and why.
Or, might as well, find other m/f ships that are "universally" liked.
Maomao and Jinshi. Elizabeth Swan and Will Turner.
Shrek and Fiona. Gomez and Morticia.
Rapunzel and Eugene. Rumi and Jinu.
Elizabeth Bennet and Mr.Darcy.
What makes them "good"? What's the trick?
I made a nifty and easy to digest list based on my observations and autistic pattern recognition. Please note that, depending on the story, some points are more relevant than others — and in some cases, the story is more interesting when they don't follow this list religiously.
Art is fluid.
Part 1: Gender
If you switch the genders it still works
Think about it — During the course of the story, if you change their gender, anything would fundamentally change with the story?
Does anything specific about their romance story have to do with being a man or a woman? If Elizabeth Swan was a man, she would still be the beloved son of a governor getting tangled with pirates. If Jinu was a woman, nothing would change about her being a demon filled with regrets seeking redemption.
But Pride and Prejudice is about gender expectations in English society! If you change their gender, it does change the story!
Correct! But would it change how Mr Darcy and Elizabeth specifically fall in love? Ball culture? Society's unwritten rules they navigate? Would you make the argument that if period accuracy was thrown out of the window, you could play with dolls like that?
They already throw accuracy out of the window in Bridgerton, and is a hit show.
There's no gender-specific character traits in the ship dynamic
This means that the romance aspect, not just the overarching story, doesn't hinge on gender. Gomez and Morticia are not in love because she's a goth woman and he's a loverboy — they click with each other because they are into the same dark and off-putting goth things. Both love their family fiercely. Both have the same sense of humor.
If Shrek was a woman, would that really change things that much? She would still be a closed off, grumpy and sarcastic ogre with deep insecurities about being an ogre - and that's what made Shrek click with Fiona in the first place.
They are given on screen time to interact beyond their gender role in society
They are given things to do that aren't each other, girly dramas or manly brooding. Adventures, storylines, drama, side quests. We are given a story that has nothing to do with the romance storyline and their "will they won't they".
There is more to them than how they end up with each other. They have a story beyond if he was a boy and she was a girl, so no, I'm not going to make it more obvious /j (don't boo me off stage, I'm funny I swear)
Part 2: Agency and Power balance
Characters are given time to have a personality
Before they are a couple, or outside they being a couple, the audience can see they have more layers, completely independent to the romance. We see them alone, with family or with something they are passionate about. We see them get mad and cry and like things beyond their crush on someone else.
There is a point to make here about male characters are usually given more time to develop on screen than female characters, but that has more to do with a bigger problem about portrayal of women than the m/f romance itself.
Power imbalances are a point
Even if there's a real power imbalance (society expectations, power scaling, royalty) it's addressed on screen and removed as a reason why they should be together or—
Removed as the sole reason why they shouldn't.
Sometimes it's tempting to focus on power imbalance ONLY as a way to spice the romance drama, but it still reduces the ship dynamics to the power imbalance as a main focus. It plays into it, driving the audience attention about how much power male character has over the female one; and if, at the end, the power imbalance stays after they get together, it still is not good.
Jinshi and Maomao are an interesting case because the setting of the story is strongly structured by gender roles and women's roles in Palace Society. Maomao was sold to work in the Emperor's harem — there's an immense power imbalance between them two, and yet, the show slowly works through their romance in a way that makes it clear Jinshi respects Maomao first and falls in love with her second, and holds back pursuing her since he understands the delicate position he'd put her into.
It's a point of the story how important it is to respect women, specially in a society where women have everything to lose; not just with Maomao and Jinshi, but again and again and again with multiple situations in the story.
Part 3: Mutual respect
They listen to each other
Not despite their differences, not in a "you are smart, for a girl" way, not in a "im a strong, independent woman who needs no man, but i like you so i'll listen to you just this once" way.
They listen, and respect what the other has to say, because they love them as a human being, and respect their intelligence and expertise.
Even as enemies, Jinu and Rumi listened to each other and said what they other needed to hear. When Rumi had a plan, he just listened and agreed (even if the plan itself went to hell quickly), feeling heard that she wanted to help him as well.
The story directly addresses this respect, or lack of it
There's an arc about breach of this trust and is made a big deal. It's made a point that after building up their connection and trust one of them does something to mess it up.
So... cheating arcs?
NO.
Is not about Character A cheating. Is about hiding important information, about stupid self sacrifice. Is about letting external issues get in the way of their relationship, and one of the characters choosing to break their teamwork willingly or give up instead of fighting.
Elizabeth Swan kissed Jack Sparrow, true; but what really put a strain in their relationship was how closed off she became after that. She stopped leaning on Will out of guilt, and he noticed, and it broke the trust they've built since childhood. [This ship is how you do a good childhood friends to lovers btw]
How do you know the m/f ship doesn't work? What are points to look out for?
The female character doesn't have a story beyond being a romantic interest. If you remove her from the story, do her decisions matter? Or, if she has a character arc, it is ignored or undone to shoehorn romance with the man at the end.
There's a clear power imbalance and it's portrayed as "hot" or "desirable" [looking at you, vampire and monster romance era post-twilight]. It's framed as "he's trying to protect her because she's human and weak".
There's a recurring point to remind the audience she's "small" or "delicate" or "dainty", especially compared to her male counterpart. Bonus points if it's framed as "cute". Bonus bonus points if that's something male character likes about her
Male character doesn't have a personality beyond being a sexual fantasy (eg. black haired CEO trope). We never know what he likes, dislikes, is passionate about, or any other layer than being "hot" and "desirable".
malewife x girlboss fallacy. Yes, this is not the #feminist move a lot of people think. Is still reducing characters to a caricature, and making their romance hinge on gender-specific traits.
"strong female warrior" x "pathetic sad wet mew mew man". YES, IT'S STILL BAD. As appealing as it is to subverse the gender roles and fight the patriarchy one strong female character at a time, it's reducing her characterization to being "not-weak" and the m/f romance to gender roles.
for childhood friends: m/f childhood friends can very easily fall into "she was a girl, he was a boy" if they don't have anything else going on but childhood crush. The male character doesn't explore why he likes the girl, just expects her to fall into his arms without question. The female character may have an arc on her own, but is undone if it conflicts with being a housewife for male character in the epilogue and have 2.5 kids with him.
Conclusion
Sometimes ships will be great about one point but complete garbage at others. Of course, all of the things I've said here coexist with bad writing in general — a story can have a good story and terrible romance set up, or the ship is good in general but drops the ball at some point.
In my experience, it's very easy to get lulled into a false sense of security by modern day attempts at feminism in a response to post-twilight (and post-50 shades of grey) era of fiction. But they still fail to give the female character dimension beyond romance, or the male character doesn't exist outside the purpose of being a hot piece of ass.
The problem is not m/f itself, is the internalized patriarchy and internalized misogyny that needs women to be defined by their capacity (or rejection of it) to nurture and be a homemaker — and hiding behind "#girlboss" and "she's actually a lesbian" and "m/f works only when is queer bi4bi" is part of the problem.
Recognize these signs, recognize when is actually bad writing, and recognize that the only solution to misogyny in media is to actually take a moment to write good female characters, and good m/f romance, instead of running away and hiding behind re-packaged gender roles and biphobic takes.
We’ve all heard the usual writing tip everybody seems to be advising: write strong characters, but what about writing characters who have strong opinions? Developing personas who are opinionated without appearing arrogant can be a difficult task. Your female protagonist is assertive and replies on whim when her tweet is mansplained but is she telling them to ‘fuck off’? Isn’t that supposed to be rude for this tad bit stronger Jane Doe? But she should be doing exactly that, right? Well, to each his own.
Opinions are often judgments that are not backed up by facts, which basically means no opinion can be either wrong or right. Some love Trump, others don’t. But no one’s right here because there aren’t any substantiated facts to support either side. If facts were used, we all know which side would win. Anyway, that’s a topic for another day. Today, I’ll be suggesting four ways to write characters with strong opinions.
Let them act on impulse.
More often than not, when one has a strong opinion, they can become so attached to that particular idea that everything else seems either absurd or offending. In order to keep supporting their part of argument, they make decisions on impulse and lead to actions that might affect both their opinions and themselves.
Plus, the more difficult a journey would be for your character, the more they grow up to the readers so why not let your babies create obstacles for themselves? Impulsive decisions will surely lead to unexpected outcomes and usually unwanted ones. So now onward, let your female protagonist slap a male character for opening a door for her…and then bawl for her hastiness because the guy was cute.
Let them think they’re right.
But here’s the catch: they aren’t. Strong opinions don’t necessarily mean they’re right. A person might be a Nazi and have a solid view regarding others but those views aren’t something they should be proud of. But have you come across a Nazi who knows they’re wrong?
Make your character more believable by letting them live in a bubble of their own. Make them feel they’re the epitome of righteousness and let someone slap the shit out of them to show how wrong they can be.
Let them be alone.
In reality, nobody stands with you if they don’t agree with you. It’s as simple as that. No matter how right your character is at some point and how clearly they’re voicing out an opinion, it isn’t realistic if each and every secondary character agrees with them just because they’re the MCs. I love ice cream but I wouldn’t want a lactose intolerant friend of mine to eat along with me just because I’ve a strong opinion regarding a sweet creamy thing.
Your main character might be signing up for a candle march to show their anger against a latest issue but it isn’t necessary for their best friend to accompany them. Maybe the best friend wants to stay at home and try raising the issue via social media. Like I already mentioned before, to each his own.
Let them learn from others.
For me, a good character learns over the story and develops into a better person. Having a strong opinion don’t always resonate with being a good human. Strong opinions can often be associated with an adamant person thereby reflecting negativity. Don’t make your character go overboard and be blinded; don’t let them constrict their minds to an extent where they aren’t willing to change their opinions about anything.
Make your characters flexible enough to respect other’s opinions because that’s what majority people should be and what better place to bring about a change than a fictional world?
That’s about it. There’s definitely no hard and fast rules or a checklist to get a personality on point but since my main WIP, Finding those Bobby Pins, revolves around a teenager with anger issues, her opinions are strong (even if wrong) and that made me think about ways to get her views across but still make the readers care about her.
How to write a romance?? (I don't understand emotions so it's Hard)
Okay so I’ve written romance in stories before, but I’ve never written A romance, so I’m just going to compile all of the knowledge I’ve gained from writing romance within stories and from reading romances.
This is mainly going to be about plot and structure, so for the actual romance part of it you should look at my post about how to write healthy relationships here and another one written by another user that I found helpful here
1. Try to Avoid Paragraphs About How Much They Love Each Other
The average reader will find it difficult to stomach long pages of flowy paragraphs that describe every single thing about the character’s partner that they adore and why. It can make the prose drag, and come across as repetitive once it’s been going on in a while.
Unfortunately, this tends to be a form of overcompensation for a lack of actual romantic content within the story, or what I like to call “Invisible Romance.” Invisible Romance is a romantic coupling or subplot that features characters thinking long and hard about why they’re in love, but in reality are never around each other or do anything that signals they’re in love.
We as the readers “know” they’re in love because the characters often talk about it, but the others in the story who are not in the characters’ heads would not even know that they had an inkling of affection for each other.
I often see this in stories that are NOT “romances,” but are instead romance subplots within other genres. Authors are so focused on writing the main plot that they have little time to actually develop the romance.
Ultimately, this comes down to the dreaded “Show don’t tell.”
Instead of scripturally regurgitating onto the page how much the main couple cares for each other, try writing in things that show the reader how much they love each other.
2. Have a Valid Conflict
Having a valid conflict tends to be the #1 issue that romance writers struggle with.
It is incredibly annoying for readers to slog their way through a story whose main problem could be resolvable by a simple conversation. Just because it’s a romance and there are people kissing in it doesn’t mean that it doesn’t need the careful planning, consideration, and development as other stories where there’s a big villain going around killing people.
There should be a set problem, a series of events that take off because of said problem, and then a path to the solution that can’t be fixed with a snap of the fingers. Also, I find that romances have recurring conflicts: The same problems happen over and over again, and it’s just annoying. Just make a game plan and stick to it.
One of the main “conflicts” that Romance writers tend to gravitate toward is miscommunication and misunderstandings. These can be well-written, especially since these things are common within real-world relationships, but be warned: readers everywhere have been rallying against the miscommunication trope hard, especially in the wake of BookTok! You must make sure that the miscommunication is justified, and not drag it out in and endless cycle that takes longer to resolve than it should. Otherwise, it’s just going to make your readers angry and frustrated.
Part of a healthy relationship is talking to one another, and if your characters can’t even do that, then they don’t belong together.
Here’s some posts from the “Love Stuff” section of my FAQ that can help you put your plot together!
How to Write Romance
How to Write Falling In Love
How to Write Close Platonic Relationships
How to Write A Love Triangle
How to Write Enemies to Friends to Lovers
How to Write Healthy Relationships
How to Write Long Distance Relationships
How to Write Non-Explicit Sex Scenes
How to Write Teasing in a Romantic Relationship
How to Write Toxic Relationships
Reasons for Divorce
3. Some Things a Couple in Love Might Do:
HOLDING HANDS!! (This is an incredibly easy passing gesture to write about, especially in action/adventure)
Sitting close to one another–shoulders/legs/hands/hips brushing
Writing love notes/letters (even if they chicken out sand don’t send them)
Cuddling
Protectiveness in the face of danger
Jealousy when partner is flirted with
ACTUALLY GOING ON DATES (I hate it when couples whoa are supposedly in love never spend time with each other ever)
Little gifts. Not big things, just buying something in a store because it reminds them of their significant other.
Playing video games together
Stealing kisses
Getting into playful arguments/debates
Getting into actual arguments over petty things like who’s paying for lunch (Couples can disagree! In fact, it would be weird if they DIDN’T disagree ever!)
Going on bike rides together
Training together (in the case of action/adventure)
Just spending time in one another’s presence. They don’t even have to be interacting, just doing their own thing while sitting together.
Go to the movies
Compliments! ALL OF THE COMPLIMENTS!!!! And not just “You’re the most beautiful person ever blah blah blah”. Little things, like “You look cute” or “I like your perfume/your hair smells good” “I like your clothes”
I'm writing a fan fiction of my favorite TV show. I'm having difficulty determining if one of the characters is an introvert or extrovert. What's the best way to determine it? I know it's not super important, but I want to make sure I'm on the right track with their personality. :P
Figuring Out if a Character is Introvert or Extrovert
As with so many things in life, introverts and extroverts exist on a gradient, so all introverts aren’t the same and all extroverts aren’t the same, and what makes a person one or the other is incredibly nuanced. However, the answers to the following questions are a good starting point for figuring it out:
1) Does the person like to be the center of attention or are they more of a wallflower?
Extroverts are more likely to enjoy attention from others, whereas introverts are more likely to want to avoid a lot of attention and fuss.
2) Would the person rather go to a big party or stay home alone (or with a few close friends) watching Netflix?
Extroverts are more likely to enjoy being around a lot of people, even unfamiliar people, and usually aren’t easily drained by that kind of environment. Introverts tend to find large groups of people (even familiar people) overwhelming and draining, so they’re much more likely to choose a quiet evening alone or with a few friends.
3) Are they the type of person who strikes up conversations with strangers in an elevator, or the kind who keeps their head down and sticks with necessary niceties?
Extroverts are more likely to enjoy speaking with others to the point that they like chatting with anyone and everyone. They are often eager to learn about others and share what they know with others, even if it’s someone they’ll never see again. Introverts are more likely to find conversing with strangers to be uncomfortable and draining, so they’re more likely to stick to polite smiles and soft greetings, mostly keeping their head down to avoid conversation.
Again--and I can’t stress this enough--the truth about introverts and extroverts is so much more complicated. It’s kind of like Hogwarts houses... you may be Gryffindor, but then you take another test and find out that you’re also part Hufflepuff and a little bit Slytherin. Our personalities (including whether we’re extrovert and introvert) is affected just as much by our personal experiences, preferences, and environment as any sort of biology. And, we can also change over time, too. I used to be a theme park tour guide, and years later, the thought of standing up in front of 20 tour guests (or hundreds of school kids) and talking about film making and rides makes me a little anxious.
So, use the above questions to see if you can get a general idea of what the character is. You might also see if you can find any online quizzes that categorize introverts and extroverts, then take the quiz as the character and see what happens. Again, probably not super accurate, but what matters is it gets you focused on aspects of the character’s personality that matter when you’re writing them, like how they would feel in situations or how they might behave. Even if you never get a really solid label, you’ll at least gain a better understanding of who the character is. :)
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How do I come up with a gripping title for my book?
10 Ways to Craft a Gripping Book Title
Everyone knows you want a book title that’s unique, gripping, memorable, and relevant, but how do you craft a title that meets those criteria? Here are some tips...
#1 Look at Other Titles in Your Genre - This should be the first step, really, because different genres can have their own common title styles. For example, mysteries and thrillers often contain words like murder or death, or vague character references like “the woman” or “the man who...” Knowing what’s popular in your genre gets your brainstorming session off on the right foot.
#2 Make a List of Story Keywords - Your story’s keywords are an important tool for promoting and marketing your book, but one of the first places they come in handy is when you’re brainstorming titles. If you had to boil your book down to a list of relevant words, what would they be? For Harry Potter , some keywords might be magic, wizardry, wizards, muggles, potions, spells, transfiguration, patronus, dark magic, etc.
#3 Look at the Text of Your Story - Sometimes, the title of your story is a phrase that exists in your story. For example, maybe your protagonist’s grandmother always tells him he’s brighter than he looks. Brighter Than I Look could be a good title.
#4 Consider Famous Sayings - Are there any famous phases, mottoes, idioms, nursery rhymes, etc. that fit your story in any way? Ken Kesey’s book One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest uses a line from a nursery rhyme as a title. Not only are birds a powerful symbol in the story, but the rhyme’s reference to “flight” offers a clue to something that will happen in the story, too.
#5 Look at Your Story’s Opposing Themes, Subjects, or Forces - Every story revolves around conflict. A good force versus an evil force, one mindset against another mindset, one entity against another entity. Angles Versus Demons, Pride & Prejudice, North and South, The Blue and the Gray.
#6 Descriptive Imagery Makes Great Titles - Is there a particularly relevant moment in your story where there’s memorable descriptive imagery? For example, maybe after the inciting incident, your character hikes out to his favorite spot called Hester’s Brook, and while he’s there it begins to snow. Snowfall at Hester’s Brook could be a good title.
#7 Who, What, Where, When - Who is your story about? (Emma, The Raven Boys, Six of Crows.) What is your story about? (The Hunger Games, The Scorpio Races, Looking for Alaska.) Where does your story take place? (Wuthering Heights, Northanger Abbey, The Hazel Wood.) When does your story take place? (Love in the Time of Cholera, April Morning, The Winds of War.)
#8 The Big Question - Sometimes, the big question of the story provides an interesting title. For example, maybe the inciting incident of your story is the moment when the protagonist sees a mysterious man watching her in a crowd, and finding out who he is represents the big mystery of the story. Blue Eyes in a Crowd could be your title.
#9 The Big Answer - Depending on the big question of your story, you can sometimes even work the answer into the title. Maybe the blue-eyed man turns out to be the protagonist’s father who went missing decades earlier. The title could be Memories of a Forgotten Father.
#10 Look for Title Formulas - As a last resort, Google “book title formula” and quite often you’ll find specific formulas people have come up with for titles. These tend to lead to things like The ____ in the _____. Or _____ of the _____ _______, and as such they can be, well, formulaic. Those kinds of titles have been so trendy that they’re bordering on cliche, but for some books that’s exactly the title you need. These formulas work with your story’s keywords to come up with a catchy title, so if none of the other options work, this one is worth a try.
Best of luck coming up with your title!
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As writers, we are especially aware of the five senses, especially when we focus on setting or descriptive writing. The five senses should work together to transport our readers into our character’s world and to bring the story to life.
However, if you’re like me, you might need to brush up on how to use the five senses in your writing to the fullest potential.
I didn’t used to give the five senses much credit when it came to my writing. But the truth is, the five senses have a power to connect with our readers in a deep way.
How to Write Using All 5 Senses
It’s all well and good to tell you you should use the five senses in your writing. But how? Here are some ways you can draw on each sense to immerse your readers in your story:
Write With Sight
When I was writing the first draft of my book, I met regularly with a writer’s group (which is essential), and one of the pieces of feedback I received most was “show, don’t tell.”
Don’t simply tell your reader how you feel or what is going on, my writing group told me. Show them.
I began to experiment, and I soon discovered there is more to writing visual descriptions than “green trees” and “blue skies.”
Here’s an exercise: Ask yourself, “What am I seeing?” and follow with, “Why does it matter here?”
You might start with a man walking by, but I challenge you to look further.
Maybe the man has tattoos covering his arms—can you see any colors or shapes? Describe them. Pay attention to the way he walks. Does he stare at the ground or straight ahead?
What do you really see? What do you not see? What does it mean?
When you focus on sight in writing, you’re giving readers the details they need to picture the character and scene.
Write With Taste
Describing taste can be a fun way to keep your reader intrigued by the details. So often we forget to describe the way something might taste or what that taste means. We can write straightforward description of how a character is experiencing a taste, or consider other ways to convey it.
My favorite way to describe what something tastes like is with a metaphor. This might be awful, but my favorite comedian, Tim Hawkins, compares the flavor and taste of a Krispy Kreme donut to “eating a baby angel.” How true is that, though?
My roommate describes her hot tomato soup as “coming in from a blizzard, kicking your boots off, and sitting in front of the fire.”
The metaphors we use have the power to transport our readers to places that evoke memories and emotion from their own lives, allowing a deeper connection to be made.
The next time you sit down to eat your favorite food, see if you can capture the literal tasting notes of the food as specifically as possible and then consider how that taste makes you feel.
Quick tip: cook books and recipe websites are terrific places to study how to write about taste if you get stuck.
Write With Smell
Generally we categorize smells into two options: good or bad. But smells can be a powerful tool to help you tell stories.
Consider the last time you caught a whiff of something that took you back in time: mothballs reminding you of your grandparents’ attic, sour milk’s stench like the cafeteria trashcans in primary school, or the earthy smell of fresh-turned soil ready for planting.
When you begin to describe a scene, close your eyes and envision all of the possible smells that surround you. Smells do not only describe food and body odor; they can be used to describe the weather, a room, or a situation.
Try describing some smells yourself, paying attention to both the source of the smell and why it’s there.
Write With Sound
The most popular way to describe sounds in writing may be through the use of onomatopoeia. Onomatopoeia occurs when the word makes the sound it denotes, such as slam or pop. And those are fun, especially when making up your own.
Besides onomatopoeia, I never thought there was another way to really describe sound until I started really listening.
There are noises all around you. As I write this, I hear the click of keys, the low hum of the air conditioner, the whoosh of a car passing by, soft laughter from another room—the soundtrack of a quiet, peaceful morning.
Have you listened to your environment? Have you listened to your characters’ environment? And have you unlocked what the sounds are really telling you?
There’s more to listen to than the sounds of your external environment, too.
As I wrote my own memoir, I found myself constantly asking myself what I was hearing internally. Sounds are not always external buzzes and bangs—sometimes they come in the form of thoughts and voices. Some of those sounds are truths and some are lies.
Some sounds tell the reader where you are or what you are doing without actually having to tell them.
Write With Touch
Describing the way things feel is just plain fun. The number of adjectives available for the sense of touch are endless.
My two favorite ways to describe touch are through temperature and texture.
Her fingers skimmed the cool, silky water.
How do things feel against your skin? Rough or smooth? Blistering or frigid? Slimy or slick? Consider how a feather on your arm might be a different sensation than the same on your foot.
When you’re writing about touch, the physical is important to describe, but even more important is the invisible, the different aspects that are “touched” but not with your hands.
The Key to Unlocking the Five Senses
As you have probably noticed by now, the key to unlocking the five senses is the question behind the description. The question of why you are seeing, hearing, tasting, smelling, or feeling something.
Vivid writing becomes powerful when those sensory descriptions are directly related to key attributes of your character, setting, conflict, or other element of your story.
Once you’ve established the sensory description, ask the question, “What does this mean?” What does it tell your readers about your character and their world?
You don’t want to bog readers down with unnecessary details, but a few well-placed words using all five senses in your writing in various places can immerse your readers in your story and subtly show them what’s really going on.
Which sense is your favorite one to explore in writing? Is there one you often forget?
Click here to visit the random fanfic trope selector. Filled with 126 fandom tropes supplied by my followers (and the internet), take a chance and see which one you get.
Note: The images above are screen captures from the selector. The selector displays rapidly moving text. If this will bother you (or cause issues for your health), close your eyes before clicking. On desktop, hit P to stop the selector and get your trope. On your phone, tap the screen to do the same thing. (I just learned how to do this and I wanted to try it out)
Hello! I was wondering if you had some tips for writing a gay smut or if you had a prompts list about jealousy and things to say during sex. Hope this didn’t make you uncomfortable.. have a nice day! xx
Hi!
Didn’t make me feel uncomfortable :)
But I never wrote gay smut and actually in my stories I don’t really write sex scenes at all, I’m more into exploring platonic relationships. So even though I read a lot of MLM stories, I’m not the best to ask advice from for this.
But I tried to come up with the prompt lists. I separated them, because I wasn’t sure if you wanted them together or not. Hope you enjoy them!
Jealousy prompts
“I never would have thought I’d ever be jealous about that.”
“People are staring at us.” “Well, let’s make them jealous.”
“Nothing to worry about. I’m not going anywhere.”
“Jealousy doesn’t suit you. I like to see you smile more.”
“Hey, look at me. I’m yours and no one can change that.”
“I don’t like them all looking at you.” “Remember you’re the only one who can look at me all night long.”
“What would I be jealous about?”
Things said during sex prompts
“You have no idea how much I want you.” “Oh, I think I get the idea.”
“Staying quiet was never your strong suit, wasn’t it?” “Well, you could do something about it.”
“Stop thinking so hard.”
“Want to find out what we can get away with before someone comes looking for us?”
“Let’s enjoy this first and then figure out the rest later.”
