Arianna Blackthorn

Aspiring dystopia & Y/A author! | 15+ plz

[kjscottwrites]

I was inspired by @jezifster's recent question about non-gendered royal titles, and I put together this graphic to serve as a jumping off point for people writing monarchies in SFF !

Obviously this non-exhaustive list contains mainly western titles, all in English. Feel free add any on additional gender neutral terminologies that you can think of, including those from different languages and cultures!

A small addition: I'm not a linguist or historian and put this list together based on some quick googling! While you're free to flex the usage and meanings of these words however you choose, researching the real-world context of each term before using them in your own writing is a best practice.

[tlbodine]

Writing Exercises for Stretching Your Style Muscles

There’s a lot of writing advice on the internet, and a lot of writing prompts, but something I see relatively little of is an idea of how to actually practice. 

The thing about learning a skill is that it requires practice – but practicing will only get you so far if you’re just doing the same thing over and over. you might get better at doing that specific thing, but it can seem really difficult to get over a specific hurdle to accomplish some new thing you’ve never tried. I think a really common frustration is wanting to do a thing, and knowing what your end goal looks like, but not knowing actually how to accomplish it. 

So that’s where practicing specific skills can really help you to feel more comfortable with your abilities. 

Here are some skills exercises I recommend experimenting with to gain proficiency and comfort in writing things. 

—–

Write the Same Scene from Multiple POVs 

Write a scene in 3rd person POV. Then go back and rewrite it from scratch in 1st person. Repeat for a 3rd person omniscient. Go deeper than just swapping out pronouns. Think: How does this scene change if I’m writing through the eyes of a single character vs over their shoulder? How does this scene change if I’m narrating the events through Character B instead of Character A? 

—-

Write a Scene in Present Tense

Present tense bumps up the immediacy level of whatever you’re writing. I think it also helps to break you from more passive sentence constructions. Try taking a scene you’ve written and rewrite it in present tense. Combine it with the above – try switching a 3rd person past to 1st person present, or even try writing in 2nd person. 

—–

Try Mimicking Another Writer’s Style 

Sit down with a piece of writing from an author you enjoy, and pay attention to the writing itself. Ignore the plot and characters and story elements – look at just the nuts and bolts of vocabulary choices and sentence construction. Try to pick it apart. Is there a specific way the author tends to use commas? Certain words, or types of words, that they use more often? Longer sentences or shorter ones? Longer paragraphs or short? How is white space handled? 

Study that and make yourself a little cheat sheet if that’s helpful to you. Then try writing a short piece – just a couple paragraphs, even – in their writing style. 

—-

Describe an Entire Scene Without Using Visual Description 

Imagine you’re writing a blind character, if it helps, or someone who’s been blindfolded. Describe a whole scene built entirely around the way things sound, smell, taste, feel. Try to make it clear what’s happening through description alone. 

—–

Eliminate All Words like “Thought” or “Felt” 

Write in deep-3rd or 1st person without any filter words. Make a character’s opinions and emotions obvious through the way things are being described without explicitly saying what they’re thinking or feeling. If you struggle with this, it might be easier to start in first person – write as a diary entry or even a Tumblr post from that person’s perspective – and then try it in 3rd person after you’ve had a bit of practice. 

——-

Set Yourself a Specific Goal, and Write a Drabble to Achieve it 

When I wrote “Happy Ending,” my entire goal was to write something that was highly descriptive in the most viscerally gross way possible. When I wrote “Mothman,” it was an exercise in writing something sexualized without explicitly being sexual, in the most disturbing way possible. 

This is an exercise in word choice. It’s an excuse to bust out your thesaurus, not to sound fancy, but to nail a specific meaning. It’s also an exercise in choosing what details to focus on and which to exclude. 

One way to approach this exercise is to describe something common and mundane that you’ve experienced, and write it in several different ways. Let’s say, eating a sandwich. How can you make eating a sandwich sound sexy? How can you make it sound disgusting? Which details do you focus on, and which do you omit? What words do you use to evoke the meaning you’re looking for? 

—————————————————————

I hope these writing exercises give you some inspiration on things to try out to flex your creative wings a bit! 

[twistedwonderlandshenanigans]

OC Pride Themed Ask Game

It's 1am and I'm denying the Horrors that await me. Please remember: If you REBLOG from someone, SEND THEM AN ASK (not applicable to me, please don't ask me my own questions /lh) -------------------------------------------------------

How sheltered was your OC from the idea of LGBTQ+ relationships when they were younger? How has it impacted their relationship with themselves?

Does/has your OC struggle(d) with internalized homophobia? How have they learned to cope, if at all?

When did your OC realize that they may be different from other people?

Who was your OC most comfortable talking to about their feelings?

Is your OC out? How did their parents/guardians handle it? Siblings? If they're selectively out, who are they out to?

Does your OC celebrate pride? How? Would they ever buy pride merch?

How much of your OC's identity is reliant on their gender identity/sexuality?

What's a stereotype about your OC's orientation that they hate? What's one they (accidentally) live up to?

What/when was their first queer relationship? How did it go? If they're aro, have they tried a romantic relationship before? Or only QPRs?

What's something your OC knows now, (in regards to their sexuality/orientation), that they wish they could have clarified or guided their younger self through?

How would your OC handle someone coming out to them?

How would your OC deal with a homophobe? Would this reaction be different if the person was targeting someone else?

What pronouns does your OC use? If someone (accidentally) misgendered them, would they correct them?

How would your OC describe their sexuality/gender to a kid?

How long did it take for your OC to accept themselves? What factors played into it?

Is your OC an activist for LGBTQ+ rights? How engaged are they?

Would your OC ever participate in drag? What would their stage name/personality be?

Was there a significant impact on emotional/mental/spiritual health after your OC realized they were LGBTQ+?

Does your OC deal with body dysmorphia? How do they cope?

How much does your OC know/understand about the gender/sexuality spectrum?

Has your OC ever had a friend of the same gender that they had feelings for, but never admitted to? (or been rejected after admission?)

Has your OC's fashion sense changed since coming out? How so?

How does your OC's ideal body differ from the one they currently have?

Did your OC identify differently when they first came out as opposed to how they identify now?

Does your OC celebrate their "coming out" anniversary? How so?

Has your OC made any non-surgical body modifications to help embrace their identity? (Piercings, tattoos, hair dye/cut, etc.)

Did your OC ever get jealous over other people before coming out? How did that translate into their day to day lives?

Is your OC more likely to want a QPR or a romantic relationship?

If your OC plans on getting married one day, what are they, (and their partner(s)) wearing on their special day? (Feel free to elaborate on the whole event if you want to)

Does your OC ever deal with guilt for their "decision" to identify as they do? How do they cope with it?

Sorry if any of these are repetitive lol again its like 1am. Happy pride month lmao

Taglist: @tixdixl @galacticstationsblog @nemisisnemi @thehollowwriter @theleechyskrunkly @distant-velleity @elenauaurs @starry-night-rose @sunsmilu

As always, feel free to be added/removed

[oatmealpunk]

🐺

[whoiskt]

Questions about two of your original characters about their relationship. Should work for friends/lovers/coworkers/enemies/etc, maybe not so much for family, but you're welcome to try!

How did they meet?

How long have these two characters known each other?

What were their first impressions of each other? How does that compare to their impressions of each other now?

How would they describe each other if asked? Physically? In personality?

Do they get along? Why or why not?

Do they have any shared interests/hobbies? Do they ever do these hobbies together?

How often do they see each other? Where do they usually meet?

How do they communicate with each other? Are there any recurring phrases or gestures unique to their relationship?

What is one quality they have in common?

What is one major difference between them?

Does one act as a narrative foil to the other? How so?

Do they have any affection for each other? How do they show it?

Do they have any disdain/contempt for each other? How do they show it?

Do they share the same goals in life?

Do they trust each other? Why or why not?

Is one of them keeping secrets from the other? Why? How would they react if the secret was revealed?

Are they keeping a secret together? How do they feel about that?

Do they view their relationship as temporary or permanent?

Are they satisfied with their relationship? Do they wish they were closer/more distant?

What is their best memory together?

What is their worst memory together?

When were they the most vulnerable with each other?

Do they have any mutual friends? Mutual enemies?

How do these two interact with each other in public versus in private?

If a stranger saw them together, how would they describe their relationship?

How would these characters react to being stuck in a small room with each other?

How far would they go for each other? Would they risk their own lives for each other?

[theluckywizard]

Ugly OC Asks

Let's get messy 🔥

Questions compiled with @monocytogenes. Reblog with your OCs tagged and enjoy the crunch!

(I'm not numbering these so people have to copy the questions into the ask box.)

😈😈😈😈

What is your OC petty about?

When's the last time your OC hurt someone emotionally? What did they do?

What's an unsavory detail about your OC or opinion they have (to a modern Tumblr audience)?

What's an unsavory detail about your OC or opinion they have (to their peer group)?

What does your OC's love interest dislike about them?

Is your OC ever wrong? Big ways? Small ways? About what?

What does your OC lie about?

In what way(s) is your OC bad at life?

What's the fatal flaw in your OC's relationship(s)? What could destroy those relationships?

What fills your OC with envy? Alternatively who does your OC envy and why?

What physical trait(s) is your OC insecure about?

What personality trait(s) or habit(s) is your OC insecure about?

What's a moment your OC is ashamed to remember?

What's your OC's biggest fuck up?

What unconscious biases or expectations does your OC have regarding other genders, races or sexualities?

What skill does your OC need to work on improving?

What uncharitable takes would your OC have about you if they met you?

What's the longest grudge your OC has ever held? Against whom and why?

In what way is your OC worse than you?

Have there been any horrible consequences to well-intentioned choices your OC made? How did they cope with that?

Who hates your OC? Why?

What do your OC and their LI fight about?

[nosongunsung11]

collection of posts for a very specific dynamic

[thisusernameisunique]

[pens-swords-stuff]

Not everything needs to be a full story, you know?

If you have just one or two scenes that you’re really excited about, you can just write those. You don’t have to create a full WIP to contain them if you don’t want.

You can create characters without putting them into a project, they can just exist.

You can worldbuild for a universe that you never write about.

If there’s a trope you really want to write, but you don’t have a project to put them in… You can just write the best parts of that trope on its own.

Even if you do have a story and there’s parts you don’t want to write, it’s okay to just write the parts that you’re excited about. You don’t need to write the other parts and make it a full story.

I feel like in writing, there’s a lot of emphasis put on completion and writing a full story.

Completion or a full story doesn’t always have to be the purpose or goal. It’s okay and wonderful to just let something exist on its own without anything else.

[grecoromanyaoi]

*most toxic guy in the world voice* everyone just abandons me for no good reason. i have no idea why. it must be fate

[ntrlily]

Me 5 seconds after my corpo mandated password change: Hey did you know mandated periodic password changes aren't considered good cybersecurity practice and in fact actually weaken password security? Just a funny little fact I thought you should know.

[ntrlily]

"ISO 27001 requires it, so our hands are tied"

It's actually ISO 27002 that had these guidelines and they removed them in 2022

[daisywords]

"came back wrong" what about Came Back Afraid. You used to be brave. Too brave maybe, defying the odds at every turn, a fighter, cocky, playing with fire, first to throw yourself at the enemy. Until one day it all caught up to you. You came back, somehow, but now you know all too intimately how it feels to lose, to die, to be destroyed. Now you flinch and freeze and cower at the slightest provocation. Who even are you now if you can't be brave? The grave may have let you go, but the mortal fear still grips you tighter than ever.

[wordfather]

did you know you can create a whole fictional world and nobody can stop you and its not illegal

[unknown-lifeform]

Me while writing: oh hell yes this is such a good sentence I'm the master of poetic imagery

The writing when I go back to edit:

[seaglasswrites]

So, I tried to read Lightlark. I really tried. I couldn’t.

But I found something in there that actually might help a lot of writers.

I’m not going to give a ton of information on what Lightlark is, because, for the purposes of this post, you don’t really need it. Suffice to say that it’s a (in my opinion) very poorly-written book.

So, anyway. The advice.

There’s a scene at the very beginning of the book where the author is trying to set up the background, world, and characters. The protagonist is sitting in the greenhouse that she lives in, and her two caretakers enter.

It’s at this point that we learn the caretakers’ nickname for the protagonist: “Little bird”. We’re also given some information, both about the protagonist’s life and the way her caretakers treat her; We learn that they’re pretty controlling over her and sort of own her, in a way.

This sets up some pretty neat, if a little obvious, symbolism: The protagonist lives in a greenhouse - a glass dome - and her controlling caretakers call her a “little bird”. She’s a bird in a cage.

You probably didn’t need me pointing it out for you to notice that - you know how to read and, if you’re following me, you’re probably a writer. So, you’re thinking: Nice symbolism, I guess, but what’s the point of the post?

The point of the post is that the author immediately fucks it up.

After crafting this tidbit and putting it into her work, the author decides that it’s not enough; Surely her audience won’t notice that the greenhouse is supposed to represent the protagonist feeling trapped without being prompted.

So, she prompts us.

By literally saying: “She was like a bird. A bird in a cage.”

There’s your advice. Don’t treat your readers like they’re stupid. They’re not. Trust your audience to understand your metaphors and symbolism and underlying themes without being told. Or, at least, trust me when I say that this is about the most annoying thing an author can do.

It’s far better to have a subtle metaphor or choice of words go unnoticed than a less-subtle one be pounded repeatedly into the reader’s skull because the author treats them like they’re four.

[gaynfl-moved]

how I be waiting for comments and kudos after posting

[parkchanwoohoo]

Rebecca Sugar cooked with "Character whose entire existence is devoted to the service of another character who's now dead and now they have no idea what to do with themselves except live." I love that shit. I forged myself into a tool for you and now you're gone. I'm sniffing this like a bloodhound

[parkchanwoohoo]

"I swore I'd die for you but now you're dead and I have no conception of what it's like to live outside of my devotion to you but now I've no choice but to learn" is already so delicious. But giving that character "Fumbled a BBW and now has to raise her kid" is so much better. There's umami in this

[sassycolortheorist101-blog]

some fucking resources for all ur writing fuckin needs

* body language masterlist

* a translator that doesn’t eat ass like google translate does

* a reverse dictionary for when ur brain freezes

* 550 words to say instead of fuckin said

* 638 character traits for when ur brain freezes again

* some more body language help

(hope this helps some ppl)