✨KLR✨

• 27 • Aries • Slytherin • Photographer • Writer • 🌲PNW born & raised 🌊 I hate Dobby, but I could love you…

[prompts-in-a-barrel]

"Wake up. You're dreaming."

"I'm not falling for that again."

[prompts-in-a-barrel]

"How's your magic?"

"Explosive and unstable. Yours?"

"Draining my life force through a sieve."

[prompts-in-a-barrel]

"You're not seriously considering letting them turn you into a vampire."

"Being a human is kind of terrible."

"Yeah, but it could always be worse!"

[prompts-in-a-barrel]

"So that's what you've been doing all this time? Eating pine needles, meditating under waterfalls?"

"What did you think I was doing?"

"Well, when you said you were training to control your powers, I expected something... cooler."

[sunrisethoughts02]

you might have disappointed some people. but this does not mean you are a disappointment.

[davidfarland]

4 Tips for Writing a Positive Relationship

Writing a relationship plotline is key for almost any story. Most narratives will feature a relationship that arcs positively through the book–whether the characters are love interests, friends, family members, allies, coworkers, or what have you. While it’s possible to highlight a negative relationship, audiences typically crave a meaningful one that brings the characters closer together at the end.

To help you write a greater positive relationship, @septembercfawkes​ is here with four tips.

1. Write a Relationship that has Foils

I’ll start this one with something you shouldn’t do (and then go into its opposite).

Do not make your characters too alike.

Often writers think that the way to make a relationship great, is to have both or all the participants be very similar. They may have the exact same interests, opinions, goals, and dreams. Nearly all of their conversations are positive. They don’t argue. And they understand one another, always. They may be prone to complimenting and sharing their love for one another.

None of these things are wrong here and there.

But too often, writers think great relationships in fiction come from only likeness and agreeability.

In reality, you’ll find that the best, most powerful relationships have characters who foil each other in some significant way. They are opposites. Sherlock Holmes is super intelligent, and John Watson is more ordinary. In Good Omens Crowley is a demon and Aziraphale is an angel. In Parks and Rec, April loves the dark and sinister, and Andy loves being playful and positive.

This can work in trios and groups as well. Frequently the characters have different worldviews or methodologies. Consider how Harry, Ron, and Hermione each have different perspectives on homework, or perhaps, more relevant, the wizarding world itself.

The most interesting interactions tend to play off how the characters are different.

And actually, it’s the fact these characters can be friends/colleagues/significant others despite these differences that makes the relationship feel more powerful.

When you smash characters who are opposites together, a couple of things happen:

It’s easier to brainstorm interesting and entertaining exchanges

It makes the relationship more dynamic—you will have both positive and negative emotions to play with in the relationship. The contrast of that makes the reading experience more powerful.

Make sure you find foils that will be easy to put in the story. Sometimes people pick foils that aren’t very relevant, so it’s hard to get that opposition on the page.

2. Give the Relationship a History

Great character relationships have a sense of history. Now, how you approach this will depend a bit on where your story starts in regard to the relationship. In some stories, you will be working with relationships that are just beginning, like in Harry Potter, or relationships that are ongoing, like The Office, and sometimes some of both, like with the kids in Stranger Things.

If your characters are just meeting, you’ll be developing or building a sense of history as the story progresses.

In any case, to use this technique, you just need to refer back to something, whether it happened on or off page. If you refer to something that happened on page that the reader knows about, it can build on itself and sort of work as an inside joke.

On the other hand, if you refer to something that happens off page, it makes your story and the relationship feel “full”-er–like the relationship, story, and characters are bigger than what can fit in your book. Often the referral is told with a humorous tone, where the characters are remembering the event together, but that’s not a hard and fast rule.

Sometimes you can imply a history fairly easily. In the first episode of The Office, Dwight says, “He put my stuff in Jello again!” The “again” says plenty. Other times the exchange may be longer.

If you are working with already established relationships, make sure to convey what is typical or normal in the relationship. Often when people talk about established relationships, they talk in absolutes, “Jasper always liked to remind me of my age” or “Kaden pulled pranks on everyone, but never on me.” It might also be helpful to touch on how the relationship has changed over the months or years.

If you are working with new relationships, it can be effective to signal to the audience how this relationship will grow. In Raven Boys by Maggie Stiefvater, Blue talks about how much she hates Raven Boys, but in doing so, we get a strong sense that her opinion is going to change.

3. The Characters Know Each Other Too Well

Audiences love it when characters know each other too well. In fact, one character may know the other person better than that person knows himself. It’s like with Harry, Ron, and Hermione. As the series progresses, whenever Hermione is about to have a “Hermione moment,” where she goes off to inform Harry and Ron about something she read about, Harry and Ron exchange smiles. They know Hermione so well that they can sense where she is going, and they share in it. They actually both come to find her scholarly moments endearing. In the movies, we hear them finish her sentences.

Hermione: I had some questions, so I decided to go to– Harry and Ron: –the library. Interestingly, some of these things they find endearing about her, they found annoying in the first half of the first book. This sort of thing can be fun to play with. Maybe you have a character who is really good at picking up others’ ulterior motives, and your protagonist likes that about her … until she uses that skill on him. Then he finds it annoying. So sometimes you can flip-flop what they like or don’t like about each other, and that can be entertaining and make things complex.

In real life, we often predict how friends, family, or coworkers will react to certain things. Sometimes we even imagine conversations with them. Your characters can make predictions and have these fake conversations too (just make sure to use this in moderation).

Because these characters know each other so well, they know exactly how to be there for one another, how to help, and protect each other, when it counts. (Or, alternatively, get under the other’s skin when they need to.)

4. Write a Relationship Where Characters Grow Together

These characters need to grow–together. They need to grow as individuals in front of each other, and they need to grow closer.

In Good Omens, we see how Crowley and Aziraphale’s relationship grows throughout all of Earth’s time.

In Guardians of the Galaxy, we see how the guardians become family. While they are each unique individuals, they also begin to function together as a more cohesive unit (and hey, they all like Peter’s music).

Don’t be afraid to take a moment near the end of the story to drive home how this relationship has arced. Make sure to validate the personal journeys these characters took. How has this relationship changed them? How is where they are now different than where they started? What has been gained and lost?

In Guardians of the Galaxy, the characters move from attacking and even trying to kill each other, to holding hands (something Peter wouldn’t even do with his mom when his own personal “world” was ending) in an effort to save the galaxy.

There are plenty more ways to make the positive relationships in your stories meaningful. Hopefully, these four tips will help you write yours.

[spectrologie-deactivated2023041]

Judianne Grace

[theplottery]

7 fool-proof ways to connect with your characters

Finding it a bit hard to connect to a certain character in your story? Here are 7 ways to get over that hump →

Start with the little things Every person has their own quirks, and so should your characters. A character might fall flat in your vision because of an absence of these small unique traits. Lean into this, think of habits they fall to when they get emotional, or weird little obsessions they linger on.

Give them a small trait of your own Don’t misinterpret this advice as writing yourself into the story! What I mean by this is to pick a small trait or a habit of your own to add a bit of yourself into a character you’re finding it difficult to connect with. This is a great trick to use if you’re writing a type of personality that differs from your own, and helps layer out character too!

Figure out what they want most Knowing a character's motivation - or what it is that actually drives them forward in the story, is one of the key things you should know about any character. If you’re finding it hard to connect to one of them, think about whether you’ve given them clear and tangible motivation within your story world.

And then figure out why they can’t get that Once you know what your character wants, what their goal might be, think of a reason why they can’t get it, or what that process of achieving the goal might be difficult for them. Usually, this works great if it comes from within - meaning that your character carries a flaw that stops them from acting on their goal.

Don’t underestimate kindness Flawed and morally gray characters are great. But don’t underestimate the power of a kind, positive trait. It’s what makes readers fall in love, and what will ultimately help you fall in love with the character, too. We don’t fall in love with a character’s  snark, but with the emotions they hide behind the snark.

Give yourself time to get to know them Sometimes you don’t immediately click with all your characters, and that’s okay. That happens. It takes time to get to know what makes them tick, sometimes it takes writing them in a scene, then rewriting them in a different way in the same scene to feel out what’s most natural to them. If a character feels distant to you, let yourself explore a different approach to how you write them.

Don’t rush into who they are It can be really fun to keep a mystery about someone. And sometimes that’s all it takes for readers to be intrigued and feel connected to a character. This can work really well for you as the author, too. Don’t rush into writing down everything about your character in the first few chapters, keep a few details for later and work up to them.

[sxptember-s-deactivated20230222]

Writing is first and foremost about having fun.

So write the story you want to write, no matter how cliché or overdone of a concept it might be. You are allowed to explore your ideas, create your write stories, even if it happens to be filled with millions of things we’ve already seen before.

As long as you enjoy what you're doing, and are passionate about your projects, that's more than enough reason to continue! So try not to give too much thought into what other people are trying to tell you, because there’s an audience for everything. Some people do actively seek out stories with ''washed up'' concepts.

Besides, you are not sacrificing your creativity by choosing to write about something that has been done before. Quite the opposite.

[corvase]

some argument prompts

feel free to use loves :)

“why aren’t you listening to me?”

“are you hearing me? i said i understand you’re uncomfortable with it but you need to see where im coming from.”

“they’re manipulating you.” “i need you to trust that i’m smart enough to know if that were true.”

“you’re not listening to me.” “i am.”

“you just don’t get it, do you?”

“stop. just stop talking to me.”

“i cant do this right now.” “what do you mean by that?”

“i need you to leave.”

“i’m so tired of arguing.”

“let me fix this, okay?”

“we were never like this before.”

“what happened to us?”

“watch your tone.” “didn’t you say you liked my attitude at a point?”

“how could you say that to me?”

“i love you.” “don’t use that against me.”

“i wish i never—” “don’t say something you don’t mean. don’t you dare.”

“i can’t stand you.” “you don’t mean that.” “you don’t know what i mean.”

[coffeebeanwriting]

The Darkest Hour for your Protagonist

Also known as the “crisis” or the moment when all hope is lost for your protagonist. The Darkest Hour is when your character hits rock bottom and that “happy ending” just seems unreachable. In this scene, success for your protagonist appears impossible.

What could be a Darkest Hour?

In my opinion, you want your darkest hour to be as dark as possible. Push things to the extreme, create stakes, and hurt your protagonist.  

• Not just any death, but the death of someone your protagonist loves (did your protagonist fail to save them? They now blame themselves.)

• Not just a mild injury, but a serious and life-threatening one (does this injury follow your protagonist into the end of the story? Permanently?)

• Use their fears against them (if they’re afraid of snakes, don’t just have one appear… have them fall into a pit of them.)

• Make your protagonist lose all hope and put their insecurities on full display (they’re embarrassed and ashamed in front of everyone.)

• Attack their mentality just as much as their physicality. (Betrayals, lies, deceptions, self-doubts.)

When does it happen?

Typically, the Darkest Hour occurs right before the climax. Your protagonist is at their all-time low until they have an “a-ha!” moment and gain the hope, strength, or resources to overcome their conundrum and push into the climax of the story.

How does my Protagonist overcome their crisis?

There are numerous ways that your protagonist can trudge out of the mud and gain the strength to continue fighting. They could do it independently and prove themselves a true hero, pull hope from memories and past encounters, receive aid from allies, divine intervention, etc. 

Why is the Darkest Hour Important?

The Darkest Hour is vital to a character’s arc and story because, during their all-time low, their true nature is revealed. Their insecurities, flaws, and fears are all out on the table and the readers get to see them at their most vulnerable. Watching them overcome the crisis shows the reader their growth as a character.

⭐ Show the readers how much your protagonist has grown. If this crisis happened at the beginning of your story, your protagonist would NOT have been able to overcome it. Only through their growth, learning, and plot experiences… are they able to overcome it now.

⭐THIS IS WHERE YOUR PROTAGONIST CAN FINALLY SEE THEIR MISBELIEF/FLAW.

During or after your protagonist’s Darkest Hour is an amazing place for your protagonist to realize the flaw in their thinking (their misbelief). 

Referring back to older posts, your protagonist needs to have a “flaw” or “misbelief”. A false way of thinking that eventually, they will realize is wrong.

• “I’ll never be good enough.” • “Magic is wrong and I will never use it.” • “All aliens are evil and need to be eliminated.” 

This misbelief should have been impeding on your character through the entire plot, causing them conflict and turmoil. After fighting for survival in their darkest moment, they realize they were thinking wrong all along.

• A character reminds your protagonist that they are good enough. • Your protagonist sees magic being used to heal their allies and realizes finally that it can be used for good. • An alien saves your protagonist from a bullet and suddenly your character sees that not all aliens are bad.

Instagram: coffeebeanwriting   

[lord-of-the-prompts]

DESCRIBING THE PHYSICAL ATTRIBUTES OF CHARACTERS:

Body

descriptors; ample, athletic, barrel-chested, beefy, blocky, bony, brawny, buff, burly, chubby, chiseled, coltish, curvy, fat, fit, herculean, hulking, lanky, lean, long, long-legged, lush, medium build, muscular, narrow, overweight, plump, pot-bellied, pudgy, round, skeletal, skinny, slender, slim, stocky, strong, stout, strong, taut, toned, wide.

Eyebrows

descriptors; bushy, dark, faint, furry, long, plucked, raised, seductive, shaved, short, sleek, sparse, thin, unruly.

shape; arched, diagonal, peaked, round, s-shaped, straight.

Ears

shape; attached lobe, broad lobe, narrow, pointed, round, square, sticking-out.

Eyes

colour; albino, blue (azure, baby blue, caribbean blue, cobalt, ice blue, light blue, midnight, ocean blue, sky blue, steel blue, storm blue,) brown (amber, dark brown, chestnut, chocolate, ebony, gold, hazel, honey, light brown, mocha, pale gold, sable, sepia, teakwood, topaz, whiskey,) gray (concrete gray, marble, misty gray, raincloud, satin gray, smoky, sterling, sugar gray), green (aquamarine, emerald, evergreen, forest green, jade green, leaf green, olive, moss green, sea green, teal, vale).

descriptors; bedroom, bright, cat-like, dull, glittering, red-rimmed, sharp, small, squinty, sunken, sparkling, teary.

positioning/shape; almond, close-set, cross, deep-set, downturned, heavy-lidded, hooded, monolid, round, slanted, upturned, wide-set.

Face

descriptors; angular, cat-like, hallow, sculpted, sharp, wolfish.

shape; chubby, diamond, heart-shaped, long, narrow, oblong, oval, rectangle, round, square, thin, triangle.

Facial Hair

beard; chin curtain, classic, circle, ducktail, dutch, french fork, garibaldi, goatee, hipster, neckbeard, old dutch, spade, stubble, verdi, winter.

clean-shaven

moustache; anchor, brush, english, fu manchu, handlebar, hooked, horseshoe, imperial, lampshade, mistletoe, pencil, toothbrush, walrus.

sideburns; chin strap, mutton chops.

Hair

colour; blonde (ash blonde, golden blonde, beige, honey, platinum blonde, reddish blonde, strawberry-blonde, sunflower blonde,) brown (amber, butterscotch, caramel, champagne, cool brown, golden brown, chocolate, cinnamon, mahogany,) red (apricot, auburn, copper, ginger, titain-haired,), black (expresso, inky-black, jet black, raven, soft black) grey (charcoal gray, salt-and-pepper, silver, steel gray,), white (bleached, snow-white).

descriptors; bedhead, dull, dry, fine, full, layered, limp, messy, neat, oily, shaggy, shinny, slick, smooth, spiky, tangled, thick, thin, thinning, tousled, wispy, wild, windblown.

length; ankle length, bald, buzzed, collar length, ear length, floor length, hip length, mid-back length, neck length, shaved, shoulder length, waist length.

type; beach waves, bushy, curly, frizzy, natural, permed, puffy, ringlets, spiral, straight, thick, thin, wavy.

Hands; calloused, clammy, delicate, elegant, large, plump, rough, small, smooth, square, sturdy, strong.

Fingernails; acrylic, bitten, chipped, curved, claw-like, dirty, fake, grimy, long, manicured, painted, peeling, pointed, ragged, short, uneven.

Fingers; arthritic, cold, elegant, fat, greasy, knobby, slender, stubby.

Lips/Mouth

colour (lipstick); brown (caramel, coffee, nude, nutmeg,) pink (deep rose, fuchsia, magenta, pale peach, raspberry, rose, ) purple (black cherry, plum, violet, wine,) red (deep red, ruby.)

descriptors; chapped, cracked, dry, full, glossy, lush, narrow, pierced, scabby, small, soft, split, swollen, thin, uneven, wide, wrinkled.

shape; bottom-heavy, bow-turned, cupid’s bow, downturned, oval, pouty, rosebud, sharp, top-heavy.

Nose

descriptors; broad, broken, crooked, dainty, droopy, hooked, long, narrow, pointed, raised, round, short, strong, stubby, thin, turned-up, wide.

shape; button, flared, grecian, hawk, roman.

Skin

descriptors; blemished, bruised, chalky, clear, dewy, dimpled, dirty, dry, flaky, flawless, freckled, glowing, hairy, itchy, lined, oily, pimply, rashy, rough, sagging, satiny, scarred, scratched, smooth, splotchy, spotted, tattooed, uneven, wrinkly.

complexion; black, bronzed, brown, dark, fair, ivory, light, medium, olive, pale, peach, porcelain, rosy, tan, white.

[wildermouse]

we played hide & seek in waterfalls

[lyralit]

ꜱᴡɪᴛᴄʜ ᴜᴘ ʏᴏᴜʀ ᴠᴇʀʙꜱ (ᴘᴀʀᴛ ᴛᴡᴏ) ~

love admire adore cherish yearn for fancy treasure

laugh chuckle giggle snort crow chortle guffaw cackle

shout cheer screech scream bark call yell

move run walk back away sprint turn jump duck

look glance focus eye survey study sight spot

whisper murmur mutter breathe intone hiss mouth

[lyralit]

ꜱʜᴏᴡ, ᴅᴏɴ'ᴛ ᴛᴇʟʟ (ɪɪ)

fear - open mouth - backing away - fake smiles - hugging themselves - long / dragged breaths - rocking

jealousy - snide remarks - darting looks - self-deprication - visible judging - folded arms - arguing a fair point

hurt - steadying breaths - overly bobbing head - teary - anger - trembling - pressed lips - insisting everything is 'fine'

lying (ticks) - picking at nails - touching hair - licking lips - laughing too loud - avoids subjects - won't meet eyes

worry - reaching out physically - pursing lips - looking to others - reassuring smiles - looking you up and down - tilted head - sympathetic nod

shame - will not meet eyes - feet turned away - teary - desperate - fidgeting - begging

humiliation - lashes back - cheeks flush - palms turn sweaty - face frowns -> brows scrunch, lips pull back - teary

love - looks for approval - blushing / turning red - clammy palms - nervous around certain people - laughs hard - turning clumsy - slip of thought

[lyralit]

[ᴡʜᴀᴛ ᴀʀᴇ ᴡᴇ? ᴍᴏᴍᴇɴᴛ] ᴘʀᴏᴍᴘᴛꜱ

sparks when skin brushes skin

secret smiles

checking to see what they think

seeing an object and thinking of them

hugs that last a beat too long

looking for them in a crowd

holding hands and that's all they can think of

rubbing comforting circles into their skin

laughing more around them

friends pointing [it] out

acting without thinking then checking to see how they reacted

lighting up when you see them

inside jokes

leaving notes

signing off a written correspondence with a kiss or "love"

accidentally referencing them as "my"

nicknames

comfort in their presence

personal gifts

growing really close really quickly

knowing what they'll say

feeling a flutter after something they've done dozens of times

they start analyzing everything to guess if it's romantic or not

face turning red when they get too close

face turning red when they think of them

smiling more easily

glowing after a nice remark and having it pointed out

overanalyzing what others say about them both

thinking maybe...

requested by anon

[leighrucker]

Show me ya teef 🤣