promises, promises

things to hold, things to create space for, things not to mess up (& other literary nonsense)

[kabaks]

every time i write i think about that maya angelou quote where she talks about her editor asking her why she uses semicolons instead of colons and says she has often responded by threatening to never speak to him again

[kabaks]

she’s so fucking funny

[ashstfu]

reading a good interesting book after a horrible reading slump and suddenly you can feel the sun shining again and the sky is more beautiful than ever and birds are all singing songs to you

[lost-in-eriador]

in 2026, remember how GOOD writing feels. remember how satsfying it is to get your characters to the point you have been dying to get to, where they will experience the love, fear, relief or whatever the feeling you want to bring to life may be. let this year be the year of writing, prgress and of satisfactory endings.

[captainkirkk]

What they don't tell you about writing is that as you write, you discover scenes and entire plots that you hadn't accounted for that need to be written. So you can spend two hours writing and editing only to realise you're further away from the finish line than you thought you were when you started

[what-even-is-thiss]

I think a lot of writers might benefit from giving themselves permission to get weird with format.

Use second person, drop classic rising action and climax format, write backwards, just sit in a moment, tell all you want and refuse to show, make an entire book that’s just one run on sentence, reject tropes, use all tropes, cliche yourself to death, produce something that’s completely gibberish. Break all the rules of marketability. Become ungovernable.

[duckbunny]

media literacy includes understanding why a media product was made, to whom it's being sold, and the assumed preferences of its marketing demographic. narrative is not produced or sold in a vacuum.

[frightfullytreeish]

one must imagine sisyphus having weird erotically charged dreams about the boulder

[dying-crying-pining]

there’s something about hands:

• splayed flat over someone’s chest, a warm, grounding anchor. “easy. easy. lay still.”

• knuckles raked across a sternum. “come on back now… that’s it. there you are. deep breaths for me.”

• the vulnerability of uncovering a painful wound to let someone else inspect it. “i promise i’ll be really gentle, but i have to take a look.”

• gently frantic. “oh my god. is that blood? is all of that yours?”

• A held captive, strung up to the rafters by their wrists. B finally rushes in, clutches A’s face in their hands, tips their chin up. desperately searches for any hint of awareness. “A. A, look at me. please look at me. i need a medic over here!”

• B’s cool hand pressed against A’s fever-hot forehead. bonus points if they cup the back of A’s head with the other hand at the same time. A closes their eyes and leans into the touch ever so slightly.

[nyatzsche]

some of you need to put down chat gpt and pick the magic 8ball back up

[albatrossisland]

[lierdumoa]

"instead of you" isn't "for you"

[rafterdarkr]

why are all these modern aus for the Odyssey set in a high school. where's the retelling where Odysseus is just a guy lost in an airport who keeps missing his connecting flights home due to a comical series of delays and disgruntled airline employees

[promptcalender]

Uncommon Words / Phrases to be Inspired by

Absquatulate: to leave without saying goodbye

Cassandra Complex: a psychological penomenon in which someone's accurate prediction of a crisis is ignored or dismissed

Cicatrize: to find healing by the process of forming scars

Even a Worm will turn: the belief that even the most docile creature will retaliate if pushed too far

Fernweh: the ache for distant places; the urge to leave everything familiar behind

Hamartia: a fatal flaw leading to the downfall of a tragic hero

Hiraeth: homesickness for a home you can never return to

Ichor: a fluid that flows like blood in the veins of gods

Jester's Privilege: the ability and right of a jester to mock his king without fear of punishment, for nothing he says seems to matter

Lachesism: longing for the clarity that comes with living through a disaster

Lotus-Eater: a person who lives their life in a constant state of dream and fantasy

Novalunosis: the state of relaxation and wonder experienced while gazing up at the stars

Pyrrhic Victory: a victory with such devastating consequence and collateral that is becomes a 'hollow victory'

Swan Song: a final act or effort given just before death

Wanderlust: a strong desire to wander and explore the world free from any obligation

Weltschmerz: the pain that comes with the realisation that the material world will never satisfy the demands of the soul

Whistle in the Dark: to make a show of bravery despite one's fear

Yhprum's Law: 'everything that can go right will go right'

[Prompt Calender: January 9th, National Word Nerd Day]

[luna-azzurra]

[luna-azzurra]

On writing sexual tension

⊹ standing too close. like just barely not touching. why are their shoulders breathing on each other??

⊹ conversations that sound normal but feel like foreplay. “pass the salt” has never been so loaded.

⊹ one of them says something flirty and the other freezes for 0.2 seconds like “oh.”

⊹ eyes dropping to lips and then—back up. with effort.

⊹ holding eye contact just a little too long. like... are they gonna kiss or duel??

⊹ unintentional physical contact that lasts one second too long and now they’re both broken

⊹ a hand on the small of the back. that’s it. that’s the tweet.

⊹ tension so thick that other characters start noticing like “hey are you two okay?” (they are not)

⊹ “accidental” sleepovers. “oh no there’s only one bed.” yeah. suuuure.

⊹ biting back a smile. biting back a moan. biting anything really.

⊹ one of them walks away and the other has to physically restrain themselves from watching the hips

⊹ lots of sighing. frustrated sighs. horny sighs. “i want to kiss you but I’m emotionally unavailable” sighs.

[luna-azzurra]

[ariesrin]

Writing tips: Let bodies do the talking

Body language is one of the most powerful tools you can use in your writing, especially when it comes to dialogue.

It reveals emotion without needing long explanations, and it gives your characters presence long before they speak.

Here are some physical cues you can use to bring your scenes to life:

Crossed arms / defensive stance → guarded, annoyed, uncertain

Fidgeting with sleeves / tapping fingers → nervous, impatient

Lingering touches / brushing hands → affection, tension, desire

Tightened jaw / clenched fists → anger, restraint, frustration

Averted eyes / looking at the floor → guilt, fear, embarrassment

Stepping back / leaning away → distrust or discomfort

Tilting head / raised eyebrows → curiosity, challenge

Shoulders relaxing / exhaling slowly → relief, vulnerability

When should you rely on body language?

When you want to show an emotion instead of naming it

When dialogue alone feels flat

When you need subtext (what they won’t say out loud)

When two characters feel differently than the words they’re speaking

When you want to make a scene more sensory and grounded

Are they really calm, or is their foot tapping like a warning signal? Are they truly angry, or is it just the way their jaw tightens when they’re hurt? Are they saying “I’m fine,” but refusing to meet anyone’s eyes?

Body language adds layers. It tells the truth when your characters won’t. It can add to the rage bubbling on their lips, letting the reader know when they're just about to blow up.

Use it intentionally, and your scenes will read less like conversations on a stage and more like real people breathing on the page.

[azrielsshadows42]

There are two types of writers:

1. 'It's fiction, it doesn't need to make sense!'

2. 'I didn't account for the rotation of the planet and how that affects the constellations while my characters stargazed at different times of year, I have failed as a writer, and this entire thing is trash'