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[unheardoracle]

Your dialogue is stiff because everyone is being too honest

Great dialogue can come from radical emotional honesty. But in most real conversations, people

dodge questions

answer indirectly

lie (badly)

change the subject

crack jokes to avoid serious answers

lie (convincingly)

say half of what they mean

tell the truth but get so anxious/angry/defensive others now think they're lying

If your dialogue feels unnatural, it might be because everyone is saying exactly what they think, or articulating their thoughts too well. Try letting characters hide things instead.

Subtext is where tension lives.

[doinglinesakawriting]

do a page of your wip but its written like Diary of a Whimpy kid

What a prompt to fix my writer's block 😅😭

Played it safe with the scene that I used because I had no idea how I would portray other scenes in this style

Evidence under the cut that the pictures aren't AI

Time lapse:

*pictures were drawn in a separate file so I could check they'd fit the space but they are all drawn by me. I find AI abhorrent.

I spent so much time searching up illustrations for inspiration and figuring out the font 😭. The one I used on Ibis Paint X is SchoolBell

[theaawalker]

Alternatives to "Touched"

ᚑ      ᚑ

When the touch is gentle:

»-♡→ Brushed »-♡→ Grazed »-♡→ Caressed »-♡→ Stroked »-♡→ Patted »-♡→ Cradled »-♡→ Rested against »-♡→ Smoothed »-♡→ Trailed along »-♡→ Glided over

...or comforting:

➺ Squeezed ➺ Held ➺ Embraced ➺ Wrapped around ➺ Clasped ➺ Pressed gently against ➺ Rubbed ➺ Supported ➺ Steadied ➺ Cupped

...or affectionate:

➵ Ruffled ➵ Nuzzled ➵ Kissed ➵ Linked arms with ➵ Nestled against ➵ Curled around ➵ Leaned into ➵ Rested a hand on ➵ Laced fingers with ➵ Pulled close

...or romantic:

̗̀➛ Traced ̗̀➛ Ghosted across ̗̀➛ Brushed against ̗̀➛ Skimmed over ̗̀➛ Lingeringly stroked ̗̀➛ Ran a thumb along ̗̀➛ Tilted their chin ̗̀➛ Tucked a strand of hair behind their ear ̗̀➛ Pressed their forehead against ̗̀➛ Intertwined fingers

ᚑ      ᚑ

Follow me if this was helpful :)

[brainstreams]

Don't use AI to write. Use cocaine like a real author.

[galileoace]

Cocaine is ridiculously expensive...so is AI for that matter. I just use maladaptive daydreaming and lucid dreaming

[derinthescarletpescatarian]

I've tried using a gas leak in my home but this, unfortunately, does not help.

[headspace-hotel]

In rare circumstances, the Muse will just show up and abduct you.

But the things that had to happen to trigger this event are not recommended.

[kyraneko]

Personally I will occasionally decide "writing is happening now" and mix myself two large and elaborate alcoholic drinks, slam one of them and sit down at the computer with the other and start typing rambles and snippets about whatever is occupying my imagination at the time.

It sometimes works, insofar as actually producing a coherent piece of story. However, it always results in at least a few pages of interesting thoughts, ideas, and bits of imagery, which can be mined later for further writing.

It's an awesome way to populate a notebook or a word document with interesting stuff, most of which has potential for future use.

[lupismaris]

Do it scared but please don't do it hungry. Please don't do it dehydrated. It's gonna make it so much scarier. Please.

[novlr]

“Tell a story! Don’t try to impress your reader with style or vocabulary or neatly turned phrases. Tell the story first.” — Anne McCaffrey

[expressions-of-nature]

by Nikolett Emmert

[writingdose]

[shinesurge]

gentle psa to new comic artists about a problem i also suffered from: slow quiet pacing is totally fine BUT if that's not what you're deliberately going for, you CAN fit more Story Progression on the page. no, more than that. more than that even. i promise if you don't want it to a single action doesn't need to take a whole page to illustrate each of its steps, a lot of connecting magic happens in the gutters i /promise/ if you draw someone pulling up in a car then skip to them walking in the door with groceries we will Understand that they unloaded the car and unlocked the house you feel me

[shinesurge]

#I am not a comic artist#but I had a similar problem when I was in film school#I call it “the door problem”#in my thesis film I had written that two characters walk out the back of the club into the alley behind the club#and my club location did not have a back alley but did have a side room that we used as the door#but that door opened in#and the location I used for the alley had a back door but that door opened outwards#and I knew it looked weird#I struggled framing the shots#and blocking the actors#and I got really really caught in my own head about how to make this door work#because to me it was really important that you saw every step from club to outside#because even though we had learned in school that you could transition it didn't feel right because it didn't feel like a new scene to me#(this being one of the struggles with a short film. It can all feel like one scene if your script is short!)#AND THEN#when we got into the editing room we just...cut the door transition entirely#initially not on purpose#what happened was that we decided to tighten up the timing by cutting non-linearly to the custom music I had commissioned#which made it much more experimental especially in comparison to my fellow classmates#however it showed me that the story still absolutely worked without needing to show how they got into the alley#the audience can infer the door#so now anytime I can feel myself getting stuck on something when I'm filming I think#“Is this a Door Problem?”#as a storyteller it's always a question of what is the absolute bare minimum you need to convey what you're trying to say#and sometimes that means you just need to already be outside the club

(via @currentlycreating )

Exactly! Film and comics are VERY similar mediums in this way, I love this. We should always be considering Door Problems

[prokopetz]

Flavours of unreliable narrator:

Lying to the reader

Lying to themselves

Simply misinformed

Not paying attention

Has weird priorities

Assumed you knew

Hates you personally

Bad at communicating

Easily sidetracked

Will believe anything

Has weird prejudices

Just kind of dumb

[thecollectibles]

Art by Vladimir Motsar

[writersisland]

Words of a Shattered Heart

✯ “How dare you stand before me and demand the type of devotion you would not offer me under threat of death.”

✯ “You saw my heart as nothing but a trophy to be paraded around. And I was fool enough to stand in the crowd and cheer.”

✯ “Every love of mine paled in comparison to you... And now I fear I will never see life in color again.”

✯ “The person I gave everything for has betrayed me in the most personal way. How is a heart supposed to recover from such hurt?”

✯ “Do not blame me for your own sentimental tendencies. I never promised to love you.”

✯ “You break my heart and bury the shards, yet you come to ask for a favor?”

✯ “Leave. If I ever see you again, you will know the wrath of a heart left to wither.”

✯ “I never wanted to hurt you, but to say that I regret what I did would hardly be accurate.”

✯ “I do not believe my heart shall ever recover.”

[periodicallypurple]

Thought this might help others who struggle when writing. I know I get in my head too much.

[doinglinesakawriting]

OC in 15 lines

I'm not even sure that Jacqueline has 15 lines yet, but I'll give this a go. Thank you for the tag @aadhube, as usual, everything included in this post is unedited and choppy. No judgement please!

I really want to do one of these for Livanna and Agatha as well, but I think too much of the plot would be revealed if I did.

“Pray, where did you happen upon this?”

“Much obliged, but I believe I shall take that chance. After all, it would hardly be “lucky” to step into a new abode leaving God at the threshold.” Though she adopted the man’s turn of phrase, she had never accepted the vulgar notion of luck. Fortune was but the hand of Providence, playing upon the course of one’s life; and those who held a faith in “luck” had strayed too far from divine guidance, forfeiting their sensibilities along the way.

“I suppose that is the case. I shall do my utmost to not prove too great a burden to you, miss.”

"This is a very fine establishment," Jacqueline remarked, sharp breaths interjecting her speech, "You must work yourself sore maintaining it, every surface is positively sparkling!"

"I shall take it to my grave." Jacqueline remarked, though her thoughts ignited with the realisation that she had come to a home where her condition would be understood more deeply than anywhere else in the world.

"You treat me as an invalid, though I am just as capable as yourself. Should my countenance betray my fear, that is because I am frightened, but did you not say yourself that fear keeps your men fast?"

"I will not move until I have an explanation!"

"Father! Father, pray, come with me, do not leave me here! Father, I shall die out there without you, Father!"

"Thank you, ma'am — it is not one that I would ordinarily have picked. I do find it to be flattering, though. Clearly, you are a woman of taste." A coy smile played upon the lips of the host and she bowed her head.

"My goodness, I have realised that you have opened your doors and have been so warmly natured, yet I have still to learn your name."

"You must excuse me, I am not usually so unmannerly, it is only that I have not eaten in some time."

"I fear I would not know, my Father was — is, not very fond of tea."

"This is truly wonderful, miss, I only wish that my arrival here had been under more fortunate circumstances. It is rather surprising that you have prepared such a lovely welcome with so little notice."

"Goodness, Agatha! I was not expecting anyone else to…" She turned to face the woman and noticed her hands clasped at her waist. "What is it that you are doing in here?"

"Livanna," The woman hummed and turned her head to listen, her eyes shimmering beneath the fabric which fell as a midnight waterfall across her features. "Pray, who is taking us to our destination?" Livanna smiled and turned her attention toward the driver.

I invite @sleepingpearlescent @ceribrennanwrites @melancholiadreams @rarrrrhhhhhhh @prosepathologized and anyone else who would like to join in, to find 15 lines of dialogue which showcase your OC's personality.

(sorry for the double tag, I forgot my laptop automatically uploads to communities instead of my blog)

[iphysalian]

One of the worst things I think you can do to a new writer is give them feedback as if you were an agent, when you're not. Which is a thing that has happened to me twice. By people who are not writers or agents or qualified in any way to make such claims. Who I did not ask to do that. When we were like, 13 and then 20.

What they were really doing was being brutally "honest" insecure bullies about it. We're not friends anymore.

This tends to happen when they're met with a trope, premise, or genre that they already don't like and yet for reasons beyond my comprehension, agree to read it anyway. If you're asked to read something romantasy and romantasy is your jam, you probably won't be this person. Or, this happens when you're met with a genre that you do adore, and have impossibly high standards for, determined to compare a literal novice to genre greats. In other words: These people are snobs.

But if you are trying to do this in good faith--trying to look at it big picture and what you think would sell, you have to go all the way. Meaning your personal opinion on whether you like it means jack shit, if your personal opinion runs contrary to how well the author did their job.

You can't both claim to be vetting for the hypothetical wider audience, and then lob personal criticisms because of details specific to your tastes, and start conflating them in your feedback.

We love to throw around the phrase "objectively terrible," but is it? Is it really? Everything has its audience. So unless it's confusing and nonsensical to follow, if the author succeeded in writing a Twilight Romance, and told you it was Twilight level of quality, and that's what they wanted and the audience they're looking for, then no, it cannot be "objectively" terrible. You're just not the target demo (and they probably shouldn't be asking you for feedback in the first place).

Something "objectively" terrible might be the writer opening up a massive plot hole that destroys the tension and the magic system. Or a character going major OOC with no explanation or justification that assassinates them on the spot.

You might not like the central romance, but is it still well-written? Does the pacing make sense? They might be annoying as hell to you, but do you understand why they like each other? Did the author do their job in successfully conveying the emotional layers to make it believable? Do you understand that while you might not like it, a lot of other people probably will?

If you want to provide both wide scale and narrow types of feedback, frame the first one as your professional opinion (and "professional" is doing some heavy lifting if you have no legitimate experience) and the second one as your personal opinion. If your writer friend even wants both, they might only be asking for one, and unsolicited criticism just makes you a jerk.

And if you're going to call any of this "professional" the phrase "I don't know why but i just hate it" or anything like it should not exist anywhere in your feedback. Don't just bring problems, bring solutions, or humble yourself and say you can't help them. If you can't explain why you don't like something and offer a way to fix it, what is the writer supposed to do with it, beyond sit with their hurt feelings while you throw your hands up claiming benevolent honesty?

In the words of Anton Ego,

In many ways, the work of a critic is easy. We risk very little, yet enjoy a position over those who offer up their work and their selves to our judgment. We thrive on negative criticism, which is fun to write and to read. But the bitter truth we critics must face is that, in the grand scheme of things, the average piece of junk is probably more meaningful than our criticism designating it so.

So are you actually trying to help your writer friend, or are you here to shit on their hard work that they wrote for themselves, all because you're insulted that they didn't write it for you?

[novlr]

6 Beach Reads to Read Like a Writer This Summer | The Novlr Reading Room

Beach reads move fast for a reason. Here are six summer bestsellers with real craft lessons in structure, voice, and narrative control for w

Beach reads get undersold as examples of good writing craft because they're so easy to consume. But a book that moves that fast, that holds your attention across 400 pages without you noticing the time, is the result of some very deliberate choices by its author. We put together a reading list of six summer books worth packing this year, and worth paying close attention to while you read them.

[libraford]

Googled something about quick hydration and it suggested big jug of water, couple tbsp pickle juice, dash of lime juice.

Its surprisingly tasty????

[libraford]

Pleased to report that after a day of this i am not longer craving caper brine and my mouth is not dry as usual. There's some good suggestions in the notes too that I want to try.

-ancient roman posca: water, red or white wine vinegar, honey, salt, herbs (coriander, mint, thyme)

-switchel: water, ginger, vinegar, sweetener, lemon, salt

-ayran: yogurt, water, salt, mint

-Agua pepino: water, cucumbers, lime, sugar, optional mint.

[libraford]

I have been reminded of:

-shrub: vinegar, sida water, elderberry (or other berry), sugar.

[libraford]

I have now been informed of

-sekanjabin: honey, vinegar, mint, water.

[libraford]

"Wow, I wonder why this post was popular this week."

-sees the reports of the heatwave in Europe-

"... ah."