SGC

Writer. 22. She/her. A silent observer

[heartandsoul-fragments]

[allthingswhumpyandangsty]

[corpseprize]

the reality of being a writer

[ohwaitimthewriter]

Especially the last one!

[luna-azzurra]

Soulmates Dialogue Prompts!!

☆ "I've been looking for you in every room I've ever walked into."

☆ "The universe decided this. I just showed up."

☆ "You feel like something I've always known and just found."

☆ "I don't believe in fate. Then explain you. Explain all of this."

☆ "We keep finding each other across every version of every life. I stopped being surprised."

☆ "You're my person. I knew it before I knew your name."

☆ "The bond doesn't care about timing or circumstance. Apparently."

☆ "I fought it. I want you to know I really genuinely fought it."

☆ "Every story ends with you. I've checked."

☆ "I was whole before you. Now I don't know what that felt like."

☆ "You make me feel like I was always supposed to arrive here."

☆ "Soulmates aren't always soft. Sometimes they're the thing that breaks you open."

☆ "I found you in the worst possible moment. The universe has no sense of timing."

☆ "I would find you in every life. That's not romantic. That's just fact."

☆ "You complete something I didn't know was unfinished."

[ghostriderskull]

[luna-azzurra]

Some writing advice I will never give up:

Your characters are allowed to be bad people. Your story is allowed to have no moral lesson.yyour ending is allowed to be sad. The villain can win. The good person can do something unforgivable. The lovers can destroy each other. You are allowed to write the thing that no one asked for and everything that everyone told you doesn’t work and you are allowed to not explain yourself.

It’s your story. Burn it down if you want to.

[an0neemouse]

Two things absolutely changed my life as a writer. You ready?

One- as OP said, your characters can be bad people, they can do bad things. There doesn't have to be a reason or a moral. You can make them bad if you want to. No other reason needed.

Two- it doesn't have to be good, it just needs to be written. On my last book i literally wrote the words "dumbest version" on the top of the page because I had seen some advice to do that. It changed everything. I stopped trying to make it perfect, I just tried to make it. Period. Full stop.

And honestly? Defiance is the best writing I've ever done. All because I let my characters be bad and I gave myself the freedom to write it badly.

[azzurina]

Villain Dialogue Prompts #2

♱ "You call that a plan? I've seen better improvisation from amateurs."

♱ "I didn't climb this far to be stopped by you."

♱ "You're not brave. You're just too naive to know fear."

♱ "Every hero I've faced said the same things. None of them are here anymore."

♱ "I don't break people. I simply reveal what was already broken."

♱ "You think righteousness is armor. It's a blindfold."

♱ "I gave you a chance to walk away. That was my one act of mercy."

♱ "You're fighting for people who would turn on you in a heartbeat."

♱ "Hope is just disappointment that hasn't arrived yet."

♱ "I didn't become a monster. I became honest."

♱ "You remind me of who I used to be. That's not a compliment."

♱ "The world doesn't want saving. It wants someone strong enough to rule it."

♱ "You're a candle calling itself a wildfire."

♱ "I've already taken everything from you. You just don't know it yet."

♱ "Loyalty is a leash. I cut mine the moment I saw clearly."

♱ "You bleed for people who sleep soundly while you suffer."

♱ "I don't need followers. I need the world on its knees."

♱ "Your courage is wasted on a losing side."

♱ "I was like you once... full of fire and empty of wisdom."

♱ "You want to save everyone? You can't even save yourself."

♱ "The difference between a villain and a visionary is who writes the history."

♱ "I don't destroy for pleasure. I destroy for purpose."

♱ "You're the last echo of a dying ideal."

♱ "When I'm done, they'll build statues of me and forget you ever existed."

♱ "I don't fear death. I've already killed everything inside me worth mourning."

[luna-azzurra]

Ways to Describe Hands!! <3

[luna-azzurra]

The specific humiliation of sharing your writing with someone and then watching them read it in front of you in real time. they pause. why did they pause. that was a bad pause. now they're nodding but what does the nod mean. now they look up and say "wow" and you need to know IMMEDIATELY what kind of wow that was. there are at least six different wows and only one of them is good and you have aged fourteen years waiting to find out which one.

[daily-daydream]

Non-spicy ways to show Intimacy

Intimacy isn't always just the spicy stuff! Here's a few ways to show it through your characters in a few, simple ways...

Kissing their S/O's hand, knuckles, wrist...bonus points for eye contact!

Speaking of which...eyes. Glances across the room, prolonged eye contact, staring at each other

Tending to the other's wounds/ injuries

Knowing the other's tiny habits

Reaching out to the other when in pain, trouble, ect

Whispering jokes to each other

Carefully wiping off a stain from their clothes or face

Taking care of each other when sick or hurt

Hand over the heart/ ear over the heart just to hear it beat

Pressing their thumb over the pulse point for the same thing

Tracing scars, tattoos, birth marks, freckles

Giving the other something tiny that means a lot, a picture, a shiny rock, a flower

In fantasy settings, helping the other put on/ take off armor...trusting the other to know where daggers, knives, poisons are hidden

Telling each other secrets/ thoughts they've told nobody before

Tucking back the other's hair

Putting a piece of jewelry on the other or letting them borrow clothes

Keeping each other warm in the cold

In cases with chronic illness, letting the other care for/ know symptoms

Brushing, braiding hair, applying skincare, etc.

Nightmare comfort

Wiping away tears

Proximity- sitting near each other, sticking close, standing beside each other while doing a task such as cooking, laundry, painting...

Sharing a book, sitting close enough to read it together

[livelaughwriteit]

Character Misfortunes

I found this pin on Pinterest and thought it offered some good misfortunes that can help think of motivations for characters. I will definitely be using this from now on while writing. This is a list of some of the ones that pin suggested and a few that I thought of as well.

Abandoned

Lied to

Challeneged

Addicted

Blackmailed

Pursued

Condemned

Cursed

Defrauded

Robbed

Poor

Exiled

Discredited

Disowned

Framed

Haunted

Kidnapped

Abuse

Mutilated

Rejected

Replaced

Suspected

Consequences for choices

[luna-azzurra]

Pirate & Maritime Names!!

˙⋆✮ Calloway ˙⋆✮ Maren ˙⋆✮ Flint ˙⋆✮ Siren ˙⋆✮ Drake ˙⋆✮ Wren ˙⋆✮ Corsair ˙⋆✮ Isla ˙⋆✮ Morgan ˙⋆✮ Brine ˙⋆✮ Rosamund ˙⋆✮Cutter ˙⋆✮ Peregrine ˙⋆✮ Tide ˙⋆✮ Silver ˙⋆✮Caspian ˙⋆✮ Reef ˙⋆✮ Marlowe ˙⋆✮ Lash ˙⋆✮Nessa ˙⋆✮ Hawke ˙⋆✮ Briny ˙⋆✮ Cordelia ˙⋆✮ Fathom ˙⋆✮ Rowan ˙⋆✮ Knave ˙⋆✮Calico ˙⋆✮ Drifter ˙⋆✮ Lorcan ˙⋆✮ Squall ˙⋆✮Vesper ˙⋆✮ Brigand ˙⋆✮ Nixie ˙⋆✮ Seaborn ˙⋆✮ Rook ˙⋆✮ Sable ˙⋆✮ Marlow ˙⋆✮ Gale ˙⋆✮ Waverly ˙⋆✮ Cutlass ˙⋆✮ Orion

[luna-azzurra]

Tips for Writing Trauma!

i love you all and i need you to stop writing trauma as a single breakdown scene in the rain after which the character is Healed and Ready to Love Again. that is NOT trauma :(

⊹ Trauma doesn't announce itself. it shows up as your character suddenly not being able to eat a specific food, or going very quiet in a loud room, or laughing at the wrong moment because their nervous system decided that was the appropriate response. it's mundane and weird and it makes no sense from the outside. the dramatic flashback sequence is the least realistic part. the most realistic part is your character suddenly needing to leave a grocery store for a reason they can't articulate.

⊹ The body keeps score and it keeps it in the strangest places. a particular smell. the quality of light at a certain time of day. a tone of voice that sounds like someone who hurt them. your traumatised character doesn't think "this reminds me of the bad thing." their heart rate spikes and they don't know why. they feel wrong and they can't locate the feeling. they're irritable for three days and only later, if ever, do they make the connection. write the disconnection. it's more honest.

⊹ trauma also does not make people universally sympathetic and wise. it makes some people controlling. some people funny at inappropriate times. some people very good in a crisis and completely unable to handle a normal day. some people are generously kind to strangers and absolutely terrible to people they love. trauma shapes behaviour in contradictory, inconvenient ways that don't resolve into a lesson. your traumatised character can be difficult to like. that's not a flaw in the writing. that's the WRITING.

⊹ Healing is not linear and it is not a destination. your character does not get better and stay better. they have a good month and then something small undoes two years of progress and they have to start again with slightly more tools than before. that's the actual shape of it. the spiral, not the arc. the scene where they finally open up and cry is not the end. it might not even be progress. sometimes it just means they were tired that night.

[luna-azzurra]

Prompts for writing Eyes like that

☆ His eyes were two different colors and two different temperatures and two different moods and somehow, together, they made the most coherent face you had ever looked at.

☆ She had one eye the color of a winter sky and one the color of dark soil and together they looked like a landscape, the kind you stand in front of and forget to take a photograph because you know it won't translate.

☆ His eyes were different colors and when he looked at you straight on you could feel both at once--one warm, one cool, like standing at the exact border of two seasons.

☆ She had one eye for the living world and one for something else entirely, and you were never sure which one was looking at you.

☆ She had one blue eye that saw everything clearly and one brown eye that understood everything deeply and together they saw the world more completely than most people ever managed with two of the same.

☆ She had one green eye and one amber eye and when she looked at me I fell in love with both, separately and together, and couldn't have told you which happened first.

[mournfulroses]

Albert Camus, from a letter to María Casares featured in Correspondance, 1944-1959

[luna-azzurra]

Ways to write Slow Burn Romance!!

┈୨୧┈ Give them reasons they CAN'T be together that aren't just manufactured drama. Not miscommunication. Not love triangles. Not arbitrary "I push people away" trauma with no real exploration. Give them REAL obstacles: they're on opposite sides of a conflict, timing is wrong, there are actual consequences to being together, they have incompatible life goals, there's a power imbalance they need to resolve first. The obstacles should be meaningful and require actual character growth to overcome, not just a conversation.

┈୨୧┈ Make the friendship foundation SO STRONG that readers ship them before the romance even starts. They should genuinely LIKE each other. They should have inside jokes. They should seek each other out just to hang out. They should trust each other. They should have fun together. When the romantic feelings start developing, it should feel like "oh no, I don't want to ruin this friendship" because the friendship is genuinely valuable. Readers should be able to believe they'd still choose to be in each other's lives even if romance never happened.

┈୨୧┈ Let the tension BUILD in layers over time. First they notice each other. Then they start seeking excuses to be near each other. Then they start getting jealous. Then they start having Moments. Then they start thinking about each other constantly. Then comes the almost-kisses. Then the accidental intimacy. Then the barely-hidden feelings. Each phase should have time to breathe before moving to the next level. Slow burn means SLOW - readers should be desperate for them to get together LONG before they actually do.

┈୨୧┈ Show how they change each other gradually. He starts smiling more because of her. She becomes braver because he believes in her. They adopt each other's habits and phrases. They start to see the world differently because of the other person's influence. Slow burn is about showing two people gradually becoming essential to each other's lives. They should be woven into each other's character development, not separate from it.

┈୨୧┈ Make the payoff WORTH the wait. After chapters or books of tension, the moment they finally get together should be EARNED and SATISFYING. A CONVERSATION where they're finally honest. A moment where they choose each other despite the obstacles. A confession that feels like a dam breaking. The first kiss should feel like the conclusion of a long journey and the beginning of something new. Readers have been waiting for this, so make it count. Make it feel like YES, THIS WAS WORTH IT.

[luna-azzurra]

Things to consider when Writing about Schools/Academies!!

⊹ What is this school actually for. training mages? knights? spies? just normal education? because "prestigious academy" means nothing if you don't know what they're prestigious at

⊹ Who gets in and how. is it merit based, do you have to be rich, legacy admissions, secret tests, random selection, born with the right abilities. what happens to kids who don't make the cut

⊹ What's the age range. are these literal children or young adults or mixed ages. because a school with 11 year olds has very different problems than one with 18 year olds

⊹ How strict is it. prison vibes with tons of rules? pretty chill? different rules for different student groups (which is unfair and causes drama)?

⊹ What are the social hierarchies. obviously there are cliques but what are they based on. wealth? power level? what year you're in? family name? talent?

⊹ What happens if you fail or get expelled. are you just sent home in shame or is it worse. do people sometimes not survive the training. how often do students drop out or disappear

⊹ Who are the teachers and why are they teaching. washed up former heroes? people who never left? actually passionate educators? suspicious people using it as a cover? mix of all of them probably

⊹ What's forbidden. certain magic, certain areas of campus, relationships between students, leaving grounds, specific books/knowledge. and obviously your protagonist will break these rules

⊹ How do students get sorted/grouped. houses? teams? specializations? randomly? and do these groups have rivalries because they should

⊹ What's the curriculum actually like. is it actually useful or are they learning weird outdated stuff. are there classes that are just covers for something else. what are the hardest classes

⊹ Where is this school located. isolated castle? middle of a city? pocket dimension? floating island? does it move? can students leave or are they stuck there

⊹ What traditions does the school have. tournaments, festivals, hazing rituals (the dark kind), graduation ceremonies, weird old customs nobody questions

⊹ Is there corruption in the faculty/administration. favoritism, taking bribes, secret agendas, covering up student deaths, embezzling, working for the villain

⊹ What's the diversity situation. is it segregated somehow (by class, species, magic type)? integrated but with tension? do some groups face discrimination from staff or other students?

⊹ What happens outside of classes. clubs? underground fight rings? secret societies? banned parties? students sneaking out? romantic drama?

⊹ Why is your protagonist specifically there. chosen one nonsense? hiding from something? forced to attend? actually wants to learn? found out they have powers and got dragged there confused?