[the-modern-typewriter]

hey, as someone who has never had sex or even kissed i find it difficult to write an intercourse, especially foreplay. any tips?

See this post of mine about writing a sex scene.

See this post of mine about writing kisses.

Note what you like when you read these kinds of scenes, think about why you like them, and adapt it into your work. 

[the-modern-typewriter]

Hi, ive been trying to write about tension between two characters for a month now and it doesn't seem to work. Do you have any tips? thank you :)

Anonymous said: Love your hero/villain snippets and prompts. Do you have any tips for writing sexual tension between two characters, especially two characters who are enemies or rivals? 

So, without knowing your specific problem is for why it’s not working, my advice may be somewhat limited, but some thoughts first, moving onto sexual tension second…

Tension, as I’m sure you know, arises from conflict/friction. This can take a lot of different forms - romantic friction in the form of the ‘will they or won’t they’ or more sinister friction, for example if someone has a dangerous secret and the other person is getting close to finding it out. (Enemies and rivals in love/lust will generally have both, which may be why I love them so much.)

The way you write the tension between characters is going to depend on what kind of tension you’re going for, even if you’re layering up two different kinds at once.

Writers Digest have a piece here which is quite a good general starting point.

For between two characters, it tends to be that they want different things - or, if it’s romantic tension, often want the same thing but have obstacles in the way or reasons that they can’t be together etc. However, the other side of tension is the reader - making the reader long for a kiss, or for the secret to be kept etc.That’s what causes the tension. 

I have found that the two are also often related? So my tension tips:

1) Awareness - characters who want or are threatened by each other will be aware of each other. They will react to each other’s presence. Their thoughts, their responses, their dialogue is not going to be neutral. They will notice stuff, they will obsess, or track each other in a room. They may pay extra attention to the other character’s quirks or expressions. 

- Side Tip: WRITE HOW THEY/IT FEELS. This is your show moments. Don’t just say X was across the room, or X walked towards them. Talk about the way the character’s belly swoops as they get close, the hair on the back of their neck, the way they can swear they can smell their perfume from across the room etc etc. If your characters are reacting, they are going to be feeling.

2) Near Touches/Misplaced Touches - near touch is obvious. The agonizing moments when they reach out to touch, but for whatever reason (shyness, someone walking in) don’t. Sometimes not touching in a closed space sizzles more than having your hands all over each other, especially on a slow burn. 

- Side Tip: Lack of satisfaction/delayed satisfaction can be very satisfying. This is why slow burn is so popular If you spend time building up the tension, when they actually touch or anything actually happens everyone should be super happy at the pay off. 

Misplaced touches is something I often use with antagonist/protagonists as you may notice a lot of my characters are very tactile. Namely. They touch, but not in the way they want to/or the way you would expect. See, the tension of a villain who could rip the character’s throat out at any second stroking their pulse gently instead. The conflict between what we expect and what is actually happening causes tension. Or, alternatively, instead of a kiss, we get words whispered against a character’s mouth.

Dialogue  - links to the ones above, but this is another way of showing those near misses/longings, or of creating tension. Namely, people don’t always say what they mean. People in your conversations will lie or fudge truth. Your dialogues should be a conflict of what the two people talking want. For example, I’m crazy about you/hate you/am terrified of you and we are in a setting where we have to ‘act normal’. It’s part of that delayed gratification tension, because everyone knows it’s going to blow up at some point.

[2soulscollide]

WEBSITES FOR WRITERS {masterpost}

E.A. Deverell - FREE worksheets (characters, world building, narrator, etc.) and paid courses;

Hiveword - Helps to research any topic to write about (has other resources, too);

BetaBooks - Share your draft with your beta reader (can be more than one), and see where they stopped reading, their comments, etc.;

Charlotte Dillon - Research links;

Writing realistic injuries - The title is pretty self-explanatory: while writing about an injury, take a look at this useful website;

One Stop for Writers - You guys... this website has literally everything we need: a) Description thesaurus collection, b) Character builder, c) Story maps, d) Scene maps & timelines, e) World building surveys, f) Worksheets, f) Tutorials, and much more! Although it has a paid plan ($90/year | $50/6 months | $9/month), you can still get a 2-week FREE trial;

One Stop for Writers Roadmap - It has many tips for you, divided into three different topics: a) How to plan a story, b) How to write a story, c) How to revise a story. The best thing about this? It's FREE!

Story Structure Database - The Story Structure Database is an archive of books and movies, recording all their major plot points;

National Centre for Writing - FREE worksheets and writing courses. Has also paid courses;

Penguin Random House - Has some writing contests and great opportunities;

Crime Reads - Get inspired before writing a crime scene;

The Creative Academy for Writers - "Writers helping writers along every step of the path to publication." It's FREE and has ZOOM writing rooms;

Reedsy - "A trusted place to learn how to successfully publish your book" It has many tips, and tools (generators), contests, prompts lists, etc. FREE;

QueryTracker - Find agents for your books (personally, I've never used this before, but I thought I should feature it here);

Pacemaker - Track your goals (example: Write 50K words - then, everytime you write, you track the number of the words, and it will make a graphic for you with your progress). It's FREE but has a paid plan;

Save the Cat! - The blog of the most known storytelling method. You can find posts, sheets, a software (student discount - 70%), and other things;

I hope this is helpful for you!

(Also, check my blog if you want to!)

[gingerly-writing]

Prompt #1880

“I feel like I’m rescuing you every other week. Do you have a danger addiction I should know about?”

“I’m trying to get a good news story,” the journalist grumbled. “It’s not my fault investigating villains means they keep kidnapping me!”

[yourheartonfire]

Oh my god, I just read that fic you wrote in white hero marries villian for protection. IT'S SO GOOD😳 if that's okay, could you please continue that in a part 3? Like if you don't mind..

Sure! For those just joining, here’s where you can find Marriage of Convenience Part 1 and Part 2

The hero slammed through the double doors of the safehouse's training gym, the smell of ozone snapping around them.

"Remember to stay calm, darling!" the villain called from where they were dangling from their wrists from the ceiling, and then wheezed as the vigilante punched them in the ribs again.

"Mentor!" the hero screamed. A moment later, the older super came pacing out of the shadows where they had been waiting, watching blank faced as the vigilante did their work.

"Hello, [Hero]," Mentor said, tucking their magazine under an arm. "I'm glad to see you're okay."

"I won't be for long if you don't explain what you think you are doing to my spouse," the hero snarled, and pointed to the vigilante. "And why you're working with that sadistic prick!" 

The vigilante gave the hero a cheerful, black-gloved wave. "Nice to see you too. I heard you got kidnapped?"

"I'm getting to the truth," the mentor said patiently, the voice of reason. "Of how you fell into the hands of this piece of garbage."

"I object, I am not garbage," the villain called out, rotating gently, "I am at the very least trash, if not refuse -" They cut off with a hiss as the vigilante casually scraped their knife down the villain's side, leaving another red line welling behind.

The hero's eyes went wide and black. Above them the bars of fluorescent lights blew out in a series of pops and sparks.

The villain flinched. So did the mentor. The vigilante, startled, grabbed for the villain -

"No! Hold!" the mentor said.

"Please don't provoke them," the villain said just as quickly. Some of the very real fear must have come through, because for the first time that day, the vigilante held their hit. They looked from the lights to the mentor sharply, but the mentor ignored them, focused on the hero.

"Let. Them. Down." the hero hissed, face shadowy in the red glow of the emergency lights.

"All right," Mentor said, holding out their hands. "Let's take a breath. I just want the truth."

The hero pressed their hand hard into their chest. "I explained," they said slowly. "In great detail. In my letter. What happens. If I use my powers again."

Vigilante blinked. "What happens if they use their powers again?" they muttered to villain.

"In a nutshell? [Hero] explodes. We all die," the villain stage-whispered back. "City goes boom too."

The vigilante drew back sharply towards the exit, eyes wide. "[Mentor]...?" they growled.

Mentor shook his head. "No. Bullshit. You're one of the best I ever trained. You just gave up? Without even coming to me for help?"

The hero drew back sharply. "Is... that what this about? I went to [Villain] and not to you?"

"[Hero], I could've helped you. I still can!" Mentor grabbed for the hero's hands. "We can find a solution, another fix."

The hero closed their eyes and hissed out a breath. "You don't believe me. After all... Fine. You want inside my head, let's get you-know-who to tell you I've not been coerced. That this is my choice." 

The villain cocked their head, but both the mentor and the vigilante clearly understood who the hero meant. "Now wait-" Mentor started.

"Get them," the vigilante snapped, halfway to the exit. Mentor glared and they glared right back. "This is already not what you said."

Mentor sighed but pulled out a phone.

"And let them down," the hero added to the vigilante. 

"Aw, you care?" the vigilante cooed, drawing their knife again. "I thought even you claimed this was just some marriage of conv-"

Around them there was a horrible squeal of metal and concrete. A few dozen screws snapped and clattered to the ground.

"[Vigilante]!" the mentor snapped in warning.

"Ooh scary," the vigilante muttered but backed hastily to the door.

"I'm fine, darling," the villain sang out through bloodied teeth. "You worry about you. Maybe your meditation?"

"I taught them that!" the mentor snapped, but hero was already folding their legs into position, closing their eyes. Mentor glared. The villain smiled and flipped them the bird.

They waited in awkward, interminable silence, until finally a small, nondescript person sauntered in to the heroes' safehouse. The newcomer took one glance at the hero, and in an instant their entire demeanor changed.

"Oh shit!" they said, backing away with alacrity. "Let [Villain] loose! Right now!"

Mentor grimaced in pain and resignation, but the vigilante didn't wait to be told twice. The chains slackened and the villain collapsed.

It wasn't the villain's first rodeo. They knew how to manage pain, how to hold onto your defiance. But this was, they realized as the hero rushed to them and they fell into their spouse's outstretched arms, their first time being rescued.

The hero staggered under their weight, but managed to get one of the villain's aching arms over their shoulders, managed to get them moving towards the door. Meanwhile the villain rocked under the absolute riptide of emotions that went through them, to feel those gentle hands smoothing down their back and the overwhelming rush of being safe.

"Oh," said the newcomer, head tilted, eyes dark as they watched the hero and villain stagger out. 

"I'll be here when you come to your senses," the mentor called. 

The hero paused in the doorway, turned to face down the senior hero. "This is why I went to them," they said, gesturing to villain. "I knew you wouldn't believe me. That you would never not see me as a problem to solve, as untapped power to be unlocked and put back in the field. No matter who you put in danger trying to unlock me."

Mentor folded their arms. "And you'd rather sell yourself off to evil?"

The hero shrugged. "You're the one who taught me how to read a situation and compromise."

They let the door bang shut on the good guys, and the hero and the villain limped together off into the night.

"You never told them I wasn't garbage," the villain said finally. "I hate to put my foot down, but I really feel we should socialize less with your friends."

"Oh shut up," the hero sighed, but a faint smile flickered past.

The villain let themselves relax into their spouse's shoulder. They'd worry about the heroes later. Right now they were here and this felt good.

[yourheartonfire]

Content warnings: rated s for spicy, pg-13 for a polite fadeout before it gets too NSFW

They were mid-kiss when the villain abruptly broke the embrace, pulled away. “Tell me what you want,” they said.

The hero made a frustrated noise and tried to close in again, chasing those lips, that touch. The villain shoved them back, onto the bed. But didn’t chase them, didn’t pin them down and press that mouth back to the exposed skin. No, the villain kicked a foot up on the bedframe and grinned down at the hero sprawled across the mattress. “Now, now, darling. You need to tell me what you want,” they repeated.

The hero let out a truly embarrassing noise of desperation. How was villain doing this? A moment ago hero thought they had both been in the throes of passion. Now hero was still wrecked and panting, and villain looked ready to head out for a coffee. “You know what I want,” the hero said, wiping a hand over their face. “You’ve been… you’ve been seducing me for weeks!”

“Damn straight I have,” the villain said cheerfully. “I’ve been working my ass off to get you to realize this is what you want, this is where you want to be.”

The hero hissed and sat up, trying to pull their costume back around themselves. To their disappointment, the villain didn’t try to stop them. “This isn’t fair,” they muttered. 

“It’s incredibly fair,” the villain said, flopping on the bed next to them - two feet away. “I’ve been very up front with what I want. I’ve made this easy for you. There’s nothing I want more than to go on making this easy for you.” They reached out, but only to brush a hand chastely down the hero’s shoulder. Helpless as a magnet, the hero leaned into the touch. The villain’s hand turned into a hard barrier against the hero’s neck - an open v that allowed for them to move back, but not forwards. “But we have reached the stage,” they said, “where I need your clear, unambiguous, verbal consent to what you want from me.”

The hero snorted. “Why? Is this being recorded?”

The villain jerked back like they’d been stung like they’d been stung. “I - ” They snapped their jaw shut, visibly swallowing what they had been about to say. The hero froze, feeling the moment hang in the balance.

Then the villain laughed, only a hint of anger in the twist of their lips. “I suppose I can’t be entirely angry if you have the impression I have no moral compass at all,” they said flippantly. But they cleared their throat, looked down at their hands. “But… I do. When it comes to this, to here, I do have some lines I do not cross and some things I do not take.” Their eyes flicked over. Greedy as always, but now with something else. “Not unless I know, without a doubt, that I have your permission.”

That was… unexpectedly reasonable. The hero reeled, trying to readjust to thinking with their rational brain and not their… feelings. They couldn’t shake the sensation that this was a trap, perfectly set up and baited. But then, they’d known this was a trap the moment they’d set foot in this room, hadn’t they?

The hero heaved out a breath, and then glared as the villain’s eyes flicked down to follow the rise and fall of their chest. “Fine,” they said. “Okay. I… I want to sleep with you.”

The villain quirked an eyebrow. “I mean, if that’s all you want, I guess we can take a nap…” they said.

“I want to have sex with you!” the hero snapped, all in a rush. Their face felt like it was on fire and they pressed their hands to it, as if they could bring down the color by hiding. 

“Oh, sweetheart,” the villain said, sounding like they were trying not to laugh. The bed dipped and creaked, and then the villain was pulling the hero’s hands away to expose their flustered face to the villain’s brilliant smile. “That is some passive language, darling, but… yes. That’s good enough for me.“ 

The hero tried to look away, but the villain took their chin in hand, held their gaze mercilessly. 

"You want me?” they whispered, running their thumb along the hero’s throat.

The hero swallowed. “Yes.”

The villain slid closer, slipped their other hand around the hero’s waist. “You want me to keep going?”

“Yes,” the hero groaned, leaning again into the villain’s warmth -

And suddenly the villain flipped them over. The hero yelped, pinned down flat on their back, blinking up at the villain atop them straddling their hips.

“Excellent,” the villain purred, eyes alight with desire. “Now. Beg me for it.”

[incel-wheatley]

i could fix him but honestly whatever the hell is wrong with him is way funnier

[heyimboredtalktome]

vilf (villain I'd like to fuck)

[capnpea]

The interesting thing about Glados/HAL 9000 parallels is that

Hal was conceived at a time when artificial intelligence was more of a fictional construct than a practical possibility. Hal is introduced as humanlike because the audience is familiar with and comfortable with humans, but they aren’t familiar with or comfortable with living computers. It’s when he starts acting robotic and calculated that the audience realizes “oh no, he’s a computer” and he becomes threatening.

By the time Glados was conceived, we had become used to computer automated systems. Synthetic voices offering us information is something we encounter in daily life. Glados is introduced as a computerized preprogrammed voice because that’s what the audience is familiar and comfortable with. It’s when she starts acting human and emotional that the audience realizes “oh no, she’s alive” and she becomes threatening.

[cozza-frenzy]

Oh hey it’s this post again

[younger-than-the-soul]

I fucking love this observation.

[nuttynutcycle]

Prompt 267

"I did it." The villain leaned back in the wooden chair, counting off their fingers. "I did that, and that, and oh, just about every crime you've listed. But know what? You're not going to convict me."

The jury glanced uneasily at each other.

Their smile was sugar sweet. "If I went to jail, I'd be forced to make some severe financial decisions. Pull my assets. Shut down my companies. And I would hate," the smile turned sour, "to ruin the economy because I'm behind bars."

[gingerly-writing]

Prompt #2828

“So,” said the hero, after all was said and done, “this is the part where you betray me, right?”

The villain looked out over the smoldering remains of the antagonist’s compound. Could’ve gone better. Could’ve gone much, much worse. “I think you’re mistaken on who’s supposed to be committing the betrayal. Personally I’m waiting for the police to cart me off.”

“No police.”

“No henchmen. No scheme, either.”

“Huh,” said the hero. “Well isn’t this nice. You and me and a teamup that doesn’t end in grievous betrayal? Who would have thought.” They offered a sly smile. “I might even have to start liking you on a personal level.”

The villain barely managed to hide their own grin. “Oh, God forbid.”

[gingerly-writing]

Hi Ginger given your love of heist stories, how about a supervillain team committing/planning such a heist?

"It's simple: we stick to the plan."

"Uh, this mess of a squad has never stuck to a single one of your plans and you know that."

"Ah, yes, but it's nice to dream."

-----

"This is a heist, not a competition to see who can take down the laser grid in the most impressive way! Simplicity works fine!"

"Ah," replied their second, "don't be such a spoilsport."

"You just want to see a competition between gymnastics, mirrors, hacking, and straight up explosives."Their second tossed a grenade from one hand to the other, smile bright. "Who, me? Why I never."

-----

"Oh," said the supervillain softly. "So this is the part where you betray us."

The thief shrugged, loose and unruffled. "Sorry, boss, but that's the way the cookie crumbles. I get the jewels and you get the jail time."

"One problem with that."

"Oh, did I hurt your feelings?"

"You did, actually, but that's not the point." The supervillain paused. Cracked their knuckles, their neck, their spine. "I'm better at this than you are. More talented, and more experienced. Did you really think no one has ever tried to betray me before?" They stepped forward, palms spread wide. "Do you really think they survived the attempt?"

-----

thank you for commissioning these! if anyone else would like to commission a prompt set my kofi is here <3

[gingerly-writing]

Prompt #2820

The villain frowned at them. “What do you mean I’m the only one that appreciates you? You’re the city’s hero, the council’s favourite-”

“Work harder,” the hero replied, with the tone of someone quoting orders they had heard too many times before. “Train more. Defeat [villain] faster. Run day patrols. Run night patrols. No fancy fighting. No extra funding. No preventative measures. And if you’re so tired…” They paused, locked eyes with their nemesis. “Why don’t you just murder [villain] already?”

[villain-enthusiast]

@trappedgoose-in-a-writblr-room asked: :0 can you continue the snippet about the really terrifying villain that even hero is scared of if you have the time?

@nutmeg-promts asked: Hey! I stumbled across your work a couple days ago, and I think you are a phenomenal writer! If you want to and you have the time for it, do you think you could do a continuation of the one with the super intimidating villain cornering the hero in the cafe??

part one here.

-

It was getting increasingly hard for Hero to sleep.

They would easily say they were going insane if it weren’t for the obvious signs that they weren’t.

A moving shadow on the wall turned out to be the fire from the fireplace—except Hero had never lit it. Whispers coming from the corner of the house was actually the radio on very low volume, but Hero had never turned it on. Drawers would open and close. Doors would magically swing on their hinges.

And the worst part? Every time Hero opened their notebook to finish their college calculus problems, all of them would be already solved in black pen.

It was like were living in a goddamned horror movie.

It was a Friday evening—a week after Hero’s supposedly hallucinated encounter with Villain—when things took a turn for the worse.

They were sitting at their desk, half of their concentration on their English essay and the other half on the way their lamp was casting very suspicious reflections everywhere.

“Hello Hero.”

Hero startled so hard they fell off their chair. They scrambled to their feet, panting as their eyes darted around the empty bedroom, up towards the curling shadows on the ceiling, and back down at the sound of the floorboards creaking.

That was real. That was a real voice. There was no other possibility.

Hero gasped as a familiar cold draped over their frame, making them shudder involuntarily.

Villain.

There was an echoing chuckle from behind them. They whipped around, heart pounding, slowly backing up—

Right into someone’s chest.

Hero’s shout was one of pure terror as they jolted away and dove towards the door, not even bothering to turn around to face the person behind them because they knew, oh they knew—

A cold hand closed around their arm before they could even reach the doorknob and turned them around.

Villain’s hellish stare bore down on them, staring right through their soul.

All the color drained from Hero’s face. They didn’t even try to free themselves from Villain’s iron grasp, didn’t dare.

“…Please don’t hurt me,” they rasped after a moment of fumbling for words.

Villain’s pale lips curved up. “You look just as scared as you did when I visited you at the cafe. It’s a lovely little thing you have going on.”

“I-I don’t understand.”

“What don’t you understand?”

“The…the things you’ve been doing to me,” Hero choked out, voice cracking from trying to suppress their sobs. “I don’t, I just, I need—,”

Villain tilted their head, darkness radiating off of them in thick, heavy clouds like smoke from a fire.

Hero stared at them, a mixture of undiluted fear and bewilderment rolling through them. They finally snatched their arm away, stumbling back and hitting the wall.

“You’re not even real!!” they screamed, hands fisting in their hair as they crumpled to the ground. Tears streaked down their cheeks. “You’re supposed to be gone!! Dead!! Not a part of this fucking reality!!”

There were footsteps, then a finger fit under their bowed chin and lifted their head up.

“Then tell me, little Hero, how can I touch you?” Villain said, voice dangerously calm. “How can I haunt you in your own house, make you question what’s real and what’s not? Look at the state you’re in after a week of mental turmoil.”

Hero gaped at them. The only thing they could focus on was the touch under their jawline, forcing them to keep eye contact.

Villain smirked. “But then again. Am I really real if I can just…”

Hero blinked.

Villain was gone.

Hero didn’t even try to get up and look for them.

They weren’t real, they were real, they weren’t real…

Hero sobbed.

-

some tags for people who wanted a continuation in the past:

@alliecat5594 @biy0shii-wr1tes

[gingerly-writing]

Hi Ginger please can I have some prompts regarding villain power couples?

"Darling," the supervillain as they eased the gag from their lover's mouth, "your knight in shining armour has arrived."

"You're. Late."

"Hmm. I think I preferred you with the gag in your mouth. Shall I put it back?"

-----

"And if I do lay the city out at your feet as a courting gift? What then?"

"If? Have a little faith in yourself. I do."

"But if I do?"

"Promises, promises."

The villain stepped closer, expression caught between amusement and intent. "But. If. I. Do?"

"Then, dear villain, you can have me in any way you want me."

-----

"We have [hero], and [superhero] in the basement. Both their sidekicks are trapped in school exams, and [thief] is blockaded in his own lair. Plus we have about six other villains locked up in the city jail, courtesy of our favourite nemeses." The supervillain grinned, bright and infectious and alive. "The city is ours for the taking."

Their beloved villain grinned back. "So let's go take it."

-----

thank you for commissioning these! if anyone else would like to commission a prompt set my kofi is here <3

[nuttynutcycle]

Prompt 224

"What's your favourite animal?"

"Penguins." The hero responded automatically. They had stopped pulling against the ropes an hour ago. "Why are you asking me all these questions again?"

"Um..." The villain's eyes flicked to the description of the questionnaire promising a '90% chance of falling in love upon completion by both parties.' "... for evil purposes."

[happyheidi]

Kiki’s delivery service (1989)