#smokedcapybara

[gingerly-writing]

FLF: - “You’re not overstepping.” The words came out hoarse and quiet and several minutes too late.

several minutes too late? OUCH! this sounds like a bit of a heartbreaking one, I hope the speaker and the person they’re speaking to is okay!! I’m also curious about the overstepping, and the reassurance being *minutes* too late, and just !!! so interesting!

thank you for joining in with FLF!

[raevenlywrites]

happy STS! Do any of your OCs believe in the afterlife? If so, what kind? And how do they feel about it? - smokedstorybara

@smokedstorybara I wish I knew. I’ve written a couple of wips trying to figure out the afterlife, and I STILL don’t know

[caffeinewitchcraft]

I wanted to ask one of the writing advice blogs I follow this but when I actually went through them they all either have a specific theme, don't take asks, or haven't updated in months, so I was wondering if you could help cause I know you've answered questions about writing. I'm writing a story that's main character isn't the hero, as in it's told from the perspective of and focuses on one character but the good guys are led by a separate character who ultimately defeats the antagonist(1/2)

at first I planned to kill off the main character at the end but as I built the story more I kinda gave him things to live for and people who would miss him that I hadn't really given him originally and now I'm not sure if I should kill him, but if I don't I'll have to change the end and I don't really know how I'd do it. all the advice I ever see about killing characters is how to show how all the other characters deal with it and that's not really what I need so I thought I'd ask about it(2/2)

I can see why other advice blogs would answer that way! It’d definitely be impactful to see all these connections your MC makes and understand that they’re over when the other character defeats the antagonist.

But, like...I totally don’t ever want to kill my MC. Shout out to those writers who can, but I’ll make them dig up the Fountain of Youth before my MC dies.

So, if I may, I’ll offer some advice from that perspective and hopefully it’ll help!

1) Emphasize the stakes.

Your MC sounds like they’re very close to the fighting. They have to know that they may die at any moment. Give them that panic. 

They’ve collected these relationships and reasons to live. What if they realize they didn’t have that before? And that they could lose it all now? 

This can work as a type of death--one where the MC realizes that, no matter the ending, they’ll never be the same because of this journey. They could die and they wouldn’t be the person they were when they started. They’d be someone who had something to lose and that hurts. (If that makes sense.)

And even if they live? How the hell are they supposed to go back to the beginning with what they’ve done? With the types of friendship’s they’ve now experienced?

2) Existential Crisis 

I actually love that last paragraph so Im giving it its own bullet point.

I love the idea of a character who knows that this isn’t their story. They’re the soldier to the other character’s hero (or spy or friend or villager) and they know it. 

Their struggle with their identity can grow to represent the state of the world around them. Say your story is about a country ruled by a tyrant and the MC is a member of the revolution. When they realize that they’re not only inconsequential to the Crown but also to the revolutionaries, they might ask what they’re fighting for. What will they be when the tyrant falls? Still someone ruled by the throne? Or someone different?

They don’t have to be the hero and they don’t have to be a victim of the fight. They can be a symbol for what comes after, something the hero often doesn’t contemplate.

3) Kill them anyway.

Okay, I know I said this would be about keeping them alive, but I do have to chime in on the dead ending.

Rather than showing how the MCs group reacts to their death, let them show the reader how they feel before the final scene. Have them give pre-fight confessions. Let them have the fear of battle. Let them open up.

Then kill the MC. Don’t give their friends individual reactions.

It’s so tempting to let each side character realize what’s happened and react to it! It’s even great to read it!

But holy shit the angst if you don’t and all the reader can see is dried tears and red eyes.

Kill them and finish the story with the grief the other characters feel. Have them report to the hero and have them speak with bitter tones. Let them snap at anyone who asks “was it worth it?” with an of course it was, it has to be, it IS. 

Show the reader the impact your MCs death has on the tone of the story. Then you can do an aside of what the MC “would have wanted” by one of their close friends. Or, hell, have them be a spectral ghost during the whole affair.

-------

Honestly, your story sounds amazing, even from the little bit you sent about it!

Sorry if this is rambling, killing a character (or saving them!) is tricky business! I wish you luck and hope even a little bit of this helped!

[enygmass]

Selina Kyle

I’m weak, she’s 300% a comfort character I’d never harm a hair on Selina Kyle

[shock]

top 10 favorite types of animal

there is NO order to this but i typed out the numbers 10-1 before answering this oops

10. FOSSA...

9. maned wolf

8. tufted deer

7. norwegian forest cats

6. spotted hyenas

5. harlequin (merle) beaucerons

4. ruppells fox

3. tanukis

2. caribou

1. fruit bats as long as they don’t touch me... we have some bats around here (i don’t think they’re fruit bats) and one time a bat almost flew into my face and it was horrible

[theriddlerisanerd]

have you ever eaten ice cream made from snow?

No

[kindaundead]

smokedcapybara replied to your post “Holy fuck I’m never letting Jon front for that long again. I just woke...”

what'd he do?

Exist.

[gingerly-writing]

FLF: “One of the most important parts of learning magic is being able to function after. So today we’re starting with a lesson I like to call ‘functioning without sight’.”

oh. damn. oh damn. this is some hella hella cool worldbuilding! the implication that magic will (eventually? or immediately?) cause you to lose your sight is SO GOOD I adore magic with consequences and this hits all those buttons right on their shiny caps! also I just love how this reads, it’s so smooth and well-crafted and has such a nice style to it 😍😍