Jun 20
The writer must have a good imagination to begin with, but the imagination has to be muscular, which means it must be exercised in a disciplined way, day in and day out, by writing, failing, succeeding and revising.
--Stephen King
seen from Philippines
seen from Türkiye
seen from Australia
seen from Denmark
seen from United Kingdom
seen from China
seen from France
seen from United States
seen from China
seen from France
seen from France
seen from Malaysia
seen from Malaysia
seen from Germany
seen from Georgia
seen from Denmark
seen from Malaysia
seen from Slovakia
seen from Malaysia
seen from Slovakia
The writer must have a good imagination to begin with, but the imagination has to be muscular, which means it must be exercised in a disciplined way, day in and day out, by writing, failing, succeeding and revising.
--Stephen King
how do you write a liar?
How to Write Liars Believably
Language
The motive of every goal is the make the lie seem plausible while taking blame off the speaker, so liars will often project what they say to a third party: "Katie said that..."
Referring to third parties as "they" rather than he or she
In the case of a deliberate lie prepped beforehand, there will be an overuse of specific names (rather than pronouns) as the speaker tries to get the details right.
Overuse of non-committal words like "something may have happened"
Masking or obscuring facts like "to the best of my knowledge" and “it is extremely unlikely," etc.
Avoiding answers to specific, pressing questions
Voice
There's isn't a set tone/speed/style of speaking, but your character's speech patten will differ from his normal one.
People tend to speak faster when they're nervous and are not used to lying.
Body Language
Covering their mouth
Constantly touching their nose
fidgeting, squirming or breaking eye contact
turning away, blinking faster, or clutching a comfort object like a cushion as they speak
nostril flaring, rapid shallow breathing or slow deep breaths, lip biting, contracting, sitting on your hands, or drumming your fingers.
Highly-trained liars have mastered the art of compensation by freezing their bodies and looking at you straight in the eye.
Trained liars can also be experts in the art of looking relaxed. They sit back, put their feet up on the table and hands behind their head.
For deliberate lies, the character may even carefully control his body language, as though his is actually putting on a show
The Four Types of Liars
Deceitful: those who lie to others about facts
2. Delusional: those who lie to themselves about facts
3. Duplicitious: those who lie to others about their values
Lying about values can be even more corrosive to relationships than lying about facts.
4. Demoralized: those who lie to themselves about their values
Additional Notes
Genuine smiles or laughs are hard to fake
Exaggerations of words (that would normally not be emphasized) or exaggerated body language
Many savvy detectives ask suspects to tell the story in reverse or non-linear fashion to expose a lie. They often ask unexpected, or seemingly irrelevant questions to throw suspects off track.
You always find yourself drawn to his hands. Hands that were used to fix countless machines and parts, hard working and always active in some way. Pale fingers that would rapidly type away on a keyboard while fixing countless lines of code and data. Hands that were always moving, unconsciously painting a picture of a story he'd tell. His hands, were one of your favorite things about him. You'd watch them while he'd play his games or fix his inventions and programs. Transfixed by the ease and flexibility he'd show, a man in his element when he had his hands on tools or fiddling with computers. You'd felt those hands many times, felt their strength when fighting against him when he'd overblotted. Skin cold as death, one of many omens of the Underworld which he hated so much. You knew how they were sturdy, strong and built to handle tasks that were harder than most. The markings of a man who's life was in his hands. Covered in calluses from gripping tools or game controllers since he was young.
You also knew how gentle those same hands could be.
Hands that gently touched your own when shyly passing a game controller to you, hesitant to linger because of that cold skin and hidden strength. Always gentle and tender when handling things he loved, from cradling his younger brother's face when he was in need of fixing to picking up Grim to pet him. Yes, his hands were one of your favorite things about Idia Shroud. You loved how your hand fit in his perfectly, your warm skin meeting his cooler one. Loved how when in his rare moments of stepping out of his comfort zone, he'd handle you with care. Attentive and protective, just as he was with Ortho. When you were held in those few moments, his hands cupping your lower back to support you. You felt nothing but safety. A sense of comfort and ease that was so uniquely Idia. He never understood why you loved them so much, grimacing when you'd tell him that you adored them. That you always wanted to hold them in yours. In his eyes, his hands, just like him were cursed. Cold and awkward and fumbling. Idia didn't think he'd ever understand your fascination with his hands, but as he stares at you. Seeing your warm, tender expression aimed at him. Feeling your hands, warm like sunshine intertwining with his and gripping them tightly. Silently promising to not let go, with your beautiful smile beaming at him. Idia didn't find him understanding that important, didn't mind that him not understanding it never being answered. As long as you were there, with your hand in his, that was all that mattered.
Inspired by this lovely post by @imsorrybruce
"What is the meaning of this " Batman grunted from his seat
Hal huffed at Batman's tone and flipped one of the rocks- Purple, reflective and every side looked like a brand new ocean wave, a never ending tide-
"what, didn't you want to take a sample to study from Za'hrat ? Here's your sample" Hal imagines Batman's eyes must be narrowed behind the white lenses
___
Three months ago Hal Jordan found himself stumbling into a red sun planet called Za'hrat with Batman, courtesy of a mission that needed the justice league's detective and a Green Lantern.
When they landed Bruce stood with his boots in the sand , he stared straight ahead at the endless blue clouds drizzling softly , he was curious of what the rain's color would be so he lifted a hand , he was pleasantly surprised to find the drops painting his glove an opaque light blue reminiscent of the hue their own sky held , he had never seen water this color.
His obvious wonder and repressed fascination with the discovery made Hal smirk, he knew Batman would appreciate Za'hrat's beauty.
It's one of Hal's favorite planets to stop by. the orange skies behind pale blue clouds made for a beautiful picture , when flowers as Dark as the night sky bloomed in their season
the soft petals always reminded Hal of a one dark knight's cape
He just wished Bruce could've seen it.
"Hal, focus." All the thoughts of softness left his mind and pulled into sudden clarity when Batman presented him with a Rock, a very fuzzy rock. " scan This with your ring," huh? Hal's confused expression met Batman's blank, cowled face , he shrugged and moved to scan the Rock , only then did he notice Batman using his cape as a makeshift bag, storing multiple types of shiny star filled Rocks and solid spheres. holding it close to his chest protectively
His chest expanded in fondness at the sight , he couldn't pretend to say no " Sure."
Hal very much didn't know that the very safe rocks on Za'hrat are spiritual and connected to their home planet, the people of Za'hrat were kind in their rejection and refusal to allow Batman to carry seven samples back to earth. Even the suggestion of one sample was met with a firm no. It was strange to Hal
The Zu'hoor always allowed Him to take souvenirs out of the planet itself.
His chest puffed with pride at besting Batman this time
Hal turned to Bruce with his words on the tip of his tongue, the slight sag in Bruce's shoulders made him hesitate and the joke he was about to say a far away thought now, Bruce looked fine. He looks like he always did , but Hal can't bring himself to joke about it this time
The ride back to the watchtower was silent
___
"do you want it or not?" Hal put down the purple Rock for a Teal colored one, with the pattern not unlike Mint running like veins across the middle , rubbing his thumb roughly on its surface, the hints of uncertainty in his voice well hidden "just so you know I worked my butt off to get these," for you.
As if Batman read his thoughts, his earlier gruffness disappeared and For a second Hal almost believed that Batman blushed under the cowl. he grunted, and then reached for the black colored one, with sharp edges and tiny stars scattered around all over it like a version of the Galaxy, pressed by ground to mimic what's beyond the skies. this too, reminded him of Bruce
Bruce sighed and pushed the cowl back to reveal his face, more beautiful than any sight Hal's eyes fell on- tinted with the faintest pink high on his cheekbones he smiled at him and Hal felt his own cheeks heat up.
Bruce's mouth curved into a soft smile, finally looking up from the dark pebble in his hand "Hal," his eyes met Hal's , the lantern's breath hitched "Thank you."
Fuck
keep writing. It can be hard, and it’s easy to get discouraged. But don’t worry about the quality. Don’t worry if something isn’t conveyed the way you want. There is always a second draft. There is always a time for you to edit later. just enjoy writing. It’s a great hobby.
When you have gone this far, do you still doubt yourself?
Genre: fluff, smut, short story +1500 words Shuhua x Male Reader More of Fried's practice AND prompt thanks to @mintwithchoco and @woollypoison .Thank you both for hosting this round's prompts!
It’s a cloudy day yet still feels warm because the area you live in is a warmer area. You and Shuhua are studying for a big exam coming up next week.
“How are you feeling?” you asked.
“It’s fine…” Shuhua said with not much energy left in her.
“How is the study going? Exam is close I think, maybe it is time we Lock In” you say.
I LOVE that part of editing that requires me to act it all out and see if it's actually how two humans would interact
