a handful of (probably) unpopular opinions on writing:
a kiss scene doesnāt have to lead to sex. it can, ofc, but it doesnāt have to. your characters can kiss for the sake of kissing and nothing more. kissing is hella enjoyable in and of itself, so it doesnāt always have to be a means to an end
a story doesnāt have to be steeped, marinated, and executed with tragedy to be a Real Story. obviously you can and should put your characters through the wringer, but if you donāt tell a story with hope and happiness itās not really a story worth telling. be brutal but donāt be 100% dismal and bleak
a fantasy doesnāt have to be centered on a war, especially if you donāt feel fully capable of writing about war. theyāre tricky and unruly beasts, and if you arenāt willing to give them the proper treatment (read: not romanticizing them), youāre better off not writing about war in the first place
your royal character can be fine with arranged marriages. they donāt always have to run away to escape them only to fall in love with the betrothed they were running from in the first place
on the note of romances, your story A. doesnāt need a romance if it doesnāt fit and B. doesnāt necessitate every character getting into a relationship by the end. for some people, romance isnāt their idea of a happily ever after, so you donāt have to force that into your book
perhaps the most unpopular, but it needs to be said: your female character should not slap your male character. ofc there are times when a slap is warranted, but if heās just being a dick he doesnāt need to be slapped. thatās physical assault and abuse, which should never be acceptable, even if it makes some people laugh (it shouldnāt and yet it always does š)
your female character A. doesnāt have to be thin, B. doesnāt have to be a Strong Female Character, and C. doesnāt have to go through nauseating hardships (read: sexual assault or physical abuse) for her story to be worth telling
these are all i can think of off the top of my head. feel free to add on if you think of any!
just because a story hasĀ āliterary meritā doesnāt mean itās actually good. there are no superior genres.
just like fantasy doesnāt need to be centered on war, it also doesnāt need to be centered on medieval england. fantasy can happen at any time in any region of the world with any level of technology.
traditionally feminine values/traits in characters of all genders doesnāt mean theyāre an inferior or weak character.
a female character can want power or have a desire to rule and not be evil.
poc and lgbtq+ characters deserve to be in genre fiction, and there doesnāt need to be aĀ āreasonā to justify their existence.
Oh my God I love thisss!
The tea for today



























