Luce (usually) Writes @urbanfanfan - Tumblr Blog

Hi, Hello, Jell-O

I'm 22, she/her, and not exactly new to the writeblr community. Sinbad Reis is my penname, but (discord) friends know me as Luce. I'm currently studying to become a middle/high school teacher, which has been a lifelong dream for me!

I write fanfiction, (urban) fantasy, science-fiction, paranormal, romance and magical realism. I've only listed the big names but I mostly love the sub-genres (dark academia, historical romance, etc)! I don't like horror or contemporary.

I like tag games, aesthetics, moodboards, story and character intros/posts, and curated playlists. My friends used to call me Memelord and Vinemaster but tbh I haven't been keeping up with the latest shitlords these last months.

I write mainly NA, although sometimes the line is blurred and I slip over to either YA or Adult. Poetry butters my croissant.

My Nanowrimo is: Braves.

I love brainstorming and worldbuilding. I have a lot of wips, some recent, some I've been working on for years. I tend to jump from one wip to another, I follow my heart mostly. It's something I also do with fandoms, social groups and what sort of media I consume. I just can't stick with one thing for very long.

Nice to meet you all! Yes, you can tag me. Yes, you can dm me about your wips. Yes, you can dm me just to chat!

I'll be posting about my wips really soon, so stick around if your curiosity was picked while reading this longass intro!

I follow back 🐣

nimblesnotebook-blog

Myths, Creatures, and Folklore

Want to create a religion for your fictional world? Here are some references and resources!

General:

General Folklore

Various Folktales

Heroes

Weather Folklore

Trees in Mythology

Animals in Mythology

Birds in Mythology

Flowers in Mythology

Fruit in Mythology

Plants in Mythology

Folktales from Around the World

Africa:

Egyptian Mythology

African Mythology

More African Mythology

Egyptian Gods and Goddesses

The Gods of Africa

Even More African Mythology

West African Mythology

All About African Mythology

African Mythical Creatures

Gods and Goddesses

The Americas:

Aztec Mythology

Haitian Mythology

Inca Mythology

Maya Mythology

Native American Mythology

More Inca Mythology

More Native American Mythology

South American Mythical Creatures

North American Mythical Creatures

Aztec Gods and Goddesses

Asia:

Chinese Mythology

Hindu Mythology

Japanese Mythology

Korean Mythology

More Japanese Mythology

Chinese and Japanese Mythical Creatures

Indian Mythical Creatures

Chinese Gods and Goddesses

Hindu Gods and Goddesses

Korean Gods and Goddesses

Europe:

Basque Mythology

Celtic Mythology

Etruscan Mythology

Greek Mythology

Latvian Mythology

Norse Mythology

Roman Mythology

Arthurian Legends

Bestiary

Celtic Gods and Goddesses

Gods and Goddesses of the Celtic Lands

Finnish Mythology

Celtic Mythical Creatures

Gods and Goddesses

Middle East:

Islamic Mythology

Judaic Mythology

Mesopotamian Mythology

Persian Mythology

Middle Eastern Mythical Creatures

Oceania:

Aboriginal Mythology

Polynesian Mythology

More Polynesian Mythology

Mythology of the Polynesian Islands

Melanesian Mythology

Massive Polynesian Mythology Post

Maori Mythical Creatures

Hawaiian Gods and Goddesses

Hawaiian Goddesses

Gods and Goddesses

Creating a Fantasy Religion:

Creating Part 1

Creating Part 2

Creating Part 3

Creating Part 4

Fantasy Religion Design Guide

Using Religion in Fantasy

Religion in Fantasy

Creating Fantasy Worlds

Beliefs in Fantasy

Some superstitions:

nimblesnotebook-blog

Here, I have some more:

Africa:

Ancient Egypt: the Mythology

Egyptian Gods

Legendary Monsters of Africa

The Americas:

Aztec Mythology

Incan Mythology

Haitian Mythology

Mayan Mythology

Asia:

Chinese Mythology

Japanese Mythology

Korean Mythology

Hindu Mythology

Japanese Folklore and Mythology

Chinese Mythology

Europe:

Encyclopedia of Greek Mythology

The Olympians

Women in Greek Myths

Greek Mythology

More Greek Mythology

Even More Greek Mythology

Greek/Roman Mythology

Germanic Myths, Legends, and Sagas

Norse Mythology

The Muse

Creepy Irish Creatures

Irish Folklore

Norse Mythology

Arthurian Mythology

Celtic Mythology

Latvian Mythology

Norse Gods, Goddesses, and More

A Celtic Pantheon

Welsh Gods and Goddesses

Celtic Deities

Werewolf Legends from Germany

Welsh Deities

Celtic Gods and Goddesses

Oceanic:

Australian Mythology

Polynesian Mythology

General:

Ancient Myth and Magic

Massive List of Mythological Creatures

Mythical Creatures

Hairy Hominids

Cryptozoology

Mysterious Beings, Monsters, and Creatures

Amulets and Good Luck Charms A - Z

Modern Monsters

Myths and Legends

Folklore and Mythology (2)

More Links

Folklore, Myth, and Legend

Names of Gods and Goddesses

Folklore Mythology

redadhdventures

Reblogging because wow. What a resource.

patientno7

the suffering never ends

sinksanksockie2

This is the real process

thewritingbeast-blog

Resources for you!

Character Ideas:

Character creation masterpost

Character Alignment Chart

More character alignment descriptions

Muslim Character questions

Characters with magical powers

Building a new character advice

How to create a character for an online or tabletop RPG (also a good guide on creating characters in general)

Royalty/nobility TV Tropes page

Basic character profile

OC masterpost

Random character generators - (1), (2), (3), (4)

D&D Character Building Tool

Character Design Ideas:

How clothing affects a character’s personality

Character Design Inspiration blog

Concept art, fan art, cool art to be inspired by

Character design references and inspiration

Sources for POC character design ideas and models

Create your own character model using HeroForge

For horned characters

Body and hair types guide

Random outfit generator

Naming Help:

Amazing site with an endless amount of naming resources

General advice on avoiding naming appropriation

Hispanic Surnames

Gothic Victorian names

Huge master list for character things in general

Masterlist of names of all types - including but not limited to ancient/old world names, Celtic, African, Northern European, Southern and Central American Native names, Japanese, Chinese, Mongolian, Polynesian, and more

Another name masterlist

How to pick a character name guide

Yet another names masterlist

Creating Background/backstory:

Character Sheet/Development Sheet

Another character development list

In-depth character personality, motivations and traits sheet

320 talents and passions for characters

On writing likes and dislikes that aren’t frivolous

Why you should write non-human characters non-conforming to the gender binary

Stereotypes, tropes, and archetypes

Random backstory generator

Assassin and thief character tropes to avoid

Character Interactions and putting your character into your world/story:

Comparing character height/height references

Characters who are scientists and writing about them doing science

Describing what different voices sound like

Describing skin tones

Writing friendship interactions that are platonic

Why having one character knock their friend unconscious to prevent them from doing something is a bad idea

Advice on shipping OCs with canon characters and what to avoid doing

Sweet Polly Oliver and Sweet on Polly Oliver situations (think of Disney’s Mulan for an example)

How to write multiple viewpoints/juggling a main cast of more than 4 to 6 characters

How to make readers care about your morally gray hero/anti-hero

On platonic OC and canon character relationships

How to avoid Godmodding in RPs

When it’s cheap to kill off a character

Writing dialogue

Things you shouldn’t do to canon characters

Avoiding purple prose in writing and RPs

Slang resources

Dialogue tips

Websites to chart your story/plot/character relationships

Bonus art masterlist!

donotusetheinternet-deactivated

if youve never physically been in the presence of like, a real live wolf, and you probably wont get the chance to, heres some stuff about them you should know

a wolf’s fur is so unbelievably thick that you can get like, your whole hand into it while petting. and then you can keep going

wolves are a lot bigger than you think they are. think about how big you think a wolf is then just like double that

they dont really smell like dog but they DO smell and youre not going to be able to figure out if its a good smell or not

a wolf really wants to lick the inside of your mouth. he will not stop trying to lick the inside of your mouth at any cost, and generally speaking you need to press your lips together kind of tightly when he approaches your face so that he doesnt worm his damn tongue in there to give you what he thinks is an appropriate greeting

a wolf doesnt really want to look at you while you pet him but he wants you to pet him. hes embarrassed

if a grown ass wolf decides to lay down on you, you just have to deal with it and thats your life now

young wolves, much like young dogs, are overwhelmingly goofy and stupid. a teenage wolf will see your very fragile, very human shoulder and go “i can probably step on that with my full weight” and then he will do it

letting a wolf eat out of your hand is actually not remotely frightening, and youll want to do it all day

sad-gay-potato

I wanna know who did this research.

donotusetheinternet-deactivated

well, i did!

meinenaffenhosen

in the interest of science, have tested & can confirm

wanderingredleaves

ma-ko

caffeinewitchcraft

Relationships get so bananas when you start deciphering the other person’s love language.

Like I thought I was just acquaintances with this person because they never told me details about themselves and we just talked movies and writing . But then they made time to have coffee with me and they showed up out of breath because they ran. Like. RAN to be on time for coffee with me?

And I was like “i don’t mind waiting” cause I never want to run

But they said they wanted every minute they could get because I’m so busy usually

Which is when it clicked that I didn’t get how much they considered me a friend because I just straight away didn’t see MY signs of affection in them and went “cool! Casual buds it is.” But now that I’m seeing their signs of affection, I feel a little silly for dismissing them like that even though I felt like we could be best bros.

Anyway, some people show affection through time or intensity or commitment and not vocally. I really have to remember that!

madammuffins

Fyi- just in case you didn’t know.

TOUCH got a bro that likes to give high fives? Back slaps? Are they a hugger? Do they not blink an eye at cuddles?

QUALITY TIME this bro will (as op stated) sprint to spend every minute possible with you. Every second that you guys are together is a declaration of affection.

WORDS does your bro tell you how amazing and great and fantastic and wonderful you are all the time? Guess what…?

GIFTS do they buy you coffee? Snacks, energy drinks, spot you at the restaurant? Did that one key chain remind them of you? Ding ding!

ACTS are they always doing things for you? Ie: Nah bro, I got this, I can do that, need me to get anything for you, I can help with…?

PRO TIP - The way people show love is often how they receive love as well.

queerautism

Can I just say how much I love seeing this applied to friends / platonic relationships, when I’ve only seen it about romantic ones before?

fuckyeahcharacterdevelopment

Advice On Writing Dialogue With Signing Characters

In response to the Anon earlier, I sent in an ask to thelegalizeddeafies, and here for you all is their reply!

thelegalizeddeafies:

Hi, I’m Evvy, and I coadmin a tumblr call Fuck Yeah Character Development, in which we work with writers on developing characters in their writing. One follower was wondering about how to describe D/deaf people conversing in sign- specifically, whether it was fine to simply replace “said” with “signed” after a sentence. I told them not necessarily, because ASL does not simply translate to written English exactly. However (cont…)

farleythew0lf

I’m not totally sure how one would go about writing ASL dialogue without simply making the reader infer that you’ve translated to English as close as possible. Do you have any advice, recommendations or examples of ways to write something including ASL-based dialogue?

Hmmmm, well, considering I’ve seen very, very few dialog written of d/Deaf folks in literature, I think the best thing to do is remind people that not all of ASL is communicated through the hands — a lot of emphasis is on body language and facial expressions.

So, instead of simply saying, “‘Well, then, Mr. Smarty-pants,’ John snarked, ‘Why don’t you tell me how it’s done?’”, you add the facial and body dimensions into it (which ultimately makes for more descriptive prose as-is), such as, “‘Well then, Smarty-Pants’ John offered, leaning forward with palms out, ‘Why don’t you tell me how it’s done?’ He leaned back again as he let his fingers fall into palms-out skepticism as his hands slowly descended to his hips, contrary to his rising smile and eyebrow.”

I would absolutely recommend (almost require) that your writers refrain from writing Deaf characters signing unless they’re comfortable with ASL and the mannerisms that come with signing the language, because being able to sign the dialog yourself (as I did writing what I did) to accurately portray the motions and body-language. Otherwise, you end up with stiff, wooden and inaccurate Deaf signers (who tend to be emotionally expressive out the wazzoo).

But this is just my opinion, and the others might disagree!

- Love and bunnies!

In addition,

Thank you! I’ve created a post with your reply and added it to FYCD for future reference. Also, from curiosity, have you read anything that does have d/Deaf signers described (well) in the dialogue? - Evvy

farleythew0lf

I personally haven’t, but come back in a tad? Maybe the others will have. The only characters I’ve ever seen in literature who were deaf were used as plot devices or strategically mute, so I’ve literally never seen described in fiction. And most fan-fics tend to infantilize or fetishize deafness or makes us a “very special character lesson”. So…I apologize. Come back later, since there’s 3 others who can (and probably will) respond to either one of these asks!

—-

(Evvy): In case it’s helpful to anyone, there are some great tumblr blogs about Deafness and ASL! Here’s a sampler:

http://thelegalizeddeafies.tumblr.com/

http://lifeofaterp.tumblr.com/

http://weloveasl.tumblr.com/

http://aslstudents.tumblr.com/

They all have an Ask button, be polite and I’m sure they’ll field some questions that you might have.

AND…

Okay! Any additional advice/suggestions/all that would be excellent, I will check in later. I also very much want to write something with a developed Deaf character now. I’ve only got one year of ASL/Deaf Culture at present, but perhaps with review from others I could pull it off. And, as always, I will encourage all the followers of FYCD to do their research properly. :)

farleythew0lf

Regarding to your pervious ask, said is typically used and not signed. However, to write in ASL-based dialogue, you can gloss into ASL. But since ASL has no true written form then its best to translate it into English written form.

For example:

“Me pass class! How? Study-hard”, said Alex.

Please let me know it helps.

-Mike

thecaffeinebookwarrior-deactiva

Resources For Writing Deaf, Mute, or Blind Characters

Despite the fact that I am not deaf, mute, or blind myself, one of the most common questions I receive is how to portray characters with these disabilities in fiction.

As such, I’ve compiled the resources I’ve accumulated (from real life deaf, mute, or blind people) into a handy masterlist.

Deaf Characters:

Deaf characters masterpost

Deaf dialogue thread

Dialogue with signing characters (also applies to mute characters.)

A deaf author’s advice on deaf characters

Dialogue between deaf characters

“The Month I Suddenly Went Deaf”

What It’s Like Going Deaf In Your Thirties

9 Women Share What It Feels Like To Lose Your Hearing

What It’s Like Being a Deaf Teenager (video)

Parenting With Sign Language (video)

Deaf Teen Talks About Losing His Hearing To Meningitis (video)

Things Not To Say To A Deaf Person (video)

Deaf Kids Shining in High School (video)

I recently discovered the youtube channel of the amazing Jessica Kellgren-Fozard, a vintage-loving, lesbian, happily married queen, who talks about her deafness in many of her videos. I can’t recommend her enough.

Mute Characters

Life as a Mute

My Silent Summer: Life as a Mute

What It’s Like Being Mute

21 People Reveal What It’s Really Like To Be Mute

I am a 20 year old Mute, ask me anything at all!

Blind Characters:

Things Not To Say To A Blind Person (video)

What It’s Like to Go Blind (video)

The 33 Worst Mistakes Writers Make About Blind Characters.

@referenceforwriters masterpost of resources for writing/playing blind characters.

The youtube channel of the wonderful Tommy Edison, a man blind from birth with great insight into the depiction of blind people and their lives.

As does Molly Burke, “a typical sushi and makeup loving millennial girl who just so happens to be blind.”

And Alyssa Irene, who talks about her experience going blind and life as a blind person.

An Absolute Write thread on the depiction of blind characters, with lots of different viewpoints and some great tips.

And finally, this short, handy masterpost of resources for writing blind characters.

Characters Who Are Blind in One Eye

4 Ways Life Looks Shockingly Different With One Eye

Learning to Live With One Eye

Adapting to the Loss of an Eye

Adapting to Eye Loss and Monocular Vision

Monocular Depth Perception

Deaf-Blind Characters

What Is It Like To Be Deafblind?

Going Deaf and Blind in a City of Noise and Lights

Deaf and Blind by 30

Sarita is Blind, Deaf, and Employed (video)

Deaf and Blind: Being Me (video)

Born Deaf and Blind, This Eritrean American Graduated Harvard Law School (video)

A Day of a Deaf Blind Person

Lesser Known Things About Being Deafblind

How the Deaf-Blind Communicate

Early Interactions With Children Who Are Deaf-Blind

Raising a DeafBlind Baby

If you have any more resources to add, let me know! I’ll be adding to this post as I find more resources.

I hope this helps, and happy writing! <3

arsuf

headspace-hotel

Specific thing I hate: when someone posts something semi-positive about anytime before 1970 and people are immediately like “BUT YOU WOULD HAVE DIED OF PLAGUE AT 32 AND BEEN ABUSED BY YOUR HUSBAND AND HAD 10 KIDS AND SCURVY AND BEEN ILLITERATE”

like yeah, in modern times we are blessed to have science based medicine! and air conditioning! and frozen fruit! And I see the danger in idolizing the past and erasing the harm that vaccine-eradicated illnesses and lack of education caused! But acting like all human life was unrelenting, squalid misery before the last span of a bare few decades, as if living life only became worth living through modernization and technology, is extremely oversimplistic.

Life is hard and horrible and unfair. That was true for most of history and it’s still true for many or most people on earth. But we have always had families and friendship, we have always laughed and fallen in love, we have had pet dogs and cats for thousands of years and we have always named them things like “sweetie” and “spot.” We have always had art and music and dancing. For centuries on centuries we have been flirting and fighting and making stupid graffiti and drawing dicks on random surfaces. We have always loved each other. We have always cared for each other. We watched actors perform Shakespeare 400 years ago and we still do now. We party, we play games. Humans have always been humans and life has always been life.

This attitude about the past erases a lot of advances (particularly in non European cultures) that made people’s lives better a lot earlier than we think they did. But it also paints the present as unequivocally better than the past and industrialization and modernization as an unquestioned good, erasing a lot of things about our modern lifestyles that are detrimental to our mental and physical health. We’re deeply social creatures forced to live alone most of the time! Our children are cared for by strangers and our elders are treated worse than prisoners! A lot of us have no idea what the night sky really looks like! We’re chronically deprived of sleep and afflicted with debilitating mental illness! Our world is bright, blaring, harsh, and foul smelling! We work more hours than hunter gatherers!

The quality of human life is not measured by technology! Our human needs for medicine and food are better met than ever, but our needs for belongingness, the comfort of one another, mental health, and rest are definitely not being met in modernized society. Nuance in everything, nuance!

did-you-know

han-syolo-shot-first

sincerelynneka:

It’s called the border between heaven and earth .

Reblogging because beautiful deserves beautiful name.

seaswweller-deactivated20130819

I wanna go here one day…

arcardeofloneliness

Wow that’s beautiful

backtoabnormal-deactivated20180

Photographic experience I must take

chemicalheart-deactivated202009

its even more amazing at night

mcllaneous

Marks as places to go to in the future

dct239394cvvd098dffgggp

i love the ‘im a little shit’ heroes who act like they dont have a care in the world when faced with evil but for once i want a hero whos just, fucking tired. and doesnt hide it, ever, from anyone.

*cuts the line at applebees, visibly bleeding through their shirt, some lady gives them a disapproving look* “what? i fucking saved the world three times now i can be a bit of a meanie sometimes”

“(at bad guy) just shut the fuck up, already? ive heard this same story about seven times before you even got inspired by some 4chan post to be like this just, do something so i can legally beat you into fucking pulp, jesus”

“theyre building me a statue? sure. how nice. can they maybe invest some of that spare money into better cheaper education and psychologists so i dont have to fight the monsters this shit system keeps producing? call me when they do that, then *hangs up*”

“this is where you will meet your end, [heroes name]!” - the hero, monotonously: “ive been let down so many times please dont give me false hope”

dct239394cvvd098dffgggp

reporter: why dont you have a secret identity sir?

this motherfucker: you think we have the right to secrets, to privacy, today? with every government having a hard on for civillian surveillance and every company willing to sell everything they know about you to them? *snorts*

dct239394cvvd098dffgggp

reporter: sir what do you say on the us police force giving you a honorary badge of approval?

this motherfucker: i must be doing something horribly wrong then

meaningfulsuggestion

You make me feel a little less tired.

cordi-pessimo-suggestion

You make me feel a little more safe.

tinyastronaut-suggestion

You make me feel a little more celestial

fluff-oh-suggestions

You make me feel a little less nervous.

nighttimesuggestionsbackup

You make me feel a little less scared.

corporeal--corvid

You make me feel a little more normal.

algidsuggestions

You make me feel a little less cold.

affectionsuggestion

You make me feel a little more cuddly

deletedtumbeleruser12534

You make me feel a little more in love

loveliest-suggestions

you make me feel a little more happy

cardcaptor-suggestions-deactiva

You make me feel a little more magical.

theseekersuggestions

You make me feel a little less lost.

enamoringsuggestion

You make me feel a little more at peace

platonic-ish-suggestion

You make me feel a little more wanted.

amber-suggestion

you make me feel a little more at home.

eulphy

you make me feel a little less like a burden

crockpotcauldron

the ideal werewolf novel

just looked through about 700 werewolf books, good grief.

most seem to fall into two categories:

werewolf serial killer mysteries

domineering alpha romances

neither is really what I’m interested in.

here is what I’d want from the werewolf novel of my wildest dreams:

good relationships, especially friendships between packmates (lone wolves are boring)

werewolves who like being werewolves. (angsty wolves are boring)

the practical details of werewolfery: who’s got the bail money for animal control, whether anyone’s microchipped, what you pack in a bag for a night out werewolfing

the uses of werewolfery: hiring yourselves out as trackers or canine rescue, getting certified as service dogs, spending your free time at the library letting little kids read to a friendly doggie

female werewolves, and no weird gross hypermasculine alpha stuff going on in werewolf culture

queer werewolves, and no weird gross heteronormative ‘laws of nature’ stuff going on in werewolf culture

dog jokes.

lectorel

The standard urban fantasy female protagonist dating a werewolf who is not an alpha. Bonus points for it being a cute beta werewolfess who thinks her girlfriend’s perpetual posturing as the ‘baddest bitch on the block’™ is the most adorable thing ever. Extra bonus points for fuzzy baby werewolves and adopted babies. (Because actual wolf packs? Exist to raise children. They’re family units, focused around rearing cubs.)

crockpotcauldron

#werewolves #queer wolves #werewolves as the foster parents of the supernatural world #if there’s a kid so much as sniffling in their general vicinity they’re going to get adopted #the fae discovered that they could straight-up hand off changlings to werewolf packs #no deception needed #magic using children of mundane parents who can’t handle it? #every pack has a dozen of them #fic ideas

okay this is one of the cutest reblogs I’ve gotten.

imagine it

werewolves just going YES FAMILY GOOD and adopting everyone and making sure they get attention and food and understand that it’s fine to be who you are and that you’re not alone, you’re pack now

and the kids that can’t turn into wolves get to ride on the dogsleds to make sure they’re not left out during the full moon family bonding time (… you have to be an adult to pull a dogsled. mistakes have been made.)

werewolves on the PTA. werewolf den mothers. werewolf little league coaches. werewolves filling the bleachers and auditioriums and dance halls and galleries, cheering for their kids. werewolves helping kids with their homework, werewolves sewing costumes for the school play, werewolves showing kids how to change a tire

werewolves with battered kitchen tables with chewed legs. werewolves with huge family dinners. werewolves ferrying pies and casseroles and fresh baked bread back and forth between family members’ houses. werewolf extended families. massive werewolf packs that are technically only about 25% werewolf but still definitely packs

puppy teeth being left for the tooth fairy. fangs being left for the tooth fairy. cuttlebones being left for the tooth fairy. stolen teeth being left for the tooth fairy. werewolves with giant families full of kids with different needs and species.

werewolves adopting everyone. werewolves fostering everyone. werewolves who wind up with dozens of kids, all of whom are family and therefore pack.

danielfromthelifeforge

yes good, give me more like this

greyramblings

ladyzolstice

i feel this in my soul

bluewavelengths

WEREWOLVES BASED ON ACTUAL WOLF PACK BEHAVIOR INSTEAD OF BULLSHIT DOMINANCE THEORY! All the werewolf fiction I’ve read involves everything falling to shit due to infighting over who gets to be alpha like WAY TO ILLUSTRATE EXACTLY WHY THIS IDEA DOESN’T WORK. You really think wolves would be successful hunters if they were constantly getting injured and wasting energy fighting each other?!

skaletal-deactivated20190721

The whole idea of “alpha” dynamics is based entirely on the behaviour of wolves in captivity! If you so much as google “wolves in captivity alpha”, you’ll get a bunch of results about why it’s not representative of actual wolf behaviour.

As it turns out, if you capture, restrain, and shove together wolves from unrelated packs, they will fight and form a hierarchy of power.

Kind of like prison. Because, functionally, the exact premise of that kind of captivity is kind of like prison.

Wolves are social animals, and they interact in the wild pretty much the same way other family-centric social animals do.

Hey, you know what another family-centric social animal we’re all familiar with is? People. Just, you know, take away the oppressive idea that one parent is the definitive and unchallengeable head of the household that most of us have lived under for so long first.

Wolves are apparently group problem-solvers, and presumably, in large packs, you’re going to get squabbling and older pack members mitigating it, just like that one patient aunt or uncle or grandparent or close family friend who is essentially a relative often does in big families.

There’s a very legitimate basis for writing werewolves as friendly, community-minded folks. If your werewolves view their human neighbours as other packs not in competition with themselves, they’re likely going to be those people that the entire neighbourhood views as very nice, but “a little overwhelming.” (And maybe a little too indulgent with their kids, according to the neighbourhood snobs.)

Your gigantic werewolf family is probably going to be a litle less threatening and overtly secretive and a little more “we’re having a barbeque, when can we expect you??? you didn’t come last week, were you sick??? we were all worried- do you not eat meat?? oh, okay, I’ll have Sophie and Thaddeus pick up some Halal burgers and we’ll scrub off the second barbeque for them and some vegetable skewers, too, does that sound good?? so when can we expect you????”

(Also: werewolves taking in queer kids and mentally ill kids and kids from broken homes even though they’re mundane because they can’t comprehend how someone could not want them. Werewolves taking in street kids.)

wormofmouth

#…a pack of werewolves living in a huge house together like one of those huge families people sort of smile incredulously at#multiple generations#a pack occupying a trailer park because it’s near the woods and there’s a certain amount of security in having a mobile home#packs being viewed by mundanes as those eccentric families that fill the school gymnasium every time there’s an event with one of their kids#packs migrating to accomodate new packmates and encountering other packs#packs fusing to form entire communities#wolves taking in mundane street kids#werewolves#writing#urban fantasy

rosebramblewolf

werewolves needing to home school or essentially create their own pack-run daycare and preschool because pack-raised kids are prone to asking mundane kids “do you turn into a puppy once a month like derell and josefina or are you just a regular person like me and auntie leah?”

sindri42

Gail Carriger’s werewolves meet most of these terms, wrapped in a nice Victorian shell.

joyseeker56-deactivated20181214

I love these ideas!

(Nitpicking comment: The “no weird gross hypermasculine alpha stuff going on in werewolf culture” and the “no weird gross heteronormative ‘laws of nature’ stuff going on in werewolf culture” comments made me roll my eyes because of how dumb those comments are. Honestly it would be better to say “I like more female and LGBT werewolves in werewolf stories” and leave it at that.)

crockpotcauldron

No, there’s a reason I said what I said.

The presence of female werewolves does not negate the virulently sexist werewolf worldbuilding - in fact, a lot of the time it makes it more awful to read, since the female protagonists (such as Kitty Norville and Mercy Thompson) bear the brunt of the brutal rapey alpha mind control.

The presence of queer werewolves does not negate heteronormative or even blatantly homophobic werewolf worldbuilding - Warren from the Mercy Thompson series belongs to a werewolf species that exiles gay male werewolves specifically (and not straight ones) because the smell of male werewolf arousal triggers aggression. Multiple queer werewolf romance novels are set in conservative werewolf societies where queer wolves are forced to breed with heterosexual mates for “the good of the pack”.

The presence of diversity is not the same thing as the absence of bigotry.

joyseeker56-deactivated20181214

I just saw your reply and I want to apologize to you. I should have be more clear with what I mean with my comments. (Warning, this is going to be long)

First off, You are right about the “The presence of diversity is not the same thing as the absence of bigotry.” quote. Sadly there are too many werewolf books (like the examples you said) that use sexist and homophobic worldbuilding like you said and there needs to be more of the werewolf stories that you and everyone else suggested to counter that. (In fact, I am writing a werewolf story myself!)

It’s just whenever I see someone use the words “heteronormative” and “hypermasculine” unironically, I roll my eyes because (in my mind) they are dumb, stupid words and I will (mostly) not take anyone who say those words seriously. If you had said “no weird gross sexist alpha stuff going on in werewolf culture” instead of “no weird gross hypermasculine alpha stuff going on in werewolf culture ” and “no weird gross homophobic ‘laws of nature’ stuff going on in werewolf culture” instead of “no weird gross heteronormative ‘laws of nature’ stuff going on in werewolf culture”, I would have no problem.

The reason I said “Honestly it would be better to say “I like more female and LGBT werewolves in werewolf stories” and leave it at that.” is because I thought you were just complaining and making up stuff (with no proof of it happening) for the sake of complaining like a lot of Tumblr users when you said the “no weird gross hypermasculine alpha stuff going on in werewolf culture” and the “no weird gross heteronormative ‘laws of nature’ stuff going on in werewolf culture” quotes. But when showed proof that, yes, there are some sexist and homophobic werewolf writing out there, I realized you are being honest about what you mean (even if I wished that you used the words “sexist” instead of “hypermasculine” and “homophobic” instead of “heteronormative”).

In hindsight, I should been less cynical. I am sorry for being cynical of you and for my not being clear with my comments, @crockpotcauldron

P.S. Hope I got my point across!

crockpotcauldron

Thanks for the apology, and I’m glad you’re clearing stuff up.

But heteronormative and hypermasculine do actually have meanings distinct from homophobic and sexist. Let me see if I can explain.

Homophobia would be the Mercy Thompson thing where gay werewolves are persecuted for being gay. That is outright aggression against queer people, and a representation of queerness as a bad thing.

Heteronormativity is a system of representing heterosexuality as natural and normal, such as, say, all of the male Twilight werewolves developing soulmate bonds with women for the explicit purpose of continuing the pack. Or the rule in Blood and Chocolate and many other werewolf books that all packs are led by a male and female alpha who are mates, and that the female alpha must have sex with the male alpha and be subordinate to him. Heteronormativity is the creation of rules with no room for queer people.

Sexism is a system where men are privileged over women, and male traits are considered more valuable than female traits, and men are in most or all positions of power. I hardly need to give examples of that in werewolf literature. It’s everywhere.

However, hypermasculinity - the exaggeration of stereotypical masculine traits - is actually a really valuable term for discussing werewolf literature, since werewolves are often caricatures of masculine traits - physical strength, aggression, aggressive sexuality, hairiness, etc - to the point where most werewolf characters are male by default, and some werewolf species are all-male or so overwhelmingly male that female werewolves have trouble resolving their gender with their werewolf nature (such as Twilight, where the one female werewolf wonders if she has a birth defect because women are not supposed to be werewolves, or the Bitten series where Elena is literally the only female werewolf in the world). In many series, such as Bitten and Blood and Chocolate, female werewolves wind up unable to date human men because they are too strong and aggressive to fit gender roles where men are supposed to be stronger and more aggressive and more sexual than women. And don’t get me started on the body hair thing. Werewolves are coded as masculine, and a stereotypical, exaggerated masculinity at that.

So, these are certainly related concepts, and I totally get that they can be confused and misused. But they are useful when you are having nuanced discussions about gender and sexuality.

meetcuteproject

Meetcute Prompts: Werewolf Edition

I picked up what I thought was a stray on the side of the road last night and it turns out you’re a werewolf. Um. Can I offer you some pancakes?

Hi there I know I don’t know you but I live downstairs and I can hear you through the ceiling every time you play with your dog and his squeaky toy. And frankly, it sounds AMAZING. Can I come in?

I work at the butcher shop and we’ve never spoken but I recognize you from when you come in to buy fresh meat every month. I don’t mind keeping the store open a little past closing since you’re running late and seem kind of desperate. This may be weird to mention, but did you know your teeth are getting sharper while we talk?

I know the sign says no shoes no shirt no service but I just had the WEIRDEST night and your shop is the only building with lights on this early and I’m really, really hoping you have some spare clothes behind the counter. Help?

My dog goes nuts every time she sees you and this time she got off the leash and tore after you, except now you’re both barking at each other and I’m not sure what to do.

You look REALLY familiar and I think it might be because of the feral dog I’ve been feeding a couple nights a month and oh shoot you caught me staring and you’re coming this way.

I’m really, really sorry I accidentally bit you during that kissing game at the party last night, ESPECIALLY BECAUSE I THINK YOU’RE REALLY CUTE. But, uh. I have some stuff I should tell you?

I’m a wildlife biologist and I got called out to do radio tagging and release because a coyote trapper accidentally caught a wolf except I am PRETTY SURE you are not a wolf.

Sorry I treed your cat, it was kind of an uncontrollable impulse. I’m pretty strong and good at jumping, though. Should I go up and get her down?

Help my car broke down outside your place and it’s almost the full moon and I’m not saying I’m freaking out but do you happen to have handcuffs and how do you feel about using them on strangers.

crockpotcauldron

Werewolves I Am Totally Stoked About

crockpotcauldron

crockpotcauldron:

Okay so I guess to counterbalance that series of rants, it is time for Werewolves I Am Totally Stoked About. Some of these stories have cute werewolves, and some have cute non-werewolves, but the point is, I really enjoyed them.

*UPDATE* This post got a bit out of hand, so I’m adding categories and updates directly to the original instead of creating an endless chain of werewolves.

Novels

Iron & Velvet, by Alexis Hall - light on the werewolves, but so many lesbians! What a fantastic urban fantasy novel, man. Where was this when I was hitting puberty. I hear it has a sequel, which is on my to-read list.

Shadows & Dreams, by Alexis Hall - turned out amazing, just as good as Iron & Velvet. werewolves aren’t the focus, but there are a few running around and they get a great fight scene, and there are plenty of lesbians

Prisoner, by Lia Silver - adorable werewolf marine gets kidnapped by secret government, accidentally winds up dating secret genetically engineered black ops agent god they are so cute together. It has sequels, also on my to-read list.

Partner, by Lia Silver - the werewolf marine and the genetically engineered assassin are still cute together, you get a lot of great backstory and new werewolves, and all the setup with the plot and the supporting cast pays off. Definitely read this if you liked the previous one. There’s another one in the series with a different protag, but I’m not gonna get to it, so you’re on your own there.

Angel in the Attic, by Rebecca Tregaron (aka Lia Silver) - It is super cute, but it’s literally a third of a story. So there’s a cute lesbian werewolf, some sexual tension, a lot of interesting food, and a sex scene before it cuts off, but there are a ton of characters who get introduced, and conflicts set up, and worldbuilding explained, with no payoff. I’m sticking around in hopes of the next two books getting published, but if you don’t read works in progress, skip this one.

Weregirl, by C.D. Bell - awesome YA book about a girl on the track team who is accidentally elected champion of the wolves (via wolf bite) and has to untangle a local conspiracy.

Chimera, by C.D. Bell - the sequel, where the protagonist werewolf uncovers dark family secrets and fights to save her mother and the local wolf pack from an evil corporation

Surviving Frank, by David A. Page - it’s a buddy cop book, except one of the cops is a huge slobby werewolf. This is so up my alley.

Thor, by Wayne Smith - okay, the werewolf in this one is the evil serial killer type, but the protagonist is a German Shepherd and I really love him and his perspective. It’s a cute book and it made me cry.

Wolf Hunt, by Jeff Strand - another evil serial killer werewolf, but I’m in it for the buddy goons transporting the werewolf for the mob. A great comedy, but heads up for the awful gory bits. Ignore the sequel.

Still Waters by Alex Gabriel - honestly, this isn’t a werewolf book, it’s about a nix, but he does live in a town full of friendly werewolves and there’s a really cute puppy

The Changeling Prince, by Vivian Vande Velde - alright, I’ll finally admit to this one. It’s about a man/wolf/woobie raised by a witch who turns animals into people, and people into animals. When she takes over a town, he must choose whether to protect his new friends, at the risk of permanently losing his humanity.

Short Stories And Poetry

The Cage, by A.M. Dellamonica - a community of lesbians rallies to protect a baby werewolf. It’s really heartwarming.

Bisclavret, by Marie de France - an old timey poem with a werewolf who gets betrayed by his wife but then becomes the king’s buddy. I’m fond of this particular translation, but there are plenty of others. If you liked this story, Sir Marrok is a pretty similar one, except Arthurian flavored.

Royal Bloodlines, by Mike Resnick - this is a great comedy piece about a werewolf in a dog show and I wholeheartedly recommend every line of it EXCEPT THE LAST ONE DANGIT MIKE.

Graphic Novels And Webcomics

Fame and Misfortune, by Kel McDonald - can I just recommend Kel McDonald herself, because all of her werewolves are great. Fame and Misfortune has a big burly grumpy lesbian werewolf bodyguard, I love her and her accidentally-bitten maybe-werewolf maybe-girlfriend.

The Better To Find You With, by Kel McDonald - A werewolf wakes up in the pound and teams up with the overenthusiastic vet who patched up his silver bullet wound, trying to find a new werewolf and a werewolf hunter before it’s too late. It’s great to see recurring characters from Kel McDonald’s other werewolf comics, and this was really cute.

Sorcery 101, by Kel McDonald - more of a mixed urban fantasy story like Iron & Velvet, but plenty of werewolves, and they’re great and plenty of them are queer.

Misfits of Avalon, by Kel McDonald - okay, it’s a talking dog shapeshifter instead of a werewolf, but if I’ve convinced you to read the rest of Kel McDonald’s stuff, you’ll like this too.

Bisclavret, by Kel McDonald - ha, did you think I was done reccing Kel McDonald because I totally wasn’t, she did a Bisclavret comic too.

Prague Race, by Petra Erika Nordlund - one of the main characters is a trans werewolf and there is an entire werewolf pack and I’m really stoked about it, you guys

Sing the Moon Down, by MasterLoki - Adorable witch and werewolf romance, and it’s queer too!

Wilde Life, by Pascalle Lepas - Grumpy teenage werewolf in a red hoodie accidentally befriends a writer and gets dragged into supernatural shit.

How To Be A Werewolf, by Shawn Lenore - Werewolf barista discovers other werewolves for the first time, learns to control her powers, supernatural shit ensues.

The Glass Scientists, by Sabrina Cotugno - Rookie mad scientist is accidentally a werewolf, joins mad scientist community.

Bleeding Heart, by Sabrina Cotugno - Adorable short comic about a budding mad scientist helping an injured werewolf. Prequel to The Glass Scientists.

Mooncakes, by Suzanne Walker and Wendy Xu - a queer young witch who works in a bookstore is reunited with her nonbinary werewolf friend, and together they try to solve a magical mess

Les Normaux by KnightJJ: The werewolves in this comic are pretty much incidental, but it’s a sweet, warm comic of various queer magical creatures navigating crushes, disabilities, and family in a city where magic and the supernatural are normal.

That’s a lot of cool werewolf stories (my god, Kel McDonald is a quarter of this list, protect her at all costs) to choose from, not counting the sequels. Don’t despair for the future of werewolf media, there are plenty of diamonds in the dogshit.

(Please god nobody add the Mercy Thompson series, the Bitten series, the Parasol Protectorate series, the Dresden Files, or the Kitty Norville series to this post. Been there, done that, never again.)

Still on the to-read list:

Last Night at Wyrmwood High, by Kathleen Gros - I’ve read little bits of this as a webcomic, and it was great, so I’m gonna pick up the book when I can.

The immortal post of werewolf book recs is back and updated!

wordsnstuff

hey do you have any tips on plot development? how to do come up with relevant but dramatic things to keep the plot going? i also don’t want to make it too intense?

I actually have quite a lot of resources that I’ve created over the years surrounding plot development. I’ve linked as many as I could find for you:

Resources For Plot Development

Useful Writing Resources

Useful Writing Resources II

31 Days of Plot Development

Novel Planning 101

How To Write A Good Plot Twist

How To Foreshadow

What To Cut Out Of Your Story

Tackling Subplots

Things A Reader Needs From A Story

A Guide To Tension & Suspense In Your Writing

How To Turn A Good Idea Into A Good Story

Planning A Scene In A Story

21 Plot Shapes and the Pros and Cons Of Each

How To Outline Effectively

Tips On Writing Intense Scenes

Writing The First Chapter

Tips On Starting A Scene

Plot Structures

Finding & Fixing Plot Holes

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