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[vikanderhelps-blog]

I forgot my login info. Whoops.

[nevver]

Common Phrases Correctly

[aubrieta]

GÜLNİHAL [PREVIEW] [CODE]

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[snakepotter-blog]

why are you so obsessed with british words? does it make that much difference to an RP?

It’s not just British words. I’d be really annoyed if I was reading Dean Winchester and he was talking about obliterating the demon fellow with a bottle of holy water out of the boot. I’d be irritated if Erik Lehnsherr was talking about ganking that Goddamn asshole that keeps creeping on his daughter. It’s impossible to read Gandalf talking about how hot he looks in his rocking new tunic and how much he’s gonna enjoy kicking Sauron’s ass. 

Because the language we use shapes us and shows us for what we are. It displays our character, it mirrors our sensibilities and our personal tendencies, it directs the world around us and communicates how we feel, where we’re from, what we are and why we’re like that. And I think making an effort with a character’s dialogue is an intrinsic part to shaping their personality. 

I do my best to carefully listen to and mimic voice and dialogue. And I don’t just mean like, the words people use. That’s only a small part of it - and also, general “British” words are really rare. I see Americans on this site using “British” word directories and using random regional shit that the character in question wouldn’t use, or using posh people terms with working class characters, et cetera, et cetera. 

But it’s more than that - how often do they emphasize words? Because in general people tend to just emphasize words now and then, but certain characters who are quite dramatic (Q in Skyfall, Elim Garak in DS9, Severus Snape or Sirius Black) will emphasize lots of words to make their point. How often do they pause in a middle of a sentence? Do they get nervous, like Harry Potter? Do they get distracted, like Arthur Weasley?

Do they use profanity? What sort of profanity do they use - little, small-town curses here and there like Ron Weasley, or are they F-ing and blinding all over the place like Gordon fucking Ramsay? Do they use profanity only in certain situations? For example, do they usually swear like a sailor but come suddenly refined while around their mum? 

Do they say “I’d think” or “I should think” or “I would hope” or “I’d hope” or “I hope” or “I think”? Do they use a lot of contractions? Ought one utilize “one” when speaking hypothetically, or d’you just ask if you’d use “you” instead? 

Do they tend to use long words or short words? Fancy words or common words? Do they repeat themselves? Do they stutter or stammer? Do they tend to wax poetic about things of no consequence, or do they gruffly refuse beauty even when it’s obvious to any eye? Do they talk politically or are they frank? Do they ask a lot of questions, do they make speeches, or do they prefer to be quieter and speak little? 

What’s their voice like? Quiet, loud, gruff, low, high, soft, warm, tinny, croaky, reedy, sharp, biting? Do their words cut through the air like a knife or whisper forwards like a dandelion seed? How emotive are they when they speak? How do they talk under pressure? How do they talk with a lover compared to how they speak with an enemy?

Read through your dialogue. How does it sound? Can you imagine that, word for word, coming from your character’s mouth? If not, why not? 

If you don’t think it matters then hey, fair enough, but the thing is, in order to get the supposed highest compliment one can receive in the RP community, that people hear your character’s voice when they read your threads, 

                         then you need to write that voice.

[vikanderhelps-blog]

                 A TOUCH OF DARKNESS

        What we do in the darkness, will come to light.

What we do in the darkness will come to light. Arcadia, Connecticut. Population 6,978. What used to be a quiet little town, at least in the past century, is slowly changing. Attracted by some mystical energy, creatures of the night are flocking in. The Arcadia Coven, werewolves, and hunters have been protecting the town since 1832. They have maintained a balance and made sure that no harm would come to the habitant of Arcadia. But today, forces bigger than them are at work. Some brutal deaths has already occurred and more are to come.

                           Everyone’s life is about to be changed.

Over 30 different open canon characters to choose from, encompassing humans, witches, psychics, hunters, vampires, and werewolves! Veryactive para and chat with 30+ taken characters! Great plot, fun events, amazing prompts, and fantastic players - we’d love for you to join us!

   HOME • MESSAGE • FULL PLOT • RULES • CHARACTERS • APPLICATION

[phantomaestro-deactivated201812]

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[mirverse]

this short guide brought to you by an actual disabled person.

[mirverse]

1. DO YOUR RESEARCH

This one should be obvious, right? Don’t write without researching what you are writing about. Disability is a complicated and complex issue and you shouldn’t operate on assumptions. 

But here’s the thing: reading Wikipedia doesn’t count as research. Go beyond that. 

2. DO NOT DEPEND ON MEDICAL JOURNALS AND SYMPTOM LISTS

While it’s a good idea to consult medical literature, remember that - especially when it comes to invisible disabilities and neurodivergence - doctors can only tell you what the disease looks like, not what it feels like. While you should most certainly know how the disability in question presents, you should not rely on the word of medical practitioners alone. 

3. LISTEN TO ACTUAL DISABLED PEOPLE

To write authentically, with an understanding of what you’re writing, you will need to talk to and listen to disabled people. You will not be able to gain an understanding of what it feels like to be disabled, to have a particular condition, without talking to people who have it. Do not ignore this step or you risk writing a shallow (and often inaccurate) stereotype.

Of course, when approaching someone for information, remember to be respectful and not voyeuristic. Be prepared to be told to get lost - not everyone likes to be a source of information for the abled. 

4. DO NOT WRITE STEREOTYPES

There are many condition-specific stereotypes and I can’t really cover them all in a short guide. However, there are two broad stereotypes that are applied to the vast majority of disabled people and you should work to avoid both:

The Saintly Inspiration

Do not write disabled people who suffer without a single complaint, who Strive Hard to Overcome their Limitations and Succeed. Disabled people do not exist to inspire you. Disabled people do not “fail” if they do not reach abled standards of “success”. 

Certainly, there are struggles when one is disabled. Do not frame them as overcoming the disability: often, the real obstacle is not the disability but the lack of accommodation, understanding and support. 

The Bitter Cripple[1]

Do not write disabled people who are portrayed as unrelentingly negative, bitter and cynical and are cast in a bad light because of this. Disability is tough and some develop coping methods that may seem harsh to abled people, but it is what must be done to survive. 

5. DO NOT EMPLOY MIRACULOUS CURES

Disability shapes and moulds a person in many ways. Miraculous cures erase a part of a disabled character for a cheap happy end. It is an insulting and belittling tactic that tells disabled readers that they, too, need to be fixed, instead of being accepted and supported as they are. 

[1] If you’re not physically disabled, you shouldn’t use “cripple”. Characters may self-describe as such, depending on their attitude to their disability, but outside of fiction, the able-bodied should not use this term. 

[andreashettle]

6. Use disabilityinkidlit and its Wordpress counterpart, http://disabilityinkidlit.wordpress.com as resources. These sister blogs (particularly the reviews at at the Wordpress version) are a way to learn more detail about the kind of tropes and stereotypes that often annoy many disabled readers the most.

7. Consider joining the Disabookability Facebook group.  It’s not all people with disabilities, and it’s not all people who necessarily share the same disabilities as the characters they are reading. But following along with this ongoing conversation about disability in books, film, TV, plays, etc. could give you more of an idea the kinds of things readers are hoping for when they read a book featuring a disabled character.

[vikanderhelps-blog]

sometimes bad guys are the only good guys you get.

A team of eight highly trained criminals have come together to execute heists to the utmost perfection. They take undeserved money from marks — the guys that play God without permission — of their choice and give it to the poor. They travel wherever the heist takes them and break every speed limit along the way. 

You’re not going to catch this team in a lie unless they want you to.  The fake ID that’s been handed to the mark? It was flawlessly made the night before. The background used by the grifter? It will check out as if she has been living that life; not fifteen minutes of it. The ear piece they use to communicate with? It is only visible when they take it out.

When they hit, they hit hard and fast. They steal everything and leave no traces unless they plan on doing so. They are gone before anyone even notices a thing and they are remain ghosts until they strike again — or when they want to be found. 

The crew has an opportunity to take on a job.                               The only question is…                                                                  are you in?

This will be a 4x4 writing group, all of which are original characters.

              home — message — characters — plot

[write-like-a-freak-deactivated2]

Keeping Characters In-Character

The best way to keep you characters in character is to 1. understand people and 2. develop your character as much as possible.

Understanding People Complexly

If you’re a writer, then most likely you’re a reader, which means that most likely you have a pretty good grasp of basic psychology and you’re capable of empathizing with people. Studies have show that people who read regularly, especially people who read novels, are much more likely to be able to empathize and “understand” people. So, if you struggle with either of those things, I suggest you read a lot more fiction.

Read

Reading and actively analyzing characters (especially doing this alongside a group of people who are also analyzing these characters) will not only have you thinking deeply and complexly about fictional characters, but real people as well. When you have a well-rounded understanding of people as a whole, you’ll naturally be more creative when it comes to making characters. Their many dimensions will appear organically.

Listen

This will do the same thing for you that reading will, but so an even further extent. Non-fictional people are often a lot more complicated than characters are—at least they often make less sense. They are less controlled, more surprising, and their minds work differently than yours. Listening, watching, analyzing, and attempting to understand real people will work wonders for your creation and understanding of your own characters.

Know the Basic Components of All People (And Characters)

Motivations, desires, needs, logic, personality, tendencies, perceptions, expectations, etc. All of these things alter how the person thinks and acts, and they all affect each other. They work together, and sometimes they clash, and it’s important that you are aware that all of these things are at play all at once. All the time.

Developing Your Character

To keep your character consistent, you need to have a full understanding of them. Once you do have a full understanding of them, they will naturally be consistent. You won’t have to think about it. You’ll know how they would react to a certain situation before you even know why.

Don’t Worry About Taking Yourself Out of the Equation

It won’t work, anyway. You’re a huge part of the equation. Hell, you are the equation.

Some people have a problem where their mood affects what they write. When they’re sad, their characters or story is sad. When they’re happy, same thing. Often people begin to try to separate themselves from the story to fix this problem. But that doesn’t make sense because this is your story, and it needs you for it to be good.

Instead, simply be aware. Be aware of where your real life is interacting with your story life. Feel it out, understand it, and you will be able to control it. Often your subconscious is just trying to get you to process all the issues you’re dealing with in your life, and not only will writing them into and through your story help you come to terms with them, it will add layers upon layers to the story, especially your characters. Embrace it, and watch where it takes you.

Be Aware of Stereotypes and Expectations

Often—this is especially with beginning writers, who are often the ones struggling with consistent characters—the reason characters become inconsistent is because the writer is allowing stereotypes or expectations of how this type of character should act invade the actual character. This leads to the limitation of the character and erratic, random behavior. Be aware of what you and your reader would expect from a character in this situation, and remind yourself that that isn’t how the character actually has to react. They should react how their character development dictates.

Development Advice and Practice

4 Ways to Develop Your Characters

Tabatha’s Guide to Creating a Character

Character Arcs

123 Ideas for Character Flaws

My character development tag

[sorrism]

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[tonkswrites-deactivated20161208]

nobody asked for this but i have a lot of free time on my hands, so here’s a list of plant-inspired names for female characters. if you’re looking to create a muse of a specific ethnicity then i’d recommend hitting ctrl+f and searching that way. the names are listed alphabetically with a link to the source as well as their origin and literal meaning. 

[tonkswrites-deactivated20161208]

Keep reading

[index47]

A list of 250+ POC face claims in varying ages. 

These are almost all off the top of Lia’s head, or from our roleplay’s potential fc list, so this is by no means thorough. We will be updating this as we go, and publishing various FC lists in the future. This is just a severe head shake at those who claim it’s harder to think of POC FCs (only those that use it as an excuse). Representation isn’t hard.

Keep reading

[creativichee]

If your character has a trait you consider one of their key features and it is never challenged in anyway, that trait will probably have about as much impact as their “tiny mole on their left buttcheek” trait. 

For that trait NOT to fall totally flat, one or more of these things need to happen:

The trait exacerbates a situation in a bad way. (An extremely honest and trusting character reveals an important secret to the Big Bad’s lackey)

The character is given a choice to either act according to their traits or to subvert them. Often the subversion has the better outcome. They either maintain their trait and take a risk, or character development ensues. (A greedy character must escape. Leaving behind their riches goes against their very being, but it would allow them to escape easier. If they try to take some of their treasure with them, they do so at massive risk.)

 The character is put in an environment or must work with a person that opposes their trait. (An extremely tidy person must live in their slob cousin’s filthy apartment for a week. / The character has a debilitating fear of being alone and they are stranded on their own on an island.)

The character is put in a situation that requires them to suppress their trait (A hotheaded character needs to have polite discourse with someone they hate)

[gingerhelper-blog]

Three Things a Writer Should Always Remember...

1. What the Story is About — This should go without saying, but occasionally writers do forget what kind of story they started out with and write an ending that belongs to a different genre. It’s an incredibly dissatisfying experience for a reader. For example, the critically praised movie The Dark of the Sun begins as a very interesting adventure story about a mercenary racing Congo rebels for a treasure in diamonds. However, the end of the movie forgets the plotline and concentrates exclusively on the main character’s internal journey. The ending forgets to answer critical questions (such as, did the rebels catch up with him? did he get away with the diamonds? did he make the deadline set by his employers?). The questions setup by the Inciting Incident at the beginning must be answered by the ending Climax. 2. Who Needs to Change — This is subtler than the first item on the list, but just as vital to reader satisfaction. The problem doesn’t even look like a problem for probably half the story, but it comes into glaring relief at the end. For example, suppose the story focuses on how the main character can’t let go of the past, and how her inability to let go of the past creates problems between her and her children. Her children tell her to move on with her life, other characters tell her to let go… naturally, readers assume character growth for her will be her letting go of the past and moving on with her life. That’s the happy ending readers expect, it’s what they focus their emotions on and root for to happen. But, no! The writer forgets who needs to change. At the end, the children suddenly change and everybody lives happily ever after. Because this is not the ending anticipated, readers experience an emotional disconnect from the resolution. If a story makes a big deal about a certain character flaw in the protagonist, that needs to be the area of change at the end. 3. Actions Have Consequences — If events don’t have consequences, then they don’t belong in the story. Protecting the chain of cause-and-effect logic is what saves readers from confusion. For example, suppose the main character is a superspy who goes on a mission to recover important computer data. There’s a big, exciting scene where she gets the data—lots of conflict, lots of nail-biting suspense. When she gets back, it turns out the data is worthless. This is a simple goal-defeated-by-obstacle moment, but without a consequence (such as, her partner is injured and can’t join her next mission) it could be removed from the story without being missed. The same could be said of a character-driven story where the heroine discusses her plight with friends, then goes home and discusses it with her family, then goes on vacation and discusses it with the hotel staff. Unless each dialogue scene has a unique consequence, it’s just so much stuffing and not enough turkey.

[chromaa]

#345b8d | #1f2e4c | #f37654 | #f3b554 |#f1ecd5

[tonkswrites-deactivated20161208]

seeing as my plant names were pretty well recieved, here’s a list of water-inspired names for girls. if you’re looking to create a muse of a specific ethnicity then i’d recommend hitting ctrl+f and searching that way. the names are listed alphabetically with a link to the source as well as their origin and literal meaning.

[tonkswrites-deactivated20161208]

Keep reading

[demonprincex]

The Real Problem of Evil is Thinking Evil's a Real Problem

The idea that people can be completely evil and have no redeeming qualities, extenuating circumstances, or core humanity at all … That is the only place where true evil lies. The belief that some people are “evil” makes it easier for us to write them off, dehumanize them, destroy them, cease helping them. The idea of evil makes misbegotten moral righteousness possible, and justifies all manner of aggressive and hateful acts.

Sociopathy and antisocial personality disorder are just a repackaging of the age-old concept of pure unredeemable evil. It’s morality-driven dehumanization dressed in a clinical psychologist’s coat.

It is comforting to believe that people commit heinous acts because they are henious monsterous people. Such thinking protects us from wondering if we are capable of committing evil acts, if we are hateful and destructive. It also implies that ending suffering in the world is not a matter of slowly and constant reforming all our hearts and minds; it’s simply a matter of finding all the bad eggs and scrambling them.

The concept of sociopathic evil absolves us from doing the hard work of reforming criminals, remedying the precursors to crime, and examining the morality of our own actions. It is much easier to cast off the malicious as evil, disordered, defective, inhuman, exceptional, than it is to turn such a critical gaze upon ourselves.

By accepting the idea that “some people are just evil”, we resign ourselves to an overly simplified worldview where wrongs cannot be prevented, only punished, and where there is no broader societal responsibility for the sins of society’s children.

[yeahwrite]

^This is excellent information to keep in mind when writing antagonists/villains.