writing and roleplaying tips

"Detail makes the difference between boring and terrific writing. It’s the difference between a pencil sketch and a lush oil painting. As a writer, words are your paint. Use all the colors." - Rhys Alexander

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Roleplaying 101: How to Play Male Characters

“I just can’t play a guy” is a phrase I hear alarmingly often from female roleplayers here on Tumblr. Why is it that some female roleplayers have this aversion against playing male characters? I believe that more often than not, it’s a matter of won’t, rather than can’t. Maybe people just prefer sticking to old patterns rather than taking a chance and trying something new. Or maybe they think there’s some sort of magical recipe to playing a male character that they just don’t know of.

Fret no longer, my friends. I’ve played both male and female characters before, and I’m here to tell you that it’s actually not that difficult. In this guide, I will attempt to reveal the secret of how to successfully play a male character. The secret of course being that there is no secret.

Let’s begin.

Tip #1: Play a male like you would play any other character

Neither in life nor in roleplay is a person defined by their gender. A lot of the time, female roleplayers seem to think that playing a guy is vastly different from playing a girl, when it really isn’t. Things such as personality, back story, relationships and behavioral patterns are much more important than the gender itself. Unless of course you’re roleplaying smut, in which case you need to remember that little boys and girls have different body parts.

Tip #2: Base your portrayal on the bio and his personality

Is the male character described as shy, insecure and sensitive? (Guys can be shy, insecure and sensitive too!) Is he described as loud and outgoing? Witty and sarcastic? The class clown? Grumpy and unfriendly? The typical jock or popular guy? The strong but quiet type? Stubborn? A hopeless romantic and old-fashioned gentleman? Pay attention to his personality traits, and write him accordingly. Just like you would with female characters.

Tip #3: Read books and study guys you know

Like with all writing, research is key. If you’re unsure of how males think or act, try to read books where the main character is a male. A lot of female authors do a wonderful job at writing male characters too, which is another reason why I think it’s ridiculous that female roleplayers think they can’t play males. You can also try to study the behaviour of males in your nearby environment; your dad, brother, friends. How do they react and behave in certain situations?

Tip #4: There are certain differences in male and female behavior

Ever heard the phrase “Men are from Mars and Women are from Venus”? Even though males and females aren’t that different when it boils down to it, you can spot certain differences, especially when it comes to group behavior. It’s not always the case, but men tend to be more direct when it comes to their thoughts, while women often prefer to whisper and fret in solitude. Again, all of it comes down to your character’s personality, and what is applicable for some males might not be applicable for others, etc. This article about differences in restaurant behavior is actually pretty revealing, so I recommend you read it.

Tip #5: Take a risk and step out of your comfort zone

Aside from developing my writing, I also use roleplaying as a way of doing things I wouldn’t normally get to experience. The fun part about playing a male character, is that you actually get to step out of the box. You get to challenge yourself, and might actually end up a better writer in the process, seeing as you’re forced to completely separate yourself from the character. A lot of female roleplayers tend to choose characters they feel are similar to themselves in behavior, even though it might be subconscious in a lot of cases. Personally, I try to play a lot of different characters, both male and female, with varying personalities different from my own, because the ability to do so is what characterizes a good writer. Not to mention it’s called roleplaying, after all. Where’s the fun in writing a character who is basically you?

If you feel like you need more advice on how to write male characters, here are a few links to articles I managed to hunt down:

On Writing Convincing Male Characters

How to Write Intriguing Male and Female Characters

What Women Need to Know about Writing Male Characters

See, girls, you don’t have to be a rocket scientist to play a male character. It really saddens me that roleplays often have many more female characters than males, just because girls instantly go check the open females and completely disregard the open males. Next time you audition for a roleplay, I challenge you to go read through some of the male bios and take a chance. Choose one of them instead. Take a risk rather than playing it safe and sticking to the same old patterns. You’ll never know what it’s like if you don’t try it at least once.

You might end up having so much fun if you do.

[chachihelper-blog]

Tips on MALE CHARACTERS:

Male characters: a guide. In the roleplaying world, I know that most people notice the lack of male characters from site to site. Why might that be, perhaps? Maybe it’s because the majority of role players out there are female. That’s not a bad thing, but often times people dislike playing characters of the opposite gender because… well, it’s just not the same. Or so they believe. In truth, it’s not actually much harder than playing a girl, as long as you keep a few simple things in mind. This isn’t a full blow “how to” but they are some things that I’ve found helpful.

Dialog. You have to admit, girls and guys aren’t the same when they speak. Most guys talk, perhaps a little rougher than girls, i suppose you can say. Ladies, if you’re having trouble grasping the way a guy might talk, think about your brother, or one of your guys friends and compare what they say to something you might say. Don’t go over bored, however. Sure they may phrase things differently, but honestly, it may seem like it at times but they’re not speaking another language.

Within the post. When creating long posts, a lot of people add the thoughts and feelings that the characters have: about their surrounds, or about the people around them. A common cliché is that guys just don’t have feelings at all, but if you know better, you know that’s not true at all. Guys just don’t tend to show them much on the outside. So go wild with describing their thoughts and feelings as much as you want. Just don’t let much of that show in their dialog and what not.

Finishing up. This didn’t really come out the way I wanted it too. But I hope it is at least a little bit helpful. I love you all, and I fail at life. <3

Credit goes to [x]

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Smut Guide: 0.3 - Romantic Sex

[writingtipsandshit]

Some people say sex is better with feelings than it ever could be without. That lust and love have a definite line, but what happens when the lines blur and you feel both? Through this guide I will explain emotional ties with sex, virginity versus experience, and the contrast of lustful-sex and loving-sex.

THIS GUIDE IS FOR ROMANTIC SEXUAL EXPERIENCES BETWEEN PARTNERS. I GENERALLY AVOID USING HIM/HER, SO ALL ADVICE IS APPLICABLE TO EVERY GENDER/SEXUALITY SITUATION. PLEASE CHECK THE SMUT-GUIDE TAG ON MY PAGE IF THIS IS NOT WHAT YOU ARE LOOKING FOR. 

Lust Versus Love

Let’s start off with the basics before we get to the ‘nitty-gritty’ of romantic sex, so to speak. By definition, Lust is ‘intense sexual desire’. In contrast, the definition of Love is ‘an intense, deep feeling of affection’. Notice how both are intense, and this is often why they are confused.

Another large confusion is that one can only be one or the other; in lust or love. This is false. Take for example a pairing where they are both extremely sexually attracted to each other, but still have deep emotional connections. It is possible to experience both lust and love, lust just usually occurs first. This is not to say, though, that because your character experiences lust for another character, that they will fall in love.

“Making Love”

So, this phrase may be outdated, ridiculous, and embarrassing. But there is a DISTINCT difference between straight up sexual intercourse, and making love. Most people are not making love to a one night stand, or someone they’ve been dating a week [unless there are circumstances suggesting prior relationship]. While couples in love can have straight up sex, they can also make love. 

‘Making Love’ is the phrase generally used for when there are emotional ties in your sexual encounter. Meaning that the act goes beyond an orgasm, but instead effects you mentally and emotionally. Your character is having this sexual encounter because they have deep feelings for the other person, and want to express these feelings through sharing the most intimate thing they can — their body. 

Virginity Versus Experienced ‘Love Making’

Our society seems to have this presumption that in order to fully understand what falling love is, we must have sexual experience. It is preposterous to be ‘in love’ with your first partner, for REAL, because you have not had sex before, so how can you know for sure? Let me voice my opinion now that I feel this is an ENTIRELY FALSE opinion of society, and is often used to make people insecure and uncertain of their emotions. 

Two virgins can just as easily fall in love and decide to have sex for the first time together, just as two experienced people can do the same exact thing. Though many experienced couples in RPs and in real life as well statistically have sex before they fall in love, it can still be done. This also goes for a virgin and an experienced partner together. While circumstances will make it different, that can be said for any combination, considering all people are different from each other psychologically and circumstantially. 

[h0lland-r0den-deactivated201210]

Smut Guide: 0.4 - Blowjobs

[writingtipsandshit]

Blowing the whistle, polishing the chrome, going down, giving head, sucking cock. All of these terms are euphemisms for fellatio, or, it’s most common name; a blowjob. A blowjob is a form of oral sex given to a male, where the lips, tongue, and mouth are used to give pleasure to the male. Through this guide you will better learn how to make your character polish the chrome until it’s bright and shiny. 

THIS IS A GUIDE FOR ORAL SEX GIVEN TO MALES! IT IS EXTREMELY DETAILED AND EXPLICIT! GENDER IS KEPT NEUTRAL AS FAR AS THE GIVER IS CONCERNED, SO ALL SEXUALITIES CAN USE THIS AS A SOURCE! IF THIS IS NOT WHAT YOU ARE LOOKING FOR, PLEASE REFER TO THE ‘SMUT GUIDE’ TAG ON MY BLOG OR MY ASK BOX! 

Is Oral Sex Still Sex?

This is a question a lot of teenagers, and even adults deal with today. Just because your character is going to be in the act doesn’t mean they aren’t going to think about it before hand.

The answer to this question, is, YES, oral sex is still sex.

It has the word sex in it, right? This does not, however, necessarily mean that you need to be having penetrating-intercourse with the partner in question in order to give them oral pleasure. But still have your character concious that this is an act of sex, and is still considered sex. In our society, oral sex has become a nonchalant act to many young people, and it is not taken as a serious thing anymore. It is the new ‘hand shake’ as one article named it. 

Technique

Just like the way there is a technique to penetrating sex, oral sex for a woman, making out, and pretty much every other aspect of physical pleasure; there is a technique to giving a proper blowjob. Things your character needs to be conscious of are how they use their mouth, how their teeth play a roll, and what their partner wants. 

The basic fundamentals of a blow job are to get your lips wet, wrap them around your teeth, and use plenty of saliva while you suck him off. Some guys like a little teeth, but I am fairly certain your RP-Partners character will tell your character if he wants to. 

You can also use your hands to pleasure the length of the mans penis [if your character is not a deep throat magician which is a horrible misconception many people think. Not everyone is a porn star], to touch his scrotum, the soft spot between his scrotum and anus, and even finger him. The last part may seem a little…off, if you’re playing a heterosexual partner, but honestly? There are lots of men comfortable enough with their sexuality to accept penetration can feel good. Again, this is at your play-partners discretion

[h0lland-r0den-deactivated201210]

Smut Guide: 0.6 - Writing A Good Kiss.

[writingtipsandshit]

In the theatrical world, often times things are sung when simple words are not enough. Likewise, a kiss can say a thousand words without seeing a single one at all. However, what happens when your simple techniques no longer fascinate you, or your partner? This guide is dedicated to all the techniques, styles, and ideas behind an excellent kissing scene in writing.

THIS GUIDE IS DEDICATED TO IMPROVING THE WRITING OF A KISS. I AVOID GENDER SPECIFICATIONS SO IT IS APPLICABLE TO ALL RELATIONSHIPS! THIS CONTAINS LITTLE TO NO EXPLICIT CONTENT. IF THIS IS NOT WHAT YOU ARE LOOKING FOR PLEASE REFER TO THE SMUT GUIDE TAG ON MY BLOG.

How to Initiate

Sometimes, kisses have intense meaning behind them. Sometimes it’s simple, a hello, a goodbye, things of that nature. Before writing a kiss scene, think about why it’s happening. What point your characters are at in their relationship. Is this kiss steamy, sweet, or sad? Or maybe it’s content, or angry, or any other emotional objective.

Whatever the kiss is meant to be, the initiating will always be different. If there is a peck on the lips, all you have to do is kind of slam your face into theirs [not literally]. However, with slower kisses, there’s usually that insane, unrealistic eye contact and then the slow lean in. Get where I’m coming from?

Initiate the kisses according to their situation.

Keep the Spark

So, now you have figured out HOW to start the kiss with your partner —- but uh oh. What if your technique is boring? Or overused? How do you stop them from becoming physically uninterested just because it’s routine?

Spoiler: This is kind of a misconception. In reality, we usually find one way that feels good to kiss, and we just stick with it.

HOWEVER, this is not an ideal approach in writing. Writing is supposed to entertain, to entice, and when someone has read the phrase ‘sensually pressed her mouth to his’ over and over, it gets bland. And fast. 

When writing a kiss, really think about it. Maybe even act like the creepy writer you are and go do some investigating in movies. Much like watching porn can sometimes aid the creativity behind writing smut, watching romantic or kissing scenes can sometimes spark the inspiration. Take into consideration how the lips press, what emotion is in it, the tongue, the hands, the body language. All of those things, when described, can make a kiss more interesting to read.

[h0lland-r0den-deactivated201210]

Smut Guide: 0.1 - Virgin Sex Between Teenagers

[writingtipsandshit]

The Birds and the Bees. I have chosen this particular subject [also requested] as my first and foremost Smut-Guide, because, well, that’s where it all starts! Boy likes girl, girl likes boy, things get hot and heavy. But it’s not necessarily that fast. One mistake people often run into with character development is unrealistic expectation. Yes, your face character is gorgeous. Yes, so is theirs. But just because YOU think they’re gorgeous, confident, amazing people doesn’t mean they are. Regardless of whether you have experienced losing your virginity or otherwise, this guide will give you some steps to help improve your first performance — the next time it happens. 

Everyone is nervous their first time 

Whether it’s internal or external, everyone is freaking out when they lose their virginity. It’s something you can NEVER get back once it’s gone, not to mention it’s going to hurt like hell [for the girl], and the guy may be nervous about performance issues. I’m not saying to have your character experience a full blown panic attack because it’s their first time, but don’t have them just hop in the sack with the ease of a person who’s done it a dozen times with this person.

It’s going to HURT.

Often times a mistake I see made is when the girl doesn’t experience pain, or the guy does not at ALL comment on how unbearably tight the girls vagina is. While I cannot speak from a males perspective entirely, I’ve spoken with guy friends about it and they say while it doesn’t hurt, it’s a little overwhelming at first. Remember that the girl might not, realistically, bleed the first time they have intercourse. She will however feel large amounts of pain for a majority of it simply because her body is not used to such a large thing inside. 

Remember, too, though, that this is different for every character! Your character might be a virgin who likes using a dildo. And hey, that’s okay! Teenagers are exploring their sexuality, who’s to say you can’t be different?

Circumstances, Circumstances, Circumstances

Why are your characters having sex? What is the emotional drive behind it? Are you in love? Are you in lust? Hate? Sad and confused? Drunk and dazed? There are literally a thousand ways to lose your virginity, because, if you want to be realistic, we don’t live in a sparkle sunshine world. Not everyone loses their V-Card to prince charming or precious princess. Sometimes it’s messy, it’s rough, it’s for ulterior reasons. Tap into the emotional circumstance of your character to help make it good, realistic smut. 

Safe Sex Is GOOD Sex!

Don’t you just hate it when the writer[s] forget to use a condom? I know I do. Realistically, two teenagers are not going to lose their virginity to each other during high school in hopes of the female character getting pregnant. Now, I mean, if that’s part of your story line, don’t let me stop you. But realistically safe sex is something far too overlooked both in the REAL world and the RP worlds alike. If you don’t live in a sparkle-sunshine-happy-day RP, there are STDs, pregnancy risks, and just a whole bunch of messy, bad things that can come with forgetting one simple little thing — a rubber! So remember, suit up for safe fun.

[blased-blog]

Guide: How to play angry characters

[writingtipsandshit]

It may not be how you would do it, but this will include many of the things that I’d do, whilst playing angry/mean/masochistic characters that have no respect for anyone.

I’ve seen many people trying to come across as angry over a computer, and it’s really not very easy. YOU CAN’T JUST TYPE IN CAPS ALL THE TIME BECAUSE THAT IS AN EYESORE AND YOU JUST LOOK EXTREMELY STUPID OR YOU’VE MISPLACED THE SHIFT BUTTON. YOU CAN’T TYPE IN BOLD AND CAPS BECAUSE YOU LOOK EQUALLY AS DERRANGED. Here are a couple of tips and tricks that I used whilst playing Joel Montgomery for Chandler’s Emotions.

Never walk away from a fight unless you have to. Like, unless it’s vital for your character to leave. If you hated someone, and you were fighting them, would you leave when they said “walk away”? No? Me neither. You stick in there, throw a couple more punches, shout them down a little, cuss in their face… you get the picture.

DON’T USE CAPS ALL THE TIME. I can’t stress this enough. Caps sometimes is okay, like with any roleplayer, but just because you type in caps doesn’t mean you sound angrier or make your words more pungent. Whilst portraying Joel, I used caps once or twice, only to emphasise swear words. e.g:

Fists clenching, his eyes narrowing, Joel stared down at the smaller man. How dare he. How. Fucking. Dare. He?! The way he spoke to him… like he was some kind of idjit. Well, Joel wasn’t an idjit. He could feel the anger bubbling from inside his stomach, his lip curling in disgust. He could feel nothing else but the blinding rage that was erupting inside him like a volcano. With a growl, his fist swung out, smashing into the crumbling wall, letting out a malicious shout. “FUCK!”

Do not show public affection. If you want your character to be feared, or angry at everyone, you can’t just go up to them and give them a nice kiss on the lips. I’m sorry, but no. That doesn’t scream “wow, I think we ought to keep away from this guy… uh oh…” to me. It screams, “I’m an attention-seeking assface.”

If you’re going to ship with someone, make it extremely gradual. You can’t have someone who’s angry then the next minute, because someone told them “You’re not as bad as you want to come across,” head over heels in love with them. You have to make subtle changes. Tiny, little things that nobody would ever expect, tiny little changes to your character’s development, just to make them feel as comfortable as you possibly could. If you think about it, it’s just stupid and unnecessary to make a character hate someone, then love them the next. You wouldn’t do it in real life, would you?

Channel your anger. Do you dislike someone a lot in real life? Do you want to punch them in the face? Good! That’s a good thing, when portraying these types of characters. Pretend you’re talking to them. Pretend you want them to know how much you despise them, that everything you write is to deter them from being a whiny bitch or whatever. Pent up anger is a very good thing!

No terms of endearment. Do not go around calling someone “babe” or “sweetheart” unless you’re playing a twisted, sadomasochistic character who likes to piss people off by calling them that. But don’t use it as endearment.

Do not apologise. If you’re going to be a complete assbutt to someone, but your character is meant to be rude and disrespectful, do not- I repeat, do NOT- go back to them the following day and say, “Oh, I’m sorry for what happened. I don’t know what happened, I never meant to hurt you.” Because, most likely, you DID mean to hurt them. In a situation like that, I would be a lot more inclined to do something like this:

His eyes rolled sardonically as he stared back over at the girl. What did she expect? An apology? Haha. No. Fuck off. Her words ran through his mind like an broken, monotonous drone. You really shouldn’t have done that, Montgomery. Yeah, yeah. Whatever. He’d heard it all before. Leaning closer to her, Joel let out a sick laugh. “You deserved everything you got, bitch.” Before pulling back, shoving his hands into his pockets.

Swear. It’s so much fun! You can’t come across as angry if you don’t swear, because I don’t know about you, but if I’m pissed off, people will know about it. I’ll use “fuck” a lot, and that’s just what you’ve got to do with an angry character. Think about yourself. How would you react if you were angry? “You’re such a poo”? No. You really wouldn’t say that. (But if you do, I have no words. Haha.)

As well as swearing, come up with witty insults. Things that you probably wouldn’t think about normally, and almost scare yourself with the fact that you did come up with it. Like so:

I swear, if you’re trying to suggest I should “open up” to you, I will rip your spine out and make you into a fucking shish kebab.

Never, under any circumstances, act like a lovesick puppy. Don’t go around being all, “I love you, you mean the world to me.” Because anyone with these kind of deep-seated emotional troubles wouldn’t be doing anything of the kind. Even if you finally get to that stage that you’re shipping with someone, I’d say that they’d be lucky if they ever heard an “I love you.” If you’re describing their feelings, I’d suggest something like this:

The way she looked at him… it was unnerving. What the fuck was she doing? Was she asking for a good punch round the face? Her face… what the fuck?! Snap out of it, Joel! this was completely out of character. Fuck… for him, this was alien. She was… different. Whether that was a good different or not… well, that was a completely different story. She infuriated him. The way she’d look up and smile as he told her to fuck off, her feet planted firmly on the ground… this wasn’t fun. For either of them. So why the fuck didn’t she just leave him alone?!

DO NOT HOLD BACK. People will not use it against you OOC! Unless they’re stupid, of course. Do not be afraid to tell someone to “shove their shitty greetings right up their fucking assholes.” Do not be afraid to tell someone that you’d rip their throat out and feed it to your fish. It’ll just spark an argument and, if your character’s as angry as you say, they should relish arguments.

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550 Alternative ways of saying "said"

[writingtipsandshit]

Other words for said in alphabetic order

Accepted, Accused, Acknowledged, Admitted, Advertised, Affirm, Agonized, Agreed, Alleged, Announced, Answered, Appealed, Apply for, Arranged, Articulated, Asked, Asserted, Asseverate, Assumed, Assured, Attract, Aver, Avow,

Barked, Bawl, Bawled, Beamed, Beckoned, Begged, Bellowed, Beseeched, Blubbered, Blurted, Bossed, Breathed, Broadcast,

Cajole, Called, Carped, Cautioned, Censured, Chimed in, Choked, Chortled, Chuckled, Circulate, Claim, Comforted, Conceded, Concurred, Condemned, Confer, Confessed, Confided, Confirm, Consoled, Contend, Continued, Crave, Cried out, Criticized, Croaked, Crooned, Crowed,

Declared, Defend, Demanded, Denote, Dictated, Disclosed, Disposed, Disseminate, Distribute, Divulged, Drawled,

Emitted, Empathized, Encourage, Encouraged, Entreated, Exact, Exclaimed, Explained, Exposed,

Faltered, Finished, Fumed,

Gawped, Get out, Giggled, Given, Glowered, Grieved, Grinned, Groan, Groaned, Growled, Grumbled,

Handed on, Held, Hesitated, Hinted, Hissed, Hollered, Howled,

Impart, Implied, Implored, Importune, Inclined, Indicate, Informed, Inquired, Insisted, Interjected, Invited,

Jabbered, Joked, Justified,

Keened,

Lamented, Laughed, Leered, Lilted,

Maintained, Make known, Make public, Marked, Mewled, Mimicked, Moaned, Mocked, Mourned, Murmured, Mused

Necessitated, Needed, Noted,

Observed, Offered, Ordered,

Passed on, Pleaded, Postulated, Preached, Premised, Presented, Presupposed, Proclaimed, Prodded, Professed, Proffered, Promised, Promulgated, Proposed, Protested, Provoked, Publicized, Published, Puled, Put forth, Put out,

Quaked, Queried, Quipped, Quivered, Quizzed,

Raged, Ranted, Reckoned that, Rejoiced, Rejoined, Released, Remarked, Remonstrated, Repeated, Replied, Reprimanded, Requested, Required, Requisition, Retorted, Revealed, Roared,

Said, Sang, Scoffed, Scolded, Seethed, Sent on, Settled, Shared, Shed tears, Shouted, Shrieked, Shrugged, Shuddered, Snarled, Snivelled, Sobbed, Solicited, Sought, Specified, Spluttered, Spread, Stammered, Stated, Stuttered, Stressed, Suggested, Supposed, Swore,

Taunted, Teased, Testified, Thundered, Ticked off, Told, Told off, Tore a strip off, Touted, Transferred, Transmitted, Trembled, Trumpeted,

Understood, Undertook, Upbraided, Uttered,

Verified, Vociferated, Voiced, Vouched for, Vouchsafe,

Wailed, Wanted, Warned, Weep, Went on. Wept, Wheedle, Whimpered, Whined, Whispered,

Yawped, Yelled, Yelped,Yowled

Adverbs or phrases to use with the other words for said

Abruptly, Absently, Acidly, After a moments reflection, Agreed, Angrily, Announced, Apologetically, Approvingly, Artfully

Broke in

Calmly, Caustically, Cheerfully, Commented lightly, Complacently, Concurred thoughtfully, Crossly

Didn’t question his judgement, Dryly

Encouraged, Expression denoting disapproval

False cheerfulness, Finished, Friendly fashion

Gently, Grated, Grinned, Groaned, Gruffly

Happily, Hotly

Impatiently, In a casual tone, In a chiding tone, In a courteous manner In a curious tone, In a dry tone, In a flirtatious way, In a level tone In a level way, In a non committal way, In a perpetually tired voice In a quiet way, In a rasping tone, In a small panicky voice In a soothing tone, In an attempt to…, In quiet amazement, Indulgently, Informed in an easy tone, Innocently, Inquired doubtfully, Invited, Irritably

Loftily, Loudly

Made the effort to sound reassuring, Meaning the words more seriously than they sounded, Mentally shrugged

Naturally, Nodded agreeably, Not wanting to sound pushy

Offered, Offhandedly, Optimistically

Pleasantly, Politely, Politely smooth, Probed Promised in a motherly/fatherly way, Prompted gently Promptly, Protested

Quietly

Reflectively, Roughly

Sadly, Said sympathetically, She went on, Sincerely, Smiled faintly, Smugly, Soberly, Softly, Sounded slightly brittle, Sparingly, Speculated, Sternly, Suggested

Tartly, Tautly, Teased softly, Tightly, Truthfully

Uncertainly, Unexpectedly, Urgently

Vaguely, Voice soft with affection

Went on loyally, Wilfully misunderstood, With a controlled smile, With a fond smile, With a gloomy sigh, With a note of relief, With a sad grimace, With a sad smile, With a sense of guilt, With a sigh of irritation, With burgeoning excitement, With conviction, With determination, With fire, With firm persistence, With gentle remonstrance, With gentle teasing, With graceful simplicity, With mock astonishment, With pleasure, With quiet empathy With simple directness, Without sounding unduly curious, Wryly

[writingtipsandshit]

How-To Guide: Writing Smut

In this guide we will be taking a look at how to write sex scenes both generally, and for slash! Slash, if you don’t know, is the term in fanfictions & roleplaying for homosexual relations which is a pretty common thing around Tumblr roleplays. This will include tips, terms, and facts that can help just about anyone master the art of writing smut!

Euphemisms you should avoid, comparing body parts to [insert here]: The Do’s and Dont’s!

We’ll start with euphemisms! Unless you’re trying to be funny, avoid them as much as possible. Euphemisms often times are not handled correctly in smut writing, and can lead the reader into thinking that you either are trying to be funny, or have no clue what you’re talking about. Which, we don’t want! You want the reader to, in fact, be turned on by what you write, so that in turn they can reply with something equally as good!

You also want to avoid bad comparisons to body parts with other things. This, too, can come off cheesy and awkward, even hilarious. And leaving someone laughing isn’t the goal of smut!

Avoid some of these, or anything similar to these:

Tunnel of Love, Candy Shop, Pleasure Gate, Secret Garden, Lovecave.

Meat rod/stick/wand, magic wand/meat/stick, manmeat, fleshy kabob.

Sperm puppet, clam, bearded clam, etc.

Avoid comparing nipple sizes at all cost, especially if you compare them to any sort of pizza topping, or commonly “cherries”. 

There’s a bunch more euphemisms, but I’m sure you get the point by now!

Never, ever use the words penis or vagina.

For the love of all things roleplay, NEVER use these words. Even if your character is a virgin and it’s their first time, try to avoid these two words. In the heat of the moment, there is nothing less sexy then “vagina” or “penis”. 

As a rule, in fact, there is often no reason at all to name the genitals. Consider the following sentence:

“She wet her palm with her tongue and reached for my penis.”

Now consider this alternative:

“She wet her palm with her tongue and reached for me.”

Is there any real doubt as to where this person is reaching? Don’t think so!

Avoid porn cliches and use the senses!

Real people do not say things like, “Fuck me now, big boy!”, or even, “Deeper! Harder! Oh yes, fuck yes!” So, neither should your character. Real sex — realgoodsex — lacks almost any noise aside from deep, pleasurable moments of groaning and moans ranging from soft to equally deep. 

As such in porn, they focus on the more rude parts — meaning the genitals. Porn lacks the sensational need thatgoodsex gives you. As an author, it’s your job to take us through what your character is feeling and seeing. And, for the most part, character’s aren’t staring into the genitals. Take us through the more inimitable secrets of the naked body. Discuss the small of the woman’s back, or the breath of the male counterpart against the skin. Excite the senses, always. Describe the taste, the tingling of your character’s skin, the way their partners mouth feels and the way their moans sound. Use, if you can, all five senses and describe each one sensually. 

Don’t forget the foreplay, and don’t rush to the finish!

In writing, and roleplays especially, foreplay is seen as almost unnecessary when you know that two characters (ahead of time) are going to have sex together. But, that’s not true! Foreplay is essential, because the idea is to both excite the reader (and writing partner) enough to have material to reply with. Foreplay is a fantastic way to get the ball rolling. And again, use the senses!Tease the reader a little bit. Let the drama of the seduction prime us for the action!

Also, half the fun of writing smut is the build-up! Don’t rush to the finish. Besides, it takes women awhile to cum so feed into that knowledge. Even if your cock is the godliest of cocks, it’s still going to take a woman awhile to reach her climax. Why? Because women aren’t strictly visual, they’re both visual and mental creatures. For them, sex is all about the stimulation of their minds; thus why focusing on sensory is key!

Now let’s move on to writing slash smut!

The Anus & The Prostate! How-to achieve anal without the pain, and how to achieve arousal!

Now, no matter if your character (or your partner’s) is a virgin, and their anus has never been stretched before, anal will not hurt. I repeat, it will not hurt. Unless you or your roleplay partner’s characters have no idea what they’re doing, it shouldn’t hurt. With the proper amount of lubrication, and the one on top goes slowly, then the bottom shouldn’t feel any pain. He should, in fact, only be slightly discomforted if it is their first time. For the bottom, if it’s their first time, it’s new. It feels different and weird, and can be slightly discomforting at first; but, it should never be painful! 

The anus is a muscle that can have a strong grip at first, but (as with vaginas) will loosen up after a little while of thrusting into it, to make room. Also, if the bottom or switch (both a top and bottom) has had sex enough, their anus will not be as tight as it used to be — much like a vagina!  

Now, onto the prostate. The prostate is a bundle of nerves located at the base of the penis, and is the size of a walnut. The more aroused a guy is, the harder the prostate gets. The best way to reach the prostate, and stimulate it, is either with a penis or a middle finder into the anus. Massaging the prostate can achieve an incredible arousal, however, after the man has cum, continuing to work the prostate can actually hurt, or cause discomfort!

Orgasms! The differences between penetrative orgasm and penetrated orgasm!

When a guy is inside his partner and cums, his orgasm is mostly felt in his penis. It’s basically like a rod in an electrical storm, hit my lightning (if I may sounds cheesy!). When a guy is anally penetrated and hecums, his orgasm is that similar to a full body orgasm! It’s important to know these things, depending on which point of view you’re taking! 

Other tips for writing slash smut!

Use the senses, and don’t skip out of foreplay! Just as with heterosexual smut, sensory and foreplay is still important! Read all the information above to help you with it!

Here are some other helpful tips!

Learn about the hymen before you “pop someone’s cherry!” (x)

Remember that fluid is fun! The stickier the better! Sex is, or can be, messy so enjoy getting a little dirty!

It’s okay to be aroused by your smut! It’s almost necessary! To write good smut, you yourself need to feel all the little tremors your character might be feeling! Envision what your writing and have fun!

Remember that during sex people still have thoughts! Sex isn’t just the physical process. The thoughts that accompany the act are just as significant (more so actually) than the gymnastics. 

If you don’t feel comfortable with writing smut, then don’t! No reason you should have to, or even be forced to!

You can find a glossary of sensual/sexy words to help your writing here!: (x) (x)

[writingbox]

5 Tips on Describing Your Setting

[writingtipsandshit]

Your reader wants to know where they are, but they don’t want pages and pages of intricate details about your setting. You need to choose what’s important and give your reader a few specific points. They can fill in the rest.

Here’s five tips for making your description say as much as it can in as few points as possible:

Think about what’s important to the story: Think about specific landmarks, individual items or the general layout of the land. If your character needs to be able to see a certain doorway from their armchair, make sure they can.

Think about what’s important to the characters: What in the setting reveals more about the characters that live there? Look at unusual things - it’s more interesting for a character to have no family photos in their house rather than having their walls filled with them.

Think about revealing backstory: What in your setting has been influenced by what happened before the beginning of your story? A statue in a town square or the name of a street can reveal important historical facts.

Think about revealing culture: Certain items can reveal interesting points about your world’s culture and traditions. The way the houses are built, or particular religious items in a room.

Think about revealing time and place: Particular items can instantly let your readers know what point in history and where in the world your setting is. A harbour full of tall ships instantly ages a place, a line of coconut trees along the beach gives a hint at possible locations.

[writingtipsandshit]

How-To Guide: Write an Orgasm

In this guide we’ll take a look at how to write an actual orgasm scene for female, male, and trans* characters. We’ll discuss ways your character could react, how they could sound, etc. because not everyone reaches their climax the same! We’ll also be looking at what happens to genders when they reach their climax, and how to accurately portray that through your writing!

Included will be links to other helpful tips and facts that will enable you to make your scene not only sexy, but accurate! 

(For more on writing smut, please check out my previous guide: x)

So you want to write out an orgasm scene? What kind of lover is your character?

So you’ve been writing smut with someone and now comes that beautiful climax to the whole thing! You now have to figure out how you would like to go about it with your character. Quickly, let’s determine how you’d like your character to sound, look, and feel during their climax!

Easy ways to go about this is to know what kind of lover your character is. For instance, if they’re passionate and aggressive it’s easy to assume (and write) that their climax simply comes with a few deep grunts and shivers of ecstasy! However, feel free to write out a twist! Perhaps even though they’re passionate and aggressive their orgasm comes with a few howls and whimpers before they finally collapse! Either way is fine! It’s just far easier to start out with this first before writing it out!

Simply put, pin-pointing what kind of lover your character is, is the easiest and fastest way to determining how to write out their orgasm.

Do not forget to indulge in sensory usage! A strong build-up is never overused!

It’s true! A strong build-up is all well and good, but it’s only going to disappoint if the orgasm itself is poorly described! Using sensory description is brilliant, but try to stay away from cliche bits of writing when you do this! As a writer put it so beautifully before me, “You want to write the Chuck Norris of climaxes, not the Where’s Waldo? “

Examples of cliche writing:

Her orgasm hit her

Her orgasm pulsed/coursed through her

She moaned/screamed (who actually screams?)/cried out

And let us not forget about vaginal descriptions when writing a female character (which will be talked about later)! Stay away from that.

Before you indulge into writing a climax scene, work on describing the senses first! Knowing your character and what kind of lover they are (as previously mentioned) are the first steps in knowing how to write what they’re feeling, seeing, tasting, etc.

Work on what they’re seeing

Characters can be dizzy with lust, or focused to the point where they can’t even hear what the other person is saying (if they’re saying anything at all).

Talk about what they feel

Discuss the curves of your partners body. Talk about the way the air around them feels. Mention even the brush of the partners hair along their salty skin. These things paint pictures!

Talk about the taste in their mouths even!

Describe the feel of your partners mouth (if they’re using it anywhere)! Describe, perhaps, how just before climax your character’s mouth goes dry/moist with saliva!

Using the senses can, as I said, paint pictures! Never hesitate to discuss even the inner thoughts of your character (if they’re having any) to show the excitement of their body!

(You can find more about sensory usage in this guide: x) 

Writing an Orgasm: Female Characters

And now let’s discuss writing an orgasm for female characters! Let’s dive right in!

Cliche bits to stay away from!

As previous mentioned, let’s stay away from cliche words taken straight from erotica books! Granted, some of these words can work for your character — however, factually — many that are used ARE NOT. Let’s take a look at vaginal descriptions, as mentioned previously!

Her pussy clenched (this happens just before orgasm, and it’s only the bottom part that does. The top actually gets bigger. During orgasm, you contract rather than clench).

She milked his cock (like a Dutch maid?)

Her sheath quivered (excuse me while I vomit quietly into a bucket)

Her womb contracted (who actually feels their womb contract? It’s an abdominal sensation, no? Ever cried out “oh God, my womb!” during sex…?)

Also, gushing! Almost all the time I see people write out how their character, or their partner’s character, is gushing. Gushing is not particularly commonplace; if it was, females would all have to carry spare panties with them. If you’re going to write about gushing then keep it for the later stages of arousal, when it’s more likely. And, remember that vaginal lubrication is rarely so abundant that it actually gushes.It’s more of a little rush, an ooze even. Make ooze sound sexy. The same goes for squirting—even more so, in fact. 

Know your myths before looking silly! 

If you don’t know, now you know! Some tips about myths you might not have known!

Many people (and many males, specifically) do not know that orgasm for women is 10 times more about fantasy and mental stimulation than appearance alone. While men are visual creatures, women are not. This is not to say that women don’t care what you look like, but it’s the fantasy they get off on. Why is this? This is because a woman’s brain can separate mental arousal from genital arousal — whereas men cannot (or at least, not typically).

Women bond after sex. In general, women have less ability to have a stand-alone physical relationship because their bodies release oxytocin during orgasm. Oxytocin, the female-bonding hormone, is also released during breastfeeding. For that reason, women sometimes develop feelings through sex even when they don’t mean to.

Body image is connected to sexuality for women. Women who are more positive about their own genitals find it easier to orgasm and are more likely to engage in sexual-health-promoting behaviors, such as having regular gynecological exams or performing self-examinations. The hotter your character thinks of themselves, the easier they will find it is to orgasm!

Links to look at: (x) (x) (x) (x)

Writing an Orgasm: Male Characters

The male orgasm is somewhat of a complex experience. The major function of the male orgasm is the ejaculation of sperm, though not all men ejaculate with orgasm. During intercourse, as a man nears orgasm, his pelvic thrusts become less voluntary and muscles of the penis begin to contract rhythmically, in order to eject semen. When an orgasm begins, heart rate, blood pressure and respiration increase!

Some men do not cum unto several seconds after an orgasm

Some men, who are incapable of ejaculating, are still capable of orgasm.

Some men may experience several ejaculations and go on to have more orgasms, but without ejaculation.

The male orgasm differs for many men (which you can find out more about here: x).

Always remember, though, that men are more visual people than women!

Differences between male and female orgasms

Some quick myths to know before you climax!

Women climax longer than a man.

In general, women are capable of rapidly returning to orgasm after an initial orgasm.

The female orgasm has the effect of sucking sperm towards the egg — so be careful when having sex, people!

Writing an Orgasm: Trans* Characters

Yes, trans* people can achieve orgasm. Simply put, it’s a bit more difficult (especially depending on how comfortable they are) than the classic gender binary. It’s often reported that FtM’s & MtF’s have differences in the quality of the orgasm. 

Links to look at: (x) 

[critiqualicious]

[Guide] Self-Paras: A Documentary

/david attenborough voice

And here you see the wild selfie in its natural habitat, the writer’s desk, munching on a piece of your creativity. You, like many other writers before you, have fallen prey to its sharp teeth and serrated claws, and you now find yourself with a mighty case of the writer’s block.

Though you may find yourself up the creek without a paddle, friend, have no fear! I’m here to teach you not only what a selfie is, but when and why people use them. As a closer I’ll also go over how to write one in case you’re still confused. Still have questions after this guide? Don’t be afraid to inquire! I only bite when I’m hungry.

Alright, so you hear people talking about these “self-para” (or, as I fondly call them, “selfie”) things and you kind of want to write one or, at the very least, want to know what they’re about. 

So, without further ado…

What is a self-para?

A selfie is an RP post in which you alone write. Sometimes called a “closed para,” it is not intended to be responded to by anyone else’s character. It is written by you.

Selfies may come in multiple parts, depending on the length of the exposition and the goal being accomplished.

Why are they written?

A good selfie is written for the purpose of character development. I’ve seen selfies where a person just like, eats breakfast or something, and if you do that, you’re doing it wrong. A selfie is used to explore your character’s feelings on something.

An exception to this is when there’s a major event—say there’s a fire somewhere or something. You may choose to write a selfie where your character is reacting to this event, especially if the event pertains to your character specifically.

ex: I had a serial killer who made a kill during the RP, and I wrote a selfie about him making the kill. It didn’t explore his feelings, per se, but it showed an event in his life and what he was doing. It was necessary for it to be a selfie because, of course, it would have been bad if someone was there when he killed a person…

When are they written?

Usually one writes a selfie after something big happens and the character needs to think about it a bunch. Showing their reaction to the thing helps develop the character and give you and your fellow RPers insight into how they’re feeling and what they’re thinking.

You can also write it about something that happens “outside” the RP, so to speak (as in not in the actual RP events, but more of a personal thing—usually you spawn the event yourself).

ex: They got laid by the girl/guy they’re in love with. You might write a selfie of them being all “omg I’m having feels ahhhhh” about the person, thinking about what happened, etc.

ex: Their mom just died. You’d write it about them getting the news of the death (if the mom isn’t a char in the RP), mourning, etc.

ex: They get mugged. You’d write out the mugging and they’d be like “AHHH!” and such.

ex: The president gets shot. Your char sees it on TV and is like “omg” and such.

ex: The character has a flashback of when they were a teenager. Write about the event that happens in the flashback.

How would you write one?

Usually try to focus on the feelings of the character to give it a point.

Don’t drone on and on. Say what needs to be said, don’t drag it out.

Sometimes selfies can get long (mine generally range from 2-2.5k), so do a “read more” cut if you think it’s a bit too lengthy for the dash.

Start at a logical beginning and end logically, too. Don’t be like “‘AHH!’ Johnny said as he was mugged. Then he got away.” You want to talk about what he was doing beforehand and afterward a little bit too. Situate all the feels the character will be having.

Though I’ve heard critics say they don’t understand the use of self-paras, I think they’re one of the most useful tools you can use to develop your character. They’re definitely one of my favorite things to write, because while RPing is about writing with other people, it’s also about bettering yourself, too, and part of that is learning to flesh out a character and getting comfortable writing with them. I think selfies help you do that.

Hope this helps out. Like I said, shoot any remaining questions in the askbox and I’ll totally help you.

[writeworld-blog]

Writing Drunk Characters

anon asked: How do you write for a drunk person realistically when you have never been drunk yourself?

How do you write a death scene if you’ve never died? You pretend, imagine, and do your research.

But, since you asked about drunkenness specifically, we’ll tackle some of that research for you.

There seems to be two schools of thought for writing drunken dialogue: the Slurred Speech Supporters and the Descriptive Drunkenness Advocates.

Slurred Speech Supporters prefer to visually portray drunkenness to the reader. A few examples:

“H-h-h-heeeeey! Wheeeere d’ya think yeeeeer goin’?” he slurred, jabbing a finger into Sam’s chest. 

Here you can see hyphens between Hs, lengthy strings of the letter E, and a couple of instances of dropped or combined words using apostrophes. This is an extremely visual representation of drunken dialogue, but be advised: this style can become tedious to the reader.

“Iamsickofyourshit,” Dennis said, his words tumbling from his mouth in a rush of barely distinguishable syllables. 

By cramming all of the words together in Dennis’ dialogue, you are visually representing the pace of speech. Be careful, choose your words wisely if you plan to omit spacing in a line, because the reader may have a difficult time with words with many syllables, rare words, or contractions.

“Gerroff me!” he said. “I’m ash sober ash ‘m gonna git. And nuffink I - wait wait wait - nuffink you can do ‘boutit.” And he ambled back to the bar without so much as hiccup in her direction.

Making up “combo words” is another very popular method of visualizing drunken speech. Gerroff, gonna, nuffink, and ‘boutit are all combo words. This dialogue also has misspelled words to encourage a slurred reading, namely ash (words with S sounds in them may have their Ss replaced with Sh or Ch), ‘m (dropping a letter before or after the apostrophe in a contraction can be confusing, but it certainly adds to the slurred look of the dialgoue), and git (Is and Es may be interchangeable, depending on your taste and the usual speech of the character while not drunk). You can also change Th to D in words, usually those beginning with Th. Notice as well the lack of comma punctuation in “wait wait wait” and the character’s confusion between I and you in the dialogue.

Daisy took the shot glass back from Quentin, sloshing vodka all over both of them. “I’m not drunk how dare you I’m the soberest girl in this room!” 

The complete lack of internal punctuation in this sentence (or three sentences, as it were) lends a very visual slur to Daisy’s speech. The sentences don’t end on the page, so your audience doesn’t hear individual sentences when they read the dialogue.

If you’re trying to figure out where slurred speech might go in a line of dialogue, write it normally then say it aloud with your tongue stuck firmly to the bottom of your mouth. You can also place your tongue between your teeth on the right or left side of your mouth, or try speaking with your mouth full of food. Any way you do this, you’re going to sound like you have a speech impediment, not like you’re drunk. That’s ok, we’re just trying to get an approximation of where the slurs would realistically go.

Over-enunciate and mark the places where a nice, staccato K or T might flavor the dialogue well. Let your mouth be loose and say the line again, this time paying attention to where you have problems getting the word out clearly and mark those words for slurring or for word combos. For places to put Sh or Ch instead of S sounds, close your mouth and say the line through your teeth. The Ss should come out as slightly more pronounced, so you’ll be able to hear candidate for word slurring a bit better. Try using these techniques on this sentences:

I’m going to go home and sleep it off just like you suggested.

You’re not the boss of me!

When I finish my drink, I think I’ll jump off the roof into the pool.

On to the Descriptive Drunkenness Advocates. These writers argue that not every drunk person is slurring up a storm and making up new words in their drunken state. They prefer to minimize the visual slurs in their dialogue (or completely omit them), and simply embroider descriptively around dialogue or use dialogue indicators to make it clear to the reader that the character is hammered. We’ll show you what we mean:

Collin stumbled forward and grabbed a lamppost for support. He clung there, slack-jawed and slumped over, for a long time before he said, “You can’t leave me here, Jane.” His red solo cup slid from his hand to plunk pitifully on the sidewalk at his feet.

Here we can tell that there’s something definitely wrong with Collin. He needs help from a lamppost to stay upright, so he’s either sick or drunk. By the last line of the example, the reader has pieced together the red solo cup, the universal symbol of “party”, and the slinky-like behavior and concluded that Collin is probably drunk.

“I’m going to a pance darty! Wanna come?”

Toss in a spoonerism (or “a verbal error in which a speaker accidentally transposes the initial sounds or letters of two or more words, often to humorous effect”) for more light-hearted drunkenness. You can also be freer with slang words like wanna or gonna or ain’t because the character is too drunk to worry about correct grammar or enunciation with the sixth scotch and soda in hand.

Carley leaned over to talk in my ear but did not trouble to lower her voice much. I could smell the wine on her breath; her teeth had a slightly purple tinge. “Yeah, and that’s when Lisa told me she slept with Greg and Jordan on the same night! Do you believe it? What a whore!” Silence had swept through the crowded room as she spoke, and over by the kitchen counter I spotted Lisa holding a broken glass in her fist, her face contorted with shock and rage.

Oh dear. Carley has blabbed a secret. Drunk people do that. Notice also the use of yeah, a slang word, and the description of Carley’s breath and wine-washed teeth. Drunk people speak inappropriately. Consider exhibiting racism, sexism, lack of confidence in another character, affection for another character, and so on in your dialogue with a drunk character.

“What’s wrong with your voice?” asked Nan. “Nothing’s wrong with my voice. I’m perfectly fine in my voice,” said Kari, trying to sound as sober as possible.

We love this example from the NaNoWriMo forums. Check out the word repetition and the weird phrasing here. “Notice how Kari repeats the word voice? And the phrase ‘I’m perfectly fine in my voice’ is a little odd. It’s little things like that.” This is a very nuanced way of exhibiting drunkenness.

Drunken physicality is pretty easy. Very pronounced drunken physicality will include falling, flailing, and stumbling. Drunk people also stereotypically puke, fall asleep suddenly, and shout or laugh a lot. You can tone this down to the point of non-existence if you like, depending on the character. Sometimes drumming fingers or a slightly-parted mouth or a woman walking in heels like they’re stilts will suffice to describe drunken physicality.

Drunk people often have personalities that do not coincide with that of their sober selves. This change is a sliding scale, ranging from a calm, civil person who, when drunk, violently kills people (the Jekyll and Hyde) to a noisy person who becomes more reserved while drunk. Since alcohol loosens your inhibitions, many people reveal their inner selves when very drunk, but some don’t. We’d say go with what progresses your plot.

Remember, people may behave differently while drunk, but they also behave differently in every situation and with different characters. The way your drunk character behaves in a knife fight will be different than at a party surrounded by friends and again different if he is preparing to commit suicide. See what we mean? A character will also behave differently while drunk around his parents vs. strangers vs. his best friend. Consider all of these factors before writing your scene.

Here are some articles to help you learn more about drunken behavior:

Five Things Drunk People Like to Do

How to Write a Drunk Character

The Different Types of Drunk You Can Be

The Ten Worst Types of Drunk

Beyond all of this, our best advice to you is to get some first-hand experience. If you don’t drink, or you’re not old enough to drink yet, people watch at the bars of restaurants or at house parties. Hang out with drunk people and take notes. You can even watch videos of drunk people on YouTube (stay away from movies, where people are only acting drunk).

Writing drunkenness is a matter of style, and it’ll be down to you to figure out how you do it. Play with different methods of writing drunkenness until you come up with a mix that suits you, then stick with it. If characters visually slur in one scene, you should write drunkenness in the same way in other scenes as well. Consistency is key here, especially if you have one character getting drunk several times. His emotions and the circumstances may change, but they way that you write drunkenness should not.

Thank you for your question, anon. We hope this provided you with a starting point for developing your style for writing drunk characters!

[critiqualicious]

[Guide] How to Lengthen Short Paras When You (Think You)'ve Run Out of Shit to Say

You have just received a novel.

You stare at the post in silent horror. You can feel your throat tightening as you continue to read—not only is it long, but it’s fantastic, too.

Sobbing quietly, you remove your hat and press it to your chest. You cannot even dream of matching such a post. There is nothing left for you on this world. You are finished.

Hold that thought! Though life may seem abysmal, all is not lost. It’s easy to fill out a short para to match the length of someone else’s, and in the process you may find yourself with a more well-developed character!

[writingtipsandshit]

While you should never force a reply to match your partner’s para, as it just sounds awkward and pointless, the chances are that writers who para at length (from a few paragraphs to novellas) are doing some things you don’t know about and, by knowing about them, you can do said things too and thus have a lengthier response.

To start, we’ll talk about the layers of a para.

What? Layers?

Though writing may seem arbitrary and easy to get lost in, you can actually categorize pieces of it pretty easily. Every para or response has layers, or things that are happening in it, from superficial to deep. Here are the basic ones:

1. What is happening at that moment in the para

Your character stubs their toe and sighs. They see cars go by. Their lunch arrives at the table.

2. What the character is thinking

Uh oh, did they leave the oven on? They heard an opinion they didn’t like and are now debating against it mentally. They wonder if their dress makes them look fat and debate asking.

3. What the character is feeling/how they are reacting

An insult makes them feel bad. Their breakfast isn’t sitting well with them. A scratch they got from their cat is burning and distracting them.

4. Material to reply to/being replied to

They tell the other character an opinion. They mention painting their nails the other day. Their cat died, so they bring it up in response to other character’s mention of dogs.

There can be infinitely many layers to a para, but many people only touch on layers one and four, or oneand two (which does not happen often, but is very frustrating for the RP partner).To lengthen a short para, adding material from layers two and three will give you so much more material and substance and, in the process, create a deeper character.

How do layers two and three affect my character?

If, in every para, you share your character’s thoughts and feelings on what is happening, you will get to know the character’s reactions in different situations and build up a collection of opinions that your character has, from whether or not they like mushroom pizza to what they think of the world ending in December, and share all of it with the other people reading the para. It will make you go “what would my character think of this?” and “would they feel good or bad about that?” Thus, by working to lengthen your paras, you will improve your characterization in general (though keep in mind that empty words do nothing; it is the additional content that makes all the difference).

For the second part, I am going to include an example para, a short response containing layers one and four, and a fleshed-out para with layers two and three added in. I’ll label the layers so you can see what I’m talking about.

(Note: the below paras, save the shortened one, are actual paras from my OTP in i-roleplay. Feel free to judge me all you want… all your judgments will be inescapably positive because this shit’s AWESOME.)

Your partner’s para:

4. “Yeah, that’s the [author who wrote Romeo and Juliet]. When I got [the cat] from the rescue I actually had a copy of A Midsummer’s Night Dream with me and thought Shakespeare fit him well.” 1. She turned to look at the bookshelf when he mentioned it. 

4. “You don’t have any favorite books or anything?” She questioned turning back to look at him. 2. She was unsure if he was actually not well at reading or just didn’t mind books all that much.

4. She then laughed as Shakespeare tried to jump onto his lap. 

4. “He doesn’t usually act that way with others. It’s pretty odd, so he must like you a lot. That other cat must have spread the word about how you saved him.” 1. She reached down to pet Shakespeare, looking at Sam as she did so. 3. There was something about him, in his eyes, that somehow made her realize he wasn’t as bad as he tended to lead on. He seemed somewhat caring; saving the cat proved that to her when he mentioned it. She didn’t really know any other men who would go out of their way for a cat.

1. She stood back up before Sam did and watched Shakespeare go into her room. 3. She couldn’t help but smile when Sam’s accent seemed to be strong and presentable at times. She wanted to ask if he happened to be from the South, but decided against it when he asked about the air conditioner. She figured he’d have some place to go and was in a hurry. 

4. “Right. [the air conditioning unit]’s over here.” 1. She lead the not-so-long distance behind the couch to the air conditioner which was on the hardwood floor. She had removed it from the window, which had taken her longer than she would have liked since it was heavy. “I’ve actually got another one in my room, that’s starting to die on me, but as long as this one is fixed, I’d be happy.” She bent down to retrieve the manual from on top of the air conditioner - since she had tried to fix it once already, she had everything out for him.

4. “I forgot to ask you before, but did you want anything to drink? I’ve got just got bottled water and beer though.”

The above para is credited to Bonnie. It is untouched (so you can see that these layers occur naturally; the para is not contrived to fit my own purposes) save for the number additions and [brackets] for things you might not quite understand because this is the middle of a thread. Anyway, she is literally the best. Ever. I love her to bits and pieces. Go love her too.

Her response doesn’t actually have very much of what Jean (her female character) feels in it, but she doesn’t have to use a lot of feeling to bulk up the response because she’s provided ample response fodder (which will also help lengthen replies—be considerate to your partner and include a lot to respond to; they will love you for it). You’ll also notice that these “layers” are not clean-cut: parts of layer one can bleed into layer four, and thoughts and feelings are thoroughly intertwined. However, though they are more blurry than solid, you can still see a pattern.

4. “Nah, not off the top of my head. Besides stuff like, y’know, The Very Hungry Caterpillar. I didn’t have much time for readin’ when I was little. I was usually too busy gettin’ into fights and stuff,” he said somewhat sheepishly, feeling more and more uncultured by the minute. 

4. ”Thanks for gettin’ everythin’ out for me. I’ll fix the one in your room, too, if you like,” Sam added.

4. “Oh, water would be great. Thanks, darlin’. Now let me just take a look at this,” he mused, 1. crouching down to look at the unit. He fiddled with it for a moment, then realized what the problem was. Removing one of the parts that had been previously sealed, he gasped when the most horrible smell started emanating from it.

1. “Jean!” Sam called, putting the part down inside the case of the conditioner. The smell started to get really bad and he abandoned the project and speedwalked to the kitchen. “Somethin’ died in there, Jean. That’s the problem!” He sneezed, then wiggled his nose and blinked a few times. “Damn, that made my eyes get all watery. That stinks. 4. Do you have any tissues?”

Because she gave me a lot of suitable material to reply to (!!!!!!!! take heed!), I was actually able to get out a lot using just layers one and four. However, it’s still too short (not for one odd response, but it’d be impolite to respond this short every time), so layers two and three are needed.

Below you will find a para with Sam (my male character)’s thoughts and feelings added in. This, like the above para, is untouched save for some numbers/bolding.

4. “Nah, not off the top of my head. Besides stuff like, y’know, The Very Hungry Caterpillar. I didn’t have much time for readin’ when I was little. I was usually too busy gettin’ into fights and stuff,” he said somewhat sheepishly, feeling more and more uncultured by the minute.3. He was totally out of his depth with this girl.

2. “Oh, it’s a wall unit. Mine was central, but I could probably figure it out pretty easy, especially with the manual. Thanks for gettin’ everythin’ out for me. I’ll fix the one in your room, too, if you like,” Sam added, then realized that sounded kind of bad. 3. He didn’t want her to think he was hitting on her, because as much as he actually wanted to do so, he didn’t want to scare her. She seemed like she’d be skittish, like a cat. Then again, his luck with cats was improving lately…

4. “Oh, water would be great. Thanks, darlin’. Now let me just take a look at this,” he mused,1. crouching down to look at the unit. It was then that he realized he was wearing one of his favorite shirts. It was bright blue with the Superman logo emblazoned on the front; kind of worn out because he wore it so much, but that gave it extra charm. 2. What if he got something on it? That would break his heart.

2. No! his mind said suddenly as he thought of taking it off to preserve it. While there were plenty of people he wouldn’t hesitate to take his shirt off in front of, Jean was not one of them. He was a stranger in her house. He had to play it safe. He’d just have to suck it up and if he got something on it, so be it.

1. He fiddled with it for a moment, then realized what the problem was. Removing one of the parts that had been previously sealed, he gasped when the most horrible smell started emanating from it.

1. “Jean!” Sam called, putting the part down inside the case of the conditioner. The smell started to get really bad and he abandoned the project and speedwalked to the kitchen. “Somethin’ died in there, Jean. That’s the problem!” He sneezed, then wiggled his nose and blinked a few times. “Damn, that made my eyes get all watery. That stinks. 4. Do you have any tissues?”

I bolded that one part because, though it seems just like more response, it was a detail added from the character’s life that allowed you to write more. A pure response would not need that, but it is enriching the conversation. Think about how you talk with others. If you both just went over the same stuff, the conversation would fizzle out. Instead, each of you replies, adds in background material, and gives something else to reply to. Consider this when writing a para.

Length exceptions

You do not always have to match your partner’s para length. Occasionally it isn’t impolite to respond with a short para because sometimes you just have to. Some examples of these situations:

Your partner’s character tells an anecdote that is several paragraphs long

They have a lot of internal feelings about something that was said or done

They go off on a dialogue tangent

They describe something that is happening in the environment at length

They provide backstory that is pertinent to their character, but not to yours/your character’s backstory can’t be shared naturally at that time

There are other reasons too, of course, and you’ll have to use your judgment, but those are some starter reasons so you understand what kind of stuff could happen. Like I said earlier, do not force something to be longer than it needs to be. All the information you provide should enrich the character and the para, not take up a couple sentences for the sake of matching.

That’s all I have to say on the matter for now. If you have questions and/or comments on what I’ve stated here, don’t hesitate to ask!

[critiqualicious]

[Guide] The Bio Machine (and How to Become One)

There it is.

The blank page you so dread. Her name is there, in bright bold letters at the top, and nothing else. Stephanie Ross, the letters say, as if mocking you. The name is there, but where is the rest? Where is that backstory you so craved? Where is her personality hiding?

As you scroll down the page, more and more of these insidious names taunt you, daring you to write their biographies. You must write five of these things by midnight, and it’s already nine o’clock!

Picking up your coffee mug, you take a hearty swig. It’s going to be a long night.

Welcome, friends and foes, to phnx’s marvellous character speedwriting class! Please note that this is not about how to write a character, but how to write a bunch of character biographies fast. Before you attempt this, you should have a general idea of what you want your characters to be. This is your go-to guide for that awful moment when you realize you’re screwed and have people depending on you, or when you want to get ahead on bios before real life gets crazy. Behold, enjoy, revel! With any luck you’ll learn a thing or two.

Oh, and PLEASE NOTE! This will be more helpful to people who like to write longer bios. It will help someone who writes, say, two paragraphs each, too, but it’s more directed toward those murderous nights when you’ve got a million lengthy biographies and no time or will to do them. 

[writingtipsandshit]

Alright, first things first: this is from my perspective, meaning this is all stuff that works for me. I can’t guarantee it’ll work for you, too. Hopefully something will be helpful to you, though!

Mental Preparation

When you want to write a lot of characters in a short amount of time, you want to prepare yourself. Writing for speed is very different then regular bio writing, so some of the stuff I may say might surprise you:

Thoughts

You might be asking “how do my thoughts factor into it?” Truthfully, how you think before you start is a huge part of it. Don’t let yourself be too frazzled. I always like to call it my “writing place” when I’m about to get into the zone, so when I tell my friends I’m in my “writing place” they know not to bug me. I make sure nothing is stressing me out or distracting me and call up all the ideas for the character(s) I want to write beforehand. I get comfortable and usually get a drink, because once I get started I ain’t gonna stop.

Music

I listen to music when I need creativity and have a lot of time to write a character, but never when I’m speedwriting. While music will get the ball rolling when you’re feeling uncreative, it will only serve as a distraction when you’re trying to write fast. You know how it is. A song will come on that you aren’t quite feeling, so you stop to change it, or a song you really love comes on and you jam for a moment or two. Both of these things will break your concentration and, chances are, it’ll take you a few minutes or more to really get it back. If you must have music, try to make it instrumental, that way it’s not too distracting. You may choose to listen to an action movie soundtrack if you really want to get yourself going, which I’ve done once or twice.

Distractions

Go somewhere quiet. Along with the music, there will be other things going on that can distract you. If you’re not good at focusing with other things going on around you, find a space where you can focus and not be disrupted, because momentum and concentration are integral to speedwriting characters. Also, do not let tumblr distract you. Log out if you need to. Same with facebook.

Document Preparation

What do I mean by this? I mean laying everything out so it’s easy to just write bio after bio after bio. We all know that, after the character’s in your head, writing the bio out is the biggest hurdle. This section will show you how to set up your page/drafts for success.

Concept

In order to write bios fast, you need to know who the character is already. Make sure you’ve been thinking about them already—you’ve named them, you know their age, their job, and the basics of their personality. When you’re away from the computer try to get to know them a little bit, that way the bio will just fly from your fingers.

Next, you need to write this stuff down. Say your bio format looks like this:

Name | Age | Job | Faceclaim

Job description

Brief personality description

Bio

You want to write, maybe, five characters in a few hours (or twenty in a day, even), so you need to create posts/save in a doc for all of the characters and fill out that info, that way when you go to write the bios the basic information will be at your fingertips, like so:

Stephanie Ross | 22 | Interplanetary concubine | Oprah Winfrey

As an interplanetary concubine, Stephanie Ross is always travelling. The money’s good, though, so she sticks with it.

Most of Stephanie’s thoughts revolve around money. How to save it, how to spend it, how to get more of it when she should be getting less. As such, she doesn’t have many friends, but she’s a bit of a loner so she’s okay with that.

Bio

I already have a general idea of the character in mind because I’ve written that. Before I start with the bio, I’ll review that blurb and think: “Why is she so frugal? How did she become a concubine?” That gives me a basic idea of what I should be writing, so a skeleton of a bio is already forming in my brain. You want to do this for each bio you plan to write before you get to writing it, that way the concepts are already floating around in your brain and you’ll be ready when you get to it.

Formula

Make sure you have the format of their history itself all planned out, too. While I’m not a big fan of bios that spoonfeed you information, if you do “early history/big event/current history/personality” or whatever, stick to it. That’ll be your bio format, so keep it in mind before and during your writing. If you don’t know where to start, you’ll just sit there!

Goal

You want to make sure you have a goal when you start writing. For example, when I write bios for treadsoftly, the name is on the top line of the page and I try to make the whole bio, blurbs and all, fit the entire page down to the last line. That’s my goal. If I start getting discouraged, I just see how close I am to the bottom of the page and convince myself to press on. If you don’t set a goal, you may start losing heart halfway through and your momentum will be gone. You need momentum to really get ‘em done!

Actually Getting it Done

This is the hard part. This is when you’ve got your characters all planned out, your coffee at your side, your bladder emptied, and your mind prepared. I can only offer one piece of advice:

Just do it!

All you have to do is do it. It’s all there: the mental and physical state, the character concepts, the determination. Now you just need to follow through. Don’t stop. Look at that page and write. Every time you accomplish the goal you can take a short break, but then you’ve gotta come back and do it again. Just crank ‘em out,one by one. Write, write, write.Don’t let anything stop you, because the only thing that separates you and your character goal is you.

After the Fact

When you’re writing in high volumeand you’ve really focused your concentration properly, you’re probably not going to notice yourself until afterward. Afterward you may be grumpy and your creativity may be depleted, so here’s how to deal with that:

Proofreading

Unless you absolutely must get your characters out this instant, don’t proofread now. Although I’m lucky and my writing generally comes out somewhat coherent even at high speed, there are many people who aren’t. Chances are you’ve got a wonky sentence or two that you’re going to need to revise, but do not worry about that yet. Give yourself a chance to rest or you’ll just end up being frustrated. Go back on tumblr for a little while. Don’t stress yourself out.

Relaxing

Again, don’t do something high-stress immediately afterward, because if you really were pressed for time enough to need this, chances are you’re a bit grumpy now. Just take it easy, do all those mindless little preparation things like tagging posts, etc. Some people find writing replies relaxing, so do that. Just don’t give yourself a brain meltdown by trying to do something else high-stress.

Closing Words

This guide can also apply in part to cranking out ideas for characters andcranking out paras at high speed, so don’t be afraid to take what I’ve said and apply itelsewhere. I’ll be doing separate guides for those, but you can still use this to help you until then. Hopefully I showed you some useful ideas that will help you to not stare at a blank page for twenty minutes. If you need any additional help you know I’m always around!

Let me know what you agreed with, disagreed with, found helpful, etc. I’m curious to know.

[rayonthebutton]

Writing a kiss // 001 // Parts of the mouth

Utilizing the entire mouth and understanding how it feels and works.

[writingtipsandshit]

The Tongue

Perhaps the most obvious part of the mouth that instantly comes into play when escalating a kiss in writing.

If your characters have just completed a meal, or had something to drink such as coffee or tea, bring that into play in the kiss. Your character would be able to taste the coffee not only on their lips, but on their tongue, and while whether or not that’s a pleasant sensation is up to you, it’s a good thing to add to the kiss, especially if it’s more intimate.

Tongues are rough, and the feeling of two warm, rough things wrestling each other is pleasant and enjoyable, so write it as such. Don’t be afraid to comment on how the tongue is rough; it can bring a little extra to the kiss.

Using the phrase “tongues dancing” can be a bit overplayed. It’s okay to use it every once in awhile, but consider other phrases when you write kisses so that not all of your paras are exactly the same. i.e; battling for dominance, wrestling, tangled, etc.

The tongue doesn’t always have to just interact with the other person’s tongue. Explore the whole mouth! Lick across bottom lips to even bring the tongue into play, asking permission from the other writer’s character. Sucking on tongues can be pleasant as well, explore that. Some even find that teasing the roof of someone’s mouth with the tongue is a pleasant tickle, and a good way to write a surprising and interesting kiss.

Teeth

If teeth are coming into play, that generally hints that the kiss is heating up, but it can be used for other things as well. If your characters are shy around each other, it’s always fun to have the two knock teeth when the initially go in for the kiss. It’s awkward and playful, and a good way to break the ice between two characters who might be terrified about having their first kiss either in general or with someone really special.

Specify how rough your character is being. Don’t just say “nipping his bottom lip”. Is your character nipping harshly but not enough to hurt, are they nipping gently, or are they being rough? Make sure your partner knows where your character is trying to take this kiss so they can act accordingly.

Teeth have nerve endings, too, believe it or not, and the gums play into that. Looking back on the aforementioned awkward kiss, don’t be afraid of letting your character accidentally brush their tongue along the area behind their front or back teeth; it will cause a tickling sensation that can result in a giggly, cute, or awkward kiss.

Bottom Lip

The bottom lip is a good tool for characters who are having their first kiss, or who are more experienced. Out of the two lips, it was the one that obviously moves most, and entices primarily. Even if your character is inexperienced, it wouldn’t be unusual for them to suck lightly on the bottom lip; it’s an instinct, and should be treated as such.

Be specific when writing the bottom lip. Is your character sucking on it, or nipping it with their teeth? Did they tug it?

Top Lip

Perhaps the most neglected. Let your character explore this one, too! As a kiss is coming to an end, let your character press a soft kiss to primarily the top lip. It’s a sweet gesture that expresses a tenderness that might not have been evident in the kiss itself.

Teeth can be used with this lip as well. Not a lot of people write their character nipping a top lip, but it is done, and it would feel very good. If your character has just had his or her bottom lip nipped or sucked on retaliate by going after the top lip. But again; be specific as to how rough the action is.

Hands

Because it’s not a part of the mouth, it’s amazing how often the hands get neglected during kisses.

Tangle them in hair! If it’s a rough kiss, grab a fistful of the other character’s hair, but be sure to specify if they are tugging it, or merely gripping it. If it’s gentle, rest the hand at the back of the character’s neck and just let their fingers slip up into the hair itself, dragging their thumb along the curve of the neck.

Rest them on thighs, be it rough or gentle. It’s a good way to get your characters closer and to express mutual interest between the two.

Don’t forget about the side of the body. Let your character explore the curves, and make comments. A kiss is essentially an exploration, and that shouldn’t be limited to the mouth itself.

The small of the back when writing about kissing a female is perhaps one of your best tools. It’s a good place for hands, because if the girl is shorter, it can be used to easily tug her up into the kiss more, and if the heights are more similar, just to pull her closer.

A kiss is a great plot device no matter what situation you find yourself writing it for, so write it well! Don’t let it be just a kiss. Use every aspect of the mouth you can in the span of time the kiss occupies, and show off your writing skills!

[rayonthebutton]

Writing a blowjob // 001 // Underused parts of the penis

Smut is big and scary for some people and so it gets all kinds of awkward. Well, I’ve been around the block when it comes to smut, and after you’ve been dubbed the “smut queen” by various roleplays, writing it becomes second nature.

Hate to break it to you, but writing a blowjob isn’t just an obscene gesture of the head and the occasional moan. Throw in something that’ll really show off your skills and use some of these parts of the penis (YES PENIS, PENIS IS A WORD, SO IS DICK AND COCK AND ALL SORTS OF FUN THINGS THAT MAKE YOUR MOUTH FEEL LIKE A CARNIVAL, NO PUN INTENDED) that definitely don’t get enough attention.

NSFW, obviously.

[writingtipsandshit]

The vein on the underside:

Yes, a vein exists under there, and for a guy, that is a hot spot that you want to get your character’s tongue all over. Putting pressure to that will make them see stars in the back of their vision. Your character should place their tongue firmly to the vein at the very base of the penis (get used to this word) and lick all the way to the very tip. And the character having this performed on them should be squirming like crazy.

The slit:

Oh my God, this is easily the most underused. If a whole smut para is going to be a blowjob, you may as well make it interesting. Have your character dip their tongue into the slit, and the other character will be writhing around without any sense of control. It’s a sensitive area, and should be treated as such.

The shaft in general:

Give the shaft more attention than just bobbing your head and hollowing out your cheeks. Have the character swirl their tongue around the shaft as they go, and even get the fingers involved. The index can slide into the mouth during the duration of the blowjob and tease the shaft gently, a bit of a pleasing, tickling sensation that mixes well with the sucking action in general.