Hi there! I'm Pen, and welcome to my writing blog!
Last summer I started a writergram, but I tend to be more active on Tumblr so I figured it'd be a good idea to start a blog too! Expect tips and tricks for writing, as well as character posts and updates on my WIPs!
One of my favourite things about the writing community is that it's incredibly welcoming, supportive, and uplifting. Constructive criticism is welcomed and encouraged - bullying/hateful speech to anyone is not.
I created this account to connect with other writers and members of the community - let's keep it kind!
first of all: 💀
why does every enemies-to-lovers dynamic either hit like a literary gut punch… or feel like two cardboard cutouts aggressively flirting?
there is no in between. i don’t make the rules.
and if you’re here, i’m guessing you’ve tasted both. the elite. the devastating. the oh my god i need to lie down after this confession scene kind…
and also the ones where you’re like “why do you hate each other again? because he smirked?? be serious.”
yeah. we’re fixing that today.
⚔️ if you’re writing enemies-to-lovers, we need to talk.
because most people aren’t writing enemies.
they’re writing:
mild annoyances
workplace rivals with ✨tension✨
people who had one (1) misunderstanding in chapter two and never emotionally recovered
and listen. that’s fine. that’s a trope. it’s cute.
but it’s not enemies-to-lovers.
🩸 step one: define your enemy
an enemy is not someone who:
is kinda rude
disagrees with your protagonist
has a “bad attitude” (???)
an enemy is someone who cannot coexist with your protagonist without cost.
read that again. PLEASE.
their goals? incompatible.
their values? clashing at a moral level.
their existence? actively making the other’s life worse.
what i'm talking about:
opposing sides of a war
hunter vs hunted
“if i let you live, everything i believe in collapses” energy
if they can just… avoid each other and be fine?
that’s not enemies. that’s tension with good lighting.
🗡️ step two: make the hatred make sense
this is where people fumble it CONSTANTLY.
they jump straight to:
banter → sexual tension → accidental hand touch → oh no i’m in love
NO. come back. sit down.
before attraction, there needs to be justified hostility.
and not surface-level “you insulted me once.”
i’m talking about (and yes please quote 'rin t' on this!):
betrayal
loss
ideological opposition
deeply ingrained bias they don’t even realize they have
the kind of thing where, if someone asked your character:
“why do you hate them?”
they wouldn’t hesitate. they’d have a list
the twist:
👉 both sides need to be right. (or at least feel right)
if one is clearly wrong, you don’t have enemies-to-lovers.
you have “problematic person gets redeemed because they’re hot.”
and we are not doing that today.
🔥 step three: attraction should feel like a problem
this is where it gets fun. :)
when they start catching feelings, it should not be:
“oh this is inconvenient but kind of exciting :)”
it should be:
“this is catastrophic. this compromises everything.”
love = risk.
because now:
their judgment is compromised
their loyalties are tested
their identity starts to crack
they should be actively resisting it.
denying it. sabotaging it. making worse choices because of it.
if falling in love doesn’t cost them something?
you skipped the entire point of the trope.
🕯️ step four: force proximity (but PLEASEEE make it hurt)
you can’t resolve enemies-to-lovers from opposite sides of the map.
they need to be stuck together.
BUT-important distinction-
not in a cute “one bed at the inn” way (yet. we’ll get there. don’t worry.)
in a:
forced alliance
mutual threat
political arrangement
survival situation
where they have to rely on each other…
while still fundamentally not trusting each other.
this creates:
tension
vulnerability leaks
moments where they see each other as human (ugh. disgusting. hate that.)
and every time that happens?
it should complicate things further.
💔 step five: the shift is not soft. it’s violent.
i need you to understand this.
the transition from enemies → lovers should feel like something breaking.
because it is.
their worldview? breaking.
their assumptions? breaking.
their sense of self? yeah. that too.
there should be a moment where:
they realize they were wrong about the other person
and it doesn’t feel good.
it feels like:
guilt
confusion
grief for the version of reality they believed in
this is what makes the payoff hit.
not the kiss.
the reckoning.
🗝️ step six: they don’t “fix” each other
if i see one more enemies-to-lovers arc where:
“he became a better person because she loved him 🥺”
i will simply pass away.
they don’t fix each other.
they force each other to confront things they were avoiding.
that’s different.
love isn’t the solution.
it’s the pressure that reveals the cracks.
🖤 final thought (and a gentle threat):
if your enemies-to-lovers could be replaced with:
friends-to-lovers + mild inconvenience
and nothing changes?
you didn’t go far enough.
push them harder.
make it uglier. riskier. a little bit devastating.
so, question to you my chaotic writers... what’s the real reason your characters hate each other?
not the surface answer.
the one they’d never admit out loud.
i’m nosy. tell me everything. 👀 I LOVE HEARING your thoughts (i reply because yes, i am a real person!)
I HAVE DIGITAL PRODUCTS!!!
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A gothic prompt pack for writers who love cursed universities, secret societies, and scholarly rot.✎ Write the Darkness ✎A 75-prompt horror
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Where would your oc be found over the summer? What kinds of shenanigans would they be getting up to?
When she's not inside reading and writing, Eileen can be found outside (on her porch or at a park) drawing/painting watercolour. Her days out on the town would consist of window shopping with Jenny and browsing craft stores. Loves a bonfire, especially after everything dies down and the fire is on its last leg. Eileen's summers are calm and romantic.
Jason thrives in colder weather, so he won't be outside much. He can be coaxed out at night, when the air gets a little chillier - especially if a bonfire is involved! Otherwise, he'll spend as much time as he can inside, playing video games, working on his projects, and working shifts at the movie rental store. Jason's summers are lazy and chill.
Tommy will be anywhere and everything and nothing he's doing is good. If there are fireworks, Tommy will be the one setting them off. If there's a watergun fight, Tommy started it and everyone else is severely underprepared/not prepared at all. Crashes parties. Loves the idea of bonfires because then he can try to jump over it. Tommy's summers are chaotic and exciting.
Jenny spends most of her time in the dance studio, but spends her free time window shopping with Eileen, having animated movie nights at home, and going on late night drives. She's got a crazy sweet tooth and is good in the kitchen, so she likes to try her hand at making ice cream in the summertime. Doesn't mind a bonfire, but gets bored once things die down and the smores are gone. Jenny's summers are sweet and simple.
⟢ "I did something." - "Scale of one to ten." - "Depends who's asking." "Me." - "Seven." - "Police." - "Four." - "God." - "Thirteen."
⟢ "We need to leave."- "Why." - "I'll explain in the car." - "Why." - "I'll explain in a different country."
⟢ "This is your fault." - "You literally came up with the idea." - "I have bad ideas all the time, you're not supposed to DO them."
⟢ "Okay hear me out." - "My lawyer has advised me not to hear you out." - "You don't have a lawyer." - "I'm getting one specifically for conversations with you."
⟢ "Nobody got hurt." - "Physically." . "Nobody got physically hurt." - "Yet." - "Nobody has gotten physically hurt yet, which is a win."
⟢ "I have a type." - "Yeah?" - "People who are bad for me and you specifically." - "That's not a type that's a pattern." - "Same thing."
⟢ "What's the worst that could happen." - "I have a list. It's laminated. I made it specifically for when you say that."
⟢ "Rate my decision making." - "Historically or right now." - "Both." - "Zero. Consistent zero across the board."
⟢ "You're the only person I trust." - "I dropped your birthday cake last year and told you it arrived like that." - "Yeah but you still got me a cake."
⟢ "I need your honest opinion." - "It's bad." - "You didn't see it yet." - "I've met you. It's bad."
⟢ "Why do you even keep me around." - "Honestly? Entertainment. And you're warm in winter."
⟢ "I wasn't thinking." - "First time for everything." - "I resent that." - "Statistically valid though."
⟢ "On a scale of fine to not fine." - "Remember that time in Prague." - "We don't talk about Prague." - "That fine."
⟢ "Nobody panic but." - "I'm already panicking." - "I haven't said anything yet." - "I know you. I'm getting ahead of it."
⟢ "Promise you won't be mad." - "Absolutely not, that's a trap and I won't fall for it."
⟢ "I have good news and bad news." - "Good news first." - "The car is fine." - "And the bad." - "Define car."
⟢ "You're my emergency contact." - "I know." - "You're listed as my next of kin." - "I know." - "You're also listed as my therapist, my lawyer, and my spiritual advisor." - "I know." - "Do you want to talk about that." - "Nope." - "Cool."
⟢ "I'm a responsible adult."- "You once called me crying because you got your sleeve caught in a door and didn't know what to do." - "I was panicking." - "For forty minutes." - "It was really stuck."
⟢ "I regret everything." - "No you don't." - "No I don't but I feel like I should." - "Same honestly."
I'm using Oliver, a character from another one of my works that I don't tend to talk about much here (but should)
❤️Relationship status
Single
🧡Favourite colour
Definitely orange but he likes blue too (specifically light blue). Not a fan of dark colours really
💛Favourite food
He has actually sold his soul to Ms. Vickie's salt and vinegar chips
💚Song stuck in their head
Mind Over Matter by Young the Giant
🩵Last thing they googled
"how to fix the hole in my wall before my dad sees it"
💙Dream trip
I think somewhere with a good city environment, but he'd enjoy a good beach nearby. He's not the type to chill on a beach, he'd be befriending random people to join their game of beach volleyball or frisbee
💜Last thing they read
Either the instructions for a DIY birdhouse kit (built it with his little brother) or the back of a Hamburger Helper box (boy's gotta eat)
🩷Last book they enjoyed reading
The Book Thief - he read it in English class
❤️Favourite thing to cook/bake
I think he could make a mean pancake, and he definitely goes all out with toppings
🧡Favourite craft to do in free time
He's not much of a craft guy, but he likes helping his little brother Cole build+paint birdhouses. It was something Cole used to do with their mother before she passed, and Oliver wants to keep Cole's hobby alive
💛Most niche dislike
I'm not sure if this is inherently niche (or a dislike per se), but he really doesn't understand the point of white sneakers (he plays soccer and is used to shoes that get muddy and dirty)
💚Opinion on circuses
Honestly he's probably creeped out by clowns and I think he'd also find the music unsettling so. Negative opinion on circuses unfortunately
🩵Do they have any sense of direction?
Yeah I think he's pretty good!
Oh how I miss this kid
tagging: @inedibleplastic @pandasleepy07 @storyteller-kara @lofi-the-gremlin (+ anyone else who'd like to participate!)
hi pen!! just randomly wanted to say it’s great to see you again as i know you haven’t been posting for a while (which is of course fine!!) but i’m glad you’re okay. i love your blog so much <3
It appears I am MANY months late to this as I didn't see it in my inbox, but thank you so much for your kind words, it means a lot :')
(ps everyone should go check out @rayne143's blog, they have the most amazing, detailed characters and beautiful prose)
hey guys! it's been a while - thought i'd explain myself.
the short answer is that school has been kicking my ass crazy style, and i just didn't have time to hang out over here.
however, in that time, i finished my first draft of my book! i've never completed a draft of an actual novel before. a wonderful friend of mine offered to read and edit it (@pandasleepy07), and now i'm working on the second draft. i am absolutely THRILLED to share what i can and talk about it more.
to my mutuals: i'm sorry i dropped off the face of the earth! i know i wasn't particularly close with anyone but it's still such a nice environment to be in and everyone i've met has been so kind and cool :)
i can see i've got a bunch of notifications from people tagging me in things and i would love to get into as many of those as i can. i missed it over here.
• A character almost admits they were wrong and then pivots
• Two people sitting in a car after an argument, engine off, neither leaving
• Someone practicing a speech in the mirror and hating how it sounds
• A character lying for someone they resent
• An inside joke that no longer feels funny
• A public setting where private tension is simmering
• Someone seeing their ex unexpectedly and performing indifference
• A character giving advice they absolutely do not follow
• A confession interrupted by something mundane
• A person rereading old messages they shouldn’t
• A gift that misses the mark completely
• A character realizing they’ve outgrown someone mid-conversation
• Someone saying “It’s fine” and meaning “I will remember this forever”
• A moment where a character notices they are no longer the favorite
• Two people who used to be close struggling to find a topic
If your story feels stuck, it likely needs friction. Not explosions. Just a little pressure.
