Fun fact: I found out David tennant has a podcast with a guest that cycles out each episode (it’s very good, you should go listen) and one of them has Neil in it!
You can yell at me if this is old news now but this little bit about “have a nice doomsday” and episode threes cold open is so… agh, I love it
(hearing about Neil’s writing process in general is also incredibly neat)
The eyes are the windows to the soul, and they can convey volumes of unspoken emotions. Describe those stolen glances, the lingering eye contact, and the way their gazes seem to connect on a deeper level. In addition, small touches like a brush of hands or an accidental bump can create electric moments that hint at an underlying romantic attraction. For example:
"Her heart fluttered as she caught him stealing glances, his eyes softly tracing the curves of her smile. With every accidental touch, their hands lingered, sending a current of warmth through their veins."
/////////
Deep conversations and intimate confessions can be powerful tools for hinting at romantic feelings. When characters open up to one another, revealing their vulnerabilities and dreams, a bond begins to form. These moments create a sense of emotional intimacy that can lay the groundwork for a blossoming romance. Consider this example:
"Underneath the twinkling stars, they shared secrets that they had never uttered to anyone else. As he listened to her dreams, he realized that he wanted to be a part of them, and a warm smile played on his lips."
/////////
Ah, the age-old art of witty banter! This lighthearted exchange of playful jabs and teasing remarks can build tension and create a magnetic pull between characters. It allows them to establish a unique connection filled with laughter and friendly competition. Here's an example:
"Their banter was a delightful dance of sharp wit and quick comebacks. Every retort was like a playful spark that kept the fire between them burning bright, a dance they couldn't resist joining every chance they got."
/////////
Jealousy can be a potent emotion to hint at unexpressed romantic feelings. When one character starts to feel protective or slightly possessive, it suggests a deeper connection brewing beneath the surface. Show how they react to potential rivals or display signs of concern for each other's well-being. Check out this snippet:
"Her heart skipped a beat as she noticed the subtle tightening of his jawline when he saw her laughing with someone else. His fingers tapped nervously, silently craving her attention, and he couldn't help but step closer, ready to ward off any potential threats."
I find it personally offensive how many bad writers can get published so easily.
I used to find it reassuring, like, "Haha, wow, if THIS can get published..." but now I take it to mean "It doesn't matter if your book is good or not, all that matters is if you're in the right social circles (and you're not)"
As someone who used to acquire for an indie publisher ... it sucks on the other end, too. We don't WANT to work on shitty books with shitty writing. But bossman wants to make money, and shitty writer has marketing clout/knows the right people/is already published (even if it's only online/ebook).
I used to read the most AMAZING submissions I'd be forced to pass on. Like, there was one, a literary fantasy featuring a bi deaf protagonist who learns how to navigate a spectrum of relationships while discovering herself (I don't want to give too many details out of respect to the author/don't want her concept stolen) and I couldn't get it acquired no matter how thorough my proposal and marketing plan was because she was a debut author with fewer than 10k Twitter followers and we needed that advance money for another Fifty Shades knockoff (this was a few years ago lol).
BUT PLEASE DON'T LET THAT DISCOURAGE YOU! If you're a writer, and you're trying to get published, don't give up!! If your first novel isn't getting traction with either a house or agency, publish it yourself on amazon. Get that "debut" moniker away from your name. Prove you can sell your shit and keep working.
A good agent will work with you to come up with a marketing/publicity proposal. That will be huge in getting houses to notice your work - makes the acquisitions team's job easier as they can point to it and tell bossman "we have a plan". Look online for titles that have high ratings/are on the NYT list that can be compared to yours. That helps give acquisitions an idea of what they're getting into - and how to represent your book to their ED/publisher.
A good agent will also help you target editors/imprints whose lists match your book, increasing your odds of getting positive feedback or even constructive feedback. If I had a submission that just wasn't quite ready for publication, I'd give detailed notes of what I wanted and ask them to revise and resubmit.
Keep writing! Even if a book isn't picked up, start your next. It's so attractive to see an author with several unpublished works ready to be polished if you already like the work that's submitted. And more writing only refines your skills.
Yes, bad writers get published. And too many good writers, even when published, go unrecognized (if you like southern gothic fiction a la Where the Crawdads Sing, go read The Past is Never, which came out four months earlier and got NO national attention but is BEAUTIFUL). Be such a good writer that you break those odds.
Because you can. I've read your stuff on Tumblr. On Ao3. On Fanfiction.net. On Wattpad. You can do it.
This is actually practical advice; thank you.
Experiences can leave us with some painful memories. They tie us to the past and prevent us moving on. And the only way to freedom is to work on letting go – so these memories don’t haunt us or keep us trapped in pain. Below are some guidelines to help you work on this.
1. Before you can let go, you must face whatever happened and accept that it is part of your past experiences. Suppression doesn’t work as a long-term solution. It can only be a band aid that brings temporary relief. Talk to someone you trust, or write about it in your journal. You need to share what happened, in order to move on.
2. Identify the lessons you have learned from what has happened. There’s always a lesson – so look for what you’ve learned. It doesn’t make it better – but it does lessen its power.
3. Write the lesson down on a piece of paper and repeat it to yourself when you’re hit by memories. For example, if you’ve been scarred by abuse, then you might write something like: “My experience of abuse does not determine who I am. I’m a stronger person now, and that is not my destiny. I’m choosing my own future, and the person I will be.”
4. Repeat this mantra often so it takes root in your mind. Allow it to be stronger than the bad experience. Say it often, till you mean it, then you’ll start to feel you’re freer. Persevere and keep on fighting when those memories return.
5. Seek to be a person who’s a peace with themselves. When peace is your focus, old thoughts and memories have much less power over how you think and feel. However, seeking after peace must be a conscious, constant choice.
6. When the past tries to intrude, focus firmly on the present. Ground yourself in what’s happening around you in the room, and try to breathe deeply - and deliberately relax. You are here in this moment; the past is over now.
7. Forgive – for your own sake. Try to heal from what happened – then let resentments go. You don’t want them in your life for they’ll just tie you to the past. It’s not an easy process; it takes work and discipline. But it is worth the daily struggle - as one day you will be free.
if you, like me, are asexual or acearo - I cannot recommend enough “Is Love The Answer?”
It’s a shojo manga by Uta Isaki. The space imagery, the artwork, the lovable characters, the explanation of a sexuality, and the relatability of it all made me cry by page 11.
It feels good to finally get some explicit representation of myself in anime/manga.
There’s different reasons for different writers, but in most cases it comes down to one simple thing:
You look at your project and you WANT to work on it, but…
Basically…. you’ve got a HEAP of tasks and issues ahead of you that you have to work out, before you can call the piece complete. And it is SO much work. And it’s overwhelming.
It’s easier to say you’ll untangle it a little later, or when you’ve got a clearer head.
But allow me to let you in on a little secret…
The only way writing gets less messy is if you write it out, and then you rewrite it. And then maybe rewrite it again.
But the only way to move forward is put all these current issues out of your mind, until you finish that first draft, no matter how much of a MESS it is.
A non-exhaustive list of the ways autistic people may show empathy even though we are assumed to not have it.
Are these exclusive to autistic people? No, not at all, we're just more often pathologized for them.
If I'm in a relationship with someone who does this, does that mean I just have to suck it up even if it doesn't work for me? No, it doesn't, but you do probably have some adjusting to do. You'll need to treat it as a mutual miscommunication instead of something it's all on the autistic (or ADHD, or whatever) person to fix. You'll have to change some of your expectations and get comfortable asking for (and explaining) the show of empathy you need - and you may even find out that the way you show empathy isn't working so great for them either. 😉
[Image description: AUTISTIC EMPATHY CAN LOOK LIKE… - Infographic by Autball.
White translucent boxes with black lettering inside on a magenta to purple diagonal gradient. The first four boxes read: (1) I’ve been through something similar, so maybe sharing my story will help; (2) Ooh, I know how to fix that! Maybe helping them solve their problem will make them feel better; (3) Oh man, now I have big feelings too! I just feel this so much!; (4) My favorite thing always calms me down, so maybe it’ll help them too. I’ll ask them to do it with me. These four are grouped together with a blue line and labeled: Misinterpreted as “Making it All About You.”
The next four boxes read: (5) I’m not sure how to help, so I’ll leave it to that person who looks like they do; (6) When I’m upset or overwhelmed, I prefer to be left alone, so I’ll bet they would like the same; (7) If I get involved, I’m gonna become overwhelmed myself, and that will take attention from them, so it’s best to just stay out of it; (8) I’m not sure how to help, and I usually make it worse when I try but get it wrong, so it’ll be better for everyone if I just do nothing. These four are grouped together with a blue line and labeled: Misinterpreted as Cold and Uncaring.
At the bottom is one last sentence, in white bold lettering, that reads, “Just because we don’t show it the same doesn’t mean we don’t feel it.”]
✧
⤠ how characters interact with the environment
⇝ moving something, picking something up, looking somewhere
⤠ how the environment interacts with the characters
⇝ weather, other character’s actions or movements
⤠ gestures
⇝ facial expressions, body language
⤠ shifts in position
⇝ standing, sitting, leaning, shifting weight, crossing arms/legs
⤠ physical reactions
⇝ body temperature, fidgeting, heart rate, character quirks
⤠ environmental descriptions
⇝ descriptions using the five senses, setting, character’s appearances
⤠ internal dialogue
⇝ emotional reaction to what was said, reflection of past experiences, connections to other characters/settings/actions
➵ I want to reiterate… descriptions using the five senses ; when in doubt, think of the five senses your character is experiencing and pick what best moves the story forward
You never know when learning a new skill will come in handy. For example, I had a crush on a boy in middle school who loved Sonic so I learned how to draw him and the other characters so he'd sit by me. 16 years later I'm trying to take a kid's blood pressure multiple times. It's too high because he's scared, he hates it. I see mom's got Sonic playing on her phone. So while the dynamap is running I say "hey look at this!" Draw a quick Sonic on the exam table paper, he's so focused on me that he doesn't realize his BP was taken, now with beautiful numbers. Gotta do an EKG now and I bribe him, "i'll draw Tails if you sit still for me"... perfect EKG. Now coming to see a cardiologist is a lot less scary for a couple kids, all because of my middle school crush.
“Don’t write what you know, write what you’re willing to discover.”
— Yusef Komunyakaa
i hate when people say “tell me about yourself” like bitch my personality changes with whatever book i’m reading because i absorb the personality of the protagonist idk what to tell you
Hey friends, Abby here with another writing post! Today I’m coming at you with tips on introducing new places through your character’s eyes — how to do it effectively and naturally, without overwhelming your reads with every little detail.
It’s often hard for readers to pick up on the exact appearance of a place upon the first visit, which is why this isn’t something you should aim for. Try to think of it through the filter of your own mind; if you walked into a museum you’ve never been to before, you wouldn’t expect yourself to remember every single detail, so you shouldn’t hold your readers to the same “standard”. So what would you remember?
Maybe they walk into someone’s bedroom and the walls are bright green. That would be pretty hard to forget, don’t you think? Most bedrooms don’t have bright green walls, so that’s something you’d probably notice and expect the next time you went into that room. Or maybe you notice how generic the room feels because there’s not much of a personal touch. These are all things you’d come to notice about a room when you enter it; we tend to look at everything holistically before picking out the smaller details. Keep that in mind when you’re writing your character’s very first impression. These could include (but are not limited to):
That last one ties in especially when you’re picking out the smaller details. These are the things you might want to hold off on describing all at once, but introduce them slowly to give the reader more of a feel for the room. Details your character might include (but, again, are not limited to):
Are there things in this area that’ll be important later in the book? Take a second to notice these in your story, even if they just get a sentence. Establishing their existence in this place will help you nail the continuity that makes your life a whole lot easier when you’re seeing what went down earlier. Anything in this room can be important in one way or another, and I mean anything. For example, we’ll take two very different things:
Your character might be needing one of both of these in the future. Maybe they’re writing down the time and place of their next dentist appointment. Or, ya know, maybe they’re fighting for their life against the savage vampire-werewolf-bigfoot hybrid that just broke into their house. Nothing out of the usual, right?
Either way, if your character needs these things at any point, it’s helpful to make the reader aware that they exist somewhere. If your character knows, do your best to convey that information to your readers. Unless you’re using it as a plot device, keeping your readers in the dark can be incredibly frustrating when the knowledge was something trivial.
So, that’s all I’ve got for you today! If there’s anything you want to see me write about in my next post, please don’t hesitate to leave a message in my ask. Until next time, much love! <333
I have a character who was tied standing to a dead tree and left to die by exposure in a very hot, humid setting. She was gagged to keep her from using magic. She was left there in the middle of the night and escapes around noon, only after getting severe sunburns on her left side and losing most motor control and sensation in both hands because the ropes were too tight. She has a little bit of food and water available but not much, and is able to cover the burns... (exposure 1/2)
(exposure 2/2) from further sun exposure but not to bandage or treat them properly. Would she be able to walk very far in search of safe shelter? Besides the burn scarring and reduced use of her hands, are there any other long-term physical effects I should be considering? If it’s relevant, she also has very poor eyesight and is a teenager when this happens, and (despite her disabilities) I need her to become a warlord in about fifteen years.
-
Fun fact: Alfred the Great of England probably had Crohns disease*. He was severely ill for the majority of his adult life, including the years when he led armies against the Vikings.
If you’ve thought about the character, her place in society, the way war is carried out and the kinds of adjustments that can be made to accommodate disability; then I see no reason why not.
She might not be able to use a rapier effectively but she could probably swing a mace as well as anyone else once an adjustment for her grip strength has been made.
There have been historical disabled people who led armies and won military victories. There’s nothing wrong with reflecting that in fiction. In fact I think it’s a very good idea. People with long term disabilities or medical conditions make up an estimated third of the global population which probably makes them the most under represented group in fiction.
The scenario reminds me a lot of India during the period of European expansion into India and I think the time frame and type of torture are good picks for what you want from the character.
However I’m not sure if sunburns can be as severe as what you’re describing. Because it sounds like you’re describing a second or third degree heat burn, which effects more layers of the skin then a sunburn does. Essentially a sunburn is down to radiation rather then heat and while it can cause a lot of damage I’m not sure it can penetrate different layers of the skin in the same way heat does.
So I’m not sure if the scarring would be as extensive as you’re imagining and I don’t think it would limit her mobility in the long term as a result. The mobility problems in her hands are possible in this scenario, though they wouldn’t happen to everyone.
You’re absolutely right that she’d be in a lot of pain and struggle to move though.
She’d probably be quite light headed by the time she gets herself free. Fainting is possible and the falling injuries can therefore be a problem.
She’d almost certainly be suffering from heat exhaustion, I’ve linked to the NHS page on the symptoms and treatment of heat stroke here. Script medic also has some posts on it here.
From personal experience being a particularly careless child in a desert someone can survive being in the baking sun this long without water and not get full blown heatstroke/die. It is not pleasant. I remember feeling extremely dizzy and struggling to walk. I felt mal-coordinated and came close to fainting or falling over quite a bit.
When I finally had a drink the water tasted sweet and left a feeling of euphoria. I’ve seen people describe this feeling as similar to being drunk. Which isn’t exactly right. It’s more like the natural high you get if a terrible headache suddenly vanishes.
Falling injuries are really varied. In the worst case scenario they can lead to brain damage and death. In the best case they can lead to a few extra scrapes and bruises.
I’m not really sure what kind of environment you’re imagining this taking place in. A natural environment that has a lot of trees or an inhabited environment with a lot of built structures (farmland with a lot of boundary walls for instance) would give her ways to support herself as she struggles to walk. In a cleared area or a natural environment like a hot desert it might be easier for her to crawl then walk.
And you could probably show readers quite a bit about how proud vs practical she is based on whether she decides to crawl because of that or whether she stays on her feet, despite falling or almost falling.
If she’s walking through a natural environment does she have shoes?
In very hot environments the ground, tarmac and stone can all become very very hot by noon. Which can actually result in blistering and heat burns on the soles of feet. Even without this there are a fair amount of things that can be a problem walking without shoes. Some plants spread their seeds via these little spikey pods designed to embed in the sole of the foot. Thorny plants are fairly common and dead branches/sticks from them can make up a decent proportion of leaf litter.
In inhabited environments things like broken glass, poorly kept paving and rubbish can pose similar hazards.
I think injuries to the soles of the feet here could have more serious long term effects then the sunburn. Because anything that gets infected or scars has the potential to reduce her dexterity and mobility. I don’t think it would stop her from walking once healed but it could make her clumsier and less able to move quickly.
She could potentially avoid some of this by walking even more slowly and sweeping her legs in front of the area she intends to walk before she steps. But that would increase the chances of her losing her balance.
Are there snakes in this setting?
I grew up with the message that shoes which encased the entire foot and ankle were the ‘safest’ option. Because they provide protection against snake bites if you are, for instance, shuffling blindly through the undergrowth and can’t watch where you’re going very well.
Not all snake bites are dangerous of course. If you decide this is a potential risk in your setting that doesn’t necessarily mean the character comes across a snake. It also doesn’t mean a bite has to be dangerous if she’s bitten.
There are a lot of factors that can effect how far she’d be able to walk. I think the main thing is that she’d be walking a lot more slowly then normal. Every additional factor would slow her further.
In case it isn’t obvious by now I don’t have definitive figures here. So I’m trying to outline the relevant factors and come up with a reasonable estimate.
I did a quick experiment in my living room trying to recreate the way I walked when I was suffering from dehydration/heat exhaustion. It took me 15 seconds to walk a distance that took 3 seconds walking normally. I think I was walking a little faster then I did when I was actually dehydrated.
I’m walking on a clean flat wooden floor. Uneven terrain would slow both those figures down. Walking in bare feet when there are potential hazards, like thorny plants or broken glass, would slow it down again.
And being in that state of heat exhaustion, dehydration, mild starvation and recovering from a stress position would mean that she’s unable to walk for as long as a healthy person.
Having said all of that: humans are more or less adapted for stamina and walking for long periods.
So I think she could reasonably walk a considerable distance. Definitely several hundred meters. Depending on the circumstances possibly several kilometers. It would take longer. She might have to stop several times to sit down and rest.
But I think 0.5-2 kilometers is reasonably possible. Especially since she has a pretty powerful motivation to keep going away from this place. She needs shelter. She doesn’t want to be captured again. She knows her safety and survival depend on getting away from here.
It could take a very long time for her to travel that distance though. And I think it’s likely she’d need other people’s help afterwards. Especially at the higher end of that guesstimate. She could collapse and need help drinking and eating after that walk. She’d certainly need to rest for a day or so.
If the narrative doesn’t let you get her to people that could help then I think the next best thing is some where cool, safe and with easy access to fresh water. Food is important but under the circumstances it can wait. As much clean water as she can get is the most important thing.
This is the oldest ask in the backlog and I’m sorry it took so long for me to get to it. I think it’s a very well thought through concept. Your scenario and time frames are all reasonable and I think this could be part of a really great backstory.
I hope that helps. :)
*This is based on what the records from the time say about the King’s lifelong illness. It’s nearly impossible to get a certain diagnosis for a historical figure. Crohns or not Alfred was definitely severely ill for most of his life. Alfred the Great by J Pollard if you’re interested.
This got a couple of notes from people chiming that sun burn can cause second degree burns and well- This is why I keep stressing that I’m not a medic.
I’ve got my limits, biases and flaws like any other source. I try to highlight them as much as I can so that you all get the best information you can. If I say I’m unsure about something (or making an educated guess) then I expect you to double check what I say. Because I could be wrong.
Don’t be afraid to correct me if that’s the case.
I don’t think this would change the distance the character could walk. But it would impact the treatment she would need later in order to survive and it could result in less mobility in the effected area due to scar tissue.
Given that we’re talking about the shoulder (and reduced mobility or pain in the shoulder is common) I think she would be able to compensate for this and do most things normally. She might struggle more then normal to put on jackets or lift things above her head. She might develop unusual musculature (because she’s relying on other parts of her body to achieve the same things as other people.) She might also develop chronic pain (I don’t know why but it is common with this sort of reduced mobility).
With the right weapon and fighting style I think she would still, eventually, be able to fight.
I hope that helps :)
‣ Write how you want the story to begin and end. Just a few sentences that will summarize what changes happen in the novel, talk it over with some friends to have a better idea of the plot. ‣ Write an outline (you don’t have to follow the outline to a T, there will be change ps as you go along) ‣ Don’t go back and edit in the first draft this could make you feel discouraged. It probably won’t be the best but wait until the whole story is down before you rework it. ‣ Place holders can be used if you don’t know information. Researching everything can slow down the process so use a place holder so you know where you need to go back and edit once the first draft is done. ‣ Have daily goals. Whether it’s to write an hour a day or write 1000 words a day daily goals help in the short term. ‣ Have a deadline. I myself have 100 days to write a first draft, I know it will be difficult but having it there will pressure me into writing so it gets completed.
please remember that it’s okay to use popular tropes and cliché’s in your writing. just remember to make them your own, and put your own kinda spin on them.
don’t let yourself be stopped by what other people say you can or can’t do when it comes to writing. you are allowed to write about whatever you want, regardless of how popular it is in mainstream media.
… but only characters and a setting.
Notes:
The change that triggers your plot can be anything. It doesn’t have to be the start of an epic war that will bring forth the apocalypse, it can be your character meeting a new person who shakes things up in their life, or anything you want!
Motivations can be anything. It doesn’t have to be something grand - if your character’s motivation is to just live a quiet life, you can still come up with a plot that will get in the way of that goal!
Character development can be anything, as well - you don’t need a cliché moral to the story; your character doesn’t even need to change in a good way, if that’s not what you want for your story!
This is what I’ve found works for me, but if you try it and it doesn’t, or if it sounds way too sententious and strict for you - that’s okay! Take it with a grain of salt! Maybe you think your characters are just fine and don’t need more developing even in the situations in which I recommended you “go back to the drawing board”, or maybe you have better ways of coming up with a plot. That’s fine, the writing process can be very personal!
Hi. So I have a vague concept in my head. How do I make it function like an actual story?
Hope you don't mind me redirecting you, but I find the steps in this article to be excellent for starting out, especially if it's your first project.
Step one seems obvious but it's also easy to forget, and that is to take that vague idea and write it down! Quick, before it escapes! I have trouble with that one constantly. As long as I've written the idea down, I feel I can get back to it whenever I'm ready.
Let me know if you have any other questions 😃👍
