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Andy: People who switch pronouns in songs to no-homo the situation are so funny. The idea literally never occurred to me as a kid. Couldn't be me. Andy: I am a woman scorned. I am a man who had his heart broken. I am a guy who hates his hometown. I'm a country boy. I'm a city girl. I'm a slut. I'm addicted to cocaine.

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Serena: As top in this relationship I think we should-

Emily: I can’t believe you’re pulling rank on me.

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⠀

The fuck did you say to me

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actual photograph of a parrises squares tournament, 2357

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“Dude, why are you crying?”

“I’m thinking about the beauty of language, of communication.”

“…what?”

“Like that Star Trek episode, Darmok and Jalad at Tenagra. When you hear ‘Shaka, when the walls fell’ how can you not feel the hopelessness and defeat that such simple words are intended to convey? English may be the language we speak, but Tamarian is how we understand”

“Bro what? How much cough syrup have you had?”

“Not enough”

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Young people and old people's complacency and acceptance of autoplay terrifies me if I'm finished a video and another begins playing THAT I DIDN'T CHOOSE I'm already loading my gun

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I hate it when you’re reading smut and you can’t figure out what position they’re in.

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Horror Writing Prompts

Every night at 2.01am the smell of rotting flesh seeps through the house - it’s strongest in the walk-in wardrobe. 

Tap-tap-tap, all night something taps at her window. You assumed it was the tips of the cloests branch, but that might oak fell in the last storm. 

The smile she gave her reflection stayed in the mirror for just a fraction of a second too long. 

It started with the roses - they wilted and curled, their petals becoming dry and crumpled - then the mice started to drop, dying mid step on the greenhouse floor.

Collossal walls, sheer and smooth, towered above them, the tops hazy with distance - “This makes no sense” character A stops, “this makes… (B) this can’t be real.” Character B walks back to them, “what?” - “according to the guide book this cave is only 40 feet deep”

The ghost haunting the house tries to make every family leave - so far it’s been successful. The newest family, however, aren’t frightened of it - they think they can help it cross over. Unfortunately for them, he is coming. 

The spirit was summoned to kill someone, but they’re already dead - left without purpose it inhabits the body of its intended victim.

Make a wish in this cave and its certain to come true - it gives the wisher exactly what they want.

If you like these prompts and want to help me keep writing, you can support me by reblogging or buying me a KoFi.

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If you don't mind, I'd like advice on writing a kidnapping

Writing kidnappings

masterlist. main navigation.

@bluebxlle_writer on instagram

1. Purpose

Common purposes of kidnapping are :

• They require that person to achieve something

• The person has important information

• For ransom, to get something from another character

• For bait, to lure another character

Also, raise the stakes. This may seem trivial, but trust me, it helps. The readers won't care about the kidnapping if the stakes aren't high enough. Maybe the mcs will get lots of money or crucial information if they manage to kidnap someone. Or alternately, maybe something bad will happen if the mcs don't rescue the victim from their kidnappers on time.

2. How it took place

Did the kidnappers have a messy plan - needing to break into a place, fight, and physically drag the victim out of there, which will make the kidnapping known to practically everyone, or did they have an elaborate plan where they drug the victim and smuggle them out through the sewers, so that nobody knew about the kidnapping until a few days have passed? How the kidnappers organize their kidnapping plan will say a lot about their personality and efficiency.

3. How the kidnappers treat the victim

Another important aspect that will also help in the characterizations of the kidnappers is to decide how they will treat the victim. Antagonists will probably torture them - and might even finish it by killing them even after they give in. Protagonists might be more awkward, giving their prisoner food, and checking them once in a while.

But yk what? Screw bad guy and good guy norms. Why not spice it up? Make your antagonists terribble kidnappers, unconsciously striking small talk with the prisoners (yes, like Ming Hua and Ghazan to Mako and Bolin from tlok), while your protagonists ruthless and not hesitating to torture them.

4. How the victim acts

Think about how the prisoner will react to being kidnapped. Will they cower in fear, or make snarky comments and not care about the situation? And during the interrogation, if there's any, will they immediately give in to save themselves or remain strong and keep their mouth shut? Will they try to escape at all, or simply accept their fate?

Or even better, they'll outsmart their kidnappers by pretending to strike a deal with them, only to betray that deal later (my personal favorite oml).

5. Reaction of friends and families

There are three possibilities on how friends and families will react to the victims being kidnapped :

1. They'll become distraught, willing to do anything to get the victim back, even if it means they'll play dirty. If you choose this option, there are more options to write about :

• They'll work together and become an even better team to rescue the victim.

• They'll let their emotions take over and start blaming one another, causing fights and the team to fall apart, which will make a rescue mission difficult.

• They'll strike a deal with another group of villains and work together to save the victim.

2. They won't even notice that the victim is missing, making the whole thing even sadder. A perfect example of this is the kidnapping of Klaus in TUA - none of his siblings noticed when he went missing, not even after he literally time traveled back and forth. Not to mention that when they heard that their brother had been kidnapped, their first thought was Five, not Klaus.

3. Even worse, they might know that the victim had been kidnapped, but they won't do anything about it - either because they don't care enough, or they prioritized their current missions over rescuing the victim. This one never fails to make me cry :"

Of course, you don't have to stick to one of these - you can always create a mixture of all three. Maybe most people won't notice the victim's disappearance, and those who did won't bother to do anything, but their closest friend was willing to do anything to rescue them.

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Writer's Guide to Unreliable Narrators

Unreliable narrators are narrators who intentionally or subconsciously mislead the reader with their own bias and lies. I love nothing more than a narrator who deceives me. There is something incredibly charged about not being able to rely on your guide through a story. So how can we write them?

Determine What Kind of Unreliable Narrator your Narrator is.

There are five kinds of unreliable narrator we see in fiction, each with their own way of leading the audience astray.

The Unstable: This narrator is usually an unstable character with problems with grasping reality or having trouble accepting it so they bend it to their own tastes. Example: Arthur Fleck in Joker & Amy Elliot Dunne in Gone Girl

The Exaggerator: the one who spins fanciful lies to embellish the facts of the story around them. Usually they embellish it in such a way to make themselves look good.

The Child: Though children can be a font of truth, they often have a way of muddling facts and being confused by certain aspects of the story they are not versed in. Example. Bran in A Song of Ice and Fire & Scout Finch in To Kill A Mockingbird

The Biased: The biased Narrator is usually an outsider. They enter the world with preconceptions of the world and/or characters around them. Usually they get disabused of their biases by story's end but not always. Example Damen/Damianos of Akielos in The Captive Prince Trilogy

The Liar: The Liar is simply just a liar liar pants on fire. They twist the narrative and outwardly lie about their actions and the reactions of others. The liar is self-serving, usually narcissistic. Example Cersei Lannister from A Song of Ice and Fire.

How to Write Your Unreliable Narrator

The thing you must remember is that your audience immediately trusts your narrator, they have no other choice. It is a given. However, it is your job to break that trust.

Allow the narrator to outwardly lie. Let them spout half truths or full out lies in the narrative. The audience will take what your character says as the gosphel until slapped with a conflicting account or detail. It provides a wham to the story that becomes a turning point. Perhaps the best example of this is Amy Elliott Dunne in Gone Girl (I recommend). She introduces herself as a sweet housewife who loves her husband despite her fears over his temper. However, in the section of the book she narrates she quickly flips Nick's account of the events leading up to her disappearance, turning the audience on their head so fast none of us have a chance.

Allow the character to mislead your audience with the absence of details. Your story is one big chain, omit a link and the thing is useless & subject to the questioning you want to draw out of the audience. For example, Daenerys Targaryen believes wholeheartedly that the house with the red door is in Braavos. However, she vividly remembers a lemon tree outside her window and sunsine. But lemon trees cannot grow Braavos and it is notoriously damp and cold. #lemongate

Speak to your audience through the events of the story, bypassing the narrator to get through to the audience. Sometimes the best reveal that the narrator cannot be trusted is showing the audience evidence that they are either not seeing what's happening or they are ignoring it. For example in Captive Prince, it is almost explicitly suggested that the Regent molested his nephew Laurent as a child. If one ignores Damen's narration, the signs are there to see from Laurent's reaction to his Uncle's presence and in some of Laurent's words. Damen chalks this down to Laurent being a brat and the Regent just being a villain. He has to be told despite the audience realising or at least suspecting it from the second book onward.

Play off your secondary characters. Use the characters around your narrator to disprove their account if the story and completely flip the story on its head. Usually, I trust the secondary characters when it comes to Unreliable Narrators. For example, Cersei Lannister gets her own POV in a Feast of Crows. Up until this point she has been very mercurial in her reactions in the first few books, to the point where other characters and the audience are confused about who the real Cersei is: the shrewd polictian or the wine mom with way too much faith in herself and her spawn. In truth, Cersei is incredibly paranoid about those around her and she thinks herself the cleverest player in the game. However, from others such as Tyrion, Tywin, Littlefinger and the members of the Small Council (who yes, all have a touch of misgyny to their criticisms of Cersei but really most of their points have a point since she is mad as a box of frogs) we see that Cersei tends to make enemies out of allies, assume the worst in others and make political choices to spite others or to put her faith in those who offer her little more than flattery.

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Writing Resources: Characters

Body

A list of body language words

Words to describe body type and shape

Words for Skin Tone | How to Describe Skin Color

Characters Types

Heroes to Villain, A Guide

How to write a character smarter than you

How To Write a Compelling Side Character

Writer’s Guide to Mary Sues and How to Murder Them

Writing a Rival

Writing children

Emotions

A Writing Cheat Sheet: for linking actions with emotions

Cheat sheet for writing emotions

Feelings chart

Feelings word list

Illustrating Emotion with Eyes/Eye Movements

Face

Words to describe facial expressions

Hair

Describing Hair color

How to describe your haircut

Words used to describe the state of people’s hair

Misc

Build a character

Character Design

Character development

Character mannerisms to consider!

describing appearances without making it too weird

Resources for describing characters

tips for writing bilingual characters

Tropes

How to write enemies to lovers

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Character Development : A Collection of Resources

Patreon || Ko-Fi || Masterlist || Work In Progress

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Resources

Resources For Creating Characters

Resources For Describing Characters

Resources For Writing The Mafia

Resources For Writing Royalty

Commentary on Social Issues In Writing

General Tips

Guide to Character Development

How To Fit Character Development Into Your Story

Tips on Character Consistency

Designing A Character From Scratch

Making characters for your world

Characters First, Story Second Method

Understanding Your Character

Tips on Character Motivations

31 Days of Character Development : May 2018 Writing Challenge

How To Analyze A Character

Alternative Method of Character Creation

Connecting To Your Own Characters

Interview As Your Characters

Flipping Character Traits On Their Head 

Character Driven vs. Plot Driven Stories

Traits

Tips On Writing About Mental Illness

Giving Your Protagonists Negative Traits

Giving Characters Distinct Voices in Dialogue

Giving Characters Flaws

Making Characters More Unique

Keeping Characters Realistic

Archetypes

Writing Good Villains

Creating Villains

Guide to Writing The Hero

Positive Character Development Without Romanticizing Toxic Behavior

Tips on Writing Cold & Distant Characters

Balancing Multiple Main Characters

Creating Diverse Otherworld Characters

Foreshadowing The Villain

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Masterlist | WIP Blog

If you enjoy my blog and wish for it to continue being updated frequently and for me to continue putting my energy toward answering your questions, please consider Buying Me A Coffee, or pledging your support on Patreon, where I offer early access and exclusive benefits for only $5/month.

Shoutout to my $15+ patron, Douglas S.!

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Alternatives For "Said" Organized By Emotion: Color Edition

Curated personally by me, straight from my excel doc where I combined several lists I found online AND duplicated words in multiple columns when the word versatile enough for several emotions, something irritated me on other lists. Like, come on Rebecca, "mumbled" can be used with almost every single mood, why are you only sticking it under "sad"?

Link to the black text version.

Neutral

acknowledged added advised agreed announced articulated asserted began called chimed in claimed communicated concluded conferred considered contended continued declared drawled emitted ended enunciated explained expressed held hinted imparted implied insisted mentioned mumbled muttered noted observed orated predicted pronounced put forth quipped recited reckoned related remarked repeated replied responded revealed shared spoke stated suggested supposed told uttered vocalized voiced went on whispered

Annoyed/Rude/Mean/Angry

accused admonished badgered barked bellowed bleated chastised choked complained condemned criticized cursed demanded denied derided disagreed dismissed dodged exploded fumed glowered groaned groused growled grumbled grunted heckled hissed ignored insulted jeered mimicked mocked nagged provoked raged ranted rasped remonstrated reprimanded retorted ridiculed roared scoffed scolded scorned screamed screeched seethed shouted smirked snapped snarled sneered snickered spat swore taunted teased thundered upbraided vociferated whined yelled

Bummed/Sad/Miserable

agonized apologized babbled bawled begged blubbered breathed complained confided cried faltered fretted grieved groaned grunted hesitated lamented mewled moaned mourned mumbled pleaded shrugged sighed sniffled sniveled sobbed stammered stuttered trailed off wailed wept whined whispered

Happy/Humorous/Excited

babbled beamed bubbled chattered cheered chortled chuckled complimented congratulated cried out crooned crowed derided effused exclaimed giggled grinned gushed heckled hollered jabbered jeered joked lampooned laughed mimicked parodied rejoiced ridiculed sang satirized screamed shouted smiled smirked snickered snorted spoofed taunted teased thanked trilled trumpeted yammered yelled

Kind/Comforting

admired approved comforted complimented congratulated consoled empathized grinned gushed invited joked offered praised professed reassured smiled soothed volunteered

Uncertainty/Worry/Fear

babbled blurted cautioned choked doubted faltered gasped gulped hesitated howled keened mumbled murmured muttered panted prayed quaked quavered screamed screeched shrieked squalled squealed stammered stuttered swore trailed off trembled wailed warbled warned wavered whimpered whispered yelled yelped yowled

Asking A Question

asked babbled begged challenged considered contemplated guessed hesitated hinted hypothesized implied inquired interrogated invited mouthed mused pleaded pondered probed proposed queried questioned quizzed repeated requested solicited speculated supposed wondered

Responding To A Question

accepted acknowledged advised affirmed agreed alleged answered assured avowed claimed conceded concluded confided confirmed considered decided denied disagreed disclosed dismissed disseminated divulged dodged explained ignored imparted indicated informed maintained notified offered passed on proffered promised promulgated refused released reported revealed shared specified speculated supposed testified transmitted verified

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BUILD A CHARACTER (Masterpost)

>Naming

Websites:

- NameChef - Name Generator - Reedsy Generator - Fake Name Generator - Fantasy Name Generator - Baby Names - Baby Center

Lists:

- Long Names List by @leafvy - Giant Name List by @serifsystem - Dark Academia Inspired Names by @victoriahazelnut - Dark Academia Inspired Names part II by @victoriahazelnut - Modern Names Similar to Constellations by @victoriahazelnut

>Personality

Websites:

- Personality Generator - Random Character Traits Generator by @lucalicatteart - Random Zodiac Sign Generator - Zodiac Generator

Lists:

- 638 Personality Traits - Character Traits List with Examples - 800 Character Traits: The Ultimate List (+ How to Develop a Good Character Step-by-Step) - The Signs in a Relationship by @neo-wonderland - Character Flaws by @madswritess - A List of Character Quirks by @psychidion - Victorian Detective by @iamacuteapplepie - Little Quirks for Future Reference by @elvenwinters - Things your Character Might be Afraid of by @rpmemesbyarat - Masterlist of Characters’ Deepest Fears by @bailey-writes

>Backstory

Websites:

- Kassoon Backstory Generator - Character Biography Generator - How to Write Compelling Character Backstories: Step-by-Step Guide - Childhood Memory Generator

Lists:

-  33 Life Events For Your Character’s Backstory by @creativerogues - Important Life Events - Past Traumas by @blackacre13

>Goals & Motives

Websites:

- Character Goal Generator - Character Motivation Generator - Motive Generator

>Secrets

Websites:

- Secret Generator

Lists:

- 300 Secrets for your Character by @crissverahelps - What Secret does your Character Keep? - 150 secrets/plots by @sunshineandtearph

>Appearence

Websites:

- Appearence Generator - Portrait and Figure Drawing References

Lists:

- Appearence Adjectives - Adjectives to Describe People 

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fuck therapy i’m becoming a knight

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In case anyone is having a bad night:

Here is the fudgiest brownie in a mug recipe I’ve found

Here are some fun sites

Here is a master post of Adventure Time episodes and comics

Here is a master post of movies including Disney and Studio Ghibli

Here is a master post of other master posts to TV shows and movies

*tucks you in with fuzzy blanket* *pats your head*

You’ll be okay, friend <3

#bc I’ll need this