yourbookcouldbegayer

[yourbookcouldbegayer]

my writing fundamentally changed forever ten years ago when i realized you could use sentence structure to control people’s heart rates. is this still forbidden knowledge or does everyone know it now

#mod ziva reblogs #yeah strategic syntax also helps with tonal shifts #fantastic for drumming up emotion in the reader

[yourbookcouldbegayer]

my writing fundamentally changed forever ten years ago when i realized you could use sentence structure to control people’s heart rates. is this still forbidden knowledge or does everyone know it now

#this is astonishing ive never thought of it before #mod ziva reblogs #definitely worth revising my syntax

[yourbookcouldbegayer]

[Id: reply from @hoardingferociously reading Agreed! Anon, you can always include lgbtq+ characters in a future story when don't have to worry about your mom looking over your shoulder]

Exactly my thoughts. Anon, the situation you're in? Do not worry about rep. Do not worry about yourr queer audience. Write fun gay stuff if you're reasonably sure it can be private, or won't be traced back to you.

I can't imagine writing with my mom looking over my shoulder. My mom is fine with me writing gay stuff but is an editor and everything I write I would feel so throughly judged. And it sounds like your situation is worse.

I'm curious what you mean by she'll support you writing your stories. I feel throughly sorry for you if you are in a situation where you need her support in order to write it or cannot confidently write without being sure she'll see it.

One day, I hope you will be able to write without her looking over your shoulder. And when you do you can make it as queer as you like. Or, maybe you'll be more able to at the very least be anonymous.

Good luck. I really hope you'll be able to wrrite without being monitored... but don't risk your own safety to include queer characters

-Mod Emma

So my mom said she'd support me in writing my stories as long as I don't put in gay or trans characters. She is checking up on my story once in a while and reading it and I have no idea what to do. I want to include the LGBTQ+ community, but if this is happening, I don't know how I'll do it.

To be honest, I don’t know either. We’ve given advice on how to write queer characters and relationships where it’s not a blatant coming out but even that advice does come with hinting at exes, writing about taking hormones/picking up prescriptions. And I know there’s ways that you could write hints at characters being queer but if your work is being read by someone unsupportive I would say don’t risk it. Wanting to include the LGBTQ+ community in your work is great but if you are having your work monitored and this potentially could put in you in a harmful situation then I’d say it’s best to avoid for now. Your personal safety should come first.

-Mod Noah

[yourbookcouldbegayer]

So my mom said she'd support me in writing my stories as long as I don't put in gay or trans characters. She is checking up on my story once in a while and reading it and I have no idea what to do. I want to include the LGBTQ+ community, but if this is happening, I don't know how I'll do it.

To be honest, I don’t know either. We’ve given advice on how to write queer characters and relationships where it’s not a blatant coming out but even that advice does come with hinting at exes, writing about taking hormones/picking up prescriptions. And I know there’s ways that you could write hints at characters being queer but if your work is being read by someone unsupportive I would say don’t risk it. Wanting to include the LGBTQ+ community in your work is great but if you are having your work monitored and this potentially could put in you in a harmful situation then I’d say it’s best to avoid for now. Your personal safety should come first.

-Mod Noah

#add on

[yourbookcouldbegayer]

So my mom said she'd support me in writing my stories as long as I don't put in gay or trans characters. She is checking up on my story once in a while and reading it and I have no idea what to do. I want to include the LGBTQ+ community, but if this is happening, I don't know how I'll do it.

To be honest, I don’t know either. We’ve given advice on how to write queer characters and relationships where it’s not a blatant coming out but even that advice does come with hinting at exes, writing about taking hormones/picking up prescriptions. And I know there’s ways that you could write hints at characters being queer but if your work is being read by someone unsupportive I would say don’t risk it. Wanting to include the LGBTQ+ community in your work is great but if you are having your work monitored and this potentially could put in you in a harmful situation then I’d say it’s best to avoid for now. Your personal safety should come first.

-Mod Noah

#mod noah #asks #tw can be added #just let me know

[yourbookcouldbegayer]

To clear something up about my question asking about compression gear: I was talking about the standard athletic compression shirts. I've heard that some trans people with smaller chests use those for binding. Since my character fights vampires, I wanted to see if there was a method for him to bind while also being able to fight (I'm also cis, so I have no idea if I'm making sense).

Got it! Yeah I’d still look up specific brands to see if they have wear guides that might give you more detailed information but nothing from what I was able to get from research said there was major risk of harm from wearing compression shirts for long periods of time. I will also recommend looking into your character wearing a sports bra as another binder alternative as many trans people recommend this and use this as an option, it also helps compress/flatten while having the ability to be worn for extended periods of time if you want to consider other garment options.

-Mod Noah

#trans #trans man #binding

[yourbookcouldbegayer]

Hi! I am writing a story with a trans MC. He binds using compression t-shirts (he has a smaller chest size, and it works for him). I was wondering if this method of binding has the same dangers and restrictions as a traditional commercial binder. Could he still only wear it for around 8 hours a day, or can a he wear it for longer? Thank you!

First off I am not a medical professional and secondly this answer is based off a google search I did so I would take this with a grain of salt and do more digging into compression gear.

Nothing came up saying that there was a time limit for how long you should be wearing compression gear. I would however recommend looking into what you have in mind specifically as I know sometimes people consider shapewear as compression gear and that does have some risks to wearing it for a long period of time. Since you called out compression wear, I’m going to assume you mean standard athletic compression gear which I couldn’t find anything that said you couldn’t wear it for extended periods of time but again I didn’t do a deep dive into this so I could be wrong. I suggest looking into specific brands and seeing if they have their own guides on wearing their products as that would give you a good idea of the actual benefits and risk’s.

-Mod Noah

#mod noah #trans #trans man #binding

[yourbookcouldbegayer]

I have this one character who is bi/pansexual. One of my ideas for her is in her past, she had a lot of bad dating experience. And so in the story she mislabels herself as "aroace" and says she 'chose' to be aroace. I'm aware that aroace is not necessarily a choice you can make, and others (including these who are aroace) will point out to the character it doesn't work like that, but I'm still on the fence about including "I chose to be aroace" thing into my story, since I am not aroace.

How can I approach this storyline sensitively?

It’s not ‘necessarily a choice’. It’s not a choice period, I wouldn’t say use the word necessarily at all because it’s implying a choice to be AroAce. To get to the point of your question, I’m not sure that having her claim to be AroAce would be the way to go at all, it just (to me) doesn’t seem like a logical step for your character and I know I’m not authoring the story obviously but if she has bad dating experience’s why is it jumping to her labeling herself as AroAce rather than just saying that she wouldn’t date? In my opinion jumping from one label to another over dating experiences seems like an drastic option although this is just me going off the assumption of bad dating experiences meaning bad dates or bad relationships from lack of communication and compatibility rather than anything else.

I’m going to let AroAce individuals way in on this but from my perspective it just seems like there are other ways you could go without your character randomly picking a new label when it sounds like she knows it’s the wrong label.

-Mod Noah

#asks #aro #ace #aroace

[yourbookcouldbegayer]

Ideally I'd like something I can have folders to sort files in, and that can be accessed from both my phone and my computer. Please

I know I'm literally the resource blog but I forgot what they're all called, what's a good alternative to Google docs & Microsoft Word for writing? My word subscription ran out and docs is terrible and I KNOW there's others but i forgor

[yourbookcouldbegayer]

I know I'm literally the resource blog but I forgot what they're all called, what's a good alternative to Google docs & Microsoft Word for writing? My word subscription ran out and docs is terrible and I KNOW there's others but i forgor

#mod ziva

[yourbookcouldbegayer]

There is a type of plot that is prevalent in YA books and starting to get into general lit that I do not like. It is a similar trope to the MacGuffin, but instead of the plot being driven by an object, it is driven by the characters being in some sort of situation with formally fixed stakes.

Just as a MacGuffin is an object with no specific properties that affect its importance to the story, the identifying characteristic of this plot is that exact nature of the situation is irrelevant or at least not very important.

A very common example is when characters are involved in some sort of game or competition—for example, the first Throne of Glass book involves the protagonist competing to become the king's assassin, but the plot of the book would need to change very little if the competition was a beauty pageant.

"Gamified" plot lines like this often also include MacGuffins (to drive the "game"), confirming the tropes' similarity in my head.

The other common example is the "magic/superhero/assassin school" plot. The "school" is often just a device that brings the characters together and keeps them on a predetermined track, but there's nothing about what the characters are learning or even the school's specific identity as an educational institution that affects the plot.

#good writing advice #mod ziva reblogs

[yourbookcouldbegayer]

Yes, that's what I meant!

Thanks for clarifying! I edited the original ask to include my answer

#asks

[yourbookcouldbegayer]

Hello! I'm a fantasy writer, and one of my main projects takes place in a world that handles gender differently. Newborns aren't assigned genders at birth and are referred to using they/them pronouns until they find a set of pronouns and a gender identity that bests describes them, which is celebrated as a gender reveal party.

I'm cis, and with the way I've built the world, I'm concerned about how my representation of trans people would be. The world's definition is someone who identifies as a different gender than the one that they initially identified with at their gender reveal party. Would that be concerning or offensive in any way?

Thank you for your time! If I need to clarify or elaborate, please let me know!

I’ll reblog or edit with a more concrete answer later but I first want to clarify this to make sure I’m understanding correctly. In your world:

A character has a gender reveal where they choose how they identify as there are no assigned genders at birth

Say someone has a gender reveal at 15 and picks gender X because that’s how they identify at that age

But later in life that character no longer identifies as X but then identifies as Y. It’s this that is your equivalent of being trans in the world you’ve created? That’s what I got from the ask, just want to make sure that’s what you intended.

Edit: Thank you for confirming that this is what you meant.

To be completely honest I don’t see anything wrong with this because it comes close to my own and I’m sure quite a few other trans people’s personal experience. I identified by one label for the longest time before realizing it no longer fit and searching/finding another label. To me that’s fairly close to what you described for your world and if that’s what you want trans to be in your world, it makes a lot of sense to me that yeah, trans would be no longer identifying with your personally chosen gender.

I’m going to leave this open for other opinions though, just in case I may have overlooked something.

-Mod Noah

#trans #mod noah

[yourbookcouldbegayer]

Hello, me and my friends are writing a book about a child who goes to a school for demons and most of the characters will be demons rather than humans. In this instance would it be alright to give demons gender neutral and neopronouns but give most of the few humans in the book binary pronouns, seeing as demons in this story all act exactly the same way humans do?

As long as it makes sense for your world! You have freedom to play around with how you treat pronouns and gender because you’re creating a world. Do the pronouns mean anything to the demons or is this just pronouns for pronouns sake if you get me. I think with enough explanation regarding the neopronouns you should be fine. And by explaining neopronouns I just mean, is this something the human characters are going to question or understand?

-Mod Noah

#add on

[yourbookcouldbegayer]

SELF-CARE TIPS FOR WRITERS

I do these to keep my mental/physical health well in order to write properly. I do not want to be stressed out whenever I am writing and also in order to avoid being in a rut.

REST YOUR EYES !! It is very important to take breaks from staring at our screens due to writing. You can nap or constantly blink to avoid eye strain/dry eyes.

DRINK WATER AND STAY HYDRATED. In my experience, staying hydrated gives me energy and avoids headaches. (PAIR THIS ALONG WITH A HEALTHY DIET TOO.)

FIX YOUR POSTURE. I know it is challenging to maintain good posture but it is a remarkably good investment. Sitting down while writing with a bad posture can cause us to have back/shoulder pains.

SLEEP !! Maintaining good sleep for about 8 - 10 hours helped my brain to function well. Lack of sleep gave me confusion and writer's block every time I tried to write. Plus, feeling sleepy and tired too.

EXCERCISE. I work out for 5 to 10 minutes or if I do not feel like it, instead, I do 5-minute yoga stretches. I could not believe it at first but this boosted my productivity and motivation.

JOURNAL !! Write down your thoughts, rants, and gratitude. Journaling helped me to let go of the heavy baggage I was carrying. I was skeptical at first because I thought it would not work but it made my mental health better and gave me clarity (it cleared all of my messy thoughts). I also used my daily documentation of my life as an inspiration for writing.

reblog to help other writers !!

#writing tips

[yourbookcouldbegayer]

How to show emotions

Part III

How to show disappointment

swallowing hard

low, monotone voice

clucking their tongue

rubbing their face

shaking head

clenching hands

sighing

frowning

pursing of the lips

slumped shoulders

looking away

scowling

How to show relief

exhaling deeply

tension in their face going away

closing eyes for a moment

tentative smile

eyes brightening up

small giddy laughter

putting hand on their breast

joyfully tearing up

looking up

How to show desire

gaze dropping down to the other's lips

opening mouth slightly

small smile around the eyes

eyes widening

pupils dilating

biting lips

following them with their eyes

inhaling deeply

licking lips

How to show tiredness

closing eyes

slowly opening them again

long sighs

yawning

no eye contact

head lolling to the side

closed mouth, neither smile nor scowl

not moving a lot

doing everything slower

staring off into the near distance

How to show confidence

prolonged eye contact

nodding to show they are listening

putting their shoulders back

holding head high

leaning forward

standing tall

smiling openly

Part I | Part II

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#writing tips

[yourbookcouldbegayer]

Hi me and my friend are making a enemies to lovers story and both main characters are men and one of them is trans and I want to know how to incorporate that without it being to obvious? Or to make it more realistic. FYI I’m Very new to writing and don’t want to offend people as I don’t know how to write well and just want characters that represent me and many other people who can find comfort or enjoyment to the story :)

Subtlety is your friend! You can go with offhanded comments about needing to pick up their testosterone prescription if you have them on T. Maybe they have a alarm on their phone as a reminder to remove their binder if you’re having them not have top surgery. If they have top surgery they might make a comment about how they’re happy they can go without a shirt now.

Here’s a response to a similar question that may help!

-Mod Noah

#mod noah #trans #transgender #trans men