With Me It’s Always Raising An Eyebrow And/or Nodding. Which Results In My Characters Looking Like

I always tell myself I’ll keep it cute, keep it light, and by the end of draft one it’s always dark and or tragic.

Writers be like: "I love my characters!"

Also writers: "What if I made them suffer horribly for no reason except my own entertainment?"

love me some world building like yeah these words are made up but damn are they cool

personal interpretations and preferences aside, there's no limit to what you can make a character say/do without taking them out of character. everyone has a breaking point that pushes them to do what they normally wouldn't. give me the circumstances and events that pushed the character. tell me what they're thinking/feeling. tell me how they're justifying their words/actions, both to themselves and to others. if you can argue it, it'll still feel authentic.

actually I love using my disability as a crutch and an excuse and I think all disabled people should be allowed to do it as much as we want

Forced Proximity Dialogue Prompts

Haven't done one of these in a while.

"Come on, this isn't funny." "I'm not joking. It's locked."

"Is that the only tent we have?"

"There's only one bed." "Well, darlin', I'm not sleeping on the floor, so I guess we'll have to share."

"I'm your bodyguard. It's in the job description to protect you at all times." "Well, could you at least 'protect' me from over there?"

"You have got to be kidding me. I have to share a room with you."

"What do you mean there's only one sleeping bag? You had one job."

"Quit following me!" "I was hired to follow you, princess, better get used to it."

"What the hell is that noise?" "Uh, yeah, slight problem. We're out of gas."

"Where are you going? We're in the middle of nowhere!" "Yeah! And whose fault is that?"

"Look around, love. In case you hadn't noticed we're snowed in. So unless you plan to freeze to death, we'll have to find a way to keep each other warm."

"I may be stuck with you, but I don't have to like it."

"Is now a bad time to tell you I'm claustrophobic?"

"Your heart's racing. Now, I know being pressed up against me is exhilerating and all, but I'm trying to concentrate on picking this lock."

"What are you? Afraid?"

"Uh. Slight problem. We're trapped."

"Well, which way, smartass?" "Uh. We might be lost."

Because I’m working on some long fics (that I might not finish if I’m being honest with myself) but I kind of wanna post some shorter stuff, ya know?

On an unrelated note, should I start writing really indulgent one shots for my favorite fandoms? I’m tired of searching for my specific preferred flavor of bullshit and not finding what I want

Your Protagonist is a Liar. If your story follows only the main character, we see things how they see them. A main character is an unreliable storyteller, if they mean it or not. We, just like the MC, aren't in other characters' minds. So, moments are misinterpreted. Your main character sees the world through their own biases. We only know the main character's impressions of the side characters, and the villains. We read only their perception of these characters.

That doesn't make them a villain, its normal. It's realistic and purely understandable. They can't fill gaps of information simply because they weren't there. So, they make assumptions, they make judgements, they remember things incorrectly. Memory isn't perfect, details are changed or forgotten. It's only natural.

Let your protagonist lie. Maybe they don’t even realize they’re doing it. Maybe they do. See what happens.

Okay, I made some hard decisions, and we’re down to 10 wips. I think this is a manageable amount. Let’s see how many I can finish this year

I keep seeing people making fun of using growled, hissed, roared, snarled etc in writing and it’s like.

have you never heard someone speak with the gravel in their voice when they get angry? Because that’s what a growl is.

Have you never heard someone sharply whisper something through the thin space of their teeth? Or when your mother sharply told you to stop it in public as a kid when you were acting up/being too loud? Because that’s what a hiss is.

Have you never heard a man get so blackout angry that their voice BOOMS through the house? Because that’s what a roar is.

Have you never seen someone bare their teeth while talking to accentuate their frustration or anger while speaking with a vicious tone? Because that’s what snarling is.

It’s not meant to be a literal animal noise. For the love of god, not every description is literal. I get some people are genuinely confused, but also some of these people are genuinely unimaginative as fuck.

Yea no I'm fine it's just the dialogue is coming out so neat and I can't show anyone because that would be massive spoiler so I guess I'll just sit here vibrating.