azcwrites

[azcwrites]

Advice for writing relationships

Ship Dynamics

How to create quick chemistry

How to write a polyamorous relationship

How to write a wedding

How to write found family

How to write forbidden love

Introducing partner(s) to family

Honeymoon

Date gone wrong

Fluffy Kiss Scene

Love Language - Showing, not telling

Love Language - Showing you care

Affections without touching

Giving the reader butterflies with your characters

Reasons a couple would divorce on good terms

Reasons for breaking up while still loving each other

Relationship Problems

Relationship Changes

Milestones in a relationship

Platonic activities for friends

Settings for conversations

How to write a love-hate relationship

How to write enemies to lovers

How to write lovers to enemies to lovers

How to write academic rivals to lovers

How to write age difference

Reasons a couple would divorce on good terms

Reasons for having a crush on someone

Ways to sabotage someone else's relationship

Ways a wedding could go wrong

Arranged matrimony for royalty

Signs of a Toxic Relationship

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[azcwrites]

You’ll rewrite it later anyway, so stop staring at the blank page like it owes you money. Just start.

[azcwrites]

OT3 Ideas

Can be used for even more partners!

1.  Holding both their partners’ hands doesn’t leave room to do anything else

2.  Loving to be in the middle while sleeping

3.  Swapping all their clothes, even though they have different body types

4.  Sharing a bathroom with a bunch of people is a nightmare, especially when all of them have to go to work

5.  Having different pet names for their different partners

6.  Being super excited when they finally have a shower big enough for all of them

7.  Even with different work shifts, there will always be at least one partner home to eat dinner with

8.  Finding a travel destination all of them enjoy is not the easiest endeavor

9.  They have a routine for everything, who cooks, who cleans, who does the dishes,…  it’s much easier like that with so many people in one relationship

10.  Fighting over who is riding shotgun and therefore gets to pick the music, and who is sitting in the back like a child

11. Labeling items with their names that they have the same of, that they don’t want to get confused, like mugs or toothbrushes

12.  Trying to take the same day off, so that all of them can spend the day together

13.  Always putting one partner as their phone’s lockscreen and the other as their background

14.  Sharing a Netflix account and screwing each other’s watch-lists up, because they like different things and don’t always have time to watch everything together

15.  Meeting new people and letting them figure out that there is more than one partner can be a lot of fun

OT3 Prompts | How to write a polyamorous relationship | OT3 Prompts - Wooing the third person

If you like my blog and want to support me, you can buy me a coffee or become a member! And check out my Instagram! 🥰

[azcwrites]

Subplot Romance

Over the years I’ve created some twitter threads on writing and history and I’ve decided it’s a good time to start compiling and sharing them on this Tumblr. I’m going to tag them “writing”.

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Here’s what I’ve learned about writing subplot romance. (People who write genre romance probably already know this stuff. It’s those of us who are mainly leavening romantic subplots into fantasy novels that need this info).

1. Romance = fundamentally character-driven. All internal conflict & internal growth. (Can these two trust each other? Will their character flaws drive them apart?) The more study you put into creating characters and building character arcs, the better your romantic writing.

A romance arc is not the SAME as a character arc, but it 100% NEEDS solid character work undergirding it.

2. Romance needs two ingredients: a compelling reason for the characters to be TOGETHER, & a compelling reason for them to be APART. This forms the conflict in the romance so do not skimp on either.

Eg, a common mistake in male-penned stories: female lead has no compelling reason to want male lead. “He’s a good-looking warrior dedicated to winning her throne!” Yeah nah, she’s literally surrounded by good-looking warriors dedicated to winning her throne, why’s he different?

3. Romance needs chemistry = a believable spark of attraction. Something that blew my mind when I realised it: romantic chemistry =/= sexual chemistry. Sexual chemistry (purely physical attraction) is simply PART of romantic chemistry.

Romantic chemistry is a good deal broader. (Read/watch some good romances to see how chemistry is built by different storytellers. One fave of mine is the Romola Garai EMMA. Peerless friends-to-lovers chemistry. Watch the actors’ body language; the way they gravitate to each other; the way their faces light up)

Chemistry tip A: if the driver behind sexual chemistry is lust, the driver behind romantic chemistry is trust. Protag needs/wants someone to trust. It’s the way you play with trust/distrust that will create romantic tension.

eg: love interest holds protag’s hand. With sexual chemistry, protag simply feels a jolt at the contact. With romantic chemistry, protag feels comforted and trustful - then betrayed when it turns out LI is tracking her pulse to see if she’s lying to him (see: MISS SHARP 😇)

Chemistry tip B: if protag is falling for someone, that person should occupy their mind. LI should be mentioned/thought of each scene, even when absent. When present: LI consistently provokes unaccustomed emotion - either positive or negative, depending.

Chemistry tip C: make the characters their best/most lovable/most iconic selves when with each other. Quirkiness, smarts, hilarity. Make these the most fun character scenes in the book & the audience will ship them. Passionately.

4. Build romantic chemistry/attraction through escalating moments of trust and tension. If aiming for happily-ever-after(HEA)/for-now(HFN), then the overall arc is towards greater trust, but you need those moments of tension to give the big payoff scenes appropriate catharsis.

OTOH, if you’re writing a tragic/backstabby romance, you need the trust/comfort moments in order to sell the big tragedy/betrayal.

5. Trust, comfort, & happiness are POWERFUL. This is what genre romance thrives upon. Even in dark/spiky stories, the most surprising thing in the story can be the moment when the LI DOESN’T betray the protag. That too can be wildly cathartic. Use it.

6. Just as character-driven skills help you with romance, so if you master romantic writing, you’ll be better able to write ALL types of relationship - platonic, friendly, hostile.

OK that’s all so far. Two book recs: ROMANCING THE BEAT by Gwen Hayes & THE HEROINE’S JOURNEY by Gail Carriger teach you the rules/expectations of genre romance so you’ll know what the rules are for a happy romance subplot & how to break them for a tragic version.

[azcwrites]

[azcwrites]

Summer's barely begun

And already there are mosquitoes

In this room I called

My haven

I can't find this

Little fucker

For the life of me

To kill and make peace

For it buzzes and flies

Silent far away and yet

Close, so loud

Has woke me often

From dreams of glory

Having bitten me

Time three

So now I am awake

Unwillingy

And scratching at myself

Unsuccessfully

[azcwrites]

Reblog if you're a fanfic writer and you wanna know what your followers' favorite story of yours is ❤

[azcwrites]

dissertation writing advice

[azcwrites]

i think an uncomfortable truth is that there is an inherent arrogance one has to overcome after spending too much time alone, which is not so obvious when it's forced (i.e. through ostracism) because the assumption is that someone who has been ostracized is more likely to lack confidence and thinks poorly of themselves. but then there's this dance between victimhood and low self-esteem yet also subconsciously believing that your own view or daily decisions are "correct" or "better" because you've never had anyone tell you otherwise, because you've been alone. and in addition have gotten used to being extremely independent and considering others' input doesn't even occur to you. so when others DO provide feedback, it's almost jarring, like you don't have a behavioral pathway with which to respond or receive the feedback so you just respond with irritation because your system is confused

[azcwrites]

I am obsessed with the idea that Tsuna comes into power and is just. Genuinely, truly, loved by his people. (He's a good leader, and he cares in a way that had been so, so rare for someone of his station.)

I'm also obsessed with the idea that his people, who love him and could never be afraid of him, start to pick up on his bullshit self-destructive tendencies and take offence. Give me a baker in a small town, suspiciously muscled and missing an eye, scowling down at Tsuna until Tsuna accepts an armful of free food. Give me a random old grandma, covered in tattoos, marching up to Tsuna in public and loudly questioning why he's so pale and berating him for spending too much time working. Give me a young maid in the Iron Fort, new to the job, catching Tsuna asleep at his desk and waking him up and staring him down until he leaves his paperwork to go sleep in a proper bed. Give me people, of all ranks and stations, adoring and unafraid of Vongola X, taking exception to the way he treats himself and seeing no issues in telling him so.

I am obsessed with the idea that Tsuna takes on the job of caring for the family, and the family takes on the job of caring for him in turn.

[azcwrites]

glad that im not popular enough to have an evil shadow version of my blog that exists just to make contradictions on my posts

[azcwrites]

Any tips for a newbie trying to write a comic?

maybe...

Start now!!! Perfect will never come. A year from now you'll have learned more than you ever would have by waiting to be good enough to let yourself start in the first place.

Starting small is generally good advice, but really you should start with the story you're actually excited to make.

Every scene is there to accomplish a specific goal, and that goal CAN be accomplished in more than one way. Don't go ahead with a scene you don't love because you "need" it. Plan ahead, and edit with a machete.

If you don't love a scene, your readers won't love it either.

You have to be your number one fan, keep your number one critic to yourself. Putting yourself down doesn't make anyone want to read your comic.

The process that works for you is NOT what will work for others! Be patient with yourself as you figure out what does work, it takes a long time.

Clarity is far more important than anything else. Your comic doesn't need to be gorgeous, what it NEEDS to be is clear, direct, and effectively show the reader what they need to know.

Characters need to show their emotions and actions

Backgrounds need to tell us where we are

Paneling needs to show us which order to read things in

Using photos, 3d models, or copy/pasted assets is all perfectly fine and acceptable. As long as you own the rights to use the images or models, you're allowed to use them however you see fit. It's not cheating.

Do not start making comics for money

Don't start making comics for fame

Comics aren't a stepping stone to adaptations. If you want an animation, make an animation.

Get into comics because you love comics and you've got a story that you simply can't go another day without telling.

Make comics!

[azcwrites]

Writing Moodboard

[azcwrites]

You unknowingly acquired an ancient artifact that carries a most horrible curse. Well, “most horrible” by ancient standards. By today’s standards it is a mild inconvenience at worst.

[azcwrites]

oh you're in a horror film/book and your phone died/has no bars? how boring. I think phones in horror SHOULD work. they should ding only to have the protagonist check and find nothing. they should get calls from somebody you don't know but is still somehow in your contacts. google maps should lead you to one place, no matter what address you type in.

phones are such a big part of our daily lives, removing them from horror removes the horror from our experience. what if the horror felt like it could happen to you, right here, right now? what if it felt like it was already happening?

[azcwrites]

Writing tip: the way your characters word what they say tells us as much about them as what they're saying. For example:

"Shampoo tastes bad." - neutral statement, simply stating the obvious. Tells us nothing about how the character sees themselves or the world around them. Uninteresting.

"I just don't like the way shampoo tastes." - implies that the character speaking considers this to be an unusual feature of themselves, in contrast to other people, who are implied to supposedly enjoy it. Raises additional questions.

[azcwrites]

People in badly written fantasy stories will usually talk about the major historical events of their world and how magic has affected the lives of everyone, but ask a person in the real world to describe the effects of WWI and the invention of the combustion engine on modern life and they’d probably couldn’t tell you.