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jumping in, heart first
my head is such a weak thing.
it thinks too much. runs on a
hamster wheel of thought and
doubt. i prefer to touch love
before my brain gets a hold of
her. she is much too soft. my
mind is much too . . . much.
~K.T.

#rae.writespoetry#poetry#kaytpoems#poetry community#blackpoet#poems#writingcommunity#original poetry#writer#writers on tumblr#poem of the day
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Authors and Publishers: NEW COVER - Visit my Gallery of Art for your next unique book cover. https://BookCovers.com/artist/VonnaArt Use Coupon Code BOOKCOVERSJULY for 10% off until the end of the month.
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✏️ Writing Dialogue That Sounds Like Real People, Not Theater Kids on Red Bull
(a crash course in vibes, verbal economy, and making your characters shut up already)
Okay. We need to talk about dialogue. Specifically: why everyone in your draft sounds like they’re in a high school improv group doing a dramatic reading of Riverdale fanfiction.
Before you panic, this is normal. Early dialogue is almost always too much. Too polished. Too "scripted." So if yours feels off? You’re not failing. You’re just doing Draft Zero Dialogue, and it’s time to revise it like a boss.
Here’s how to fix it.
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🎭 STEP ONE: DETOX THEATER ENERGY I say this with love: your characters are not all quippy geniuses. They do not need to deliver emotional monologues at every plot beat. They can just say things. Weird, half-finished, awkward things.
Real people:
interrupt each other
trail off mid-thought
dodge questions
contradict themselves
repeat stuff
change the subject randomly
Let your characters sound messy. Not every line needs to sparkle. In fact, the more effort you put into making dialogue ✨perfect✨, the more fake it sounds. Cut 30% of your clever lines and see what happens.
─────── ✦ ───────
🎤 STEP TWO: GIVE EACH CHARACTER A VERBAL FINGERPRINT The fastest way to make dialogue feel alive? Make everyone speak differently. Think rhythm, grammar, vocabulary, tone.
Some dials you can twist:
Long-winded vs. clipped
Formal vs. casual
Emojis of speech: sarcasm, filler words, expletives, slang
Sentence structure: do they talk in fragments? Run-ons? Spirals?
Emotion control: are they blunt, diplomatic, avoidant, performative?
Here’s a shortcut: imagine what your character sounds like over text. Are they the “lol okay” type or the “okie dokie artichokie 🌈✨” one? Now translate that into speech.
─────── ✦ ───────
🧠 STEP THREE: FUNCTION > FILLER Every line of dialogue should do something. Reveal something. Move something. Change something.
Ask:
Does this line push the plot forward?
Does it show character motivation/conflict/dynamic?
Does it create tension, add context, or raise a question?
If it’s just noise? It’s dead air. Cut it. Replace it with a glance. A gesture. A silence that says more.
TIP: look at a dialogue scene and remove every third line. Does the scene still work? Probably better.
─────── ✦ ───────
💥 STEP FOUR: REACTIVITY IS THE GOLD STANDARD Characters don’t talk into a void. They respond. And how they respond = the real juice.
Don’t just write back-and-forth ping pong. Write conflict, dodge, misunderstanding. If one character says something vulnerable, the other might joke. Or ignore it. Or say something cruel. That’s tension.
Dialogue is not just information exchange. It’s emotional strategy.
Try this exercise: A says something revealing. B lies. A notices, but pretends they don’t. B changes the subject. Now you’ve got a real scene.
─────── ✦ ───────
🔍 STEP FIVE: PAY ATTENTION TO POWER Every convo has a power dynamic, even if it’s tiny. Who’s steering? Who’s withholding? Who’s deflecting, chasing, challenging?
Power can shift line to line. That shift = tension. And tension = narrative fuel.
Write conversations like chess matches, not ping pong.
─────── ✦ ───────
✂️ STEP SIX: SCISSORS ARE YOUR BEST FRIEND The best dialogue is often the second draft. Or third. Or fourth. First drafts are just you figuring out what everyone wants to say. Later drafts figure out what they actually would say.
Things to cut:
Greetings/closings ("Hi!" "Bye!"--skip it unless it serves tone)
Exposition disguised as chat
Obvious thoughts spoken aloud
Explaining jokes
Repeating what we already know
Readers are smart. Let them fill in blanks.
─────── ✦ ───────
🎧 STEP SEVEN: READ IT OUT LOUD (YES, REALLY) If you hate this step: too bad. It works. Read it. Mumbling is fine. Cringe is part of the ritual.
Ask yourself:
Would someone actually say this?
Does this sound like one person speaking, or a puppet show with one hand?
Where does the rhythm trip? Where’s the breath?
If you can’t say it out loud without wincing, the reader won’t make it either. Respect the vibe.
─────── ✦ ───────
🏁 TL;DR: If you want your dialogue to sound like real people, let your characters be real. Messy. Annoying. Human. Let them interrupt and lie and joke badly and say the wrong thing at the worst time.
Cut the improv class energy. Kill the urge to be ✨brilliant✨. And listen to how people talk when they’re scared, tired, pissed off, in love, or trying not to say what they mean.
That’s where the good stuff is.
—rin t. // thewriteadviceforwriters // official advocate of awkward silences and one-word replies
P.S. I made a free mini eBook about the 5 biggest mistakes writers make in the first 10 pages 👀 you can grab it here for FREE:
#writing#writeblr#writing advice#writing tips#writers on tumblr#writing help#writing blog#writing community#creative writing#fiction writing#how to write dialogue#dialogue tips#writing resources#writing guide#tumblr writing community#writeblr advice#writersonline#tumblrwritingcommunity#amwriting#writinghelp#writinghack#writingcommunity#storystructure#creativewritingtips#writeblr community#writingmotivation#writers block#writingadvice#how to write#thewriteadviceforwriters
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When I first got into writing, I found myself struggling with all these character profile sheets that asked for descriptors like favorite color or favorite tattoos. Don't get me wrong - the fun in creating these profiles is bringing them to life in your author-ly mind. But when I finally hit the pages, I realized that my characters' interiority is what made each of them so memorable to me and my readers. Here are some questions I think could be worth asking of your characters before you try writing a chapter with them:
Who do they go to when they hit a low point? If not who, then where?
How do they react when someone compliments them?
They have to do some spring cleaning. What are they tossing?
What’s their go-to spot for a date (romantic or platonic)?
How do they react when they’re slighted? Do they totally rage out, plot something for later, or move past their feelings?
Who will they cry in front of?
What do they consider to be some of the cruelest injustices in the world?
What’s the first thing they’ve ever owned?
How do they relax during their down time?
What personal misconception gets in the way of them achieving what they want?
Do they love anyone?
Do they hate anyone?
How do they comfort others?
What brings them comfort?
Do new skills come easily to them, or does it take perseverance?
Who and/or what cause are they willing to blow their lives up for?
What rumors are attached to them?
What soothes them?
Do they like to share?
What is their calling?
Hope this helps!
#writeblr#writingcommunity#writerscommunity#novel writing#writers on tumblr#writers advice#writing tips#writing advice#creative writing#fiction writing#writing help#writing resources#character design#character profile#sytips#writers
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My goal for this year is to take everything I've learned over the last 15 years, put it together, and start working towards publication. With that in mind, I've been doing some research into magazines that pay for fiction.
I figured it might be of interest to others, too, so I wrote a short article with links to the relevant magazines submission guidelines to streamline the process.
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I feel like if the boys didn't join the miltary they'd all be blue-collar workers. Like they'd be more than happy to work with their hands and have the thrill of doing dangerous jobs. It's grueling work but someone's gotta do it ;)
Like for take for example, Simon. He's an experienced welder and his hands are almost always soot covered and you're constantly scolding him for it. Scrubbing away at his calloused palms with mechanic's hand soap, getting into all the crevices and cracks. He's smirking down at you while you get to work and glance up at him for a moment, narrowing your eyes at him in a way that sends him chuckling.
He gently cups your face, "so pretty when you're all worked up, lovie." he coos. And you can't help but let your smile fall through the cracks as you pinch his side, sending the both of you into a fit of mirth before he tugs your form flush against his chest, leaving you a flustered, stammering mess.
masterlist
#okay im sorry#i literally cannot rn#i wanna finish my fic but i keep getting ideas#do see my dilemma?????#maybe ill write the other boys in the mean time#call of duty#call of duty imagines#simon ghost riley#call of duty x reader#mutuals <3#cod#simon riley x reader#simon riley x you#simon ghost x reader#ghost x reader#simon ghost riley x reader#simon fluff#ghost fluff#call of duty ghost#simon ghost fluff#ghost drabble#cod drabble#ReadersOfTumblr#BookCommunity#WritersOfTumblr#WritingCommunity
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Easy and Fun Character Exercises!
Alright, so i've been having a lot of fun with character exercises lately and thought i'd share some of my tips!
Write a scene from each main characters perspective, even if the story only has one perspective. This really helps to get into your characters thought process and see what their motivations are, what people they gravitate towards, and if they're an optimist/pessimist/realist, etc.
Write a dream sequence or scene where the main character's worst fear happens. I've done this with almost all wips i write because it really fleshes out your character to have fears. I usually do three fears: one future fear, (not being remembered, losing a loved one, never travelling the world) one common fear, (spiders, heights, public speaking) and then one "person" fear, like if a person did this to them they would be scared, (yelling, vulnerability, grabbing their hand)
Make your characters have connections. This can be two main characters secretly being ex-lovers, or one of the characters having a younger sister who comes in handy halfway through the story. Things like this that are infrequently brought up and then suddenly come to full effect are reall fun to read and realize!
let me know if you guys would like to hear more, and ask me any questions you'd like advice or tips about! I am in no way an expert, but I do really enjoy writing and love helping others. :)
#writers community#writerscommunity#writers on tumblr#writeblr#writers and poets#writing#creative writing#writers#creativewriters#writer#writer stuff#writers and readers#writing tips#author#writingcommunity#writing blog
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"When writing a novel a writer should create living people; people not characters."
Good literature is a good observation of one's surroundings. Of the people around you and events that take place within your society.
Hemingway argues a fundamental point when creating characters that feel 'alive. ' It's not about what you want (as a writer) or where the story must go; it's about what the characters (people) would do if they truly existed at that moment.
Hemingway continues:
"A character is a caricature. If a writer can make people live, there may be no great characters in his book, but it is possible that his book will remain as a whole; as an entity; as a novel."
Hemingway emphasizes the importance of having people in your story, rather than characters, criticizing the latter as caricatured and exaggerated. He says: "If the people the writer is making talk of old masters; of music; of modern painting; of letters; or of science then they should talk of those subjects in the novel. If they do not talk of those subjects and the writer makes them talk of them he is a faker, and if he talks about them himself to show how much he knows then he is showing off."
Hemingway says your character shouldn't be a doll and you, the master. They should express themselves the way they want to. If you force it, you're faking it and risk creating a one-dimensional character. If a writer goes on and on about the character because he knows more than the reader, he's showboating his pretension and nothing else.
"No matter how good a phrase or a simile he may have if he puts it in where it is not absolutely necessary and irreplaceable he is spoiling his work for egotism."
He ends with:
"People in a novel, not skillfully constructed characters, must be projected from the writer’s assimilated experience, from his knowledge, from his head, from his heart and from all there is of him. If he ever has luck as well as seriousness and gets them out entire they will have more than one dimension and they will last a long time."
#writing#writers on tumblr#writingcommunity#tumblr writers#writerlife#writingjourney#writing tips#creative writing#writingstruggles#writeblr#writing quotes#ernest hemingway#writing characters#character writing
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Writing Angsty Scenes Without Making Them Cringe
Alright, so we all love a good angsty moment, right? That scene where everything feels like it's falling apart, emotions are running high, and your character's world is just burning around them. But… writing those scenes without slipping into "oh no, not this again" territory? Yeah, it can be tricky.
Angst is powerful, no doubt, but it can get cringey fast if you’re not careful. So, how do you make your readers feel the hurt without rolling their eyes at the drama? Here are some thoughts (because we’ve all been there)
1. Keep It Real No one—and I mean no one—has perfectly poetic, life-altering thoughts while they’re in the middle of an emotional meltdown. If your character’s going through it, make sure their reactions feel raw, maybe even messy. Show us their confusion, anger, and fear in a way that makes sense for them. Don’t just throw in a monologue about the meaning of life or have them collapse in a rainstorm. (Unless it’s really necessary. Then, okay, fine, but be careful!)
2. The Little Details Hit Harder Sometimes, it’s the small, unexpected details that pack the biggest punch. Instead of a dramatic sobbing fit, maybe your character’s hands shake as they try to make a cup of tea or they notice a tiny crack in the wall that they never noticed before because they’re spiraling. It’s those little, relatable moments that make the angst feel real, not overdone.
3. Embrace the Quiet Moments It doesn’t always have to be yelling or crying to show that your character is struggling. Silence can be loud. Sometimes it’s the things unsaid that carry the most weight. Maybe your character withdraws, or they’re stuck staring at the ceiling for hours. A pause in the conversation, a long sigh, or a blank stare can be just as gut-wrenching as full-on breakdowns.
4. Avoid the Obvious Clichés (If You Can) Okay, this one’s a bit tricky. It’s not that you can’t ever have rain scenes or broken mirrors (I see you, “symbolism”), but if you’re gonna go there, give it a twist. Maybe instead of staring out a window during a storm, they’re in a brightly lit, overly cheerful room that just doesn’t match how they’re feeling. Play with contrasts. Make the environment work against their mood rather than mirroring it perfectly.
5. Let the Angst Breathe Don’t feel like you need to dump all the angst in one scene. Let it stretch out a bit. Give your characters space to process (or fail to process) over time. A lot of times, readers will feel more for a character who’s quietly unraveling over several chapters than one who explodes all at once. It makes the eventual breakdown hit harder when it does happen.
6. People Are Weird When They’re Hurting They joke at the wrong times. They say things they don’t mean. They shut people out, or they get way too clingy. Don’t be afraid to make your characters react in unexpected or contradictory ways—people do that when they’re feeling too much. Let your characters be complicated, because real people are.
7. Subtle Can Be Stronger Not every angsty scene needs a screaming match or someone running away dramatically. Sometimes, a single line of dialogue or a character’s slight change in expression can hit like a freight train. Try letting things simmer. Hold back when it feels like you should go big, and you might surprise yourself (and your readers) with how much more intense it feels.
#WritingTips#AmWriting#AngstyWriting#WritingAdvice#WriteBetter#WritingCommunity#WriterLife#AngstIsArt#FictionWriting#CharacterDevelopment#WritingInspiration#EmotionalWriting#WritingProcess#WritersOfTumblr#AngstDoneRight#CreativeWriting#WritingCraft#creative writing#writing#writing advice#writblr
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Rose & Torn | Patreon Blurb
Wondered what I post on Patreon? Curious? Nosy? Need a little push before you subscribe? Okay babe, I got you. This one time… you get the full blurb. For free. Like the spoiled princess you are 💅
Rose & Thorn Summary: You’re just trying to write your silly little stories in peace when Harry Styles—yes, that Harry Styles, with the long hair, soft sweater, and rings for days—walks into your favorite café and steals the seat across from you.
What follows?
Flirty banter
Warm chai (that he hates, rude)
Painfully soft glances
And him saying, “I was gonna write lyrics, but now I kinda just wanna write about you.”
Yes, it’s fluffy. Yes, you might blush. Yes, I wrote it at 1AM while thinking, What if Harry fell in love with me while I was just trying to mind my business???
And you can read the entire thing right now 🫶 Just this once, it’s not behind a paywall.
But next week? We’re back to secret club energy 💌
🔗 [Click here] or read below!

The bell over the café door jingled, but you didn’t look up.
Your fingers hovered over your keyboard, pausing as you squinted at the blinking cursor on your screen. You were halfway through a sentence, one you’d rewritten three times already, and it still didn’t sound right. You sighed softly, thumbed the edge of your coffee cup, and took another sip of your now-lukewarm latte. Background hums of milk steamers and indie music blended with the occasional murmur of conversation.
This place—Rose & Thorn—had become your usual over the last few months. It wasn’t big, but it had high ceilings, vintage tile floors, plants dangling from copper rods, and deep wooden booths along the back wall. Enough character to feel lived-in, but quiet enough to focus. You loved it here. Not for any grand reason. Just... the peace of it.
You didn’t notice him at first.
Not until the barista stuttered a bit while asking for a name to write on the cup.
Then you glanced up. Casual, curious.
And saw him.
Tall. Slim. Hair long, dark golden brown, pulled half-up but some pieces falling around his face. A soft, oversized green sweater. Black trousers. Rings. A slow smile that looked both unsure and entirely too charming as he gave his name—Harry.
Harry.
Your brain didn’t immediately click. Not until he turned, waiting for his drink, and you caught the sharp line of his jaw. The eyes. The way he looked around the room like he wasn’t trying to be noticed but always would be.
Harry Styles.
You blinked.
You knew it was him. Of course you did. You weren’t living under a rock. But your mind scrambled to catch up with the realness of him. He looked... softer than you expected. A little sleepy, like maybe he hadn’t meant to stay out this late or wake up this early. And he was definitely looking for a place to sit.
There were two open booths. One next to the window, and one—yours.
He glanced toward the front, then toward you.
And started walking over.
You looked back at your laptop fast, pretending to type.
“Sorry,” a voice said, low and warm and just slightly hesitant. “This seat taken?”
You looked up. And there he was, closer now. Tall enough that the light from the window hit his cheekbone just right. Kind enough eyes that it made you forget how unfairly good-looking he was.
“Oh—no,” you said, heart skipping weirdly in your chest. “Go ahead.”
“Thanks.”
He sat, adjusting the chair with a quiet scrape. You tried to act normal. Just some girl in a café. Writing. Not freaking out. Not staring.
He took out a small notebook, leather-bound and worn at the edges, and a pen. No phone. No entourage. Just him, like this was his usual spot too.
A minute passed. Then five.
You tried to focus on your sentence again, but your thoughts were a mess. You could feel him. Not in a weird way, just... there. He had that kind of presence. Big but easy. Confident but not loud. And he was humming under his breath.
You snuck a glance.
He was scribbling something in his notebook. Brow furrowed a little. Lips parted. His tea sat untouched.
Your stomach did a small flip.
And then he looked up at you.
Caught.
You froze.
He smiled, slow and crooked, like he knew.
“Whatcha working on?” he asked, voice still soft. Like he didn’t want to break the quiet of the place too much.
You hesitated. “Just writing.”
“Mm,” he nodded. “Fiction?”
“Sort of.”
He tilted his head. “Sort of?”
“I write articles,” you explained. “But sometimes I write other things. Like... bits of stories. Stuff that’ll never see the light of day.”
Harry smiled wider. “I like that. Secret stories.”
You laughed under your breath. “Not on purpose. Just... never finished anything I felt was good enough.”
He leaned forward a little, interest plain in his eyes. “Can I ask what this one’s about?”
Your fingers hovered over the keyboard again. “A girl. She works in a little café. She’s just... trying to keep her life from falling apart.”
Harry looked around. “She work here?”
You shook your head. “Different place. Messier. Bad coffee.”
“Sounds real,” he said, nodding seriously.
You grinned.
He stuck out a hand. “I’m Harry.”
“I know.”
He laughed, and it was a real one—quiet but warm, like it came from his chest. You liked that laugh.
You gave your name.
He repeated it softly. Then again. Like he was trying it out.
“I like that,” he said. “Suits you.”
You looked away, heat crawling up your neck.
This didn’t feel like some celebrity moment. It didn’t feel like you were talking to him, the Harry you’d seen in music videos or awards shows or late-night interviews. It just felt like... a moment. A strangely quiet, perfectly normal moment with a man who was making you smile too easily.
He nodded at your screen. “Can I read it?”
Your heart leapt. “God, no. It’s—just fragments.”
He leaned back, hands up. “Alright. Maybe next time.”
Next time?
You raised an eyebrow. “You planning on stealing my booth?”
He shrugged. “I think I just did.”
You bit your lip to keep from smiling too much. “Okay, but I get the plug socket. It’s war if you touch my charger.”
“I’d never,” he said solemnly.
He took a sip of his tea, finally. Grimaced.
“Too hot?”
“No, just… chai.”
You laughed.
“You don’t like chai?”
“It tastes like someone dropped a candle in milk.”
You choked on your latte. “That’s oddly specific.”
He wiped his mouth with a napkin, still grinning. “It’s accurate, though.”
You shook your head. “Blasphemy.”
For the next twenty minutes, neither of you wrote. Or pretended to. The conversation was easy, weirdly so. You talked about little things—books, music, your mutual distaste for small talk. He asked you if you believed in ghosts. You asked him if he always talked to strangers in cafés.
“Not always,” he said. “Just the pretty ones.”
You stared at him.
He held your gaze, no smirk this time. Just honesty. That kind that didn’t feel rehearsed or smooth.
“I mean it,” he said. “You walked in and I... I couldn’t stop looking.”
“I was already here,” you said, trying to make your voice steady.
He blinked. “Wasn’t I here first?”
You laughed, a little breathless. “No.”
“Shit.”
“What?”
“Means I really didn’t see anything else. Just you.”
Silence stretched. Not awkward. Just... tight. Charged.
You looked down at your cup.
He tapped a ringed finger on the table. “Can I be honest?”
You glanced back up.
“I was trying to think of something to write when I came in,” he said. “Lyrics or whatever. Been stuck for a while. But now I’m thinking I just want to write about this.”
You blinked. “This?”
He nodded once. “You. Today. The way you looked when I sat down—like you were about to vanish if I stared too hard.”
You swallowed. “That’s... intense.”
“I know,” he said. “Sorry.”
“Don’t be.”
He smiled, softer this time.
You looked at your screen. Then back at him. “Can I be honest too?”
“Please.”
“This is the weirdest day of my life.”
He laughed. “Fair.”
You hesitated, then added, “But also kinda the best?”
Harry tilted his head, curls shifting. “Yeah?”
You nodded. “Yeah.”
He looked down, then back up again, eyes a little shy now. “Would it be okay if I asked for your number?”
Your heart thudded. You didn’t answer right away, but only because your brain had short-circuited.
He waited.
You reached for his phone. Typed it in.
Handed it over.
He took it gently. Smiled as he saved it.
Then he looked at you again, really looked.
“I’ll text you,” he said. “Soon. Like... tonight.”
You smiled. “Looking forward to it.”
He paused like he wanted to say something else. Then stood, tea in one hand, notebook in the other.
“I should go. Leave you to your writing.”
You nodded, though a part of you wanted to ask him to stay.
As he turned, he paused at the doorway. Looked back. Gave you a smile that made your stomach twist in the best way.
And then he was gone.
You stared at the empty chair for a moment, stunned.
Then turned back to your laptop.
And started writing again.
But this time, the words came easy.
Because now, your story had a beginning.

If you liked this and wanna see more blurbs like it every week (plus some ✨spicy✨ ones), you can subscribe here 💌
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please, the smoothness that is my cerebrum, let me work in peace without thinking about that plot hole
#writing memes#writer#writing humor#writers on tumblr#writing#books#writers#writeblr#creative writing#ao3 writer#writers block#writing is hard#writingcommunity#writing advice#writers and poets#writing life#on writing
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🧪 Character Arcs 101: what they are, what they aren’t, and how to make them hurt
by rin t. (resident chaos scribe of thewriteadviceforwriters)
Okay so here’s the thing. You can give me all the pretty pinterest moodboards and soft trauma playlists in the world, but if your character doesn’t change, I will send them back to the factory.
Let’s talk about character arcs. Not vibes. Not tragic backstory flavoring. Actual. Arcs. (It hurts but we’ll get through it together.)
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💡 what a character arc IS:
a transformational journey (keyword: transformation)
the internal response to external pressure (aka plot consequences)
a shift in worldview, behavior, belief, self-concept
the emotional architecture of your story
the reason we care
💥 what a character arc is NOT:
a sad monologue halfway through act 2
a single cool scene where they yell or cry
a moral they magically learn by the end
a “development” label slapped on a flatline
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✨ THE 3 BASIC FLAVORS OF ARC (and how to emotionally damage your characters accordingly):
Positive Arc They start with a flaw, false belief, or fear that limits them. Through the events of the story (and many Ls), they confront that internal lie, grow, and emerge changed. Hurt factor: Drag them through the mud. Make them fight to believe in themselves. Break their trust, make them doubt. Let them earn their ending.
Negative Arc They begin whole(ish) and devolve. They fail to overcome their flaw or false belief. This arc ends in ruin, corruption, or defeat. Hurt factor: Let them almost have a chance. Build hope. Then show how they sabotage it, or how the world takes it anyway. Twist the knife.
Flat/Static Arc They don’t change, but the world around them does. They hold onto a core truth, and it’s their constancy that drives change in others. Think: mentor, revolutionary, or truth-teller type. Hurt factor: Make the world push back. Make their values cost them something. The tension comes from holding steady in chaos.
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🎯 how to build an arc that actually HITS (no ✨soft lessons✨, just internal structure):
Lie they believe: What false thing do they think about themselves or the world? (“I’m unlovable.” “Power = safety.” “I’m only valuable if I’m useful.”)
Want vs. need: What do they think they want? What do they actually need to grow?
Wound/backstory scar: What made them like this? You don’t need a tragic past™ but you do need cause and effect.
Turning point: What moment forces them to question their worldview? What event cracks the surface?
Moment of choice: Do they change? Or not? What decision seals their arc?
🧪 Pro tip: this is not a worksheet. This is scaffolding. The arc lives in the story, not just your doc notes. The lie isn’t revealed in a monologue, it’s felt through consequences, relationships, mistakes.
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🛠️ things to actually do with this:
Write scenes where the character’s flaw messes things up. Like, they lose something. A person. A plan. Their cool. Make the flaw hurt.
Track their beliefs like a timeline. How do they start? What chips away at it? When does the shift stick?
Use relationships as arc mirrors. Who challenges them? Enables them? Forces reflection? Internal change is almost never solo.
Revisit the lie. Circle back to it at least three times in escalating intensity. Reminder > confrontation > transformation.
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🌊 bonus pain level: REVERSE THE ARC
Wanna make it really hurt? Set them up for one arc, and give them the opposite. They think they’re growing into a better person. But actually, they’re losing themselves. They think they’re spiraling. But they’re really healing. Let them be surprised. Let the reader be surprised.
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TL;DR: If your plot is a skeleton, your character arc is the nervous system.
The change is the thing. Don’t just dress it up in trauma. Don’t let your character learn nothing. Make them face themselves. And yeah. Make it hurt a little. (Or a lot. I won’t stop you.)
—rin t. // thewriteadviceforwriters // plotting pain professionally since forever
P.S. I made a free mini eBook about the 5 biggest mistakes writers make in the first 10 pages 👀 you can grab it here for FREE:
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Friends. After 4.5 years of querying and over 300 rejections. I just signed with an agent.
What does that journey look like? Well I knit a cowl. The colors separate the years, and the stripes divide the rejections by month.
I call it “Persistence.”

#knittersofinstagram#eatsleepknit#knitting#ravelry#knit cowl#writingcommunity#writerlife#writerslife#writers of tumblr#queer writers#authorlife#authors of tumblr#persistence
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Scottish Folklore Resources
Since its spooky season, I thought I'd share this list of short posts about Scottish folklore creatures for anyone seeking inspiration. These posts are mostly based on what I have heard as someone who grew up in central Scotland, so please keep in mind that they may differ slightly from other stories you might here; folklore is very much a living oral tradition and there are usually a few iterations of anything floating about.
With that said, I did do some background research to offer other perspective and fact check my memory as much as one can when dealing with this kind of topic!
The Baobhan Sìth
Cat Sìth
Cù Sìth
Red Caps
The Wulver
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