#writinghelp

[herbariumofletters]

Emotions in Writing

FEAR

DEFINITION: To be afraid of; to expect threat or danger

PHYSICAL SIGNALS AND BEHAVIORS:

Face turning ashen, white, pallid Hair lifting on the nape and arms Body odor, cold sweats Clammy hands Trembling lips and chin Tendons standing out in the neck, a visible pulse Elbows pressing into the sides, making one's body as small as possible Freezing, feeling rooted to the spot Rapid blinking Tight shoulders Staring but not seeing, eyes shut or crying Hands jammed into armpits or self-hugging Breath bursting in and out Leg muscles tightening, the body ready to run Looking all around, especially behind A shrill voice Lowering the voice to a whisper Keeping one's back to a wall or corner Shaking uncontrollably Gripping something, knuckles going white Stiff walking, the knees locking Beads of sweat on the lip or forehead Grabbing onto someone Eyes appearing damp and overly bright Stuttering and mispronouncing words, tremors in the voice Jerky movements, squirming Licking the lips, gulping down water Sprinting or running Sweeping a hand across the forehead to get rid of sweat Gasping and expelling one's breath as if pained Uncontrollable whimpering Pleading, talking to oneself Flinching at noises

INTERNAL SENSATIONS:

An inability to speak Shakiness in the limbs Holding back a scream or cry Heartbeat racing, nearly exploding Dizziness, weakness in the legs and knees A loosening of the bladder Chest pain Holding one's breath, gulping down breaths to stay quiet A stomach that feels rock hard Hyper-sensitivity to touch and sound Adrenaline spikes

MENTAL RESPONSES:

Wanting to flee or hide The sensation of things moving too quickly to process Images of what-could-be flashing through the mind Flawed reasoning Jumping to a course of action without thinking things through A skewed sense of time

CUES OF ACUTE OR LONG TERM FEAR:

Uncontrollable trembling, fainting Insomnia Heart giving out Panic attacks, phobias Exhaustion Depression Substance abuse Withdrawing from others Tics (a repetitive grimace, a head twitch, talking to oneself) Resistance to pain from rushing adrenaline

MAY GROW INTO:

ANGER, TERROR, PARANOIA, PANIC, DREAD

CUES OF SUPPRESSED FEAR:

Keeping silent Denying fear through diversion or topic change Turning away from the cause of the fear Attempting to keep one's voice light A watery smile that's forced into place Masking fear with a reactive emotion (anger or frustration) False bravado Over-indulgence in a habit (nail biting, lip biting, scratching the skin raw) A joking tone, but the voice cracks

MAY TAPER-OFF TO:

AGITATION, OVERWHELMED, WARINESS, UNEASE

POWER VERBS:

Shake, quiver, stutter, chatter, gulp, quake, gasp, weep, moan, tremor, bristle, blanch, pale, whiten, clutch, scrabble, run, hide, sob, yelp, guard, shock, flinch, jerk, weaken, shudder, bolt, slip out, bury, cover, lurch, crouch, huddle, freeze, jolt, scream, moan

[thewriteadviceforwriters]

✏️ 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.

─────── ✦ ───────

🎭 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:

[theyuniversity]

99% of the time, you’ll use “affect” as a verb and “effect” as a noun.

I tried to affect my grade by studying.

This was the effect: I passed with flying colors.

Grammar: it’s a cause-and-effect relationship. 😉

🔗 Here is a detailed explanation.

Website | Twitter |  Instagram | Medium | Pinterest

[anitalenia]

This is very helpful for me. Credits to Pinterest idk who exactly 🚬🦟

[thebadchoicemachine]

[taylorlouise]

Use coupon code 25OFF for $25 off editing, workshopping, and beta reading services on taylorlouiseblog.com.

✨It's time to invest in your story.✨

[punkz0]

Need a Writer or Beta Reader? Let Me Help!

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Whether you’re starting a new blog, refining a novel, or need a fresh perspective on your writing, I’d love to collaborate!

Feel free to DM me with questions or share this post with anyone who might need a helping hand.

[plotandelegy]

The Best Fantasy Language Generator for Your Fiction

This is a fantasy language resource I wanted to post about. I'm sorry, it's not a complete article. A new guide is coming… someday. For now, here is my favorite fantasy language generator https://www.vulgarlang.com . They have an in-depth language generator that guarantees a new language with a dictionary and sentence translator. Wow, this is starting to sound like an ad. It's not. I have clearly heard too many sponsorship plugs on YouTube lately. It's melting my brain.

[myperfectpaperofficial]

We all wish we could magically ace every test without putting in any effort, but unfortunately, good grades require studying.

[herbariumofletters]

Emotions in Writing

Humiliation

DEFINITION:

Feeling degraded or mortified, worthless or cheap

PHYSICAL SIGNALS AND BEHAVIORS:

Body collapsing in on itself A bowed head Shoulders curling over chest Angling torso away from others Uncontrollable shuddering or shivering Hair hanging in face, hiding the eyes A downward gaze A flushed face Hitching chest Eyes dull, lifeless Pulling down a shirt hem (covering gesture) Body shielding (if holding onto an object) Hands clutching at stomach Covering face with hands Bottom lip or chin trembling Whimpering Throat bobbing Arms falling to sides, lifeless Uncontrolled tears Flinching at noise or from being touched Huddling, crouching Trying to cover body with hands Neck bending forward Movement is slow, jerky Knees locked tight together A loss of coordination Cold sweat Stumbling, staggering Backing up against a wall, sliding into a corner, hiding Visible tremors coursing through the body Hands gripping elbows Pigeon toes (tilted inward) Sobs trapped in throat Drawing knees up to the body's core Wrapping arms around self Runny nose

INTERNAL SENSATIONS:

Weakness in legs Sluggish heartbeat Pain in chest Rapid swallowing Dizziness, a sense of vertigo Ribs squeezing Body feels broken Skin tightens (crawls) Loose muscles Hot eyes and cheeks Nausea

MENTAL RESPONSES:

Self-loathing Shattered thoughts A feeling of nakedness, of being on display A need to hide or flee that supersedes all else Wanting it to end at all costs

CUES OF ACUTE OR LONG TERM HUMILIATION:

Curling up on the floor Hiding behind something, against something Crying, blubbering, hitching sobs Willingness to escape by any means A desire to die, for the emotional pain to end

MAY GROW INTO:

DEPRESSED, POWERLESSNESS, REGRET, SHAME, ANGER, HATRED, SELF-LOATHING

CUES OF SUPPRESSED HUMILIATION:

Numbness in mind and body Becoming passive and disengaged Closing off all thoughts of what is happening Not speaking or making any sound Sending the mind “somewhere else” A disconnect between the mind and body

MAY TAPER-OFF TO:

EMBARRASSMENT, INSECURITY, VULNERABILITY

POWER VERBS:

Shame, disgrace, demean, dishonor, mortify, ridicule, abuse, blow, crush, flatten, destroy, collapse, ruin, demote, abase, slump, weep, hurt, ache, blur, brand, slander, slur, stain, wound, suffer, torture, cut, scar, choke, fracture, suffocate

[thewriteadviceforwriters]

🧪 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.)

─────── ✦ ───────

💡 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

─────── ✦ ───────

✨ 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.

─────── ✦ ───────

🎯 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.

─────── ✦ ───────

🛠️ 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.

─────── ✦ ───────

🌊 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.

─────── ✦ ───────

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:

[theyuniversity]

📚✨ Grammar Check: Chris’ or Chris’s? Let’s settle this once and for all. 👇

🔸 If you're following AP Style (like in journalism):

✅ Chris’ book 🛑 Chris’s book

🔸 If you're following Chicago Style or standard grammar rules:

✅ Chris’s book 🛑 Chris’ book

💡 The general rule:

Add ’s to singular names—even if they end in s (Chris’s hat, James’s dog).

But journalism prefers just the apostrophe (Chris’ article) for cleaner flow.

So … you’re both right. It just depends on the style you’re using! 😅🖋️

Website | Twitter |  Instagram | Medium | Pinterest 

[anitalenia]

𝙍𝙀𝙑𝙀𝙍𝙎𝙀 𝙃𝘼𝙍𝙀𝙈 ⋆⭒˚｡⋆‎♡‧₊˚

꒰ঌ definition ໒꒱ ˏˋ°•*⁀➷   𝑐𝑜𝑛𝑠𝑖𝑠𝑡𝑠 𝑜𝑓 𝑜𝑛𝑒 𝑓𝑒𝑚𝑎𝑙𝑒 𝑝𝑟𝑜𝑡𝑎𝑔𝑜𝑛𝑖𝑠𝑡 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝑡𝘩𝑟𝑒𝑒 𝑜𝑟 𝑚𝑜𝑟𝑒 𝑚𝑎𝑙𝑒 𝑙𝑜𝑣𝑒 𝑖𝑛𝑡𝑒𝑟𝑒𝑠𝑡𝑠. 𝑎𝑙𝑠𝑜 𝑘𝑛𝑜𝑤𝑛 𝑎𝑠 𝑢𝑛𝑜𝑟𝑡𝘩𝑜𝑑𝑜𝑥 𝑟𝑜𝑚𝑎𝑛𝑐𝑒. ˚୨୧⋆｡˚ ⋆

˚₊· ͟͟͞͞➳❥ below you will find sub genres under this category, as well as some useful pairings for this trope. for educational writing purposes — contains dark content <3

note: several of these can also be used in other tropes as well, just depends on how you write it and interpret it. Also, this is strictly woman x multiple men because reverse harem is just that. Harem is man x multiple women, ergo reverse harem

₊˚⊹.* ♡ person A being hunted by a group of people — the circumstance can be interpreted in many different ways (can be a game between them as to who gets her first)

₊˚⊹.* ♡ person A being passed around a friend group

₊˚⊹.* ♡ multiple yandere loving person A

₊˚⊹.* ♡ person A lost somewhere and taken to the home of person B, where multiple suitors await to take care of her

₊˚⊹.* ♡ demon brothers and their love (person A) — obey me! anyone ???

₊˚⊹.* ♡ kings and their favorite princess

₊˚⊹.* ♡ multiple boys at school wanting person A (like in anime’s where every boy has a vastly different personality / social status)

₊˚⊹.* ♡ enemy vampire clans wanting person A

₊˚⊹.* ♡ werewolves sharing person A in the pack

₊˚⊹.* ♡ person A’s professors find other ways to help her grades

₊˚⊹.* ♡ men of different species wanting person A (dark fantasy au) — like elf king wants person A, rogue werewolf wants person A, vampire lord wants person A, etc.

₊˚⊹.* ♡ stuck in a house with your captors (kidnapped au)

₊˚⊹.* ♡ biker gang x waitress who serves them

₊˚⊹.* ♡ angels x demons fighting for person A

₊˚⊹.* ♡ kings x maid

₊˚⊹.* ♡ rivaling princes of different nations x princess of one — they come together in their want for her (can be kings too ig)

₊˚⊹.* ♡ criminal x cop partner x best friend wanting cop!person A

₊˚⊹.* ♡ its mating season for monsters and they all want person A

₊˚⊹.* ♡ person A is the only human in the monster clan

₊˚⊹.* ♡ queen x servants (where person A is the one in control / the dominant one)

₊˚⊹.* ♡ person A and her group of boys she grew up with

₊˚⊹.* ♡ sorceress x her creations

₊˚⊹.* ♡ servant x princes ( can be demon brothers, any kind of royalty, where person A is hired to be their servant)

₊˚⊹.* ♡ multiple psychos playing a game with person A to see who can get them first

₊˚⊹.* ♡ person A is a criminal being hunted by multiple bounty hunters / cops

₊˚⊹.* ♡ person A is stalked by a group of men then later taken by them

₊˚⊹.* ♡ person A is the new farm hand or new to a farm x cowboys

₊˚⊹.* ♡ person A is the creation of person B, but she gets passed around to his partners with his permission — maybe her needs need to be met by more than just one person (person B is the main partner, but lets others use person A)

₊˚⊹.* ♡ bouncing off that idea, person B is the main partner of person A but person B’s partners / brothers / friends also want person A so he allows it

₊˚⊹.* ♡ person A and all her step brothers

₊˚⊹.* ♡ person A x her step brother and his best friends

₊˚⊹.* ♡ person A x her step dad and his best friends

₊˚⊹.* ♡ person A x her bosses

₊˚⊹.* ♡ succubus x demon men who love offering their services (can be human but humans die so do what you will)

₊˚⊹.* ♡ person A x incubus men who always come to her

₊˚⊹.* ♡ person A x vampire coven

₊˚⊹.* ♡ person A on house arrest x her security guards ( a lot of ways this can be twisted — different species, different circumstances, etc. )

₊˚⊹.* ♡ princess x her bodyguards

₊˚⊹.* ♡ person A is a scientist studying alien life forms — they take turns using her so she can “study better”

₊˚⊹.* ♡ person A is traded to a dark king in return for her kingdoms safety (whatever reason you want), only to be shared between him and his royal court (including brothers & best friends)

₊˚⊹.* ♡ person A is a highly fertile woman in a dystopian world, shared amongst lords in hopes to reproduce

₊˚⊹.* ♡ person A x the men sent to kill her

₊˚⊹.* ♡ person A passed around between the Zodiac (as in the twelve Zodiac signs — dark fantasy)

₊˚⊹.* ♡ omegaverse — person A is passed around between the Alpha and his betas

₊˚⊹.* ♡ omegaverse — person A is passed around multiple Alphas

₊˚⊹.* ♡ person A x powerful gods who want her for themselves

₊˚⊹.* ♡ person A x dragon princes

₊˚⊹.* ♡ princess who gets kidnapped by pirates (doesn’t have to be a princess obvi but regardless she getting passed around the ship)

₊˚⊹.* ♡ villain x the men sent to watch her and keep her in check — bonus if at least one of the men is strongly on the hero’s side but can’t deny his attraction to her

₊˚⊹.* ♡ alice in wonderland au — person A is new to the world and taken under the care of person B. person B takes them home and is introduced to all the men there. some are also just introduced at some point and want person A (like white queen and red queen are really sexy menz, werewolf boy, twin boys, yk yk. Im trying not to make this too long but I already did)

₊˚⊹.* ♡ person A x the lost boys — person A is lost and/or new to the world and is found by the lost boys (lowkey dark fantasy peter pan au)

[perfectessaywriterai]

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[clown-water]

please assist !

anyone have tips on beginning a longfic/ fic in general? I have PLENTY of ideas and some notion of a plot but i have NO idea where to begin- if anyone seeing this has tips and/or links it would be appreciated!!