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Alucard / Castlevania

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hey, do you have anything on writing about cults you could share, please?

Writing Notes: Cults

Cult - A religious or quasi-religious group characterized by unusual or atypical beliefs, seclusion from the outside world, and an authoritarian structure.

They tend to be highly cohesive, well organized, secretive, and hostile to nonmembers.

Also: The system of beliefs and rituals specific to a particular religious group.

Cult of Personality - exaggerated devotion to a charismatic political, religious, or other leader, often fomented by authoritarian figures or regimes as a means of maintaining their power. Also called personality cult.

Characteristics of a Cult

Each cult has its own distinctive focus, but almost all of these groups share at least some elements in common, such as:

Authoritarian control: Cultism hinges on encouraging maximum dependency. People in the cult must feel incapable of living an individual life outside the norms of the group. These beliefs often go hand in hand with a worshipful attitude toward the group’s authoritarian leader.

Extremist beliefs: Cult members hold to very dogmatic and extreme beliefs. They also are unable to question these belief systems without fear of reprisal or punishment from the leader or other group members.

Isolation from society: As soon as new members join a cult, other adherents work hard to isolate them from family members and friends. This helps fulfill the mind control aspirations of the leader. It also creates a hive mind of sorts between the new person and the other members.

Veneration of a single individual: Charismatic leaders are often at the center of most cults. Consider the Manson family of the late 1960s. As their name suggests, they adopted the beliefs of their leader, Charles Manson, and fulfilled his requests. The same pattern repeats in almost all other cults, albeit to less violent ends in many cases.

Types of Cults

There are many different types of cults focusing on different end goals or beliefs. Here are just a few general groupings:

Doomsday cults: Certain cults come together to prepare for the allegedly imminent end of the world. For instance, the Branch Davidians stockpiled firearms and explosives in a Waco, Texas, compound over the 1980s and ’90s to prepare for the apocalypse. This led to an infamous standoff with the federal government.

Political cults: Political groups on both the left and right can morph into cults. Janja Lalich wrote an entire account of her own experience in such an environment.

Religious cults: Spiritual beliefs serve as the bedrock for many cults. Some cults are offshoots of mainline religions while others offer brand-new dogmas and theology.

Sex cults: All types of cults might have a component of sexual abuse, but some focus on sex as one of their primary functions. For instance, New York–based NXIVM encouraged rampant sexual behavior between its group members before dissolving.

Examples of Cults

Cults have made headlines over the years due to their outrageous and sometimes tragic behavior. Some notorious cultic groups:

Heaven’s Gate: Inspired by the Book of Revelation, Bonnie Nettles and Marshall Applewhite formed Heaven’s Gate as a doomsday cult with a focus on UFOs. In 1997, all the members died by mass suicide in an effort to ride a comet passing by the Earth.

The Peoples Temple: Jim Jones, a charismatic preacher from the United States, formed the Peoples Temple to spread his own flavor of Christianity before moving to Guyana. There, he founded Jonestown, a compound for his religious group of followers. They died by mass suicide in 1978.

The Unification Church: A new religious movement that began in South Korea, The Unification Church spread to the rest of the world. All adherents follow the teachings of Sun Myung Moon, hence their colloquial nickname (the Moonies).

Why People Join Cults. People join cult movements for various reasons, most of which revolve around a desire for meaning and community. Many who become part of such organizations have troubled backgrounds and difficulty fitting into society. They might also feel mainstream culture has no place for them and nothing of spiritual value to offer either.

Former cult members often describe the long-lasting sense of loneliness and nihilism they felt prior to becoming part of something bigger than themselves.

This encourages them to put down their defenses and accept the stranger elements of their new communities.

Of course, this has sometimes led to horrific and even deadly outcomes in extreme circumstances.

No one joins a cult voluntarily; they are recruited into it.

There is lack of informed consent.

Everyone has vulnerabilities.

Possible situational vulnerabilities include:

illness,

the death of a loved one,

breakup of an important relationship,

loss of a job, or

moving to another city, state or country.

Individual vulnerabilities may include:

high hypnotizability,

strong ability for concentration and vivid imagination,

learning disorders, or 

autism spectrum disorders.

Excessive use of hypnosis, meditation, and other activities can induce an altered state of consciousness. These, in turn, increase susceptibility to being recruited by a cult unless there are strong critical thinking, media literacy and good supportive network, which can help a person stay grounded.

Other risks consist of:

Learning and communication disorders

Drug or alcohol problems

Trauma

Unresolved sexual issues

Phobias (fear of heights, drowning, sharks, aliens, terrorists, crime, etc.)

There are even recent 21st century contributors:

COVID-19/pandemic

Severe economic disruption

Isolation, lack of touch, social distancing

Social/political polarization

Increased time online

Internet addiction

Recruitment into extreme conspiracy theories and cults/scams

"Cult" as a Word

In recent years the word cult has been most commonly used as a pejorative term for a religious group that falls outside the mainstream and, by implication, engages in questionable activities. Many new religions are controversially labeled as cults.

In historiography, there are no negative connotations to the term cult.

It is especially common in works on Classical history, as the ancient Mediterranean world was home to a large variety of mystery cults.

These were small groups whose elite members were initiated into secret rituals for a particular deity.

Far from existing at tension with the society at large, many Roman cults were heavily integrated into the surrounding society.

In Pompeii one of the most lavishly decorated temples was of the cult of Isis.

An inscription records that the individual who paid for the temple’s refurbishment was rewarded with a position as town councilor, indicating a strong interconnection between this mystery cult and the civic order of the city.

Furthermore, one of the most prominent Roman cults was the imperial cult, which was dedicated to the worship of deceased and deified Roman emperors and their deified family members.

Imperial cult worship reinforced the power of the dominant political system, and most or all of pre-Christian Roman society had some degree of membership in it.

Other groups referred to as cults can also reinforce the dominance of a religious and social order.

Within the Roman Catholic Church, the cult of the Virgin Mary and cults of other saints have gained many adherents and a high degree of influence, especially artistically.

Even today, people who intensely worship particular saints are sometimes identified as being members of that saint’s cult.

In more recent decades, groups designated cults have been those at tension with the rest of society.

However, beyond this feature, there is no general consensus about what differentiates a cult from any other religious group.

Some scholars have argued that, by the simplest definition, many, if not all, religious sects originated as cults.

Over time, some cults became culturally accepted and the tension between them and society resolved, leading to the cult being recognized as a sect or church.

Recent examples of this transition from so-called cult to religious group are Seventh-day Adventists and the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

Other scholars have advanced a more narrow definition of the term cult as a religious group with some or all of the following characteristics:

a charismatic leader who exercises total control;

an apocalyptic vision (doomsday cult);

isolation from society;

an emphasis on a transcendent spiritual experience;

rigid rules governing group members’ behaviour; and

the exploitation of members, including sexually and financially.

In popular use, the term cult has accumulated a strong negative connotation and is often used to cast aspersions on a religious group’s validity as a form of religious practice.

From the 1960s onward, a number of new cults developed in the United States and attracted large numbers of worshippers.

The actions of these cultists, who sometimes isolated themselves from their families and oriented their lives fully around the cult, triggered widespread alarm.

So, too, did the actions of violent cults such as the Peoples Temple, headed by Jim Jones, and the Manson Family, which was led by Charles Manson.

The anti-cult movement reached its peak in the 1970s, when the idea emerged that cult members were being “brainwashed,” having their free will systematically taken away.

The trial of Patty Hearst—an heiress kidnapped by leftist radicals in 1974 and allegedly brainwashed into committing crimes—played a key role in the growth of this belief.

According to the brainwashing theory, cult members are not choosing an alternative way of life but are instead victims of exploitative and dangerous fanatics.

This justified the rise of forcible deprogramming, which involves the kidnapping and holding of cult members until the deprogrammer judges that they are no longer in the thrall of the cult.

Many deprogrammed former cult members went on to launch challenges in court.

Some sued the cults that they had been members of, accusing them of brainwashing. A few psychologists and psychiatrists testified in support of the deprogrammed cultists at those trials.

However, other former cult members sued their deprogrammers, claiming to have been kidnapped and abusively coerced into giving up their “brainwashing.”

With brainwashing accusations at the heart of these cases, a variety of medical researchers as well as such organizations as the American Psychological Association researched cults and cult members during the 1980s and ’90s. Their conclusion was that accusations of brainwashing and coercive persuasion against cults lacked a factual basis.

Studies which suggested proof of brainwashing were methodologically flawed or based on insufficient data.

After a cult member won a lawsuit against his deprogrammer (Jason Scott v. Rick Ross) in 1995, the practice of forcible deprogramming was largely discontinued.

Academic research has revealed a more fluid and varied reality than the one advanced by the anti-cult movement.

In fact, many people who join a cult choose to leave it.

Other members of cults do not become entirely isolated from society, maintaining jobs and relationships outside the cult.

In addition, some studies have suggested that those who leave a cult and experience psychological damage are more likely to have left involuntarily.

A wide range of religious groups fall under the definition of cult, and the vast majority are benign or even have a positive impact on society.

Given the continued negative associations with the term cult, many sociologists and researchers now prefer to use the term new religious movement (NRM).

It is used to describe groups previously called cults.

This term is meant to dissociate NRMs from the connotation that their forms of religious expression lack legitimacy, an idea which is now perhaps permanently ingrained in the term cult.

Lasting Effects of Cults. Prolonged and intense coercive persuasion can cause identity disturbance. Commonly, there are many additional after-effects:

Extreme identity confusion

Panic and anxiety attacks

Depression

Psychosomatic symptoms (headaches, backaches, asthma, skin problems)

Anger, guilt and shame

Decision-making dependency

Fear and phobias

Sleep disorders/nightmares

Eating disorders

Fear of intimacy and commitment

Distrust of self and others

Grieving loss of friends and family

Delusions and paranoia

Loss of life meaning or purpose

Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

In an era when cult mind control is ever present and growing, it is essential to better understand the basics of cults, in order to combat their influence.

The first goal in educating yourself is prevention, for yourself and others. But, if you have been affected, recovery is possible.

And if your friends or family are involved in a destructive group, you can help rescue them from harm.

Sources: 1 2 3 4 ⚜ More: References ⚜ Writing Resources PDFs

Choose which of these references would be most appropriate to incorporate in your story. Hope this helps!

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Palatine Hill Rome, Italy

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tweet

Something like this would be so colossally helpful. I'm sick and tired of trying to research specific clothing from any given culture and being met with either racist stereotypical costumes worn by yt people or ai generated garbage nonsense, and trying to be hyper specific with searches yields fuck all. Like I generally just cannot trust the legitimacy of most search results at this point. It's extremely frustrating. If there are good resources for this then they're buried deep under all the other bullshit, and idk where to start looking.

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#writingresource

When your Character...

Gets into: A Fight ⚜ ...Another Fight ⚜ ...Yet Another Fight

Hates Someone ⚜ Kisses Someone ⚜ Falls in Love

Calls Someone they Love ⚜ Dies / Cheats Death ⚜ Drowns

is...

A Child ⚜ Interacting with a Baby/Child ⚜ A Genius ⚜ A Lawyer

Beautiful ⚜ Dangerous ⚜ Drunk ⚜ Injured ⚜ Shy

needs...

A Magical Item ⚜ An Aphrodisiac ⚜ A Fictional Poison

To be Killed Off ⚜ To Become Likable ⚜ To Clean a Wound

To Find the Right Word, but Can't ⚜ To Say No ⚜ A Drink

loves...

Astronomy ⚜ Baking ⚜ Cooking ⚜ Cocktails ⚜ Food ⚜ Oils

Dancing ⚜ Fashion ⚜ Gems ⚜ Mythology ⚜ Numbers

Roses ⚜ Sweets ⚜ To Fight ⚜ Wine ⚜ Wine-Tasting ⚜ Yoga

has/experiences...

Allergies ⚜ Amnesia ⚜ Bereavement ⚜ Bites & Stings ⚜ Bruises

Caffeine ⚜ CO Poisoning ⚜ Color Blindness ⚜ Food Poisoning

Injuries ⚜ Jet Lag ⚜ Mutism ⚜ Pain ⚜ Poisoning

More Pain & Violence ⚜ Viruses ⚜ Wounds

[these are just quick references. more research may be needed to write your story...]

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Tips for writing plot twists

1. Start with a false sense of security

• The best plot twists work because the audience feels confident they know what’s coming.

• How? Lay down a trail of clues that mislead without outright lying. Create a sense of inevitability.

• Example: A detective follows all the evidence to one suspect, only for the real criminal to be someone they completely overlooked.

2. Plant the seeds early

• A plot twist is most satisfying when it feels inevitable in hindsight. Subtly sprinkle clues throughout the narrative.

• How? Use small, seemingly insignificant details that take on new meaning after the reveal.

• Example: A side character is always conveniently absent during key events—later revealed to be orchestrating everything.

3. Subvert expectations without betraying logic

• A twist should surprise readers, but it must feel plausible within the story’s framework.

• How? Flip assumptions in a way that feels earned. Avoid twists that rely on coincidences or break the rules of your world.

• Example: A character who appears harmless and incompetent is revealed as the mastermind, with subtle foreshadowing tying everything together.

4. Exploit emotional investment

• Twists land harder when they involve characters the audience deeply cares about. Use relationships and personal stakes to heighten the impact.

• How? Create twists that change how readers perceive the characters they thought they knew.

• Example: The protagonist’s mentor is revealed to be the antagonist, making the betrayal personal and devastating.

5. Use red herrings strategically

• Mislead readers by planting false clues that draw attention away from the real twist.

• How? Make the red herrings believable but not overly obvious. They should enhance, not distract from, the story.

• Example: A mysterious object everyone believes is cursed turns out to be completely irrelevant, shifting focus from the true danger.

6. Timing is everything

• Reveal the twist at the moment it has the most dramatic or emotional weight. Too early, and it loses impact. Too late, and it feels rushed.

• How? Build tension to a breaking point before the twist shatters expectations.

• Example: A twist that flips the climax—when the hero thinks they’ve won, they realize they’ve fallen into the villain’s trap.

7. Allow for multiple interpretations

• A great twist makes readers rethink the entire story, encouraging them to revisit earlier scenes with new understanding.

• How? Design the twist so that the story works both before and after the reveal.

• Example: A character’s cryptic dialogue is recontextualized after the twist, revealing their hidden motives.

8. Pair the twist with consequences

• A twist shouldn’t just shock—it should change the trajectory of the story. Make it matter.

• How? Show how the twist raises the stakes or deepens the conflict, forcing the characters to adapt.

• Example: After discovering the villain is their ally, the protagonist must choose between loyalty and justice.

9. Keep the reader guessing

• A single twist is good, but layered twists create an unforgettable story. Just don’t overdo it.

• How? Build twists that complement each other rather than competing for attention.

• Example: A twist reveals the villain’s plan, followed by a second twist that the hero anticipated it and set a counter-trap.

10. Test the twist

• Before finalizing your twist, ensure it holds up under scrutiny. Does it fit the story’s logic? Does it enhance the narrative?

• How? Ask yourself if the twist creates a moment of genuine surprise while respecting your audience’s intelligence.

• Example: A shocking but clever reveal that leaves readers satisfied rather than feeling tricked.

Follow for more!

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Essential Beat Sheet for Writers

ACT ONE: SETUP

1. Opening Image: A snapshot of your story’s world and tone. Who are we following? What’s at stake?

2. Theme Stated: A subtle hint about the story’s deeper meaning or lesson, often posed as a question or challenge.

3. Setup: Introduce your protagonist, their ordinary world, supporting characters, and the status quo. Show us what needs to change.

4. Catalyst: The inciting incident that flips the protagonist’s world upside down. This is the point of no return.

5. Debate: Your protagonist hesitates. Should they step forward into the unknown or retreat? This beat builds anticipation.

ACT TWO: CONFRONTATION

6. Break Into Two: The protagonist makes a decision and steps into a new world (literal or figurative). The adventure begins.

7. B Story: The subplot kicks in—often a relationship or secondary goal that supports the main story’s theme.

8. Fun and Games: The “heart” of the story. Deliver on the premise and explore the stakes through action, conflict, and character growth.

9. Midpoint: A major turning point where everything changes. Stakes are raised. Success feels closer—or failure looms larger.

10. Bad Guys Close In: External and internal pressures mount. Allies falter. Enemies strike. Doubts creep in.

11. All Is Lost: The darkest moment. The protagonist experiences a significant loss or setback.

12. Dark Night of the Soul: A pause for reflection. Your protagonist processes their failure and digs deep to find the courage to move forward.

ACT THREE: RESOLUTION

13. Break Into Three: Armed with new insight or strength, the protagonist takes decisive action to face the story’s central conflict.

14. Finale: The climax. Everything comes to a head in a final showdown or resolution. Your protagonist proves they’ve changed—or failed to.

15. Closing Image: A mirror of the opening image, showing how the world—and your protagonist—has transformed.

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why do all the words sound heavier in my native language?

��  @metamorphesque, Yoojin Grace Wuertz (Mother Tongue), Still Dancing: An Interview With Ilya Kaminsky (by Garth Greenwell), Jhumpa Lahiri (Translating Myself and Others), @lifeinpoetry

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What reasons someone would leave their land (magical kingdom or village whatever) ?

There are many reasons why someone might leave their land, here are a few for you:

Reasons for leaving their home

Seeking new experiences in unknown territories

Being exiled for breaking the laws or defying powerful figures

Going out into the world to receive knowledge

Following their heart, seeking true love

Trying to gain alliances elsewhere

Going out to seek revenge

Being summoned by higher powers

Escaping a civil war or opression

Fulfilling a prophecy

Being sent away to not harm their family's reputation

Searching for powerful artifacts

Going on a spiritual journey

Being sent off to be married

Escaping some danger or persecution

Trying to discover themself and the world

- Jana

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i was wondering if you had any tips for writing a story that involved a language barrier. would i write mostly action? would it be less interesting without dialogue? thank you!!

Writing Notes: Language Barrier

Language Barriers. If you work in an industry that is heavy in jargon or technical language, care should be taken to avoid these words when speaking with someone from outside the industry. Without being patronizing, imagine explaining a situation in your industry to a child. How would you convey these concepts without relying on jargon? A clear, direct narrative is preferable to an incomprehensible slew of specialty terms.

EXAMPLES of language barriers that prevent individuals from effective communication include:

Dialects - While two people may technically speak the same language, dialectal differences can make communication between them difficult. Examples of dialectical language barriers exist worldwide. Chinese, for example, has a variety of dialects that are commonly spoken, including Cantonese and Mandarin.

Language Disabilities - Language disabilities are physical impediments to language. Physical language disabilities that cause language barriers include stuttering, dysphonia or an articulation disorder and hearing loss.

To overcome language barriers, here are a few things you can do:

Translate all relevant documents into the person's primary language.

Use an interpreter whenever you give instructions or provide feedback.

Provide language classes.

Use both telling and showing methods.

Use visual methods of communication more than audio. Show more than tell. Explain with pictures as much as possible.

Use repetition. As with any new concept, most people don't learn something the first time they hear it.

Never raise your voice or over-enunciate your words. Talk slower, not louder. Speak clearly, not forcefully. People of a different language and culture can hear fine.

Use simpler words with fewer syllables. Be aware of the complexities of your words. Use more common words that convey your message in simpler terms. Don't talk down; just use a less complex vocabulary.

Learn the basics of their language. If you want to communicate effectively and build rapport, consider learning a few words and phrases in their language.

Have them demonstrate their understanding. Don't assume they immediately understand; check for understanding.

You can also read anecdotes of people's experience with language barriers to help guide your writing. Here's an example.

Sources: 1 2 ⚜ More: Notes & References ⚜ Writing Resources PDFs

Choose which of these notes apply to the specific scene you are writing. Are the characters actually trying to communicate despite the barrier? Consider the purpose of your scene. They could use nonverbal cues instead of speaking. When we see people who don't speak the same language interact, sometimes they still continue to speak their own language whilst miming or gesturing to try to communicate what they mean even though they know the other person can't understand what they're saying. You can definitely still make it interesting. Will you make the scene more humorous? Will the scene end in a misunderstanding, an argument, or will they eventually communicate successfully? Perhaps something in their culture overlaps that helps them understand each other. Or will there be another character (or characters) who will step in and help them? Hope this helps with your writing!

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need to add tension to your story? take something away from your protagonist. maybe it’s their sword. maybe it’s their dignity. maybe it’s their last shred of hope. your call.

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JACK GILBERT

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A collection of Black Books of Hours

Black Hours, ca. 1475 (Morgan Library, New York)

Horae beatae marie secundum usum curie romane, ca. 1458 (Hispanic Society of America)

Black Hours of Galeazzo Maria Sforza, ca. 1466-1476 (Austrian National Library)

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How to write a secret society in historical fiction setup? Say, women-only?

Writing Notes: Secret Society

Secret Society

An organization whose members are sworn to secrecy about its activities.

Any of a large range of membership organizations or associations that utilize secret initiations or other rituals and whose members often employ unique oaths, grips (handshakes), or other signs of recognition.

Elements of secrecy may vary from a mere password to elaborate rituals, private languages, costumes, and symbols.

The term may be applied to such widely divergent groups as U.S. college fraternities and sororities, the Ku Klux Klan, and international Freemasonry as well as to similar phenomena in ancient or precolonial cultures.

Historical Fiction

A literary genre where the story takes place in the past.

Historical novels capture the details of the time period as accurately as possible for authenticity, including social norms, manners, customs, and traditions.

Many novels in this genre tell fictional stories that involve actual historical figures or historical events.

Characteristics of Historical Fiction

There is a wealth of accurate historical detail relating to setting (geography, customs, beliefs, culture, society, habits) as well as to characters and events.

Story lines may focus on a particular historical event or time period, or they may follow the life of a character (real or fictional). Novels may raise difficult social or moral issues through the plot.

Characters may be real or fictional, but they are portrayed in such a way that they fit the times. The historical setting shapes their lives and actions.

Historical novels are usually big books, with stories that unfold at a leisurely pace. Even shorter Historical novels are usually so densely written that they must be read slowly.

Language and style may affect a reader’s experience. Some readers appreciate an “authentic” style, while others find this distracting. Dialects and format choices (such as epistolary novels) also affect reader reaction.

The tone of Historical novels runs the gamut from rollicking to somber, and this tone may be a major, if unacknowledged, factor in reading choices.

Example of An All-Women Secret Society

Heterodoxy - a secret society that paved the way for modern feminism.

The female debating club’s name referred to the many unorthodox women among its members. They “questioned forms of orthodoxy in culture, in politics, in philosophy—and in sexuality.”

Born as part of the initial wave of modern feminism that emerged during the 19th and early 20th centuries with suffrage at its center, the radical ideologies debated at Heterodoxy gatherings extended well beyond the scope of a women’s right to vote. In fact, Heterodoxy had only one requirement for membership: that a woman “not be orthodox in her opinion.”

Heterodoxy met every other Saturday to discuss such issues and see how members might collaborate and cultivate networks of reform. Gatherings were considered a safe space for women to talk, exchange ideas and take action.

With 25 charter members, Heterodoxy included individuals of diverse backgrounds, including lesbian and bisexual women, labor radicals and socialites, and artists and nurses.

Meetings were often held in the basement of Polly’s, a MacDougal Street hangout established by anarchist Polly Holladay. Here, at what Berman calls a “sort of nexus for progressive, artistic, intellectual and political thought,” the women would gather at wooden tables to discuss issues like fair employment and fair wages, reproductive rights, and the antiwar movement.

The meetings often went on for hours, with each typically revolving around a specific subject determined in advance.

As the club’s core members aged, Heterodoxy became more about continuing friendships than debating radical ideologies.

By the early 1940s, the biweekly meetings of Heterodoxy were no more. Still, the club’s legacy lives on, even beyond the scope of modern feminism.

Other Examples. 19th Century Collegiate Secret Societies.

Organized women’s collegiate secret societies formed across America.

These societies were created with the intent of cultivating lifelong friendships with one another, encouraging passionate “sisterly” bonds with all members, and supporting an organized network of women that would encourage their own daughters to carry on this membership into the next generation.

Adopted a motto proclaiming values of boundless loyalty to their fellow “sisters”.

Below are examples of secret societies, their respective mottos, and the dates of their founding:

The Adelphean society (later ΑΔΠ) “We Live for Each Other.” 1851

The Philomathean society (later ΦΜ) “The Faithful Sisters.” 1852

I.C. Sorosis (later ΠΒΦ) “Friends and Leaders for Life.” 1867

Alpha Phi (ΑΦ) “Union Hand in Hand” 1872

Delta Delta Delta (ΔΔΔ) “Let Us Steadfastly Love One Another” 1888

Young girls at boarding school would be “adopted” by older girls who would play as pseudo motherly figures and role models for the younger classes to admire as well as emulate.

This same process can be seen in the pledging processes of collegiate societies.

Example: The Philomathean Society was originally created as a secret literary society, membership in one of these organizations was highly coveted, and the process of mutual selection between a potential new member and the respective society often caused a plethora of emotions to stir.

In their annual yearbook from the year 1900 is a story that was written with the intention to depict what life was like for a Philomathean, and detailed the secrecy and the high emotions that were involved in the pledging process.

Initiated upperclassmen were considered “the girls to be” and were admired by many freshmen for their demeanor and social presence in the school.

As these upperclassmen both from the Adelphean society and the Philomathean society sought out potential new members, there were secret interactions between potential new members and initiated members to try and connect more deeply with each new girl and sway her to pledge to a certain society.

Sources: 1 2 3 4 5 ⚜ More: Notes & References ⚜ Writing Resources PDFs

Incorporate elements and characteristics of historical fiction in your story, and research more on which women-only secret society your work will center around. You may even take inspiration from more than one secret society from history. Do go through the sources above as I only included excerpts here. Hope this helps with your writing!

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Writing is all fun and games until you have to describe a room.

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not horses by Natalie Shapero