calliope-writes

[calliope-writes]

Tips for writing those gala scenes, from someone who goes to them occasionally:

Generally you unbutton and re-button a suit coat when you sit down and stand up.

You’re supposed to hold wine or champagne glasses by the stem to avoid warming up the liquid inside. A character out of their depth might hold the glass around the sides instead.

When rich/important people forget your name and they’re drunk, they usually just tell you that they don’t remember or completely skip over any opportunity to use your name so they don’t look silly.

A good way to indicate you don’t want to shake someone’s hand at an event is to hold a drink in your right hand (and if you’re a woman, a purse in the other so you definitely can’t shift the glass to another hand and then shake)

Americans who still kiss cheeks as a welcome generally don’t press lips to cheeks, it’s more of a touch of cheek to cheek or even a hover (these days, mostly to avoid smudging a woman’s makeup)

The distinctions between dress codes (black tie, cocktail, etc) are very intricate but obvious to those who know how to look. If you wear a short skirt to a black tie event for example, people would clock that instantly even if the dress itself was very formal. Same thing goes for certain articles of men’s clothing.

Open bars / cash bars at events usually carry limited options. They’re meant to serve lots of people very quickly, so nobody is getting a cosmo or a Manhattan etc.

Members of the press generally aren’t allowed to freely circulate at nicer galas/events without a very good reason. When they do, they need to identify themselves before talking with someone.

[calliope-writes]

we all talk about doing it scared doing it alone doing it weird etc. but the the hideously awful truth is that you also often have to do it stupid

[calliope-writes]

Scarf Patterns // Cottontail and Whisker

[calliope-writes]

Everybody do the wenis!

Gif alt:

[calliope-writes]

PACING IS ABOUT LOAD BEARING WALLS.

*staples violently to my own forehead*

[calliope-writes]

Banteng (Bos javanicus)

Also known as tembadau, this species lives in the tropical forests and grasslands of Southeast Asia. The individual shown here is female; males are a much darker brown. Though they are endangered in the wild, they have also been domesticated, and are used for meat across Southeast Asia. The bull featured on Indonesia’s national emblem is actually a banteng!

[calliope-writes]

Yay, unsolicited advice time! Or, not really advice, more like miscellaneous tips and tricks, because if there's one thing eight years of martial arts has equipped me to write, it's fight scenes.

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Fun things to add to a fight scene (hand to hand edition)

It's not uncommon for two people to kick at the same time and smack their shins together, or for one person to block a kick with their shin. This is called a shin lock and it HURTS like a BITCH. You can be limping for the rest of the fight if you do it hard enough.

If your character is mean and short, they can block kicks with the tip of their elbow, which hurts the other guy a lot more and them a lot less

Headbutts are a quick way to give yourself a concussion

If a character has had many concussions, they will be easier to knock out. This is called glass jaw.

Bad places to get hit that aren't the groin: solar plexus, liver, back of the head, side of the thigh (a lot of leg kicks aim for this because if it connects, your opponent will be limping)

Give your character a fighting style. It helps establish their personality and physicality. Are they a grappler? Do they prefer kicks or fighting up close? How well trained are they?

Your scalp bleeds a lot and this can get in your eyes, blinding you

If you get hit in the nose, your eyes water

Adrenaline's a hell of a drug. Most of the time, you're not going to know how badly you've been hurt until after the fact

Even with good technique, it's really easy to break toes and fingers

Blocking hurts, dodging doesn't

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Just thought these might be useful! If you want a more comprehensive guide or a weapons edition, feel free to ask. If you want, write how your characters fight in the comments!

Have a bitchin day <3

[calliope-writes]

Writing a novel when you imagine all you stories in film format is hard because there’s really no written equivalent of “lens flare” or “slow motion montage backed by Gregorian choir”

[calliope-writes]

i made this instead of doing the things ive been "forgetting" to do

[calliope-writes]

best trope!!!: two characters are undercover at a ball. they’re dressed up all fancy & a waltz starts playing & they dance together but they’re carefully analyzing the room & theorizing under their breaths the entire time. bonus points if they get separated & dance w different partners at some point & then shove through the crowd to get back to dancing w each other. MORE bonus points if one of them is wearing a fluffy dress & the other lifts them into the air

[calliope-writes]

Every writing advice thing ever: Don’t get bogged down in details on your first draft. Just write! ☺️

Me: How I begin this scene hinges on whether cheese sandwiches were served with mayo in the 50’s.

[calliope-writes]

my advice for writing dialogue:

be brave

if you can’t say it in one breath out loud, you should probably add some punctuation

for casual dialogue: can you imagine two people saying this at a local coffee shop?

people talk over each other and cut each other off in real life all the time. your characters should too

modern, conversational dialogue isn’t one person lobbing one fully formed, multiple-sentence thought at another person, and then waiting to receive one back

dialogue is filled with placeholder sounds — ehs, ums, uhs — and these differ by region, language, and culture

people ask for clarification and sometimes things are just, by nature, unclear. sometimes you have to let the characters figure out the disconnect even if you, the author, know what it is already

find clips and videos online of the people/region and listen to them! how do they talk? is it fast, or drawling? how can you convey this to a reader who may have never heard them?

[calliope-writes]

WEBSITES FOR WRITERS {masterpost}

E.A. Deverell - FREE worksheets (characters, world building, narrator, etc.) and paid courses;

Hiveword - Helps to research any topic to write about (has other resources, too);

BetaBooks - Share your draft with your beta reader (can be more than one), and see where they stopped reading, their comments, etc.;

Charlotte Dillon - Research links;

Writing realistic injuries - The title is pretty self-explanatory: while writing about an injury, take a look at this useful website;

One Stop for Writers - You guys... this website has literally everything we need: a) Description thesaurus collection, b) Character builder, c) Story maps, d) Scene maps & timelines, e) World building surveys, f) Worksheets, f) Tutorials, and much more! Although it has a paid plan ($90/year | $50/6 months | $9/month), you can still get a 2-week FREE trial;

One Stop for Writers Roadmap - It has many tips for you, divided into three different topics: a) How to plan a story, b) How to write a story, c) How to revise a story. The best thing about this? It's FREE!

Story Structure Database - The Story Structure Database is an archive of books and movies, recording all their major plot points;

National Centre for Writing - FREE worksheets and writing courses. Has also paid courses;

Penguin Random House - Has some writing contests and great opportunities;

Crime Reads - Get inspired before writing a crime scene;

The Creative Academy for Writers - "Writers helping writers along every step of the path to publication." It's FREE and has ZOOM writing rooms;

Reedsy - "A trusted place to learn how to successfully publish your book" It has many tips, and tools (generators), contests, prompts lists, etc. FREE;

QueryTracker - Find agents for your books (personally, I've never used this before, but I thought I should feature it here);

Pacemaker - Track your goals (example: Write 50K words - then, everytime you write, you track the number of the words, and it will make a graphic for you with your progress). It's FREE but has a paid plan;

Save the Cat! - The blog of the most known storytelling method. You can find posts, sheets, a software (student discount - 70%), and other things;

I hope this is helpful for you!

(Also, check my gumroad store if you want to!)

[calliope-writes]

Romance Masterpost

How to write it

How to write romance

Love Language - Showing, not telling love

Love Language - Showing you care

Honeymoon

Slow burn

Forbidden Romance (+ prompts)

Reasons for a break-up while still loving each other

How to write a wedding

How to create quick chemistry

How to write enemies to lovers (+ prompts)

How to write lovers to enemies to lovers

Arranged matrimony for royalty (+ prompts)

Date gone wrong

Academic rivals to lovers

Romantic Fall Date Ideas

How to write a polyamorous relationship

Milestones in a relationship

How to write age difference

Fluffy Kiss Scene

Reasons a couple would divorce on good terms

Reasons for having a crush on someone

Prompt Lists

Romance Prompt List Part I + Part II + Part III + Part IV

Bad ones, unrequited, break-up Part I + Part II + Part III

Flirting - Successful and unsuccessful Part I + Part II

Two smart and also stupid people in love

Push and pull romantic prompts

Co-workers - Hate to love

Lovers to enemies

Love to hate relationship

Date with a nice guy prompts

Romantic One-Liners Part I

Smutty One-Liners Part I + Part II + Part III + Part IV

Physical One-Liners Part I +  Part II

Things said during sex prompts

Jealousy Prompts

OTP Christmas Prompts

Fluffy Winter Holiday Prompts

Prompts about kissing

Romance Sentence Starters

Romantic Question Prompts

Domestic Fluff Prompts

Fluff Prompts

Fluff Bingo

Fluffy Sentence Starters

Sleepy Starters

Fluffy Dialogue Prompts

Cute Interactions

Romantic, non-sexual intimacy prompts

OT3 Prompts

OT3 ideas

Meet Cutes

Meet Uglies

Royalty Prompts - Loyal companion x Princess Romance

Royalty Prompts - Prince/ss x Commoner - Revealing royal heritage

Royalty Prompts - Knight x Princess

Fake Dating Royalty Prompts

Forbidden royal love prompts

Arranged matrimony for royalty

Arranged Marriage Royalty AU Events

Royal Arranged Marriage Dialogue Prompts

Hurt/Comfort Dialogue Prompts

Hurt/Comfort Prompts

Caring for their partner prompts

Roommates to Lovers Prompts Part I + Part II

Professor/TA Romance

Friends with benefits to lovers Prompts

Flirting Prompts - Oblivious and flirty

Teasing Prompts (+ more)

Unrequited Love Prompts

Dramatic/Break-up Dialogue Prompts  (+ more)

Romance Dialogue Prompts – Uncomfortable with affection

Matchmaking Prompts

Valentine’s Day Prompts

Fake Dating/Marriage/Engagement Prompts

Fake Dating Dialogue Prompts

Fake Dating AUs

Fake Dating Prompts

Fake Dating Scenarios

Fake Relationship Break-up Prompts

Hand-holding

Kisses

Hugs

Touching

Physical Reactions

Casual Affections

Intimate Moments

Bed Sharing Scenarios

Accidental Kisses

Seeking out physical affection

Love Confessions

Love confession - Screaming at each other

Drunken Love Confessions

Lovers being caught Prompts

Ways to say ‘I love you’

Love Triangle Ideas

Soulmates AUs

Second chance trope

Cooking/Baking Dialogue Prompts

Quiet movie night Prompts

Grumpy + Sunshine Dialogue

Grumpy Affectionate Dialogue

Exes to lovers (1 + 2)

Exes

Reluctant allies to friends to lovers dynamic

Best friends to lovers Prompts

Childhood friends to lovers Prompts

Co-workers - Hate to love (1 + 2)

Matchmaking at Work Prompts

Secret Dating at Work Prompts

50 Cute Date Ideas + 50 More!

Romantic Date Dialogue Prompts

Moving in together

Introducing partner(s) to family

Meeting the family Prompts

OTP with Children Prompts

Anniversary Dinner Prompts

Proposal Prompts

Elopement Prompts

Parallel Universe Romance Prompts (x)

Lover being hurt Prompts

Unwanted Attention Prompts

Relationship Problems

Relationship Changes

OTP Prompt Challenge

Enemies to Lovers Masterpost

‘Imagine your OTP’ Prompts

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! 🥰

[calliope-writes]

just so yall know

art block is your brain telling you to do studies.

draw a still life. practice some poses. sketch some naked people. do a color study. try out a different technique on a basic shape.

art block doesnt stop you from drawing, it stops you from making your drawings look the way you want them to. and thats because you need to push your skills to the next level so you can preform at that standard

think of it as level grinding for your next work.