jazleighwrites

[jazleighwrites]

When writing toxic family dynamics

Toxic family stuff isn’t always screaming matches or broken plates. Sometimes it’s quiet control. The expectation to shrink, the pressure to be perfect, the guilt that rides shotgun. It’s complicated. And it’s deeply, deeply personal.

✧ Make the love real, but conditional.  One of the most damaging things about toxic family is the illusion of love. It’s not “I love you no matter what.” It’s “I love you when you obey.” Let your character notice that.

✧ Control shows up in micro ways... Who’s allowed to speak. Who’s allowed to feel. Who apologizes first, even when they’re not wrong. Control doesn’t need to be loud. Sometimes it’s a raised eyebrow or a guilt trip.

✧  Let them question reality. Toxic families are great at gaslighting. Your character might constantly wonder, Was it really that bad? Am I being dramatic? Let them doubt their own memories. That internal confusion is real.

✧ The guilt will be crushing. Leaving a toxic family doesn’t feel empowering at first. It feels selfish. It feels wrong. It feels like betrayal, even when it's survival. Show your character grieving the fantasy of the family they wish they had.

✧ Let them try to earn love. Your character might work their ass off trying to “be good,” hoping maybe this time they’ll be enough. Toxic families move the goalposts. Let that break them a little.

✧ Show emotional whiplash... One moment everything is warm and nostalgic. The next, it’s tense and full of landmines. That unpredictability is the dynamic. Use it.

✧ Don’t make the villain cartoonish. Even the abuser might think they’re doing what’s best. They might bake cookies and say “I’m just worried about you.” That’s what makes it so damaging. Write them like people, flawed, manipulative, real.

✧ Let your character unlearn in layers. Even after they leave, they still flinch. Still fold under pressure. Still crave approval. Recovery isn’t clean. But it’s worth it. And when they finally say no, even just once, let it be electric.

[jazleighwrites]

How to use Em Dash (—) and Semi Colon ( ; )

Since the ai accusations are still being thrown around, here's how i personally like to use these GASP ai telltales. 🦄✨

Em Dashes (—)

To emphasize a shift / action / thought.

They're accusing us—actually accusing us—of using AI.

To add drama.

They dismissed our skills as AI—didn't even think twice, the dimwits—and believed they were onto something.

To insert a sudden thought. Surely they wouldn't do that to us—would they?

To interrupt someone's speech. "Hey, please don't say that. I honed my craft through years of blood and tears—" "Shut up, prompter."

To interrupt someone's thoughts / insert a sudden event.

We're going to get those kudos. We're going to get those reblogs—

A chronically online Steve commented, “it sounds like ai, idk.”

Semi Colons ( ; )

To join two closely related independent sentences / connect ideas.

Not only ChatGPT is capable of correct punctuation; who do you think it learned from in the first place?

Ultimate pro tip: use them whenever the fuck you want. You don't owe anyone your creative process. 🌈

[jazleighwrites]

Okay, so… this is not a promo post (well, it sort of is), but mostly, it’s a huge THANK YOU. 💛

i don’t even know how to start this without crying a little, but here we go: thank you to everyone who’s been cheering me on, buying my books, leaving sweet messages, telling me how something I wrote actually helped you figure out a character or gave you that little spark again. 🥹

it’s been such a weird, beautiful, vulnerable ride putting these books out into the world. i wrote them because i was tired of reading the same lifeless writing advice, and i just wanted someone to talk to me like a real person about how to make characters that actually breathe. and now… here we are.

you’ve read them. you’ve messaged me. you’ve left reviews. and yeah, some of you even said “this made me feel like i wasn’t alone in this writing thing,” and honestly, that means more to me than I can put into words.

so if you’ve supported me in any way (bought a book, shared it, left a review, even just told a friend) thank you. i’ll never forget it.

and if you’re new here or still thinking about it… the books are for writers who want to write characters that feel more human, just honest help from one messy writer to another.

you can check out all my books here if you need them: [Just Click here - On Amazon]

also… if you’ve read one and haven’t left a rating yet, no pressure, but it would mean the world <3 *…*

love you all. seriously. thank you for helping me do this.

– luna 🌙✨

[jazleighwrites]

sometimes your brain really just offers you one banger of a sentence and then that's it for the entire rest of the day. creativity expired, the ability to think has clocked out for the day, context for as to how we even get to this sentence? sorry we're all out. this one sentence is all you get.

[jazleighwrites]

Writing Advice #3

Try roasting your setting like you’re ranting to your group chat after a bad road trip. Seriously, don’t just tell me it’s a “quaint village.” Is it the kind of place where time forgot it existed? Does it have, like, three shops that all close at 2pm for mysterious reasons and a town square statue of some guy named “Jedediah” who absolutely committed tax fraud?

The more lovingly hateful you are, the clearer the place gets. Because when we roast things, we get weirdly specific. That specificity is PURE gold. “Dusty” is whatever. “A town where the post office smells like expired glue” is a vibe. It tells me everything I need to know and makes me want to keep reading just to see how much worse it gets.

Bonus points if your narrator is also sick of being there. Angry characters describe places way better than calm ones, it’s just science.

[jazleighwrites]

Writing Exercise: The Lie They Tell Themselves

Create a character who believes something about themselves that isn’t true, then write a scene that shows the gap between their belief and reality. Don’t state the lie outright, but let the character’s actions show the contradiction.

For example:

🔸 A character who believes they’re brave, but avoids every difficult decision. 🔸 A character who thinks they’re over someone, but stalk their social media obsessively. 🔸 A character who believes they’re selfless, but subtly manipulate others for validation.

[jazleighwrites]

Why would I write when I could imagine my characters going through the story and then get upset when a copy of the work doesn’t magically appear in front of me

[jazleighwrites]

[jazleighwrites]

[jazleighwrites]

“Never give up on something you really want. It may be difficult to wait, but it is worse to live with regret.”

— Unknown

[jazleighwrites]

Someone should make water proof books so I can read in the rain

[jazleighwrites]

I write from a feeling, not from a plan✒️

Which in hindsight is likely why I never completely finish projects but I write for the fun of it more than anything.

[jazleighwrites]

How to use Tolkien's languages

I guess posts have been made about where you can find references on Sindarin, Quenya, Nandorin, Old Elvish, and Noldorin among others on Tumblr but I wanted to make my own list (so I can come back to it when I need it). If you know a website you'd like me to consider for my list, please just mention it to me.

Ambar Eldaron – Sindarin and Quenya dictionaries and courses

Ardalambion – Website about the sounds of Tolkien's languages and their grammar

Automatic Quenya translator – English to Quenya and back

Eldamo – A lexicon of Tolkien's invented languages including fonts

Glæmscrafu – This website explores the sounds of Tolkien's invented languages and includes several texts and poems

Gwaith-i-Phethdain, The Fellowship of the Word-Smiths – Very detailed page by Ryszard Derdzinski. Many poems and calligraphies. Particularly noteworthy are the translations of the Elvish texts and songs from the film trilogy.

Hiswelokë's Sindarin Dictionary – A Sindarin and Noldorin dictionary that was started in 1999 and then went on hiatus in 2008

I Lam Arth – Aaron Shaw's site with a series of in-depth articles on Sindarin

Lalaith's Middle Earth Science Pages – Website about Middle-earth's people, languages of the humans, and other things. This also includes Rohirric if you're into learning that.

Mellonath Daeron – Some useful Elvish phrases

Parf Edhellen – A Sindarin, Quenya, Primitive Elvish, and Noldorin dictionary. It's my favourite website because it also compares old and new translations.

Parma Tyelpelassiva – Texts, songs, poems and grammar for Sindarin, Quenya, Andûnaic, Noldorin, etc.

Quenya pronunciation guide

RealElvish – Phrasebooks on Sindarin, Quenya, Andûnaic, etc. including naming traditions and lists for Elves, Rohirrim, Hobbits, Dwarves (if you need it for a fanfiction)

Sindarin.de – The first Sindarin website I frequented and where I learnt all the grammar. It's in German.

Sindarin phrasebook by slarmstrong – There are 3 parts of this phrasebook

Sindanórie – Site by Roman Rausch with articles on Telerin and word overlaps between the Elvish and real languages, poems, sound files, etc.

Tecendil – If you want to see what your name or others look like in Elvish script

Tyalie Tyelellieva – Website by Lisa Star but since geocities was taken down, it only exists in an archived form. It was last updated in 2004 but it also has a Khūzdul or Dwarvish Wordlist.

Happy browsing and please reblog! 🥰

[jazleighwrites]

Hey Tumblr, we're Queer Liberation Library (QLL)

we're a queer digital library, by & for the LGBTQ+ community

Our Mission: Queer Liberation Library fights to build a vibrant, flourishing queer future by connecting LGBTQ+ people with literature, information, and resources that celebrate the unique and empowering diversity of our community.

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(here’s our linktr.ee as well)

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[jazleighwrites]

written by kaveh akbar

[jazleighwrites]

Do you think you have the correct opinion?

I'm currently looking for reviewers for my new transgender novella I just released called The Drunk, The Gambler, and The Lover. It's about how people see you for what you aren't and the life of isolation, loneliness, and addiction that comes with it, a faceless existence. It's about that one day you realize you have been lying to yourself for 20 years and the great unraveling that follows, a conversation about writing, art, and self-acceptance.

(It's in stores, but just DM me or ask me in the comments, and I will give you a free copy. Verified Amazon reviews are the best way to support indie authors.)

[jazleighwrites]

You were just a bartender—until a portal dropped you into a world of magic. Now, your cocktail skills blend potions like no one’s ever seen. Healing with a twist of lime. Fireballs with a salted rim. You don’t cast spells. You serve them.