mania-junkie-writes

[mania-junkie-writes]

End

Silver dunes in the scarlet skies,

Golden specks dotting violet eyes.

A blind poodle whispering in my ear,

We cannot help but think you near.

And bronze sands spews from the creator’s mouth, placing reds into the sky,

Blue drops dripping feom the creator’s hands, gracing copper lullabies.

I will wait for you in this afterlife, the creator to my left.

If I cannot die for you with the living, the mentor to my right,

We’ll sit under silver dunes in the scarlet skies.

—‘End’ by @mania-junkie (pink) and @theoneinorange (purple)

[mania-junkie-writes]

Injuries Reference List

If you’re writing anything where your characters are getting injured a lot, it might be helpful to have an injuries reference list on hand. WELL, DON’T WORRY ABOUT IT BECAUSE I CREATED ONE. This is mostly the result of me having to look up something every time a character was gravely injured/being a lifeguard for seven years. I have some knowledge of first aid and how it might apply to the characters in your story.

Simple scrapes/cuts: There’s usually not much to worry about besides MAYBE an infection, which can be avoided with rubbing alcohol or peroxide. Remember, peroxide usually doesn’t burn or sting, but rubbing alcohol probably will.  These injuries will bleed for a short amount of time, but it shouldn’t last too long.

Bruising: These occur when the blood vessels break under the skin, forming discoloration of the skin. The colors can vary, but they are usually purplish, bluish, or yellow. Again, this injury is usually not serious if it’s a result of a bump or cut, but if there’s significant bruising over a large area of the body there might be a serious problem. Usually time heals bruising.

Sprains: A sprain is torn or stretched ligament, but it is NOT a break. It is very common for someone to sprain an ankle or a wrist and it usually doesn’t require serious medical attention. The area might swell and should be iced. Sprains are usually treated with rest and a device that compresses the area—such as a sling or a bandage.

Broken bones (arms, fingers, legs, toes): Breaks can be serious, especially if they have to be set back into place. A person will most likely not be able to put pressure on a broken bone until it is healed (which could take weeks). A broken bone is REALLY serious when it fractures or breaks through the skin completely. If you write a character in this sort of situation, they will need to worry about infection and they might have to wait until the swelling goes down before splitting or covering.

Burns: Obviously, there are different degrees of burns, but simple burns will most likely be treated the same. Even the smallest burns will probably sting like hell, so it can be hard to function with an untreated burn. SERIOUS burns might require amputation (I’m talking about maybe 3rd to 4th degree burns). As a 1st degree burn is healing, it might itch—think how sunburn starts to itch after a while.

Broken back: A broken back can lead to paralysis, so you need to be very careful with how you treat someone. Your characters shouldn’t be throwing anyone over their shoulders with a back injury because it will only lead to more serious problems. If you suspect that someone has broken or injured their back, you need to keep them still until there is a way to safely move them.

Amputation: This happens when the removal of a body part because necessary to someone’s survival.If someone has a bad infection or there’s no way to stop the bleeding (you’ve applied a tourniquet, which will most likely end up causing an amputation later), a character might have to amputate in a serious situation.

Dislocated limb: If a bone “pops” out of its socket, a character might have to put it back into place. A dislocated limb restricts movement, so your character might not be able to go forward until the situation is resolved. Arms and fingers are commonly dislocated and there will probably be pain when they’re set back into place. Those limbs should be rested and iced to prevent swelling.

Jammed fingers: If you get your finger caught in a door, for example, and it doesn’t break; you might have a jammed finger. I’ve had a few of these in my life, which usually causes bruising and some pain, but it heals on its own. These types of injuries can be from jamming your fingers against something hard and you might lose a finger nail. They will most likely hurt for a while until they are healed.

Stab wounds: These are usually deep cuts by a knife or a sword or another sharp object. They need to be treated, as they are prone to infection, and they should be bandaged. If the bleeding is excessively bad, a common way to stop the bleeding is to get stitches or cauterize the wound. Cauterization is the process of burning the wound in order to seal it up. Think of lightsabers in Star Wars. No one bleeds when they’re cut because the “blade” of the lightsaber cauterizes the wound as it cuts. Your characters might have to stitch someone or cauterize someone in an emergency situation.

Gunshot wounds: Getting shot is a serious/life threatening situation, so your characters would need immediate medical attention.In an emergency situation, the bullet might have to be dug out and the wound cauterized if the bleeding is severe. If the bullet goes in and out, you might just have to worry about infection and covering the wound. A gunshot wound will be painful and will take a while to heal. If someone is shot in the leg, they will have trouble walking. The limbs will need time to heal.

Poisoning: This is a wide topic that could include food poisoning to being poisoned by another character, but they will probably feel very sick. Symptoms will include vomiting, dehydration, diarrhea, etc. Your character might get severe stomach aches and will not be able to function.Being poisoned can be deadly and can happen quickly. A medicine called Ipecac will induce vomiting in order to get the poisons out of someone’s symptoms, but will not work for EVERYTHING. Further treatment might be necessary.

Stomach wound: A person with a stomach wound will not last very long without addressing it. If it is deep enough, it will kill off your character unless the bleeding and infection can be stopped. Infection is usually what kills people with stomach wounds or gunshot wounds.

This is a list to be used for WRITING purposes only. Obviously you should call a doctor or get emergency treatment if something is serious. I also wrote this list assuming that your characters don’t have access to medical professionals, so keep that in mind. Hope this helps!

-Kris Noel

[mania-junkie-writes]

Worldbuilding: Economy

Money makes the world go around and economics of a region makes it flourish or flop. Money and trade are important aspects of any world and you must pay attention to what your kingdom produces or lacks in resources.

Resources and Goods

Though we may touch on this again with another post. Your land must produce something. Even if it is a barren wasteland, your land must produce something in order to survive. It can produce items in categories.

Food: Food is a great way to make money. A seafaring kingdom might produce fish. A landlocked kingdom with fertile soil will produce wheat, barley, rye and other things. All of this can be sold either in the kingdom or abroad, a portion of the trade of course going to the government’s treasury. Food is always a good trade scheme but be mindful that it is something that can falter or be easily destroyed.

Materials: Kingdoms will produce some semblance of a material. It could be stone for building, gold for decoration, sulphur to make gunpowder or flax for making clothes. Materials are always desired at home and abroad and if your kingdom produces the best or most of a certain material it will be famous for it. Like Sheffield steel or Italian leather.

Skill: Sometimes people can be traded or their skills at least. A kingdom that sells a skill will be prized. Think of Sparta and their warriors, Athens and its wise men, Florence and its sculptors and painter or Japan and its software developers. A skill will enhance prestige on the world stage and give them a reputation.

Markets, Plazas and Agoras

When we talk about buying or selling, we often forget where this occurs. Every great city has a marketplace and every major town will have them. When you pinpoint where a character lives or where the story takes place, you should think of it’s economical value and status. Questions to ask yourself.

Home: Which city has the most power in the economy? Which costal areas are the major ports? Which city is the richest? How far do people have to travel to sell goods or buy them?

Abroad: Is there a trading route like the Silk Road? Which kingdom is the richest or poorest? What kingdom is hardest to travel to? Or the closest trading partner? Are there any countries that have been banned as trading partners?

Money or barter

There are two common types of payment for a good. You can pay with money or swap it for something else. Money of course can be in coin of note form. Look at my Fantasy Guide to Currency for more of this. Barter is easier in some cases. You have a goat and you want a small row boat. Is the goat worth the boat? Will all the milk the goat produces match or make more money that the fish the boatman catches? Do nobility use one system and the poor use others? When the tenants of a land pay rent is it in coin or barter? If they can’t pay in coin is bartering a common alternative?

Banking

All the world runs on the backs of banks. Pushing all the bad shit aside, banks are there to loan money or to store it. Banks give out loans for businesses or for projects. Most banks would expect some kind of repayment. In Renaissance times, a bank that did this was slandered as usurers. Banks have often wielded power. The Medici bank brought the owners up to the status of first family in Florence, Grand Dukes of Tuscany and even Pope. What do people think of the banks? Are they hated for their biting rates? Are they respected for their fair dealings with the people? What does the bank own? What are their relationship with the people, nobles and royalty?

Transportation and cost

To sell anything will cost you. You must calculate how much it would cost to make a good, transport it and sell it to a buyer. If you were selling something across the sea, how much will shipping cost you? If you were to have items brought to your home from another city, how would you do it?

Here is a problem for you to practice with: If a poor farmer wants to sell a cow in the capital and he lives fifty miles away beside a major road and river, with no wagon or horses and no money for passage on the river, how does he get there?

[mania-junkie-writes]

Advice on Writing Thieves, Assassins, or Other Stealthy Characters

I’ve put a lot of research into this, and I’ve seen a lot of great rogue-like characters, where the author was clearly unsure as to how they perform their criminal activities. If you feel the need to ask why I know this stuff, my main writings are for a book series called “A Thief’s War,” which should be more than enough explanation. I swear I’m not personally a thief.

Anyway, here we go:

Lockpicking:

I’ve seen some stories where characters grab a paperclip, and boom, no lock can stop them. I’ve also seen some where master thieves take a hammer and smash the lock.

A lock has a series of tumblers in it, each of which need to click into place for it to unlock. A key’s design is usual exactly what it must be to get these tumblers into the proper position.

There are a wide array of shapes and sizes for lockpicks, and if you’re going to go around picking locks, you’re going to need more than one. There is no universal lockpick. Furthermore, for some reason a lot of people don’t include the secondary locking tool: a lock wrench. This is used to turn the the lock, and to keep the tumblers in place once you’ve appropriately placed them with the lockpick.

A lockpicker will know that a tumbler is in place when they hear it click, but the noise is usually quiet, so they’ll often have their ear close to the door.

Can you pick a lock with a paperclip? Yes, but it’s hard as hell, and a paperclip won’t fit into all locks. Not to mention it’s a pain turning the lock once the tumblers are in place.

 With code locks, a lot of movies or books show someone pressing their ear closely to the lock, whilst turning it, and listening for a click when it hits the right number. This actually works. These are the most useless goddamn locks in history.

Now, if you’re writing modern day, with smart locks and various other such tech, I’m afraid I can’t help. I haven’t studied that as much. Though, the previous advice will help for most locks, and that information still applies to basically all types of lock that aren’t incredibly expensive.

Sneaking:

The dashing rogue slips through the shadows, his cloak billowing behind him, and somehow none of the dozen patrolling guards walking right by happen to notice him.

Yeah, that’s not how it works.

Sneaking involves a lot of remaining very still, knowing your surroundings, and holding your breath.

A thief infiltrating a house will scout it out, usually for weeks in advance. Sometimes they’ll pose as various businessmen, and try to get the owners of the house let them in for a while so they can study the ins and outs of it. Cracking open a window isn’t quiet, and you need to know what doors will creak and what doors won’t.

If you’re trying to sneak, you need to try and stick near furniture and heavy objects. The floor isn’t nearly as likely to creak when you’re near these. Furthermore, you need to step lightly, and wear the appropriate footwear. Usually some cloth wrapping’s around one’s feet will help to be quiet, but avoid any shoes that might make clacking noises, or sound like they’re peeling off the floor when they move. A thief will also never scuff their feet, if they’re any good at sneaking.

Black clothing only helps you sneak if it’s dark, and your surroundings aren’t bright coloured. If you’re in a city of white buildings and marble, you’ll want matching attire. This is just for if you’re skulking about a city, though. Just make sure you don’t stand out. However, dark clothing will greatly help you not be seen from a distance when it’s night.

If a thief suspects someone is nearby, they should always try to locate a nearby hiding spot, and remain perfectly still. Do not move, and hold a thief will hold their breath if they start getting anxious, as heavy breathing could easily give someone away.

Many stories also don’t seem to account for the fact that various rogues and criminals have shadows, too. Even a quick and subtle movement of a shadow might be enough to give away one’s presence. It’s really, really hard to actually sneak up on someone due to this, and several other factors. Most people will actually feel tense, and usually catch wind of it if someone is sneaking up behind them, as even very quiet sounds and movements like breathing will subconsciously register to people if you get too close.

I’m a master assassin, and I carry a goddamn greatsword:

There is a reason they would use daggers. Assassins didn’t usually sneak into the king’s bedchamber in the dead of night, without being seen once. There are guards. A long hallway with two guards standing in front of the door at the end, there is absolutely no way to slip past that.

They would usually have to get into the building during the day, disguised as a servant, or even another guard. They’d have to wait for the perfect opportunity to sneak into that nobleman’s bedchamber, midday when he was absent, and then wait in there for hours.

If the assassin is sneaking in at night, they rarely go through the interior of the building. Just like a thief, they’ll get the layout of the building, and then they’ll usually enter through a window, or wherever is closest to the target. If they don’t have those guard patrols memorised, they’re screwed.

But you know what’s not subtle? An assassin carrying around a scimitar, or some flashy crossbow. If you’re going to sneak past people, you need a weapon no one will see, and that you can probably hide if someone decides to search you.

Fingerprints:

This is mainly relevant for modern era stories, and I just wanted to say that I’ve seen a few shows where a criminal isn’t wearing gloves throughout the whole thing. You always wear gloves, you never leave the murder weapon. If you touched something without gloves, you may as well take it with you to avoid risk.

Slipping out of Handcuffs:

This usually requires dislocating your fingers. Ouch. But, if the one cuffing or tying up the thief isn’t paying too much attention, you can keep your hands at an appropriate angle that the cuffs will not go on correctly, or the ropes not pulled tight enough, and you can probably slip out of them.

Who needs masks when you have shadowy hoods?

Guess what the easiest facial feature to notice in the dark is? If you guessed eyes, then you’re right. But, if you’re blending in, and your eyes are veiled by the hood that’s somehow not obscuring your vision while you crane your neck downwards to ensure that it covers your face, then people are usually still going to be able to see your lips, which stand out the second most of any feature on a person.

Yes, a hood is good if you’re trying to blend in. But it’s not good for making sure people don’t see your face. Wear a damned mask.

This is all I’ve got, for now. Hope it helps someone!

[mania-junkie-writes]

I love when the cocky, confident character is secretly ashamed of their scars, like the remains of their past wounds turn their bodies into something ugly and unloveable.

The only thing I love more is when their friends or loved ones help them see otherwise.

[mania-junkie-writes]

Literally none of my story ideas come with a plot, ever. WITHOUT FAIL, it’s always just an Aesthetic, like two and a half characters, some very, very vivid settings, and a weird concept. Never plot. Not even an inkling of a plot. My brain tosses me this cool stuff and is like welp i’ll be back in 4-5 business months 

[mania-junkie-writes]

Helpful things for action writers to remember

Sticking a landing will royally fuck up your joints and possibly shatter your ankles, depending on how high you’re jumping/falling from. There’s a very good reason free-runners dive and roll. 

Hand-to-hand fights usually only last a matter of seconds, sometimes a few minutes. It’s exhausting work and unless you have a lot of training and history with hand-to-hand combat, you’re going to tire out really fast. 

Arrows are very effective and you can’t just yank them out without doing a lot of damage. Most of the time the head of the arrow will break off inside the body if you try pulling it out, and arrows are built to pierce deep. An arrow wound demands medical attention. 

Throwing your opponent across the room is really not all that smart. You’re giving them the chance to get up and run away. Unless you’re trying to put distance between you so you can shoot them or something, don’t throw them. 

Everyone has something called a “flinch response” when they fight. This is pretty much the brain’s way of telling you “get the fuck out of here or we’re gonna die.” Experienced fighters have trained to suppress this. Think about how long your character has been fighting. A character in a fist fight for the first time is going to take a few hits before their survival instinct kicks in and they start hitting back. A character in a fist fight for the eighth time that week is going to respond a little differently. 

ADRENALINE WORKS AGAINST YOU WHEN YOU FIGHT. THIS IS IMPORTANT. A lot of times people think that adrenaline will kick in and give you some badass fighting skills, but it’s actually the opposite. Adrenaline is what tires you out in a battle and it also affects the fighter’s efficacy - meaning it makes them shaky and inaccurate, and overall they lose about 60% of their fighting skill because their brain is focusing on not dying. Adrenaline keeps you alive, it doesn’t give you the skill to pull off a perfect roundhouse kick to the opponent’s face. 

Swords WILL bend or break if you hit something hard enough. They also dull easily and take a lot of maintenance. In reality, someone who fights with a sword would have to have to repair or replace it constantly.

Fights get messy. There’s blood and sweat everywhere, and that will make it hard to hold your weapon or get a good grip on someone. 

A serious battle also smells horrible. There’s lots of sweat, but also the smell of urine and feces. After someone dies, their bowels and bladder empty. There might also be some questionable things on the ground which can be very psychologically traumatizing. Remember to think about all of the character’s senses when they’re in a fight. Everything WILL affect them in some way. 

If your sword is sharpened down to a fine edge, the rest of the blade can’t go through the cut you make. You’ll just end up putting a tiny, shallow scratch in the surface of whatever you strike, and you could probably break your sword. 

ARCHERS ARE STRONG TOO. Have you ever drawn a bow? It takes a lot of strength, especially when you’re shooting a bow with a higher draw weight. Draw weight basically means “the amount of force you have to use to pull this sucker back enough to fire it.” To give you an idea of how that works, here’s a helpful link to tell you about finding bow sizes and draw weights for your characters.  (CLICK ME)

If an archer has to use a bow they’re not used to, it will probably throw them off a little until they’ve done a few practice shots with it and figured out its draw weight and stability. 

People bleed. If they get punched in the face, they’ll probably get a bloody nose. If they get stabbed or cut somehow, they’ll bleed accordingly. And if they’ve been fighting for a while, they’ve got a LOT of blood rushing around to provide them with oxygen. They’re going to bleed a lot. 

Here’s a link to a chart to show you how much blood a person can lose without dying. (CLICK ME) 

If you want a more in-depth medical chart, try this one. (CLICK ME)

Hopefully this helps someone out there. If you reblog, feel free to add more tips for writers or correct anything I’ve gotten wrong here. 

[mania-junkie-writes]

Dana Leana Worth

3/5/19

Happy Birthday Dana!

Fucking Purity - Main Board

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She had read of monsters before. Creatures that lurked in dark shadows and snatched up children in their fitful dreams.

She knew.

But she was not a child.

Tag List:

Let me know if you want to be added or removed~~

@chuddychud, @proteovaldez, @approximately12lbs-of-ducks, @ad-drew, @bluewritesbadly, @katabasiss, @jess—writes, @nineteensleepycrows

[mania-junkie-writes]

a complete guide to panic attacks for writers

I’ve seen many posts about this and many of them are either not very complete or somewhat misleading, so here goes, a certified anxious wreck’s guide to panic attacks. 

First thing: there isn’t a clinical distinction between a panic attack and an anxiety attack so I’m not sure why everyone is splitting hairs over it. In the DSM “panic attack” refers to the quick, sudden onset of intense fear and stress, the sympathetic nervous system response, and all the associated physical symptoms (that i’m about to get into). “Anxiety attack” isn’t a clinical term, and yet I see all kinds of posts “explaining” the difference and none of them actually agree on what the difference is (duration? severity? trigger or lack thereof? I’ve seen so many different things), so to me it seems like a dumb thing to split hairs over. Generalized anxiety is definitely different, but even then the lines can blur and when we’re talking about a discrete *event* where the symptoms come upon a person, that’s an “attack” and saying panic attack suffices. Or anxiety attack. Just. Whatever. 

TL;DR: there is no clinically recognized difference between a “panic attack” and an “anxiety attack,” everything I see explaining the difference has a different idea of what the difference is, and it’s not like, offensive or something to use the “wrong” term so just. Yeah it’s not a big deal. 

What is a panic attack? 

A panic attack is basically when someone all of a sudden feels extremely terrified and panicked, without being in actual danger. They’re associated with anxiety disorders and post-traumatic stress disorder, though they can happen to someone who doesn’t have a mental illness. 

Panic attacks are not just the emotion of fear, though; there are a lot of physical and mental reactions that go along with them. Feeling terror isn’t the only thing that’s happening. When the brain perceives a threat, the sympathetic nervous system causes a bunch of things to happen in the body to prepare the person to either fight or run away from the threat. That’s called a fight-or-flight response. Breathing and heart rate speed up, while digestion is suppressed, and so on. These responses affect almost every system in the body. The person’s mental state also changes. They become very hyper-vigilant to threats and “tunnel-visioned” on whatever it is that seems to be the threat. 

A panic attack is basically all this stuff happening, but there’s nothing to fight or run away from. It’s bad. 

Symptoms, physical and mental

Some things to keep in mind, that I haven’t seen addressed in any post before: I’ve known a lot of people, including myself, with various anxiety disorders who experience panic attacks and all of them experienced a different grab-bag of symptoms. In some cases, the symptoms could be very weird. It would take forever to exhaust all the possible symptoms of a panic attack, but I’ll do a list and explain (I’ll go into more detail about how to write all this in a bit). There’s a whole range of severity, and the loss of control/thinking you’re going to die happens with the more severe ones. One person can have both small attacks and huge ones that are much worse, and the symptoms they have can change over time. 

Intense fear - panic attacks are terrifying. They vary in how terrifying. I know saying “terrifying” is exactly what it says on the tin, but it’s hard to convey to someone who hasn’t experienced this exactly HOW terrifying they can be when they’re really bad. When I was younger, I had attacks that lasted hours wherein it seemed almost as if I had suddenly realized that nothing in the universe is kind or good or safe and nothing I could hold onto for security felt even real. I know that sounds damn dramatic, but it’s what happened. On that note: 

Feeling a sense of immediate impending doom. Again, no real way to describe this well but its Bad 

Being convinced you are going to die. I mean convinced.  

Feeling like you are losing control or going crazy. This goes along with the things I just discussed, and is usually with a severe attack. 

Racing or pounding heart - this is one everyone will know. Basically, your body is convinced you need to run from something or fight something. 

Feeling that the room is swirling or spinning around you. 

Choking/suffocating feeling or feeling like you have trouble breathing - This is scary. Honestly, a lot of why panic attacks are so scary is that the *symptoms* are scary. I used to always feel like I couldn’t pull air far enough into my lungs, or that no breath I took in was deep enough. You might feel like your throat is closing up. Expect a character to possibly gulp or gasp for air that they don’t feel like they’re getting. 

Dizziness or feeling lightheaded or faint. Can result from hyperventilating as a result of feeling like you can’t breathe. Your character might need to sit down all of a sudden, or lean against a wall. 

Crying, or screaming: Not everyone will respond this way, but a person’s stoic-ness or “toughness” doesn’t have a lot to do with whether they do. Even a strong, tough person can react this way. An emotional person won’t necessarily cry. It depends. 

Talking to oneself, babbling, muttering, moaning, really any kind of vocalization. “Ohmygodohmygodohmygod.” That kind of thing. 

Pacing rapidly, fidgeting uncontrollably, unable to sit still. Messing with items around you and throwing them aside. Your character might walk around in tight circles or gesticulate frantically, clutch at their hair, etc. 

Really any tic or nervous habit that a character has might get worse and possibly harmful.

Shaking/shivering/trembling uncontrollably: A lot of people will think hand tremors or being “shaky” with nervousness, which I guess happens, but this can be and very often is very intense, teeth-chattering, whole-body stuff. Often seems to happen in waves or spasms, and you can’t stop it. If you’re having a very bad attack, think violent, uncontrollable waves of shivering. It’s very unpleasant. 

Tunnel vision or black around the edges of your vision: This is not something I can find on google but I know it’s happened to me at least once. 

Sweating. 

Goosebumps or chill-bumps. 

Chest pains. Not something I have experienced much, so I can’t elaborate too much. 

Numb, tingly fingers or hands. I don’t have any personal experience with this, but apparently this happens to people. 

Racing or spiraling thoughts. Even if it didn’t have a trigger at all, your thoughts can still be really panicked and disjointed. Expect your character’s internal monologue to be very repetitive and unstructured. If there was a trigger, expect extreme obsessing over the thing that caused the panic. But in some cases, panic attacks can be almost purely physical responses. Multiple times I’ve been overcome by the symptoms and mentally just been like “Oh, this is…happening to me.” 

Anger or aggression: The intense feelings of a panic attack can come out in some weird ways, and this is one of them. Snapping, lashing out, irritability, or other ways of responding with anger won’t be out of place. You might be extremely defensive or ready to fight back. 

Nausea: Panic attacks always came with very severe nausea for me, though I never actually threw up (that’s rare, but it happens to some people.) This doesn’t happen to a lot of people, though. 

Other digestive distress: You can definitely have diarrhea or stomach pains. 

Hot flashes. 

Face turning pale/blanching. 

A feeling of weakness in your body. 

Feeling like what’s going on around you isn’t real; your surroundings seeming surreal. (Derealization. I haven’t experienced this much, so you can do more research on your own if you want to explore this one.)

Feeling detached from your body or like you’re observing yourself from far away. Feeling like you aren’t real. (This is called depersonalization.  Not much personal experience with this, either.) 

And these symptoms aren’t even close to all of them. Honestly, a lot of weird crap can happen, because panic attacks affect the entire body and everyone’s body is different. Of the list above, I’ve experienced everything at one point or another except depersonalization, stomach upset, and the tingling hands/arms and many of the above symptoms happened to me as flukes (I think chest pains happened like once). Some of the things on the list developed later in life. (I started getting hot flashes due to anxiety when I was 16.) Some symptoms disappeared as I got older. (I haven’t actually experienced shortness of breath much since I was a kid.) Everyone I know has a different set of these traits. I have no idea why. This is all just to show the wide variety of symptoms that can occur, and show that everyone is going to experience it differently. As for your character, you can just pick whatever feels right to you. Racing heart and shortness of breath are pretty much staples of the panic experience, and the shaking/trembling and dizziness are very common as well, but everyone is going to be different. 

Now, how does one actually write a panic attack? 

If you’re writing about panic attacks, you most likely have a character who has some form of trauma or anxiety disorder. Now, panic attacks can happen totally at random, but there is usually some sort of cause. 

When I say “cause,” that can be “the room is too hot” or “I saw something in an article about one of my phobias.” (These examples are drawn from my friend and me, respectively.) Really little things can set the snowball rolling. Stress or anything unexpected will do it, and so will exposure to your character’s triggers. 

When I was younger, my triggers were all related to my phobias, which were mostly health-related. That meant reading something about some rare form of cancer, or something like that, could cause me to have an attack. Triggers could be related to a character’s trauma, or they can just be something that scares or stresses out a character. it depends on the character. Trauma related triggers can be very little and random. Anything they associate with their abuse or abuser–a scent, a certain song, a phrase said in a certain way–can set them off. 

When I say “snowball,” that’s really how it works. The thing about panic attacks is that the attack itself is absolutely terrifying, to the point that a lot of people who experience them develop extra anxiety just over the prospect of having another one. The hallmark characteristic really is intense terror. When you’re not good and jaded and used to having them, the symptoms themselves will make you freak out more. Panic results in feeling like you’re struggling to breathe, and struggling to breathe results in more panic. I was especially screwed because my main triggers were–guess what–all related to illness. Yay. 

Your character is going to be in a very altered state of mind, most likely. They will be obsessing and spiraling and latching onto worst-case scenarios so that they can’t really objectively analyze what is going on with their body. Everything is Bad. Everything seems like it’s as bad as it could possibly be. On this same note, your character is not going to be able to think or reason their way out of this. Their irrational, fearful thoughts are going to be a lot stronger than the reasonable ones and will be flashing like strobe lights on top of it. If that didn’t do it, the extremely powerful bodily response they are dealing with sure would. The “sense of impending doom” or of feeling like you might die is overwhelming and hard to counter with thoughts because it just feels so vast. 

Write a severe panic attack as you would excruciating pain, because that’s the best way to put the kind of mental state. It has to stop, it HAS to stop, but it doesn’t stop, there’s nothing you can do because there’s no actual threat. 

And yet, if your character has experienced this many times, they may be able to hold onto sanity and control their physical responses. I’ll get into coping skills in a bit, but I’m putting this out there to say that the first time and the fiftieth time might be really different. 

The first time people experience a panic attack, they often call 911. I’m serious. The thing is, you have to learn that what you’re physically experiencing is a result of panic; you don’t just instinctively know that. The first time I had one, I was 10 and the shaking and spasming didn’t feel like an emotional response, it felt like what in the actual hell is going on? Am I dying? It takes several more times experiencing this to figure out how your body reacts during a panic attack and several MORE to be able to piece yourself together enough during it to say to yourself, “I am having a panic attack,” and identify the symptoms. 

That said, even when you know what’s going on with you, it’s still very scary because what do you do when you feel like you have to run, but there’s nothing to run from? Or you feel like you can’t breathe, but you know you’re taking in air? 

All that to say: the emotional response of fear isn’t the central thing your character will be conscious of. Their thoughts, and their physical reactions, are as important and they might even seem detached from the feelings of fear. So don’t just have your character being like “I’m terrified, I’m terrified, I’m freaking out…” It feels like some kind of medical disaster. I wasn’t always able to identify my attacks as fear at all. Obviously your character is scared. But show that through their thoughts (spiraling, disjointed, obsessive, babbling) and what’s going on in their body (cant breathe, sweaty, shaking uncontrollably).  

Panic attacks can last anywhere from a few minutes to hours. When you get to ones that are hours long, usually it’s happening in multiple “waves.” Your character can start to calm down, and then they can start to think about stressful things again and hyperventilate and go back into it. A lot of definitions list them as “brief” but the briefest one I’ve ever had probably was no less than 20 or 30 minutes. Again, it will vary with the character. 

After your character starts calming down (this can just happen due to utter exhaustion, getting the symptoms under control, or just realizing that it’s been two hours and they’re not dying), they will feel exhausted. Especially if it’s a long attack. If they’ve been in panic mode for hours expect them to be feeling like a beaten rug hanging on a porch. Panic attacks are draining. They probably won’t feel up to much after. Their energy will be gone. They might feel a sense of calm and security after they’re done, or they might feel very sick and bad. It just depends. 

On Coping 

The best coping skills usually target the body itself and focus on slowing down the fight-or-flight response. This is why breathing exercises are recommended. But they don’t always work. Being super aware of my breathing would always make me freak out more. The mental and physical aspects bounce off one another and if something that’s helping in one area is making it worse in another, it won’t help overall. 

In my experience, knowing what was happening to me, all the causes of the physical things I was feeling, and that they were all just results of the panic attack helped me fend off the worse things–feeling like I was going to die, et cetera. It may not be that way for everyone. But just knowing what is happening to you, or not knowing, makes a lot of a difference. 

What not to do: I know it’s hugely tempting to have your character be held and reassured by their love interest and calm down, but…really, with a panic attack, you’re not going to pull someone out of it. It has to pass. Especially once the snowball is already rolling, it needs time to pass. Even the best damn coping skills in the world aren’t going to erase this and neither is a hug from someone cute.

Different people will need different things. Some people will be helped by being hugged or held tightly, but that’s not everyone. Some will want to be left the hell alone. Some people will want you to be near them and talk to them, but not touch them. For some people, holding their hand is enough. 

There’s a post going around somewhere saying that grabbing someone and holding them tightly to you will stop a panic attack. This goes for both real life and fiction–DO NOT DO THAT. Ask!! Ask!! if it’s okay! to touch them!!!!!! Never ever ever ever ever touch someone who is in this sort of distress without permission and especially don’t keep doing it even if they struggle. They could feel trapped and start to feel even worse, or if their panic is trauma related, they might have  a flashback to an assault. In either case they might fight back and hurt you or themselves. Don’t put this in a book and show it actually working and being a good thing because NO. 

If you want to indulge some hurt/comfort or fluff,  just show the love interest character staying with them, asking what they need, doing what they can to help. Your frightened character’s love interest can coach their breathing, bring them a blanket or a glass of water, or just talk to them. They can remind the character that they aren’t suffocating. I mean, sure, they can hug if you like. Some people are comforted by being hugged. Just don’t portray it as some kind of cure or instant fix. Someone who is having a panic attack isn’t going to just immediately calm down upon falling into the arms of the right character. They may not calm down at all. The love interest might feel very inadequate. The most comforting things in the world are not going to be that comforting right then. Anyway, showing the love interest sticking through and being compassionate and attentive through ugly, scary hours of terror, even if there’s not a lot they can do, is sexy. 

If you wanna do cuddles, put those in post-attack, when your character is mostly calmed down and now is just spent and tired. They probably need the comfort and a long hug or back rub might do them good. 

On the topic of hugs, give someone with an anxiety disorder a hug for me today, will ya? (Ask first.) This was emotionally exhausting. Whew. 

[mania-junkie-writes]

Remus and Sirius: *Cuddle on a sofa in the common room*

Remus: *gives Sirius a real, honest, and in no way sarcastic compliment*

Remus and Sirius: *Silent staring into each other’s eyes with their lips slightly parted*

Remus: *bites his lower lip nervously*

Sirius: *looks at his lips now*

Remus and Sirius: *oblivious and eventually remember they were studying for Charms*

James, from a corner behind them in the common room with popcorn: KISS ALREADY

[mania-junkie-writes]

Tips for fight scenes

If you get punched in the nose your eyes will water, a lot, even if it didn’t really hurt

Your body follows your head, your head gets pushed one way and your body will want to go that way

Getting hit in the stomach isn’t good, it hurts, getting hit in the diaphragm is worse. Causes your lungs to kinda spasm and make it hard to breathe (diaphragm is between stomach and chest)

When fighting a larger person they will have an easier time forcing you back

The jaw is the knockout button. Hit it hard enough and down for the count

Back of the head is very vulnerable, can cause serious damage if hit there

Kidney punches. They hurt. A lot.

People with experience will try to be where they are comfortable. A wrestler will try to get their opponent on the ground, a boxer will stay on their feet, etc.

Easiest counter to a kick is to get closer to whoever is throwing it, then they won’t have enough room for it to be effective

If you want realism, avoid fancy, flashy moves. They’re less practical and easier to counter.

[mania-junkie-writes]

i just realised the biggest way i make characters is when im making a protagonist i start by making them a villain, and vise versa when im making an antagonist i start by making them a hero

my basis for creating protagonists is to make them unlikeable, is to figure out why they would be villains if the story were reversed, and then focus my efforts on making the audience like them despite this

and my basis for creating antagonists is to make them likeable, to make them and their goals reasonable, to make them good people, and then to focus on twisting the narrative so the audience will view them as the villains

[mania-junkie-writes]

Writing ship-able couples

Here are some tips for writing relationships your readers can get behind:

1. Give them reasons to click

The two characters must have things in common - a hobby, a philosophy, a background. There has to be some element that connects them.

Your readers will root for relationships in which the characters fit together better than they would with others.

Also, make their traits compatible. Have them share some characteristics or have their strengths and weaknesses be complementary. Is the one hotheaded? Maybe the other keeps their cool well in situations of conflict.

There are endless possibilities. Just make sure there’s a reason these two people like/love each other.

2. Have them be vulnerable in front of each other

Personally, this is the best way to get me to love a couple.

Have them share secrets, open up about their feelings and tell each other things they haven’t told anyone. Have them cry in front of each other and comfort each other.

This can be taken to a whole new level by having them understand the other’s emotions even without speaking and already offer comfort. Keep in mind that this will probably only be possible with long-established couples.

And having them open up is also a great way for them to discover all the things they have in common/love about each other.

3. Build up the tension

I cannot emphasise this enough: DO NOT MAKE YOUR COUPLES GET TOGETHER TOO QUICKLY.

One of the best elements of a romantic subplot (or even main plot) is the tension. Your readers want to see the pining! They want the build-up.

And no, I’m not saying that you should introduce endless, petty obstacles. That can become tedious and appear forced.

Just give your characters time to sort through their feelings. Make them fall in love slowly. Have them be unsure. Insert SOME obstacles/conflicts.

Have them almost kiss a few times. Not all the time. Too many almost-kisses can become frustrating. But you should throw a few in there.

And, if you feel comfortable with it, add some sexual tension. Have them notice each other’s bodies and imagine what they’d like to do to each other (that sounds more explicit than I intended :) )

4. Write a healthy relationship

This could just be me and my rejection of unhealthy romances, but I will not root for abusive relationships.

Have your characters be kind to each other, support each other and truly care for each other.

If your characters are constantly putting each other down, physically/emotionally abusing each other or going against the other’s wishes, they’re not in a healthy relationship.

A great way to write a healthy relationship whilst still maintaining the tension, is to have the conflict in the relationship be external. Instead of having the conflict be due to internal struggles between the two characters, have obstacles enter from outside.

Your readers should want them to be together and for that, they should be good for each other.

5. Have their friends/family see their chemistry

I find it beyond adorable when two characters are still figuring out their feelings for each other, but the fact that they’re perfect for each other is crystal clear to everyone around them.

Have their friends tease them about the relationship. Have family members ask after the them. Have their loved ones conspire to get them to admit their feelings.

If your other characters are rooting for them, your readers will probably do so as well.

Plus, this means that the chemistry between the two characters is so strong that it’s obvious, which is always good for an exciting romance.

That’s all I’ve got for now. If you have any further questions about writing OTPs or any other aspect of writing, feel free to message me or pop me an ask.

Reblog if you found any of this useful. Comment with your own tips. Follow me for similar content.

[mania-junkie-writes]

Stop thinking you’re a bad writer

You’re not. You’ve got this amazing idea and you’re putting it to use. You have characters you adore, scenes you love, and it’s something that someone will love.

Remember, you’re writing. It’s going to be hard. You’ll have times when you want to slam your laptop shut in frustration, and you’ll have times when you’re in the zone and no one can stop you.

The only people who say it’s easy are the people who don’t write. So write what you want, enjoy it, have fun, and remember that you’re not a bad writer.

[mania-junkie-writes]

My two writing moods

1) I suck. Everything I write is garbage meant to be destroyed in the void of hell

2) ‘now I’m not one to brag but it’s pretty great’ she bragged braggingly

[mania-junkie-writes]

If you’re straight, write stories with gay characters, but don’t write stories about being gay. That’s not your story to tell.

If you’re cis, write stories with trans characters, but don’t white stories about being trans. That’s not your story to tell.

If you’re allistic, write stories with autistic characters, but don’t write stories about being autistic. That’s not your story to tell.

If you’re neurotipical, write mentally ill characters, but don’t write stories about being mentally ill. That’s not your story to tell. 

If you’re able bodied, write stories with disabled characters, but don’t write stories about being disabled. That’s not your story to tell. 

If you’re white, write characters who are POC, but don’t write stories about being a POC. That’s not your story to tell 

Write stories with diverse and complex characters, but unless you’ve experienced the oppression that we have, don’t write the stories that we need to tell ourselves. 

[mania-junkie-writes]

You ever write something and you think, “I’ve used this exact sentence structure/phrasing/convention approximately eight million times before but goddammit I’m going to do it again?”

That’s about where I’m at right now.