rhodantheskies

[rhodantheskies]

and it's so deserving

[rhodantheskies]

In June 2021 I was reading my favorite book, The Anthropocene Reviewed by John Green, in the psych ward, feeling completely hopeless and alone.

Today I was reading my favorite book, The Anthropocene Reviewed by John Green, in the waiting room to go to the first doctor visit on the road to start testosterone.

I know how it feels to think that you would be better off dead, but today I also know that:

"You can't see the future coming-not the terrors, for sure, but you also can't see the wonders that are coming, the moments of light-soaked joy that await each of us"

[rhodantheskies]

How To Fucking Write: a guide by fairyhaos

[masterlist]

this post details:

DIALOGUING INTERESTINGLY

hi gays and gals! the first post on starting and pacing a story did really well, so "how to fucking write" is back, with yet more advice and tips for everyone ^^ please feel free to let me know if there's something you want me talk about, because i'll be more than willing to see if i can help. also a reminder that i have a taglist for this series as well, and please reblog if you find this helpful :)

# - HOW TO DIALOGUE.

.. bullet point one : grammar

okay guys, as a native english speaker, i'll be the first to tell you that this language fucking sucks in terms of its grammar, but when it comes to dialogue, understanding how it works even to some extent will help you branch out and vary the way you write dialogue, which makes it so much more interesting.

with dialogue tags (said, asked, etc) if the punctuation mark in the dialogue is not a ! or ? then it should be a comma.

example : [junhui + castle]

as you can see in the first line, a comma is used rather than a full stop, because the sentence hasn't been finished yet. there's a dialogue tag, ('you correct'), that comes after it. and since the pronoun 'you' isn't a proper noun (i.e. a name) then it shouldn't be capitalised, because, again, the sentence hasn't been finished.

with action tags however, (he smiled, he stood up, etc) then it should be a full stop.

example : [i just made one up bc i don't use this a lot lmao]

"I disagree." He stood up, and walked over to close the door. "This isn't safe. You shouldn't go alone."

and now, since there is a full stop, it indicates that the speech is a sentence all by itself. that means the next word ('He') ought to be capitalised.

but the key part when grammar-ing dialogue in order to make it interesting depends on where you put the action and grammar tags.

if you constantly have lines that are just:

"dialogue," he said.

"dialogue," she said.

"dialogue but a bit longer," he said.

... then it can get repetitive, and annoying. by varying your dialogue structure, it can create more interesting dialogue.

example : [minghao + password]

there's a variety of dialogue and action tags being used with each line of dialogue, preventing everything from sounding too repetitive.

the first line starts with a normal sentence, and an action tag. the second is a standalone line of dialogue with no tags. the second has the action tag in the middle of the dialogue. and the last has a dialogue tag in the middle of the dialogue.

by varying the ways in which you write your dialogue, it makes everything a lot more interesting.

.. bullet point two : verbs and adverbs

the easiest way to make dialogue interesting, though, is to use fancy words.

this can be by replacing 'said' with a range of other dialogue tags (see this really comprehensive list for a whole variety of different words), but i'd advise against overusing these. 'said' is your friend! it's the invisible dialogue tag, helps your reader read through your dialogue in comfort, but of course, if you wanna add a nuanced way of describing the dialogue, then replacing 'said' is the easiest way to make your dialogue interesting.

but don't overuse these. for me, i'd focus on action tags and adverbs.

use interesting adverbs that add description to how a character is saying something can go miles. and using action tags that break through what could have been a long section of characters just talking? it helps so much.

i'd recommend having onelook thesaurus open as you write. you don't have to type in just words: phrases, the overall vibes of the word you're thinking of, all of that can be typed into the thesaurus and they'll provide you with pretty good results each time.

it also really helps when you've forgotten a word and can only remember vague bits of what the word should feel like.

.. bullet point three : voices

the best way, however, is ultimately to create a character. write a personality for them, bring them to life, think about the way in which they would talk and then put that down onto paper.

it's difficult, perhaps the most difficult to do, because it's also so tricky to advise someone on how to do this. it's all about the character you want to create, the personality you envision for them, and the only person who can fully write that is you.

however, i would find a few 'ticks' of theirs and use them as indicators in your writing.

for example, in my seoksoo long fic, seokmin's tick is that he always "chirps" what he's saying. and beams. a lot. this identifies his character, makes him unique(ish), and establishes his personality and differs him to the other characters.

but ultimately, it comes down to word choices, when you're writing a character voice.

like, your character describing something with elegant, floral language vs them going "this is so pretty". or perhaps making them stumble over their words when they're panicked vs them simply just going silent when they're flustered.

it's about being specific. about making choices with your words that would have english teachers analyse and unpick your writing, hundreds of years later.

(even if it's fanfic. especially if it's fanfic: because who knows how many fans may join your fandom in the next few years?)

... and that's it ! if anyone has anything else they want advice on (how to structure, how to write dialogue, how to plan etc) then just shoot me an ask, because i'd love to help however i can :)

tagging (comment/send ask to be added!): @selenicives @stqrrgirle @weird-bookworm @eternalgyu @blue-jisungs (tough luck guys btw but youre gonna be tagged in this entire series ehehehe)

[rhodantheskies]

jeonghan messy header plslsss

Sorry I'm late, but here it is, gerrrl :3

[rhodantheskies]

and isn’t it just fascinating, how you could still hold me up even when we’re apart? how seasons have passed and the thought of you still comforts me. how much of you did you give me for me to be able to still feel you despite the years between us? how much of me did you take when you left? is there enough for all the years we’ll never meet again?

[rhodantheskies]

Want to know a secret? Here you go.

You don’t have to write with the goal of finishing a whole story. And even if you do write with that goal, and you don’t finish the story, then you’re still writing.

Fanfic writers, especially, all way too hard on ourselves about our WIPs. Way, way too hard.

I have folders of WIPs, by categories, and I used to despair of finishing them all but… then I learned that “finish” has very, very different meaning in the “paid to write” community.

Well-written fragments and scenes and thoughts and micro stories — personal essays and flash fiction and other short prose — are welcome at many literary journals. They’re writing forms unto themselves. Sometimes all the story wants to be is 500 words (flash fiction). Sometimes it wants to be 5,000 (short story). And sometimes 50,000 (novel). Or any form in between.

So the next time you write a blurb, a drabble, or any other short writing piece, and then stop and leave it be — don’t be so hard on yourself.

Maybe you’ll finish it. Or maybe it’s finished already. Maybe it’ll find it’s way into a story. Or maybe not.

Writing 300 words of how your blorbos would enjoy the sunset and then never looking at it again still counts as writing and is good practice for you.

All the love to all of your WIPs, those pesky little children. Love them. They’re parts of you.

[rhodantheskies]

you lean your head back against the wall. you whisper why are we like this? and my heart is full of the broken pieces. the pain I can’t rescue you from. the pain mirrored in myself. my heart is speaking in rushes of words.

so swift so subtle the river comes and goes through my fingers. water in my eyes water through my skin and my soul. I used to think what lay under my bones was an apology for existence and I was right. but underneath is the knowledge I loved you. and we’re like this and we sketch flowers with the knives in our hands and kiss the wounds. water in my hair and heavy hands full of joy. we know the water like we know the truth that we are loved by many things and not all of them should be home. we loved the darkness in each other and cherished the light. take my candle. take my fire. I’ve been a void; I can fight yours. I’ll swim to you. I’ll sing to you. song and light of my heart; all my love all my soul. I’ll fall again. I’ll touch your hand. I’ll bring the knife down and shove you away. I’ll hold you close. there are no happy heroes because we had to see the pain to touch the glory. glory in your eyes glory in your skin glory was your pain and the way you drank mine down. I’d swallow poison for you but in the meantime I’ll swallow mine. hold my hands. I’ll find you again.

[rhodantheskies]

you lean your head back against the wall. you whisper why are we like this? and my heart is full of the broken pieces. the pain I can’t rescue you from. the pain mirrored in myself. my heart is speaking in rushes of words.

so swift so subtle the river comes and goes through my fingers. water in my eyes water through my skin and my soul. I used to think what lay under my bones was an apology for existence and I was right. but underneath is the knowledge I loved you. and we’re like this and we sketch flowers with the knives in our hands and kiss the wounds. water in my hair and heavy hands full of joy. we know the water like we know the truth that we are loved by many things and not all of them should be home. we loved the darkness in each other and cherished the light. take my candle. take my fire. I’ve been a void; I can fight yours. I’ll swim to you. I’ll sing to you. song and light of my heart; all my love all my soul. I’ll fall again. I’ll touch your hand. I’ll bring the knife down and shove you away. I’ll hold you close. there are no happy heroes because we had to see the pain to touch the glory. glory in your eyes glory in your skin glory was your pain and the way you drank mine down. I’d swallow poison for you but in the meantime I’ll swallow mine. hold my hands. I’ll find you again.

[rhodantheskies]

“I want you to do this with me for one month. One month. Write 10 observations a week and by the end of four weeks, you will have an answer. Because when someone writes about the rustic gutter and the water pouring through it onto the muddy grass, the real pours into the room. And it’s thrilling. We’re all enlivened by it. We don’t have to find more than the rustic gutter and the muddy grass and the pouring cold water.”

— Marie Howe, Boston University’s 2016 Theopoetics Conference  (via mothersofmyheart)

[rhodantheskies]

the epiphany of being your own home, of not needing someone to tell you you're needed because you know what you are and what you're capable of, of searching for love and finding it inside you, dusty and cobwebbed behind your broken door, but it's there. it has always been there, waiting for you to notice.

[rhodantheskies]

Go and love someone exactly as they are. then, watch how they transform into the greatest truest version of themselves. when one feels seen and appreciated in their own essence, one is instantly empowered.

Wes Angelozzi (via surqrised)

[rhodantheskies]

it’s a lovely june morning

why did i ever start to think that it's halfway through the year yet i haven't accomplished anything when i've got 5 digits in my bank account, new glasses, and a working laptop? i've been so blessed. 

i know i'm always at the right place at the right time, hence i shouldn't worry, or try to pick up my pace and match others. i'm doing great at my own pace! i'm doing so fantastically great despite people telling me to catch up. no, i'm taking my time. i'm gonna feel the sun on my skin, smell the blooming flowers and the petrichor hanging in the air, and i'm gonna breathe. i'm gonna live. i'm gonna thrive. at my own pace. 

[rhodantheskies]

10 things i hate about vernon

I hate you in the most adorable way possible because, in fact, i could probably never loathe you in this lifetime or any other. 

1. wearing your heart on your sleeve has been mapped out as difficult, and i hate how you’re proving me wrong. your straightforward nature, when you mean what you say and your actions are braced with purpose— i hate how you make it seem easy. 

2. in this society of black and white people i get jealous of how you’re seeing with color; how you respond calmly and without judgment, how you try to uplift and make this world better. even your smallest efforts will not be left unrecognized. 

3. and with the talks of colors, i hate how you stopped wearing your colorful tie-dyed shirts. that visual of yours is more than enough to turn a few heads back but i can picture you walking into a room and people focus their eyes on your brilliance, like the diamond that you are, shining splendidly.

4. That laugh— gummy cheeks, smiley eyes, and sometimes your nose even flaring. the way you express with your whole face how ecstatic you feel; i hate that. i hate how you make my insides flutter with the expressions that you make,

which leads to the fifth reason.  

5. you never cared whether you looked too improper for the camera, you always smiled goofily and make expressions i could not fathom. and my thoughts lead exactly to this: how can one still look good with their meme face on? I hate to admit that, for not many has that privilege, not even myself. 

6. aloof and easygoing as you might be, i hate that you are. there’s a mysterious charm you exude when you keep your words short and your expressions a minimum but I have always wanted to travel your mind— all its curves and crevices, raw and unfiltered. 

7. but i can never do that, can i? seeing you beneath the surface— it’s outright impossible. you are the sun, shining from afar. I hate that it would burn me to come closer to you, and i would have to content myself by looking up at your form. 

8. as the same way that you are the sun then it may as be that i am the moon, the moon that gets its shine from the morning star. I somehow hate it, that as much as the light is my source of strength, you are also my weakness. 

9. are you even real? i hate how i can relate to your daily experiences of awkwardness and the mundane and yet your life seems to be set on a different universe, or maybe a much more appealing version of mine. like a coming-of-age movie. 

10. i hate how you only boast of your members but never yourself; how you simply nod at every compliment thrown at you. that is why I never miss the chance to brag about you. I take pride in your medals and number ones and merely the fact of adoring your existence has made me a vaunter of me.

it has been a humbling experience to be able to love a person such as you, and as these words stay and never fade, i will my love to do the same. 

[rhodantheskies]

astro has given me a newfound appreciation for the color purple

[rhodantheskies]

I noticed when I was a kid that adults seem to forget that everything is real, no matter how young you are. A seven year old doesn’t feel like a helpless infant, they feel the oldest and most mature they’ve ever felt. And they will when they turn eight, too. And nine. Twenty. Thirty. Fifty.

You never feel as young as you are, because you’re always the oldest you’ve been. You can only look back and equate childhood with ignorance and silliness, because there were things you didn’t know then. But there are things you don’t know now, too, that someone older is looking down at you for.

I promised myself I would never forget that, growing up. I put it in a time capsule when I was nine because I wanted to be certain. And sometimes it slips away, and I catch myself scoffing at people younger than me, but you have to fight that. You have to hold on. You have to keep a little bit of your younger mind inside you, so you don’t forget.

I think that’s important.

Remember that you’ll always change, but know that the person you’ll become isn’t going to be any more real than the person you are, or the person you were. They’re still going to feel like You.

[rhodantheskies]

sungjin: for someone that is 70% water, you dont look that refreshing

jae: bURN

young k: water cant be burnt

jae: evaPORATE

[rhodantheskies]

reliving every day6: i’m serious ; april — i’m serious. my eyes surely say that i like you. why don’t you feel it. it shows on my face so clearly. are you going to keep laughing it off? are you going to be like this all the time? please do something about my growing heart.