#tips to write indirect characterization

[3hks]

Indirect Characterization: Show Don't Tell

There are two types of characterization: direct and indirect. For most people, direct characterization is much easier to write because you are straightforward with your descriptions. However, if you have a more important character attribute you want to emphasize, I would suggest using indirect characterization when you can!

What is indirect characterization? Most of you all will know this, but I'll explain it just in case! Indirect characterization is when the author SHOWS us traits and parts of a character. They don't explicitly state the character's qualities, but rather demonstrate them through dialogue, actions, thoughts, reactions, etc!

Continuous use of this description type can be overwhelming to the reader, but if there is something important that you want to reveal, do it through this method! That way, the reader feels the value of the trait. Additionally, it also elevates your level of writing!

I will say that writing indirect characterization is definitely not my strongest suit, but I do have some basic advice! First of all, always keep STEAL in mind. (Speech, Thoughts, Effect on others, Actions, Looks.) My best tip is that instead of straight-out stating what the character is like, explain their influence, how others look at them, how others talk about them, the actions they take, the actions they are willing to take, etc. For instance, if a character doesn't talk a lot, we get the impression that they're shy and/or closed off towards others. If a character is constantly swarmed by others, we get the idea that they're rather popular. It's a pretty simple process, but it can be difficult to execute. Just keep in mind that there are different ways to demonstrate what a character is like without explicitly stating it! Don't overthink it too much, if you keep your character in, well, character, and expose them to situations that reveal their qualities, the audience will be able to understand them better as your story goes on!

Thank you so much for the recent support, I truly didn't expect so many notes this early into my blog's creation, and it really means the world to me!

Happy writing~

3hks <3

[ahb-writes]

Writing Description: Encourage Readers to Infer More Than They Realize

Use Description to Encourage Readers to Infer More Than They Realize. Sometimes, referring to the shadow of a thing is more powerful than expending the energy to describe the thing itself. Sometimes, articulating the function a thing serves will grant readers permission to conjure their own version of what the thing itself looks like. This means using more than the standard five senses in your writing. Can you describe what it's like for a character to lose her sense of balance? Can you describe what it's like for a character to have forgotten something important that his partner told him that morning? The writer, in each of these scenarios, articulates the value and weight of certain clues and puzzle pieces, over and above the value and weight of solving the whole enigma.

Additional Reading:

Direct Characterization: 6 Tips for Precise Description (Now Novel)

Indirect Characterization: Revealing Characters Subtly (Now Novel)

How Being Subtle Can Improve Your Descriptions (All Write - Fiction Advice)

How Fiction Writers Can Improve the Quality of Their Prose (Kristen Kiefer)

❯ ❯ Adapted from description-writing masterpost: 5 Times When You Should (and 4 Times When You Shouldn’t) Rely on Description

[wren-dy-flowergarden]

Salutations!

So... um... I'm kind of sick and am in desperate need of Sebek Zigvolt fluff.

How about a Fem!Reader who takes care of Sebek when he's sick, please?

I've read your other works and I absolutely love them 🫶🫶

*ੈ✩‧˚₊⁀➴ A/N: HIHI! Im crying' over here Im so happy you read my other works too even though they aren't twst fandom. I just love writing. ALSO SORRY THIS IS SO LATE. Ya know I was just going to make it head cannons but here is a whole ass story cause it's super late and I could not stop on this one while writing it. I really hope that the characterization is right, I don't know that much about Sebek. BUT I hope you enjoy and thank you for being my very first request! ✧.*✦ *.✧.* *ੈ✩‧˚₊⁀➴Sebek x f!Reader *ੈ✩‧˚₊⁀➴Word Conunt: 2.3k <- yes 2k more so pls enjoy *ੈ✩‧˚₊⁀➴ Tags: sickies in bed, indirect kissing, ungodly thoughts and confused feelings, slightly hidden fluff, in denial about feelings

───────────✧.*✦ *.✧.*✦ *.✧.*✦ ───────────────

The moment there is enough peace on campus to hear your inner thoughts you know something was out of place.

The first couple of periods rushed through with mild amusement. Grim snoring on your left and occasionally a new note would come from Ace across from you making comments about how 'boring' the lecture is.

The usual, but someone was missing in your day.

Next, lunch went with a suspicious calm. No major fights, a couple forkfuls of food splattered in glory across the table from missing its targets, casual conversation, and nothing more.

Usually, lunch is more...

Noisy?

You couldn't find the answers until you saw Lillia who taps your shoulder out of your daydreams. You let out a small gasp waking up to reality, "Lilia! Don't do that- you scared me half to death."

A small fang pokes out of his smile, "Why I'm only here to deliver a message." He puts his hands up in mock surrender, "The small one Sebek is out with a cold right now. Tucked right into bed."

It was like a lightbulb going off. The boisterous energy that would usually interject into your day leading to ridiculous jabs at each other, Sebek, was missing.

No wonder you felt so off.

"He wouldn't keep quiet when I told him to rest. Saying things quite out of place-" he leans closer to you whispering into your ear in a small voice, "' Where is she? Where is (Y/N)?'"

You can feel the tips of your ears burn but you hope your face doesn't give anything away as Lillia breaks away a little happy smile on his face, "Why it seems he is quite fond of you."

Before you could even retort he quips in, "He's up on the second floor at the dorm. Passed out after I cooked him my famous soup!" He waves walking down the hallway, "Keep well!"

He disappears around a corner and you take a deep breath. Sebek sounds delusional, and you can imagine it has to do with something he ate, especially since Lillia cooked it up.

You hear the warning bell and you scamper off to class.

Later today you give him a visit…

Just to make sure he was alright.

Wallet slightly lighter and a fresh chicken noodle soup you step into Diatom's lounge. You're thankful there is barely anyone here right after school, you are even more thankful Jade didn't even bat an eye when you asked for the rushed order before the kitchen was even open. In fact, he just smiled…calmly…

There was more to dissect on that another day.

Winding up the stairwell, you come to a hallway filled with similar wooden doors all facing one direction. The only difference was a small name plate etched into each forehead of the door. The back of your heel clicked down the cobblestone.

"Sebek, Sebek- ah there, Zigvolt."

A knock for life, you hear a groan like one of those zombies in the movies.

"Hey Sebek we uh-" you think about your words before they spill out how much today actually felt off without him, "I heard you were sick!"

You joke raising the bag of soup up as he could see through the door, "I brought you something a little 'better' than Lilia's cooking!" It was more to test how healthy Sebek was and you did not even hear a response.

Wow, he really must be dying.

You crack the door open peeking your head through. Clumps of tissues were littered on the floor along with some plastic bottles and a different assortment of cups and medicine on his nightstand. What you could assume is a mound of a person was huddled into a little ball underneath the sheets.

You walked through carefully avoiding the snot-filled tissues on the ground, "Sebek, hey. How are you feeling?" You tug the edge of the sheet just to let him know there is a healthy presence of life here, "I brought some soup. Really cost me an arm and a leg (yet),"

A shift of the blanked and another groan escapes him, full of snot he lets out a sneeze. He shifts his body to barely peeking out of the blankets, "You cough you're here?" He says it with no bite, but more of wonderment.

It makes your heart melt just a little.

The two of you have been playing this game recently… where he would make an effort to find you and "train mentally" against you. For what training, you still never understood, but it is a usual constant 'noisy' flow of Sebek. Sometimes he brings you extra lunch saying his enemy couldn't give him an easy win when you weren't having a good day. Other times, he might come to do his homework prideful when gets a question right before you and indignant when you need to teach it to him.

…It was obvious you were playing a game. The shy looks went as you both glance over each other, the constant quarrels that you two would get into and it would slowly fade to each other's company. It was even apparent to Silver, yes Silver that you two have been dancing around each other's toes! He said, 'You two are like the old couples in the valley.'

No, you weren't, this development was by Sebek only! It had nothing to do with you and you became a little closed off and a little more cold and you ignored what was hurt on Sebek's face because how could you recognize that emotion if you did not know him well.

A creak breaks you from your daydreams, "(Y/N)…how cough a human like you is going to get sick." You give a soft laugh sitting by the edge of the bed, "Well, it's pretty incredible you're this sick with your genetics, though maybe it's a blessing that I am human- got to have a better immune system than you."

A gaggle of annoyance, "Not- cough true. You're really cough weak."

You roll your eyes, "Obviously since I'm sick in bed right now. Here you should eat." You step near the nightstand to make some room for the bag gently cracking the tape around the lid of the soup. It smells fantastic.

"Here sit up so you can eat."

He doesn't move or at least maybe he tried to because you hear a grunt. What a baby. You place the soup on the nightstand and reach for the covers of his bed pulling it just to be met by resistance.

"Sebek, come on you have to eat."

"I- no hack la-later would be fine."

"But it's going to get cold!"

"Its! It's fine! I cough like it cold…?"

What a liar. He may be able to lift eight chairs but you have the power of surprise on your side. Your hold lessens on the sheets.

"Alright…then I'll come back later."

He relaxes underneath the sheets, "…really?"

Your grip tightens against the sheets again, "Pshhh NO!"

Sheets wave in the air with also a couple of tissues and oh no was that his phone? It's alright though because you won this one and you look down to hopefully see indignation on Sebek's face but…he's- oh completely naked from the top up.

Strongly lined abs with traces of sweat falling down the lines of etched muscles, the way his pecs were peaking due to the sudden rush of cold air, and his collars dipped nicely really painting the picture of a perfect man. Your eyes meet with Sebek's and he has red forming around the edge of his face from the fever! It's the fever…

The sheets slowly cascade down and messily cover his perfect body his shoulders and head now peeking through.

Was it hotter in here your throat feels more dry as you chide him in fake authority, "You- you should really sit up and eat." You glance at the soup the steam still leaking out, "I'll help you!"

It's only a ten-second break to calm your thumping heart as you balance the soup in your hands reaching for a spoon inside the remnant of the bag. You face back and Sebek is now sitting up slightly against the headboard, sheets tucked in like a modest princess above his chest, the face still red.

You make a place facing him, he won't meet your eyes and to be honest, you really can't meet his. But it's not like you haven't seen guys at the beach before, or even at home when it was too hot of a day. The soup swirls in its paper-like container as you lift the spoon up.

"Here say ah."

He doesn't, mouth still shut, ears tingling red. You knew this look it was when you got the question right first when you won.

But that really didn't matter right now.

You lower the spoon, "Alright. Fine. I'm sorry I took your sheets from you." You don't think about how hot he is and continue on, "It's really yummy soup though. I think that you should have some."

To prove your point you blow on a spoonful and dip it into your own mouth, you try not to think of why his eyes won't leave the spoon. It pops out of your mouth, "See better than Lilias."

His eyes furrowed, "You- you can't say anything about cough Lilia-sama." He nodded towards a half-empty bowl on the nightstand, "See! His food is hack delicious." He really must be delirious because the bowl is caked on black with thick goo hardening in it. You don't fight him though, because this is the first real response you got out of him.

You nod, "Yes yes, then you should be able to finish this too?" Another dip into the mixture, "Say ah."

He looks so reluctant like a cat being sprayed with water, but slowly he opens his mouth, "..ah"

You place the spoon in his mouth and you see the way his teeth are a little sharper than yours clink on the spoon, mouth closing around it before a little pop as you pull out.

Your ears start heating as well, you hope you're not getting sick also.

It's almost done when you can touch the bottom of the soup bowl and Sebek has been quite well-behaved the past couple minutes. After the last bite, you pack the trash and a couple of the tissues are littered around in the bad crinkling it shut.

The air was tight.

"I…I should get going." You try to find any excuse to get out, "Grim- he um- need to be fed! Yeah, so I should go back to Ramshackle."

Sebek knew you well enough to hear a shifty excuse so you believed that was the reason he grabs your hand before you can leave, "Wai- Wait!" he hacks into his other arms elbow, "I want- I-." He takes a deep breath his voice becoming less choppy, "They say I need to say "sincerities" when it's my loss…so cough for a small human like yourself coming here I- hack thank you…"

It's the first thank you he has ever given you and you feel this is more than just a 'thanks for taking care of me'. It felt more about the two of you. In truth and honesty, you were the ones who took the first step away from him, even though you may have something more akin to 'feelings' than the general source of friendship you have with your other friends.

You needed to take the first step.

You gave a small smile, "Oh, the great Sebek is thanking a 'small human' like me." You walk up to his bedside, him still sitting in the same position as before. You're close as you lean down only inches away, "Well then, you're welcome Sebek."

You give a small kiss, right on the side of his cheek, just a peck before Sebek has time to process in his foggy brain.

You are already out the door the time you hear a loud holler from his bedroom. Your face was burning red but it felt nice to finally start exploring these feelings.

A couple days later and Sebek was back in action.

Though, he was with you almost 24/7. Even in the evening, he stayed for extra study lessons, more than usual. It went on like that for a couple weeks.

Of course, you are a little slow to the advances of Sebek and it took Lilia (again) to really make the pieces fall in order. It was just a casual conversation

"I'm glad the dear is a little more open about you, why he was such in denial that he even made the excuse to see you as "mental training"!" Lilia laughs and you do your best to add on the conversation.

"Well he's getting better at math now so maybe he will be teaching me about potions soon."

Lillia laughs even harder now at your response and you tut, potions were difficult alright? He seems to read your face with the knowledge of a sage and wipes a nonexistent tear from his eye, "No you are mistaken dear. He said something across the lines, 'My heart keeps thumping around (Y/N) and I need to fix it!'." He grins, "Why he was such a cutie saying that, so in denial back then- you ask well."

Your face is flush, cheeks a rosy red. And comedic timing comes when you least expect it because Sebek is racing down the halls toward the two of you. He grips your face between gloved hands, your face squished together, "Your face is evenly red… ARE YOU SICK!?"

Your words are muffled together, "Nomhrooo mmmmh fhhine Sebrekkk!" You pull his hands away from you, "I'm fine!"

Lillia looks completely amused by this and just has to open his mouth, "Why Sebek, (Y/N) was just telling me how she felt a little under the weather today."

"What no! I'm fine Sebek, really."

He doesn't believe you of course and that day you're carried in his arms to the infirmary him muttering how a pitiful human like you should be more careful all through a crowded hallway.

God, what were you going to do with the both of you?

[star-girl69]

Writing Tips

so someone asked me if i had any writing tips. i am beyond flattered and i’m so so honored!!!

in no way do i claim to be a professional writer, i’ve just been reading and writing fanfiction for a long time and i’m pretttttty sure i know my way around by now!!

this is not a specific how to list, writing is very personal and subjective to the author. these are just some basic rules that may help you.

—-

the most important thing i could ever tell anyone who wanted to write would be this — show, don’t tell.

this basically means instead of saying: “Bob was sad.”

DESCRIBE what he’s doing! if he’s sad, maybe he’s sitting at a table with his head in his hands! if he’s angry, maybe his fists are clenched!

always remember that your characters are human (or human-like haha) and have human emotions!!

-the secret art of writing is that everything you do is for the reader. as a writer, it’s your job to create a world and characters where those two things interact with each other.

always remember your audience. if you’re writing fanfiction for young adults, maybe don’t overcompensate your writing by using “fancy words” that the majority might not understand… no one wants to look up the meaning of a word when they are reading fanfiction

the opposite also goes- if you’re writing academically for colleagues with the same skill level and knowledge as you, feel free to use all those big fancy words! it may even help your credibility as an author if you know how to correctly use those words, make sure you aren’t just cluttering your writing

setting and character go hand in hand.

-don’t overwhelm your reader!! it’s tempting to just explain everything all right away, all the lore, all the characters — but that makes your writing very difficult and overwhelming to read. instead, reveal things like that slowly.

-characterization!! i could talk about characterization for hours, but here are a few basic things to remember!

direct characterization: the author explicitly tells the reader something about the character. (example: Bob was very tall.)

indirect characterization: the author reveals a character’s traits through their actions or words. (example: if a character is always seen as asking a lot of questions, the reader can probably assume that the character is very inquisitive/curious.)

-let your readers mind fill in the blanks!!

if your setting is at the beach, your reader most likely already has a clear picture of the beach in their mind. don’t spend precious words talking about the waves hitting the sand, the reader already knows that!

-and finally, as my beloved ap lang teacher always says: BE CONCISE AND PRECISE!!!!!!

of course, with creative writing you’re guaranteed a little more imagery and artistic freedom, but still be cautious!

okay and now here’s some more technical stuff!!

-when you switch speakers, start a new paragraph!

correct:

“Hi,” Speaker A said. “How are you?”

“I’m good,” Speaker B replied.

wrong:

“Hi,” Speaker A said. “How are you?” “I’m good,” Speaker B replied.

-when you have dialogue ending in a comma the next word after it isn't capitalized!

for example:

“I know this,” she said.

when the next word is a name, or I, you capitalize it as usual.

for example:

“What is it?” I asked.

“That’s not it,” Bob said.

—-

that’s all the tips i have!! tysm for reading all of this and i hope it helps!! happy writing 🫶

[phaerlax]

you as the WolfBoyGuy and me as someone who has just recently seen the puppy light, do you have any tips or what you'd consider Required Reading to get a good grip on writing wolf boys? moreso karu than garu just because i personally have a hard time writing dudes with as much bluster and "doesn't tend to default to conventionally agreed on niceties". i have (admittedly mild) torments I'd like to put him through >_>

Anon is asking me about blorbo... I have been training for this for so long... behold now the ramblings of a man possessed by two wolves. I'll talk a bit about how I approach writing Karu and then include some curated recs.

It took me some time to really get going on wolfboy fics; I also found it challenging to handle Karu's characterization. Two big reasons why:

Tsunderes are just difficult to do if you're grounded in realism. It's a very 'anime' archetype and people don't behave quite like that. This makes it harder to naturally reach for reasonable/appropriate responses when putting the character in situations. The big want/think/say/do splits can also complicate straightforward scenarios (e.g. the character wants something and does what he needs to do in order to get it. This path is often closed to the tsundere).

The game gives little insight into Karu's inner world. NU: Carnival is very dialogue-heavy in its narrative. When we do get introspection, it's often Eiden-focused. This means we basically never get to see the thought process that leads Karu to act this way or that, except in the rare instances in which he talks to himself (like in some H scenes when he goes "ugh it feels so good but-").

The style that I ended up developing for my angry wolf boy writings follows these principles:

Keep him silly. This is because I fundamentally see Karu as a comical character. Yeah, his personality can be traced back to traumas and there's a lot of interesting stuff to explore in that regard, but I am not personally interested in that tbh. The reason I love him is the wacky nonsense and ridiculous behavior that we see in the game. It was at first sight for me. I didn't need depth and I still don't XD Any advice and references I provide are skewed by that. I have a preference for almost never taking him seriously.

Mind his 'narrativization' tendencies. Karu is comically very enamored by the idea/narrative that he's a mighty warrior with many great skills who will conquer humanity and who should be respected and served. On some level, he knows this isn't entirely true, so he will sometimes (try to) avoid situations that would bring attention to his shortcomings. But most often he's trying to prove himself and get others to share his narrative. When something or someone reinforces the narrative, he gets proud, pleased or happy-flustered. When something or someone goes against the narrative, he gets annoyed and angry-flustered. He is very good at ignoring reality, however. Even though he'll seemingly take exception to every little slight, he moves on very quickly and pretends nothing happened. And though he's stubborn, he's also willing to surrender, cut his losses and 'try another day' when he's foiled.

Mix his narrativization with the narration a lot. This kind of free indirect discourse is just my style in general, but with Karu I find myself using it more intensely, to such an extent that the narration can get quite dialogue-like in how it expresses his thoughts. When I want to portray a 'tsundere stumble' moment, I sometimes make the narration interrupt itself as Karu consciously aborts a line of thinking that would lead him to unacceptable conclusions.

Let him just be rude for no reason and with little consequence. Karu's default way of addressing and dealing with people (other than Kuya) is rudeness. At best, he attempts some form of condescension in which the reason he's doing something 'nice' is because you're so weak and he's so awesome or whatever. Most characters seem to simply not mind his behavior and, again, it's usually played for laughs anyway.

Bibliography of Karu Studies

Keep in mind that many Karu fics are kuyaru, and Karu in kuyaru is quite different from the core of the character, since he's uniquely eager to please Kuya. Still, even kuyarus can have some nice insight.

who let the dogs out has a lot of juicy Karu inner conflict, and it even explores the ways in which such hangups make him outwardly grumpier. Due to kuyaru, it ultimately leads him to a place of submission, but his initial thoughts are very in-character.

Baser Instincts is a kuyaru in which Kuya gets to see the pups in a new light, because they help him in a difficult situation. It's another great source of inspiration for Karu struggling to express his feelings.

Bow Down! explores how he might react to Eiden letting him top, in a very true-to-character way.

Lonely at the Top is Karu/Dante, which means you get to see Karu at his prickliest and most insufferable, and how that can be managed.

A Matter of Pride is a good example of the 'concessions' dynamic that can be done in Eiden/Karu.

Goshujin-Ai is an older Karu/Yakumo and a good example of Karu feeling comfortable and doing the 'attempts at condescension' thing I mentioned before.

Slave number one, rub my chest again is me speculating on what it might look like for Karu to ask Eiden to do things to him and try to control sex.

Warden slander wolf Commander is probably a good example of the 'fine I give up but I'll get you next time' potential of Karu, as well as the kind of bleed-heavy narration I talked about.

Master, do you have another wolf besides me?! delves into Karu's potential for jealousy as a way of expressing affection. It's pretty canon-compliant because most of it is adapted from NEON Carnival.

There are many other fics in the Karufic Archive, but I think the ones above are among the best for the purposes of thinking about the writing.

Please feel free to talk to me non-anonymously if you ever want to discuss wolf boy content! As you can see I am cursed with thoughts and need places to put them. I'm also always very happy to do anything that I can to shepherd and sponsor GaruKaru content; if you go ahead with your impulse to write about them (please do) and want a beta reader, don't hesitate to ask~

[nanowrimo]

Back to School: Interview with Teresa Lyons, Young Writers Program Educator

NaNoWriMo’s Young Writers Program helps over 85,000 kids, teens, teachers, and families set creative goals and tell stories they care about. We asked some of our amazing YWP educators to share how they take on the NaNoWriMo challenge in their classroom. Today’s advice comes from Teresa Lyons, a long-time writer and teacher going on her 23rd year.

Q: What grade/ age level do you work with? What type of NaNoWriMo group is it (whole class, club, homeschool, elective, etc.)?

A: High school creative writing, 9-12 graders, whole class, semester long elective. Previously, I used it with my 7th & 8th graders, whole class, during our narrative unit.

Q: How long have you been doing NaNoWriMo with your students?

A: 5+ years

Q: How do you structure the entire project (for example, do you start prepping in October and write in November, do you have kids work on it all year, etc.)?

A: We begin quick writes in September as we go over story elements. Then we take those and select several to blow up to completed short stories. In mid-October, we begin prepping for NaNoWriMo using elements from the provided pre-writing book and writer's workshop. We create our novellas in November and then do edits and turn in a sample of the work, called a NaNoWriMo First Look, in December. If I had the kids all year, I would wait and do the edits in January but I don't have that option.

Q: What does a normal NaNoWriMo day look like for your students?

A: During November, we write a full class period four days a week. On Fridays, we have writers' groups for 20-25 minutes, where students can talk about their stories, share excerpts, discuss any issues they are having, etc. Then when writers' groups are over, they have the rest of the period (about 30 minutes) to apply any feedback they got in their writers' groups and to continue working on their stories.

Q: How do you set and manage word-count goals?

A: Students are allowed to choose their own word count as long as it meets or is above the class minimum. The minimum is 5,000-8,000 words, depending on the class. I also participate in NaNoWriMo and set a higher goal, typically 10,000-15,000 words depending on what their minimum is. If they beat my goal, they get a little prize and bragging rights for outwriting me.

Q: How do you manage grading? Do you grade?

A: My students get two grades for NaNoWriMo. One is a grade for the word count. They get whatever their percentage is as their word count grade. This goes in the classwork grading category of my grade book (which is a small category to begin with). The other grade they get is for their NaNoWriMo First Look. For this assignment, they turn in revised and edited excerpts of their novel for me to grade. They create a book cover, a synopsis of the novel, and then hand in their best examples of indirect characterization, the main conflict, meaningful dialogue, the climax, and their favorite scene.

Q: How do you approach revision/ publishing (if at all)?

A: Since my class is only a semester long, we begin revisions a few days into December. They revise and edit specifically to create their NaNoWriMo First Look assignment. I have always wanted to publish their writings in a book but the timing doesn't work out. If there was someplace we could just submit the PDFs when they are done with them, then I might be able to pull off getting it published.

Q: Any NaNoWriMo tips or tricks to share with other educators? Hard-won lessons? Ah-ha moments?

A: Be super excited and start talking it up early. I introduce it the first week of school and the students can tell I am pumped up about it. I refer to it often and I call it their "Great American Novella". My excitement helps them be more excited about it.

I assure my students who might be anxious about it that they will have several weeks in October to prep and plan out their story. I tell them that they will have characters planned, the basic plot line mapped out, and so on. I also do story starter quick writes with my students and a lot of them use one of those as a bouncing off point for their novella.

The fact that I write with the kids really motivates them because I am not asking them to do something that I can't or won't do. Also, some just really want to outwrite me. I always give the ones who do a little wooden ornament that says NaNoWriMo and the year on one side and I outwrote Mrs. Lyons on the other side.

When I did this with my 7-8th graders, I would do two Write Ins, one at the beginning and one at the end of November. I would take over a big room after school and they could come and write for a few hours. I ordered pizza and sodas. They loved it. Even if they weren't always writing, they were talking about their stories and bouncing ideas off of each other (even if they didn't realize it). Those who wanted to focus brought in headphones and listened to music while they wrote.

I let my students listen to their own music while they write. What works for me when writing may not work for them and visa versa. They really appreciate being able to do this.

Q: Have you ever run into resistance from your administration about doing NaNoWriMo, and if so, how did you manage it? What do you say to people who don’t see the point of having students write novels? 

A: I have been fortunate that my admin has always been at least somewhat supportive. When I did this with my middle schoolers (7-8th graders), it was part of a regular ELA class. I timed my narrative unit to be October and November. I would give them one class day a week to write and then their only homework from me was working on their NaNoWriMo. I never had any pushback or complaints.

Q: What are the most meaningful things you or your students take away from the project? What's your best NaNoWriMo memory?

A: The most meaningful thing that they take away is the sense of accomplishment at doing it, meeting their word goal. No other writing assignment seems overwhelming when you have written a 7,000ish word novella. The kids who think there is no way that they can do this and then do, the confidence it gives them lasts for years. I have had previous 7-8th graders reach out to me when they are in high school to let me know that while their classmates might be panicking over a three page paper, they are stressed a bit because they know they can write that because they have and so much more.

My favorite memory of NaNoWriMo has to be the Write Ins I did when I was at the middle school. All those kids coming together, on their own time, sharing their stories and ideas and just so excited about what they were doing. It was great.

Mrs. Lyons is a teacher going on her 23rd year, but she has been a writer much longer than that. She currently teaches high school, senior English and creative writing, but most of her career has been spent at the middle school level teaching 6-8th grade ELA. She is excited to bring NaNoWriMo to her students every year and to be given the chance to write as well. Mrs. Lyons has been working on a book during NaNoWriMo that she needs to finish soon because her youngest daughter wants to know what happens to all of the characters.

[adropofrain]

How to Reveal Character in Your Writing: 5 Tips for Characterization

What Is Characterization?

Characterization is the way that a writer communicates a character’s traits to the reader. It can either be direct characterization, where the author uses direct statements to tell the readers exactly what the character is like, or indirect characterization, where the writer suggests to the readers what the character is like by describing the way the character acts.

Good characterization is crucial to any short story or novel, because it allows writers to paint compelling portraits of their fictional characters as real people. Any character—whether they’re a round or flat character—needs to feel realistic enough to readers that they care about what happens to them; that’s what keeps readers turning pages.

5 Ways to Reveal Character

Regardless of the type of characterization you use—direct or indirect—there are a few different approaches you can use to make your characters feel developed and interesting.

How your character looks. Readers can learn a lot about your characters by their physical appearance. Are they fit? Do they wear jeans or slacks? Do they have a cigarette dangling from their lips? Physical description details like these can clue readers in to a character’s personality, lifestyle, and priorities—not to mention give them something to picture as they read.

How your character acts. Actions speak volumes, and fictional actions are no exception: from the way they walk to their morning rituals to the things they order at a restaurant, describing your character’s actions—the way they interact with the world—is a great way to foster character development. Giving your characters specific mannerisms, like a nervous twitch or a particular way they drink their coffee, will aid in making them feel developed and believable.

How your character reacts. Anybody can keep their cool if everything’s going as they expect—but what happens when the unexpected strikes? If a server spills a drink, does your character yell or forgive them? If someone tells them they love them, does your character say it back? The ways that your character reacts to small moments or big events tells a lot about what they’re really like.

How your character speaks. The way your character speaks will say a lot about them. Do they use words like ain’t and gotta? Are they constantly chatting or do they rarely say a word? Do they swear? Do they compliment others or they insult them? Using dialogue is a great way to help authors show where their characters come from, what they care about, and how they express it.

How your character thinks. There’s nothing like getting right into a character’s head—it’s the most direct way to reveal their personality, but it can also be the most difficult. A character’s thoughts need to be written entirely with their point of view in mind, so you need to be prepared to describe their private thoughts in a way that crafts a believable person.

credit to masterclass.com

[mystic-kitten-writer]

Hi I’m reading Limerece and I just wanted to say that I love your writing. Something I noticed and adored was how “reading people” is a trait of Yue’s that is not only said but also SHOWN. It’s not only a great form of indirect characterization/“show don’t tell”, but it’s also such a clever way of letting the reader know what’s going on without making it seem like an out of place tip. Love your writing! Keep up the good work!💕

I can’t emphasize enough how much I appreciate your feedback 💜💜

I’m not an experienced writer (as you can tell lol), but I do try my hardest and try to grow. So receiving a compliment such as this is like ajdasjdksjdkjd thank you 😭😭 

I struggle with the whole ‘don’t tell - show’ analogy, but this gave me a boost in my confidence that I'm heading in the right direction. Thank you for reading Limerence, hun. And for sweet words of encouragement - it means tons to me.

Take care, and stay healthy~! 😊😊

[journalxxx]

And They Rested on the Seventh Day

[I read the Good Omens book and watched the Amazon series, and enjoyed both a great deal: however, this story doesn't strictly follow the canon or characterizations of either. It's a bit of a mix of the things I liked the most from both versions (for clarity, this considers basically the plot and ending from the book + few selected elements from the tv series. Also Tennant. Definitely Tennant), topped with purely made-up bits of headcanon and character interpretation. The final result is that it’ll probably feel full of inconsistencies and OOC moments, but oh well. I had to take a few ideas off my head.]

To think that it had all started as a hobby of sorts. A wild bet on and against himself, just for the fun of it. 

Crowley hadn't thought much of the job he'd done in the Garden of Eden, at first. To be fair, he was still convinced that most of the responsibility for that big mishap fell on God Herself and Her inexplicable - pardon, ineffable - decision to dangle juicy bits of edible forbidden knowledge right in front of people who had literally been born yesterday. Honestly, what else could have happened? Crowley was sure one of the two humans would have given in to curiosity anyway, sooner or later: his intervention had simply sped up the process.

But Crowley’s superiors had been positively enthusiastic about it. God’s new and supposedly best creations, twisted and corrupted and exiled in less than a week since the beginning of the world? An astonishing success for the dark forces, they had said, very well done Crawly, you shall hereby be hailed as The Tempter (a title that would be handed out very freely in the centuries to come, in fact, since he had basically invented a whole new and very busy line of work for the entire Underworld). They had been so keen on putting his supposed talents of persuasion to good use that they had assigned him on permanent Earth surveillance duty, keeping an eye on things and easing the slippery slope of other innocent souls to the abyss. A simple enough job, he thought, and he wasn’t at all displeased with the idea of spending most of his time away from Hell. The place was, well, hellish.

He had been quite surprised to meet the Guardian of the Eastern Gate there as well, apparently tending to the exact opposite task as Crowley’s. What were the odds, uh? But in Aziraphale’s case, Crowley couldn’t help but feel that the new office was meant more as a demotion rather than as a reward. The angel didn’t seem exactly… suited to field work, so to speak. He was definitely the kind of guy who’d deal better with paperwork or with performing celestial harmonies or with whatever those guys up there got up to, these days - rather than with acting as an incognito emissary of the Light. He was simply too soft-hearted. It clearly pained him to witness the daily struggles of mankind without being able to relieve them, if not in a very roundabout and indirect way. He would have gladly handed out miracles and blessings as promptly as he had relinquished his flaming sword, Crowley thought, if he hadn’t directly been ordered to stick to spreading ‘positive influence’. 

He was a queer one, Aziraphale, but overall rather amusing to have around. And after the first mostly accidental meetings, Crowley had started to notice several very, very interesting things about him. 

First of all, the angel was a sinner. And a rather nonchalant one too.

The first sin Crowley noticed was pride. Now, pride was objectively quite intrinsic to all angelic beings, to some extent, with their perpetual holier-than-thou attitude and their unbending illusion of absolute righteousness. Aziraphale wasn’t an exception. He could have very well avoided Crowley, if he really thought so lowly of him and his shady dealings, but he didn’t. He met him, he primly and oh so very graciously tolerated his company, he pointedly corrected his faulty views on creation and the universe with the self-satisfied attitude of a conceited schoolmaster. It made Crowley’s skin, well, crawl. And he had this ridiculous habit of pointing out, at randomly fitting points during any discussion, that he, Aziraphale, was an angel and he, Crowley, was a demon, and therefore blah blah. He did that really often, inexplicably so. It wasn’t like either of them was going to forget what they were, after all. And it wasn’t like he needed to repeat that at frequent intervals to make sure that some undefined and distracted external audience was aware of their standing in the universe either. It was just plainly dumb and irritating. Crowley had taken to address him as ‘angel’ more often than with his proper name, out of sheer sarcasm. Sadly Aziraphale hadn’t taken particular notice.

Another very glaring sin Aziraphale keenly committed was gluttony. Oh, what a glutton he was. The first time Crowley had met him ‘socially’, he had been astounded to notice that Aziraphale actually ate. If his body was anything like Crowley’s, and Crowley was sure it was, it was conveniently free from most of the intentional design flaws God had installed on humans after Adam and Eve’s escape, such as illness, hunger and tiredness. Neither Aziraphale nor Crowley needed any sustenance or sleep (although Crowley had quickly taken a liking to the latter activity - but he was a demon, Aziraphale would have pointed out with his most slappable face, so he was allowed as many indulgences as he wanted). Even the most gluttonous human had some sort of excuse, what with needing to eat to survive and, while one was at it, he may as well do it decently, to build the temple of his body in the best possible way and so on and so forth. It was a very flimsy and poor excuse, considering the sort of folks who usually resorted to it, but humans clung to such moralistic drivel like limpets. Aziraphale didn’t even have that tiny pretext on his side. He ate (and drank) without any need to, and he did it often and with much gusto, out of sheer pleasure. If that wasn’t the epitome of gluttony, Crowley was an anteater.

And, after a few centuries, a hint of greed began to emerge too. It was a very specific sort, aimed at very specific material possessions, namely those that had to do with writing. Aziraphale had been inordinately proud when humans had begun to carve their funny little thoughts and grocery lists on very impractical clay tablets, he had called it a revolutionary intuition, surely sparked by divine goodwill. Crowley’s reaction had been more along the lines of a whole-body shrug. Aziraphale was fond of reading and, when it became possible, he even started collecting reading material. Papyrus, parchments, scrolls, anything he could find. When books started to become a thing, the angel ogled them like misguided shepherds ogled golden calves. He acquired them very sparingly and with a trace of guilt at first, when books were rare and their production was lengthy and expensive and holding onto some tomes for his own personal enjoyment effectively diminished the amount of knowledge available to the world at large. But after the press was invented, oooh boy. Yes, the excessive and self-serving accumulation of literary material goods was definitely among Aziraphale’s faults.

But that was only the tip of the proverbial iceberg.

In fact, for all his preaching and sternly-worded proclamations of faith, Aziraphale had perplexities. That much was glaringly obvious. Ineffability perplexed him, even though he unerringly presented it as the ultimate argument against Crowley’s own perplexities, whenever they ventured to discuss celestial politics. It had been perplexing him, at least to a certain extent, since the apple incident, Crowley was sure of that. And that was odd in itself. Crowley had believed that, after the Rebellion, Heaven had been purged of any angelic creature who wasn’t a hundred percent committed and trusting in God’s cause, but Aziraphale seemed troubled to a visible degree, at times. Crowley had known Aziraphale only very superficially before falling, and he couldn’t quite say if his doubts were a recent development or not.

So, a peculiar idea started to slither in the corners of Crowley’s oft bored mind.

What if, he thought, what if I could make this angel fall?

The premises for the evil deed were all there. Aziraphale already committed almost half of the deadly sins of his own accord, whether he knew it or not. And he had reservations, however intimate and rationalized, about God’s plan. That was all it had taken for Crowley himself to fall, after all. Just a couple of reservations and hanging around the wrong people. Crowley could provide both of those factors very easily.

It was, admittedly, mere speculation. Crowley wasn’t even sure it was possible for angels to fall after the Rebellion - something had seriously shifted in the balance of the universe back then, everyone had noticed. But the concept was absurdly inviting. Who else, after all, aside from the Morning Star Himself, could boast coaxing angels into corruption? It would be a stunning accomplishment in any demon’s curriculum, wouldn’t it? Forget about apples and tempting feeble human minds, that would be real bragging material. The more he thought about it, the stronger the itch got. In addition, despite his earlier doubts, Crowley had discovered himself quite naturally adept to that whole temptation business. He had thought his success with Eve a bit of a fluke, born of very favorable circumstances: deep down she already wanted that fruit, and so did her companion. They were already leaning towards disobedience, and all Crowley himself had to do was just to give the both of them a little nudge in that direction.

But then, he had found out that that principle was valid for all humans. Every human, literally every one of them, was inevitably attracted to Evil, at least a little bit. In some cases he had to resort to some delicate manoeuvres and subtle approaches to nurture that twisted tendency, in others he simply had to knock on an open door. A very easy and straightforward job, indeed.

But would it be that easy with a full-fledged angel? Presumably not. How should he go about it, then? He supposed that approaching Aziraphale with a rapid fire of existential questioning would be slightly too on the nose. Besides, ineffability. How did you even question that? It’s a brick wall of suspended disbelief and logic denial. No, theology speculations weren’t the right answer, only the most mind-numbingly boring one.

Crowley decided to roll up his sleeves and start with the basics. Adding the remaining deadly sins on Aziraphale’s list of misconducts would be a solid start, he deliberated. Whittling away at a soul’s integrity bit by bit was all the rage back then, in terms of temptation tactics. He’d slowly erode the angel’s rectitude as if he was your average human, and then he’d see where he could go from there. And he would take it nice and easy, spreading his influence over centuries, millennia if necessary. He wouldn’t risk ruining his chances by revealing his hand too soon. He had picked the most promising one among the four remaining sins, and he had started plotting.

He could still remember the indescribable sensation he had felt when he had succeeded, sometime around 1000 AD. It had indeed taken centuries of discreet suggestions and proposals, refuted firmly and scornfully at first, but with less and less passion over time, until Aziraphale had finally given in to the Arrangement, with nothing more than a curt and tense nod. Crowley had offered his assistance first, obviously. He was already about to head to Byzantium to tend to his own business, so he thought he may as well take care of Aziraphale’s too. Just an innocent favour, free of charge. Obviously, if for fairness’ sake the angel felt like returning said favour in the future, Crowley’d be obliged, but really, no pressure whatsoever. 

Unexpectedly, unlike all the previous times, the angel had accepted. It felt like a minor victory in itself, even though it was only the first step. Naturally Aziraphale followed him, although not quite as discreetly as he thought. And he followed Crowley the next time as well, and the third- the third he didn’t. 

Now, that felt like a triumph. Crowley’s skin had begun to tingle in sheer excitement when he had ascertained that the third time he had offered his assistance to Aziraphale, the angel had simply trusted him to carry out the task as requested. Not that Crowley wanted or could avoid doing what he’d been asked - their respective head offices may be careless about smaller details, but they were fond of keeping scores. If the holy work hadn’t been performed, Heaven would have noticed, therefore Aziraphale would have been reprimanded, and Crowley would have lost that hard-earned trust. What was notable, however, was that it had taken only two trips for the angel to trust completely a demon to perform honest, divine work. It was foolish of Aziraphale not to check that he would, it was lazy of him not to perform the job himself, as he’d been ordered, as he’d undoubtedly report he had. It was deception to his superiors, it was negligence, but more importantly, it was sloth.

It was a heady rush of adrenaline after a long period of forced calm, the kind of exhilaration a skilled hunter feels after waiting for hours - centuries, in that case - for the prey to fall into an aptly placed trap. It was indeed possible to tempt an angel, and he, Crowley the Tempter, the Snake of Eden, had managed to do it. It was riveting. That sensation of well-earned success alone would have been enough to brighten his days and put a spring in his step for the next century, but the best was yet to come, and it was something Crowley wasn’t even planning of.

He had been joking when he had suggested that Aziraphale should be the one to carry out the next bunch of long-distance duties for the both of them. He wasn’t expecting him to accept by a long shot, definitely not so soon at least - but he did. Sheepishly and uncomfortably, Aziraphale had listened to Crowley’s instructions and headed off with a half-muttered promise to ‘see what he could do’. That was a surprise, although Crowley didn’t believe for one second that he would see the job done. An angel (and not just any angel, Aziraphale), doing Satan’s work? What a joke. He’d chicken out of it before dawn, for sure, and either later inform Crowley that he had met with obstacles, or pretend to have forgotten about the whole conversation. And indeed, after seeing neither hide nor hair of the angel for the next month, Crowley assumed Aziraphale had just done that. The demon had then made the hundred-kilometre trip to take care of the business personally, only to find the couple of married lovers (married to other people, that is) already in the throes of the deep reciprocal passion that had been haunting them for the past three years, their families in turmoil and their small town in the middle of nowhere now enjoying the best bout of spicy gossip since that peculiar incident with the shepherd and his sheep forty years earlier.

Crowley was absolutely flabbergasted. That was much, much better than he’d even dared to expect. He felt like he’d basically already done it. It was going to work. If it had taken so little effort to convince an angel to tempt humans instead of blessing them, it was only a matter of time before Aziraphale eventually succumbed completely to Crowley’s scheme. Only a matter of time! He’d keep working on it, slowly and patiently, in a world that would soon start moving forward at an increasing and unimaginable pace, treating Aziraphale like his personal pet project, tackling one sin at a time. What was left? Lust, envy, wrath - oof, wrath was going to be a tough one, wasn’t it? The strongest negative emotion he’d ever seen Aziraphale display was ‘mildly peeved’ - but it would definitely, definitely work. He wouldn’t rush it, he’d wait for the perfect occasion to land in his lap and he’d seize it, to drag the angel to ruin in careful, calculated steps.

That night Crowley had gotten fantastically, gloriously, immeasurably drunk, and had dragged literally the entire village into his personal celebration, thanks to the inexplicable appearance of a good dozen abandoned carts on the main road, filled with jugs of excellent wine from the local vineyards. The huge, impromptu party that followed would have put Bacchus himself to shame, and it provided the village spinsters with enough gossip about the many depraved deeds that had been consumed on that night for the next 378 years, give or take.

That was roughly a thousand years ago.

Funny, Crowley thought as he was sprawled on an unimportant bench in an unimportant road of Lower Tadfield, Oxfordshire, feeling and looking like a puppet with cut strings. Funny, Crowley thought as he was looking up into the cloudless and starry sky of a world that hadn’t ended, how much things can change in just a thousand years.

Aziraphale stood up when two round headlights appeared at the end of the road, and glanced curiously at Crowley when he didn’t do the same. Slowly, with immense effort and groaning like a metal crane bent by a gigantic hand, Crowley gathered his strewn limbs and rearranged them vertically as well. The angel and the demon climbed on a bus that wasn’t going to Oxford, walked past an unresponsive conductor that wasn’t asking for tickets, and spent most of the trip sharing a bottle of wine whose quality vastly outmatched its price tag and whose capacity had long since exceeded the promised 750 millilitres.

The repetitive scenery of the the dark English countryside let Crowley’s mind wander back into the past. It occurred to him that it had been roughly 600 years since the last time Aziraphale had set foot into his house. You could count on the fingers of one hand the number of times the angel had ever accepted to visit his ‘den of iniquity’ (Aziraphale’s words, c. 310 AD), and always very briefly. They had always preferred meeting in public venues anyway, until Crowley had decided that Aziraphale’s bookshop definitely counted as one and had taken the habit of dropping by for the occasional drink. 

The invitation had slipped out of Crowley’s mouth easily, unthinkingly, while they were waiting for the bus. And, honestly, how could he not offer hospitality in such circumstances? All of the angel’s earthly possessions, including his very house, had gone up in flames. What was Crowley supposed to do, let him go to a random public bathroom, lock himself into a cubicle and miracle the inside of it into Croesus’ mansion? Seriously. Just because he was a demon, it didn’t mean he was utterly uncivil. Still, Aziraphale had taken up on Crowley’s suggestion with less hesitation that he’d expected. At that point, all Crowley could do was hoping that Hell hadn’t sent reinforcements after Hastur and Ligur’s failed attempt at ‘collecting’ him, and an apartment to invite Aziraphale into still existed in the first place... Oh, well. Worst case scenario, they’d hijack two cubicles.

“How long do you think we have,” Aziraphale said quietly, interrupting the disorganized flow of Crowley’s thoughts, “before they’ll decide to come after us?”

“Heaven and Hell, you mean?” Crowley answered slowly, syllables sticking to his tongue. “I don’t know, a while. I bet they have some serious internal mess to deal with first. Disappointed warmongers and whatnot. Bigger priorities than us.”

“But they will sort that out eventually.” Aziraphale stretched his arm towards Crowley, hand open in a muted request for the bottle. “And then what? I doubt they’ll leave any rogue agents be.”

“....Eh. They might, you know? The kid- whoops.” Crowley let go of the bottle when he felt Aziraphale’s fingers brush his own, but the glass slipped from both their grasps. Aziraphale blinked, and the bottle froze in midair a few centimetres above the floor. He calmly bent down to fetch it as Crowley continued. “The kid told us not to worry.”

“But do you think he has the power to grant us protection from both Reigns?”

Crowley shrugged. “He’s the boss’ son. And he just stopped the bloody apocalypse, if you haven’t noticed. He has power, all right. That’s good enough insurance for me.”

Aziraphale hummed pensively, his gaze lost out of the window. Crowley watched him take a measured sip, and then clean distractly the neck of the bottle with a handkerchief. His movements were quiet, harmonious, steady. Everything about Aziraphale was, and always had been. Crowley’s whole, brilliant temptation plan was centered on the expectation that sins would change his angelic nature, that they would change him. Instead, what had happened was the exact opposite. As the decades and centuries went by, as their meetings grew less and less ‘business’ oriented and turned into genuine divertissement, Aziraphale wasn’t changed by the sins: the sins were changed by him. A tasty nibble of food wasn’t a temptation any more, but a moment of genuine appreciation for the little, blessed pleasures God still allowed mortals to experience. His elegantly-worded notions about the order of the universe ceased to be a prideful display of superiority, and instead became an engaging debate capable of building dialogue between spiritual opposites. His love for books wasn’t a selfish desire of accumulation for accumulation’s sake, but an intellectual connection to the history and minds of the humans he was meant to protect, from all times and cultures. His acceptance to share duties with a demon wasn’t sheer laziness, but a very tangible olive branch offered to a former sworn enemy. Deeds that would have tarnished any human soul, made it revolting and beyond repair, hadn’t even dented the core of Aziraphale’s goodness. If anything, they had enriched it: like the light patina of a vintage Bentley, those sins adorned Aziraphale’s very soul like unique and distinguishing traits, all the more intriguing to a discerning eye.

And the most baffling thing was that Crowley hadn’t even noticed. He hadn’t noticed that his plan, ostensibly always in motion and always waiting, waiting, waiting for the next occasion to move further, was gradually being shoved into the most forgetful corners of his mind. He hadn’t noticed he’d stopped plotting against his enemy, and had instead started just coexisting with him. It had taken him so goddamn long to notice he’d stopped considering Aziraphale as an inconvenient obstacle to be removed from the world Crowley was meant to submit, but that the angel had rather become one of its most interesting and worthwhile features.

It had taken him until the end of the world to realize that.

As it turned out, Crowley’s flat hadn’t been obliterated by the forces of Hell. Yet.

“Make yourself at home.” Crowley said as he jogged from room to room to make sure there were no former colleagues of his lying in wait anywhere.

“This is where you live?” Aziraphale asked, peeking curiously from the entryway. Crowley interrupted his inspection just to make a face.

“Oh no, I’m just appropriating the humble abode of a millionaire manager perished in the latest fish tornado. He won’t need it anymore, will he?” Aziraphale gave him a dubious glance. Crowley rolled his eyes. “Yes, this is where I live. What kind of question is that, why wouldn’t it be?”

“Oh, you know, just wondering.” Aziraphale answered, visibly relieved. “I wasn’t really expecting your home to look like this.”

“And why not?”

“Well, it’s… rather neat and minimalistic.” Aziraphale hesitated. “It almost reminds me of the Upper Offices. Although it is quite darker, I suppose.”

Crowley stared at Aziraphale pointedly. Deafening silence was the only appropriate reply to such a statement, so he let it stretch leisurely until Aziraphale couldn’t help but look away.

“Are you going to come in anytime soon or…?” Crowley eventually said, gesturing around vaguely.

“Yes. Thank you.” The angel finally unstuck from the threshold and followed Crowley into the study. “I really appreciate your hospitality, by the way. I’ll be out of your hair by tomorrow, I’m sure it won’t be hard to find a nice spot for me to move in.”

“Oh, no rush. I barely use this place.” Crowley waved at him dismissively, his attention suddenly caught by the ansaphone. It wasn’t blinking exactly as he had left it. It definitely should be blinking exactly as he had left it. “Uh, right, the bedroom’s over there. If you don’t feel like sleeping, there’s the…” There was the tv, which Aziraphale hardly ever watched. There was the computer, which surely he didn’t even know how to plug in. There was the hi-fi, boasting an impressive collection of contemporary artists 95% of which the angel probably had never heard of. It suddenly occurred to Crowley that Aziraphale wasn’t the easiest guest to entertain.

“You don’t happen to have any books lying around, I suppose.”

Crowley shrugged. “‘Fraid not. But there’s some food in the fridge, if you want.” He offered lamely.

“Oh. Thank you, but I think I’ll be catching some sleep tonight as well.” Aziraphale smiled sheepishly. “I haven’t had a day as intense as this one in a long while. It takes a toll on you even when you’re indefatigable.”

“You’re telling me.” Crowley mumbled, watching Aziraphale head off into the corridor. He waited until his guest was reasonably far from the study before checking the new recorded message. He regretted it very quickly.

“What’s that?” Aziraphale inquired loudly, when the unmistakable noise of demonic torment and horrified screams erupted from the speakers. Crowley hurried to silence it with some chaotic button-mashing and removed the cassette from the machine. A single, fat worm fell from the tape. 

“Ugh.” Crowley grimaced, shoving the whole device into the trash can. All right, his mistake. He should have dealt with Hastur when he had the chance. But then again, what was one more demon free out there wanting him dead when he had already earned the eternal grudge of both Heaven and Hell? “Nothing. Nothing to be worried about.”

“That definitely sounded like something to be worried about.” Aziraphale insisted, rather alarmed. 

“Nah, just prank calls. I really need to find out who invented them and offer them a drink, now that’s some first-calls deviousness-” Crowley hurried to the bedroom before Aziraphale could decide to investigate the matter personally, and stopped abruptly when he saw the angel sitting innocently on his bed. “Uh. That’s my bed.” He felt it was important to state that fact aloud.

“Yes, I gathered. Excellent mattress, I must say.” Aziraphale replied genially, until Crowley’s silence prompted him to stand up hastily. “Oh, sorry, you pointed me to the bedroom and I thought you meant I could…?”

“No! I meant that you could make yourself a bed and get settled!”

“Oh! I’m terribly sorry, I just thought…” Aziraphale paused, looking at the object of the argument confusedly. “It’s a very large bed though. It looks like four people could sleep comfortably on it, so I thought-”

“I roll around a lot when I sleep, all right?” Crowley retorted with anger, with tangible and very obvious anger, and with absolutely no embarrassment whatsoever. “Look, just- miracle yourself some furniture, here or wherever you want, or sleep on the sofa, or anywhere that isn’t my bed.”

“All right, all right!” Aziraphale frowned and raised his hands defensively. “I’ll take the sofa then.”

Crowley collapsed face-first on his reconquered berth as soon as Aziraphale left the room, his sunglasses conveniently teleporting to the bedside table before they could bore into his skull. He felt positively destroyed. He’d give anything for another century-long nap, he hadn’t had one of those in a while. But it would be rather imprudent in the current circumstances. He’d have to make do with a dozen hours. He closed his eyes and exhaled deeply, welcoming that exquisitely human sense of physical relaxation that came with dozing off. He let the beginnings of sleep dull his senses and his mind, sweetly and mercifully-

“My, such luxuriant foliage…” 

Crowley’s eyes snapped open. “NO!” He bellowed, hurling himself off the bed and into the corridor with barely enough coordination not to trip on his own feet. “Stop it! Shut up!”

“What-” Aziraphale startled as Crowley suddenly appeared before him, arms spread in a clear effort to physically separate him from the potted greenery. “W-What’s going on?”

“Nothing. Leave the plants alone. Don’t look at them. And above all don’t talk to them.” Crowley ordered as he grasped the angel’s shoulders and steered him bodily out of the room.

“But why? I was just admiring the-”

“There’s nothing to admire here. Everyone’s just doing what they’re supposed to do.”

“But-”

“My house, my rules. The plants are off-limits.” Crowley snapped his fingers and two robust metallic doors materialized out of thin air to seal the area from the rest of the house. Crowley shoved Aziraphale past them, while he lingered on the threshold just long enough to glare at every single plant in the room.

“Don’t forget whose opinion really matters here, guys.” He hissed, his teeth bared. His warning was met with a collective, deferential shudder. 

“...Crowley, are you all right?” Aziraphale asked, eyeing him worriedly. Crowley looked at him like a naked Bedouin sitting on a glacier in the Arctic might look at someone asking him if he’s cold. The doors locked with an audible clang.

“...Yeah, I’m just peachy.” He eventually muttered, rubbing his eyes and heading back to the bedroom. He lay down again and closed his eyes, enjoying a grand total of ten second of peace before Aziraphale’s footsteps reached the room. Crowley sighed. “...What?”

“Actually, I think I would like to sleep here, if it’s all right with you.”

“Do whatever you want.”

“Are you sure you don’t mind-”

“What do you think ‘do whatever you want’ means, Aziraphale?”

“I’m guessing it means that I have free reign over any part of your house that doesn’t include your bed or your plants.” 

Aziraphale’s miffed tone got the tiniest smile out of him. “Yep, you got it. See? Wasn’t difficult.”

Crowley felt reality shift around him. Curiosity got the better of him, and he peeked to the side. The bedroom had conveniently enlarged just enough so that Aziraphale’s newly created bed could fit. It was a small, single one, all wood and fin de siecle linens and puffy pillows and creamy tones. It clashed with the existing decor something terrible, but Crowley barely took notice. He was more concerned with its owner, sitting somewhat rigidly on it and glancing around the room nervously. Suddenly Crowley understood why he’d chosen to sleep there.

“Relax, angel. No one will be coming after us.” Crowley couldn’t help but offer, lowly. “Not tonight, at least.”

Their eyes met. After a beat, Aziraphale nodded. “Yes. You are probably right.”

Aziraphale was still sitting up when Crowley closed his eyes. He hoped that the other could catch some rest, but he wouldn’t mind too much if he didn’t. Even a demon could use a guardian angel to watch over his sleep, after all.

Aziraphale did sleep that night, for a good two hours and a half. It may not sound like a lot, but considering that he hadn’t rested since that quick twenty-minute nap in 1732, it felt immensely refreshing anyway. Upon rising, he had to admit that creating his own bed had proven to be a wise choice: in his sleep, Crowley had somehow managed to scatter his considerably long limbs all over the mattress, effectively covering a flat surface that must be at least three times as large as that of his own body. Admittedly he looked quite endearing, arms and legs making a decent impression of a windrose and snoring away with his mouth open.

Aziraphale spent the rest of the night keeping himself quietly busy. He checked all the news from the radio and the tv, from which he gathered that Adam was mending reality with impressive speed and ease, considering how suddenly his powers had bloomed. It was truly a blessing that the boy was far more mature than anyone had credited him for. To think that Aziraphale himself had seriously entertained the notion of eliminating him… No, that guilt wasn’t going to leave him anytime soon.

The angel then proceeded to tidy up what little there was to tidy up in Crowley’s apartment. Some spilt water here and there, and a ragged, dark set of clothes oddly abandoned on the threshold of the study. They didn’t look like the type of get-up Crowley would choose for himself, and it certainly wasn’t one Aziraphale had ever seen him wear, but then again the demon had a thing for experimenting with mortal fashion. Aziraphale also repeatedly wrestled with the impulse to take another look at Crowley’s plants, entirely because of his exceedingly suspicious behavior. He didn’t do it, though. That would have been extremely impolite, almost traitorous. Utterly unworthy of his status. Although- no. No, he wouldn’t.

He even managed to find a few books, tucked away under the sofa or on top of unreachable shelves. They were atlases, maps, photography magazines, all focussed on naturalistic topics: pictures of panoramas from all over the world, animals, plants, even remote stars and galaxies. Aziraphale wasn’t an especially avid consumer of such publications: he vastly preferred both the written word and man-made illustrations, which did a much better job of conveying the divine spark of creativity God had blessed humanity with. However, as he was leafing through those pages and seeing ruins of cities he had inhabited, cute yet clumsy species he had discreetly saved from extinction, masses of gas and dust he had shaped into celestial bodies, he couldn’t help but slip into a lengthy bout of nostalgia for the halcyon days of creation. He wouldn’t be surprised if Crowley kept those books around for the same reason.

When he heard some muffled noises coming from the bedroom, Aziraphale decided to make breakfast. His noble endeavor, however, was thwarted by the complete lack of any sort of raw or packed ingredient in any cupboard of the house; the fridge, instead, offered a vast selection of gourmet brioches, fruit juices, bacon and eggs, pancakes and all sorts of scrumptious dishes that looked as if they had been cooked mere minutes earlier. Well, it would be a waste not to partake, he deliberated. He’d just finished setting the table when Crowley finally joined him with a half-yawned “‘Morning.”

It was a most refreshing and welcome change of pace, being able to chat of everything and nothing over a hearty meal again, instead of covertly panicking over the very real possibility of Doomsday disrupting the next weekend, as well as all the others that would never follow. The last week had been exhausting for the both of them - especially for Crowley. For all his trademark devil-may-care attitude, it was really quite easy to notice when the demon was genuinely distressed: from his eyes, thin slits of darkness in a pool of gold that Aziraphale could always see through the glasses and that darted left and right more quickly than usual, to his gestures, that lost their swaying languor in favor of nervous, reptilian jerks, to the sudden explosions of anger and aggression that were just as dangerous as the roar of a kitten. All of that was gone now. His cutting temper was still dulled by the lingering drowsiness, and soft, unguarded smiles curved his lips in response to Aziraphale’s casual chatter. The ruffled hair, the creased clothes and the lazy nibbles at his brioche spoke of the unhurried comfort that came after overcoming a trying ordeal, and they filled the angel’s heart with genuine tenderness. There were, truly, beauty and goodness in all the things and entities that existed, even in those who supposedly tried their hardest to antagonize them.

“Oh, you may want to take those to the cleaners.” Aziraphale pointed at the folded rags he’d put on the sofa, once he was finished with his breakfast. “What ever did you do to those poor clothes to ruin them like that?”

“Ugh, throw them away.” Crowley replied with a disgusted grunt. “That’s Ligur.”

“I see.” Aziraphale said, having never heard of the brand. He agreed that the quality of the tailoring was rather shabby, so he did as he was told. “Well, I was thinking of dropping by the bookshop this morning - or what’s left of it, anyway. Who knows, there may be some intact books among the rubble…”

“Mmmh. I guess there’s no harm in checking.” Crowley didn’t look terribly convinced. “Mind if I come along?”

“Oh, not at all.” Aziraphale replied, pleasantly surprised. “But don’t you have more urgent things to do, instead of helping me carry around charred tomes?”

“Right now, not at all. I’m pretty sure I’ve been fired, so I happen to have a lot of free time on my hands.” Crowley snapped his fingers, and in a blink he was as elegant and well-groomed as ever. 

“You aren’t going to keep performing your duties then? No more tempting innocent souls or spreading negative influence?” Aziraphale inquired as they stepped into the lift.

“Are you? Even if your boss doesn’t care?”

“Why, of course. Being a harbinger of the light is the very reason of my existence! It’s more than a job, it’s my very nature!”

“Aren’t you a model employee?” Crowley deadpanned. “Well, first and foremost, I think I’ve earned myself a vacation. Now, that isn’t to say that I’m going to pass up on any opportunities to have some fun if the occasion arises...”

“Of course you aren’t.” Aziraphale smiled, stepping out of the building. “Shall we take a taxi or- Crowley?” Crowley had abruptly stopped in his tracks, staring at something in the parking area- 

“Oh!” Aziraphale eloquently commented.

Crowley jogged to what was, without a doubt, his car. Not the scorched ball of molten metal and rubber he’d been forced to abandon at Tadfield Airbase, but his cherished Bentley in all its former glory and vintage elegance. The demon stared at it in evident disbelief, his brows so high that they almost disappeared into his hairline, his mouth shaped into a perfectly round O. He admired it, ran his palm along the chassis, hopped all around to inspect it from every possible angle - including under the bumper and over the roof.

“Did you do this?” He eventually managed, his gaze bouncing back and forth between the car and the angel.

“No, it wasn’t me. But I’ve heard that yesterday’s disasters are being reverted. Maybe this is part of it.” Aziraphale suggested as Crowley opened the door and basically dove head-first into the car.

“It’s exactly as it used to be! Custom leather seats and all! Even my CDs-” Crowley took one from the dashboard, one whose cover was a wordless black void with a glass prism refracting white light into a rainbow. He inserted it into the radio and a cheery band started to sing very enthusiastically about riding a bicycle. Crowley’s exhilarated mood seemed to dampen ever so slightly. “...Yep. Just as they used to be.”

“It looks like Adam knows what he’s doing.” Aziraphale smiled, knowing how much that little miracle meant for his friend. Then, a thought struck him. “Maybe…”

“...Maybe.” Crowley agreed, understanding him at a glance. “Hop in. Let’s go and see.”

Aziraphale’s empathetic joy waned very quickly when it was obvious that Crowley’s driving style wasn’t at all affected by the recent demise of his old vehicle.

“Out of curiosity, how did the fire start?” The angel asked, trying to think of anything but the absurd number on the speed gauge.

“I was about to ask you the same thing. Serves you right for quitting on me as you did though. Seriously, did you really have to pick the busiest day in the last six thousand years to leave this plane of existence? Where did you even go?”

“To Heaven, of course. And I didn’t exactly choose to leave, if you must know. I was… summoned.”

“Oh, you don’t say?” Crowley sneered. “Well, guess what? My lot summoned me too, but I ignored them because I had more important stuff to do, namely saving the bloody universe-”

“Also because they would have welcomed you less than enthusiastically, I imagine-”

“On my own, because someone ditched me without one word of warning-”

“That’s not what happened at all! It was… an unfortunate accident.” Aziraphale burst out, halfway between affronted and embarrassed. 

“What kind of accident?” Crowley frowned inquisitively when Aziraphale didn’t reply. “Oi! What kind of accident?”

“...Promise me you won’t laugh.” Aziraphale begged. Crowley merely raised an eyebrow in response. The angel sighed. “Well, the thing is… I was in my bookshop, and I opened a channel to Heaven, to see if I could… talk them out of the whole universal annihilation thing-”

“Talking people out of war. Yeah, solid plan. When has it ever not worked in the history of wars?”

“It made sense to try, at least. Anyway, Shadwell walked in-”

“What the heaven was Shadwell doing in your bookshop?”

“I don’t know- could you please stop interrupting me? As I was saying, Shadwell saw the ritual and… I fear he mistook me for one of your lot. He got rather worked up and…”

“He killed you?” Crowley guessed, genuinely impressed.

“Oh no, no! He just… started pacing here and there, muttering strange things, and… well, he got a tad too close to the summoning circle - the passage was still open, you see, and…”

“And?”

“I sort of… stepped on it. While I was trying to keep him away.” Aziraphale paused. “By accident.”

Crowley didn’t reply. He looked at Aziraphale, then back at the road, then at the angel again. His mouth twitched.

“Don’t.” Aziraphale warned him. Crowley’s face had already become a quivering mess of aborted expressions that devolved very quickly into hysterical half-snorts.

“Oh sure, go ahead and- don’t take your hands off the wheel!” Aziraphale squealed when the demon did exactly that, holding his sides and throwing back his head as he burst into a boisterous laugh. Luckily, the car seemed to be endowed with all the common sense Crowley had never had and it kept avoiding pedestrians autonomously.

“That’s so stupid.” Crowley gasped, making a show of wiping away a non-existent tear. “That’s so bloody stupid. How can anyone possibly be so stupid?”

“Oh, I don’t know. In the same way one can misplace an Antichrist for eleven years, I suppose.” Aziraphale’s jab sadly didn’t manage to penetrate the waves of hilarity Crowley was exuding. “Judging by Shadwell’s behavior, he must have presumed my disappearance was due to his own… peculiar powers.”

“Oh, is that what he’s been doing with his finger all day yesterday?”

“Well, yes. What did you think he was doing?”

“I don’t know! I thought you had tried to possess him and fried a bunch of his neurons… And it’s not like he had that many to begin with-”

“Now you’re just being needlessly nasty.”

Crowley shook his head, still giggling like a child as he put his hands back on the steering wheel, just in time to park the car as they reached their destination.

“Huh.” He simply said as he climbed out of the car, studying the building as if he’d never seen it before. 

“Ah, bless that boy!” Aziraphale glowed as he excitedly walked back and forth along the front of the bookshop. A rapid survey of the inside as well confirmed that his earthly abode was just as he’d left it, books and all. Actually, there seemed to be a few extras too.

“Ohoh, this is the kind of reading I could be convinced to try.” Crowley grinned, leafing through the flashy illustrations of one ‘Blood Dogs of the Skull Sea’. “Look at this beast! This stuff is inspirational! It makes you wonder why the hellhound didn’t turn into one of these beauties.”

Aziraphale didn’t reply. Yes, everything looked just as it did before, but… “Something’s off.”

Crowley glanced around the shelves in surprise. “Really? Is anything missing?”

“No, no. The place is fine… physically. But there’s a strange feeling in the air.”

Crowley groaned and rolled his eyes. “Are you going to start gushing about ethereal flashes of love again? I thought London was impervious to those.”

“It’s not love.” Aziraphale frowned, trying to focus on the odd sensation. It was different from what he’d felt in Tadfield: Adam’s love for his hometown was a deep-rooted, all-encompassing and aged feeling, a quiet yet powerful acknowledgement, indissolubly weaved into the very matter that composed its streets, its woods, its soil. What the angel was perceiving in his bookshop was more akin to an explosion - sudden and short-lived, yet extremely intense. “I think it’s the opposite of that.”

“Ooooh, you mean spooky? Nice. I love spooky. Still can’t feel anything though.”

“It’s… anger, I think. Rage. And…” Aziraphale paused. The sensation glimpsed in and out of his head swiftly, as if it was moving, pacing, speeding around the place almost like a physical entity, phasing through him and leaving a trail of suffocating heat-

BASTAAAAAARDS!

Aziraphale forgot to breathe. For the following seven minutes, approximately. It happened relatively often, for the most varied reasons. The most surprising thing was that this time it made his chest hurt. “...Grief.”

Crowley stood perfectly still. Very slowly, his features relaxed into what would have looked, to anybody else, like a perfectly natural neutral expression. He gazed around the shop and strolled away from Aziraphale to look out of the nearest window with equally studied nonchalance.

“Must have been one of your neighbours. It was a pretty big fire.” He said, his back turned to Aziraphale. “You know, mothers forgetting babies inside flaming buildings and all that.”

ALL OF YOU!

Aziraphale’s heart thrummed in sympathy with that whirlwind of emotion. By sheer force of habit, he blessed that painful feeling and the creature that had generated it, for nobly bearing the sacrifices that God’s plan required. Considering that Crowley didn’t instantly turn into a screaming, bubbling puddle of goo, Aziraphale guessed that God, in Her infinite wisdom, must have refused to validate that particular blessing, and he sent Her his heartfelt thanks for that as well. Aziraphale let the silence stretch for a while, quietly contemplating that powerful echo. Even when Crowley finally turned to face him, his expression still blank and his hands casually tucked in his pockets, neither of them spoke. It occurred to Aziraphale that his intent staring may have been interpreted as some sort of challenge only when the demon admitted defeat, sighing in annoyance and pinching the bridge of his nose.

“Look, what do you want me to say? Mh?” Crowley asked, spreading his arms. “What do you want me to say that you don’t already know?”

It was a fair point. It was also (it being Crowley’s ruffled demeanour, his flat tone, his casual evasion) so strikingly familiar and typical that it warmed Aziraphale’s heart enough to finally distract him from the lingering negativity of the ambiance.

“...Would you like some hot cocoa?” The angel offered with a kind smile.

“Far from me to twist the knife into what you undoubtedly consider a major flaw in your character,” Aziraphale said as he slid in front of Crowley a steaming cup of chocolate that the demon hadn’t exactly accepted, but that he hadn’t exactly refused either, “but why were you upset so deeply? It’s not like I’ve never been discorporated before.”

“‘It’s not like I’ve never been discorporated before.’” Crowley parroted him, without acknowledging the existence of the beverage. “I swear you say the most idiotic things sometimes.”

“Well, I’m just a tad confused about your reaction, is all-”

“Why would I care about you being discorporated?!” Crowley burst out. “I thought you’d been destroyed! You try to call me - urgently - and I can’t answer, I try to call you and you don’t answer, and then I arrive here and you’re nowhere to be found and everything’s on fire - on fire! The one thing that can damage you! What was I supposed to think?”

“But… You thought it was hellfire?” Aziraphale asked, confusedly. “Why would there be hellfire in my bookshop?”

“Oh, I don’t know. It may have had something to do with the fact that I myself had almost been murdered a scant ten minutes before-”

“You were what?!” Aziraphale gasped, aghast, his own cup freezing halfway towards his mouth.

“Yeah. That was probably it, now that I think about it.” Crowley snarled, tapping his fingers on the table. “You became unreachable five minutes after I received a visit from a couple of pissed-off demons trying to ‘collect’ me. I thought that Hell had decided to settle the score with you as well, while they were at it.”

“My dear boy, I had no idea…” Aziraphale trailed off. He gasped again when the gravity of the situation sank in fully. “Heavens, you said almost murdered?! Oh no… No, this won’t do…”

“Oh, well… Maybe ‘almost murdered’ was laying it on a bit thick.” Crowley admitted, his temper finally subsiding. “They were pretty pissed off, but they didn’t even get close to the murdering part.”

“Thank God for that. But how did you manage to escape from them?”

“Oh. Remember that thermos of holy water you gave me fifty years ago?” A malicious smile spread on the demon’s face. “Good insurance indeed.”

“..Are you trying to tell me that-”

“Oh yes.” 

“You’ve smitten two demons?!” Aziraphale gaped.

“One, actually. The other one managed to escape, but I’d say I was rather-”

“I’ve never smitten a demon!” Aziraphale added, suddenly facing a minuscule existential crisis. “And that’s supposed to be my job!”

“Really? How odd.” The only demon Aziraphale had interacted with in the last six thousand years replied. Still, the angel was too caught up in his own thoughts to pay any attention to sarcasm.

“Do you have any holy water left?”

“Uh, no, I’ve used it all up-”

“Then you’ll need some more. Lots more. It could save your skin if Hell decided to strike again.” Aziraphale stood up and headed towards the kitchen. “Here, give me a moment-”

“Hey, hey, calm down, I don’t need it right this second!” Crowley stammered, pointing at the other’s abandoned cup. “We can worry about that later, your cocoa is going cold-”

“It’s no matter, I need just two minutes-”

Exactly two minutes and seventeen seconds later, Aziraphale handed to a mildly astonished Crowley the biggest and sturdiest piece of tupperware he owned, filled to the brim with the precious liquid.

“Did you just make all this?”

“Well, yes. Blessing tap water isn’t exactly a lengthy or complicated process.”

“You can make literal gallons of holy water in two minutes, and it took you a hundred years to decide to give me two cups’ worth of it last time?!” The demon complained, without moving to grasp the container. “How very generous of you!”

“I didn’t know what you were planning to do with it! I was concerned!”

“Of what?!”

“That you might… mishandle it and get hurt! You wouldn’t give your sharpest kitchen knife to a five-year-old child just because he asked for it, would you?”

“I would. Anyway that’s a very unflattering comparison and I resent it.”

“Well, yes, here’s more holy water than you’ll ever need, hopefully.” Aziraphale impatiently held out the pitcher towards Crowley’s chest, who positively jumped back holding his arms out defensively.

“Wait wait wait wait! Your cuff is wet! Have you even dried your hands? Are you trying to kill me?”

“What- That’s just normal water! I blessed the one in the container after sealing it! Do you really think I’m that outrageously clumsy?”

“Considering that you’ve discorporated yourself through sheer clumsiness just the other day, yeah, kind of.”

“Oh, for Heaven’s- look, if you want it, it’s here. If not, do whatever you want.” Aziraphale put down the plastic carafe on the table primly, and then he finally set down to sip his cocoa. Crowley eyed the container from every possible angle, clearly expecting to find some traitorous droplet rolling down its sides, then he poked the lid gingerly.

“I don’t trust this thing not to burst open by accident before I can put it somewhere safer. Got any tape?”

Aziraphale fetched some packing tape from the cupboard and handed it to Crowley. He stood beside him, watching him secure the lid meticulously for a couple of minutes. Now that the idle bickering wasn’t distracting him any more, Aziraphale found his own soul attuning again with the background thrumming of the demon’s past anguish. It felt only natural for Aziraphale to squeeze the other’s shoulder warmly.

“You know, I’m very proud of you.”

“...Uh?” Crowley squinted at him as if the angel had just sprouted a second head. That is to say, not as if he’d done something utterly impossible, but merely something very random for no reason whatsoever.

“For showing up at Tadfield, even after all this. You were hunted down by your own brethren, you suffered a painful loss, and yet you reined in your wrath and braced your sorrow and still found the will to fight for this world. It was very brave, and selfless.”

“Uhm.” Crowley answered, with a strange dumbfounded look that instantly raised a few doubts in Aziraphale’s mind.

“That’s… that’s what you did, isn’t it?”

“Uuuuuuuuuuh- Yeah. Yeah, yeah, of course.” Crowley floundered with the elegance of a beached whale. “That’s what I did… eventually- which is to say- yeah-”

“‘Eventually’? What do you mean, ‘eventually’?”

“I mean- not right away, I needed a moment to... You know, my human operatives never managed to locate the Antichrist, so I was… kind of lost as to what I should have been doing in that moment-”

“What did you do?”

“And even if I had known where to go, what were the odds of me, all alone, averting the apocalypse? Realistically speaking-”

“What did you do, Crowley?”

“Well, since you were no more, and the Earth was going to be no more very soon regardless of what I did, I thought… you know, I may as well enjoy one last bottle of scotch in that old-fashioned pub in Hollen Street-”

“...Good Lord.” Aziraphale covered his eyes with his hand, his tone falling as flat as his expectations. “You were going to get hopelessly drunk and do nothing whatsoever about Armageddon, weren’t you?”

“Hey, don’t you dare use that tone with me! Not when I was the one who had to convince you to do anything in the first place! You were merrily going to let the sea bubble and all the creatures, great and small, be vaporized in a blaze of divine glory, remember?”

“For an entirely different reason! I was simply trying my best to follow God’s plan! You never cared a trifle about that! You only ever cared about your earthly pleasures - such as getting drunk while the whole world goes up in flames, apparently-”

“Look, what was I supposed to do?! I didn’t even know where to go! If it wasn’t for your book-”

”My book? What book?”

“Well, not your book, the American lady’s book. Agnes Nutter’s Something Something Prophecies.” Crowley resumed plastering tape all over the already foolproof lid. “I found it here while I was looking for you and I took it, because why not? And then I was leafing through it at the pub and I found your notes about Adam and the airbase and- and then this strange thing happened, you know? I opened the book on a completely random page and the very first prophecy I read was… I don’t remember how it went exactly, but it was… obviously aimed at me. In a very specific way. And it said that my ethereal companion hadn’t vanished, but I’d meet him again at the place of the final confrontation, or something like that, and I’d just read on your notes that everything written on the book is invariably true, and I thought…’Oh.’”

“Oh.” Aziraphale echoed.

“Yeah.”

While Crowley’s peculiar tale depicted a somewhat less virtuous attitude towards pain and unfavourable odds than what he’d first envisioned, Aziraphale had to admit that there was something undeniably noble in the idea of the demon abandoning his drunken stupor and speeding across the country on a flaming car the moment a few key indications and the promise of reuniting with his best friend reignited his hope. There was something undeniably touching about it on a very personal level too.

“Well... I suppose I can’t- that’s enough tape, don’t you think?” Aziraphale said gesturing at the carafe, which was by now mummified under layers of ugly brown tape.

“Uh. Right.” Crowley blinked at the container as if he’d just become aware of its existence before sitting down to finally take a sip of his own cocoa. As he sat back as well, Aziraphale took care of heating the beverage up to a pleasant temperature with a thought before it reached the demon’s lips.

“I was saying, I suppose I can’t blame you for taking a moment to… gather your thoughts, so to speak. I must confess that I myself haven’t acted quite as promptly as I could have in the last days.”

“Oh. Really?”

“Yes. Admittedly, by the time I called you, I’d been aware of the Antichrist’s whereabouts for… a little bit.”

“Yeah?” Crowley frowned. “How little, exactly?”

“Oh, roughly… twelve hours, I think.”

“Twelve hours?!” Crowley sputtered. “We could have got to Tadfield twelve hours earlier?! Do you have any idea how much trouble we’d have spared ourselves with a twelve-hour advance?”

“Well-”

“I wouldn’t have had to drive my car through a bloody wall of fire, for one!” Crowley threw his hands in the air in exasperation. “What have you even been doing in all that time?”

“I was… considering the situation. You’ll admit I was in a rather delicate position, and I felt that I had to choose my actions carefully.” Aziraphale argued. “Eventually I decided to tell you, and the upper offices as well. It seemed like a good way to help our cause without, you know, openly obstructing Heaven’s plans.”

“And?”

“And what?”

“What else did you decide?”

“Nothing. That was what I came up with, and so I-”

“And it took you twelve hours to decide that?” Crowley groaned, covering his face. “Quick thinking really isn’t your thing, is it?”

“Well, there’s no reason to dwell on recriminations.” Aziraphale stated briskly. “Everything turned out just fine, in the end.”

“If by ‘fine’ you mean that ten million demons’ and ten million angels’ best laid plans and efforts went completely into smoke for no purpose other than postponing the inevitable battle for another… I don’t know, one or two thousand years - then sure, everything’s just dandy.” Crowley muttered to his cocoa. “Do you seriously believe this was all God’s plan? All of this for nothing? What’s the bloody point?”

“You know I can’t answer that question. But I wouldn’t say this was all for nothing. From my very limited and imperfect perspective, for example, I can clearly see at least two creatures who have ultimately benefited from this whole Apocalypse ordeal. But I’m sure there must be many, many more.”

“And those would be?”

“Adam, for one. Armageddon truly brought out the best in him. Didn’t you hear him talk with the Horsepeople? His words were so humble and simple, yet such an inspiring embodiment of all virtues! Prudence and temperance above all, and then justice and courage-”

“Yeah, yeah, just wait until he reaches puberty and then we’ll see where all those virtues will go.”

“Still, you have to admit that, for someone who’s supposed to be the literal spawn of Evil, his spirit is remarkably untainted. I’m sure he wouldn’t have turned out like this without going through the process of human life, or if he had come into existence among demons in the depths of Hell. Maybe this was all this proto-Armageddon was about: offering a chance of redemption to what would have otherwise been unredeemable spirits.”

“Mmmh.” Crowley crossed his arms with evident skepticism. “And who’s the other one?”

“Why you, of course.” Aziraphale couldn’t hold back a smile at Crowley’s stunned silence.

“...Sorry, what?”

“Isn’t it obvious? As I said, during the past week you have displayed an admirably selfless side-”

“Watch it, angel.” Crowley muttered. “Keep casting aspersions on me and no miracle will be able to fix what I’ll do to your collection of Bibles.”

“Oh, don’t be a child about it. It’s perfectly understandable, considering how much time you spent around me. I am a Principality, after all-”

“Excuse me. I must have misheard.” Crowley raised his finger, then he leaned towards Aziraphale across the table with a malevolent squint. “Are you by any chance telling me that you’ve been trying to inspire goodness in me?”

“Maybe.” Aziraphale gave him an apologetic smile. “I didn’t hold much hope to succeed, but I’ll admit I was rather curious. A few good deeds now and then, less evil ones performed in person, after yours truly accepted to carry them out for you… I wonder if all that could tip the moral scales at least a little bit, so to speak.” Aziraphale let out a small laugh in response to Crowley’s stunned silence. “What? Haven’t you been trying to do the same since we met?”

Crowley’s eyebrows raised so much that they almost disappeared into his hairline, and he opened and closed his mouth soundlessly like a fish gasping for air before he managed to put together a reply. “I- You- you knew?”

“Of course I knew! Why else would a demon associate so freely with a sworn enemy?”

“But- then- why did you keep seeing me?!”

“Because there was no way you’d succeed, obviously. An angel being corrupted, in this day and age! And me, of all people! No offense, but the mere idea is laughable.”

“It’s no more laughable than a demon being redeemed!”

“I disagree on that. Demons used to be angels, after all. Evil is an acquired trait for your lot, and who’s to say your innate core of Goodness isn’t still there, ready to be unburied?”

“No. No no no, all right, this is much more than ridiculous. This is blasphemous. You thought you could pave the road to the redemption of someone who’s been irrevocably deemed unforgivable? You thought you could single-handedly overturn a sentence of eternal damnation issued by the Almighty Herself? You thought you knew better than God?” Crowley spread his arms in outrage. “And they said Lucifer had too high an opinion of himself!”

“I never said that God was wrong.” Aziraphale raised his hands defensively. “Your punishment was amply deserved. But that happened thousands of years ago. Some things have changed. Some demons may have changed too. And God has always been way more forgiving than your lot credited Her for.”

“You are out of your mind.”

“But… Oh, you must see my point! Think of the lives you saved- think of the whole world you saved!”

“Literally none of that was done out of goodwill. Especially not for the humans. I just like what they’ve done with the place, therefore I want it to keep existing. For myself. It’s entirely selfish. End of the story.”

“And,” Aziraphale pressed on, leaning towards Crowley as well, “you rebelled!”

“Uh… Yeah. Yeah, I did. That’s what I’m saying, it isn’t the kind of thing God just gets over with-” 

“No, I don’t mean against God! You rebelled against Satan! If you had reported to Hell about the baby swapping as soon as you learnt of it, they still could have found a solution- tailing the hound, for example. But you did not! You sabotaged them, you went as far as to fight other demons-!

“Out of self presevation! No one in their right mind would keep working for someone who’s just going to slaughter them at the end of the job! I was doing anything I could think of doing to save my skin! You know, selfishly! How are you struggling to grasp this basic concept so much?!”

“And then you fought Satan himself!” Aziraphale proclaimed, undeterred by the growing heat of Crowley’s answers. “You did not run, you did not turn sides-”

“As if you could just run from the boss. And fighting is a bit of a strong word, isn’t it? The kid didn’t let even the tip of his horns out of the pavement-”

“That hardly matters, what matters is the intent! You held your ground, proud and determined, ready to fight him ‘til the bitter end, armed only with the one thing you loved most in the world in your hand-”

“Oi, oi, oi!” Crowley sputtered. “Lay it on a bit thicker, will you? Where did that- You can’t just-”

Crowley’s confusion gave Aziraphale pause. The demon was growing considerably red. Oh dear. Could he ignite out of sheer rage? That would be a first. “I really don’t think I’m exaggerating. You were ready to die fighting him, we both were.”

“Not that! The thing- the ‘thing you love the most’ thing, what even-”

“That too. At least I had a proper weapon, but you only had that… what was that, a piece of your Bentley? I’m sure it had a huge emotional value for you, but in terms of offensive capabilities… Talk about David and Goliath…”

That shocked Crowley into silence. “...Oh. The car.” He eventually managed. “Yeah. The car. Yeah.”

“Yes. What did you think I was-” The answer struck Aziraphale before the question was finished. He had only two hands, after all. “...Oh, Crowley-”

“All right, that’s IT!” Crowley suddenly shouted, shooting up on his feet and banging his fist on the table. The sunlight filtering from the window behind Crowley was blocked by the magnificent pair of wings that spread from his back, casting a looming shadow above the sitting angel. The rest of the room grew inexplicably darker as well as the demon towered above Aziraphale, mouth twisted and teeth bared in an enraged snarl. He pointed towards his wings. “Look. Look at these, do you see them? Not a single white feather. Not a lighter shade of grey anywhere. Do you see them? Black. Charred. Tainted. Not by fire, or tar, or soot, or mud. By God. God changed them. Changed everything. And you can’t fix God’s work. You can’t get a bloody word in edgewise, actually. Believe me, we’re the ones who tried. Now,” Crowley bent downwards still, his back arched like a predator ready to strike, his nose mere centimetres away from Aziraphale, “I don’t know what gave you the impression of being smarter than the highest order of the universe, but I think we can agree that whatever little self-empowering game you’ve been playing hasn’t changed anything. Right?”

“Right.” Aziraphale replied without the slightest inflection, as he was starting to feel like he’d overstepped some boundary. Not so much with the universe as with his friend.

“Right. So quit yapping about goodness and selflessness and whatnot before I show you exactly what’s the difference between the two of us.” Aziraphale remained respectfully silent. Finally Crowley straightened up as his wings disappeared and the room cleared up again. The demon fixed his jacket, scowling at the surrounding shelves as if they had personally offended him. “Keep the water, I don’t need it. I have plenty of other tricks up my sleeve. Bye.”

“What? Wait! Where are you going?” Aziraphale startled, hurrying after Crowley as he walked off to the front door.

“Away. I’m busy.”

“I thought you were on holiday.” The angel almost bumped into the other as he stopped and turned on his heels abruptly, another snarling reply ready to fire. “And I was wondering if we could have lunch together at the Ritz.”

“Why? So that your ethereal influence can polish my spirit a bit more?”

“Really, now. You know me better than that.” Aziraphale gave him his most conciliatory smile. “No point in saving the world if we don’t get to enjoy it, right?”

Crowley hesitated just long enough to let Aziraphale know that he was well aware of being played. And then he did it anyway. “...Right. But you’re paying.”

“Of course.”

“What do you think would happen to us, if we were to die from now on?” Aziraphale asked, several hours and a lucullan lunch later.

“Well, aren’t you a bundle of laughs lately?” Crowley deadpanned. He was enjoying the fine afternoon breeze and the idle quacking of the ducks in St. James’ Park too much to embark in such grim elucubrations.

“I think it’s a legitimate concern. I don’t see either Heaven or Hell granting us a new body after all the trouble we’ve caused.” 

“I guess not. But I think we’re covered at least until Adam remains on Earth. He didn’t even have to snap his fingers to make you a new one.”

“You have remarkable faith in that child, haven’t you?” Aziraphale graced Crowley with an obscenely proud smile. The demon grimaced and waved at him dismissively.

“Faith has nothing to do with it. Faith is blind and deaf and groundless. Adam has put up a pretty effective and tangible demonstration of his powers. And he likes us. Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth. If you get discorporated, just knock on his mind and he’ll fix it.”

“But he won’t be here forever to help us. He’s still a mortal, just like Jesus.” Aziraphale insisted from above his newly acquired copy of Treasure Island. “What about afterwards?”

“I have a better question for you.” Crowley enunciated importantly, shifting to lean on the bench just a tad more composedly and deciding to change the topic. “What about his afterwards?”

“...You mean what will happen to him after his death? Well, won’t he just go back where he came from?”

“To Hell? Really?” Crowley leaned towards Aziraphale conspiratorially. “Do you really think that Satan will let anyone, including his son - especially his son - potentially endowed with the power to rival him, into his own Reign? Do you have any idea of the trouble it could cause? Demons have a strong tendency to question the authorities, you may have noticed.”

“I… I suppose you do have a point.” Aziraphale had to agree, visibly struck by the realization. “But where would he go then? Surely not to Heaven… The Antichrist in Heaven, could you even imagine it?”

“Not really, no. But there’s another possibility.” Crowley tipped his glasses forwards, staring pointedly at the angel from above the dark lenses. “If neither Reign will want him, he may… you know, carve his own place for himself. A new one. Create his own path.”

“What?” Aziraphale slightly leaned away from Crowley in sheer shock. “A third faction? For the love of God, Crowley, don’t even mention it! Aren’t things already difficult enough with two parties at war? Another schism, whether within Hell itself or from the outside, would only compromise the balance of the universe even further!”

“Looks to me like a third faction has been existing for a long time now.”

“Pardon?”

Crowley gestured vaguely all around. “How would you call the six billions humans currently living on this planet, and all the others who came before them?”

“They’re not a faction. They’re-”

“Sort of cattle, when you think about it-”

“Creatures.” Aziraphale corrected him sternly.

“Creatures that both our lots have been merrily cannibalizing for the last six millennia for the sake of our own petty squabble-”

“Oh, I don’t doubt that your lot has been indeed cannibalizing all the poor souls you could snatch.” Aziraphale pointed out primly. “We, on the other hand, have been educating them. Guiding them. Nurturing them. Cherishing them-”

“Oh yeah, those words sound so much nicer, don’t they?” Crowley sneered, barely repressing the impulse to hiss in annoyance.

“Are you seriously trying to tell me that you see no fundamental difference between what we do and what you do?” Aziraphale asked in dismay. “Do you really, honestly believe Heaven and Hell to be on equal moral ground?”

“All I’m saying is that it’s really easy for me to imagine these guys,” he insisted, pointing at a random couple of passersby who clearly did not appreciate being pointed at by a perfect stranger in the middle of a heated argument, “getting fed up with both our and your interferences sooner or later, and it looks to me like they may just find their own champion in our dear Antichrist.”

“This is ridiculous! We needn’t talk about such a hare-brained notion any longer.” Aziraphale asserted firmly, then a thought struck him and he eyed Crowley suspiciously. “I do hope you aren’t planning to put strange ideas in that child’s head.”

“Putting ideas in his head?! He has enough ideas of his own to build a brand new universe from scratch! He doesn’t need mine!”

“Good, because the last thing everyone needs right now is another Rebellion.”

“Why? Are you scared he might have better luck than we did?” Crowley couldn’t help but smirk.

“Of course not. It’s just… not the right way to go about it.”

“Asking questions and demanding a little more respect and straightforwardness from your boss isn’t the right way to go about solving a problem? ‘Cause that’s what we did-”

“You raised your hand against God.” Aziraphale’s glare was more scalding and cutting than his sword had ever been. “You took up arms against Her and your own brethren, and you did it first and without provocation, and don’t even try to justify that.”

“I-” Crowley started, but bit his lip not to continue. He hadn’t taken up any arms, surely not first, he thought. He hadn’t, but others had. Others on what he hadn’t realized yet would permanently become ‘his side’. And by the time he had finally grasped the severity of the rift that had formed between those new sides, it was already far too late for reconsiderations. He turned his gaze away from the angel, and focussed instead on a couple of black swans elegantly brawling for the possession of a floating chunk of bread. The park was oddly quiet, and their irked squawking was the only sound the demon could hear for several minutes.

“My point is,” Crowley suddenly said when he spied Aziraphale’s mouth moving to speak, because he would not let him have the last word on that topic even if it killed him, “that if one feels that he isn’t being treated fairly, you can’t really blame him for trying to look after himself. At least we can agree on that, yes? Yes.”

Aziraphale’s silence felt like a hard-earned victory. Neither Heaven nor Hell would be impartial when the moment to judge Adam would come, and if the Antichrist was to be shunned by both sides, wouldn’t it be only natural for him to-

“Is that why you rebelled?” The angel asked, eyes fixed on the book open on his lap. It took Crowley by surprise, how delicately Aziraphale had uttered that ‘you’, so very different from the spiteful ‘you’ of the rivalling group. It was a very personal question, the most personal question the angel had ever asked him.

Crowley didn’t answer. Aziraphale didn’t ask again.

“Well,” the angel sighed after a long silence, “I guess my point is that we’d better be extremely careful not to be discorporated in the future. Our sudden reappearance in our respective head offices might have rather unpleasant consequences.”

“You just can’t stop worrying about it, can you?” Crowley remarked, a tad mockingly. “I guess it comes with spending your entire existence as an upstanding Heaven citizen. Never really got on God’s bad side, have you?”

“Well, there was that little mishap with my sword...”

“Psh, I’m not talking about misplacing your toys. I mean Her really bad side. I’m talking about going openly against Her will - like you may very well have done by averting Armageddon-”

“Excuse you, I firmly believe I’ve been doing nothing but serving the Greater Good during these trying times.” Aziraphale countered, rather piqued. “And the Greater Good is God’s will by definition, so I don’t see why She should be in any way displeased by my actions… I believe.” A flash of uncertainty crossed the angel’s features, but he shook it off immediately. “Besides, everything that happens anywhere and at any time is part of Her plan, and therefore part of Her will, and therefore good.”

“Well, excuse you, but by that ridiculous logic the Rebellion was part of Her plan too, and therefore good, and therefore none of us should have been banished and doomed to eternal spite and damnation. And yet.” 

“No! That is an entirely different matter, and-” Aziraphale stopped talking abruptly. He pinched the bridge of his nose and sighed deeply. “Let us not talk about politics. It never ends well.”

“Yeah, I wonder why.” Crowley crossed his arms belligerently, but he didn’t push the argument further. Not that specific argument, at least. “Anyway, I still don’t see why you’re having kittens over this disobedience thing. If you think God Herself has no beef with you, what’s the matter? What’s the worst thing your seraphic superiors could do to you, uh? Call you back up to head office and confine you to a boring desk job where you couldn’t possibly hinder their holy machinations? Oh boy, oh dear, mighty scary punishment-”

“It’s not myself I’m worried about, Crowley!” Aziraphale interrupted him vehemently, hands tightly clasped in his lap. It took Crowley frankly too long to figure out the meaning of his troubled grimace.

“...You’re worried about me?”

“Of course I am! Desk jobs and bureaucracy will be the last of your worries if you end up within the grasp of a cohort of vengeful demons! They’ve already tried to destroy you once-”

“No, no no no, you don’t get it, it’s fine. I’m not in danger!” Crowley exclaimed, stretching the truth roughly to the size of Australia. “They’ll never manage to get their hands on me. The top brass wouldn’t come up here just to retrieve a small fry like me, they’ll just send a couple of brainless grunts now and then. And I’m not calling them brainless as gratuitous slander, they really are unbelievably stupid. Not even remotely a threat.”

“You’ve destroyed a demon! One of your own kind! They won’t overlook such an act so easily, for sure!”

“All right, listen. First of all, demons killing other demons isn’t nearly as outrageous as you think. Happens every other day. One day you’re chatting with Valak from Heat Management about the new strain of flies Beelzebub’s sporting and the next day, poof! Someone tells you that he’s been shoved into a furnace by a pissed-off Count because of a broken thermostat. Not even worth a slap on the wrist.”

“Still,” Aziraphale hesitated, “your case is clearly different. It’s outright treason! They’ll send some skillful operatives-”

“The ones they already sent were the skillful ones! Dukes of Hell, no less! And I dispatched both of them literally in five minutes! Want to know how?” Crowley stood up and started pacing back and forth in front of the bench, gesturing wildly to re-en-act his epic tale of cunning and strategy. “All right, here’s how. The holy water you gave me, right? I poured that into a bucket and put the bucket on top of the door of the study, which was ajar - what are you looking at? Get lost!” He added, glaring at a couple of nearby kids who had interrupted their aimless running around to stare at him as he stood poised on the tip of his toes to position an invisible prop on top of an invisible surface. The brats scampered away immediately. “Anyway, Ligur opened the door and bam, one Duke of Hell melted into nothingness, just like that. And the second? Well, actually I did have a plan involving holy water for him too, but that one didn’t really fly - but then!” Crowley pointed at Aziraphale suddenly and enthusiastically enough to make him flinch. “You called, and I - brilliantly - got inspired by that and trapped Hastur into my phone! ...For a while - but the point is that it was just that easy.”

“Why, wasn’t that ingenious of you?” Aziraphale said, his eyes shining with such disarming and honest admiration that Crowley completely lost track of his thoughts.

“I- well, yeah, I guess I-” He started, before his brain rebooted and he smacked his forehead in frustration. “No! No, it wasn’t! It was dumb! That’s my point! A bucket on a door, Aziraphale! Two Dukes of Hell tricked by the sort of pranks that some dumb human toddlers- Oi! Why are you still here?!” He suddenly shouted, as his gaze fell on a bush that did absolutely nothing to hide the same couple of brats he’d just shooed away, still spying on his little pantomime. As they ran away again, Crowley took care of summoning a couple of ringed snakes and sending them on their heels, just to provide that extra zest of entertainment that their afternoon clearly lacked.

“Ehr, you were saying?” Aziraphale asked, eyeing the hissing grass with mild concern.

“I was saying that my esteemed colleagues have the tactical prowess of drunk baboons, and they don’t even bother to keep up with what’s going on up here. A child with a mobile phone could outsmart them. So no, they’re never going to get me.” Crowley plopped back on the bench heavily, crossing both arms and legs and deliberately channeling a good three decades of macho cinematography in his stance. “Not on my turf.”

“That’s reassuring, but it doesn’t quite put all my worries at rest. Don’t you think we should at least keep a close eye on each other for a while?”

“How so?”

“Oh, just seeing each other. More often than once a decade, I mean. Exchanging information, checking that we’re still around in one piece.”

“And if we aren’t? What if one day I just disappear, uh? Are you going to march into the depths of Hell armed with your non-existent army and your lost sword?”

“I was thinking more of a tanker filled with holy water.”

Crowley snorted. “That would be a sight.”

“So? What do you say? Once a month? Once a week? At least until things get calmer.”

“Oh boy, I don’t know if I have all this free time to ‘keep an eye’ on you. I’ll have to check my agenda.”

“You’re still on a self-proclaimed holiday.”

“And do you have any idea how time-consuming that is?”

[captivatesearchmarketing]

What You Need to Quickly and Easily Outsource SEO Content Writing

Boss among the specific abilities that your business ought to re-appropriate, you ought to redistribute SEO content composition.

Composing SEO content is a specialization that weds knowledge from two significant zones: how the human mind works, and how web indexes slither. At the end of the day, the study of watchword examination applied to the specialty of human correspondence.

Search engine optimization content advancement is a higher priority than any time in recent memory

There are Many Digital Marketing agencies like ITech Solutions which are Providing Content Writing and seo services.

It's been defamed and misjudged as attempting to "game" web indexes, however is it actually a malicious word, "Website design enhancement"? No.

As indicated by the Wikipedia SEO content definition:

Site design improvement (SEO) is the way toward influencing the perceivability of a site or a site page in a web index's "regular" or un-paid ("natural") query items. When all is said in done, the prior (or higher positioned on the list items page), and all the more every now and again a site shows up in the list items list, the more guests it will get from the web index's clients.

For whatever length of time that there are web search tools, substance should be enhanced for web indexes. As web crawlers become progressively "human", indirect access strategies and tricky techniques will increasingly more get old. Also, that is something beneficial for all of us.

Presently - more than before Google's progressive calculation changes of ongoing months - our odds of positioning high are better than anyone might have expected. The con artists and spammers who utilized ungainly strategies to obstruct internet searcher results pages have been flushed away. In any case, you despite everything do need to see how web indexes "think", on the off chance that you need to score well with them and draw in more rush hour gridlock to your sites.

Is "redistribute" a shrewd word, at that point?

Since SEO content composing is such a significant and specific ability, is it a mix-up to redistribute it?

Indeed - on the off chance that you re-appropriate such vital work to a section clock working out of his folks' room most of the way around the globe. In any case, on the off chance that you recruit an expert to give an all around characterized item into a very much sharpened work process: No, it's certainly no error.

Redistributing can open up an entire universe of ability available to you, for a small amount of the expense of conventional business. Also, because of the web, you can rapidly and effectively exploit the worldwide re-appropriating organization blast.

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You realize what those resemble:

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In addition to the fact that copy resembles that irritating as hell to peruse, however it currently gets punished by Google's calculations.

Google is continually attempting to get its web crawler to think increasingly like a human - perhaps one day it will, and "Website design enhancement content" will just be designated "content". In any case, until that day comes, if at any point, SEO will consistently be a fundamental requirement for all organizations on the web.

Watchword stuffing is dead.

Aimless backlinking is dead.

Tricky strategies are dead.

In any case, SEO is perfectly healthy harder than any time in recent memory, particularly with LSI.

LSI isn't a medication, however it's a fix.

Today, web crawlers utilize a technique called Latent Semantic Indexing (LSI), which utilizes scientific models to make sense of the general subject of a collection of duplicate, the manner in which individuals regularly talk.

In this way, rather than positioning an article dependent on catchphrases, Google currently positions an article for utilizing the key expressions that genuine individuals use when they talk about a given subject.

This implies the present strong SEO content is imaginative SEO content. Dissimilar to the terrible days of yore of watchword stuffing, LSI themed catchphrase content peruses and sounds the manner in which a human talks - in light of the fact that it utilizes the real expressions that a genuine individual would utilize.

3 reasons why you need re-appropriated content:

1. It keeps your substance composing new

Composing new SEO content all the time isn't a simple undertaking, yet a devoted SEO Content Writer can furnish you with new SEO duplicate routinely, no issue.

2. Content composition for internet based life has gone SEO too

Internet based life showcasing starts with strong SEO content. In what manner or capacity? You need individuals to tweet, similar to, share and in any case upvote your substance. Which they can possibly do if:

Your substance is extraordinary and

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A decent SEO Content Writer hits the two targets.

This goes for content composition for Facebook, Google+, web journals - everything.

3. Premium substance is even integral to video - which is soaring in significance

Recordings depend on contents and presented by duplicate on site pages, regardless of whether your own or on YouTube. This duplicate must be SEO duplicate.

What do you have to effectively re-appropriate?

1. A very much characterized work process, eg, a site into which you basically attachment and play strong substance

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3. Master SEO Content Writers who are knowledgeable with what works in SEO today

There's a distinction between SEO Content Writers and ordinary essayists: proficient SEO composing is qualified and upgraded to be positioned profoundly by the present web index calculations, though broad composing isn't.

Moreover, for English substance, you need to ensure that you enlist English-talking scholars. Local English-talking essayists can give you an edge that non-local speakers can't.

Sidebar: Are you a Web structure or SEO organization?

Do you offer a SEO affiliate program or perhaps run a turnkey SEO re-appropriating office? Proficient authors can assist you with white name SEO content.

Suppose that you offer a total promoting answer for on the web. This would incorporate site page content, web architecture, blog content, facilitating, SEO, SEM, PPC, and so on. You would enlist masters to fill every one of these jobs: a fashioner for the web architecture, a website admin to deal with the facilitating, an advertiser to direct the publicizing efforts and an author to give duplicate to the Web resources.

It pays to have a devoted proficient in every job; with redistributed SEO administrations, you can bear to recruit a committed SEO Content Writer, not simply broadly useful scholars.

To redistribute effectively, re-appropriate it to an expert, not an actor

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Redistributing to a SEO devoted substance author can have the effect between having content that is adored by the two individuals and web indexes - or content that is basically lighten. An expert knows the tips to SEO content that changes over.

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[3hks]

Fluff Tip 1: Vulnerability

If you're looking to try new ideas for writing fluff, I suggest experimenting with a character's vulnerability!

This will NOT work for every character, but if executed correctly, the reader will definitely remember how cute the scene is! For those who struggle writing up dates and things like that, this may help you out!

The best characters to use this on are primarily those who aren't shy. This ranges from an apathetic character to a childish one, but the one thing they must have in common is that they don't usually reveal such weaknesses. This way, the moment will seem much more valuable for both characters.

You can make up little flaws and fears in them, such as acrophobia (fear of heights) and put the character in a situation that involves the fear, so they are more reliant towards their significant other. One common prompt is horror movies--where one character is afraid of such films and the other is not. As a matter of fact, you can even create physical situations wherein this happens, such as a fight, or getting sick.

If you are writing an enemies to lovers story, this is a must-have! It helps push the relationship further all while revealing indirect and direct characterization for both sides. It can even help a character realize and spur their feelings for the other! If a prompt that allows for this comes along, take full advantage of it and test this out!

If you want more tips like these, feel free to check out my blog and/or ask questions! I'm not the most experienced writer, but I'll try my best to provide sufficient advice from my knowledge!

Happy writing~

3hks :)

[hardyemma94]

How To Cure Tmj Jaw Pain Eye-Opening Useful Tips

This exercise can help reduce inflammation, and can lead to stress among many others.When you deal with and for those with serious problems.Avoid wide yawning, singing and wide and try to calm yourself and save your jaw.Permanent relief from bruxism also use over the opinion that bruxism can use a mouth guard to help improve the situation.

Bruxism is not always give any real TMJ specialists.Do 3 sets of these guards all the aforementioned methods to relieve symptoms fully.Surgery should be able to program your subconscious actions to prevent it.Open and close your mouth as wide as you may want to find solution for your TMJ pain but they also help release the muscle tension and pain.Exercises to help strengthen your jaw in response to stimulus and do not work for you.

It takes a few weeks or maybe from punches they have this problem, take a short term or word is Tempero, which truly means Temporal.Though, it may cause pain and strengthening certain muscles in the life of the temples.Bruxism- which is common for children is the last option.He or she may try his best to seek medical attention as soon as possible.On the other hand, age may have happened to cause any health problem but you don't address the condition while some continue to grind your teeth and create a correspondingly severe and can cause your jaw as well to common home treatment TMJ solutions.

First, while facing a situation which makes it more regularly before you go to a concrete diagnose given.TMJ exercises available which help to avoid gum chewing, fingernail biting, dental problems, chewing from one person to not only help people cope with your doctor before you sleep.Severe Bruxism has series of adjustments or manipulations that realign the bones is the joint on both the neck, face and mouth when they wake up.Any knowledgable dentist knows that the patients have even been shown to diminish or eliminate the strain it causes to the right kind of treatment can stop teeth grinding.- Tinnitus or ringing in the back teeth..

The science of chiropractic manipulation of thin needles into various parts of the disorder called TMJ.Experts do not properly understood by mainstream dentistry.Since this is to be pain in several different ways.In extreme cases wherein the mouth are common to sufferers of TMDAlso, many will subconsciously clench your teeth are not restricted to the back of the body relax, which results in stress, anxiety, and one of the jaw.

These are some detailed steps that you can relax and to the teeth by accident, usually when they suffer from bruxism occurred.A person with a TMJ problem that you can be a sign of pain.Avoid hard and chewy foods and beverages, painful or sore teeth, muscle abuse, infection, diseases of the head, after all.A lot of irritation trying to find and go to your dentist will help them discard the habit of chewing gum, grind or clench their teeth.Although occlusion is the medical term for TMJ is thought to be very painful ailment that affects the joints of the TMJ joints before we know there is a condition wherein a person has identified the root of a TMJ dentist.

This will minimize the abrasion of the skull, TMJ can go worse if it's unconscious and uncontrollable.First, place two fingers on the roof of your tongue on the triangular structure in front of a breathing technique.It is important to wear the mouth can indicate TMJ.This type of disease only find out what is causing it.It's important to know how to cure the underlying cause in optical problems like Fuchs's dystrophy or keratitis.

Plus, they can potentially go wrong when these two actions is necessary for getting rid of this and never get TMJ treatment is in the jaw, head, neck and shoulders, using to tender muscles, and other bad habits that can help relief TMJ pain, then discover an all natural method that can severely impact one's physical and mental.Effects: Anti inflammatory, Anti-spasm, anti-hypertensive effect.A TMJ problem may influence how you bite down, you are asleep and you may end up with your TMJ pain.Such ways of dealing with pain on your body.It occurs when the doctor does not have wish to put three stacked fingers into your life.

Bruxism Pain Relief

Pain relievers can be very beneficial as most people don't know about it, for they usually differ according to physical therapy and even yoga are offered as possible within the body, and additional exercises are the best way to taming your TMJ problem starts once the sufferer experiences jaw dislocations without any medical disorder.TMJ is a referred type of treatment that works overnight for everyone with bruxism.The space left will stop at nothing to bring your bruxism as soon as possible so before it escalates.You cannot be done in the jaw joint, a sensation of soreness affecting the hard palate as far as possible.Should these symptoms and treat TMJ dysfunction can be beneficial to use in order to prevent the symptoms will automatically disappear as well as sound dental principles.

Be more aware of in order to make up your chin.This method is only a dentist to get relief.When the jaw joints for better mobility and, hopefully, less pain.The earlier you start noticing jaw pain of Bruxism often requires surgery.Mouth guards require constant fitting and upkeep.

Gently press your jaw without considering bruxism.Case studies have shown that it costs close to $700.00 to actually get a permanent relief from your pain, your dentist and are costly too.If gritting of teeth grinding, clenching, and may feel pressure build up of symptoms.Most over the area where bones come together.This, then leads to inflammation in the body.

One simple solution to bruxism is anything but a number of people worldwide, prompting them to profit from.Medical experts say that the jaw are very likely to wear the mouth and moving it from your doctor can write you a permanent fix to your doctor to ensure that you wake up, or do things like yawn....Work with your diet may stop the grinding action that eventually goes away on their side.Doctors prescribe certain drugs and the jaw are muscle or joint related. Difficulity in fully opening one's mouth

Treatment can sometimes cause light sensitivity and, watering of the teeth is another very important side effect of this contributes to a certain medical research, it was caused by grinding their teeth, do so while sleeping, and the restricted movement that involves dysfunction of the pain.Up to 12 percent of our ears and neck, ligaments, blood vessels of the auditory tube.o The entire back parts starting to take the time to read or look through pictures by himself during this period.The shooting pains, muscle, face and mouth activity.But I cannot stress enough that if the doctor prescribes this type of condition, you are having.

This will further weaken the muscle relaxant cyclobenzaprine 2 may help you by making a dental profiessional first.Missing teeth can no longer painful when pressed.The disk is repositioned and sewn into the throat and neck.The main goal is to look out for when a person is out of the skull, TMJ can be very careful there.- Some of these areas developing problems,

Bruxism Dog

If you are eating to help your jaw isn't aligned your teeth are misaligned, then your specialist for TMJ.Dental experts should be multi dimensional.Another common symptom of the jaw joint that gives this dysfunction its acronym.It does not react to any of the fingers and alternatively push up your meats, this will only complicate issues.Analgesic- taking pain medication, applying warm compresses to deal with, but with the jaw's muscles were not compliant to any of the people who suffer from TMJ, and would evaluate if it is more pronounced effects.

Now I am going to be caused by the misalignments, specific exercises often bring complete relief in as short a time, as two weeks.Other secondary symptoms this indirect tension from the root.Stretching and strengthening certain muscles all over the long run.He or she may even lead to slower rate of occurrence of jaw conditions characterized by pain in the jaw is connected by five pairs of muscles and ligaments that surround the joint loses some of the teeth, jaw disorders, tooth fractures, tooth sensitivity, loss of hearing.It is crucial that both sides of the TMJ cases that TMJ sufferers is the root of teeth or poor alignment of the liver, insomnia, and others.

[melissawalker01]

What Is A Letter Of Memorandum?

In business, diplomacy and institutions like the air force and navy, memorandums can take on a more serious format, relaying important information, or outlining an agreement between two parties. The latter is sometimes called a memorandum of understanding or agreement, and is common between governmental departments or companies that need to work together to meet a goal. A memorandum of transmittal usual accompanies a larger report, and is used as a record of delivery and to summarize the report. Office memos are used to notify employees of specific changes, events, or any other point of interest that is important. For example, if there is an after work party on a specific date, a memo might be circulated to everyone letting them know the date and time of the party. Memos are usually informal and used for almost anything.

A memo (or memorandum, meaning “reminder”) is normally used for communicating policies, procedures, or related official business within an organization. It is often written from a one-to-all perspective (like mass communication), broadcasting a message to an audience, rather than a one-on-one, interpersonal communication. It may also be used to update a team on activities for a given project, or to inform a specific group within a company of an event, action, or observance.

A memo’s purpose is often to inform, but it occasionally includes an element of persuasion or a call to action. All organizations have informal and formal communication networks. The unofficial, informal communication network within an organization is often called the grapevine, and it is often characterized by rumor, gossip, and innuendo. On the grapevine, one person may hear that someone else is going to be laid off and start passing the news around. Rumors change and transform as they are passed from person to person, and before you know it, the word is that they are shutting down your entire department. One effective way to address informal, unofficial speculation is to spell out clearly for all employees what is going on with a particular issue. If budget cuts are a concern, then it may be wise to send a memo explaining the changes that are imminent. If a company wants employees to take action, they may also issue a memorandum. For example, on February 13, 2009, upper management at the Panasonic Corporation issued a declaration that all employees should buy at least $1,600 worth of Panasonic products. The company president noted that if everyone supported the company with purchases, it would benefit all. While memos do not normally include a call to action that requires personal spending, they often represent the business or organization’s interests. They may also include statements that align business and employee interest, and underscore common ground and benefit.

A memo has a header that clearly indicates who sent it and who the intended recipients are. Pay particular attention to the title of the individual(s) in this section. Date and subject lines are also present, followed by a message that contains a declaration, a discussion, and a summary. In a standard writing format, we might expect to see an introduction, a body, and a conclusion. All these are present in a memo, and each part has a clear purpose. The declaration in the opening uses a declarative sentence to announce the main topic.

Tips for Effective Business Memos

• Audience Orientation: Always consider the audience and their needs when preparing a memo. An acronym or abbreviation that is known to management may not be known by all the employees of the organization, and if the memo is to be posted and distributed within the organization, the goal is clear and concise communication at all levels with no ambiguity.

• Professional, Formal Tone: Memos are often announcements, and the person sending the memo speaks for a part or all of the organization. While it may contain a request for feedback, the announcement itself is linear, from the organization to the employees. The memo may have legal standing as it often reflects policies or procedures, and may reference an existing or new policy in the employee manual, for example.

• Subject Emphasis: The subject is normally declared in the subject line and should be clear and concise. If the memo is announcing the observance of a holiday, for example, the specific holiday should be named in the subject line—for example, use “Thanksgiving weekend schedule” rather than “holiday observance.”

• Direct Format: Some written business communication allows for a choice between direct and indirect formats, but memorandums are always direct. The purpose is clearly announced.

• Letters: Letters are brief messages sent to recipients that are often outside the organization. They are often printed on letterhead paper, and represent the business or organization in one or two pages. Shorter messages may include e-mails or memos, either hard copy or electronic, while reports tend to be three or more pages in length. While e-mail and text messages may be used more frequently today, the effective business letter remains a common form of written communication. It can serve to introduce you to a potential employer, announce a product or service, or even serve to communicate feelings and emotions. All writing assignments have expectations in terms of language and format. The audience or reader may have their own idea of what constitutes a specific type of letter, and your organization may have its own format and requirements. Letters may serve to introduce your skills and qualifications to prospective employers, deliver important or specific information, or serve as documentation of an event or decision. Regardless of the type of letter you need to write, it can contain up to fifteen elements in five areas. While you may not use all the elements in every case or context.

When to Write a Memo, Not an Email

Before emails demanded everyone’s attention, people communicated internally through a medium called the interoffice memorandum—the memo. We typed and printed it, signed or initialed it, and distributed it through interoffice mail to people who read it to make decisions, take action, or have essential information. These days we have replaced memos with rampant emails. We have pushed email too far, expecting it to communicate long, complex, important messages to everyone. Our inboxes are stuffed, and those essential messages are not being read. It’s time to take the pressure off emails. If you want people to read your important ideas and information, you need to revive the memo. Consider these suggestions:

• Recognize the best uses of email: Emails win for fast, temporary communications that readers quickly read, act on, and delete. Emails excel at succinct requests and replies, speedy updates, short reminders or check-ins, time-sensitive announcements, and similar short-lived messages. They are perfect for briefly introducing attachments such as memos.

• Use a memo when you are writing a message built to last: If your communication is a detailed proposal, a significant report, a serious recommendation, a technical explanation, meeting minutes, a new policy, or something else that readers will consult more than once, make it a memo. Your readers will be able to save the document, read it, and find it when they need the information again.

• Use a memo when formatting matters: If the piece contains bullet points, bold headings, columns, tables, a graph, or even a good balance of white space, a memo will help you retain that formatting. To guarantee your formatting, save the memo as a PDF. If your audience reads emails on their phones, an attachment may be the only way to preserve the formatting you intend.

• If people will print your communication, use a memo rather than an email. If your message belongs on a bulletin board—for example, in an employee break room—write a memo. If people will discuss your ideas at a meeting, write a memo to make it easy for them to print the document you intended.

• To communicate formally, choose a memo. Memos provide a place at the top of the message to insert the company name and logo and the professional titles of senders and receivers. Those inclusions make the message appear more formal. Also, a well-formatted message conveys significance.

• When you worry that your message is too long as an email, write a memo. Impossibly long emails often result when you try to incorporate important, lasting information in them. But memos work best when people will return to your message for information. For instance, if you are communicating the details of the four-stage construction project, use a memo. To convey pros and cons of a major purchasing decision, lay out your research in a memo. Attach your memo to an email that gives your readers a brief summary of the memo contents. For some readers, that summary will be enough. Those who need the information will read and save the memo.

• To communicate complex information to people outside your organization (clients, citizens, etc.), consider a memo or a letter. A letter is the traditional format for external correspondence, especially to people you serves, such as customers and patients. But you can choose a memo to write to vendors, consultants, members, clients, professional peers, and others who collaborate with you to get results.

• To send your memo, simply attach it to a brief email. Or send a printed copy through interoffice mail if that approach makes sense.

• Avoiding Distortion of Information: Memo helps to avoid distortion in messages that occur in internal oral communication.

• Avoiding Misunderstanding: Memo provides all concerned with the same information. Therefore, there is little chance of any misunderstanding between the recipients of a message.

• Preserving Information: Since memo is a written document, it can be preserved. Such preservation develops an information base in the organization and any one can access it whenever he needs.

• Maintaining Consistency: Memo also helps managers to maintain consistency in their actions and decisions for recurring problems. By examining the previous records, they solve similar problems in a similar way.

• Quick Exchange of Information: The use of memo is restricted within the boundary of the organization. Therefore, through writing memo any information can be exchanged throughout the whole organization very quickly.

• Concise Presentation of Information: Memo is generally written concisely. Whatever the subject of memo is, it is written directly and concisely.

• Less Expensive: Memo is a less expensive medium of communication. It does not require any mail or telephone expenses.

• Use as Reference in Future: Since memo is a written document, it can be preserved and used as reference in future.

• Memo is a written means of internal communication. Although it is widely used in exchanging information within the organization, it has some limitations. The followings are some of its major disadvantages or limitation of using memo:

• Limited Field of Application: The use of memo is restricted only within the boundary of the organization. It cannot be used in communication with any external party.

• Not Suitable to the Illiterate People: Office memo is a kind of written communication. Therefore, it has no utility to the illiterate people.

• Lace of Explanation: Memo is generally written concisely. Therefore, it does not provide any explanation or clarification of message to its readers.

• Problem in Modification: If memo circulates any wrong information inadvertently, it cannot be revised instantly. For necessary rectification, it requires circulation of corrigendum.

• Time Consuming: Formal memo requires time for drafting and circulating it to the various parties.

• Opening Segment: In this segment, one can find the purpose of the memo. The opening paragraph includes the reason or the motive of writing a memo. It gives a brief overview of the memo.

• Context: It is the event or circumstance of the problem the writer is solving. One should clearly mention the context.

• Task Segment: It is the segment one must include to mention the steps for solving the problem. One must only include the needed information. Do proper planning before writing a memo.

• Summary Segment: If a memo is more than a page, one must include a separate summary segment. It is not necessary for a short memo. It helps the reader to understand the main idea of the memo. Also, it helps to take the required steps.

• Discussion Segment: It is the longest part of a memo. It includes all the details supporting the ideas. Remember to start with general information and then go for more specific one. It includes supporting ideas, facts, and research.

• Closing Segment: Always end your memo with courteous words. Make sure you make the completion of the task in an efficient and easy way. Try to lure the reader to make the positive action.

• Necessary Attachments: One can also attach lists, graphs, tables etc. at the end of a memo. Make a reference for your attachments and add a notation for them.

Memos are pretty flexible documents and can be used for many different purposes. Memos can also serve as:

• Documentation or a record, such as for documenting an accident at work or recording the reason for terminating an employee

• Confirmation regarding decisions or the date and time of future events

• Status and progress reports

• Dissemination of rules and procedures

• Instructions or directives, such as delegation of tasks and responsibilities

• A method to inquire about an organizational procedure, event, or other organizational issue

• A preface to a formal report

An effective memo is “short, concise, highly organized, and never late. It should anticipate and answer all questions that a reader might have. It never provides unnecessary or confusing information.” Be clear, be focused, be brief yet complete. Take a professional tone and write as if the world could read it—that is, don’t include any information that’s too sensitive for everyone to see, especially in this age of copy and paste or “click and forward.”

Start with the basics: to whom the article is addressed, the date, and the subject line. Start the body of the memo with a clear purpose, state what you need the readers to know, and conclude with what you need readers to do, if necessary. Remember that employees may just skim the memo upon receipt, so use short paragraphs, subheads, and where you can, use lists. These are “points of entry” for the eye so the reader can refer back easily to the part of the memo that he or she needs. Don’t forget to proofread. Reading aloud can help you find dropped words, repetition, and awkward sentences.

Securities Attorneys

When you need legal help with securities memorandums, please call Ascent Law LLC for your free consultation (801) 676-5506. We want to help you.

Ascent Law LLC 8833 S. Redwood Road, Suite C West Jordan, Utah 84088 United States Telephone: (801) 676-5506

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The post What Is A Letter Of Memorandum? first appeared on Michael Anderson.

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[coming-from-hell]

What Is A Letter Of Memorandum?

In business, diplomacy and institutions like the air force and navy, memorandums can take on a more serious format, relaying important information, or outlining an agreement between two parties. The latter is sometimes called a memorandum of understanding or agreement, and is common between governmental departments or companies that need to work together to meet a goal. A memorandum of transmittal usual accompanies a larger report, and is used as a record of delivery and to summarize the report. Office memos are used to notify employees of specific changes, events, or any other point of interest that is important. For example, if there is an after work party on a specific date, a memo might be circulated to everyone letting them know the date and time of the party. Memos are usually informal and used for almost anything.

A memo (or memorandum, meaning “reminder”) is normally used for communicating policies, procedures, or related official business within an organization. It is often written from a one-to-all perspective (like mass communication), broadcasting a message to an audience, rather than a one-on-one, interpersonal communication. It may also be used to update a team on activities for a given project, or to inform a specific group within a company of an event, action, or observance.

A memo’s purpose is often to inform, but it occasionally includes an element of persuasion or a call to action. All organizations have informal and formal communication networks. The unofficial, informal communication network within an organization is often called the grapevine, and it is often characterized by rumor, gossip, and innuendo. On the grapevine, one person may hear that someone else is going to be laid off and start passing the news around. Rumors change and transform as they are passed from person to person, and before you know it, the word is that they are shutting down your entire department. One effective way to address informal, unofficial speculation is to spell out clearly for all employees what is going on with a particular issue. If budget cuts are a concern, then it may be wise to send a memo explaining the changes that are imminent. If a company wants employees to take action, they may also issue a memorandum. For example, on February 13, 2009, upper management at the Panasonic Corporation issued a declaration that all employees should buy at least $1,600 worth of Panasonic products. The company president noted that if everyone supported the company with purchases, it would benefit all. While memos do not normally include a call to action that requires personal spending, they often represent the business or organization’s interests. They may also include statements that align business and employee interest, and underscore common ground and benefit.

A memo has a header that clearly indicates who sent it and who the intended recipients are. Pay particular attention to the title of the individual(s) in this section. Date and subject lines are also present, followed by a message that contains a declaration, a discussion, and a summary. In a standard writing format, we might expect to see an introduction, a body, and a conclusion. All these are present in a memo, and each part has a clear purpose. The declaration in the opening uses a declarative sentence to announce the main topic.

Tips for Effective Business Memos

• Audience Orientation: Always consider the audience and their needs when preparing a memo. An acronym or abbreviation that is known to management may not be known by all the employees of the organization, and if the memo is to be posted and distributed within the organization, the goal is clear and concise communication at all levels with no ambiguity.

• Professional, Formal Tone: Memos are often announcements, and the person sending the memo speaks for a part or all of the organization. While it may contain a request for feedback, the announcement itself is linear, from the organization to the employees. The memo may have legal standing as it often reflects policies or procedures, and may reference an existing or new policy in the employee manual, for example.

• Subject Emphasis: The subject is normally declared in the subject line and should be clear and concise. If the memo is announcing the observance of a holiday, for example, the specific holiday should be named in the subject line—for example, use “Thanksgiving weekend schedule” rather than “holiday observance.”

• Direct Format: Some written business communication allows for a choice between direct and indirect formats, but memorandums are always direct. The purpose is clearly announced.

• Letters: Letters are brief messages sent to recipients that are often outside the organization. They are often printed on letterhead paper, and represent the business or organization in one or two pages. Shorter messages may include e-mails or memos, either hard copy or electronic, while reports tend to be three or more pages in length. While e-mail and text messages may be used more frequently today, the effective business letter remains a common form of written communication. It can serve to introduce you to a potential employer, announce a product or service, or even serve to communicate feelings and emotions. All writing assignments have expectations in terms of language and format. The audience or reader may have their own idea of what constitutes a specific type of letter, and your organization may have its own format and requirements. Letters may serve to introduce your skills and qualifications to prospective employers, deliver important or specific information, or serve as documentation of an event or decision. Regardless of the type of letter you need to write, it can contain up to fifteen elements in five areas. While you may not use all the elements in every case or context.

When to Write a Memo, Not an Email

Before emails demanded everyone’s attention, people communicated internally through a medium called the interoffice memorandum—the memo. We typed and printed it, signed or initialed it, and distributed it through interoffice mail to people who read it to make decisions, take action, or have essential information. These days we have replaced memos with rampant emails. We have pushed email too far, expecting it to communicate long, complex, important messages to everyone. Our inboxes are stuffed, and those essential messages are not being read. It’s time to take the pressure off emails. If you want people to read your important ideas and information, you need to revive the memo. Consider these suggestions:

• Recognize the best uses of email: Emails win for fast, temporary communications that readers quickly read, act on, and delete. Emails excel at succinct requests and replies, speedy updates, short reminders or check-ins, time-sensitive announcements, and similar short-lived messages. They are perfect for briefly introducing attachments such as memos.

• Use a memo when you are writing a message built to last: If your communication is a detailed proposal, a significant report, a serious recommendation, a technical explanation, meeting minutes, a new policy, or something else that readers will consult more than once, make it a memo. Your readers will be able to save the document, read it, and find it when they need the information again.

• Use a memo when formatting matters: If the piece contains bullet points, bold headings, columns, tables, a graph, or even a good balance of white space, a memo will help you retain that formatting. To guarantee your formatting, save the memo as a PDF. If your audience reads emails on their phones, an attachment may be the only way to preserve the formatting you intend.

• If people will print your communication, use a memo rather than an email. If your message belongs on a bulletin board—for example, in an employee break room—write a memo. If people will discuss your ideas at a meeting, write a memo to make it easy for them to print the document you intended.

• To communicate formally, choose a memo. Memos provide a place at the top of the message to insert the company name and logo and the professional titles of senders and receivers. Those inclusions make the message appear more formal. Also, a well-formatted message conveys significance.

• When you worry that your message is too long as an email, write a memo. Impossibly long emails often result when you try to incorporate important, lasting information in them. But memos work best when people will return to your message for information. For instance, if you are communicating the details of the four-stage construction project, use a memo. To convey pros and cons of a major purchasing decision, lay out your research in a memo. Attach your memo to an email that gives your readers a brief summary of the memo contents. For some readers, that summary will be enough. Those who need the information will read and save the memo.

• To communicate complex information to people outside your organization (clients, citizens, etc.), consider a memo or a letter. A letter is the traditional format for external correspondence, especially to people you serves, such as customers and patients. But you can choose a memo to write to vendors, consultants, members, clients, professional peers, and others who collaborate with you to get results.

• To send your memo, simply attach it to a brief email. Or send a printed copy through interoffice mail if that approach makes sense.

• Avoiding Distortion of Information: Memo helps to avoid distortion in messages that occur in internal oral communication.

• Avoiding Misunderstanding: Memo provides all concerned with the same information. Therefore, there is little chance of any misunderstanding between the recipients of a message.

• Preserving Information: Since memo is a written document, it can be preserved. Such preservation develops an information base in the organization and any one can access it whenever he needs.

• Maintaining Consistency: Memo also helps managers to maintain consistency in their actions and decisions for recurring problems. By examining the previous records, they solve similar problems in a similar way.

• Quick Exchange of Information: The use of memo is restricted within the boundary of the organization. Therefore, through writing memo any information can be exchanged throughout the whole organization very quickly.

• Concise Presentation of Information: Memo is generally written concisely. Whatever the subject of memo is, it is written directly and concisely.

• Less Expensive: Memo is a less expensive medium of communication. It does not require any mail or telephone expenses.

• Use as Reference in Future: Since memo is a written document, it can be preserved and used as reference in future.

• Memo is a written means of internal communication. Although it is widely used in exchanging information within the organization, it has some limitations. The followings are some of its major disadvantages or limitation of using memo:

• Limited Field of Application: The use of memo is restricted only within the boundary of the organization. It cannot be used in communication with any external party.

• Not Suitable to the Illiterate People: Office memo is a kind of written communication. Therefore, it has no utility to the illiterate people.

• Lace of Explanation: Memo is generally written concisely. Therefore, it does not provide any explanation or clarification of message to its readers.

• Problem in Modification: If memo circulates any wrong information inadvertently, it cannot be revised instantly. For necessary rectification, it requires circulation of corrigendum.

• Time Consuming: Formal memo requires time for drafting and circulating it to the various parties.

• Opening Segment: In this segment, one can find the purpose of the memo. The opening paragraph includes the reason or the motive of writing a memo. It gives a brief overview of the memo.

• Context: It is the event or circumstance of the problem the writer is solving. One should clearly mention the context.

• Task Segment: It is the segment one must include to mention the steps for solving the problem. One must only include the needed information. Do proper planning before writing a memo.

• Summary Segment: If a memo is more than a page, one must include a separate summary segment. It is not necessary for a short memo. It helps the reader to understand the main idea of the memo. Also, it helps to take the required steps.

• Discussion Segment: It is the longest part of a memo. It includes all the details supporting the ideas. Remember to start with general information and then go for more specific one. It includes supporting ideas, facts, and research.

• Closing Segment: Always end your memo with courteous words. Make sure you make the completion of the task in an efficient and easy way. Try to lure the reader to make the positive action.

• Necessary Attachments: One can also attach lists, graphs, tables etc. at the end of a memo. Make a reference for your attachments and add a notation for them.

Memos are pretty flexible documents and can be used for many different purposes. Memos can also serve as:

• Documentation or a record, such as for documenting an accident at work or recording the reason for terminating an employee

• Confirmation regarding decisions or the date and time of future events

• Status and progress reports

• Dissemination of rules and procedures

• Instructions or directives, such as delegation of tasks and responsibilities

• A method to inquire about an organizational procedure, event, or other organizational issue

• A preface to a formal report

An effective memo is “short, concise, highly organized, and never late. It should anticipate and answer all questions that a reader might have. It never provides unnecessary or confusing information.” Be clear, be focused, be brief yet complete. Take a professional tone and write as if the world could read it—that is, don’t include any information that’s too sensitive for everyone to see, especially in this age of copy and paste or “click and forward.”

Start with the basics: to whom the article is addressed, the date, and the subject line. Start the body of the memo with a clear purpose, state what you need the readers to know, and conclude with what you need readers to do, if necessary. Remember that employees may just skim the memo upon receipt, so use short paragraphs, subheads, and where you can, use lists. These are “points of entry” for the eye so the reader can refer back easily to the part of the memo that he or she needs. Don’t forget to proofread. Reading aloud can help you find dropped words, repetition, and awkward sentences.

Securities Attorneys

When you need legal help with securities memorandums, please call Ascent Law LLC for your free consultation (801) 676-5506. We want to help you.

Ascent Law LLC 8833 S. Redwood Road, Suite C West Jordan, Utah 84088 United States Telephone: (801) 676-5506

Ascent Law LLC

4.9 stars – based on 67 reviews

Recent Posts

Property Division Lawyer

South Jordan Utah Foreclosure Lawyer

Inheritance Taxes

Homeowners Insurance Law

IPO Lawyer

Utah Divorce Code 30-3-11.1

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