#writing excercise

[musewrangler]

Five fun facts: since the last one was Star Wars as The Mummy, how about The Mummy as Star Wars?

Ohoho. I like how you think. I had a great time with this, so thank you! Here we go.

Rick O'Connell hates her already. The MOMENT he busted her out of the cell on the flying Death Ball---Death Star, whatever---she was bossing them around just like a librarian. He half expected her to shush them as they blasted their way from detention. The money had BETTER be worth it.

"For kark's....!" Evie gripped Jonathan's hand and bodily hauled him out of the weapons room. "We are escaping!" she snapped at her idiot brother. "You do not have time to steal weapons and sundries, you utter nerf!" Jonathan looked somewhat abashed as they sprinted down the black corridors of the Death Star as they hunted for Dr. Bey. He'd promised to take out the tractor beam but they hadn't heard from him in too long.

Rick pretty much expected everything to be kriffed at this point. He had the Falcon gearing up and the insane girl was aboard, but there was no sign of her brother or the old guy who knew far too much about the Force and these Jedi weirdos. Color him unsurprised when that thieving little sleemo roared out of the hangar bay ahead of them in a TIE fighter no less. Evelyn slapped at the Falcon's comms without ASKING. "We TALKED about this!" she screamed. "I stole a ship!" crowed her brother. "It's useful. Let's go!"

"Darth Imhotep will not stop hunting you now," the Mando said, voice slightly flattened by his helmet. "Then help us!" Evie pleaded. "You know more about this than we do." The Mando sighed, tilting his helmet to look at Rick. "I know someone who is very familiar with the ins and outs of Coruscant and the Empire," he stated. "But it will take some time to convince him. He swore he'd have nothing more to do with the Emperor and his minions after being Marshall Commander there for years." Rick was impatient. Even now, Darth Imhotep could be entering the system. And Jonathan had disappeared somewhere to 'train' whatever he meant by that. "We're persistent people," he said, batting his blaster. "Tell us how to find him."

Ardeth Bay, the 'Fox' of the Corrie remnant, removed his helmet and gazed up at the bright explosion in the sky over Endor. "Think they managed it?" he asked Jonathan, who clipped his lightsaber to his belt and limped over to join him. "Yeah," he said after a beat. "I can feel Evie's irritation from here. No doubt Rick got himself shot again. But they're alive." Bay nodded. "It is well. I am in your debt---long have I sought to slay that evil." Jonathan grinned. "In our debt, huh? I imagine we could work something out."

[geekwriter]

Love, love, love this site! I sometimes forget I have it bookmarked. (Because I have so many writing resources bookmarked). Then discover it ‘again’ as I go through my bookmarks and fall in love with this site all over again. I would tell you all the awesome stuff they have, but it is too much! Check it out!

[mamafaithful]

writing exercise

A grabs B’s arm, pulls them close and begs in a panicked whisper, “Pretend you know me, please! Someone’s following me.” Raduriel paused at the edge of the park pond to view the stars reflected in the water when a small hand wound its way into theirs. The small figure tugged and began to whisper, panic lacing the small figure’s words. “Pretend you know me …” “Tsk” She looked up at the boy’s face, seeing him shift his gaze back to the pond. “Took you long enough. Thought you said you’d be back an hour ago? Mother will be mad.” “S…s…sorry, I got lost on my way back.” Raduriel tightened their grip on the small child’s hand and she let out a sigh. He bent down next to them and shrugged. “You getting on or are you walking the entire way back?” They let go and tentatively the child climbed onto their back. “Thank you” She whispered into his ear. Raduriel righted themselves, shifting ever so slightly and began walking. “I’m Poppy” “Radureil, You got any place to be?” “That’s an odd name? And no. I normally go to the shelter at night.” “Hmm. Come meet Mother. You can leave after but she takes in stray cats all the time. Bad habit that. Gotten themselves robbed countless times but they take care of us all the same.” Poppy yawned and leant their head onto the back of his neck. “Okay.” Raduriel noticed the stranger pause as they reached the house spotting a tall figure leaning on the pillar of the porch. The figure’s eyes held a glare that passed over Raduriel’s shoulder. “Evenin’ Mother.” “Raddy what time do you think it is?” This made Poppy startle. “Ssssh poppet. Did your mean brother keep you out all night?” She cooed as she stroked Poppy’s hair as they passed by and into the house. Mother stood on the porch with a scornful glare. “You better leave or I’m calling the police. And I bet I’m better at bullshitting than you are.”

[most-definitively-a-human]

Love this! Very useful, thank you. Drafting some ideas for own book:

From the perspective of Asran: (for context, he is a blind mermaid) (apologies for level of disorganisation currently experiencing brain fog)

...Swam with tail strokes that disturbed large swathes of water...

Grabbed him with large, warm hands that felt remarkably sturdy under the layer of fat. Perhaps they were a smith or a soldier, as their strength could not be obscured by the soft padding overlaying it.

...embraced him in a tight hug. He felt like he was being pulled into the most marvellous bed. All beds should be as comfortable as this.

__

Lumin is a more judgemental character and would opt for words like corpulent, unfortunately, especially as her family shamed her for carrying extra weight. Since she's established to be a judgemental, insecure character most will realise that how she perceives/describes those around her is rude and unwarranted and stems from self hatred.

Asran, by contrast, would think of fat in a neutral to positive light. He's on the extremely thin side (involuntarily from sickness) and has suffered quite a few negative side effects from it. Always cold, always tired, hurts to sit down... He has a few fat friends who are great to hug as well, so fatness would have connotations of warmth and safety to him.

Challenging Fatphobic Language in Writing: Some Alternative Vocabularies

So I’m currently working on a short story for an explicitly fat-positive anthology, and it’s making me realize just how little language I have readily at hand for describing large bodies in positive terms! 

Putting aside for a moment the whole debate over HAES and fat positivity and everything else – and if you clown on this post, I’m simply going to block you, that’s not what we’re here for – sometimes you just want to write a story with a fat person in it and you need some adjectives/descriptive language that isn’t overtly gross and/or fetishistic. 

Well, I’ve got you, fam. I have compiled this handy list of descriptive terms and phrases for describing big bodies with positive connotations.

Why am I doing this? 

Because this:

And this: 

And frankly, we all deserve better. So let’s go. 

Positive (and Neutral) Adjectives for Fatness

Abundant

Ample

Big

Broad

Buxom

Considerable

Curvy

Full

Generous

Heavy

Large

Luscious

Plentiful

Plump

Replete

Robust

Round

Rubenesque

Soft

Solid

Stocky

Substantial

Thick

Voluptuous

Zaftig

Movement Verbs Evoking Fatness

Amble

Bounce

Lope

Mosey

Pad

Plod

Pound

Ramble

Scoot

Shuffle

Trundle

Some Points to Keep In Mind

A big part of challenging fatphobia in writing is inverting or subverting stereotypes. Here are a few lazy/played-out tropes and things to think about: 

Fat = Greedy I think we can all agree at this point that there are better ways to show greed – such as excessive wealth, entitlement, selfishness, and so forth. There is really no need to use fatness or gluttony as a metaphor for these concepts. Just write your greedy character doing greedy things and resist the urge to make them also be fat. If you need a strong visual metaphor, go for opulence and wealth instead. 

Fat = Gross  A ton of media, especially horror, loves making fat people slovenly, smelly, covered in food stains, farting and belching, etc. etc. So if you want a more positive representation, just presenting the character as clean, well-dressed, tidy, etc. actually goes a very long way. Consider playing against type by making your fat character dapper or fastidious about other elements of their appearance, like their hair, or wearing very nice custom-fitted clothes (or even just “dressing up” a bit more than everyone else). 

Fat = Out of Shape Yes, absolutely, many fat people are also out of shape couch potatoes. But so are a lot of skinny people. And fat people absolutely can be athletic – go google “fat athletes” for several lists of them if you don’t believe me! Sure, you probably won’t find a ton of fat long-distance runners, but you’ll definitely find plenty of hefty weight lifters, fighters, folks with physical jobs, etc. A lot of super muscular people are also carrying extra fat, and that is in fact way more common and natural than the super-defined, well-cut muscles you see on TV. Keep that in mind the next time you’re writing an army of strong hand-to-hand combatants – they’re likely to be physically big, not in a bulging muscle He-Man way but more of an “absolute unit” way. Keep in mind, too, that even regular folks packing extra pounds will often tend to be a lot stronger (on account of spending every day carrying extra weight!) You can be fat and graceful, fat and strong, fat and with endurance. Just something to keep in mind. 

Fat = Pig  Pigs have a reputation for being huge, dirty, smelly, garbage-eating slobby creatures, and “disgusting fat pig” and “porker” and their ilk have been insults against big people for a long time. Of course, in reality pigs are also super smart, highly social (and fucking terrifying) but that’s not usually waht gets invoked when people think of them! Really, avoiding animal language when talking about people is often a good idea (since animal comparisons can be dehumanizing), but if you are going to evoke an animal, go with something else. Like a seal (super cute, very graceful in its natural environment) or a bear (big and solid and intimidating) or a bull elk (thick and majestic). 

Fat = Ugly  Fat people can be beautiful. I mean, sure, beauty is in the eye of the beholder, and inner beauty is a thing and all that – but that’s not what I’m talking about. I mean that fat bodies are great! They’re warm and soft and huggable. They’re big and solid and comforting. They can be strong and protective. They can be super-feminine and curvy. Cute as a button or powerful and demanding with their presence. 

Obviously dismantling fatphobia is a whole big (ha, ha) topic all on its own, and there’s a ton more to think about. But this is at least something to get you started! 

Context matters a whole lot in description – words can be positive or negative based on how they’re utilized! But these are at least some terms intended to be a bit less loaded with negative baggage than those often used in less flattering descriptions. 

Have you read a book with a fat character who had a great or interesting description? Please reblog, I’d love to see how other authors have handled it! 

[fipindustries]

>be me, massive egg

>kind of a 6/10, mid looking, glasses, nerdy clothes, scruffy beard, baggy eyes

>have a type that i have to hots for

>gothy wth bangs, slightly chubby

>egg cracks, transition, dye my hair, change my fashion style, gain weight do to eating healthier

>mfw i became my type

>always was a little bi but now with hormones i start developing more of an attraction for men

>find out i like nerdy, scruffy guys with glasses and baggy eyes

>mfw past me is now my type

>wtf

[peniswizard-writes]

What if there was a human who was a caterpillar and didn't know it so when they statrted producing thick saliva that dries into a hard adhesive they just thought it was disgusting and tried to keep swallowing it but they were producing it faster and faster and after a couple hours they were forced to spit it out every time and eventually they just sat infront of a bucket filling it with that vile leaf-green muchus, watching it congeal, not forming it into the cocoon it was supposed to be, and when the saliva stopped flowing they thought it was over but it was just their time to metamorphose and when they started liquifying to transform they had no chrysalis to contain them and they became a puddle of blood and of stomach acid trying to digest itself and rebuild but too spread out to come together so all their heart could power before beating its last kuh thump was two big, multi colored, fan-like structures around it one wouldn't have identified but might have recognized as the precursors to wings

[belalubroski]

The Frog

The frog sings, searching

For love on the lilly pad

As I scratch my song

Silent, comfortable

Still surrounded by crickets

But my heart belongs

The frog stops calling

The crickets rest, and I sit

Alone with my words

Calves rub each other

Quietly, my throat is full

Of half swallowed sounds

Not missed, but missing

I wonder who would leap at

A word-croaking fool

[clangenwritingexperiment]

THE ENTIRE POINT OF THIS BLOG

is an "attention to details" exercise.

I will go moon by moon and write down all the little details.

This is a storytelling exercise on my part.

This will go well.

Time Line

[sokokoko]

Word Of The 💫 Sometimes 💫

Write something based off the vibe you get from this word, based off the definition OR including this word. Can be anything from one sentence to a copious amount of writing.

Today:

paragon

[rovadeve]

As with all old fanfic I have started to notice some points with this one which I would have written differently. Or well, in this case, more clearly.

The difference I wanted to put between Lan Xichen and Nie Mingjue's behaviour towards Jin Guangyao when he decides to live in Jinlintai as a woman is that, while Lan Xichen will smile and call Jin Guangyao whatever he wants to be called, even if he knows that is not truly what Jin Guangyao wants to be, it bothers Nie Mingjue that Jin Guangyao is lying about who he is - that's why he gets so mad about the dress. He thinks Jin Guangyao had to continue to be who he really is, no matter the social consequences. Yet, this is spurred on heavily by the saber curse/his pre-existing mistrust of Jin Guangyao. He'd have been more understanding if some things,,, didn't happen. But well that's why it's tragic.

I think I could have made this more clear in the section where Nie Mingjue gets mad about the dress.

Jin Guangyao wishes he could agree with Nie Mingjue, but in the end he prefers Lan Xichens' quiet agreement (and well, in this case Xichens' is the better treatment, Mingjue. I'm sorry I still love u).

Intimate Lives

The first time Meng Yao sleeps with someone, she gets paid less than she is owed. After she gets out of the brothel, she decides to try her luck disguised as a man, which he finds out may fit him better then any other role he will have to inhibit in his live. Or: A study of Meng Yao throughout his life at the brothel, his stay in Bujing Shi, in Nightless city, as a young lady of Jinlintai, and at the bitter end, and a study of the people who were important to him, whether it turned out sweet or sour. Or: A character study through the gender and sexuality of a man who rarely gets to choose either

Rating: E

Relationships: Nieyao, Xiyao

Additional tags: Hurt little Comfort, Prostitution, Trans Male Character, Trans Meng Yao | Jin Guangyao, Implied/Referenced Abortion, Complicated Relationships, Character Study, (its a character study through sexuality really), Relationship Study, Developing Relationships, canon-typical violence

[o-sunny-day]

Writing Exercise time!!! Plus a doodle based on the scene!

Keep Reading for the writing since its kinda long for Tumblr, 508 words

Undyne can't really remember how or when this started, but it's how she's spent most of her free time these days. In a secluded cavern deep within Waterfall, the new-ish Empress of the Underground does her usual training, but in a much less sophisticated way than usual. And even then, she's hardly ever been sophisticated… This kind of “training”, she doesn't want anyone around for. But, there's still always a little bit of company whether she likes it or not. Sans.

Memories are a tad fuzzy around the time she started training, so naturally, memories are fuzzy around the time he started joining her.

“Joining” might be a strong word… watching? he also isn't really doing that either. His usual spot is the corner, his back against the wall that's to the left of Undyne. Eyes always closed, and in the same usual position. Legs out, head leaned back and to the side, and sitting at a less than comfortable distance away from Undyne's barrage of spears. Well, she's not forcing him to be here. He can do what he wants.

Her strained yells from giving so many speeches, always echo across the walls of the cavern, bouncing off stalactites. Adding on- the sound of barely restrained magic being released is deafening. All of her “attacks” lose any idea of “patterns” and “fairness” during these sessions. She doesn't know why it feels like it helps, but Undyne thinks it does

The vibration of the spears cracking the wall buzzes inside his skull in a comforting way, the shouting giving voice to a lot of subconsciously repressed feelings. All in all, the worst spot in the underground to take a nap. But it’s become a pretty enjoyable part of their routine, or at least for Sans it has. He hasn't asked Undyne about how she feels about him crashing her party, but she hasn't asked- er yelled at him to leave yet.

Sans doesn't really know, or remember why he decided to come to this area, or why he kept doing so after he found Undyne here. He supposed it just felt right. It's nice to not be alone and not have any obligation to talk about anything, or at all. If Undyne pretends Sans isnt even there, he doesn't mind. He, too, enjoys pretending he isn't anywhere sometimes.

As Sans heads out onto the beaten path, in the direction of the main walkway in Waterfall, he takes notice of, and is lowley amused- even sort of impressed by some of the echo flowers picking up on a few of Undyne's yells.

His head had started to ache in complaint at the assault to his metaphorical ears, so he checked out a bit earlier. Eventually reaching Snowdin, he walked right past his house. He wasn’t done laying around and doing nothing anywhere else yet.

Sans couldn't really remember how long it had been, or when Undyne had started walking to the side and a bit behind Sans, but it's how they spent a lot of their free time these days.

BACKGROUND: This is an idea I got while thinking about the Empress Undyne w Papyrus dead ending! Thinking about how Sans and Undyne would handle their own- and each other's grief. Their relationship is quite interesting in Undertale, its very much a mutual friend thing, but they also work so well as a trio. So what happens when that connection is ripped away from them? do they grow closer, or faaar apart? This piece is demonstrating what I think I'd be like….a weird version of growing closer. They don't talk… They both aren't one for talking about their feelings after all. They just are around each other way more often than usual.

[diamond-rozie]

danny died bc he tripped and accidentally turned on the portal? actually that was the reaction waves of krypton finally dying reaching earth. the wave of kryptonite coincidentally gave danny his powers.

ghost form? thats actually his body's reaction to the sudden surge of power (which includes shape shifting). his phantom form is what he looks like as a "kryptonian".

he doesn't rly align w the other supers? thats bc each kryptonian family has their own source (aka core) for their powers. the s on superman's design means hope and prosperity, and is the symbol of the house of el. which is why kryptonite (formed by the death of their planet/ Disparity) weakens them

danny isn't from the house of El. his fam represented life/resilience, which is why he's weakened by blood blossoms, created by gruesome death. and also y danny can see the dead kryptonians and interact w them. (his house ruled over/ controlled the phantom zone???? maybe)

clark was ecstatic to find out that the yj's newest recruit was a kryptonian. danny was surprised when the scans/mandatory physical said he was actually an alien. bruce is happy for clark, but isn't happy to know that apparently kryptonite isn't an effective contingency plan. konner doesn't know how to feel abt his new team mate.

[marbledpython]

I think frazie deserves a cute fit also

(bonus velvetopia concept...)

[most-definitively-a-human]

A naive young boy becomes a heretic, joins a servant rebellion, and must learn to lie and deceive to protect who he cares about.

_

Hmm. It's difficult to make a logline involving all the characters. Two main ones, one side but very important one. I feel like having an additional sentence would make things much clearer. I really like this excercise though.

_

An exile becomes embroiled in the complex political machinations of a guild she is a stranger to, and must turn to a heretic to uncover the truth about their world's history and their present.

_

Hmm. Will think more on this.

Do a logline for your story (it helps I swear).

Loglines are mostly used in film, I believe, and they are basically one-sentence summaries of the whole flick. They are very much audience/marketing focused, so no spoilers or twists revealed; it's what you tell to sell someone on the movie.

And yeah, I do believe you can do a logline for any story no matter how grand or complex you might think:

Paul, the young heir of a noble family, must become the Messiah of the planet Dune and its people if he wishes to survive against rival factions.

(Long sentence, but only one sentence.)

The real value of a logline is that it can help you reveal

what your story is about instead of just what happens in it.

By finding the core of the plot you can deduce (and more importantly, justify) the additional elements that make the story come alive. Does a funny scene fit if your logline is about a dark, revenge story? Could be!, as long as you know why it's there (maybe for breathing room, or to build atmosphere or for fleshing out characters).

It's a great starting point, at least. I'm personally quite skeptical and wary of overrelying on writing equations and formulas to make your story "right". Nevertheless, structure can be phased out whenever it has served its purpose, your story being like the green of a garden that has kept blooming and growing to the point that the pots and walls have been covered by what they have borne.

[duncan-rohanne]

i saw someone on twitter say that aemond is a sociopath because he behaves differently around different people, and hmm, no, that's not it.

the whole thing about "you know what he has become" is that he had become daemon.

you see, his entire life he had no male figures to look up to. viserys, the weak father who hated him and his family? nah. otto, who schemed and schemed until he couldn't scheme anymore? no. aegon, his older brother, a little alcoholic twat? nope. gwayne? nowhere to be found. the council members, pathetic lickspitles? no.

but there is daemon and there is criston cole. the only two useful men around him are a man who takes what he wants and is successfull with it and a man who is silently protecting his family with honor. who loves his mother but also a man with anger issues and temper.

so one of his role models gets nothing and the other gets everything. he lost his eye trying to be criston, by trying to be a good son he let aegon on the throne but then luke dies, and is this how it feels to be daemon? there were virtually no immediate consequences for that death, except angry mother and the victory was worth the price. when daemon killed vaemond it was the same - no consequences.

so maybe daemon's way is the better one, but it's a one way street to hell and he takes cole (kicking and screaming, but still) down there with him. take what you want and protect the people you love. even if it means killing your own brother. even if it means alienating your family. it worked for daemon, people die all the time and his loved ones always forgiven him. why should it not work for aemond?

(because it won't work for daemon either)

[gravitybawls]

Remember when we used to spend hours in the sun, baking our skin into bacon and Ma would scold us as she rubbed aloe on our sunburns?

Remember the beach, the sharp sand under our toes and the cold waves against our shins and sweat under our shirts?

Remember our boat, remember hours of sawdust and hammers and nails, tears shed over banged up fingers and splinters, remember me kissing it better?

Remember saltwater taffy and toffee peanuts and jelly beans, so sickeningly sweet we'd puke on the boardwalk?

Remember Pa shoving my belongings in my arms, throwing me onto our sidewalk as babies wailed and Ma worried and sirens rang and the streets were dark and you turned your back on me?

Remember me, Stanford?