#writing tips ig

[messenger-of-stupidity]

Writing Masterlist

This is mainly just an organization thing for myself so I can find them easier.

But essentially, here's a bunch of helpful writing tip things of posts I found around Tumblr.

Main Masterlist

Wide Array Of Tips

Grief Reactions

Random Helpful Tips

In between Dialogue

Free Tools

Affirmations

How to: Romantic Chemistry

Helpful Websites

Verbs

Aesthetic Vocab, PT. 2

Character Flaws

How To: Physical Attributes

Dialogue Tags

Body Language

How to: End a sentence

How to: Show emotion

[sprinklesdonut15]

Tips For Making Unique Character Voices:

(For both narrating & dialogue)

Decide how formally they speak - this is also based on who they were raised around and what their timeline is, their race and culture, etc.

Know their overall volume of speech - maybe they speak loudly because in their past that’s the only way their voice was heard

There’s a hundred ways to say a sentence - sometimes this changes up in a person, but everyone has the way they word their sentences. Example: “what are you doing?” Can be “whatcha doing” “how goes it” “whaddya doing” “what are you up to” “what is chu doing” etc.

Self representation matters - if a person isn’t confident then they aren’t going to sound confident. But it’s not just about voicing confidence or not, there are details to every trait. If you’re character’s not confident then then they might question their choices a lot. They probably won’t judge other people except in high regards. Every personality trait has finer details

History also matters - maybe trauma makes it so your character gives extremely detailed answers to avoid confusion (anxiety). Maybe some kind of accident makes them speak less

There’s a difference in how much people speak - somewhat a follow up to the last point. But it’s not just personality that determines this but also illnesses. For instance my adhd makes me talk a lot nonstop, so much so that I might trip over words, or if I’m “narrating” then I go very out of order. People who don’t care much (depression) might only give vague or indecisive answers. Some people have long answers, some give one word answers.

People know different things - such as when your character is comparing something to their past. Even something simple, not all of your characters might know something like “this specific type of tree” but one character might because maybe it was a tree in their backyard. Characters knowledge determines their understand and ability to explain.

[ellesliterarycorner]

Tips for Writing Plot Twists

Well, after a very long, unexpected House of the Dragon fandom break, we are now back to our regularly scheduled writing program! Funnily enough, this is kind of House of the Dragon related because today we are talking about writing plot twists. And not just any plot twists, plot twists that make sense and don’t leave your reader wanting to pull their hair out and throw your book across the room. Writing plot twists is a lot harder than it looks. I know that when I read a book with a great plot twists that I actually didn’t see coming, I always wanna give the writers a little round of applause because that is impressive my friends. Especially in the day and age of super common tropes and readers’ having particular expectations, it’s always nice when there’s a new innovative twist out there. Worry not, here are a few simple twists that will help you on your way to writing the best plot twist for your story!

WWTRD??

What would the reader do, my friends? In order to write a good plot twist, you need to try and put yourself in the shoes of the reader who will actually be reading this. This might seem like a pretty obvious tip, but it’s one of the most simple and effective ones out there! As you’re going through your story or even your outline, write down all of the ways that you would normally expect the story to go. What potential twists and turns immediately come to mind? Write every single one of those down and then make sure that your plot twist does not include any of them. Especially if you read and write in the same genre (like I do, fantasy and sci-fi all the way), then your brain probably works in the same way as most of your readers. Like I mentioned above, people who always read in the same genre are used to the conventions and standards of their genre. Unfortunately for us writers, that makes it a lot harder to come up with a plot twist. I recommend looking at the list of plot twists that we’re going to throw out and writing down the opposite of all of those. That’s always good advice, imo. If you feel like your story is getting too predictable, take it in the complete opposite direction. When even you’re surprised by what’s going on, you’re on the right track!

Bread Crumbs a la Hansel and Gretel

The original versions of fairytales are absolutely terrifying. I had to look into them for one of my English classes and boy, oh boy, childhood = ruined. Anyways, just like Hansel and Gretel with their little bread crumbs, you want to subtly guide the readers’ attention away from any potential plot twist, so the twist is all the more surprising. You always want to make your readers think they know what’s going on, then flip all of that on its head. There are a lot of different tools that you can use to do that like red herrings, false flags, or other types of MacGuffins. These decoys deliberately plant false clues, or other misinformation that leads the reader in the wrong direction. Sometimes, they even lead the reader to even think they have reached the happy ending only to reveal their devious nature. HOWEVER, you will noticed that subtly is bolded above because please remember the subtly. This is another one of my big problems with YA fiction because some YA writers seem to think that kids are like legitimately stupid. That’s why I don’t think, imo, there’s been a YA book with an absolutely great plot twist in a while because YA writers tend to spoon-fed their readers everything and try too hard to steer readers in the wrong direction. Readers notice when writers do this, and you don’t want it to happen.

BFFR

Be fricken for real, guys, and that means not only ensuring that your plot twist is believable and necessary but also MAKES SENSE. Plot twists making sense is a problem that seems to have popped up in the last five years in all genres not just YA, I would say. Authors seem to focus a lot on the part of the definition of plot twists that says sudden, unexpected and shocking change of direction whilst ignoring the part that includes realistic and reasonable. To me, the realistic and reasonable part is almost more important. If a super unpredictable plot twist pops up out of nowhere without even relating to the story, of course I’m gonna be surprised. Does that mean I’m going to be surprised? No, it does not. Which leads us to the most important lesson: SHOCK VALUE FOR THE SAKE OF SHOCK VALUE IS NOT GOOD. It’s just not. That means not resorting to gimmicks or having a plot twist just to have one. Just like everything else in your story, plot twists should serve to further the story in some way. Not every story needs a plot twist, and some stories are far better off without them!

Phone a Friend!

When in doubt, phone a friend! Writer’s block, phone a friend! Need advice on character development, phone a friend! Struggling with plot twists, phone a friend! In this case, beta readers. Like I said above, stepping into the reader’s shoes is a great way to think of ideas for plot twists, and getting beta readers to read your story is a great way to test out the believability of your plot twist once you’ve written it. Ask them wether or not they thought it was effective within the overall plot, did they believe it, did they see it coming, and overall what about it worked and didn’t work for them. But, don’t ask them about any of this until after they’ve already read the book. You don’t want them to go into the story hunting for a plot twist because they won’t react the same way that an actual prospective reader would. If they immediately come to you, gushing about how amazing the plot twist was and how much they loved it, you know you’re doing something writer. And on the flip side, if they say, wait what plot twist, you know you still have a little work to do!

[lotus-pear]

actually tearing my hair out bc i sat down to review my fic today since i’m getting close to the publication date (i think i should mention that i write in first person for the initial draft because it goes smoother during the writing process since i’m literally just projecting what’s in my head onto the screen and then go back to change it to third person later) BUT AS I WAS GOING THROUGH THE CHAPTERS IT SOUNDED SO GOOD IN FIRST PEROSN POV :((((((((( but reading fp is kinda cringe imo so i tend to avoid it for the final draft but like AUGH IDK i’m in a dilemma I NEED HELP DECIDING

[businesscasualart]

I’m curious if you have any thoughts or headcanons about Onslaught and alcohol. I imagine being a semi-functioning evil team is stressful and if Psimon is chucking everyone’s vapes then cigs and 420 isn’t an option, then alcohol is the second best thing right? Besides drinking together is team building and leads to this wonderful thing called “actually talking about your trauma instead of bottling it up for once”.

AAAA sorry about taking so long to get around to this.

I need to stop checking my inbox until I’m FULLY ready to yap and ramble. I need that lil blue dot reminding me I have asks so bad.

That IS a good question and I’m so flattered that y’all bother with my content. <3 I think they’d be at least somewhat different about alcohol.

(Sorry for any typos in advance, I wrote this mostly at various doctor’s appointments. ALSO. Last thing to apologize for. I’ve never vaped or smoked when I wrote the last part, but I also have never consumed alcohol and that fact may be more evident in this one)

Cw: Alcohol and some references to alcoholism, uh…references to angst but maybe more comfort than angst, kinda all over the place <\3

Okay so, in the beginning, Onslaught was Mostly teens. Psimon was BARELY even old enough to drink in America at the ripe young age of 21, flat. And I thinnkkkkkk Psimon is American? Even if he’s not, it seems the rest of Onslaught is, so I think  Psimon would probably step up and be all “No, no,” confiscate all the bottles and cans and it’d make the teens so mad and indignant. Literal felons are being BABYSAT. Even when they travel where the drinking age is lower. 

But when the teenagers turn old enough to drink, they have a whole little birthday celebration with what they can get, and of course, offer the first taste of alcohol. Their choice for what it is, as long as the team could afford it. Of course, they laugh and tease if they recoil from the taste. 

Most of the team is pretty fond of drinking, usually together. It’s nice bonding.

Devastation is the only exception to the “Psimon Says no alcohol until you’re 21” rule from the beginning. The team can argue “She is LITERALLY one (1) year old” all they want. She is LITERALLY built different, Psimon is fine with her drinking. 

Idk if she particularly has a preference for any kind. She’s probably one of those who subscribe to the belief of “It ain’t right if it doesn’t burn a bit going down”. Wine is probably somewhat…nostalgic. For some reason. Takes her back to someplace she can’t name, someplace she’s never been, but I think that’d be one of the only reasons she might prefer wine. Her taste may be all over. May be whatever’s strong and good. I’m no alcohol savant, what do I know? 

She likes to drink to celebrate and to bond, sometimes to ebb at stress. It takes a LOT to get her drunk, but that’s not gonna stop her from getting drunk when she has the time and money burn on it. She gets drunk and gets even more jovial and warm and open, though she’s usually relatively open. Also, haphazard. She becomes a big fan of violating people’s personal space. Hugs, patting backs, throwing her arm around them, leaning on people shorter than her, etc.

It can annoy a lot of people if she does it too much, Psimon strangely doesn’t seem to mind too much tho…aheem…

Besides that, Psimon’s generally against the team drinking to the point of drunkenness, but there’s little to actually do about it; he struggles to track all of their limits, and when he’s focusing on one, that leaves all the others alone. He tries to avoid getting drunk himself instead. Someone has to stay sober, and his psionic powers don’t mix well with too much alcohol. And he’s the leader. It makes the most sense that it’d be him to keep his wits about him.

The Terror Twins are hearty drinkers; they also can drink a lot and get very warm and jovial when drinking, like Devastation. Any outing to a bar feels celebratory with them. They decided they don’t like to get fully drunk though, not too regularly. First Tuppence decided this, then Tommy when she pointed it out to him. They don’t want to open up more quickly than they intend. Psimon can relate to that, so he defends them when they drop out. That doesn’t stop them from having fun with everyone else though, or helping when things get bad. They’re usually decent at opening up on their own time anyway. 

Shimmer and Mammoth like to follow Psimon’s lead and keep excess drinking to a minimum. A couple of shots, a glass or maybe two, it really depends on what it is, but that’s it. Mammoth can take more than his sister, just by merit of him being so much larger, but he doesn’t like the taste of alcohol at all while his sister does. However, the second either of them get any kind of buzz ebbing at their senses is the second they quit. 

If they’re found sitting down and downing drinks, something is wrong. They’d only let go so much if they’re trying to drown their problems. Then, they can use some company. Someone lending an ear to their sorrows doesn’t sound half bad. 

If another team member is in a similar situation and needs someone to simply sit next to them and just be, or listen, Baran and Selinda are quick to be there for them.

Junior drinks for fun, he’ll seize any opportunity to drink. That man is getting “Krunk” as the kids say. He doesn’t know his limits and if he did, there’s no telling if he’d actually adhere to them. He WILL blackout if no one keeps an eye on him. He will be puking in the trashcan. The rest of the team has to steer him away from opportunities to drink lest he develop alcoholism at the tender age of 5-minutes-into-being-able-to-legally-drink. 

His mood becomes turbulent and fragile. He’ll typically be happy, loud, reckless, aggressive; but at the mention of the wrong thing or at the sight of something that takes him way back, he can breakdown rather easily. It’s actually pretty common for his drunken stints, when they get out of hand, to end in tears. Junior has to be one of the least repressed members of Onslaught, due in no small part to moments like these; where he lets his emotions run rampant and they go down a bad path. 

He’d expect ridicule, but Onslaught is actually very sympathetic to his struggles and complaints, whatever they may be. He can air his dirty laundry as much as he wants with little to no judgement, something he’s not used to. Once he starts, it’s hard to stop, but the team will listen until the end and it’s something he’s really grateful for. Despite being a troublemaker and general criminal, he tries to pay the team’s kindness towards him forward as much as he can.

If Psimon does end up drinking to lose his troubles, he usually does it alone, when everyone else is asleep. Or at least when he thinks everyone else is asleep. Sometimes someone will wander about looking for a late night snack or a glass of water, or even search for him himself. He dislikes being caught like that, dislikes not being so impervious and put-together for the team. 

Without fail, they’ll sit with him awhile. They’ll ask, they’ll listen, they’ll joke or comfort or sit in silence. Psimon will wither in place or try to get them to leave him be, but they’re a stubborn lot. They’re far from the most “upstanding” of company, but they treat him with the same care, empathy, and concern he tries to treats them with; and Psimon finds afterwards that, despite not enjoying being caught in a state of weakness or forced to open up, he wouldn’t have rather it have gone any other way.

[a-thin-layer-of-dust]

A lot of people don't know how gills work.

just sayin. it is apparently not widespread knowledge :(

It's not, like, an automatic thing. The water doesn't come IN the gills, and gills definitely don't just pull oxygen straight from the h2o. What really happens is the fishes or anthropomorphic beings with gills takes in water through their mouth. Then, they separate the oxygen to keep and use, and scrap the rest. THAT is what comes out of the gills. Gills are like a fancy lil method of secreting body excrement, in a way. kinda.

Now. Can fishes (or anthropomorphic beings with gills) breathe out of the water? A lot of fishes can't, but there are actually quite a few that can. (Google mudskipper, it's really cool i promise, they can walk.) Obviously, according the theory of evolution, there is a v e r y long history of fishes learning to breathe on land. Since they are still fishes, they can also breathe underwater. This means that the two are not mutually exclusive.

So TELL ME WHY movies and books always portray it like that????!!!!!

Anyways, I was reading a fanfiction with mermaids in it so i wrote this cuz they got it wrong in there. plus i just think it's interesting.

I am definitely NOT an expert so if someone is and you are offended by misinformation that's maybe accidentally in here pls correct me!

There was a surprising amount of mudskipper gifs available on tumblr.com so enjoy 🐟🐠🦈🐡

[se7ens-oc-heaven]

Fun tip from your local oc hoarder: if you have old ocs or concepts that never went anywhere, didn't quite grab you, just didn't quite work - re-insert them into the world as the npcs. The background character. The side cast.

And here's why, in a nutshell - it'll help your world feel more cohesive, to you and to anyone seeing it.

Yeah, sure, you can hastily slap together a bland shopkeep during a shopping scene, or slip in generic fan designs at a concert. But if you have someone Established, specific, someone who doesn't Have to reoccur, buuuuut... maybe the main characters always go into the store during so-and-so's friday shifts, or maybe you have concert scenes frequently enough that you'd start picking out the same fans who always attend for their favorite band... Adds to how natural it all feels, you know?

Does it have to be an old oc? Can't it be someone made to fit, I hear you ask? Well, sure! And obviously if you only have one or two ocs that aren't active, you'll have to anyways. But it's a two birds with one stone exercise - because now you've streamlined your process for having an established npc. You already have an idea of how that old oc looks, or talks, or acts. You may already know what setting they'd likely frequent, or even miscellany like what music they like or hobbies they have. Your generic npc doesn't have to have speaking lines or relevance - but if they needed to or you wanted them to, now they can. They'll have substance that keeps things from feeling too flat.

And idk, obviously some people don't pay much attention to things like that - but I've found that it makes a huge difference to me even when I hadn't realized it. It adds some extra depth to the world in small ways, that you may or may not ever use, but that way it's already built in. No scrambling or extra work to project traits onto some faceless character who talks to your protag about musicians for one scene.

This is also helpful for subverting "kill your darlings" a bit, for those who struggle a lot with that concept in their writing and worldbuilding - because for me, my problem tends to be that it's not that the darling is Entirely Pointless, it's just that they aren't a good fit. Killing a really good idea and banishing it to the drafts forever can suck. But learning how to Recycle the darling helps keep it in relevance, but by plugging it in to a better purpose than the original draft. That makes it easier to cut ideas out of my writing - because I can rest easy knowing I have it in reserve for its time to shine elsewhere.

I'd imagine this won't work for everyone, but I've found as I work on my hero story that it's added a lot of joy. Characters who fell to the sidelines or into obscurity simply because they weren't cut out for hero business now have time to shine in other small ways.

I have a girl who realistically will end up just being a background jogger. But she's also on a track team, and likes handmaking pottery in her spare time. I have a guy with weather powers, but he's focused pursuing being a talented violinist, with minimal active involvement in the hero business beyond happening to have heroes who are fans of his work.

Heck, one of my favorite characters is a duo of guys sharing a body that are just waiters at the local diner. One of them can reverse gravity or even practically rewind time with the snap of his finger if he so chose. These are powers that he studies endlessly for so he can hone and refine them better. But all he cares about is protecting his family and friends, so all you typically see him use his powers for is preventing glasses from being broken or saving his crush from tripping.

It makes me happy to see my kids just going about their day, filling a role in the background. Will they be more relevant? It's possible! But even if they aren't, there will always be glimpses - of the redhead jogging down the street, of someone in the middle of listening to a track from a classical violinist, of a waiter effortlessly stopping plates from being dropped in the middle of taking an order - all in the backdrop of whatever panel or scene or what have you that comes up.

It helps it all feel more like a world everyone belongs in, rather than a staged play. You know? And it's a very fulfilling feeling for me, both as author and as reader.

So yeah. Don't be afraid to recycle those old ocs. Tweak or streamline them if you need, but if you hold them even a little dear to your heart and can get them to click, I promise you won't regret it.

[femd-archive]

Can i have tips on writing smut or like how to write them 😭

for the longest time, i thought that describing all of it shortly was good

but recently, and after reading a totally unnormal amount of smut fics, i've noticed that describing all in the most detailed way posible is the best

that goes with describing the reactions of the characters as well. things like "feeling her hands run against my waist makes my knees weak" and that sort of things ehehehe (⸝⸝⸝╸▵╺⸝⸝⸝)

you can also inspire yourself with other writers works. of course not in the copy and paste way, but to find inspiration in them to write your own, or to see how they build the structure of the story and the dialogues. same goes with p*rn videos, they might give you some position or situation ideas

all in all, the best that worked for me personally is to go with the flow and just write what feels right to you, then after you can re-read it and change whatever you want

in my opinion, writing in general isn't easy, so it takes practice, a lot of frustation and writer-block lol, but you gonna get use to it as long as you write quite often

i honestly think that i'm just rambling lmao but i hope it somehow helps ^^♡

side note: i've already decided in a orv character for the fic, i just need to start working on it ( •̯́ ₃ •̯̀)

[minnaci]

i truly think some folks on here would rly benefit from sitting with themselves and their willingness to dismiss posts / fics with low interaction count as "flops". like yes i love the Look At My Flop Posts Boy energy we have going but also i have quite frankly never posted a flop in my life bc all of my posts are bangers to ME

[annestie]

I said to myself that I was going to be productive and actually write stuff today. Instead, I spent 3+ hours drawing a landscape. I don't even like drawing landscapes. I'm in pain and no words have been written

[parchmentknight]

im on artfight as diiRiivera! ive yet to really set up my account as its my first time doing this sort of thing, not to mention not having any ocs to begin with LOL (gotta scrounge around my old sketchbooks and insta i think), but feel free to add me on there!

[lurkingismypastime]

Currently on a deep dive through medical journals to see what the long term effects of somebody’s heart stopping are, what part of the brain deteriorates first, and several TBI related disabilities, all for the sake of fanfiction

[existentialcrisis-24-7]

I haven’t been very consistent in posting about my winx rewrite, like, at all. Especially this year. Life has been at me (as well as other hyperfixations (the daycare attendants)), and I haven’t had the time to really sit down and work on it in a while. I have, however been looking into doing speedpaints with voice overs, which could be a pretty good solution.

Whether or not I do it is frankly up to how easy editing proves to be, but it would make sharing the story and whatnot far easier on me

[ellesliterarycorner]

Tips for Underwriters

Last week we talked about overwriters, but now let’s talk about tips for all the underwriters out there. I didn’t mention this in my overwriting post, but whether you’re an overwriter or an underwriter, I definitely would not worry about it until later drafts! As I say all the time, the first draft is a messy, word-vomit baby, so don’t worry about a lot of the problems associated with overwriting or underwriting until your second or even third draft! It’s completely normal to underwrite a first draft, and a lot of times, underwriting your first draft will make it way easier for you in the long run! Laying down the skeleton of the story without a ton of description or other things is a completely legitimate way to go about it! But, once you get onto those later drafts, here are a few tips if you feel like you’re underwriting or your story is lacking! 

First off, I really recommend going through and asking yourself these ten questions for all of your scenes! If you answer all of these questions thoroughly, chances are you won’t be underwriting!

Where is this scene taking place? 

What does this place look and feel like? 

How much time has passed since the last scene? 

What is your character feeling right now?

What is your character’s reaction?

What is the natural, believable way your character should be reacting? 

What is the point of this scene?

What is your protagonist’s goal for the scene?

Where’s the conflict? 

Where’s your opening hook and strong ending sentence? 

These questions are a great place to get started making sure you provide depth for your readers!

But Does The Reader Know??? 

This is one of my biggest problems with a lot of books I have been reading lately. The writer will namedrop something that is clearly important in world, but does not explain it at all. They feel extremely underwritten because the writer assumes the reader has all of this background knowledge that they simply don’t have. I think a lot of it has to do with so many books being written like fanfiction. I’m not saying that in the sense that fanfic is poorly written, but in fanfiction there’s an understanding that the reader already has a decent understanding of the backstory they’re getting into. Anyways I digress into a completely different topic, but not explaining things properly is a problem that a lot of underwriters have. As writers, we sometimes forget that even though we have all of this information inside of our heads, the reader only knows what we tell them, so we have to make sure to give them a solid understanding the world and the characters. I also think that so many writers are scared of info-dumping that they just don’t explain things at all, but if you feel like you’re underwriting, go back and look through your story to make sure anything that needs explaining is explained!

Don’t Forget Internal Conflict!

Despite being my favorite conflict, I feel like internal conflict often gets left behind in a lot of stories. Most characters have one big external problem that they spend the whole story trying to solve, and while that big problem is absolutely necessary to the story, but if there’s only one problem in your story, you might find yourself more prone to having an underwritten story. How does this big problem affect your character internally? Are they super stressed out about it? Does solving the problem compromise their moral code? Do they have to forsake a core value in order to ensure their survival and the survival of their family? There are so many ways for your character to struggle with the main problem that ups the stakes of your story, adds conflict and character development, and can help up the word count as well! If you’re struggling and want a book with well-written internal conflict, see my favorite example the Hunger Games. It doesn’t get better than that!

All Go and No Show

Despite being a chronic overwriter, this is actually a problem that I struggle with as well. I think it’s because I write scenes out of order, and I tend to write all of the exciting scenes first because as a reader and a writer, I really like to jump right in and keep it moving to the last page. I used to get kind of annoyed when I stubble across what I consider a “filler” chapter where it feels like the characters are just sitting around and doing absolutely nothing. However, those less exciting bits are just as important often because they feature the internal conflict and character development mentioned above. If you’re only featuring the exciting parts of your story, it can definitely contribute to underwriting. It can also lead to another side-effect of underwriting: not having as well-rounded and fleshed out characters. Every time some big action thing happens in your story, you probably should include your MC’s reaction to it. How your characters react to things is important to them as a character and to your story overall. Now, am I saying that you need to write a 4,000 word chapter on every single detail of your characters’ feelings? No I am not, but if your MC gets hurt or betrayed or has a friend died, and then the next scene time has passed and they’re absolutely fine, it’s bad underwriting and unrealistic!

[wastedonthesebutterflies]

Little semi-poetic blurbs that probably say too much about my mental state

Part 3

11.

[REDACTED]

12.

She looks like the way warm honey and cinnamon tastes

13.

What if I told her? It’s funny the way 1am brings around reckless feelings. 1am is special to me for that reason. The time between 1 and 3am sees everything. It sees my sadness, my anger, my happiness, my love, my hate. It seems to amplify them too. Love I feel at 1am is even stronger than that which I feel while the sun shines down on me.

It makes me ask questions too.

What if? What if I told her? What if I told her that, regardless of the emotions I’m feeling, at 1am she’s there? She’s always there. What if I told her that I smile like an idiot when I see her name on my screen? What if I told her I see her in everything around me?

What if I wasn’t scared of everything it might bring? And, more accurately, of everything it might take away?

14.

I hate going to sleep alone

15.

I want to do the little things with her. I want to be alive with her. Lazy mornings and vibrant evenings. Trying new things, going new places.

I want to do the stupidly romantic things, like cemetery dates and dancing in parking lots. I want to lay my head on her stomach and giggle when it makes noise.

She makes me feel safe.

16.

My eyes get brighter when I look at her

—

Part 1

Part 2

[enchantingepics]

Story Prompt 108

"You just don't get it," they said, frustration etching lines on their face. "It's not about what's convenient for you. It's about what's right."

Their companion shook their head, unable or unwilling to comprehend. "But why do you always have to be the one to make the sacrifices? Why can't things just work out for once?"

A wry smile flickered across the determined individual's lips. "Because that's not how it works. Someone has to step up, someone has to make the tough decisions."

The other scoffed, the weight of their own desires blinding them to the bigger picture. "And what makes you so special? Why should you get to play hero while the rest of us suffer?"

"Because heroes aren't born, they're made," came the reply, tinged with a hint of sadness. "And sometimes, being the hero means being vilified by those who can't see beyond their own needs."