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I hate when parents don't explain death to their kids.

(This is all just personal opinion)

“It ran away.” No. That’s not fair. It’s dead. It’s not coming back. Don’t do that to a child. Death is really important to understand.

YES they might be heartbroken over it but you need explain the truth to them as best you can depending on their age. It will help them understand loss. I learned about death from an early age watching lions rip apart buffalo on animal planet. That bitch is DEAD. lol. When my cheap ass fish would die, they where dead. They went up to “fishy heaven”. When one of my cats died, it was dead. It went to “kitty heaven”. My mom used to read me a book about how things that die go to heaven. I was sad but my tiny, imaginative child brain could grasp the concept of my animals going to a “happier” place because they were sick.

I just don’t see why or how lying is better other than to protect their little feelings. No one wants to see their child sad but like I said before, I think it’s important to understand loss. Kids get hurt, it happens, it prepares them for adult life.

I’m no parenting expert and I know there are plenty of reasons I wouldn’t understand as to why people think lying would be better. This is all just a pet peeve of mine.

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Genre: Switching Modes Between Fan-Fiction and Original Fiction

Anonymous asked:

Hi there! I love your blog so much! I started writing fan fiction years ago and I’ve always received generally positive feedback and great constructive criticism which has been really helpful in improving how I write. Now however I want to focus on original fiction, and when I first let someone read some chapters of my original stuff I was told it read too much like my fan fiction. Do you have any tips for writers transitioning between the two?

Thank you so much! I am always happy to help. :) <3 I think any time you get constructive criticism like that, you need to ask for clarification. Otherwise it doesn’t mean anything to you. What, exactly, made the reader think of your fan-fiction when they read your original fiction? Were your characters too similar to fandom favorites? Was your story structure too much like fan-fiction? Was there too much dialogue and not enough exposition? If there’s any way you can comfortably ask for clarification, do it. The more you know, the easier it will be to tackle the problem.  Outside of that, I think it helps to understand the differences between writing fan-fiction and writing original fiction, so let’s start there. :)

Original fiction requires more set-up.

In fan-fiction, the reader is presumably going into the story already familiar with the characters, setting, and world of the story, so there isn’t much in the way of character introduction, world building, or setting description. In original fiction, the reader knows almost nothing of the world they’re entering into and they haven’t yet met these characters or been introduced to the setting. So in original fiction, it’s very important to take the time to set all of this up for the reader so that they can get invested in the story.

Original fiction requires a stronger hook.

In fan-fiction, the reader is already invested in the characters and the long-term story, so all the writer has to do is hook their interest in the plot itself. In original fiction, the reader needs to find compelling reasons to invest in not only the plot, but the characters and the world of the story itself. The hook has to make them want to know more about all of these elements so that they’ll want to keep reading.

Original fiction requires more character development.

Although fan-fiction often explores facets of character development that are left unexplored in fandom, as well as AU character development, most of the character development work is already done for you. Not only in terms of the reader’s familiarity with the characters, but in terms of how the character behaves, how the respond in certain situations, their relationships with other characters, back story, etc.  In original fiction, you have to do all of that work from the ground up. You have to actually create that content, and then you have to get that content to the reader within the confines of the story. And, you have to allow the character to develop within the story’s context, as the story unfolds.

Original fiction requires more world building.

Just as with character development, in fan-fiction, most of the world building is done for you. You don’t have to take the time to explain Platform Nine and Three-Quarters or Hogwarts Express. You don’t have to lay out the rules for quidditch or go into the finer points of potions class, because anyone reading Harry Potter fan-fiction already knows these things. In original fiction, you not only have to create that content, but you have to deliver it to your reader by weaving those details into the story so that the world of the story grows as they read. You have to spend more time describing the scenery and how the world of the character works.

Original fiction gives the writer more freedom.

With fan-fiction, you’re starting with at least some pre-defined canonical element. Even with AUs that are so AU they’re practically original, there’s still something anchoring you to that canon world. That’s what makes it fan-fiction. Any time you’re starting with a pre-defined element (or many), you’re going to be somewhat limited.  In original fiction, you’re starting carte blanche. You’re creating the canon yourself, from the ground up, which allows you to define every aspect of the characters and their world. Even better, you have free reign to tweak things as you go. Nothing is final until you’ve finished the final draft, and even thing, there’s such a thing as retconning.

Original fiction requires a different writing process.

Ever writer has a different writing process, and those processes can even vary within genres. But, for the most part, the writing process for original fiction is vastly different than the process for writing fan-fiction. For one thing, if you like to plan your stories in advance, fan-fiction requires much less planning since everything comes pre-defined. Any planning that’s done has more to do with plot than anything else.  Original fiction can of course include short stories and novellas, and fan-fiction can be novella or novel-length, but most of the time, fan-fiction is shorter than original fiction. As such, it doesn’t typically require as many drafts or a complex editing process. And while some fan-fiction writers do use beta readers, you’re probably not consulting a critique partner, writing group, etc. with fan-fiction the way you are with original fiction. So, in a lot of ways, writing fan-fiction can be a more self-contained, private process.

Different stakes, different goals, different considerations.

Not everyone writes with the intention of sharing, but for those that do, sharing original fiction can harder than sharing fan-fiction, especially if the end goal is publication. When share fan-fiction, it’s going to be read primarily by other fans rather than by professionals. Sure, fans can be pretty critical and even mean, but at the end of the day you know their opinion doesn’t really matter. When you’re getting the opinion of professionals, especially those who have a say in whether or not your work is published, that criticism has a lot more weight so the stakes are a lot higher. Not everyone who writes original fiction does so with publication in mind, but most fan-fiction can’t legally be published, so publication is rarely the goal. Writing with the intent to publish does come with a whole different set of considerations. For one thing, fan-fiction can be shared under anonymity, whereas it’s difficult to maintain total anonymity when publishing a book, especially through a traditional publisher. For one thing, your agent, editor, and publisher need to know who you really are, so you can’t hide behind a screen name when the constructive criticism starts to roll in. That can mean a lot more pressure for someone writing original fiction with the intent to publish. And with sharing fan-fiction (unless you’re submitting to a fan zine��do they still do those?), the only rejection you’ll face is readers who don’t like your story. With original fiction, you have to be prepared to face rejection because it’s part of the process.

Switching Modes Between Fan-Fiction and Original Fiction

Now that you know the major differences between writing fan-fiction and writing original fiction, it should be a bit easier to slip into a different frame of mind. Notice, I’m not calling it “transitioning” between the two, because that implies leaving one for the other. A better way to think of it is “switching modes,” because you can go back and forth between the two as necessary. The things that drove you to write fan-fiction in the first place don’t disappear, so you may find yourself writing both, either simultaneously or in phases. Many writers, even professional authors, write both, and I do, too, when the mood strikes. :) So, do a little research into the different facets of writing fiction. If you haven’t been through it yet, my post master list has links to my major posts on every topic from beginning a story to the writing process. These might help you get your bearings as you work on your story.  Finally, if you’ve been writing fan-fiction for awhile, you’ve probably developed a unique style. That style will probably adapt itself to original fiction in time, but you have to be patient while that happens. Even though you’re an experienced writer, original fiction is a slightly different ball game, so it’s going to be a little while before you’ve developed that style so that it stands on its own. You’ll get there! :)

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I was getting pretty fed up with links and generators with very general and overused weapons and superpowers and what have you for characters so:

Here is a page for premodern weapons, broken down into a ton of subcategories, with the weapon’s region of origin. 

Here is a page of medieval weapons.

Here is a page of just about every conceived superpower.

Here is a page for legendary creatures and their regions of origin.

Here are some gemstones.

Here is a bunch of Greek legends, including monsters, gods, nymphs, heroes, and so on. 

Here is a website with a ton of (legally attained, don’t worry) information about the black market.

Here is a website with information about forensic science and cases of death. Discretion advised. 

Here is every religion in the world. 

Here is every language in the world.

Here are methods of torture. Discretion advised.

Here are descriptions of the various methods used for the death penalty. Discretion advised.

Here are poisonous plants.

Here are plants in general.

Feel free to add more to this!

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Actually

The question I get the most is how I write characters that feel like real people. 

Generally when I’m designing a human being, I deconstruct them into 7 major categories:

1. Primary Drive 2. Fear: Major and Secondary 3. Physical Desires 4. Style of self expression 5. How they express affection 6. What controls them (what they are weak for) 7. What part of them will change.

1. Primary Drive: This is generally related to the plot. What are their plot related goals? How are they pulling the plot forward? how do they make decisions? What do they think they’re doing and how do they justify doing it. 2. Fear: First, what is their deep fear? Abandonment? being consumed by power? etc. Second: tiny fears. Spiders. someone licking their neck. Small things that bother them. At least 4. 3. Physical desires. How they feel about touch. What is their perceived sexual/romantic orientation. Do their physical desires match up with their psychological desires.

4. Style of self expression: How they talk. Are they shy? Do they like to joke around and if so, how? Are they anxious or confident internally and how do they express that externally. What do words mean to them? More or less than actions? Does their socioeconomic background affect the way they present themselves socially?  5. How they express affection: Do they express affection through actions or words. Is expressing affection easy for them or not. How quickly do they open up to someone they like. Does their affection match up with their physical desires. how does the way they show their friends that they love them differ from how they show a potential love interest that they love them. is affection something they struggle with?

6. What controls them (what they are weak for): what are they almost entirely helpless against. What is something that influences them regardless of their own moral code. What– if driven to the end of the wire— would they reject sacrificing. What/who would they cut off their own finger for.  What would they kill for, if pushed. What makes them want to curl up and never go outside again from pain. What makes them sink to their knees from weakness or relief. What would make them weep tears of joy regardless where they were and who they were in front of. 

7. WHAT PART OF THEM WILL CHANGE: people develop over time. At least two of the above six categories will be altered by the storyline–either to an extreme or whittled down to nothing. When a person experiences trauma, their primary fear may change, or how they express affection may change, etc. By the time your book is over, they should have developed. And its important to decide which parts of them will be the ones that slowly get altered so you can work on monitoring it as you write. making it congruent with the plot instead of just a reaction to the plot. 

That’s it.

But most of all, you have to treat this like you’re developing a human being. Not a “character” a living breathing person. When you talk, you use their voice. If you want them to say something and it doesn’t seem like (based on the seven characteristics above) that they would say it, what would they say instead?

If they must do something that’s forced by the plot, that they wouldn’t do based on their seven options, they can still do the thing, but how would they feel internally about doing it?

How do their seven characteristics meet/ meld with someone else’s seven and how will they change each other?

Once you can come up with all the answers to all of these questions, you begin to know your character like you’d know one of your friends. When you can place them in any AU and know how they would react.

They start to breathe.

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Writing a historical novel means knowing how far they can travel on a horse, This is good info right here.

(via Pinterest)

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THERE'S THIS WEBSITE

THAT GENERATES PUNS FOR YOU AND YOU CAN LOOK UP VIA A WORD OR PHRASE.

CHECK IT OUT, IVE BEEN LAUGHING AT IT FOR HOURS. 

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ok kids repeat after me

vinegar and bleach makes chlorine gas, which is highly toxic

ammonia and bleach makes chloramine, which is highly toxic

rubbing alcohol and bleach makes chloroform, which is highly toxic

hydrogen peroxide and vinegar makes peracetic/peroxyacetic acid, which can be highly corrosive

be careful about your cleaning products and dont get yourself injured or potentially killed ok

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that’s not………. how child speech works…………………………………………..

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I love this. It’s a great read for those of us who feel like we’re constantly querying.

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A very useful demonstration of the importance of sentence length.

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Helpful things for action writers to remember

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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Let's Talk About: Minor Character Development

“Creating one interesting character is hard enough — but when it comes to writing a whole novel or series of books, you have to create dozens of them. How can you keep your supporting cast from seeming like cookie-cutter people? There’s no easy answer, but a few tricks might help you create minor characters who don’t feel too minor.” [x]

10 Secrets to Creating Unforgettable Supporting Characters

Give them at lease one defining characteristic. “…lots of people have one or two habits that you notice the first time you meet them, that stand out in your mind even after you learn more about them.”

Give them an origin story. “…Your main character doesn’t necessarily need an origin story, because you’ve got the whole book to explain who he/she is and what he/she is about. But a supporting character? You get a paragraph or five, to explain the formative experience that made her become the person she is, and possibly how she got whatever skills or powers she possesses.”

Make sure they talk in a distinctive fashion. “…you still have to make sure your characters don’t all talk the same. Some of them talk in nothing but short sentences, others in nothing but long, rolling statements full of subordinate clauses and random digressions. Or you might have a character who always follows one long sentence with three short ones.“ ”…One dirty shortcut is to hear the voice of a particular actor or famous person in your head, as one character talks.“

Avoid making them paragons of virtue, or authorial stand-ins. ”…People who have no flaws are automatically boring, and thus forgettable.“ ”…Any character who has foibles, or bad habits, or destructive urges, will always stand out more than one who is pure and wonderful in all ways. And nobody will believe that you’ve chosen to identify yourself, as the author, with someone who’s so messed up. (Because of course, you are a perfect human being, with no flaws of your own.)“

Anchor them to a particular place. ”…A huge part of making a supporting character “pop” is placing her somewhere. Give her a haunt — some place she hangs out a lot. A tavern, a bar, an engine room, a barracks, a dog track, wherever. It works both ways — by anchoring a character in a particular location, you make both the character and the location feel more real.“

Introduce them twice — the first time in the background, the second in the foreground. ”…You mention a character in passing: “And Crazy Harriet was there too, chewing on her catweed like always.” And you say more about them. And then later, the next time we see that character, you give more information or detail, like where she scores her catweed from. The reader will barely remember that you mentioned the character the first time — but it’s in the back of the reader’s mind, and there’s a little “ping” of identification.“

Focus on what they mean to your protagonists ”…What does this minor character mean to your hero? What role does he fulfill? What does your hero want or need from Randolph the Grifter? If you know what your hero finds memorable about Randolph, then you’re a long ways towards finding what your readers will remember, too.“

Give them an arc — or the illusion of one. ”… You can create the appearance of an arc by establishing that a character feels a particular way — and then, a couple hundred pages later, you mention that now the character feels a different way.“ ”…A minor character who changes in some way is automatically more interesting than one who remains constant…“

The more minor the character, the more caricature-like they may have to be. ”…This one is debatable — you may be a deft enough author that you can create a hundred characters, all of whom are fully fleshed out, well-rounded human beings with full inner lives.“ ”…some writing styles simply can’t support or abide cartoony minor characters. But for your third ensign, who appears for a grand total of two pages, on page 147 and page 398, you may have to go for cartoony if you want him to live in the reader’s mind as anything other than a piece of scenery.“

Decide which supporting characters you’ll allow to be forgettable after all. ”…And this is probably inevitable. You only have so much energy, and your readers only have so much mental space. Plus, if 100 supporting characters are all vivid and colorful and people your readers want to go bowling with, then your story runs the risk of seeming overwritten and garish.Sometimes you need to resign yourself to the notion that some characters are going to be extras, or that they’re literally going to fulfill a plot function without having any personality to speak of. It’s a major sacrifice they’re making, subsuming their personality for the sake of the major players’ glory.“

Keep reading

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I found this very useful. Sometimes it’s great to have a visual aid of the layout of the settlements, towns or cities where your stories develop. It’s good to have an idea of the distance between places and their position within the town; this way, it might be easier to describe the routes your characters travel, noting buildings that might be relevant to the story later or relating other characters to certain areas of a city.

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For those of you who write military fics

If you have never been in, or aren’t around people who’ve been in, I would dearly love to give you a few pointers.

Let me preface this: I love it when people write military fics (be they AU or canon-fic). I love the characterizations, the story arcs you create, and the love with which you create the stories.

But I’d like to help you make the actions of military personnel as accurate as possible, so someone who’s actually in doesn’t start to read your fic and roll their eyes at some of the things you unknowingly write.

-First off, you do not salute in civilian clothes. It’s actually unauthorized. There are only two exceptions to this rule: the President is allowed to salute in civvies, and if the national anthem is playing outdoors, combat veterans are now allowed to salute. (That came about in 2010, for accurate reference.)

-Do not salute indoors, unless during a formation (but I doubt people who don’t have intimate knowledge of drill and ceremony would bother writing about a formation, so that point is mostly just thrown in for shits and giggles). 

-The army and air force do not say, “sir, yes sir”. That’s a marine thing (I’m not sure about the navy, since I’m not in the navy, but I’m sure someone else could help out if there’s a question about it).

-Saying “black ops” isn’t really something we do. For the army, you’ve got SF (which is how we refer to special forces–the guys you’re probably thinking about (��green beret” is an old term for them that’s not really used anymore)) and Rangers for the two big special operations forces. SEALS are the navy force, and I apologize, but I don’t know the other branches’ special forces. Again, ask someone who’s served in that branch.

-People don’t usually refer to themselves (or others) by their ranks. Exceptions are usually made if hanging out with people from your unit speaking about a superior, such as “Yeah, LT and I were talking the other day and …”. 

-Sergeants are not referred to as “sarge”. You have no idea how many people got the shit smoked out of them in basic for that error.

-Army goes through Basic Training (or Basic Combat Training now; BCT for short), and marines go through Boot Camp. Yes, there is definitely a difference in terms. Army people tend to refer to their initial training as simply “basic”. I don’t know about marines or other branches.

-Calling someone “Soldier” is really something only done on TV/film. It’s usually mocked by people who are in.

-In the army, it is against regulation to just stick your hands in your pockets. We mockingly call them “Air Force gloves”, though I don’t know if they typically put their hands in their pockets. There is also a big stigma against wearing “snivel gear”: the poly pro cold-weather protection gear worn underneath your uniform.

-The everyday Army uniforms are called ACUs (Army Combat Uniform). They are never called anything else, but especially not fatigues. If you’re going back to 2003 or earlier, the uniform was BDUs, or the Battle Dress Uniform. The tan uniforms worn during the Gulf War and first few years of Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF) and Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF; Afghanistan) were called first chocolate chips (gulf war-era) and then DCUs (Desert Combat Uniform). 

-The dress uniform is called something different depending on what time period you’re going for. Saying “dress uniform” is usually a good bet, because you’ve also got Class A’s, Class B’s, ASUs, Dress Blues, Khakis, etc. 

-Typically when meeting someone else who’s in, the first things you ask are, “What’s your MOS (military occupational specialty–your job)? Where were you stationed?” Giving out rank and deployment backgrounds out of the blue don’t usually happen. 

-Time spent in the military is usually referred to as simply being “in”. “How long were you in for?” is heard way more often than “how long did you serve for?” That question is usually asked by civilians. 

-There are enlisted, and there are officers. Enlisted are those who start out as privates, work their way up through the NCO, or non-commissioned officer ranks: sergeant (called “buck sergeant” in a derogatory term for someone who has been freshly promoted), staff sergeant, sergeant first class, and eventually get to first sergeants and sergeants major after fifteen to thirty years in. Officers also usually start out as privates and specialists, then graduate from college and commission as second lieutenants (the derogatory term is “butter bar” and is usually used in reference to said officer’s lack of experience and knowledge) before working up to first lieutenant, captain, major, lieutenant colonel (”light colonel”), and colonel (”full bird”). The general timeline is making captain (”getting your railroad tracks”) after about 5-8 years for competent officers, and spending 5-10 years as a captain. 

-We do not stand at parade rest unless forced. Ever.

-Or at attention.

-When talking to an NCO, a lower enlisted will stand at parade rest. When talking to an officer, an enlisted will stand at attention.

-The highest ranking NCO is lower ranking than the lowest ranking officer. 

-If you want to throw in some humor, if there is a lower enlisted (E-4 (specialist) or below) joking with an NCO, and the lower enlisted says something, the NCO can snark back with, “I’m sorry, I didn’t hear you because you weren’t standing at the position of parade rest.” It’s a dick move usually to call people out for that, but it happens often enough that if you put that in a fic, someone who’s in will likely laugh at that for a few minutes.

-There is a term for a slacker in the army called POG (pronounced “pohg” with a long o). It stands for Personnel Other than Grunt, meaning everyone who’s not infantry. The term has transformed to mean anyone who shirks their duty or is kind of a shitbag and should be kicked out. 

 -There’s also a bit of a stereotype that infantry are made up of dumb guys, because you don’t need a high GT score to get that MOS. Their nomenclature for their MOS is 11B (eleven bravo), which is often referred to as an “eleven bang-bang” when trying to insult them. 

-If someone is making someone else do push-ups, they do not say “drop and give me x number”. They’ll tell them either to push, or tell them to get in the front-leaning rest. The front-leaning rest position is the starting position for the push-up. 

-Usually referring to basic training and AIT (advanced individual training, where you learn your military occupational specialty), you get “smoked” on a regular basis. This refers to PT (physical training), usually in the form of push-ups, flutter kicks, and sprints. It’s not fun. One of the least favorite phrases to hear in basic is, “Platoon, attention! Half-left face! Front leaning rest position, move. In cadence! Exercise!” Because that is the full command for getting people to do push-ups. There is literally no other reason for the half-left face movement. It honestly exists only for push-ups.

-It is awkward as fuck to be told “thank you for your service”. It’s wonderful that people want to show their support, but it is very difficult to respond to that without sounding like a douche.

I know I said a lot about basic training in there, but that’s because I tend to read a lot of fics that are either about basic or about deployments. I can give some pretty firm answers on basic, but everyone’s deployment is different, and I also could be violating a shit-ton of OPSEC (operation security) by telling you guys specific details about deployments. Everything I’ve told you is information you can look up on your own on the internet, but this is a bit more insider’s culture for you to help make your stuff more accurate.

And if you ever find yourself writing a military fic and have questions, by all means, inbox me. I’ve been in for almost nine years and I do have one deployment under my belt, so I can give you accurate army info. I’ve never served in any other branch, though, but I can probably give you a little bit more accurate info than what the movies do if you’ve got general questions.

Also, if you’ve got questions about PTSD, I can help with that. It’s not the cake walk that a good deal of fics portray it as, and it doesn’t always involve nightmares and aversion to touch. It can present as depression, intense anger issues, pulling away from loved ones, driving in the middle of the road, freaking out over pops, bangs, crashes and other unexpected noises, being easily startled by things other than noises, hypervigilance, the inability to sit with one’s back to the room, sudden bouts of anger, depression, tears, silence, or mood swings, among many others.

-Also, please, please, if you’re going to write about someone with a disability, or something that gave them a medical discharge, talk to me about the VA first, unless you’ve got a lot of knowledge about them. Not only am I in, but I’ve also worked professionally for the VA, some of that time in enrollment and eligibility, so I know a lot about disability pensions, who would qualify, what type of benefits they would qualify for, etc. I also know the ways that people can accidentally get screwed over from the VA. (It’s actually one of my long-term professional goals to change some of those things, so I am very passionate and very knowledgeable about it.)

TL;DR: I know shit about the military and the VA. Ask me if you have accuracy questions.

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i saw a similar post about writing tips when it comes to having paris as a setting, so i thought it would be helpful to have the same thing except for……new york city! as a native new yorker i love seeing my home appearing in fics, because lbr nyc is pretty awesome. so if you’re looking to make nyc your setting, here are some tips when writing about it. these can help establish if your character is a native or non-native.

—first off, nyc is technically not one city. it’s five cities. the boroughs of manhattan, queens, staten island, bronx, and brooklyn are all part of nyc. however, the nyc that’s always on tv/movies is manhattan.

—if you live in any of the four other boroughs, manhattan is always referred to as “the city”. so if your character lives in brooklyn but is heading out to central park, they’re going to the city.

—public transportation is the way to go. unless it’s staten island, where cars are the easiest way to go. mta fare is $2.75 and we use metrocards. trains are divided by uptown and downtown, and some are express and some are local. we do not refer to the train lines by their color—only by their number or letter. buses are designated by their borough; a manhattan bus would have M in front of the number.

—taxis are mad expensive and sometimes public transportation can be too when you need to take a combo of buses and trains. many new yorkers walk a lot. the reason we walk fast is bc it makes it easier to get to your destination. walking up ten blocks can only take ten minutes if you speedwalk basically. which is why slow walkers annoy us, especially when they stop suddenly.

—trains run slower during weekends and nights so your character might be in for quite a wait. bus generally take 10 minutes to come, unless it’s a popular route. then buses come every five minutes.

—except for the very southern part of manhattan, the roads are numbered. so areas such as greenwich village, wall street, little italy, and chinatown do not have streets with numbers. streets run from east to west; avenues run from south to north. the east & west streets are separated by 5th Avenue. numbers increase as you move north and/or to the west.

—you can always find pizza and hot dogs for a dollar. busy areas such as times square and central park will try to overcharge you. no new yorker would be gullible enough to pay $2 for a pizza slice. for cheap $1 pizza, the chain 2Bros is good. speaking of pizza, we fold it in half bc it is easier to eat and walk then.

—a distinctly new yorker thing is saying “on the line”. such as asking someone “are you on the line?” no other state says this. drive into new jersey and they’ll say “in the line”.

—there are two international airports for nyc, which are both in queens. there’s JFK and La Guardia. a third option is newark airport (also international) in new jersey.

—smoking is not allowed in nyc parks nor in most public spaces whatsoever. also the legal age for smoking and drinking is 21.

—if your character is a college student, all public colleges are branded as CUNY (City University of New York). every borough has at least one CUNY college. public colleges have “cheap” tuition rates, which are usually around $5000-$8000. the “famous” colleges in NYC are not public. NYU and Columbia are both private and are ridiculously expensive. Wagner College (private) in Staten Island has a really good performing arts/music program.

—new yorkers avoid many of the sightseeing places bc they’re expensive and overcrowded. i have lived my whole life in nyc (almost 20 years) and have only visited the Empire State Building for the first time this summer—and that’s only bc my internship covers the expense of my tickets to such places.

—speaking of expenses, most of the homes in the boroughs are apartments. Staten Island however is suburban and residential. houses are abundant there. in manhattan, houses which are really just townhouses, are super expensive. we’re talking millions here.

—manhattan is an island. so is staten island. the only ways off manhattan are by cars/buses over bridges or tunnels, or by trains. the only way off staten island is by car, bus, or the Staten Island Ferry. the ferry is free of charge, running 24/7 between SI and Manhattan. all bridges have tolls, where ezpass holders have lower rates.

—yes we’re the city that never sleeps, but we do sleep. some areas like times square don’t appear to. i’ve shopped at the forever 21 in times square at 1 AM. it was still crowded.

—SI has a predominant Italian and Sri Lankan community. Queens has a predominant Indian community, most especially in the Jackson Heights neighborhood.

—coney island is in brooklyn. the rides are fun but expensive. the beach is crowded and dirty. brighton beach and rockaway beach are better choices. staten island has a more calmer (and actually fourth longest in the usa) boardwalk.

—if you’re mailing something to manhattan, the address should be written as new york, new york. it would not be manhattan, new york.

this got really long but if your heart is set on writing within new york, i think it’s really important to get your setting right. like i said before, these tips can really help your character stand out or not as someone who is or isn’t from new york. i hope this helps for all the fabulous writers out there!

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Lazy Writing and the Hero of Destiny

You’ve heard it before a thousand times.

“You alone can complete this quest.” “You alone have the necessary courage, moral fortitude, etc.” “You were chosen by the ancient prophecy.” “You/I have to be the one to do this.”

But why?

Mainly, the reason why is because the author doesn’t know why. The author doesn’t know why a person would get off their couch to fight the alien invasion, to rebel against the evil government, or to stop the Sealed Evil in a Can from escaping.

But our hero is pure of heart! He believes in the Forces of Good, in principles, in Truth and Justice and Love!

So do many people. But hardly anyone is willing to get off their butt and take personal responsibility for The Fate of the World based on an abstraction. What your character needs is a direct, personal connection to the threat, something that compels them personally to act. This is what I call the Catalyst.

The Ancient Prophecy is a poor substitute for the catalyst. One Ancient Gatekeeper talking about Destiny is not enough to get most people to leave their family for a faraway land and risk their lives.

There are cases where this can be believable. Children are curious enough to wander into magical lands. People bored with their lives or wanting to prove themselves can be roped into many things. But this is not the same as abstract destiny.

The bystander effect is a thing that exists in real life. If you do not apply its effects to your characters, their actions will not be believable. Most of us are willing to leave dangerous jobs to someone better qualified. We are ready to assume that someone else will take care of it, or stand aside when things don’t affect us. It takes motivation beyond the ordinary to make people do extraordinary things. People need more than just to know about the problem. They need a catalyst to spur them to action.

I’m not being cynical, just realistic. Truth and Justice are great reasons to lead an army against the Evil Overlord but they are also great reasons to step down and let someone else with better practical qualifications lead.

So: why does your character have to be the hero of their story?

Here are some great ideas for the Catalyst that don’t involve Destiny:

Character’s life, liberty, or property is being threatened

(I am on the run from someone trying to kill me) (I have to break out of this prison) (I must fight the Evil Overlord he is coming to take my land)

Someone the character loves is in danger

(The Evil Overlord kidnapped my father) (If I don’t find a cure then my sister will die)

He/she is the only one with the necessary acquired skills to complete a specific task

(I have been hired because I am the most skilled spy/computer hacker/detective/whatever) (I have leadership experience and I know I must take the helm for this project to succeed)

The character just happens to be in the right place at the right time

(it could have been anyone) (I was the only person who saw that man being mugged) (I was stranded on a deserted island/planet by accident)

The character has a direct, personal connection with the antagonist

(The antagonist is my former friend and I may be able to talk them out of doing something evil) (The antagonist is my son and therefore stopping his plans is my responsibility) (Because the antagonist and I have a history, I am the only one who can get close enough to learn/foil his plan)

He/she has more information about the problem than anyone else

(I am the only one who knows the layout of the castle) (I have just been informed that we are about to be attacked, no one else knows this yet)

Character’s status gives them responsibility over the situation

(I have been commissioned by my superior officer to perform this task) (I am the oldest sibling and therefore in charge) (I am the leader of this nation/army and therefore this problem defaults to me)

If the only reason your main character has to forward the plot is because they are the hero of destiny, that is lazy writing. Of course, Tropes are Tools. There’s nothing inherently wrong with having your character be the subject of a prophecy. Likewise being influenced by abstract principles;  you just have to set up in their character development why it is that those principles mean so much to them.

Also, this does not exclude the idea of an underdog. You can have a nobody, an everyman, an orphaned child rise to greatness. But there are other reasons for them to engage themselves than being the hero of destiny. It’s up to you to figure out what those reasons are.

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