wordsbytheo - Tumblr blog

[wordsbytheo]

You are allowed to write a better world than you see.

Write soft academia. Write loyal friends. Write healthy relationships. Write good parents. Write siblings who get along.

You can have a plot even when your characters love each other. You can have tension even when people are kind.

[wordsbytheo]

I love it when queer books don't make sense to non-queer readers !! When a queer relationship or setting or plot isn't comprehensible to the cishet mind !! When queer stories stand against everything our patriarchal society teaches about love and identity !!!

[wordsbytheo]

sometimes i wonder if i'm being cringe in how earnestly i talk abt my creations, then i remember that it would be worse if i didn't care and didn't make anything, and i know this because i have experienced a horrible amount of apathy & detachment before and a little cringe is much MUCH better because it isn't death

[wordsbytheo]

writing is so wild, what do you mean my oc started out as a non binary silly little queer dude and now they’re a physically disabled non binary lesbian with a hyperfixation in theatre ???

[wordsbytheo]

Things I do as a writer:

Not write

Daydream

Cry over fictional characters

Complain about my book not writing itself

Wait for inspiration

Write a sentence

Scroll through Pinterest

Delete a sentence

Daydream again

Not write

[wordsbytheo]

[wordsbytheo]

*Sighs dreamily* Writing dialogue, my beloved.

*Hisses with intense malice* Writing all the dialogue tags and actions between dialogue, my beloathed.

[wordsbytheo]

I have that

*in Thanos voice*: Fine... I'll write it myself—

Mentality, and then proceed NOT 🙅🏾‍♀️ to write it myself

[wordsbytheo]

my 3 unfinished wips are staring daggers at me from their little pages on notion

You ever just have so many things you want to write all at the same time and you’re just …. jdksjdksjdjdjdjfj

[wordsbytheo]

The Emotion Thesaurus: Agitation

Hi everyone and happy Wednesday! Post Two of new series!

This section comes from The Emotional Thesaurus by Ackerman and Puglisi.

Definition: feeling upset or disturbed, a state of unrest

Physical Signs:

reddening of the face

a sheen of sweat on the cheeks, chin, and forehead

hands moving in jerks

rubbing back of the neck

patting pockets or digging in the purse, looking for something lost

clumsiness due to rushing (knocking things over, bumping tables)

a gaze that bounces from place to place

an inability to stay still

jamming or cramming things away without care

abrupt movement (causing a chair to tip or scuff the floor loudly)

flapping hands

becoming accident prone (bashing one's hip on a desk corner)

dragging hands through hair repeatedly

forgetting words, being unable to articulate thoughts

backtracking to try and undo something said in haste

adjusting one's clothing

avoiding eye contact

a wavering voice

not knowing where to look or go

guarding one's personal space

taking too long to answer a question or response

throat clearing

overusing ums, ahs, and other verbal hesitations

turning away from others

a bobbing Adam's apple

pacing

making odd noises in throat

rapid lip movement as one tries to find the right things to say

flinching if touched

minimizing another's compliments

fanning self

unbuttoning a top shirt

tugging at a tie, collar, or scarf

Internal Sensations:

excessive saliva

feeling overheated

stiffening air on the nape of the neck

light-headedness

short, fast breaths

sweating

tingling skin as sweat forms

Mental Responses:

mounting frustration that causes thoughts to blank

compounding mistakes

a tendency to lie to cover up or excuse

anger at oneself for freezing up

trying to pinpoint the source of discomfort

mentally ordering oneself to calm down, relax

Cues of Acute or Long-Term Agitation:

flight response (looking for an escape of fleeing room)

snapping at others, or adopting a defensive tone

scattering papers and files in a frantic search

May Escalate To :

Annoyance

Frustration

Anxiety

Anger

Cues of Suppressed Agitation:

changing the subject

making excuses

joking to lighten the mood

staying busy with tasks to avoid dealing with the source of emotion

shifting attention to others, putting them in the spotlight

Like, follow and reblog for more!

[wordsbytheo]

imagine being able to stick to a verb tense when ur writing .

[wordsbytheo]

oh btw, if you're looking for resources, @.writingwithcolor has like 8 or so years worth of writing advice wrt characters of colour and has tags split up by ethnicity, woc and moc, specific tropes/stereotypes, etc., and still answers questions today.

they cover stuff about descriptions, making sure characters don't fall into racist stereotypes, worldbuilding, POC in fantasy/sci-fi, things to be careful about, things that would be cool to see more of, incorporating characters' culture without overstepping and making the story about being part of that culture, etc. they're really really good and i recommend checking them out for sure.

[wordsbytheo]

[wordsbytheo]

My trans book “Tears In The Water", which comes out on January 17th, is now available to preorder on amazon.

It’s upper ya/new adult, about a swimmer going through a gender crisis.

Here's a general idea of what you'll find in the book:

queer athletes

t4t main couple

sapphic side couple

found family

everyone's identities explicitly stated on paper

multiple a-spec characters

mc going through a gender crisis and experimenting with different pronouns

trans joy

anxiety and neurodivergent burnout

going non-verbal moment

first relationship + learning to communicate

here's the goodreads link if you want to check out the official synopsis (and to check the trigger warnings, which you can find in my review of the book)

[wordsbytheo]

How to write: ethnicity & skin colour

requested by: anonymous request: How exactly can I describe a characters ethnicity/skin color casually, without it sounding like a specific scene that just exists to describe the skin color? I hope this makes sense lmao… I just want to write a scene where I casually mention someone’s ethnicity or skin color

description of appearance: No matter if skin colour or hairstyle or clothes, a text is more dynamic if you don't dedicate an entire scene/paragraph to it but rather sprinkle the necessary information in here and there. However, there can be instances where it's conducive to the plot to put that entire paragraph (e.g. introducing a new important character with backstory). Otherwise, I'd say try to keep it short and put it where it serves the plot.

ways to incorporate...

... a description of appearance:

when a character makes their first entrance (describe everyone's colouring - POCs' and white characters')

the impression their complexion makes together with their clothes: "the bright yellow of their shirt complemented their dark skin"

the way their colouring interacts with lighting: "the grey weather took away the rosy hue of their fair skin"

when appearances create a contrast: "I immediately noticed them because they were the only other black person"

... ethnicity:

let the characters mention it where it makes sense

regarding the narrator you've chosen for your story, it can also be blended into an inner monologue

include parts of their culture: traditions, terms, family, etc. (this also allows to bring up their ethnicity repeatedly over the story and not only at the beginning)

show their struggles: are they affected by social struggles? then show it!

words to use to describe skin colour:

... basic colour descriptions:

brown

black

beige

white

pink

... more specific colours (try sticking to familiar/common words that can be easily visualised):

amber

bronze

copper

gold

ochre

terracotta

sepia

sienna

porcelain

tan

... prefixes or modifiers (can be easily combined with basic colours):

dark

rich

warm

deep

fair

faint

light

cool

pale

... undertones (pre-dominant colours underneath the skin - often warm or cool, sometimes also neutral and olive):

yellow

orange

coral

golden

silver

rose

pink

red

blue

... avoid food analogies as it's often received as offending, fetishising, and/or objectifying.

That's all I can provide as of now but I'm sure you guys have aspects to contribute. I'm very interested to hear your thoughts, so please feel free to add to this post whatever you like to/can share <3

And for more information, maybe also check out @writingwithcolor for more specialised posts on the topic <3

[wordsbytheo]

Neurotypical writers giving advice: Be realistic with your goals. Try to outline or write a little every day. Refill the well. Get yourself a cup of tea and write for 30 minutes until the tea is empty. Check in daily with your accountability buddies for the next three to six months.

ADHD writers giving advice: Put on a movie that matches the tone of your novel to kickstart your dopamine and get into hyperfocus, then put a song on loop on noise-cancelling headphones, livestream your writing session so you feel watched and owe someone accountability, and write as much as you can for as long as you can. Don't forget to eat, sleep or drink. Now go write that novel in 5 days.

[wordsbytheo]

☹️♥️ i needed this lil reminder today

Reminder that if your writing doesn’t get many notes (if at all) when you share, it most likely doesn’t reflect on the quality of your work, your writing, you, or anything like that junk. People are just busy with life. That’s all. It’s nothing personal.