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[zorua-creates]

How to Make Your Characters Almost Cry

Tears are powerful, but do you know what's more impactful? The struggle to hold them back. This post is for all your hard-hearted stoic characters who'd never shed a tear before another, and aims to help you make them breakdown realistically.

The Physical Signs of Holding Back Tears

Heavy Eyelids, Heavy Heart Your character's eyelids feel weighted, as if the tears themselves are dragging them down. Their vision blurs—not quite enough to spill over, but enough to remind them of the dam threatening to break.

The Involuntary Sniffle They sniffle, not because their nose is running, but because their body is desperately trying to regulate itself, to suppress the wave of emotion threatening to take over.

Burning Eyes Their eyes sting from the effort of restraint, from the battle between pride and vulnerability. If they try too hard to hold back, the whites of their eyes start turning red, a telltale sign of the tears they've refused to let go.

The Trembling Lips Like a child struggling not to cry, their lips quiver. The shame of it fuels their determination to stay composed, leading them to clench their fists, grip their sleeves, or dig their nails into the nearest surface—anything to regain control.

The Fear of Blinking Closing their eyes means surrender. The second their lashes meet, the memories, the pain, the heartbreak will surge forward, and the tears will follow. So they force themselves to keep staring—at the floor, at a blank wall, at anything that won’t remind them of why they’re breaking.

The Coping Mechanisms: Pretending It’s Fine

A Steady Gaze & A Deep Breath To mask the turmoil, they focus on a neutral object, inhale slowly, and steel themselves. If they can get through this one breath, they can get through the next.

Turning Away to Swipe at Their Eyes When they do need to wipe their eyes, they do it quickly, casually, as if brushing off a speck of dust rather than wiping away the proof of their emotions.

Masking the Pain with a Different Emotion Anger, sarcasm, even laughter—any strong emotion can serve as a shield. A snappy response, a bitter chuckle, a sharp inhale—each is a carefully chosen defence against vulnerability.

Why This Matters

Letting your character fight their tears instead of immediately breaking down makes the scene hit harder. It shows their internal struggle, their resistance, and their need to stay composed even when they’re crumbling.

This is written based off of personal experience as someone who goes through this cycle a lot (emotional vulnerability who?) and some inspo from other books/articles

[zorua-creates]

Writing an Identity Not Your Own: A Guide for Creative Writers

Alex Temblador

A practical guide to help authors authentically write and edit a character whose identity is different than their own. Do you have the tools to authentically write and edit a character whose identity is different than your own?

It's not a subject that's generally taught in creative writing programs, and there are so few craft books and online resources on the subject. Even if you can take a seminar, class, or workshop, there's nothing like having an easy-to-understand book on hand to provide guidance and insight every time you craft characters with historically marginalized identities. In Writing an Identity Not Your Own, award-winning author Alex Temblador discusses one of the most contentious topics in creative writing: crafting a character whose identity is historically marginalized.

What is "identity," and how do unconscious biases and bias blocks impact and influence what we write? What is intersectionality? You'll learn about identity terms, stereotypes, and tropes, and receive genre-specific advice related to various identities to consider when writing different races and ethnicities, sexual and romantic orientations, gender identities, disabilities, nationalities, and more. Through writing strategies, exercises, and literary excerpts, writers will gain a clearer understanding on how misrepresentations and harmful portrayals can appear in storylines, dialogue, and characterization. Alex will guide writers from the brainstorming phase through the editing process so they can gain a full understanding of the complexities of writing other identities and why it's important to get them right.

(Affiliate link above)

[zorua-creates]

sometimes you need dialogue tags and don't want to use the same four

[zorua-creates]

i dont consider myself a 'fashion guru' by any means but one thing i will say is guys you dont need to know the specific brand an item you like is - you need to know what the item is called. very rarely does a brand matter, but knowing that pair of pants is called 'cargo' vs 'boot cut' or the names of dress styles is going to help you find clothes you like WAAAYYYY faster than brand shopping

[zorua-creates]

Little quick and light kimono tutorial because I’m noticing a trend of weird things non-Japanese people do with them.

Bathrobes =/= Kimonos

Kimonos aren’t sacred. They’re for everyone. Just practice drawing them, use tons of refs, be respectful, and have fun. There’s also tons of other types of traditional clothes you can mess around with. Research is your best friend

Edit: since some of you guys don’t realize you should ASK an artist (or anyone, for that matter) before reposting/using their work for things

PLEASE DO NOT REPOST, EDIT, OR USE ANY OF THESE PICTURES WITHOUT MY PERMISSION. ARTISTS WORK HARD ON THEIR DRAWINGS. WE DO NOT LIKE IT WHEN OUR WORK GETS STOLEN LIKE THIS. ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS ASK FIRST. THAT’S LITERALLY IT.

[zorua-creates]

100 Dialogue Tags You Can Use Instead of “Said”

For the writers struggling to rid themselves of the classic ‘said’. Some are repeated in different categories since they fit multiple ones (but those are counted once so it adds up to 100 new words). 

1. Neutral Tags 

Straightforward and unobtrusive dialogue tags: 

Added, Replied, Stated, Remarked, Responded, Observed, Acknowledged, Commented, Noted, Voiced, Expressed, Shared, Answered, Mentioned, Declared.

2. Questioning Tags 

Curious, interrogative dialogue tags:

Asked, Queried, Wondered, Probed, Inquired, Requested, Pondered, Demanded, Challenged, Interjected, Investigated, Countered, Snapped, Pleaded, Insisted.

3. Emotive Tags 

Emotional dialogue tags:

Exclaimed, Shouted, Sobbed, Whispered, Cried, Hissed, Gasped, Laughed, Screamed, Stammered, Wailed, Murmured, Snarled, Choked, Barked.

4. Descriptive Tags 

Insightful, tonal dialogue tags: 

Muttered, Mumbled, Yelled, Uttered, Roared, Bellowed, Drawled, Spoke, Shrieked, Boomed, Snapped, Groaned, Rasped, Purred, Croaked.

5. Action-Oriented Tags 

Movement-based dialogue tags: 

Announced, Admitted, Interrupted, Joked, Suggested, Offered, Explained, Repeated, Advised, Warned, Agreed, Confirmed, Ordered, Reassured, Stated.

6. Conflict Tags 

Argumentative, defiant dialogue tags:

Argued, Snapped, Retorted, Rebuked, Disputed, Objected, Contested, Barked, Protested, Countered, Growled, Scoffed, Sneered, Challenged, Huffed.

7. Agreement Tags 

Understanding, compliant dialogue tags: 

Agreed, Assented, Nodded, Confirmed, Replied, Conceded, Acknowledged, Accepted, Affirmed, Yielded, Supported, Echoed, Consented, Promised, Concurred.

8. Disagreement Tags 

Resistant, defiant dialogue tags: 

Denied, Disagreed, Refused, Argued, Contradicted, Insisted, Protested, Objected, Rejected, Declined, Countered, Challenged, Snubbed, Dismissed, Rebuked.

9. Confused Tags 

Hesitant, uncertain dialogue tags:

Stammered, Hesitated, Fumbled, Babbled, Mumbled, Faltered, Stumbled, Wondered, Pondered, Stuttered, Blurted, Doubted, Confessed, Vacillated.

10. Surprise Tags

Shock-inducing dialogue tags:

Gasped, Stunned, Exclaimed, Blurted, Wondered, Staggered, Marvelled, Breathed, Recoiled, Jumped, Yelped, Shrieked, Stammered.

Looking For More Writing Tips And Tricks? 

Check out the rest of Quillology with Haya; a blog dedicated to writing and publishing tips for authors!

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[zorua-creates]

“Notes on skirts and pants”

Source: miyuli on twitter

[zorua-creates]

tips for writing a southern accent

contractions are everything. just smash some words together and i guarantee you, someone out there’s said it

y’all = you guys. functions as a plural you.

all’a y’all = all of you, makes sure people know you mean ALL of them

you can get wild from there with things like these:

y’all’re = you all are

y’all’d’ve = you all would have

how’d’ya = how did you/how do you (meaning is implied by context)

and of course, y’ain’t = you are not

ain’t is the same thing as isn’t

you can use ain’t like ‘ain’t it funny?’

but you don’t use isn’t it, it’s usually ‘innit funny?’

wasn’t branches off into weren’t and wudn’t cos we have a tendency to drop the ‘s’

weren’t is usually used with a double negative = “weren’t nothing we could do”

wudn’t is when there’s no double negative = “wudn’t much we could do”

doesn’t branches off into don’t and dudn’t but there’s no rule that i can see for what to use when

‘don’t seem like much of a problem’ is used as often as ‘dudn’t seem like much of a problem’

going back to innit, there’s a tendency to tack an ‘it’ onto the end of words that aren’t already southern slang, this gives you things like innit (isn’t it) and lookit/lookat (used like ‘lookit him over there’)

also you can just straight up drop words if you the meaning can be understood without it

s’okay = it’s okay

‘m = in place of i’m (don’t use this all the time)

s’not = it’s not/is not

dropping more letters! if you can drop the ‘g’ at the end of a verb, that’s good. also, you can drop the ‘d’ from and if you wan’t to use ‘an’ but don’t over saturate your work with it. you can also occasionally drop the ‘t’ from the end of just, ending up with ‘jus’

you can smush together anything that’s asking a question with either you or to

hafta = have to

howta = how to

don’tcha = don’t you

won’tcha = won’t you

or if you want to get REAL southern ‘ain’tcha’ (used like ‘ain’tcha got something else to do’ = isn’t there something else you can do)

also, we have a tendency to not use the word ‘really’ to describe something, instead we use ‘real’

i.e. real big, real mean, real cute as opposed to really big, really mean, really cute

another phrase you can throw in is ‘and all’

used like ‘ain’t safe cos’ of the floodin’ an’ all’

ALSO I FORGOT: you can change anything that ends with a ‘ve’ except for i’ve into an a

shoulda = should’ve

coulda = could’ve

woulda = would’ve

i’da = i would’ve/should’ve/could’ve depending on context

uhh that’s all i can think of for now. if anyone has something to add on, feel free to do it bc i want to help fanfic writers write real southern accents.

[zorua-creates]

Writing tool for your fight scenes.

[zorua-creates]

really helpful technique ^ once you know how to divide by halves and thirds it makes drawing evenly spaced things in perspective waaay easier:

[zorua-creates]

Chapters: 1/1 Fandom: Dragon Ball Rating: General Audiences Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply Relationships: Son Gohan Sr. & Son Goku Characters: Son Goku (Dragon Ball), Son Gohan Sr. Additional Tags: Pre-Canon, Drabble and a Half, Inspired by Art, Unbeta'd, Grandpa Gohan isn't technically in the fic but I'm tagging him anyway Summary:

Grandpa Gohan had changed into that orange orb of his.

Inspired by this art by @upgradewater

[zorua-creates]

They're done: the Forbidden Halftone Brush Pack of your dreams.

Nine free halftone brushes for Clip Studio Paint. I will not be making another set of these so grab 'em now or never. Upload instructions are included in the folder! Thanks for your support! 😭

Past Freebie Brushes | Subscriber Brushes | And My Brush Tag

[zorua-creates]

Hey! Are there blacksmiths in your story? I'm a hobbyist blacksmith and I'm here to help!

Blacksmithing is one of those things that a lot of people get wrong because they don't realize it stuck around past the advent of the assembly line. Here's a list of some common misconceptions I see and what to do instead!

Not all blacksmiths are gigantic terrifying muscly guys with beards and deep voices. I am 5'8, skinny as a twig, have the muscle mass of wet bread, and exist on Tumblr. Anybody who is strong enough to pick up a hammer and understands fire safety can be a blacksmith.

You can make more than just swords with blacksmithing. Though swords are undeniably practical, they're not the only things that can be made. I've made candle holders, wall hooks, kebab skewers, fire pokers, and more. Look up things other people have made, it's really amazing what can be done.

"Red-hot" is actually not that hot by blacksmith terms. when heated up, the metal goes from black, to red, to orange, to yellow, to white. (for temperature reference, I got a second degree burn from picking up a piece of metal on black heat) The ideal color to work with the metal is yellow. White is not ideal at all, because the metal starts sparking and gets all weird and lumpy when it cools. (At no point in this process does the metal get even close to melting. It gets soft enough to work with, but I have never once seen metal become a liquid.)

Blacksmithing takes fucking forever. Not even taking into account starting the forge, selecting and preparing metal, etc. etc. it takes me around an hour to make one (1) fancy skewer. The metals blacksmiths work with heat up and cool down incredibly fast. When the forge is going good, it only takes like 20 seconds to get your metal hot enough to work with, but it takes about the same time for it to cool down, sometimes even less.

As long as you are careful, it is actually stupidly easy to not get hurt while blacksmithing. When I picked up this hobby I was like "okay, cool! I'm gonna make stuff, and I'm gonna end up in the hospital at some point!" Thus far, the latter has yet to occur. I've been doing this for nearly a year. I have earned myself a new scar from the aforementioned second degree burn, and one singe mark on my jeans. I don't even wear gloves half the time. Literally just eye protection, common sense, and fast reflexes and you'll probably be fine. (Accidents still happen of course, but I have found adequate safety weirdly easy to achieve with this hobby)

A forge is not a fire. The forge is the thing blacksmiths put their metal in to heat it up. It starts as a small fire, usually with newspaper or something else that's relatively small and burns easily, which we then put in the forge itself, which is sort of a fireplace-esque thing (there's a lot of different types of forge, look into it and try to figure out what sort of forge would make the most sense for the context you're writing about) and we cover it with coal, which then catches fire and heats up. The forge gets really hot, and sometimes really bright. Sometimes when I stare at the forge for too long it's like staring into the sun. The forge is also not a waterfall of lava, Steven Universe. It doesn't work like that, Steven Universe.

Welding and blacksmithing are not the same thing. They often go hand-in-hand, but you cannot connected two pieces of metal with traditional blacksmithing alone. There is something called forge welding, where you heat your metal, sprinkle borax (or the in-universe equivalent) on it to prevent the metal from oxidizing/being non-weldable, and hammer the pieces together very quickly. Forge welding also sends sparks flying everywhere, and if you're working in a small space with other blacksmiths, you usually want to announce that you're welding before you do, so that everyone in a five-foot radius can get out of that five-foot radius. You also cannot just stuck some random pebbles into the forge and get a decent piece of metal that you can actually make something with, Steven Universe. It doesn't work like that, Steven Universe.

Anvils are really fucking heavy. Nothing else to add here.

Making jewelry is not a blacksmithing thing unless you want jewelry made of steel. And it will be very ugly if you try. Blacksmithing wasn't invented to make small things.

If there's anything here I didn't mention, just ask and I'll do my best to answer.

[zorua-creates]

How to draw ears, by me.

tip me a ko-fi!

[zorua-creates]

How to draw: Not white characters

How to draw a Black person

How to colour Black people skin tones

How to draw dreadlocks

How to draw African hair

How to draw curly hair

How to draw braids

How to draw braids part 2

How to draw cornrows

How to draw Bantu knots

How to draw two strand twists

How to draw an Asian person

How to colour darker skin tones with alcohol markers

How to draw hijabs/traditional Muslim hair coverings

How to draw a hijabi girl

All links and art provided by @ itsajart on TikTok

Before you go “mY aRt sTyLe iS dIfFrEnT tHoUgH” you can moderate it and play around with your style to get it to fit.

[zorua-creates]

Got tips for drawing hands?

Break them up into their basic shapes!

Hands are tricky, especially when doing poses and stuff! But just like when it comes to anything in art, you can break them down into simple shapes. If you know how something is made up of these shapes, the easier it is to draw.

The palm is nothing more than a squishy trapezoid with a few more bendy sausages attached to it. Of course once you got the shapes down, you need to refine it. But that should give you a basic idea how it works.

What also helps is looking up pictures of hands doing specific poses! Plenty of mangakas and just artists in general even take pictures of their own hands in poses they want to draw!

[zorua-creates]

weirdest art trick i have is that sketching limbs is easier and neater if you slice em at the joints instead of using those little circles