Anqaf

Are you Muslim by any chance? I’m just wondering where you got this info from because innate trans identity isn’t forbidden in Islam by any means

http://links.jstor.org/sici?sici=0003-0279%28199110%2F12%29111%3A4%3C671%3ATEOEM%3E2.0.CO%3B2-

- being trans is not and has never been forbidden in islam. As a shia muslim i want to point out that gender confirmation surgery is not prohibited 

- as a south asian muslim i also feel the need to mention trans muslims have always existed in our communities and there is no doubt that they exist in the fold of islam. in pakistan there have been communities that’ve declared  the humiliation of trans people, disowning trans people or keeping them from inheritance to be haram in itself. 

- the article i linked here was taken from a wikipedia citation about “gender variant people in islam” and is a really harmful read – i’ll instead let people do their own research on these prompts as there is a lot of information out there and i’ll trust someone who is well read in this area to amend this post with a reliable link. 

So, adverbs get a lot of hate, and I’ve heard a lot of writing circles telling you to never use them, but rather you different forms of ‘said’. However, I’ve said frequently that doing that actually draws more attention to yourself. So, do you just constantly use said over and over again?

No. You use adverbs and alternatives. 

Carefully.

I’m going to talk adverbs here because alternatives are really more for your discretion, and more or less have the rule ‘don’t overuse it’. Adverbs have more problems.

The mistake people make in using adverbs is when they are used to display a character’s tone that’s already there. 

Example:

“I love you, alright?” she said lovingly.

This doesn’t need an adverb. It’s obvious. However, there are times when words DON’T imply how they’re said, or need further explanation.

Ex:

“I love you, alright?” she said angrily.

“I love you, alright?” she said coldly.

“I love you, alright?” she said quietly.

All three of these imply different tone and the meaning behind the words changes with that. Each adverb adds to the character, rather than just stating the obvious.

Of course, this doesn’t mean you can just sprinkle adverbs freely around because, like alternatives for said, they get distracting. One thing you can do is spread out the dialogue with action.

Ex:

“I love you, alright?” she said, looking down at her feet, wishing she could just sink into the floor and be done with it. 

okay buckle up kids today we’re going to talk about backstories i know absolutely nothing about it but i’m about to learn

the thing about a backstory is it isn’t just a backstory it has lasting consequences it must have an impact on your character because if it isn’t why is it even there

what i mean is, if there was a damaged relationship, it hurts them. if they were attacked, they still look over their shoulder. if they were poor, they are still very careful with money.

do yourself a favour and don’t start with a flashback or a dream this just went out of fashion 2185165 years ago

people don’t normally have dreams of what happened to them especially not again and again unless it was extremely traumatic flashbacks are also a sign of PTSD and don’t just happen for plot reasons

if you must, start with the event itself

but you know

my favourite way to hear backstory is just three sentences slipped into the narration

don’t present any more detail than i absolutely require to understand the story

a concise review of what happened. end of.

so in my children’s story, i had to mention how my protagonist had met one of her favourite people in the whole world. so i just slipped it into the narration.

He took care of the lighthouse by himself. That’show Ishel had met him. She had had to make an emergency docking. He had beenvery kind and respectful to her like no adult ever had. He had even addressedher as ‘Captain’ until she had very shyly said, ‘You can call me Ishel.’

i suppose the other way to do it would be in dialogue

like how in harry potter, hagrid recounts what happened to james and lily

you could also try a time skip - the past and then the present

or you could have a very jumbled narrative where each chapter is dated like The Night Circus

you could also have letters!

I have a Tip!

hide crucial information about your backstory and make us wait

or take us by surprise

like how harry knows about the prophecy but doesn’t know it was snape who heard it and told voldemort

here are some resources

creating a character backstory that’s real and fit for a story🧐 by @daddigabi

Should You Begin with Backstory, or Use Flashbacks? by @mythcreantsblog

The Backstory Reveal by @brynwrites

Avoiding Info-Dumps and Boring Exposition by @justawritingaid

Another good post by @heywriters

Most parents like to throw parties for their children. Make it a big ‘lifetime milestone’ type deal. Sometimes, if there are a lot of birthdays on the same day, they do events at the local schools. I never really have to call ahead - people know I’m coming. The roster at the head offices keeps a running record, and Deliverers like me pack up the Untouched Eggs (wearing gloves, of course), and set out to cover their area for the day. I work six days a week, and sometimes I take emergency runs if I’m nearby and another district is overwhelmed. Overtime is common, but so are short days, when only a small number of kids are hitting ten.

It’s a job that has me travelling a lot. i go wherever there’s the most need for Deliverers. We don’t like to be late; tenth birthdays are an important matter. But I like being on the road. It lets me see a lot of the country.