Atelier of Dreams

Ways That Fear Can Show Up (Without Saying “Fear”)

When it creeps: • Foreboding — the air feels wrong before anything actually happens. • Ominousness — silence that feels almost... purposeful. • Misgiving — your instincts tugging at your sleeve, whispering, "Don't."

When it hits fast: • Shock — your brain blanks • Startled— your heart slams, you inhale • Panic — thoughts fracture; your instincts beg for escape

When it lingers: • Tension — jaw locked, shoulders up near your ears. • Anxiety — background noise that lingers in every thought • Dread — knowing something bad is coming and having to wait for it.

When it turns physical: • Shivers — cold crawling up the spine. • Sweat, dilated pupils, skin gone pale — your own body betrays you. • Weakness — knees like jelly, grip unreliable.

When it overwhelms: • Terror — too big to think around. • Horror — something has gone wrong. • Paralysis — body refusing orders.

When it distorts reality: • Paranoia — patterns where there are none. • Suspicion — every sound feels intentional. • Unease — the sense of being watched without proof.

from George V’s diary

The Dragon: Prince George met with a master tattooist (believed to be Karakusa Gonta) in Tokyo. In his personal diaries, George described the ink as a "large dragon in blue and red writhing all down the arm," a process that took roughly three hours. 

The Tiger: Later in the same trip, George visited Kyoto and received a tiger on his opposite arm to complete a symbolic representation of the East and the West. His brother Albert Victor chose a dancing crane instead.

King George V's first cousin and lookalike, Tsar Nicholas II of Russia, also had a large traditional Japanese dragon tattooed on his forearm. Nicholas received his during a state visit to Japan in 1891, a meticulous design with yellow horns and a red belly that required seven hours of work.

Nicholas described the experience in his diary:

April 16, Tuesday. I awoke to a wonderful day, and the shore was irresistibly inviting. The streets and houses of Nagasaki make an exceptionally pleasant impression: everything is spotlessly clean and tidy, and it is a pleasure to enter their homes. The Japanese people, both men and women, are so warm and welcoming. We returned to the frigate around five o'clock for tea. After dinner, I decided to have a dragon tattooed on my right arm. It took exactly seven hours—from 9 p.m. until 4 a.m. Once is quite enough of that sort of pleasure to cure one of any desire to repeat it! The dragon turned out splendidly, and my arm did not hurt at all.

Dragons were a popular subject among Japanese ink-painters and tattooists. Said to control thunder and rain, they were also a powerful symbol of the East, and often paired with a prowling tiger representing the West.

Water Lilies

Artwork available for sale at Every Day Original ✨

Watercolor, ink and pencil on paper. 5.8 x 8.3 inches (A5). Unframed.

1. Slow down at emotionally important moments.

Big emotions need space to land. If a scene feels rushed, pause the plot briefly to show how the moment affects the character.

2. Add reactions, not explanations.

Instead of explaining what a character feels, show it through physical responses, hesitation, or small actions that reveal emotion naturally.

3. Ground every scene in the senses.

If a scene feels thin, add one or two sensory details—sound, texture, smell, or temperature—to make the moment feel lived-in.

4. Let thoughts interrupt action.

A line of internal thought can deepen a scene without slowing it too much. Thoughts show stakes, fear, longing, or conflict beneath the action.

5. Expand consequences, not events.

You don’t need more things to happen—you need to show what matters. Focus on how events change relationships, decisions, or self-perception.

6. Strengthen setting where emotion peaks.

The environment should echo or contrast the emotion of the scene. Setting is not decoration—it’s emotional reinforcement.

7. Add specific details instead of general ones.

Underwriting often relies on vague language. Swap “they argued” for one sharp line of dialogue or a specific breaking point.

8. Let dialogue breathe.

Short dialogue exchanges without pauses can feel flat. Add beats—silence, gestures, interruptions—to give the conversation weight.

9. Show transitions between scenes.

If scenes jump too quickly, readers feel disoriented. A brief transition helps establish time, mood, and emotional continuity.

10. Clarify stakes early in the scene.

If readers don’t know what can be lost, scenes feel empty. Make sure the character wants something specific and fears losing it.

11. Use the “what are they feeling right now?” check.

After each major beat, ask what emotion is dominant in that moment. If it’s missing on the page, the scene is likely underwritten.

12. Expand scenes that feel “too clean.”

We’ve done lip biting to death... Let’s evolve.

The Nao Victoria has sailed into London (1.07.2026) and is now open to visitors at St Katharine Docks