Durouxkiller

That's literally me.

1. Silence > Scream ❖ Don’t let anyone shout “NOOO!” like it’s a bad soap opera. ❖ The gut-punch comes from stillness. A friend realizing the body isn’t moving. A hand slipping from theirs. A breath that doesn’t come back. ❖ Example: “He waited for the next rise of her chest. It never came.”

2. Subtle Details, Not Monologues ❖ Avoid characters delivering five-minute speeches about how much the dead one meant. That’s cheese-drenched exposition. ❖ Instead: show someone trying to tie their shoes with shaking hands. Or refusing to leave the body. Or pocketing some tiny keepsake.

3. Physicality Over Words ❖ Grief is ugly in the body before it’s in the mouth. ❖ Numb fingers. Stomach drop. Knees buckling against a wall. ❖ The best line might be no line at all—just the sound of someone struggling to breathe.

4. Aftermath, Not Just Death ❖ Don’t zoom out as soon as the heart monitor flatlines. The power is in the next five minutes. ❖ How do the survivors react differently? The sarcastic one goes silent. The stoic one cracks. The optimist starts cleaning blood off their hands like if they scrub hard enough, it won’t be real.

5. Tone, Not Tropes ❖ Kill cliché phrases: “Don’t leave me,” “Stay with me,” “No, God please no!” ❖ Replace with something raw and specific: - “You were supposed to outlive us all, you stubborn bastard.” - “Don’t you dare make me the one to tell her.”

Prompts for writing eyes like that

⊹ Her eyes weren’t just brown, they were honey caught in shadow, glowing when the light touched them.

⊹ Her gaze was warm, the color of autumn leaves when they’re just starting to crisp.

⊹ Her gaze was the color of chestnuts, shiny and alive.

⊹ She blinked, and it was like sunlight filtering through amber glass.

⊹ Her gaze was the color of melted caramel, sticky, warm, impossible not to taste with your thoughts.

Tips for Writing Emotional Breakdowns

✧  Crying isn’t pretty. It’s snot, blotchy faces, gasping for air, and red-rimmed eyes. Forget the single tear rolling down like in Hollywood.

✧  Anger often hides hurt. People lash out, slam doors, shout, not always because they’re just mad, but because they’re covering up fear or pain.

✧ Shaking is common. Stress dumps adrenaline into the system. Hands tremble, voices break, knees won’t stay steady.

✧ People go quiet, too. Not all breakdowns are screaming and sobbing. Some are dead silence, staring off, numb responses. Equally devastating.

✧ Exhaustion hits after. The “post-breakdown crash” is real ... headaches, sore eyes, complete emotional hangover. They’ll want to sleep for hours.

✧ Words get messy. Rambling, repeating the same sentence, stuttering, saying things they don’t mean. Emotions trip over themselves on the way out.

✧ Breathing changes. Short, shallow breaths, hiccupping gasps, or holding their breath without realizing. Sometimes it even feels like they’re choking.

✧ Embarrassment creeps in. Once the wave passes, a lot of people feel ashamed, apologizing or avoiding eye contact. Vulnerability often leaves guilt in its wake.