M C Torres

During the luteal phase (aka the phase between ovulation and menstruation), the female body ramps up production of both estrogen & progesterone—and then those levels plummet dramatically as the body realizes no egg has been fertilized, no baby is coming, and it’s time to shed the uterine lining.

This dramatic drop in hormones is what begins our periods. If you are taking a standard daily amount of estrogen, or maybe even progestin in addition, your body is absolutely incapable of mimicking the patterns of a female body entering menstruation. (Obviously this isn’t even addressing the fact that you lack the organs to do so 🙄—that’s already been pointed out in the notes).

It’s also important to note that these things are what women are more likely to talk about in front of men. There’s such a heavy stigma around periods that most women wouldn’t dare speak of bleeding where men could hear, and are often actively discouraged from doing so. The most most women are going to say about our periods around men, is cracking jokes about cravings and complaining about cramps.

When we’re alone with other women? We check each other’s pants to make sure we aren’t bleeding through, we give each other pads and tampons. We complain about how we bled onto our blanket the previous night.

Why are you spacing out while looking at me? When I first saw your face clearly, you were as pretty as you are today. Do you still remember the first time you saw me? Of course. It was the lantern festival. You were looking at lanterns. I was looking at you. You were looking at me for so long. Why didn’t you approach me? Because I had something I had yet to achieve and I was not ready to propose to you yet. You only saw me once. Isn’t it too early for a propsal? Once…. Once was enough.

We’ve all been warned about the dangers of using too much description. Readers don’t want to read three paragraphs about a sunset, we’re told. Description slows down a story; it’s boring and self-indulgent. You should keep your description as short and simple as possible. For those who take a more scientific approach to writing fiction, arbitrary rules abound: One sentence per paragraph. One paragraph per page. And, for god’s sake, “Never open a book with weather” (Elmore Leonard).

But what this conventional wedding wisdom fails to take into account is the difference between static and dynamic description. Static description is usually boring. It exists almost like a painted backdrop to a play. As the name suggests, it doesn’t move, doesn’t interact or get interacted with.

There were clouds in the sky. Her hair was red with hints of orange. The house had brown carpeting and yellow countertops.

In moderation, there’s nothing wrong with static description. Sometimes, facts are facts, and you need to communicate them to the reader in a straightforward manner.

But too much static description, and readers will start to skim forward. They don’t want to read about what the house looks like or the stormy weather or the hair color of each of your protagonist’s seventeen cousins.

Why? Because they can tell it’s not important. They can afford to skip all of your description because their understanding of the story will not be impacted.

That’s where dynamic description comes in. Dynamic description is a living entity. It’s interactive, it’s relevant. It takes on the voices of your narrators and characters. In short, it gives us important information about the story, and it can’t be skimmed over.

So how do you make your description more dynamic so that it engages your readers and adds color and excitement to your story? Here are a few tips.

(I have a TON more tips about setting and description. These are just a few. But I’m trying to keep this short, so if you have any questions or want more advice about this, please feel free to ask me.)

This is a follow-up to my post How to Make Your Descriptions Less Boring. In that post, I talked about the difference between static descriptions and dynamic descriptions and argued that as long as you’re using dynamic descriptions, readers will be much more engaged and you can throw out the old “don’t use description because it’s boring” advice.

To recap:

Static descriptions don’t move or get interacted with. They exist almost like a painted backdrop to a play or the background on an old cartoon.

Example: The grass was green.

Dynamic descriptions, on the other hand, take on the voice and perceptions of your point-of-view character, and are interactive. They combine description, action, perception, and character development.

Example: The grass outside the house was so green James couldn’t believe it – it almost looked fake. After looking around to make sure no one was watching, he squatted down and ran his hands through it.

If you’re new to description, trying to use more dynamic description is a great starting point…

…but there’s so much more you can do with description once you understand how to work with it!

as the request stated, that ‘i am trying really hard to keep hating you‘ phase, or what i like to call the reluctant friend stage. feel free to use :)

“i think we’re friends now.” “God, don’t say that.”

“everything is just a competition for you… isn’t it?” “isn’t it for you, too?”

“h—” “don’t talk to me.”

“i’d pay good money for you to admit you tolerate me.” “tolerate being the operative word.”

“why can’t you open up to me?” “why do you want me to?”

they’re so used to hating each other sometimes the snide remarks just slip out LMAO

like “should i get you something too?” “you can get out of my fa— woah, hehe. sorry.”

“you’re still on that?” “still on that..??? STILL ON THAT?????? I CANT STAND YOU???!!!(!;!”

a whispered moment between them ; “i’m trying so hard to hate you.” “why?”

they’re trying hard to hate each other then something happens (plot) and they’re stuck together which makes it ten times harder

“be honest with me.” “but why? why would i do that?”

“stop.” “stop what?” “being so kind to me.”

remember… they hated each other a couple chapters back. what changed? why did it change? who did it start to change in first?

Also known as the “crisis” or the moment when all hope is lost for your protagonist. The Darkest Hour is when your character hits rock bottom and that “happy ending” just seems unreachable. In this scene, success for your protagonist appears impossible.

What could be a Darkest Hour?

In my opinion, you want your darkest hour to be as dark as possible. Push things to the extreme, create stakes, and hurt your protagonist.  

• Not just any death, but the death of someone your protagonist loves (did your protagonist fail to save them? They now blame themselves.)

• Not just a mild injury, but a serious and life-threatening one (does this injury follow your protagonist into the end of the story? Permanently?)

• Use their fears against them (if they’re afraid of snakes, don’t just have one appear… have them fall into a pit of them.)

• Make your protagonist lose all hope and put their insecurities on full display (they’re embarrassed and ashamed in front of everyone.)

• Attack their mentality just as much as their physicality. (Betrayals, lies, deceptions, self-doubts.)

When does it happen?

Typically, the Darkest Hour occurs right before the climax. Your protagonist is at their all-time low until they have an “a-ha!” moment and gain the hope, strength, or resources to overcome their conundrum and push into the climax of the story.

How does my Protagonist overcome their crisis?

There are numerous ways that your protagonist can trudge out of the mud and gain the strength to continue fighting. They could do it independently and prove themselves a true hero, pull hope from memories and past encounters, receive aid from allies, divine intervention, etc. 

Why is the Darkest Hour Important?

The Darkest Hour is vital to a character’s arc and story because, during their all-time low, their true nature is revealed. Their insecurities, flaws, and fears are all out on the table and the readers get to see them at their most vulnerable. Watching them overcome the crisis shows the reader their growth as a character.

⭐ Show the readers how much your protagonist has grown. If this crisis happened at the beginning of your story, your protagonist would NOT have been able to overcome it. Only through their growth, learning, and plot experiences… are they able to overcome it now.

⭐THIS IS WHERE YOUR PROTAGONIST CAN FINALLY SEE THEIR MISBELIEF/FLAW.

During or after your protagonist’s Darkest Hour is an amazing place for your protagonist to realize the flaw in their thinking (their misbelief). 

Referring back to older posts, your protagonist needs to have a “flaw” or “misbelief”. A false way of thinking that eventually, they will realize is wrong.

• “I’ll never be good enough.” • “Magic is wrong and I will never use it.” • “All aliens are evil and need to be eliminated.” 

This misbelief should have been impeding on your character through the entire plot, causing them conflict and turmoil. After fighting for survival in their darkest moment, they realize they were thinking wrong all along.

• A character reminds your protagonist that they are good enough. • Your protagonist sees magic being used to heal their allies and realizes finally that it can be used for good. • An alien saves your protagonist from a bullet and suddenly your character sees that not all aliens are bad.