oblivion

the most romantic masterpost (over 100 prompt lists + advice)

the fluffiest masterpost (over 20 prompt lists)

the most hurt/comfort masterpost (over 10 prompt lists)

the angstiest masterpost (over 40 prompt lists)

the angriest masterpost (over 5 prompt lists + advice)

the happiest masterpost (over 5 prompt lists + advice)

List of AUs

Acting AU

Drama Club Enemies to Lovers

Bodyguard AU

Bodyguard AUs

Bodyguard Dialogue Prompts

Bookstore/Library AU

Bookstore AUs

How to create an atmosphere: Library

Celebrity/Rich AU

Fan x Celebrity Prompts

Road to fame ideas

Gossip Girl/Rich AUs

Chosen One AU

Chosen One Prompts

The Chosen One Plot Twists

Trope of the day… defying prophecies.

Dialogue Responses: “I am the chosen one.”

Coffee Shop AU

Coffee Prompts

Coffee Shop AUs

Coffee Shop Prompts

How to create an atmosphere: Coffee Shop

Firefighter/Police AU

Firefighter/Police AUs

Flower Shop AU

Flower Shop AUs

Friends with Benefits AU

Friends with Benefits to Lovers Prompts

Enemies to Friends with Benefits Prompts

Ghost AU

Human x Ghost Prompts

Human/Ghost Dialogue Prompts

Haunted Objects

Inconvenient things a ghost could do

Guardian Angel AU

Guardian Angel Prompts

Historic AU

Victorian AU Prompts

Historic Prompts - 1800s Ball Prompts

Hospital/Doctors AU

Patient and Doctor Prompts

Lawyer AU

Lawyer AUs

Rival Lawyers

Lawyer + Client Dialogue

Lifeguard AU

Lifeguard AUs

Mafia AU

How to write the Mafia

Mafia Prompts

Magic/Magical Creatures AU

Magic

Magical Creatures Part I

Magical Creatures Part II

Hogwarts Prompts

Witches

Mermaid AU

Mermaid Prompts

Turning into a mermaid

Serenephobic

Musician AU

Band AU Prompts

Enemies to Lovers: Band Edition

Rockstar AUs

Eurovision AU

Neighbors AU

Neighbor AUs Part I

Neighbor AU Part II

Neighbors to lovers prompts

Outer Space

Space Horror Prompts

Pirate AU

Pirate Prompts

(Post-)Apocalypse AU

Causes for the apocalypse

Last day on earth

Post-apocalyptic romance prompts

Roommates AU

Roommates Prompts

Roommates AUs

Roommates to Lovers - Spending time together

Roommates to Lovers Prompts

Roommates Arguments

Royalty AU

Royalty Masterpost (Prompts and Advice Posts)

School/College AU

Boarding School Prompts

College/University AUs

Meet ugly College AU

Polar Opposite Students Prompts

Professor x TA Prompts

Teacher x Teacher Prompts

How to write a college party

Soulmates AU

Soulmate AUs

Multiple Soulmates Prompts

Dark Soulmates AUs

Sports AU

Dancer Prompts

Sport Romance Prompts

Spy/Assassins AU

Assassins Banter Dialogue

Assassin x Target Prompts

Spy Prompts

Evil organization of assassins

Time Travel AU

Time Travel

Time Travel Dialogue Prompts

Vampire AU

Vampire Prompts

Vampire Dialogue

Werewolf AU

Werewolf Prompts Part I

Werewolf Prompts Part II

Human x Werewolf Prompts

Workplace/Office AU

Colleague AUs

Co-workers - Hate to love Part I

Co-workers - Hate to love Part II

Co-workers to lovers meet cute

Matchmaking at Work Prompts

Secret Dating at Work Prompts

More:

Groundhog Day Prompts

“I used to build dreams about you.”

- F. Scott Fitzgerald

The question I get the most is how I write characters that feel like real people. 

Generally when I’m designing a human being, I deconstruct them into 7 major categories:

1. Primary Drive 2. Fear: Major and Secondary 3. Physical Desires 4. Style of self expression 5. How they express affection 6. What controls them (what they are weak for) 7. What part of them will change.

1. Primary Drive: This is generally related to the plot. What are their plot related goals? How are they pulling the plot forward? how do they make decisions? What do they think they’re doing and how do they justify doing it. 2. Fear: First, what is their deep fear? Abandonment? being consumed by power? etc. Second: tiny fears. Spiders. someone licking their neck. Small things that bother them. At least 4. 3. Physical desires. How they feel about touch. What is their perceived sexual/romantic orientation. Do their physical desires match up with their psychological desires.

4. Style of self expression: How they talk. Are they shy? Do they like to joke around and if so, how? Are they anxious or confident internally and how do they express that externally. What do words mean to them? More or less than actions? Does their socioeconomic background affect the way they present themselves socially?  5. How they express affection: Do they express affection through actions or words. Is expressing affection easy for them or not. How quickly do they open up to someone they like. Does their affection match up with their physical desires. how does the way they show their friends that they love them differ from how they show a potential love interest that they love them. is affection something they struggle with?

6. What controls them (what they are weak for): what are they almost entirely helpless against. What is something that influences them regardless of their own moral code. What– if driven to the end of the wire— would they reject sacrificing. What/who would they cut off their own finger for.  What would they kill for, if pushed. What makes them want to curl up and never go outside again from pain. What makes them sink to their knees from weakness or relief. What would make them weep tears of joy regardless where they were and who they were in front of. 

7. WHAT PART OF THEM WILL CHANGE: people develop over time. At least two of the above six categories will be altered by the storyline–either to an extreme or whittled down to nothing. When a person experiences trauma, their primary fear may change, or how they express affection may change, etc. By the time your book is over, they should have developed. And its important to decide which parts of them will be the ones that slowly get altered so you can work on monitoring it as you write. making it congruent with the plot instead of just a reaction to the plot. 

That’s it.

But most of all, you have to treat this like you’re developing a human being. Not a “character” a living breathing person. When you talk, you use their voice. If you want them to say something and it doesn’t seem like (based on the seven characteristics above) that they would say it, what would they say instead?

If they must do something that’s forced by the plot, that they wouldn’t do based on their seven options, they can still do the thing, but how would they feel internally about doing it?

How do their seven characteristics meet/ meld with someone else’s seven and how will they change each other?

Once you can come up with all the answers to all of these questions, you begin to know your character like you’d know one of your friends. When you can place them in any AU and know how they would react.

how many times have people used a pen or paintbrush because they couldn’t pull the trigger?

site for when you can only remember part of a word/its definition 

site that gives you words that rhyme with a word

break up your paragraphs. big paragraphs are scary, your readers will get scared

fuuuuck epithets. “the other man got up” “the taller woman sat down” “the blonde walked away” nahhh. call them by their names or rework the sentence. you can do so much better than this (exception: if the reader doesn’t know the character(s) you’re referring to yet, it’s a-okay to refer to them by an identifying trait)

blunette is not a thing

new speaker, new paragraph. please.

“said” is such a great word. use it. make sweet love to it. but don’t kill it

use “said” more than you use synonyms for it. that way the use of synonyms gets more exciting. getting a sudden description of how a character is saying something (screaming, mumbling, sighing) is more interesting that way.

if your summary says “I suck at summaries” or “story better than summary” you’re turning off the reader, my dude. your summary is supposed to be your hook. you gotta own it, just like you’re gonna own the story they’re about to read

follow long sentences w short ones and short ones w long ones. same goes for paragraphs

your writing is always better than you think it is. you just think it’s bad because the story’s always gonna be predicable to the one who’s writing it

Something my hands have created throughout the years.

Create an emotion through art (draw sadness, paint excitement)

Portray your inner thoughts through a piece

Illustrate your best friend in your favorite media

Draw something that challenges you, even if you think it will not turn out great

Make a mess

Work with your favorite quote

Work with your favorite song lyrics

Recreate an old piece

Do a study on another artist

Display your biggest fears through your art

Make a collage

Draw your favorite style of architecture

Paint with your hands

Sketch the first plant you find outside

1. a website with a list of superpowers and what they are

2. a website that generates random au ideas

3. a website that generates names, basic info and futures in a bunch of languages

4. a website that checks your grammar

5. website that lists types of execution in the states

6. a website with info on death certificates

7. a website with info on the four manners of death

8. a website with info on the black plague

9. website with information on depression

10. a website with info on the four types of suicide

11. website that lists famous quotes

12. website with different kinds of quotes

13. a website with info on food in every country

14. a website with a list of different colors

15. website with a list of medieval jobs

16. website with a list of fabrics

17. website with a list of flowers and pictures

18. website with a list of flowers and no pictures

19. website with a list of poisonous plants

20. website with a list of poisonous and non-poisonous plants

21. website with a list of things not to feed your animals

22. website with a list of poisons that can be used to kill people

23. website with info on the international date line

24. website with a list of food allergies

25. website with a list of climates

26. website with info on allergic reactions

27. website with info on fahrenheit and celsius 

28. website with info on color blindness

29. website with a list of medical equipment

30. website with a list of bugs

31. website with an alphabetic list of bugs and their scientific name

32. website with a list of eye colors

33. website (wikipedia sorry) with list of drinks

34. website with a list of religions

35. website with a list of different types of doctors and what they do

36. website (wikipedia again sorry) with a list of hair colors

37. website that generates fantasy names

38. website with a list of body language

39. website with a list of disabilities