#writers tips

One thing I’d really like to capture more in my writing is not the fighting itself but the feelings that come from the fight. For context I did Ju-Jitsu for 7 years.

There’s the feeling before the battle even starts. It’s this antsy anticipation for it. The countdown begins and you lock eyes with your opponent. You have no idea how this fight will go, it could go in any way. Your opponent could do the same old thing as always or they could do something you’ve never seen before. Belt color doesn’t always tell you their skill level either. They could be better or worse than their rank. Bottom line, you have no idea what’s going to happen. The only thing you can control is yourself. The countdown ends, so square up and take control of the fight or go home the loser.

For control you have to think of what you’re going to do while reacting to what your opponent is doing. You have to know your limits if a fight goes on too long and you run out of gas risking collapse. Strength does not always win a fight for this reason. (This has happened to me too many times. It’s very embarrassing to be wheezing like you’re dying, lying on the ground while everyone watches)

After that there’s the feelings of anger at a loss. When I was young there was an older boy I’d always have to go against and no matter what I did I’d always end up in an arm-bar. I don’t remember feeling helpless as much as I felt enraged that I just couldn’t win. I drowned out the fear with hate. Not to say it wasn’t there. I feared having to fight him again. I only felt angry during the fight.

Then there’s the glee of a win, heart-still-pounding in your ears and hair in your face you’ve succeeded after everything. The highlight reel starts playing as a smile grows.

Then there’s the aftermath of adrenaline. During a fight it’s great but afterward? Ugh. You can feel the moment the adrenaline wears off. It’s like a switch, first you’re fine then *flick now you want to collapse like a rag-doll. Your body is slick with sweat that’s probably not all yours, you’re dehydrated and panting like a dog, everything feels hot & heavy. Your hair is a knotted mess and your neck is on fire. Your body shakes uncontrollably no matter how hard you try to stop it. Even the idea of holding your arms up sounds difficult. Tears sometimes come because of all the stress that to me felt as uncontrollable as the shaking. Food sounds nice for your exhausted and hungry body but for me my ab muscles tend to cramp up and I feel like throwing up when I’m not sick. It’s not always like this but I pushed myself too far most of the time.

Fighting is probably the most invigorating yet draining thing you can do and I really want to capture those feelings of a fight more. Because it is so. Much. Stress. Fighting takes a lot of thought in addition to strength, execution and skill. It’s part of why it’s so hard to do. It’s sweat, time, tears and sometimes blood (Ju-Jitsu is fought without weapons or striking and people have gotten cut anyway. Fun fact, toenails are sharp) Writing fight scenes is easy, but writing everything that comes with the fight is as difficult as fighting itself.

If you have any questions I’d love to answer! On that note:

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1. Goal & motivation

To pose a threat to your main characters, your villains need a clear goal — preferably one that directly negates your MC’s goal. But that’s not enough — they also need a clear motivation to justify their goal.

Now, which one should you flesh out first? Goal or motivation?

The answer is : it’s up to you. You can start by giving your villain organization a clear goal before brainstorming possible motivations that would support this goal; or you can come up with a backstory which narrates their motivation then set up a goal that aligns with said motivation.

2. Influence

To be memorable, your villain organization must have some sort of influence on your main characters and the general public.

An underground criminal organization that brings annoyance to your main characters because they wreak havoc everywhere they go and are impossible to catch as they have their ways to evade law.

A supernatural cult that brings fear to the public because they have the most powerful people on their side who won’t hesitate to kill anyone who stands in their way.

A cryptic society that brings a sense of uneasiness to the MCs because they’re unpredictable and have actions that don’t seem to make sense, yet always results in casualties.

3. Leader

Behind every villain organization is a leader who can control all the worst and most evil people in your story. This should be something frightening, so make sure to clearly establish how they obtained their power as a leader.

Expertise — they have expertise on a certain skill that’s deemed important, such as mastery of a deadly spell.

Charm — they can sway and manipulate people as they please.

Cruelty— they’re evil and ruthless, striking fear within the group and coaxing everyone to listen to them.

Ambitions — they have a strong goal and plan, convincing the entire organization that he’s the best man to achieve that goal.

Savior — they “saved” several villains from a gruesome end and played the role of “savior”, earning gratitude and awe.

4. Disputes

Selfish and goal-driven villains are bound to trigger disputes within the organization. Here are a few conflicts that could trigger disputes :

Factions — the organization is split into two factions ; one that supports the current leader, and one that support someone who promises to bring a “real” change if he were to become leader.

Betrayal — when one villain betrays the organization and the leader finds out, this may trigger an all-out dispute ; some members defending the betrayer and the rest wanting to kill them.

Absense of a leader — When the leader dies or is incapable of issuing orders, members of the villain organization may fight for the leader’s seat as they want to use the position to reach their personal goals.

5. Parallel

If your main characters are also part of an organization, a villain group can serve as a parallel to your MC’s organization.

While the villains operate under personal goals and are only bounded by fear to their leader, your MCs have a common goal and are willing to work together to reach it.

While the villains don’t care about public safety and only ensure the smooth operation of their missions, your MCs always put civilians first.

I think people should say a little something at the start of their writing so that people won't accidentally read something that triggers them or makes them uncomfortable

For example:

"I'm not quite familiar with this element and but i am interested and want to experiment it, I'm not trying to offend anyone but i am sorry if you are"

Or something similar but you add "I'm open to suggestions or correction for my mistake"

I mean it's never to late to learn, it's better to learn something than not at all

Or maybe something short if you don't want to write anything too long

It is recommended and you definitely should do some research before experimenting but your sources need to be valid not AI and not bias, if you are still confused with the topic i think it's better if you take the safe path and experiment another time

I'm not that familiar with trans characters so I'm not writing any of that because I don't want to accidentally offend someone, and i will never write something problematic like pedophilia, sa, r**ed, and some other stuff because

1. I'm not comfortable

2. I don't know how to handle those elements

3. I could accidentally hurt someone even tho it's not my intention

AND people should have the decency to tag or warn their works properly, and it's actually concerning when people don't give proper warnings on their works

And I can't judge people for making those kind of works because they all have their reasons especially if it's related to coping, trauma or similar things but please do tag/warn your works properly

If you think you’ve got a handle on "plot twists," you need to stop what you’re doing and go read Edogawa Ranpo immediately.

For the uninitiated, Ranpo is basically the godfather of Japanese mystery fiction. He’s the guy who popularized the genre in Japan, and his work is a wild, often unsettling cocktail of logic puzzles, psychological obsession, and downright bizarre atmosphere. And honestly? He is the ultimate masterclass for anyone currently rotting in their Google Docs trying to plot a slow-burn or a complex thriller.

If Edogawa Ranpo were to write Severus Snape, he would strip away the "redeemed hero" narrative and lean hard into the psychological grotesque.

He would transform Snape into a figure of obsessive, stifled voyeurism, trapped in a claustrophobic, labyrinthine Hogwarts. Rather than a secret agent, Snape would become a tragic, unhinged protagonist obsessed with the mechanics of his own ruin—a man who meticulously orchestrates his own suffering as a form of perverse self-punishment. The story would be thick with sensory details of potions, cold stone, and unsaid things, framing his double-agent status as a terrifying psychological puzzle where the greatest mystery is whether Snape even knows his own true motives anymore.

Here is what we can learn from the master:

And I'm here on my hands and knees BEGGING you all to

STOP USING GOOGLE TRANSLATE

PLEASE !!! As someone learning a few languages myself I've had to CORRECT the application before! It's been untrustworthy for years, and continues to be

If you want something more reliable I implore you to use DeepL!

It's free and is available on desktop and in the Appstore (apple and samsung), and is fairly accurate! It lacks some audio for certain languages and doesn't have as many options as Google Translate but my GOD it actually knows what it's doing and is FAR more accurate

Hello! I'm gonna share how I go about writing poisons and the things I think are helpful to keep in mind. Now, I have never actually poisoned someone - shocker - but I have done extensive research on the topic, so I would say I know a decent amount about how to effectively poison someone. Disclaimer: This is for writing purposes only, don't poison people. Thanks.

Keep In Mind:

Poisoners need little to no physical strength although they do need a strong sense of self control & nerves of steel. Shooting or stabbing someone takes a mere moment of consideration and is frequently the result of  a split second decision, while position requires dedication. Many poisons require a certain amount of time to work and the poisoner usually must administer several doses of poison in order to work. The poisoner also usually must be within close proximity to their victim and often will have to look them in the eye and engage with the person while the person slowly dies.

Exotic poisons can be more trouble than they’re worth. Importing exotic poisons leaves a trail for authorities to follow, and they require more research to correctly use.

Smart poisoners work with what they’ve got. The clever killer looks for drugs that are already in the victim’s medicine cabinet and that could be deadly. Read medical warning labels to get an idea of how to use them.

Poison can be used in ways that aren’t deadly. If the goal isn’t death, you can render someone dizzy or dopey, making a character vulnerable to a bad influence. 

Common Poisons

Hemlock: Poison hemlock comes from a large fern-like plant that bears a dangerous resemblance to the carrot plant. It was readily available for treating muscle spasms, ulcers, and swelling, but in large doses will cause paralysis and ultimately respiratory failure. 

Mandrake: It was used as a sedative, hallucinogen and aphrodisiac. Superstition mediaeval denizens believes when the vaguely human-shaped root was pulled out that plant gave a piercing shriek that would drive anyone to madness or death - hence the harry potter scene.

Arsenic: Arsenic comes from a metalloid and not a plant, unlike the others but it’s easily the most famous and is still used today. instead of being distilled from a plant, chunks of arsenic and dug up or mined. It was once used as a treatment for STDs , and also for pest control and blacksmiths, which was how many poisoners got access to it. It was popular in the Renaissance since it looked similar to malaria death, due to acute symptoms including stomach cramps, confusion, convulsions, vomiting and death. Slow poisoning looked more like a heart attack.

Nightshade: A single leaf or a few berries could cause hallucinations - a few more was a lethal dose. Mediaeval women used the juice of the berries to colour their cheeks, they would even put a few drops on their eyes to cause the pupils to dilate for a lovestruck look which is why Nightshade is also called ‘Belladonna’ or “Beautiful woman.” The symptoms include dilated pupils, sensitivity to light, blurred vision, tachycardia, loss of balance, staggering, headache, rash, flushing, severely dry mouth and throat, slurred speech, urinary retention, constipation, confusion, hallucinations, delirium and convulsions.

Aconite: This toxic plant, also called Monkshood or Wolfsbane, was used by indigenous tribes around the world as arrow poison. The root is the most potent for distillation. Marked symptoms may appear almost immediately, usually not later than one hour, and with large doses death is near instantaneous. The initial signs are gastrointestinal including nausea, and vomiting. This is followed by a sensation of burning, tingling, and numbness in the mouth and face, and of burning in the abdomen. In severe poisonings pronounced motor weakness occurs and sensations of tingling and numbness spread to the limbs. The plant should be handled with gloves, as the poison can seep into the skin.

If someones poisoning another:

The character should analyse the daily life of the target well before attempting to poison them. Note what sort of medicines they take, at what moments they are most vulnerable, how attentive they are to their surroundings, and so on.

Choose a poison that suits your needs. You need to be as discreet as possible and not arouse suspicion. Too dramatic and people will know something is up. Choose poisons that are easy to slip into meals/don't have to be administered constantly, or you could simply frame it as an overdose by using the target's own medicines.

Think of how you want to administer the poison. Some take effect through touch while some require being swallowed. Based on that, come up with a plan to poison your target.

Make sure everything corresponds with the plot and characters, and nothing becomes a plot hole. Don't have a typically nervous character be perfectly calm when thinking of poisoning. Don't poison someone just for the sake of it. Have everything tie back to the plot, your characters rarely should be poisonings someone just for the "cool" effect. Trust me, it doesn't actually have that effect and just comes off like lazy writing. Have your characters act in accordance with their personalities.