McKenzie

Well then, let me show you, because that’s what I do for a living.

Right now, it’s this time of the year, and the little ones have just freshly hatched:

You’ll notice they’re still blind and naked when they hatch. So I make them little coats to keep them warm during their first winter:

See how they happily line up to put them on:

See? Better. Now they’re ready to go and explore the world.

And if they make it through the winter and we take good care of them, they will grow up to be strong and wise like their older fellows:

That isn’t what it means. It means show evidence supporting what you’re trying to say your character is. Actions show things better than words.

If for example your character gives the most milquetoast denial of slavery (“I don’t believe in keeping slaves”) with no follow up and doesn’t treat servants or possible slaves well and doesn’t even consider whether or not the people serving her in an apparently slave-owning country are slaves…

Now obviously, I don’t think that ALL straight writers are bad at writing romance. Anyone who genuinely believes this is what I meant is just looking for reasons to get mad and confirm their biases against ~mean Tumblr SJWs~

But in general, many straight people fail to critically examine their views on gender, relationships, sex, etc. They might be a little more progressive than their parents, but they’ll often still believe much of what they were raised to believe. This means that many straight people who write fiction (straight men who write genre fiction in particular) bring a lot of this cultural baggage into their writing, and end up parroting harmful or just plain boring romance tropes that have been around forever and ever. It’s usually not even intentional–it’s just what they know

Some of the common ones include, but are certainly not limited to:

Stories where the central couple’s relationship and why they like each other is barely fleshed out because “he was a boy, she was a girl, can I make it any more obvious”

“These two bicker constantly, it must be sexual tension!” (see: literally every romantic subplot in Stranger Things)

Manic pixie dream girls

Girls being treated as little more than romantic prizes to be won by the male heroes

Married couples with an obnoxious slob husband we’re supposed to sympathize with and a nagging wife (see: like 90% of all sitcoms)

In general, couples where the woman is way too good for the man

Harry Potter-style endings where the surviving characters are all arbitrarily paired off into straight marriages with kids, regardless of how much or how little the paired off characters even interacted in the series

Similarly: important female characters getting paired off with a guy and being reduced to little more than his housewife

Also, married couples where the husband has tons of friends but the wife has no life outside of being a mom (see: “Does Marge have friends?”)

Stories about how men and women “can’t really be friends” and can only be lovers

Cheating! SO MUCH cheating

“Born Sexy Yesterday” stories, especially in sci-fi, where the male lead falls for a naive and childlike yet also hypercompetent and sexualized woman

In general, men being expected to go after younger women, but usually not the other way around

Men struggling to show their girlfriends genuine emotion and say “I love you” even if they’ve been dating for a long, long time

She explained that basically it wasn’t the ending that was the most suspenseful or exciting part, but how you got there. This is why The Iliad spoils its own ending in the opening lines. This is why we have so many different retellings of Shakespeare, of Arthurian legends, of fairy tales. 

tumblr: oh! so he’s gay!

writer: uh…no, he’s attracted to women.

tumblr: ….so he’s bi!

writer: uhh…no…….he loves his guy friends but he’s not romantically/sexually attracted to them.

tumblr: ….so you’re homophobic.

writer:

for not reblogging it sooner.

Here are a few words you can replace walk with.

AMBLE: WALK EASILY AND/OR AIMLESSLY

BOUNCE: WALK ENERGETICALLY

CAREEN: PITCH DANGEROUSLY TO ONE SIDE WHILE WALKING OR RUNNING

CLUMP: WALK HEAVILY AND/OR CLUMSILY

FALTER: WALK UNSTEADILY

FLOUNDER: WALK WITH GREAT DIFFICULTY

FOOT IT: (SLANG) DEPART OR SET OFF BY WALKING

FOOTSLOG: WALK HEAVILY AND FIRMLY, AS WHEN WEARY, OR THROUGH MUD

GIMP: LIMP; HOBBLE

HIKE: TAKE A LONG WALK, ESPECIALLY IN A PARK OR A WILDERNESS AREA

HOBBLE: WALK UNSTEADILY OR WITH DIFFICULTY; SEE ALSO LIMP

HOOF IT: (SLANG) WALK; SEE FOOT IT

LEG IT: (SLANG) SEE FOOT IT

LIMP: WALK UNSTEADILY BECAUSE OF INJURY, ESPECIALLY FAVORING ONE LEG; SEE ALSO FALTER

LUMBER: WALK SLOWLY AND HEAVILY

LURCH: WALK SLOWLY BUT WITH SUDDEN MOVEMENTS, OR FURTIVELY

MARCH: WALK RHYTHMICALLY ALONE OR IN A GROUP, ESPECIALLY ACCORDING TO A SPECIFIED PROCEDURE

MEANDER: WALK OR MOVE AIMLESSLY AND IDLY WITHOUT FIXED DIRECTION

MINCE: WALK DELICATELY

MOSEY: SEE AMBLE; ALSO, USED COLLOQUIALLY IN THE PHRASE “MOSEY ALONG”

NIP: WALK BRISKLY OR LIGHTLY; ALSO USED COLLOQUIALLY IN THE PHRASE “NIP (ON) OVER” TO REFER TO A BRIEF WALK TO A CERTAIN DESTINATION, AS IF ON AN ERRAND

PACE: WALK PRECISELY TO MARK OFF A DISTANCE, OR WALK INTENTLY OR NERVOUSLY, ESPECIALLY BACK AND FORTH

PAD: WALK WITH STEADY STEPS MAKING A SOFT DULL SOUND

PARADE: WALK OSTENTATIOUSLY, AS IF TO SHOW OFF

PERAMBULATE: SEE STROLL; TRAVEL ON FOOT, OR WALK TO INSPECT OR MEASURE A BOUNDARY

PEREGRINATE: WALK, ESPECIALLY TO TRAVEL

PLOD: WALK SLOWLY AND HEAVILY, AS IF RELUCTANT OR WEARY

POUND: WALK OR GO WITH HEAVY STEPS; MOVE ALONG WITH FORCE OR VIGOR; SEE LUMBER

POWER WALK: WALK BRISKLY FOR FITNESS

PRANCE: WALK JOYFULLY, AS IF DANCING OR SKIPPING

PROMENADE: GO ON A LEISURELY WALK, ESPECIALLY IN A PUBLIC PLACE AS A SOCIAL ACTIVITY; SEEPARADE

PROWL: WALK NOISELESSLY AND CAREFULLY IN A PREDATORY MANNER

PUSSYFOOT: WALK STEALTHILY OR WARILY

RAMBLE: WALK OR TRAVEL AIMLESSLY

ROAM: GO WITHOUT FIXED DIRECTION AND WITHOUT ANY PARTICULAR DESTINATION, OFTEN FOR PLEASURE; SEE RAMBLE

ROVE: TRAVEL CONSTANTLY OVER A RELATIVELY LENGTHY TIME PERIOD WITHOUT A FIXED DESTINATION; WANDER

SASHAY: GLIDE, MOVE, OR PROCEED EASILY OR NONCHALANTLY; SEE PARADE

SAUNTER: WALK ABOUT EASILY

SCUFF: WALK WITHOUT LIFTING ONE’S FEET

SHAMBLE: WALK OR GO AWKWARDLY; SHUFFLE; SEE SCUFF

SHUFFLE: WALK WITHOUT LIFTING THE FEET OR WITH CLUMSY STEPS AND A SHAMBLING GAIT; SEESCUFF

SKULK: MOVE IN A STEALTHY OR FURTIVE MANNER

SOMNAMBULATE: WALK IN ONE’S SLEEP

STAGGER: WALK UNSTEADILY

STALK: WALK STEALTHILY, AS IN PURSUIT

STEP: WALK, OR PLACE ONE’S FOOT OR FEET IN A NEW POSITION

STOMP: WALK HEAVILY, AS IF IN ANGER

STRIDE: WALK PURPOSEFULLY, WITH LONG STEPS

STROLL: WALK IN A LEISURELY WAY; SEE SAUNTER

STRUT: WALK WITH A STIFF, ERECT, AND APPARENTLY ARROGANT OR CONCEITED GAIT; SEE PARADE

STUMBLE: WALK CLUMSILY OR UNSTEADILY, OR TRIP

STUMP: WALK HEAVILY, AS WITH A LIMP; SEE LUMBER

SWAGGER: WALK WITH AGGRESSIVE SELF-CONFIDENCE

TIPTOE: WALK CAREFULLY ON THE TOES OR ON THE BALLS OF THE FOOT, AS IF IN STEALTH

TODDLE: MOVE WITH SHORT, UNSTEADY STEPS, AS A YOUNG CHILD; SEE SAUNTER AND STAGGER

TOTTER: WALK OR GO WITH FALTERING STEPS, AS IF FROM EXTREME WEAKNESS; SEE STAGGER(ALSO, SWAY OR BECOME UNSTABLE)

TRAIPSE: WALK LIGHTLY AND/OR AIMLESSLY

TRAMP: WALK HEAVILY OR NOISILY; SEE LUMBER AND HIKE

TRAMPLE: WALK SO AS TO CRUSH SOMETHING UNDERFOOT

TRAVERSE: WALK ACROSS OR OVER A DISTANCE

TREAD: WALK SLOWLY AND STEADILY

TRIP: WALK LIGHTLY; SEE ALSO STUMBLE

TROMP: TREAD HEAVILY, ESPECIALLY TO CRUSH UNDERFOOT; SEE LUMBER

TROOP: WALK IN UNISON, OR COLLECTIVELY

TROT: PROCEED AT A PACE FASTER THAN A WALK; SEE NIP

TRUDGE: WALK SLOWLY AND WITH HEAVY STEPS, TYPICALLY BECAUSE OF EXHAUSTION OR HARSH CONDITIONS; SEE PLOD

WADDLE: WALK CLUMSILY OR AS IF BURDENED, SWINGING THE BODY

WADE: WALK THROUGH WATER OR WITH DIFFICULTY, AS IF IMPEDED

WANDER: TO MOVE FROM PLACE TO PLACE WITHOUT A FIXED ROUTE; SEE RAMBLE

Source for more facts follow NowYouKno

A road has no special qualifiers. It connects point a to point b.

A street connects buildings together, usually in a city, usually east to west, opposite of avenue.

An avenue runs north south. Avenues and streets may be used interchangeably for directions, usually has median

A boulevard is a street with trees down the middle or on both sides

A lane is a narrow street usually lacking a median.

A drive is a private, winding road

A way is a small out of the way road

a court usually ends in a cul de sac or similar little loop

a plaza or square is usually a wide open space, but in modern definitons, one of the above probably fits better for a plaza as a road.

a terrace is a raised flat area around a building. When used for a road it probably better fits one of the above.

uk, a close is similar to a court, a short road serving a few houses, may have cul de sac

run is usually located near a stream or other small body of water

place is similar to a court, or close, usually a short skinny dead end road, with or without cul de sac, sometimes p shaped

bay is a small road where both ends link to the same connecting road

crescent is a windy s like shape, or just a crescent shape, for the record, above definition of bay was also given to me for crescent

a trail is usually in or near a wooded area

mews is an old british way of saying row of stables, more modernly seperate houses surrounding a courtyard

a highway is a major public road, usually connecting multiple cities

a motorway is similar to a highway, with the term more common in New Zealand, the UK, and Austrailia, no stopping, no pedestrian or animal traffic allowed

an interstate is a highway system connecting usually connecting multiple states, although some exist with no connections

a turnpike is part of a highway, and usully has a toll, often located close to a city or commercial are

a freeway is part of a highway with 2 or more lanes on each side, no tolls, sometimes termedexpressway, no intersections or cross streets.

a parkway is a major public road, usually decorated, sometimes part of a highway, has traffic lights.

a causeway combines roads and bridges, usually to cross a body of water

circuit and speedway are used interchangeably, usually refers to a racing course, practically probably something above.

as the name implies, garden is usually a well decorated small road, but probably better fits an above

a view is usually on a raised area of land, a hill or something similar.

byway is a minor road, usually a bit out of the way and not following main roads.

a cove is a narrow road, can be sheltered, usually near a larger body of water or mountains

a row is a street with a continuous line of close together houses on one or both sides, usually serving a specific function like a frat

a beltway is a highway surrounding an urban area

quay is a concrete platform running along water

crossing is where two roads meet

alley a narrow path or road between buildings, sometimes connects streets, not always driveable

point usually dead ends at a hill

pike usually a toll road

esplanade long open, level area, usually a walking path near the ocean

square open area where multiple streets meet, guess how its usually shaped.

landing usually near a dock or port, historically where boats drop goods.

walk historically a walking path or sidewalk, probably became a road later in its history

grove thickly sheltered by trees

copse a small grove

driveway almost always private, short, leading to a single residence or a few related ones

laneway uncommon, usually down a country road, itself a public road leading to multiple private driveways.

trace beaten path

circle usually circles around an area, but sometimes is like a “square”, an open place intersected by multiple roads.

channel usually near a water channel, the water itself connecting two larger bodies of water,

grange historically would have been a farmhouse or collection of houses on a farm, the road probably runs through what used to be a farm

park originally meaning an enclosed space, came to refer to an enclosed area of nature in a city, usually a well decorated road.

mill probably near an old flour mill or other mill.

spur similar to a byway, a smaller road branching off from a major road.

bypass passes around a populated area to divert traffic

roundabout or traffic circle circle around a traffic island with multiple connecting routes, a roundabout is usually smaller, with less room for crossing and passing, and safer

wynd a narrow lane between houses, similar to an alley, more common in UK

drive shortened form of driveway, not a driveway itself, usually in a neighborhood, connects several houses

parade wider than average road historically used as a parade ground.

terrace more common in uk, a row of houses.

chase on land historically used as private hunting grounds.

-they are vocal about their emotional as well as physical needs (alerting you when they need affection or entertainment in addition to when they need food), demonstrating an excellent example of self care and open communication

- they can enjoy being in a space with you while you’re each doing your own thing, demonstrating the healthy boundaries and separate interests

- they also like learning about what you’re doing and being involved in your hobbies (e.g. sitting on your laptop, cuddling while you read a book or knit a scarf or play a game) 

-they consistently enforce their boundaries. first with nonverbal communication, then verbal (hissing/growling), then violence (scratching/biting) when needed, demonstrating that it’s 100% appropriate to defend your bodily autonomy by any means necessary, even against those you love and depend on. 

Listed below are a few things I do to make myself write (and enjoy it). this is how I wrote 15k words in a week and a half:

Sprints: sprints are basically a fun way to write a lot in a very short time. You set your timer for a short period of time you’d like to write (I like 10-15 minutes) and just write as much as possible for that amount of time. I also like to see my progress, I sometimes write 500 words, sometimes 100 words, it’s a great way to get to know your writing habits.

Compitition: I like doing the sprints with other people, this way I know how fast other people work. I’m a very competitive person, so if someone wrote more than me, I’ll keep writing until I’ll reach them. You can do that with sprints, or with friends (seeing who will reach a certain goal first)

Hints: this is kinda weird, but I do it constantly. I have little “hints” of my project laid all over my house. Little drawings of my ocs, my own quotes, the name of my novel. For example, my bio on Instagram is a quote from my novel; no one knows but me. It’s a small reminder that of your project everywhere you go. 

Force: force yourself to write for a while. make yourself write, and you’ll be so invested in your own little world to stop. I’ve done this many times, and ended up writing 2,000 words a day. It really reminds you of why you started writing. 

Imagination: I constantly imagine my novel (you know, the product). I can imagine exactly how the front would look, I can imagine my friends and family reading it, I can imagine myself signing it, I can imagine people on Tumblr writing about it. It’s your imagination, be wild, dream about your novel! This is SUPER MOTIVATING.