i see a world on fire

Cheat Sheets for Writing Body Language

We are always told to use body language in our writing. Sometimes, it’s easier said than written. I decided to create these cheat sheets to help you show a character’s state of mind. Obviously, a character may exhibit a number of these behaviours. For example, he may be shocked and angry, or shocked and happy. Use these combinations as needed.

Taking a break from Fiona’s review to answer this because I feel it needs to be said:

There is a difference between giving an OC a tragic past and then a Sue’s tragic past.

OC creators will give their OCs a tragic past with meat, with flavor and above all: with reason and goal. Reason for all this and a goal that comes from the ashes of their tragedy is the structure that sets the stage for all great stories. You can make a happy fluffy story, but to make a tragic story work and not just turn into a bunch of ‘woe as me’ bullshit is hard work. I will in this post give you the dos and don’t of tragic pasts.

finicky

painstaking

fastidious

particular

precise

scrupulous

conscientious

persnickety (it’s real word i promise)

accurate

meticulous

punctilious

exact

Checklist for character development.

Created by myself, compiled from questions gleaned from several sources, and some of my own additions.

It should be noted, that not every character will check every one of these things off. It is not REQUIRED to have all this information, but this checklist is, rather, a guideline for helping you think of your character as an entire, three dimentional being with thoughts, feelings, possessions, contradictions and background.

A character is 20% revealed to the reader, 80% writer/author/Mun knowledge. What the Reader sees is just the tip of the iceburg, but without the other 80% the character can’t help but come off feeling shallow. There’s nothing beneath the surface -  KNOWING as much bout your character as possible, instrinsicly, in detail, intimately, can do nothing but help build believability and dimension to your character.

Use only the things on this list that you feel are important, but I would like to remind you that the reader learns a lot about a character NOT through exposition (that’s kind of a cheat, and always feels , to me, like a rather clunky way of conveying knowlege), but through their actions, quirks, thoughts, and even through the things they own and carry with them. What kind of food they eat and how they eat it. What they wear. What they carry in their wallets.  I encourage you, as writers, to consider these things when creating a character, and encourage you MORE to leave the exposition out and tell us about your character through these other means!

If nothing else, this will give you a LOT to work with when writing with your character. Maybe it’ll spur you to write about the character’s parents. Or the relationship between them and their family. Maybe you’ll find yourself inspired to write something about how they lost everything in a fire  - and the importance each remembered lost item held.

There is certainly no rule that says you HAVE to do it this way, but invariably, the most memorable characters are the ones that we as readers can relate with. It’s hard to relate with just words - but people - with beliefs and dreams and fears -  that’s something we can get behind.

This may not be what anyone wants to hear during the frenzy of NaNoWriMo, but it’s helpful to remove certain words from your writing vocabulary (with the knowledge that every rule has its exceptions). Filler words dull the impact of a powerful sentence.

by Leia Fee, with additions by Susannah Shepherd

Quick Contents

Introduction

General remarks

What’s normal?

Reactions to injury - including emotional reactions, fainting and shock. 

Minor injuries - such as bruises, grazes and sprains

Head injuries - from  black eyes to severe concussions

Broken bones 

Dislocated joints

Cutting and Piercing - for various locations, including blood loss symptoms and figures.

Blunt trauma - getting hit, internal injuries.

Burns - including electrical burns

Hostile environments - such as extreme cold and heat, oxygen deprivation and exposure to vacuum.

References - useful websites.

Introduction

Characters climbing cliffs with broken arms or getting knocked out for an hour or so and then running around like nothing happened, bug me.  It doesn’t take much longer to get it right, and I’ve found that getting doing the research to get it right can often lead to whole new story possibilities I hadn’t thought of before.

I’m not any sort of medical expert - research for this article has come from a variety of sources from medical texts to personal experience – (I’m just a teeny bit accident prone…)  I do historical reenactment and a large part of information here comes from the ‘traumatic injury’ (or ‘the nasty things that can happen to you in combat’ information we give the public and new members to make them go ‘urggh , I’m glad this isn’t for real’.

checks all spellings for you

checks if you’re over-using adverbs

picks out over-complicated sentences

suggests replacements for over-complicated phrases

picks out the passive voice

tells you how readable your text is (Grades/College level/etc)

calculates reading time

Guide to: Writing the Perfect Bio by struckby-therphelper

How to: Making a Great Bio by soatyourservice

How to: Show a Character’s Personality in 3 Paragraphs by curlyfriesrpc

How to: Write a Biography (and Make It Interesting) by rpcgron

How to Write a Kick-Ass Biography by poshhelpers

How to Write an OC by fat-amy-rph

How to Write Bios by adam-and-ian-help

In-Depth Characters by keir-reviews

Matt’s Tips → Aspects You Might Be Ignoring When Creating Your Characters by wehelprps

Character trait masterlists

123 Ideas for Character Flaws by amandaonwriting

500+ Character Traits by thewritingcafe

500 Personality Traits by edwardkenwayrps

Alice’s Masterlist of Character Traits by niallrph

Character Flaws List at darkworldrpg.com

Heroic Traits and Their Faults by clevergirlhelps

List of Character Traits at fiction-writers-mentor.com

Lizarps Masterlist of Traits by lizarps

Negative Personality Adjective List at englishclub.com

Positive Personality Adjective List at englishclub.com

Villainous Traits and Their Virtues by clevergirlhelps

Secrets, quirks, and little things to make your character unique

100 Character Quirks by hermajestyhelps

Character Bio Twists by dominicwrites

Giant List of Quirks by rphelper

Kazza’s List of Character “Plots” and Secrets by kgillsrpc

List of 300 Possible Secrets to Give Your Characters at crissverahelps

List of Phobias by hermajestyhelps

Secret Masterlist by thatfrenchhelper

Masterlist of Fears by deadlyanathema-helps

Inspiration for your characters

Archetypes by thetrolliestcritic

Archetype Series by okayophelia

Character Ideas by cinematicroleplayer

Lyrics to Inspire Characters by rphelper

Mixes by dovekeepers

Mixes by haffalump

The 12 Common Archetypes at soulcraft.co

Name generators and master lists

11,692 Surnames by ghostnonny

Baby Name Lists at nameberry.com 

East Asian Surnames by rptheme-helper

List of Female First Names by troyeofrp

List of Male Names by neensofrp

Most Common Surnames at names.mongabay.com

Name Themes at behindthename.com

Random Name Generator at random-name-generator.info

The Most Popular Names at behindthename.com

The Ultimate Random Name Generator at atlantagamer.org

All about faceclaims

A Cinematic Masterlist: PoC Faceclaims by cinematicroleplayer

A Master List of People of Color Face Claims by thetrolliestcritic

Choosing The Right FC by the-hardyest-critic

Face Claim Masterlists by fchelpers

Favorite Faceclaims by grantairewrites

Favorite Faces by diagonhelps

FC Directory by rphelper

FC Replacements by fchelpers

Mockingbird’s Favorite Faces by mockingbirdresource

Okay, I’ve already discussed what not to do. Now let’s talk about doing it well. (This post is entirely SFW, by the way.)

First and foremost: Make the sex scene easy to skip. Please. It should be possible to ignore that whole section of the story and still follow the plot and characterization. Why? Because many asexual people, like me, are sex-repulsed, and reading that stuff is unpleasant for us. Sometimes I have to put down an otherwise excellent story because the author keeps putting graphic descriptions of sex into it,. No level of writing skill will help when I’m cringing at every other page. You could relegate the sex scene to its own chapter, or put warnings at the start and end of it, or publish a separate version of the story without the sex scene. Just make sure that people can read your stuff without worrying about sudden encounters of the genital kind.

Know the reasons why the asexual character chooses to have sex. Their motivations will have a huge impact on how they feel before, during and after the sex scene. For a character who is not gray-asexual or demisexual, sexual attraction will not be a reason, so you’ll need to decide on something else. Here are a few just off the top of my head:

“I love my partner and enjoy bringing them sexual pleasure.”

“I’m curious about what sex feels like.”

“I want to have children.”

“I get horny/aroused sometimes, and the physical release feels good. I don’t mind having a sexual partner during that.”

“I don’t care about sex, but I have a kink that I really enjoy, and I don’t mind if sex is part of the experience.”

“Sex is useful for me to get what I want.” (May be said by a sex worker, by person who gains benefits from a sexual relationship with someone rich or powerful, or by all sorts of people.)

“I had sex because I thought that I owed it to my partner.”

“I had sex because I wanted to fit in / be normal / it’s what I thought people were supposed to do in relationships.”

“I thought that if I kept trying I would learn to like it.”

“I didn’t choose it, I was sexually assaulted.”

(Of course, gray-asexual and demisexual people may also choose to have sex without experiencing sexual attraction, for similar reasons.)

Remember that aesthetic attraction and sensual attraction exist, too. An asexual character may still be “physically attracted” to their partner and love to watch or touch them, even if there’s no lust involved.

If the character is strongly sex-repulsed, or if they don’t know they’re asexual, be extremely careful, because you can step into a pile of consent issues there. It’s probably better not to depict them having sex at all.

If sex without sexual attraction is difficult to write about, consider writing a gray-asexual or demisexual character. Gray-asexual people either feel sexual attraction very rarely, or they may feel sexual attraction but not want sexual relationships, or their feelings of attraction may be ambiguous between sexual and non-sexual. Demisexuals act and feel asexual 99% of the time, but if they’ve formed an emotional bond with someone, then they might later become sexually attracted to that person. Although experiencing sexual attraction doesn’t necessarily imply that these characters will want to have sex, the fact that they can feel sexually attracted to their partners may make it easier to write sex scenes with them. A 100% asexual character could also enjoy having sex without experiencing attraction, but for non-asexual writers that may be harder to relate to and write about.

You could write a great story about a character who identifies as asexual but who actually turns out to be demisexual or gray-asexual instead. Just make sure that you write it in such a way that it doesn’t cast doubt on the identities of people who actually are 100% asexual. It would also be wise to put foreshadowing of the twist in there so that the gray-a/demisexual label doesn’t seem forced or implausibly convenient.

Have the characters talk about boundaries, compromises and consent. Every asexual person has different ideas about what forms of physical intimacy they enjoy, and what makes them uncomfortable. Have your asexual and non-asexual characters talk about what they need to feel satisfaction in the relationship. An asexual character who isn’t willing to do penetrative sex may still be fine with foreplay, heavy petting, kinky stuff, and other X-rated things. Or maybe they aren’t. Honest, open communication is essential for every relationship, but with asexual characters it’s even more vital, because the characters can’t expect that “normal” relationship scripts will apply to them.

Consent can be a tough question. A considerate non-asexual partner should show concern that they are not pressuring their asexual lover into unwanted sex. Asexual people can be very vulnerable to being coerced or manipulated into sex, especially because our culture treats sex as mandatory in healthy romantic relationships. Asexual people who do not realize they are asexual may consent to sex that they otherwise would have rejected, because they believe it is their duty, or they think that withholding sex will make them a bad partner. This can be traumatizing and painful.

If you want to portray a healthy act of sex between an asexual and non-asexual person, then you must make it clear that the asexual character is not being pressured into it - not by their partner, not by society’s expectations, and not even by their own internalized acephobia. They should demonstrate that they are fully capable of rejecting sex and do not feel obligated to do it, but are consenting to it freely and happily.

Don’t use a sex scene as the culmination of a romantic story arc. Why? Because this reinforces the idea that sex is the goal of romantic relationships. That’s hurtful to asexual people. Even for asexuals who enjoy sex, it’s not a central factor for them, and they’re usually A-OK spending their lives without it. Instead, culminate your romantic arc with a non-sexual scene that demonstrates the love, trust and commitment between the characters. This could be a wedding, a daring escape from villains, saving the world together, a reconciliation after a fight, or even just a sweet day of domesticity together. There are thousands of ways you could play this. It could be before or after the sex scene, but make sure that it’s there.

And finally…I’ve said this before, but it bears repeating: Don’t “fix” the asexual character. Don’t cure them of asexuality. Don’t make them change their mind about it after a night of really good sex. Don’t make them decide to “give up” being asexual just because they’ve fallen in love. If you really want an asexual-spectrum character who feels sexual attraction, make them demisexual or gray-asexual instead, and include some foreshadowing of it, too.

How It’s Said (substitutes)

In a happy way: laughed, rejoiced, giggled, joked, lilted, sang out.

In a sad way: cried, agonised, bawled, blubbered, lamented, sobbed, groaned, snivelled, wept, mourned.

In a bossy way: insisted, bossed, demanded, preached, dictated, professed, ordered.

In an angry way: raged, miffed, seethed, fumed, retorted, thundered, blurted.

In a pained way: barked, cried out, cried, screamed, jabbered, bellowed, groaned, howled, shrieked, roared, grieved, wailed, yelped.

In a frightened way: quaked, stammered, shuddered, quivered, trembled.

In an understanding way: empathised, accepted, consoled, crooned, comforted, sympathised, agreed.

In a tired way: mumbled, struggled, emitted, wearied.

In a begging way: beseeched, begged, implored, pleaded, entreated, appealed to.

In a mocking way: mocked, ridiculed, derided, hooted, japed, insulted, jeered, parodied, taunted, teased, chaffed, flouted, degraded, sneered, disdained, jibed, gibed, disparaged, belittled, decried, flouted, fleered, leered, scoffed, sniggered, swiped, scorned, repudiated, lampooned.

In a seductive way: purred, simpered, coaxed, wheedled, persuaded, baited.

As an answer: responded, retorted, replied, rejoined, answered, acknowledged.

Making this rebloggable, in case people find it useful.

Anonymous asked: Sorry about bothering you. I have a problem about playing characters when it comes to speech. For example, when I play witty characters i’m not good at it because i’m not a witty person. Basically, speech in general when it depends on their personality, what a bitchy person would say, a cheerful, pessimistic etc. I hope this isn’t confusing :/

Don’t even fret, you’re not bothering me in the slightest. Answering questions such as this one—or at least, trying to—is why I’m here, so you never have to apologize about sending me a message. Your question isn’t confusing, either, I understand what you mean completely.

The most difficult part about dialogue and speech, is definitely personalizing it for each of your characters. There is always the looming risk of them sounding like you, or all of them sounding the same; regardless of who they are. Getting the hang of it takes a lot of time and work, and unfortunately I can’t claim that this is something I fully master yet, either.

My best piece of advice, as in most cases, would be to do your research. One way of going about it—while it might sound silly, it’s something I’ve found very useful in past—is to watch films and television, and reading other people’s writing. Pay attention specifically to those characters that have a similar personality type to yours, and how they speak. What are their retorts and conversations like? Are there any noticeable quirks or nuances to their dialogue? Take notes while you do this, and then look back at it later. Don’t mimic other people’s writing but rather draw inspiration from it, and it should already take you a long way.

There is also a multitude of online articles available to you through a quick Google search when it comes to different personality types. Identify a few of your character’s most prominent traits, both positive and negative, and then have your character’s interactions reflect that. If your character is mean and arrogant, have them be blunt and condescending in their dialogue. A cheerful person would most likely always be optimistic, and able to see the silver lining, while someone pessimistic is just the opposite. Don’t be afraid to step out of your comfort zone, and to experiment. Even if you aren’t a bitchy person in real life, you character can be, so make use of phrases and lines of dialogue that would be out of character for you.

When it comes to speech, like any other type of writing, really, consistency is also key. While a character’s way of speaking may evolve over time, once you’ve decided they speak in a certain way, stick with it in all situations. Don’t make abrupt changes, as they will most likely seem out of character. Look over the dialogue you write, and ask yourself if it really sounds like something your character would say. No matter how witty a line you come up with, if it doesn’t suit your character’s personality, kill your darlings and cut it out.

Read the dialogue aloud in order to see if it sounds natural, rather than too formal. Also pay attention to words and phrases you use yourself in day to day situations: if your character uses them too, and it doesn’t fit, cut it out. Your character is not you, and their speech should reflect that, even if there are certain similarities.

Aside from personality, things that will affect your character’s speech include their socioeconomic background, their nationality, and the region or town / city they grew up in. Various areas have various nuances to speech, and various dialects. Someone from New York City will generally speak in a completely different way than someone from Dallas, for instance. Once again, do your research, and read up on the area your character grew up in and potential dialects there.

These are really the main things I can tell you right now. However, I’ve compiled a little list of useful articles and entries on dialogue and speech for you. I recommend you read them for additional advice.

How to Write Dialogue Unique to Your Characters

Top 8 Tips for Writing Dialogue

Writing Rule: Make Sure Your Dialogue is Speakable

Kazza’s Guides: Writing a Witty Character

Writing Dialogue: Go For Realistic, Not Real Life

How to Write Dialogue That Works

Three Tips to Improve Character Dialogue

Revealing Characters Through Dialogue

One of the strongest bonds that link us to our favorite stories is the emotional tie, or books that sink a fist right into our guts. When you finished a book where you couldn’t let go of after the last page, chances are, the author successfully punched you in the spleen. If you’ve ever wondered how to do just that, here are some of my favorite methods:

Make your reader root for your main character(s). Make your character stretch out their arm toward their goal, as far as they can to reach, until their fingertips barely brush it. Make your character want something so much that your reader wants it, too.

When your character trips and stumbles and stops to question themselves, the readers will hold their breath.

Push your character to their very limit, and then a little further.

When your character hits the bottom, they should scrape themselves back together and get back up. Give readers a reason to believe in your character.

If your character is challenging your plot, your plot should challenge your character.

Leave a trail of intrigue, of questions, of “what if?” and “what next?”

If a character loses something (a battle, an important memento, part of themselves), they must eventually gain something in equal exchange, whether for good or bad.

Raise the stakes. Then raise them higher.

Don’t feel pressured to kill a character (especially simply to generate emotional appeal). A character death should serve the plot, not the shock factor. Like anything else in your story, only do it if it must be done and there’s no other way around it.

accusatory: charging of wrong doing

apathetic: indifferent due to lack of energy or concern

awe: solemn wonder

bitter: exhibiting strong animosity as a result of pain or grief

cynical: questions the basic sincerity and goodness of people 

condescension; condescending: a feeling of superiority

callous: unfeeling, insensitive to feelings of others

contemplative: studying, thinking, reflecting on an issue

critical: finding fault

choleric: hot-tempered, easily angered

contemptuous: showing or feeling that something is worthless or lacks respect

caustic: intense use of sarcasm; stinging, biting

conventional: lacking spontaneity, originality, and individuality 

disdainful: scornful

didactic: author attempts to educate or instruct the reader

derisive: ridiculing, mocking

earnest: intense, a sincere state of mind

erudite: learned, polished, scholarly 

fanciful: using the imagination 

forthright: directly frank without hesitation

gloomy: darkness, sadness, rejection

haughty: proud and vain to the point of arrogance

indignant: marked by anger aroused by injustice

intimate: very familiar

judgmental: authoritative and often having critical opinions

jovial: happy

lyrical: expressing a poet’s inner feelings; emotional; full of images; song-like

matter-of-fact: accepting of conditions; not fanciful or emotional

mocking: treating with contempt or ridicule

morose: gloomy, sullen, surly, despondent

malicious: purposely hurtful

objective: an unbiased view-able to leave personal judgments aside

optimistic: hopeful, cheerful

obsequious: polite and obedient in order to gain something

patronizing: air of condescension

pessimistic: seeing the worst side of things; no hope

quizzical: odd, eccentric, amusing

ribald: offensive in speech or gesture

reverent: treating a subject with honor and respect

ridiculing: slightly contemptuous banter; making fun of

reflective: illustrating innermost thoughts and emotions

sarcastic: sneering, caustic

sardonic: scornfully and bitterly sarcastic

satiric: ridiculing to show weakness in order to make a point, teach

sincere: without deceit or pretense; genuine

solemn: deeply earnest, tending toward sad reflection

sanguineous: arduous, bloodthirsty, brutal, murderous AND optimistic, cheerful

Just a small list of other ways to say beautiful.

ok hold on i just realized theres a fucking gorilla costume in this room next to me and i didnt notice it until now it says deluxe gorilla