3hks:

How to Write a Character with THAT *Sad Aura*

Have you ever stumbled upon a character, who, despite radiating wholesome, positive energy, also has a subtle undertone of sadness? It’s kind of intriguing, isn’t it? If you’ve ever wanted to write a perhaps more complex character or explore writing emotions, why not check this out?

What am I talking about?

Let’s do a quick introduction as to what I mean. I’ve said this a couple times already, but to the reader, this character feels despondent even though they act nothing like it. This doesn’t mean they have to act happy all the time (like my first example); they might act cold, or apathetic, but the point is they don’t act visibly sad.

This faint melancholic mood provides a charming, or even nostalgic feel to the audience through ONE character! Isn’t that kind of fun?

Eye Expressions

This character will not show sadness on their face–that contradicts the idea of “sad aura”. But you know what they say, right? Eyes are the windows to the soul; they do not lie!

When trying to highlight some of this unhappiness, write about their eyes. Talk about how their eyes look oddly dim sometimes when they smile, or how they don’t meet their friend’s eyes when they laugh. These cues are simple but powerful.

Adverbs

You always have to be mindful of adverbs, but here especially, adverbs (and adjectives) unconsciously influence how your audience views the character.

For example, avoid saying too much of “smiled brightly” or “talked excitedly”. If these are the adverbs you purposefully want to use to portray your character, then by all means! However, these adverbs add a happier connotation, which you must be aware of. If you want something more neutral (which I recommend for the most part), consider using lighter adverbs/adjectives, such as “smiled softly”, or “offered lightly”.

Reasons

A reason is normally needed for almost everything. Here, you want genuine reasons to back up why your character doesn’t ask for help, thus forcing them to work through their unhappiness alone.

This could be because they think other people can’t solve the problem, they don’t want to bother others, they don’t think their issue is a big deal, or they simply believe there’s no solution.

Physical Hints

And if all this isn’t enough, then drop some physical hints! Perhaps your character gets distracted often, tends to hesitate before speaking, deflects concerned comments with jokes, or has a hard time acknowledging reassurances, even when it’s unrelated to their personal troubles. These habits suggest the idea your character has more than meets the eye.

Mood Changes

When people are upset, their mood tends to fluctuate. For most of us, we’re typically upset for a short period, so we cycle through emotions such as anger, sadness, and even joy during these moments.

However, if your character is consistently sad, not just for a day or two, their mood might shift on different days. Maybe they’re really tired one day, hardly speaking. Maybe the next, they are more frustrated, snapping at people or ignoring them. Maybe the day after that, they are overly energetic, bouncing everywhere and talking all the time, providing a bit of whiplash.

Purpose

Similar to having a reason for their reluctance of reaching out, you also want to ensure that they have a purpose for fighting. Why haven’t they given up yet? This is especially crucial when considering the real world, where feeling upset leads to a lack of motivation.

So, what keeps them going, then? Do they want to fix their regrets? Do they want to change?

Backstory and Actions

To be honest, I wouldn’t consider a backstory an absolute necessity, but I highly suggest creating one. Why? Because you can accurately identify the reason for your character’s guilt, regret, and sorrows from the past with an actual backstory.

The events of your character’s past always influence their future actions.

For example, if they were a part of a severe car accident in the past, perhaps they only feel comfortable when they are the driver in the future because that means they can control the car.

Conclusion

This character is not especially different from any other character, besides the fact that they are neither obvious nor overly secretive of their genuine feelings.

With that being said, focus on embodying their eye expressions, be careful about which adverbs and adjectives you choose to use–I recommend choosing ones with more neutral connotations for a sense of melancholy, explain why your character keeps their sadness to themselves and why they keep fighting despite it, show mood fluctuations, drop physical hints, such as actions and/or specific personality traits, and make sure to connect their past to their present!

Happy writing~

3hks ^^

imastoryteller:

20 Ways to Show Extreme Fear in Your Writing

As I dive into researching signs of fear for my horror WIP, I wanted to share some of the most compelling and visceral reactions I’ve come across. Whether you’re writing a chilling scene or crafting a character’s panic, these 20 signs of fear can help bring tension and realism to your story.

Physical Reactions

1. Hyperventilating — sucking in air but never feeling like it’s enough
2. Chest tightens — feels like a weight or hands pressing down
3. Limbs shaking violently, knees buckling
4. Complete loss of muscle control — collapsing or unable to stand
5. Cold sweat soaking through clothes
6. Heart hammering so hard they feel it in their throat or head
7. Tunnel vision — the world narrowing down to one terrifying focal point
8. Ringing in the ears or sudden deafness, like the world drops away
9. Dizziness / feeling faint / vision blurring
10. Dry mouth — unable to speak or even scream

Uncontrollable Behavior

1. Screaming / sobbing / gasping — involuntary vocal outbursts
2. Panic run — bolting without thinking, tripping over everything
3. Clawing at their own skin / chest / throat — like trying to escape their body
4. Begging / pleading out loud even if no one’s there
5. Repeating words or phrases — “No, no, no” / “This isn’t happening”
6. Hiding instinctively — diving under tables, closets, or corners
7. Desperate grabbing — reaching for someone, anything solid
8. Loss of bladder or bowel control (for extreme terror)
9. Total mental shutdown — frozen, slack-jawed, staring blankly
10. Memory blackout — later can’t recall what happened during the worst moment

trixierosewrites:

Biggest Mistakes I See While Editing

These aren’t things that you should obsess over while writing your first draft, but if a scene feels flat, this could help:

• Sentence length. Vary your sentence length, seriously; sometimes you can change a whole paragraph from flat to exciting by making one sentence only two or three words and by making another an extended sentence - a lot of people have a tendency, especially when editing, to make every sentence a first part, a comma, then a second part. Try changing it!
• Dialogue tags. Have you perhaps obsessed over dialogue tags and now you have a hundred different ones? You don’t need the word questioned. You really don’t. Similarly, where someone might have used a hundred different dialogue tags, said can work better; sometimes you don’t want a dialogue tag at all.
• Vary paragraph lengths. Not every paragraph wants the exact same set of sentence lengths.
• Take a hike. If it sounds terrible, sometimes it’s not the sentence. Go on a walk, touch grass, read a book, watch a film; stop looking at the work and do something else. It will feel evil if you keep staring at it.
• Wanting to be poetic to the point of being unreadable. Purple prose is real, but it’s probably not the problem. Sometimes, however, you can say grass, and not “verdurous green malachite swayed like a dancer along the legs of the local children”.
• It’s okay to tell the reader something. Often, the way to use telling instead of showing is a matter of pacing, so ask yourself is this action important? Opening a door to find a monster behind it can use suitably long retelling, that builds tension; opening a door to get to the other side mid conversation not so much.
• Trust yourself. Don’t go into editing thinking you’re awful. Sometimes, you will know best. I’m not telling you to never take critique, but you don’t have to take all of it. It’s your story, and you know what you want to do with it.

Of course, there’s no need to take my advice. Use what works for you and leave the rest. I hope this helps!

(via the960writers)

nondelphic:

writers say “kill your darlings,” but what they don’t tell you is you’ll mourn those darlings for the rest of your life and bring them back in a slightly altered form in your next project.

nondelphic:

“write what you know” is boring. i write what haunts me at 3am.

inseasofgreen:

CALLING ACTIVE WRITEBLRS

Hi hello. My dashboard as been feeling sparse the last few weeks and I want to get some more writers on my feed. I made one of these a few months back that introduced me to so many new people so I’m back again to find new writers

My main genres/tropes/yada yada are:

• Fantasy - Dark, High, Low stakes whatever just give me that mythical feeling and I’m yours bbg
• Sci-fi - I’ve been trying to get more into it
• Literally any romances - Slow burn, meet cute, meet ugly, they fell first they fell harder, star crossed lovers, whatever. give me it all
• I’m a dragon fiend

Please interact with this so I can check out all your beautiful blogs and devour your writing. I offer you a tutter mouse for your time thank you

derinthescarletpescatarian:

seananmcguire:

allthingswhumpyandangsty:

please please please please reblog if you’re a writer and have at some point felt like your writing is getting worse. I need to know if I’m the only one who’s struggling with these thoughts

Good news! At various points in your development, it is!

As you write, you level up in little ways. It’s not like D&D where you get a level all at once. Oh, no. You get tiny improvements to your skill tree, and there will be points where your build is entirely unbalanced. As you adjust to these changes, you will naturally regress in some areas. This is just your mind and overall skill level getting ready for the final leveling, where you’re briefly fully balanced again!

TL;DR: Regression is a natural part of improvement, and while it’s frustrating as hell, if you keep going, you can write through it.

Also this.

(via morticia-butler)

creativepromptsforwriting:

Daily Writing Challenge

1. Write 5 sentences for your WIP right now. (x)
2. Imagine a place where you would like to be and write about what you would do there. (x)
3. What are your OCs pet peeves? (x)
4. Write a 10 sentence long short story about the object next to you. (x)
5. Write a summary for a book you would love to read. (x)
6. Write down 10 words that describe your MC. (x)
7. Write a micro story about an unusual love. (x)
8. Explain your MCs motivation in 3 sentences. (x)
9. Write a poem about an empty house. (x)
10. Write a 5 sentence long short story from three different perspectives. (x)
11. What nicknames does your MC have and who gave them to them? (x)
12. Write a new piece of lore for your WIP. (x)
13. Write a micro story about someone saying “thank you”. (x)
14. Write about one your OC’s tattoos or someone getting one done. (x)
15. What do you admire about your MC? (x)
16. Write the dialogue for a scene that’s been on your mind. (x)
17. Write a road trip scene. (x)
18. Write about your MCs favourite outfit. (x)
19. Write about something that you can see from your window. (x)
20. Write about a normal day in your MC’s life. (x)
21. Write 100 words today. It doesn’t matter about what. (x)
22. Write a funny scene. (x)
23. Write down everything on your mind for five minutes. (x)
24. Write about your OC’s first meeting. (x)
25. Write a scene in a grocery store. (x)
26. Write a micro story about an artist and their muse. (x)
27. Write an end scene, without the beginning. (x)
28. Write 10 sentences for your WIP right now. (x)

If you like my blog and want to support me, you can buy me a coffee or become a member! And check out my Instagram! 🥰

(via creativepromptsforwriting)

sourdough-seal:

every writer has a song they play when it’s time to get so fucking serious. if i put on Kung Fu Panda Oogway Ascends someone is going to die

naamahdarling:

copperbadge:

rhube:

rubyjones:

Create your own book cover - without generative 'AI' | Ruby Jones

Get more from Ruby Jones on Patreon

Patreon

Too many writers are using generative 'AI’ to make their book covers, so I’ve written a guide on how to make your own cover for free or cheap without turning to a machine.

If you can’t afford to pay an artist, you CAN make your own!

I hope this is a helpful overview that covers the basics and points to some free resources.

I annoyed my cat by writing this and not playing with her; you might find it useful?

This is a fantastic guide not only to the technical aspect of cover design but the aesthetic aspect as well!

This is GREAT STUFF. Highly recommend! Exactly the techniques I have used on covers in the past, and they look great!

(via heywriters)