Fleeting Beauty Of April 🌱

"𝙬𝙝𝙚𝙣 𝙖𝙧𝙚 𝙬𝙚 𝙜𝙤𝙞𝙣𝙜 𝙩𝙤 𝙢𝙖𝙠𝙚 𝙩𝙝𝙞𝙨 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙡?" 𝙨𝙞𝙩𝙪𝙖𝙩𝙞𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙝𝙞𝙥 𝙥𝙧𝙤𝙢𝙥𝙩𝙨

may or may not be based on my life lmaooo | tag me if you use any :)

"You never text first."

"Don't you wanna be something more than whatever...this is?"

"When are you going to be serious about this?"

"You say you want to talk to me, but you never call back."

"It feels like I'm the only one fighting for whatever we have."

"Why should I hold onto this?"

"You say you love me, but you said that to [insert pronoun] last week."

"Figure out what you want first before you come running back to me."

"You can't just come back to me whenever you get bored."

"I don't wanna be the second option anymore."

"Why do I have to beg just to see you?"

"It's like you don't wanna be with me."

"I'm not just something to pass the time with."

"Why does it feel like I'm wasting my time waiting for you?"

also if anyone treats you like this leave them right fucking now (a kind suggestion from someone who means well 😭)

May Prompts

post-magic

around the corner

geometry

antlers

display

ginger

divine will

mitochondria

carapace

amazement

spouse

uprising

guard

taking control

local birds

a version of you

her

aftermath of the heartbreak

preacher

last fragments

bioluminescence

eastern

generational trauma

moss

squabble

oven

abandoned laboratory

young president

charlatan

softened memory

the other life

colmar

© 2023  Yiannis Krikis

WORLD BUILDING CHECKLIST

If you are writing a book/story that takes place in another world, I have provided for you the complete world building checklist to ensure that you know your world inside out.

Economy A. Currency B. Poverty rate/line

Government A. Crime & Legal System B. Foreign Relations C. Politics D. War

The Land A. Physical & Historical Features B. Climate C. Geography D. Natural Resources E. Population

Society & Culture A. Arts, Entertainment, & Recreation B. Architecture C. Calendar D. Daily Life. E. Diet F. Ethics & Values G. fashion & Dress H. History I. Dining Customs J. Education K. Language L. Gestures M. Manners N. Meeting & Greeting O. Religion & Philosophy P. Social organization

Magic A. Magicians B. Magic and science C. Magic & Technology D. Rules of Magic

Technology C. Technology D. Medicine D. Transportation & Communication you're welcome <3

Fell free to reblog and fill it out if you want. I am curious to see the worlds in my fellow writers heads.

Follow me @leisureflame for more posts like this!

In writing, epithets ("the taller man"/"the blonde"/etc) are inherently dehumanizing, in that they remove a character's name and identity, and instead focus on this other quality.

Which can be an extremely effective device within narration!

They can work very well for characters whose names the narrator doesn't know yet (especially to differentiate between two or more). How specific the epithet is can signal to the reader how important the character is going to be later on, and whether they should dedicate bandwidth to remembering them for later ("the bearded man" is much less likely to show up again than "the man with the angel tattoo")

They can indicate when characters stop being as an individual and instead embody their Role, like a detective choosing to think of their lover simply as The Thief when arresting them, or a royal character being referred to as The Queen when she's acting on behalf of the state

They can reveal the narrator's biases by repeatedly drawing attention to a particular quality that singles them out in the narrator's mind

But these only work if the epithet used is how the narrator primarily identifies that character. Which is why it's so jarring to see a lot of common epithets in intimate moments-- because it conveys that the main character is primarily thinking of their lover/best friend/etc in terms of their height or age or hair color.

Structuring Your Fight Scene

adapted from <Writer's Craft> by Rayne Hall

Suspense

Show your characters gearing up, readying themselves.

The pace is slow, the suspense is high (use suspense techniques)

Provide information about terrain, numbers, equipment, weapons, weather.

May have dialogue as the opponents taunt each other, hurl accusations, or make one final effort to avoid the slaughter.

Don't start too early - we don't need to see the hero getting out of bed, taking a shower and having tea.

2. Start

Fighters get into fight stance: knees slightly bent, one leg forward, abdominal muscles tensing, body turned diagonally, weapons at the ready.

Each side will usually try to be the first to strike, as this will give them advantage.

The movements in this section need to be specific and technically correct.

3. Action

This section may be quick or prolonged. If prolonged, no blow-by-blow descriptions are needed.

Focus on the overall direction of the fight

Make use of the location to make characters jump, leap, duck, hide, fall, etc.

Mention sounds of weapons

4. Surprise

Something unexpected happens: building catches fire, a downpour, relief force arrives, staircase collapses, bullet smashes into the only lightbulb and everything goes dark, hero losses his weapon, etc.

Add excitement, raise the stakes.

5. Climax

Both sides are tired and wounded

The hero is close to giving up, but is revived with passion

Move to the terrain's most dangerous spot: narrow swining rope-bridge, a roof-edge, sinking ship, etc.

Don't rush the climax! Hold the tension

6. Aftermath

The fight is over: bes buddies lying dead, bandaging, reverberating pain, etc.

Use sense of sight and smell

The hero may experience nausea, shaking, tearfulness or get sexually horny

Fight scene length

Historical/adventure/fantasy: 700-1000w

Romance: 400-700w

May Prompts 🌺

Word prompts to use for doodling or writing

strawberries

adventure

golden hour

lake house

picnic

mayflower

nostalgia

homecoming

juice box

farmer’s market

morning light

birdsong

drive-in theater

island

photographs

riptide

coffee-to-go

tree house

instrument

cerulean

porch

animal shelter

lemonade

potted plant

spirit

milkshake

orchids

field

petrichor

sketching

memory lane

summer moments